{"id":308093,"date":"2026-06-15T16:59:10","date_gmt":"2026-06-15T16:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/308093\/"},"modified":"2026-06-15T16:59:10","modified_gmt":"2026-06-15T16:59:10","slug":"world-cup-break-offers-orlando-pride-chance-to-stabilize-rebuilt-back-line-the-mane-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/308093\/","title":{"rendered":"World Cup Break Offers Orlando Pride Chance to Stabilize Rebuilt Back Line \u2013 The Mane Land"},"content":{"rendered":"

Now that the monthlong NWSL break is upon us, we\u2019ve got a little time to take a breath and look ahead. As we did with Orlando City a week ago<\/a>, let\u2019s look forward at the roster decisions Caitlin Carducci and the Orlando Pride will have coming up at season\u2019s end. Unlike the MLS side, we don\u2019t have the luxury of the salaries for the players, but we still know which contracts will expire and which ones will have contract options available to exercise at the end of 2026.<\/p>\n

Kerry Abello \u2014 Defender\/Midfielder<\/p>\n

Abello arrived via the 2021 NWSL Draft, in which the Pride selected her in the third round (No. 24 overall), but she opted to return to Penn State for one more year of eligibility. Orlando signed Abello in January of 2022<\/a> through the 2023 season. The Pride ripped up that deal in February of 2023, signing Abello to a new contract<\/a> through 2024 with an option for 2025. Abello then signed another new deal in March of 2024<\/a> that runs through the end of this year.<\/p>\n

Just 26, Abello is an intriguing player still in her prime years who has shown flashes of being a top-notch starter. However, she still has defensive lapses in games, turns the ball over far too frequently in others, provides little in terms of goal-scoring contributions (three goals, five assists in all competitions since the start of 2022), and hasn\u2019t settled into the kind of consistency you\u2019d hope for in a veteran player who has been in the league since 2022.<\/p>\n

She started the 2026 season on the injured list but started to see game action just before the break, including her first start of the 2026 season. The versatile defender\/midfielder can play a variety of positions in both the defense and the attack and is only two years removed from MLS Bext XI Second Team honors, when she played primarily left back for the double-winning Pride. That makes her worth keeping around, even if it\u2019s as a depth player on a strong, deep team.<\/p>\n

Angelina \u2014 Midfielder<\/p>\n

The Brazilian international signed a three-year deal<\/a> on Dec. 13, 2023, running through the end of 2026. That\u2019s set to expire later this year, so there is some work to do in keeping the midfielder around. So far this season, Angelina has registered one assist. Over her three-year NWSL career with the Pride, the Brazilian has scored two goals (both in 2024) and added four assists in the regular season, contributing sparingly from her often deep-lying position. She has also been a solid, if unspectacular, set-piece taker.<\/p>\n

Angelina was one of the best players on the Pride in 2024. Like many others, her game took a step back in 2025 (no goals, one assist), and she hasn\u2019t been her best self yet in 2026 yet either. The recent hair-pulling incident that cost her a red card and an additional game suspension was a costly mistake that veteran leaders shouldn\u2019t make. Still, when she\u2019s on her game, Angelina is one of the best deep-lying midfielders in the NWSL. She can unlock a defense with a single through ball or long ball, as she did in the 2024 NWSL Championship, when she set up Barbra Banda\u2019s game-winning goal. Angelina is a good player who the Pride will likely want to bring back, as long as the cost isn\u2019t too high.<\/p>\n

Kat Asman \u2014 Goalkeeper<\/p>\n

Another player signed through 2026 but not beyond, Asman has spent a good chunk of her time with the Pride while on loan with Lexington FC in the USL Super League since signing with Orlando on Dec. 11, 2024<\/a>. Asman has been a good goalkeeper in that league, winning the 2025-2026 USL Super League Golden Glove award. It seems unlikely the Pride will prioritize signing Asman, although she\u2019s played well in competitive action and may have shown more than McKinley Crone and Cosette Morche have combined. <\/p>\n

