Orlando Pride VP of soccer operations and sporting director Haley Carter is stepping down, departing the 2024 NWSL champions to pursue other opportunities, the club announced on Tuesday.
Carter joined the 2024 Shield-winners in January 2023, ushering in arguably the most successful era for the Orlando club thus far by bringing in top talents like striker Barbra Banda, defender Emily Sams, and former Liga MX star Lizbeth Ovalle to help the Pride climb the NWSL standings.
"We'd like to extend our gratitude to Haley for her contributions to the Pride over the past three years," Orlando owner Mark Wilf said in a statement. "Haley played a key leadership role with our club, positioning the Pride among the NWSL's and world's elite clubs."
"I'm beyond thankful to Mark Wilf and the entire ownership group for giving me the opportunity to be part of this club and for their unwavering support throughout my time here," said Carter.
Carter will continue working with the Pride during its transition period as the club searches for its new sporting director.
"We have begun a diligent and methodical search for a new soccer leader who will have the opportunity to work with a championship-caliber roster and coaching staff," said Wilf, before promising that the Pride will "continue its trajectory of success."
Reigning NWSL champs Orlando kicked off their repeat title bid in style, with the No. 4-seed Pride topping a tough No. 5 Seattle Reign 2-0 to punch their ticket to the 2025 semifinals on Friday.
Orlando midfielder Haley McCutcheon opened scoring in the 21st minute, giving the Pride a slim lead well into the second half before captain Marta broke out into a 100-yard solo dash through Seattle's backline, earning the second-half stoppage-time penalty kick that ultimately put the match out of the Reign's reach.
"We have talked so much about this season and compared it to last season," Marta said postgame. "Of course, we don't do the same things we did last year, but we have the same players and the same mentality. We still work so hard and still believe."
After Marta put on the burners to earn that kick from the spot, the Brazil legend chose to cede the spotlight to a beloved teammate.
Marta gave the ball to fellow Pride and Brazil star Luana, a midfielder who recently returned to the pitch after successfully battling Hodgkin's Lymphoma — with Luana going on to sink the penalty to mark her first goal in an Orlando jersey.
"Handing the ball over to Luana optimizes Marta as an individual," said Orlando manager Seb Hines. "She never puts herself above the team and gave the ball to Luana to have her moment."
How to watch the Orlando Pride in the 2025 NWSL semifinals
The No. 4 Orlando Pride will next host No. 8 Gotham FC in the 2025 NWSL semifinals.
The pair will kick off their clash at 3 PM ET on Sunday, with live coverage airing on ABC.
On a mission to avenge their 13th-place finish last year, No. 5 Seattle will visit the No. 4 Orlando to open the quarterfinals of the 2025 NWSL Playoffs on Friday night, with the Reign laser-focused on ending the 2024 NWSL champions' title defense.
"Everyone wants to go back-to-back, everyone wants to double down on what they've done, and to become a winning club you have to do it multiple times," Orlando defender Carson Pickett said ahead of Friday's quarterfinal.
"In big games, big players step up," said Seattle head coach Laura Harvey. "One thing we know with our squad — and we've shown it all season — is what we look like at the start of the game, we're probably not going to look like that at the end of the game."
Both teams will have room for adjustments, after playing each other to a 1-1 stalemate last Sunday — with Friday's face-off becoming just the fourth regular-season finale rematch in NWSL playoff history.
The Reign will likely continue their defensive-minded five-back approach, while the Pride tries to overcome the absence of injured superstar Barbra Banda.
"The league is getting harder and harder every single year that I've played," said nine-season NWSL veteran Pickett. "It's hard to break a deadlock sometimes, especially in a moment when you absolutely have to win."
How to watch Orlando vs. Seattle in the 2025 NWSL Playoffs
The No. 4 Orlando Pride will host the No. 5 Seattle Reign in the first quarterfinals clash of the 2025 NWSL Playoffs at 7 PM ET on Friday, with live coverage airing on Prime.
The Orlando Pride have taken a turn, with the reigning NWSL champs skidding to No. 4 in the NWSL standings after losing decorated forward Barbra Banda to a season-ending hip adductor injury last week.
According to a Saturday release, the 2025 Ballon d'Or nominee suffered a "full thickness avulsion of her right adductor longus tendon" in the 14th minute of the team's August 16th draw with the No. 1 Kansas City Current.
The Zambian international's absence loomed large over the Pride's loss to No. 10 Angel City on Thursday, when Orlando fell 1-0 to LA behind an 86th-minute Alyssa Thompson dagger — raising their NWSL winless streak to five straight matches.
"Barbra has been instrumental to our success and losing a player of her caliber is heartbreaking for the entire organization," said Orlando Pride sporting director Haley Carter.
After joining Orlando in 2024, Banda made an immediate impact for the Pride, scoring 25 times in her 41 total appearances across all league competitions and earning 2024 NWSL Championship MVP honors behind her title-clinching game-winning goal.
