ORLANDO, Fla. – Each season, it seems there is always at least one team that struggles significantly compared to the rest of the National Women’s Soccer League.
In 2016, it was the then-extant Boston Breakers, who won three games and lost 15, finishing last in the league. Last season, the Breakers and Washington Spirit each tallied a season-low 19 points in their respective 13-loss and 15-loss seasons.
This season, it appears that team is Sky Blue FC. Through 10 games, so far, the New Jersey side has lost eight games and drawn twice. Sky Blue, now, come up against a rested Orlando Pride team looking to extend a new unbeaten streak to three games.
For Orlando head coach Tom Sermanni, he knows his team’s opposition will be motivated to earn its first three points of 2018.
“Hugely motivated,” Sermanni said of Sky Blue after training on June 12. “You know, any team that comes to Orlando, first and foremost, is usually motivated as soon as they walk into our stadium. There’s further motivation for players when you’re playing against Marta [Vieira da Silva], Alex Morgan, Sydney Leroux, etcetera, etcetera.
“So that’s always gonna be an x-factor that makes a lot of our games potentially more difficult than games that they may play against other teams.”
The Pride are a side that have had their share of shortcomings in their brief two-and-a-half-season history. In their inaugural season in 2016, Orlando finished just above last-place Boston with a ninth-place finish. That season, the Pride won only six games and lost 13.
They have since righted the ship, earning their first playoff berth last season and scoring the league’s most goals in 2017 with 45.
So when it comes to facing struggling teams, the Pride are able to draw from personal experiences.
One of those inaugural-team players is utility player Kristen Edmonds. In the Pride’s worst season to date, she led the Pride in goals with six, adding two assists to her name, too.
She said taking advantage of the environment and getting on the front foot will be important to capturing three points against a team that could look to make a statement early in Orlando City Stadium.
“With this heat, we definitely wanna be on the front foot very early because it’ll be an advantage for us, I think,” Edmonds said after training on June 12. “You know, having this little break, like I said, was good for us… I think everybody’s gonna be excited [for] all of us to be back together and just to get on the field together again.”
Sky Blue are currently the worst goal-scoring team in the league, having scored only six times in their 10 matches, but Edmonds sees Sky Blue as a team that can have a breakthrough on any given day.
“You know, they’re not doing super well on the table, but they’re one of those teams that can come in and beat anybody on any given day, so we definitely have to be on top of our game for this weekend,” Edmonds said.
For Sermanni, he’s seen Sky Blue on the cusp of earning their first win; he just hopes it’s not against his team.
“They’ve been getting close to getting a win, and, at some stage in the season, a team is going to turn that around,” the third-year Pride boss said. “So, we’ve just gotta make sure it’s not this weekend.”
Orlando and Sky Blue kick off on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in Orlando City Stadium. For non-Orlando fans, the game will be broadcast on go90.com.
For more on the Pride, as they look for their third win over Sky Blue, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
To contact Victor, you can email him at vtan@newdayreview.com, or you can tweet at him.
[…] Fla. – Facing the worst team in the National Women’s Soccer League, the Orlando Pride were wary of the threat posed by ninth-place Sky Blue […]
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