Players under contract for next season include one who rose successfully against the fiercest competition of the Orlando Pride.
The Orlando Pride have 23 players under contract this offseason. The returning players didn’t deliver the league championship in 2025 that they did in 2024, along with the NWSL Shield. But they include several squad members who worked to give the team a chance.
One of those Pride players taking heroic measures to place the team closer to a championship is defender Cori Dyke. During the season, the Pride faced some impenetrable walls of defense. On a visit to the Houston Dash, another such wall nearly overcame them.
The Dash contested every pass for every chance the Pride sought to create. They got to the stoppage time in the match. Dyke was tracking midfielder Summer Yates. She sent a contested skimmer of a pass in Dyke’s direction.
Dyke turned and sent a powerful blast into the net in the ninth minute of stoppage time, winning 1-0.
That was the second-latest score for the Pride in the 2025 season. It was Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse’s fourth clean sheet of the season and 200th of her career.
Like her teammates, no matter how tough the match, Dyke stays focused on what the Pride needs to do to win. And focus is what they need – sharp is what she calls it – from start to finish.
Dyke and Yates have proved they can bank chances even through the most potent defensive wall. The team still works to add scoring power, along with powerful striker Barbra Banda. That’s why they signed forward Simone Jackson during 2025 and kept her under contract through 2028.
She produced on offense during her four years with the University of Southern California, hitting 20 of her 39 shots on target during 2023, for example. That was the second-best shot accuracy in her conference. But she demonstrated stamina, as well.
She’ll grind out a win with her Pride teammates, as she demonstrated playing 85 minutes in a hard-won 4-3 match for USC against St. Louis University.
So the team’s next season means grinding out wins when necessary, staying focused, and maintaining drive and accuracy. It won’t be easy. But another championship for the Orlando Pride is there to earn.