How the Orlando Pride earned their first major trophy in the NWSL

An undefeated season, the first-ever piece of hardware for the club and some of the most prolific goal-scoring the NWSL has seen. Those are just parts of the chapter written by the Orlando Pride this year.

The Pride are a well-known franchise, attracting names like Alex Morgan, Ali Krieger and Sydney Leroux to its roster over the years. However, over their seven-year tenure, they have never won any trophy or piece of hardware. They've finished in the bottom of the standings in over half of the seasons they've been around and missed the playoffs last season.

There's no question that Orlando had to undergo some sort of rebuild. Was it getting new players, figuring out a different coach, or taking a deep look internally to determine their identities? How were they going to create their history and make league history?

The Coach

This historic season began two years ago when head coach Seb Hines became the club's full-time head coach. Initially with the interim title, Hines' history in Orlando comes from his time as a player for the city's MLS club. He took over and made the club a defensive powerhouse from the jump. In the 2022 season, the Pride were tied for the highest tackle percentage in the league.

The following year, the team was one of the best in the league with successful take-ons and traveled the third farthest with the ball. Their possession looked better; the Pride played cohesively and built on their momentum.

The most significant change Hines brought to the club was a new structure. Instead of playing 4-4-2, the team has been in a 4-2-3-1 and a few variations from that formation here and there. This allows the defense to have as many players as it can on the backline, room for the pivoting two midfielders to join the rush or help the defense lock down and more offensive power with the three forward midfielders.

And the numbers don't lie. The team finished the regular season 17-0. They had the third-most goals in the league with 39, and won the most PKs with 4 and now look to be the first team to ever finish the regular season undefeated.

The Players

The backbone of the Orlando Pride for the last eight seasons has been Brazil's Marta. Through the highs and lows, Marta has anchored the forward line.

New key players have come in and made an impact this season. The biggest is Barbara Banda, who scored 13 goals this season and leads the league in non-penalty goals, shots on target, and shot total per 90 minutes. Angelina, another NWSL newcomer, has been vital to the midfield line.

Anna Moorhouse has had a season this year that could qualify her for the Goalkeeper of the Year award. The English keeper has the highest clean sheet percentage, save percentage and goals against per 90 minutes.

Marta herself has never looked so much like her old self. At 38 years old, she is still rocketing balls to the back of the net, cheering on her teammates and being a vital veteran force amidst the rebuild. Seeing her lift the shield for her first major NWSL trophy, tears and all, showed her passion and love for the game. She scored the game-winner against the Washington Spirit to earn the prize.

"I've been here for eight years, so I try to find out why I still love to be here, to play for this team, to represent the community in Orlando," Marta said postgame. "Tonight, I had the answers, you know? I think when you believe about something, and then you know you can do that, and you just put me in your mind, like, 'I'm not going to give up.' And then I did that. I stayed here because I want to make history with this team. And then we did tonight, and then we go for more."