The reigning Shield-winners saw another departure on Monday, as 32-year-old two-time World Cup winner Morgan Gautrat announced that she was retiring from the NWSL with plans to play out the rest of the 2025 season on loan to WSL2 side Newcastle United.
The Pride's downturn could be temporary, however, with Orlando officially signing Tigres UANL star Lizbeth Ovalle on a world record $1.5 million transfer fee late last week.
A top-table battle headlines the NWSL this weekend, as the No. 1 Kansas City Current hosts the No. 2 Orlando Pride for a possible postseason rehearsal on Saturday.
Led by Golden Boot frontrunner Temwa Chawinga, the Current enter the weekend with a full 12-point lead over the rest of the league, as reigning NWSL Shield and Championship winners Orlando push to make a statement.
"We are resilient. That is part of our identity. We never give up and we are always playing to win, and we always believe in ourselves," Pride defender Kylie Nadaner said following last Saturday's 1-1 draw with Racing Louisville.
More than just a clash between the top two teams in the NWSL standings, history shows very little love lost between these perennial heavy-hitters.
Last season, Orlando snapped KC's NWSL-record 17-game unbeaten streak on the Current's home turf, then took Kansas City down again in the pair's 2024 semifinal playoff match.
"We will remember the way they acted after the cameras were off," Current forward Michelle Cooper posted to social media after their July 2024 loss.
Kansas City has already issued some regular-season revenge on their way up the table this year, defeating the Pride 1-0 back in May.
How to watch Kansas City vs. Orlando this NWSL weekend
The No. 1 Current will kick off against the No. 2 Pride at 4 PM ET on Saturday, with live coverage airing on CBS.
The NWSL is back in action this weekend with a top-table match, a bicoastal battle, and some middle-of-the-pack clashes as the 2025 season enters its ninth matchday.
Parity is riding high these days, with just three points dividing the No. 1 Kansas City Current and No. 3 Washington Spirit in the NWSL standings — while only three more separate the No. 4 San Diego Wave from the No. 8 Seattle Reign.
With competition remaining tough as nails, don't expect much more daylight between teams following this weekend's tense lineup:
- No. 7 Gotham FC vs. No. 4 San Diego Wave, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (NWSL+): Coming off a two-game winless streak, Gotham is still searching for consistency as they take on a confident San Diego side that hasn't lost in four games.
- No. 9 Racing Louisville vs. No. 8 Seattle Reign, Friday at 7:30 PM ET (NWSL+): All tied up with 11 points each, Seattle will look to hold off Louisville as Racing continues to hunt the club's first-ever playoff berth.
- No. 2 Orlando Pride vs. No. 1 Kansas City Current, Friday at 8 PM ET (Prime): There's little love lost between these NWSL titans, as the reigning champion Pride takes on hosting duties in an attempt to leapfrog current top-dog Kansas City in Friday's marquee match.
In a season dominated by topsy-turvy results, the pressure to secure points week-over-week weighs heaviest on the teams who know they have the talent to rise above the rest.
Soccer legend Marta is officially returning to the canary yellow kit, earning a Brazil national team call-up just over nine months after her planned retirement from international duty.
Brazil head coach Arthur Elias named Marta to the world No. 8 Seleção's roster on Tuesday, with the 39-year-old icon returning for the team's upcoming home friendlies against No. 5 Japan on May 30th and June 2nd.
"I was with Marta recently and spoke with her," Elias told reporters on Tuesday. "She said she is available to help the team while she is playing at a high level, as she is now."
Stellar club form fuels Marta's Brazil return
Marta, who hung up her international boots after snagging a third silver Olympic medal at the 2024 Paris Games, hasn't missed a beat since, captaining the Orlando Pride to the club's first-ever NWSL Shield and Championship last fall.
In the process, the scoring phenom claimed the league's Best XI First Team honors, as well as finalist nods for both the 2024 NWSL MVP and Midfielder of the Year awards.
Unsurprisingly, the Pride inked Marta to a two-year contract extension in January.
While Marta's consistently impressive form fueled Elias's request to lure her out of retirement, the manager is also hoping her unmatched leadership will bolster younger athletes as Brazil takes aim at a record-extending ninth Copa América title this summer — and, as the host nation, a deep 2027 World Cup run.
Joining the legend on Tuesday's roster are fellow Brazil veterans Lorena and Debinha, from the NWSL-leading Kansas City Current, and Marta's Orlando teammate Angelina.
"[Marta's] presence in some call-ups is very important for the younger players, for the renewal that is taking place in the national team," explained Elias. "We really want expectations to rise for the women's national team and for football in our country."
The NWSL is officially pulling back the curtain, with Prime Video green-lighting For the Win: NWSL, a new docuseries centered on the league's 2024 playoffs and Orlando's victorious NWSL Championship run.