Seven Castain \u2014 Forward<\/p>\n

Castain signed a one-year deal through the end of 2026<\/a> back on Jan. 16. The TCU product has shown flashes of promise in her first year with Orlando, but she has also looked overmatched and not ready for the NWSL at times as well. She seems to have fallen down the depth chart as other young players emerge and other Pride players have come off the injury list. It\u2019s unclear if the club thinks highly enough of Castain at this point to re-sign her, but she still has time in 2026 to make an impact and give Carducci something to think about.<\/p>\n

McKinley Crone \u2014 Goalkeeper<\/p>\n

Orlando\u2019s current backup to Anna Moorhouse will see her deal expire at the end of the season as well. Crone signed a short-term deal in late September of 2023 through the end of that season and earned a new contract. She signed through the 2024 season<\/a> on March 11, 2024, and must have impressed everyone, because the club signed her through 2026<\/a> just six months later in a new deal announced on Sept. 6, 2024.<\/p>\n

It remains to be seen who will emerge as the primary backup when Morche returns from injury. Crone has looked good in her infrequent matches, but has primarily been used outside of NWSL competition since her arrival. <\/p>\n

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Julie Doyle \u2014 Midfielder\/Forward<\/p>\n

Doyle was Orlando\u2019s third selection in the first round (No. 11 overall) in the 2022 NWSL Draft. The Santa Clara product signed her first pro contract on Jan. 27, 2022,<\/a> through that season with an option year for 2023, which the club exercised in November<\/a> following her rookie season. Doyle then signed a new two-year contract through the 2024 season<\/a> on May 8, 2023. The Pride signed her to another new contract on Oct. 1, 2024,\u00a0a two-year deal through the 2026 season<\/a>, meaning she\u2019s out of contract at the end of this year.<\/p>\n

During her time in Orlando, Doyle has been a decent bench option and spot starter, but she hasn\u2019t exactly broken out and has struggled to get into the starting lineup at times. Given her position, one might reasonably expect a former first-round pick to contribute more offensively, but Doyle has never exceeded two goals in league play in any season despite getting herself into some good scoring positions. Now 27, Doyle has shown the Pride who she is over the course of the last four-and-a-half seasons. It will be interesting if she\u2019s shown enough to stick around on another new contract.<\/p>\n

Luana \u2014 Midfielder<\/p>\n

The first player we\u2019ll discuss who has a contract option year after 2026 is the Brazilian international midfielder, who has battled back from a scary Hodgkins lymphoma diagnosis during her first year with the Pride in 2024. Luana signed with Orlando on Dec. 14, 2023<\/a>, but played only a few games before showing up on the availability report as an excused absence. The Pride announced on April 29, 2024<\/a>, that the Brazilian would miss the rest of the season to undergo treatment. She battled her illness while her teammates won the NWSL Shield and the NWSL Championship, inspired largely by her courage. Luana beat the disease, but it took a while to come back. She returned to the pitch in the second half of 2025 and did enough to earn herself a new contract, which she signed on Nov. 13, 2025<\/a>. Her contract runs through this season but there is a mutual option year on the deal for 2027.<\/p>\n

Luana has looked fantastic at times, and it\u2019s easy to forget that she started the 2024 campaign as a starter for a team that went on to shatter club and league records en route to winning the double. She scored her first goal with the Pride in Orlando\u2019s 2-0 home playoff win over the Seattle Reign on Nov. 7, 2025 (actually, it was her first goal contribution of any kind with Orlando). She was a big part of the buildup for the Pride\u2019s winning goal at San Diego on May 24, although she did not get an assist because a defender touched the ball. Luana finally notched her first NWSL assist in the Pride\u2019s most recent match \u2014 the 3-1 win on May 29, which sent the team into the break on a two-game winning streak. If her trajectory continues, it\u2019s not hard to imagine her returning as a regular starter when all players are available, and she could once again play for the Brazilian Women\u2019s National Team. On the other hand, at 33 years of age, time is not on her side in terms of her remaining career.<\/p>\n

Marta \u2014 Midfielder\/Forward<\/p>\n

Look, at some point Marta has to retire, right? The 40-year-old legend has earned the right to go out on her own terms, but the two-year contract she signed on Jan. 9, 2025<\/a>, seems likely to be her last. That contract concludes after this season, and this could be the Pride\u2019s most important off-season decision. <\/p>\n

