The Orlando Pride hired Caitlin Carducci on Tuesday as the NWSL club’s new vice president of soccer operations and general manager.
Carducci, the former general manager of the Kansas City Current, brings with her a decade of experience across various roles in U.S. Soccer and the NWSL. She led the Current through a historic 2025 season, when they won the NWSL Shield in record time.
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Their season, however, came to a dramatic conclusion after the Current fell to No. 8 seed Gotham FC in the quarterfinals, in one of the year’s biggest upsets. Five days later, the club announced it had parted ways with Carducci.
Orlando has been without a GM since November, after Haley Carter left the club for the Washington Spirit. It was a rare reshuffling between NWSL front offices from one title contender to another. Orlando immediately began their search for Carter’s replacement, which included a call to Carducci not long after the Current’s quarterfinal loss.
“A job like this doesn’t come open very frequently, with the team having the success that they’ve had over the last couple years,” Carducci told The Athletic on Monday. “Often, these types of roles open up because of a lack of success or feeling like a team might need to go in another direction. That’s not the case here.”
Carter, the Pride’s outgoing GM, was considered one of the best general managers in the NWSL. She helped rebuild the Pride into a Championship-winning team in her three years with the club. The club won the NWSL Shield and championship in 2024. She described the move to Washington as an opportunity she could not refuse.
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Last year, the Pride made it to the NWSL semifinals, despite losing star forward Barbra Banda to injury halfway through the year. Like the Current, they were eliminated by Gotham, the eventual 2025 champions.
“We’ve got a great foundation, a great roster, a great group of people,” Carducci said, of the Pride. “Being able to come and just be additive to that and refine some of the processes that are in place as we continue to fight for a championship was really attractive.”
With Carducci, the Pride are bringing in a general manager capable of transforming an NWSL club into one of the best teams in the league. She first joined the Current in 2023 as player of soccer operations, before being named interim GM in May 2024. She was hired on a permanent basis later in the year. While at the club, Carducci helped acquire top stars, including goalkeeper Lorena and USWNT rising star Ally Sentnor. She also negotiated contract renewals for notable players, including two-time Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga.
Her experience extends well beyond her time at the Current. She is a former collegiate player and coach who spent a collective seven years with U.S. Soccer. She also previously worked for the NWSL as its director of player affairs, helping develop programs and regulations that yielded an influx of global players into the NWSL.
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“Caitlin is a proven leader whose experience across every level of women’s soccer and history of building championship-caliber rosters set her apart,” Orlando Pride owner and chairman Mark Wilf said in a statement. “She emerged as the clear choice in our search with her deep expertise, strong reputation and a vision that aligns with our culture. Caitlin is the ideal person to elevate the strong foundation we have established and position the Pride for sustained success.”
Carducci’s experience is invaluable as Orlando turns the page on 2025.
In a major move last week, Orlando let go of USWNT defender Emily Sams, who the club said requested a new opportunity. The Pride acquired $650,000 in intraleague transfer funds from Angel City in exchange for the player, considered a club-record figure that is the second-highest total in league history and a record sum for a defender.
The Pride brought on other defenders in likely anticipation of Sams’ move, including former Kansas City player Hailie Mace and Hannah Anderson from the Chicago Stars.
This all predates Carducci’s arrival, with her first day in her new role starting this week.
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Carducci said her immediate goal, like all other GMs in the league, is to win the 2026 NWSL Championship. “We know that’s never going to be easy in a league like this, when, any given day, any team can win,” she said. “But that’s really important to us.”
“The other piece is creating a sustainable talent pool and roster, and some of that is looking at who we currently have, looking at people who’s coming off of contracts, looking at spaces where we could make some additions and adjust. But a lot of that will be working with (head coach) Seb (Hines) and the coaching staff and talking with them about how they see it and have a collaborative mindset as we go forward.”
That includes working with Mexican forward Lizbeth Jacquie Ovalle, who was acquired by the Pride for a world-record fee last year through the 2027 season with an option for 2028. Carducci admitted Ovalle was a player on her “short list” while at the Current. “I think we just got a taste of what Jacquie can do,” Carducci said.
Carducci, a central Ohio native, does not take this new opportunity in Orlando lightly. She even called Carter, the Pride’s outgoing GM, when she was nearing the final rounds of the interview process. She wanted Carter’s opinion on the club.
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“She could not have spoken more glowingly about her time here, how much she appreciated it,” Carducci said. “It’s never an easy decision to move your life across the country, but that is what made it an easy decision to come down to Orlando and lead this team.”
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Orlando Pride, NWSL, Women’s Soccer
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