LAKE MARY, Fla. — It's been almost a month since the Orlando Pride were back at home. Fourteen days on the road with stops in three different cities across three time zones. To say that it was a long trip may be underselling it a bit.
At long last, however, the Pride are back in Orlando with one match left to play before a month-long break from NWSL play.
Friday night's matchup with Bay FC will serve as the last match before the league pauses all competition from June 1 to June 28 during the FIFA World Cup 2026™. Head coach Seb Hines and the team know that this game will be important to set the tone before the second half of the season.
"We're looking forward to being back home," Hines said on Wednesday at Orlando Health Training Ground at Sylvan Lake Park. "It's been a long road trip. Excited to get in front of our own fans. We want to create that atmosphere, make it hostile for Bay FC. We know it's a quick turnaround for both teams as well, so we want to make sure that we start off on the front foot and build on what we achieved last Sunday in San Diego and finish this part of the season on a high."
The win over San Diego Wave FC, a clean sheet to boot, was exactly the kind of result Hines' side needed to close out the road trip. After difficult results in Boston and Denver, the Pride were able to come together and figure things out. Defender Zara Chavoshi, who was available off the bench for the first time this season in San Diego, knew how much those three points on the road meant to the group.
"San Diego was everything," Chavoshi said. "We got a shutout, our backline was incredible, and we had amazing saves. Shout out to Nicole (Payne) for her first NWSL start and goal for the Pride. Contributing different players, that was really important."
For Chavoshi personally, the journey back to the field has been a long one. Out since the beginning of the season, the second-year player went through the longest stretch of her career being sidelined from the pitch. Even just being on the bench and warming up last match meant everything to her.
"Stepping onto the field last game, just in warmups, it was everything," she said. "I kind of turned to Kerry (Abello) and was like, 'is this what you felt like last game?' Because it's such an incredible feeling. We worked so hard in the weight room and in rehab, and I kind of forgot what I was working for, and it's that moment, stepping onto the field, feeling the grass, feeling the wind on your skin. It's just honestly poetic, as cheesy as that is."
Now the focus is on Bay FC, which arrives at Inter&Co Stadium looking for a result after dropping a 1-0 game to the Chicago Stars last weekend. For Hines and the Pride, getting their home stadium to be the place opponents hate to play is the most important thing for the group.
"We haven't had enough wins there, so we want to build that momentum, make it a fortress," he said. "There's no better opportunity to do that than this Friday. We want to make it as difficult and challenging as possible for them so that they walk off that field and go, 'wow, this is a really good team.' And make it entertaining for our fans to want to come back and support this team, because it'll be a long time until we're back there."
"Three points is the standard for us," Chavoshi added. "If we come into the next game the way we came into this last game, with belief and assurance, and the trust that if we do everything to 100% that's what the outcome is going to be, then we need to keep doing that."
Kickoff against Bay FC at Inter&Co Stadium is set for Friday night at 7:00 p.m.
