ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Pride will play their final home game of 2024 this weekend.
That's not necessarily a bad thing, considering that if they win, the Pride will head to Kansas City for the NWSL Championship next weekend.
But in order to do that, they'll have to beat the team that's looking to host their own final in the Kansas City Current.
Training this week leading into the game has been focused but not unlike any other week. The team has still been having fun, laughing and joking around as they warm up at Orlando Health Training Ground in Sylvan Lake Park. Ally Watt is still the loudest of the bunch, her infectious laugh resonating throughout the team.
While the mood has been light around the team, the focus remains heavy. The biggest thing about this Pride team has been their consistency throughout the season. After an unbeaten streak, winning a shield and all the other accolades, it's been the team's consistency that's gotten them to this point. So, with Friday's training looking par for the course, the team wouldn't want it any other way.
For Head Coach Seb Hines, it's been something he's preached since day one of preseason: keep the consistency heading into a game. Even heading into a semifinal match with a trip to the NWSL Championship on the line, the leadup to this game has been no different to what they've done all season long.
"We take it one game at a time," Hines said after training. "Our main focus this week is solely on Kansas, getting a result against a good Kansas City team. Whatever happens, and hopefully, we get the outcome that we've always aspired to do, we'll be on that flight to Kansas City in the championship game."
The other contributing factor to this season's success has been the team's home form. After going 10-0-3 in the regular season, the Pride's 4-1 win over the Chicago Red Stars this past weekend in front of 11,496 fans was one of the loudest games of the season. The support from the fans in and out of Inter&Co Stadium has not been unnoticed by the players and the entire staff throughout the season. The hope is that it continues into this weekend in one of the biggest games in team history.
"It's everything. Inter&Co Stadium has become a fortress for us," defender Kylie Strom said. "The fans have really shown out this year, and it's been so fun to play in, and it's such a huge advantage. We've talked about it, we may never get this opportunity again, an at-home semifinal game, so we have to take advantage of it, and our supporters are going to be massive for us."
"It's vitally important." Hines said. "Last game, the fans were in full voice, spurring the players on, and that's really important. We're hoping, obviously, to get more fans, considering it's a semifinal, and if we win, we go all the way to the final. So the fans play such an important part in our success, and they have done all season long.
"It's no coincidence that we've won so many games at home this year, and that's due to the fact that we've had fans coming out and supporting us. And you can see attendance is getting higher. The product on the field has been incredible; I think that players fully deserve more fans to come out and support this incredible run. And hopefully, we've got one more game to get it over the line and go all the way to the championship game."
