Preseason started slowly for the Orlando Pride. With a bevy of national-team players attending to national-team duty, the Pride fell 3-2 to Florida State University to open preseason.
Since then, however, the Pride have found their rhythm and, in turn, success on the pitch. Orlando, first, beat the University of Central Florida 3-0 on March 3. The Pride carried that momentum into a 5-1 win over the USF Bulls on March 8 at Corbett Stadium in Tampa.
“I’m really, really delighted with the result,” third-year Pride boss Tom Sermanni said after the win, per the Pride. “I thought we showed a lot of cohesion, a lot of good movement, a lot of good passing, created a lot of chances, and we looked really comfortable today.
“So, I think it was a good step forward from the last game.”
Five Pride players scored for the Central Florida side, as Sydney Leroux continued her hot preseason form by opening the scoring in the fourth minute. Fellow first-year Pride player Christine Nairn started the effort with a chipped pass to another first-year Pride player, Carson Pickett, who then slotted the ball to Leroux for the opening score.
Leroux has now scored in each of the Pride’s preseason matches, scoring four times in three games.
“I thought we were really good, compact and didn’t let anything through us,” Pickett said after the match, per the Pride. “I thought we really worked together as a group.”
Midfielder Kristen Edmonds also saw her first game-time action this preseason, as she’s been “cautiously” nursing an injury. She assisted on the Pride’s second goal in the 19th minute, as second-year Pride forward Danica Evans scored from close range.
INJURY | @byMikeGramajo reports that midfielder Kristen Edmonds and forward Rachel Hill trained on the side for the @ORLPride today. Head coach Tom Sermanni said they’re taking a “cautious” approach to both players.#FilledWithPride #Soccer #NWSL
— New Day Review (@NewDayReview) March 6, 2018
Third-year midfielder Dani Weatherholt made it a 3-0 game just before halftime, scoring on a rebound off a corner.
Nairn played a part in the final two goals, as she assisted on forward Chioma Ubogagu’s first preseason goal in the 58th minute and scored from near midfield in the 73rd minute almost immediately after the Bulls scored their lone goal.
Former UCF midfielder Bridget Callahan started for the Pride. Fellow Knights Julia Moore, Kayla Adamek, Christine Creighton and Morgan Ferrara also substituted into the match.
Who’s Next?
With the Pride’s preseason matches concluded, they now turn their attention to preparing for their home opener on March 24. Orlando will host Utah Royals FC in Orlando City Stadium at 7:30 p.m. The game will be broadcast on go90.com.
For more on the Pride, as they prepare for Utah, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.