Marta turned back the clock in 2024, playing at one of the highest levels of her illustrious career. That was an encouraging sign, and even though it would have been a storybook ending to a glorious career for the Brazilian icon to exit the world stage as a player after winning the double, Pride fans understandably celebrated her announcement that she signed a new contract with Orlando.<\/p>\n

Her performances fell off in 2025 \u2014 something that plagued the entire team \u2014 but her availability in 2026 has been an even bigger issue. The Marta problem is that despite her age and lack of availability, she\u2019s still hard to replace, because even in limited minutes, she\u2019s performing better and helping the team win and retain possession more than most of her teammates and better than most potential replacements could do in her place. The goal production has tailed off, however, and that\u2019s having an impact in the standings, because if Marta isn\u2019t producing, the Pride have little offense outside of Banda (though Jacquie Ovalle\u2019s return from injury should help). <\/p>\n

The Pride would likely offer Marta a new one-year contract if she wants to keep playing. Few could blame them, and it\u2019s hard to fault an athlete who loves the game so much that they don\u2019t mind the diminishing returns they bring to their club as they extend their career. However, Orlando is in a transition phase, and using Marta\u2019s salary elsewhere could help the club get younger, faster, and more threatening. Ultimately, this may be more Marta\u2019s decision than Orlando\u2019s, because the club will want Marta to end her career in purple. And while it seems the bell is tolling on a legendary career, it would surprise almost no one if she has another surge left in her. <\/p>\n

Cara Martin \u2014 Goalkeeper<\/p>\n

Pride fans could be forgiven for thinking Martin is an AI construct, because when have we seen proof of life? (OK, she\u2019s made the substitutes\u2019 bench a few times. Allegedly.) Martin signed Jan. 16<\/a> along with Castain and Nicole Payne. The former Big East Goalkeeper of the Year with Georgetown has not appeared for Orlando and her bio isn\u2019t in the team\u2019s game notes. Martin\u2019s contract is up at the end of the season, and with Orlando collecting backup goalkeepers to work with the team in training and wait in line behind Moorhouse, the question is whether she\u2019ll do enough to remain in the Pride\u2019s stable of backup netminders. <\/p>\n

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Kylie Nadaner \u2014 Defender<\/p>\n

The club\u2019s vice captain has been away on what has seemed more like eternity leave than maternity leave. Nadaner had her baby in May, and the long process of getting back into playing shape lies ahead. Meanwhile, she\u2019s in the final season of a three-year deal she signed on Dec. 7, 2023<\/a>. Nadaner began her time in Orlando as a struggling left back who worked her way into becoming one of the team\u2019s most dependable center backs.<\/p>\n

Nadaner will be 35 early next season as her birthday is in March. While it\u2019s difficult for players to return to playing shape after giving birth to a brand-new human, doing it in your mid-30s is even tougher, though it\u2019s doable. Whether Nadaner is offered a new contract may depend on her ability to get back on the field in the second half of 2026 and show she can still perform.<\/p>\n

Oihane \u2013 Defender<\/p>\n

The Spanish fullback is in the last guaranteed season of a two-year deal she signed on Feb. 14, 2025<\/a>. However, that contract includes a 2027 option year. Oihane has looked strong at times, although some minor knocks here and there have disrupted her continuity. She\u2019s been one of the team\u2019s better crossers in open play, posting three assists in just under a year and a half with Orlando.<\/p>\n

The problem for Oihane is she\u2019s in the Pride\u2019s deepest position group. Cori Dyke, Hailie Mace, Haley McCutcheon, Nicole Payne, and Reagan Raabe can all play right back. Oihane has also filled in at left back, but there is coverage there, too. We may not know until the postseason roster decisions whether the Spanish international will remain in the club\u2019s plans.<\/p>\n

Nicole Payne \u2014 Defender\/Winger<\/p>\n

A former Portland Thorns and (briefly) Paris Saint-Germain player, Payne signed a one-year contract with the Pride<\/a> on Jan. 16 that expires after the season. She showed off her pace playing right back in her first appearance with Orlando, but she\u2019s since seen time at right wing, scoring a big goal in a solid outing at San Diego in the final week before the break. She didn\u2019t back up that performance well five days later against Bay FC, but you can see there\u2019s talent, speed, and potential scoring punch from the USC product.<\/p>\n

