The Orlando Pride have locked down one of their key contributors to last season’s league-leading offense.
Late Friday morning, the team announced it signed forward Chioma Ubogagu to a new contract. Contract details were not disclosed, per team and league rules.
“We’re delighted to have Chi back this season. She had a good first season with us in 2017 and played an important rule for the club,” Pride head coach Tom Sermanni said, per the team’s press release. “We’re looking forward to seeing her grow as a player and member of the Pride this season.”
Ubogagu played a supportive role for Orlando in 2017. That was to be expected when her daily competition included superstars Marta Vieira da Silva and Alex Morgan, who both led the Pride in goals with 13 and 9, respectively.
Despite a non-primary role, Ubogagu was reliable and effective, starting 17 of her 20 appearances. In those 20 games, she scored 4 goals and tallied 4 assists.
The 25-year-old also received her first call-up to the United States women’s national team for friendlies against the Canadian women’s national team in late 2017. Though a native forward, Ubogagu was called up as a defender but didn’t appear in either of the wins over Canada.
Ubogagu played left back for the first time in her soccer career for the Pride last season. Her first time at that position was in a 1-1 draw with the Chicago Red Stars on Aug. 5.
“I’ve never played there in my life,” Ubogagu said after the draw, “so, I think, if i was apprehensive, it was ’cause of that. But I understand that it’s what the team needed… And once I kinda wrapped my head around that, it was time to just do something that was bigger than me and do it for the team…”
Before joining Orlando, Ubogagu was with the Houston Dash for the 2016 season. There, she appeared in 15 games, scoring a goal and recording an assist.
She was initially drafted by Sky Blue FC in the 2015 National Women’s Soccer League College Draft but instead decided to play for Arsenal FC in her hometown of London, England. In her first pro season, she scored 7 goals in 21 matches.
Ubogagu and the rest of the Pride begin their preseason on Monday after medical evaluations on Sunday.
For more on the Pride, as they prepare for the start of preseason, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.
