LAKE MARY, Fla. — There's a sense of déjà vu for the Orlando Pride this week.
For the second straight year, the Orlando Pride will play their final home game of 2025 in an NWSL Semifinal.
Winning means that they will play for the NWSL Championship next weekend in San Jose, California.
While that is all similar to the 2024 Pride team, this year has proved to be different and more challenging in various ways.
"This year, it's been up and down," Head Coach Seb Hines said at Orlando Health Training Ground at Slyvan Lake Park on Friday. "But we're finishing the season on a high, and so we want to continue that momentum that we've had in the last couple of games."
While last year the Pride finished as the best team in the regular season, this year they finished fourth, having to go 10-plus games without their star forward, Barbra Banda. The team went through a winless period of almost two months, struggling to adapt without Banda up top.
Despite that, this Pride team finds itself exactly where it wants to be: playing at home for a chance to head to another final.
"We went through a rough patch in the season, and I think it really epitomizes this team and this culture and the mentality of the team," Hines said. "Not giving up and to keep going, keep pushing, go through those adverse moments that would really test your character as an individual. So going through that is almost a good thing as well. It keeps that momentum. It keeps us winning and playing for wins and giving absolutely everything to put ourselves in the best position to go forward. We've got two more games now to see it through."
Before the team gets ahead of itself and looks toward the NWSL Championship, the Pride still need to get through this weekend against a very tough opponent in NJ/NY Gotham FC. The two sides both won on the road against each other by a similar scoreline, and both look very different compared to the last time they faced off back in August.
"Gotham is a very good opponent," Hines said. "They have some really good, talented players, and we'll be tested. And I think that's the fun and the excitement that's around this environment that, yeah, we could be potentially going to another championship game."
