ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Pride will take on Gotham FC in the National Women’s Soccer League semifinals at 3 p.m. Sunday at Inter&Co Stadium.
What You Need To Know
The Pride are hosting Gotham FC in an NWSL semifinal at 3 p.m. Sunday at Inter&Co Stadium
The winner will advance to the NWSL Championship match on Nov. 22 in San Jose, Calif.
Orlando is continuing on a path to try to win back-to-back NWSL titles
Gotham knocked off top-seeded Kansas City to make the semifinal match
The Pride are two wins away from becoming the first NWSL club to successfully defend its title since the North Carolina Courage in 2019.
The winner of Sunday’s match will advance to the 2025 NWSL Championship on Nov. 22 at PayPal Park in San Jose, Calif., and face off against the winner of Saturday’s semifinal between the Washington Spirit and Portland Thorns.
Orlando, which opened last season on a 23-match unbeaten streak on its way to its first championship, had a bumpier journey this season. It started 5-1-3 and went winless from June 20 until Sept. 2, with a summer break in July. The Pride also lost last season’s top scorer, Barbra Banda, to a severe right leg injury in August.
Coach Seb Hines said making the playoffs this season feels similar to last year but also different because of the challenges the club has faced.
“We’re finishing the season on a high,” Hines said. “So, we want to continue that momentum we’ve had in the last couple of games. We’ve been playing playoff football for a long period of time now with some of the teams that we’ve played in this last stretch.”
Gotham is seeded No. 8, but it has won the championship as an underdog in the past. It was seeded No. 6 when it won the 2023 championship, and it advanced to Sunday’s game by knocking off the top-seeded Kansas City Current 2-1 last Sunday in the quarterfinals. Defender Ellie Wheeler and forward Jaedyn Shaw scored for Gotham.
The Pride defeated the Seattle Reign 2-0 in the quarterfinals, getting a goal from midfielder Haley McCutcheon and a penalty kick from newly re-signed Luana to seal their victory. The club signed Luana to a new contract on Thursday that continues through the 2026 season and has a mutual option for 2027.
“When it comes to the playoffs, it’s all about details,” Luana said. “So, we need to be really concentrated and 100% in the game. We know everything can happen, but we’ll try to do our best and take the chances we get, especially early in the game.”
Hines said he hopes the supporters will fill Inter&Co Stadium to add to the club’s advantage at home.
Single-game tickets remain available and can be purchased online.