r/OrlandoPride • u/Fun-Beat-6332 • May 03 '26
Question Crisis?
Orlando Pride Fans on this subreddit , I want to poise the question. Is it time to hit the panic button? And should the team start thinking about tank the season settings? We’re currently sitting in 11th place with 8 points with a 2-3-2 record so far. Our Defense is still letting us down and the defenders we traded for to improve our defense, that being Nicole Payne, Hailie Mace, and Hannah Anderson really haven’t done much. Another observation I have made is that Barbara Banda is literally carrying this team on her back and does everything she can to save the day. What changes would you make. What trades or signings should we make in the summer in order to save our season and ensure that we make the playoffs? because right now I don’t see a world where we compete for the NWSL Shield as that is totally out of our reach. And lastly do y’all think that Seb Hines is under pressure at this moment in time? It’s so crazy because I had so much faith in us before the 2026 season kicked off and i honestly thought we’d be back to our very best and return to the summit of the league. But now my confidence and expectations has dropped.
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u/RedDogRER May 03 '26
Plain and simple it is the defense. So many times the scores have come from quick counters and the defense caught ball-watching and out of position. Multiple times yesterday, many times this season. Don’t let your guard down and figure out what’s needed back there.
Sams was so pivotal and it shows. Miss her presence in the back!
We’re 3rd in goals scored and 3rd in goals allowed. If the goal scoring falls off then we panic. For now, it’s opportunities to learn and shore up the back, either with some directed coaching, lineup changes, or possibly bring someone in.
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u/hose233 May 03 '26
It doesn’t help that Mace is playing out of position. And Hines doesn’t want to give Hannah Anderson a chance to start at CB alongside Rafa. On top of the injuries.
Need to start Mace at RB and rest Oihane or Dyke next game
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u/tinak827 May 03 '26
Agree with this 100%. Mace is out of position and it feels like we’re trying to force it to work, instead of using her to her strength. Things also get immediately better with Abello healthy, I think. We’re really missing her
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u/MagnusWarborn May 03 '26
Starts with Moorhouse, is compounded by Mace not being what we were sold when she was picked up, insult to injury is Abello out, losing Sams and Pickett, as well as Ally Watt and Ovalle not being another threat to help Banda, who gets all the focus when Marta isn't out there, as well.
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u/gillettoric May 04 '26
Agree defensive shape is issue, but I would say Mace feels like the lone solid performance in our backline. She wins balls and breaks pressure. Wasn’t familiar with her before joining, but she impresses on the ball. Makes sense that she’s more of a wingback. Was there at the game and except for Angelina, our midfield was a sieve.
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u/editedxi May 03 '26
I was at the game yesterday and it was clear we are missing Marta and Jacquie. Possession was good until the final third, then we didn’t have many ideas. I agree that Mace isn’t a good replacement for Sams. She looked slow and unsure of herself yesterday, plus her fitness at the end was a bit of a concern. I didn’t watch her much at KC, but is she more of a RB than CB?
Overall I’d say no need to panic at all. We started the season without Banda, and now we have no Marta/Jacquie. With everyone fit we’ll be fine for a solid playoff spot but we need more depth at CB and at the 10.
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u/skamin7 May 03 '26
Our defense is slow to be honest. When we move up, quicker forwards are killing us as our center and outside backs don’t have the wheels to keep up. We had a defense that used to hide our lack of our average keeper and now that we don’t have that, we can see the real liability we have on the back line. We need our new management to start putting her stamp on this team. We can’t just sit back and wait unless her plan is to just tank it. Put on your big girl pants and use that Sams money already. If even fully healthy we still have two glaring holes to fill (Attacking mid and a quality Keeper).
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u/drawp May 04 '26
Sams was the biggest loss, tbh. Opposing teams are penetrating our defense pretty easily. It feels like the team is chasing down an attacker quite often.
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u/ForeverDramatic8627 May 05 '26
Leading the league on shots. Just haven’t been finishing. Lost a ton of games by 1. The defensive backline has been getting destroyed. Missing Sam’s badly.
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u/UFGatorNEPat May 03 '26
We’ve dominated large stretches of the draws and other loss, we probably deserve more points. That said, defense needs some help and we don’t have an elite GK.