NWSL Decision Day provides one last chance for the Orlando Pride to make it to the postseason for the first time since 2017.
Orlando sits one point out of the final playoff spot entering its regular-season finale with the Houston Dash at Exploria Stadium on Sunday (Paramonut+, 5).
The Pride go into this one after a 3-2 loss at Racing Louisville in a match they led 2-0. Now back in front of the home crowd after a two-game trip, coach Seb Hines said he believes his team is in a good position.
“We’re feeling good. We’ve had a couple of training sessions since the trip from L.A. to Louisville. They feel ready to go,” Hines said. “It’s one game and that’s what it comes down to. We’ve put ourselves in a terrific position and we are going to leave everything out on the field and that should be enough.”
However, a win alone will not be enough for the Pride, who will need a favorable goal differential to secure the playoff spot. They sit on a minus-2 differential for the season. Otherwise, Orlando will be counting on one of several other matches to go their way to get in.
Pride forward Marta was on the 2017 team that made the postseason and knows how special this is. This squad has defied expectations this season and she hopes they can rise to the occasion and be rewarded for their growth.
“We have a young team with a lot of talented players and I don’t think they still realize that we have achieved a chance to go to the playoffs,” Marta said. “We work on that, we talk a lot and we’re going to be prepared to do everything and take the spot in the playoffs.”
Orlando remains without the services of defender Carrie Lawrence (season-ending knee injury) and midfielder Viviana Villacorta (SEI knee). Midfielder Thais Reiss (hip) also is out.
