ORLANDO, Fla. – With preseason camp in full swing for the Orlando Pride, head coach Tom Sermanni is anxious to get his full squad together ahead of its season opener against the Utah Royals on March 24.
“[When] all the players come back, it adds an extra level, not just of quality, but an extra level of energy,” Sermanni said after Monday’s training session. “So, when we get all our international players back, what we will see is a really good, competitive training squad here.”
Orlando’s seven international players are expected to report to Pride camp next week after finishing international duty. They include the following: Marta Vieira da Silva (Brazil), Monica Hickmann Alves (Brazil), Poliana Barbosa Medeiros (Brazil), Ashlyn Harris (U.S.), Alex Morgan (U.S.), Shelina Zadorsky (Canada) and Nádia Gomes (Portugal).
Meanwhile, the Pride invited seven trialists to camp ahead of their first preseason win over the University of Central Florida, a 3-0 decision.
Pride forward Sydney Leroux mentioned the team is deep into preseason, so talks about the season opener are premature.
“We’re still pretty deep into preseason. Of course, our eyes are set on Utah, but I think we need to get everything situated before we look into that,” Leroux said after training on Monday. “They have some games coming up, and we will have some people going up to have a look at them.
“They could be in the same situation as us with their international players. Putting a group together that’s brought some new players in, but they have some games that we’ll be scouting and finding out what we can find out.”
Updated 2018 Orlando Pride Preseason Roster
GOALKEEPERS (3): Ashlyn Harris (FED-USA; NYR), Kat Elliott (t-USF), Haley Kopmeyer
DEFENDERS (7): Monica Hickmann Alves, Poliana Barbosa Medeiros (NYR), Ali Krieger, Camila Martins Pereira, Carson Pickett, Toni Pressley, Shelina Zadorsky (FED-CAN; NYR)
MIDFIELDERS (9): Kayla Adamek (t-UCF), Bridget Callahan (t-UCF), Christine Creighton (t-UCF), Kristen Edmonds, Alanna Kennedy (NYR), Julia Moore (t-UCF), Christine Nairn, Emily van Egmond (NYR), Dani Weatherholt
FORWARDS (10): Trudi Carter (t-USF), Danica Evans, Morgan Ferrara (t-UCF), Nádia Gomes (CDP), Jessica Hamrick (t-USF), Rachel Hill, Sydney Leroux, Alex Morgan (FED-USA, NYR), Chioma Ubogagu, Marta Vieira da Silva
Key
FED = 2018 federation player
CDP = 2018 NWSL College Draft pick
t = trialist
NYR = Not yet reported to camp
For more on the Pride, as they prepare for their final preseason match against the University of South Florida, follow Mike Gramajo on Twitter at @byMikeGramajo.
