Hailie Mace joins an Orlando Pride backline aimed at new records | OneFootball

The Orlando Pride have a defensive scheme that is natural for the squad. That’s even for a member who used to pose strong opposition.

In 2024, before winning the NWSL Championship, the Orlando Pride ended the run of the Kansas City Current. Then they won it all.

So  defensive players, such as goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse, know what stopping qualities the squad has that worked then and can work now. But one of those Kansas City Current players also witnessed the execution and how it performed.

Defender Hailie Mace was on the Current squad and has joined the Pride team. The transition to the ever-developing defensive scheme has been made easier since she once faced it. She now works with an Orlando squad that doesn’t just want to win matches; it focuses on trophies in all its competitions.

Aug 16, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Orlando Pride Head Coach Sebastian Tony Hines calls for a foul during the match against the Kansas City Current at CPKC Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kylie Graham-Imagn Images | Kylie Graham-Imagn Images

Mace saw the Pride also win the 2024 NWSL Shield. She applied her skills as a fullback, and the next season her Current squad got the Shield for themselves.

She helped anchor the Current on defense for more than 100 matches. From the beginning, she was drafted second overall by Gotham FC’s early incarnation as Sky Blue FC. Instead, she went to Australia for two matches with Melbourne FC.

Then, she signed her first professional contract with FC Rosengård in Sweden. Marta also played for them before coming to Orlando.

She came back to play with North Carolina in 2021 before joining the Current.

She’s now seen the Pride from both ends of the pitch.  She knows as well as every player and coach what they’ll need to establish a championship-quality team for 2026.

She left the Kansas City Current. It was a record-setting season in NWSL. She helped the defense leave their names with the league in regular-season shutouts at 16, consecutive shutout minutes with 869, and consecutive clean sheets with nine. They won the 2025 NWSL Shield.

Now it’s time for the Orlando Pride backline to set new records and gather more trophies. Hailie Mace is on that page with the squad.