During the off-season and preseason, it looked like the Orlando Pride would be one of the contenders to win the NWSL Championship. Last season they made the postseason before getting beaten by the Portland Thorns FC 4-1 in the semifinal. Orlando responded by adding international players and the roster looked to be largely improved over the 2017 Pride. However, the influx of international players, combined with injuries to key players, proved to be a problem for Orlando.
The season never played out the way it was planned, and Orlando recorded back-to-back wins just once — against Sky Blue FC and the Washington Spirit, the two worst teams in the league.