ORLANDO, Fla. – Left back Steph Catley and forward Jasmyne Spencer suited up for another match in Orlando City Stadium, but, this time around, they didn’t don the Orlando Pride purple.
Instead, two of the Pride’s inaugural-season players dressed in the West Coast colors of Seattle Reign FC and its highlight green.
For Catley, who started and played all 90 minutes of a 1-1 draw with the Pride on April 28, playing in Central Florida in opposing colors was off-putting.
“This is a tough first game for me to come back ’cause I loved my time here so much,” Catley told New Day Review after the draw. “And I love the club and the fans, and, obviously, seeing [Pride head coach Tom Sermanni] and the girls was very strange.
“And to have to front up against them straight away was rough, but I’m glad it’s over and done with, for now.”
Since leading the team as its first-ever head coach in 2016, Sermanni has tried to make these transitions for outgoing players as comfortable as possible. After all, some of the Pride’s former players have had special moments with the team.
Catley, for example, scored Orlando’s first-ever goal in a 2-1 loss to the Portland Thorns on April 17, 2016. As for Spencer, she tallied seven goals and four assists in two seasons, recording her high in goals for any National Women’s Soccer League club.
Ultimately for Sermanni, though, if players were ever part of the Pride, they will always be, no matter the numbers they record or the colors they currently wear.
He demonstrated this mentality during the middle of the 2017 season when the Pride waived center back Laura Alleway. Though she was officially dismissed from the team, Alleway still trained with the Pride until she was able to find a new opportunity.
“We have a little philosophy here: If you’ve been part of the Pride, you’re always sort of part of the Pride,” Sermanni said after the draw. “So it was good to see them back here. It’s good to see them at a good club… It’s always good to catch up with players, and, you know, I think those are two moves that have worked out well for Jas and Steph…”
“Steph Catley’s the best!”
Former @ORLPride, current @ReignFC left back Steph Catley (@stephcatley) and Pride forward Chioma Ubogagu (@ChiAlreadyKnow) share a moment after the draw last night. ☺☺#ORLvSEA #FilledWithPride #OrlandoPride #LetItReign #Soccer #NWSL pic.twitter.com/iCCFIya7um
— New Day Review (@NewDayReview) April 29, 2018
The uncanny moments throughout Catley’s 2018 NWSL debut didn’t stop at meeting her former club in its home stadium. Catley, in fact, was making her season debut with two other Australians: Pride midfielders Alanna Kennedy and Emily van Egmond.
All three of them arrived in the United States approximately a week before their respective clubs faced off in Orlando after qualifying for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Neither Catley, Kennedy nor van Egmond were able to attend preseason with their teams either.
“It’s a strange feeling [playing against Kennedy, van Egmond] especially when you play with someone with the national team. It’s kind of life and death out there,” Catley said. “They’re your sister; they’re your family for such a long time, and then you come into an environment, and you’re literally playing against them.”
With Kennedy in the midfield and Catley on the flank, Kennedy almost didn’t notice Catley as part of the opposition. But in her full-time minutes, she was able to occasionally match up with Spencer, who came into the game in the 73rd minute to a welcoming home-crowd cheer.
73′ | SUBSTITUTION. Former @ORLPride forward Jasmyne Spencer (@Jas_it_Up) comes on for Beverly Yanez. She enters the game to a nice applause from Orlando City Stadium.#ORLvSEA #FilledWithPride #OrlandoPride #LetItReign #Soccer #NWSL
— New Day Review (@NewDayReview) April 29, 2018
“I didn’t really come up against Steph at all throughout the game… yeah, it didn’t even really feel like I was playing against her,” Kennedy said. “But, yeah, it’s funny to see her in different colors other than the Pride. Just happy for her that she’s doing well, and Jazzy also did well when she came on.
“Jas is a player you don’t want to come up against ’cause, as a defender, she’s very agile and sharp. So, yeah, I think both of them did well and happy for them both.”
Catley’s night didn’t end without an exchange with fans.
Some of the stadium’s 5,058 in attendance made themselves noticed by Catley.
“To be honest, the fans were incredible. From the start, they were all really nice and welcoming me ‘home,’ they said,” Catley said chuckling. “So I’ve always got a home here, which is amazing. They’re just, honestly, such great fans, and there were heeps of them out there tonight and were making great noise, so it was fun to play.”
The Pride face a quick turnaround and will travel to play the Chicago Red Stars on Wednesday, just four days after their draw with Seattle.
For more on the Pride and their former players, as Orlando takes to the road for three games, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com.
