KC Current at Orlando Pride: Match Preview

Eight games into the 2025 season and in many ways, things couldn’t be going much better for the Kansas City Current. They sit alone atop the standings; two points clear of their nearest competition. They have the most wins, have scored the most goals, have conceded the fewest goals (and so of course have the best goal differential), and all six of their wins have come by multiple goals. They have already defeated the teams in 3rd (on the road), 4th (on the road), and 6th place.

Bagging Points in Week 8 💼@carmax.com | #RoadToTheShield

— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 2025-05-12T17:33:57.856Z

So again, life seems pretty good for the Current and their fans, right? Well, yes, but fans are also really good at spotting reasons to worry. For example, KC is just one match removed from a two-game slide against the teams currently sitting in 8th and 11th place. The team is still dealing with some injuries, including to a star winger (Michelle Cooper) and seem to have forgotten how to defend corner kicks–they are on a three-game stretch of goals conceded from corners.

And then, of course, there’s this Friday’s opponent: the Orlando Pride. Not only are the Pride the defending league champions, they are the only team to ever defeat the Current inside CPKC Stadium, the Current are winless against Orlando the past three meetings, and the Pride knocked Kansas City out of the playoffs in 2024. Again, KC are on a two-match road losing streak, so if the Current travel to Florida this week and lose, there will likely be warning bells sounding for a lot of supporters.

The schedule-makers didn’t do the Teal a lot of favors at this point in the season. Orlando will be entering the match at home and on more rest and KC is in a stretch of six straight games being played in six different cities (NC, Seattle, KC, Orlando, Chicago, Gotham).

With all that said, Orlando do not appear to be the same world-beaters they were last season. After nearly going undefeated in ’24 (going 23 matches into the season without a loss), they now have only won once in their last four games. They raced out of the gate this season with a 6-0 win against the Chicago Stars to open the season, but have been held to no more than a single goal in three of their last four outings.

Orlando was able to keep intact most of the roster that led them to both the NWSL Shield and Championship. The big offseason acquisition was Spanish national team defender Oihane Hernández, signed from Real Madrid. Meanwhile, the main notable departure was the Brazilian Adriana, who the team sold to a Saudi club for $500K. This means that the Pride still employ players like Marta, Barbra Banda, Anna Moorhouse, Angelina, Emily Sams, and (old friend) Morgan Guatrat.

Like Kansas City, the Pride won their first four league matches this season but then began a stretch in which they were defeated by 0-1 scorelines in two out of three games. They managed to get by Angel City 3-2 despite trailing 0-2 past the 70th minute (the match winner was an own goal in the 93rd). The last time out they settled for a 1-1 draw against the North Carolina Courage–again securing a result with a 93rd minute goal.

Meanwhile, after first forgetting how to defend and then forgetting how to attack in back-to-back road losses, Kansas City experienced the very definition of a “get right” game on Sunday. With the noted exception of again conceding off a corner kick, the Current had everything going their way against an overmatched Bay FC squad, winning 4-1. Bia opened the scoring with a true striker’s goal. Chawinga concluded the scoring with a vintage half-field sprint. And in between, Debinha secured Player of the Week honors with a brace, including a fantastic free kick.

She's not just on a hot streak. She's at her peak. Debinha is crowned the Week 8 AT&T Player of the Week 👑

— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 2025-05-13T17:21:25.965Z

What does this all mean for Friday night’s clash in Disney town? For starters, this is must-watch TV for any fan of women’s soccer. Chawinga (Malawi) and Banda (Zambia) led the Africa takeover last season, finishing one and two in the Golden Boot race (they are currently tied for fourth this season, with four goals apiece).

Jumping across the Atlantic, Brazilian legends abound, highlighted by Debinha and Marta. And despite all the attacking pieces, these teams also know how to defend as they each have only allowed six goals through eight games with an English (Moorhouse) and Brazilian (Lorena) national team keeper between the sticks.

Last July, these teams met in KC with both undefeated to that point. Despite a red card to Orlando, it was the Pride (through a Marta PK) that earned three points that day to springboard them into first place and to what ultimately became a league title. While the records aren’t quite as shiny this time around, these are still the top two teams in the standings and whoever wins will walk away from the game in first.

Kansas City will enter with revenge on their minds as Orlando not only handed them defeat in front of their home crowd, but they also knocked them out of the playoffs last November, preventing the Current an opportunity to play for the title at CPKC Stadium. (The match winning goal was again delivered by Marta in the semifinal.)

The last time these two teams squared off, there were 33 total shots and five goals. The time before that there were 27 total shots, but zero goals scored so there’s no telling what sort of game (besides likely a lot of shots) these teams will deliver.

A win for KC would really cement their status as league favorites, creating as much as a five-point gap over second place. They would have already defeated most of the other top teams (on the road, no less) creating a comfortable path towards the Shield (as silly as that is to discuss this early in the year).

On the other hand, a win for Orlando would vault them into first place, albeit by only a single point. More significantly, a purple victory might intensify feelings among the Current that they can’t get past this Pride team. Players, coaches, and especially fans might really start sweating Orlando’s trip to the Midwest on August 16; will Kansas City ever be able to vanquish their prideful foe?

WHEN: Friday, May 16 at 7:00 PM (Central Time)

WHERE: Inter & Co Stadium, Orlando, FL

HOW TO WATCH: Prime Video

Record:

KC Current: 6-0-2 (18 points, 1st place)

Orlando Pride: 5-1-2 (16 points, 2nd place)

Last Match:

KC Current: 4-1 home win versus Bay FC

Orlando Pride: 1-1 road draw versus North Carolina Courage