According to the league's Tuesday announcement, the four-part series offers "unprecedented access" by taking viewers inside "one of the most thrilling seasons in NWSL history."
It "[covers] the intensity, resilience, and passion that define the league’s top teams and star players as they battle for the ultimate prize: the Championship trophy."
"Through exclusive interviews, locker-room access, and heart-pounding match highlights, the documentary captures the nostalgia, emotion, and fierce competition that shapes a playoff run within the fastest growing league in the world."
The series promises coverage of retiring USWNT icon Alex Morgan, newly minted Orlando champion and Brazilian legend Marta, as well as Washington Spirit stars Trinity Rodman and reigning NWSL Rookie and Midfielder of the Year Croix Bethune.
For the Win: NWSL joins wave of women's soccer documentaries
Women's soccer has been entering the realm of sports documentaries for years, with behind-the-scenes looks into the USWNT, the NWSL's Angel City FC, WSL side Chelsea FC, and more popping up on screens worldwide.
The latest offering of For the Win: NWSL comes backed by sports stars, with a producing team helmed by Connor Schell and Libby Geist of Words + Pictures as well as the aforementioned Morgan and Gotham FC investor and NFL legend Eli Manning.
While no premier date has been set, the series will stream exclusively in over 240 countries and territories on Prime Video, which also serves as one of the NWSL's broadcast partners.
Prime is also gearing up to kick off the upcoming NWSL season by exclusively airing the 2025 Challenge Cup on March 7th. That contest boasts a rematch of the 2024 championship game between the Orlando Pride and the Washington Spirit.
The streamer will then begin their 25-match Friday night regular-season run when the Pride hosts the rebranded Chicago Stars FC on March 14th.
Brazilian superstar Marta has officially re-signed with the NWSL's Orlando Pride through 2026, the club announced on Thursday morning.
The news comes just over a month after the 38-year-old international football icon captained Orlando to its first-ever NWSL Championship win.
While Marta expressed ongoing interest in continuing club play, the free agent's future remained uncertain after announcing her retirement from Brazil's national team in April 2024.
Marta's Orlando Pride legacy
Marta has played for Orlando since 2017, riding out the franchise's ups and downs before the team's banner 2024. Last season wasn't just a massive campaign for the team, however — it cemented the seemingly ageless athlete as a club legend.
The Orlando captain scored finalist status for the league's 2024 MVP and Midfielder of the Year awards, plus booked an NWSL First-Team Best XI honor. Her 11 goals across all competitions, including the Pride's NWSL Shield-clinching game-winner and arguably the most memorable NWSL Playoff goal in years, was enough to snare an impressive fourth place on the league's 2024 goal-scoring table.
"Coming off the most successful season in our club's history and, personally, one of the best of her professional career, re-signing Marta was a key business priority for us during this offseason," said Orlando Pride VP of sporting operations and sporting director Haley Carter in today's club statement.
"Last year, we proved everyone wrong and did something so special, as a team, and that's why I'm so happy to have the opportunity to sign for two more years," Marta commented.
"Personally, it also means a lot to me that I will reach 10 seasons as an Orlando Pride player, a special number for me as I have worn the No. 10 jersey most of my career," she added. "I love living in Orlando, I love the community, and I love the way that people embrace and enjoy Orlando Pride soccer. I can't wait for the season to start."
After stellar performances for both club and country, Orlando Pride star striker Barbra Banda is the 2024 BBC Women's Footballer of the Year, becoming the eighth player across the annual award's 10 editions to earn the trophy on Tuesday.
At just 24 years old, Banda became the highest-scoring African player in Olympic history this past summer, registering four goals — including her third Olympic hat trick — despite Zambia's group-stage elimination.
In her first season in the league, Banda finished the 2024 NWSL season second in scoring with 13 regular-season goals. She led the Pride to their first-ever Shield and Championship wins, claiming the Championship MVP trophy with her title-winning goal. Plus, with four postseason goals, Banda set a new NWSL playoff scoring record.
The fans' favorite footballer
Fans ultimately select the annual BBC Footballer of the Year award by voting on a five-player shortlist. That shortlist is determined by a large panel of international soccer experts, including coaches, players, administrators, and independent journalists. The panel chose this year's nominees based on their performances from September 2023 to August 2024.
Though usually heavy with UK-based athletes, this year's field lacked any club or country connection with the nation. To claim the award, Banda beat out fellow finalists Aitana Bonmatí and Caroline Graham Hansen of Barcelona FC, and fellow NWSL standouts Sophia Smith (Portland) and Naomi Girma (San Diego).
Banda is now just the second winner in the award's decade-long history without a connection to England. She joins two-time victor Ada Hegerberg, a Norwegian national and striker for Lyon, in that elite club.
A surprised Banda was quick to share credit with her Orlando teammates upon hearing the news, telling the Pride, "I'm just dedicating this award to every one of you guys who has been there for me."