The Orlando Pride enter a new era Sunday with newly named interim head coach Yolanda Thomas at the helm after the club fired Seb Hines on Monday.
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The Pride (8-12-2, 26 points) welcome the Houston Dash (7-10-5, 26 points) to Inter.co Stadium at 7 p.m.
Thomas is tasked with getting the team back to winning ways, but she knows it won’t be easy. Her message to the team was that they need to dare to dream and push for three points at home.
“We’re in a tough spot, and realistically, you look at the numbers, it’s tough,” Thomas said. “We’ve had a tough go. We’ve had some injuries. There’s no denying that we’re in a tough spot.
“But as much as we were dealing with lots of emotions, I told them that the heaviest lift I’m going to ask you to do is to dare to dream. And if you can lift your eyes and dare to dream that we can get three points this week, then we can do it again next week. So that’s really been the ask.”
Houston has scored nine goals in its last five games, but has been held scoreless in two consecutive 1-0 losses leading into Sunday’s game. Goalkeeper Jane Campbell is averaging four saves a match, the third-best rate in the league. Like the Pride, Houston has struggled with consistency this season.
The key focus for Orlando is sticking together. Midfielder Haley McCutcheon, one of the leading veterans in the squad, has seen teams with their backs up against the wall before. She believes that the Pride can use that as motivation to spur a late-season comeback.
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“I think it’s just doing it together, right?” McCutcheon said. “We’ve seen in the past as other teams have gone through this. Sometimes it’s a boost. It’s adding to that ‘together’ mentality where our backs are against the wall, and people are counting us out even more than they already were. So I think that we can use that as fuel.”
After this match, Orlando faces the Kansas City Current on Friday in Kansas City.
Orlando loans GK Moorhouse to Manchester City
Orlando has loaned goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse to Manchester City W.F.C. of the Women’s Super League through January 2027, the club announced Thursday.
“Anna has been an invaluable part of our club, and when the opportunity arose for her to return home to England and compete in the Women’s Super League, we worked closely with her to make it happen,” said Caitlin Carducci, Orlando’s vice president of soccer operations and general manager.
“We are fortunate to have tremendous quality and depth within our goalkeeping group, and this loan provides Anna with an opportunity to continue playing meaningful minutes at a high level while being closer to home and family.”
Moorhouse, 31, started 20 regular-season matches for the Pride in 2026, recording 58 saves and earning six shutouts.
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