SANFORD, Fla. — It's hard to follow up a two-trophy season, but the 2025 Orlando Pride, despite injuries and a bevy of extra matches hampering their season, still managed to make it to the NWSL Semifinals, finishing seconds away from back-to-back championship game appearances.
Just like the end of 2023, the returning group comes into 2026 with a sense of unfinished business and the confidence of a group that knows exactly how close it came.
“I think we look back on last season, and we're disappointed, and that's crazy, because we made our second consecutive playoff appearance and made it to the semis, and arguably, should have put that game away, too,” said midfielder Haley McCutcheon at Orlando Pride Training Ground at Sylvan Lake Park. “So while we're disappointed, we're also really encouraged, and we're gonna build on what we did last year and not feel that way again.”
At this point, the core group of the Pride have learned over the last few seasons that the margins at the top of the league are fine, a constant talking point last season. Those lessons from many close games have now shaped how they are approaching this new year.
One of the biggest lessons from last year that playing in multiple competitions and traveling outside of the country taught them, was just how important depth is within the squad.
“I think across the team, we are going to rely on depth this year," McCutcheon said. "We say it every year, but looking at our schedule, we have so many midweek games, we have so many games closely packed together, and so we're going to need absolutely everybody. And I think the team with the most depth is gonna go far this year.”
The Pride officially started their eight-week preseason this past Tuesday, taking the field as a group for the first time in over two months. The first few weeks will be spent mostly working on fitness, including some days with double sessions.
“It definitely is a long preseason, but we use every bit of that time to prepare,” defender Cori Dyke said. “We like to phase things out in terms of what we want to work on. This week is a lot of foundation laying, fitness and technical, and then we'll just continue to build on that. And the coaches do a really good job of structuring each week of our preseason that allows us to be fully prepared by the time the season rolls around.”
With that aforementioned coaching staff, Head Coach Seb Hines now steps into his fourth full year at the helm of the Pride. During the offseason, Hines not only worked on refining game plans and recruiting players, but he also completed his U.S. Soccer Pro License Course, the highest level of coaching in the U.S.
That extra experience and mastery under his belt will be a boon to this Pride team that is hoping to refine themselves back to the trophy pedestal.
“I've been here quite a while now, and the offseasons are getting shorter and shorter. I think it's a good thing. It shows the success of this team, as well, getting as far as they have done in the last couple of years,” Hines said. “Last year, it was a short preseason. We had the Challenge Cup game, obviously, we went all the way to the semifinals as well. So with this longer preseason, it allows us to not accelerate things too quickly. Get the foundations right, get the mentality right. So then when we get into the first game of the season, everyone's ready to go and compete.”