Whether Payne is brought back is likely still up in the air, but there has been some promise, and her potential has not been questioned. Staying healthy has been a challenge for Payne. If she can stay fit, she would at least make a good depth option if she can turn in consistent performances like the one she had against the Wave.<\/p>\n

Reagan Raabe \u2014 Forward\/Defender<\/p>\n

Raabe arrived as a non-roster invitee in preseason camp and earned a short-term contract on March 5<\/a>. She\u2019s made a couple of appearances off the bench in different positions but hasn\u2019t been able to show a lot in her limited action. Will it be enough for the 24-year-old Nebraska product to earn a fulltime contract? We\u2019ll find out soon.<\/p>\n

Viviana Villacorta \u2014 Midfielder<\/p>\n

The Orlando Pride had high hopes for Villacorta after drafting her at No. 9 overall in the first round of the 2021 NWSL Draft. And while she\u2019s shown flashes of the potential she had coming out of UCLA throughout her time in Orlando, injuries have plagued her career and have completely derailed multiple seasons. Even in 2026, Villacorta has been on the club\u2019s availability list, most recently with a knee injury. She\u2019s done enough to hang around and earn three different contracts with the Pride, who exercised her 2026 option<\/a> on June 30, 2025, meaning she\u2019ll be out of contract again at the end of the year.<\/p>\n

Whether the club still values Villacorta as a good depth option or is ready to turn the page on the 27-year-old \u2014 or whether Villacorta even wants to continue her career \u2014 is a decision we\u2019ll have to wait to find out.<\/p>\n

Summer Yates \u2014 Midfielder<\/p>\n

Yates was a highly regarded prospect out of the University of Washington who somehow fell to Orlando in the fourth round (No. 39 overall) in the 2023 NWSL Draft. She quickly earned a rookie contract on March 7, 2023<\/a>, through 2024 with an option year for 2025. She played so well during the club\u2019s 2024 run to the double that she earned a new contract on July 11, 2024<\/a>, through 2025 with an option year for 2026. Unfortunately, Yates followed many other Pride players in regressing in 2025, but Orlando and Yates had already mutually exercised her 2026 option year in October of 2024<\/a>. That means she\u2019s out of contract after this season, like so many others.<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old native of Pasco, Washington, is just entering her prime years, but her play since the start of 2025 has not shown many signs of the improvements we saw in 2024. Former general manager Haley Carter touted her off-season work on our podcast prior to the club\u2019s 2024 double-winning campaign. Since then, Yates has not scored a league goal and has tallied only two assists in the regular season, although she notably notched a hat trick in a 5-0 win at Chorrillo FC<\/a> in Panama a year ago. Her most recent game against Bay FC saw Yates thread the needle to set up Banda\u2019s second goal of the night, which turned out to be the game-winner.<\/p>\n

Yates does so many things well, but putting together consistent performances has been a struggle since the start of 2025. Some of that has been related to playing through some minor knocks. Every dribble into a blind alley or misplaced pass in the attacking third seems worthwhile when Yates sticks a gorgeous through ball into Banda\u2019s path, but a return to her 2024 form, in which she scored five NWSL goals, would be her best path to a lucrative new deal with the Pride.<\/p>\n

The Pride roster provides a lot of flexibility for Carducci. There are as many as 14 expiring contracts either, outright or with an option decision, and the competition for new deals will be stiff. Carducci can spend the rest of the 2026 season evaluating the squad, looking at the areas she wants to improve, and making informed choices about which players to re-sign and which to let go. <\/p>\n

That, of course, is a double-edged sword, because letting things go too long can result in players becoming free agents and leaving for free. In the past, the Pride under Carter liked to lock players down before their deals expired. This year, we may yet see some signings before season\u2019s end, but Carducci has the opportunity to overhaul the roster. At the very least, the bottom of the roster can (and should) be churned a bit. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Now that the monthlong NWSL break is upon us, we\u2019ve got a little time to take a breath…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":308094,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[139,141,140],"class_list":["post-308093","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-orlando","tag-orlando","tag-orlando-headlines","tag-orlando-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308093","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308093"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308093\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/308094"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}