ORLANDO, Fla. – Fans rose to their feet, as a cheer that disregarded the action on the pitch filled Orlando City Stadium. Midfielder Camila Martins Pereira lightly jogged toward her coaches for some final words of advice, removing a pink penny that denoted her bench status along the way, before entering her first match since the end of September 2017.
Then, finally, in the 65th minute, Camila trotted onto the field in what was ultimately a 2-1 win over the Washington Spirit, replacing midfielder Emily van Egmond.
“I’m happy, of course. I’m very happy that I got in and [that] I got the minutes I did today,” Camila said, translated from Portuguese, after the win on July 7. “I was pretty anxious, you know, coming back from injury and from all those months without playing. And I came in at a time that was a tough game…”
Camila saw match minutes for the first time since suffering an MCL strain and an ACL tear in her right knee in the Pride’s 2017 regular-season finale on Sept. 30, 2017. She finished the match against Washington, playing 25 minutes and totaling three off-target shots.
Initially, the 23-year-old Brazilian was cleared for action in early June but was sidelined for a whole month with a pair of bench appearances before actually seeing the field.
Third-year Pride boss Tom Sermanni’s rationale was he, first, did not want to rush Camila back from two significant knee injuries and, second, wanted Camila to come into a game the Pride were assuredly going to win.
Plans changed, as Camila entered the match with the Spirit when it was tied at 1-1. The team’s recent form, perhaps, played a factor, too: Orlando was in the midst of just its second losing streak of the season after a 2-1 loss to the Houston Dash and a 3-0 loss to the North Carolina Courage before the win over Washington.
For Sermanni, Camila making her debut at this stage in the season was a matter of maintaining her confidence.
“Well, we had always intended to bring her into the game tonight, regardless of how the game was going or regardless of the score,” Sermanni said after the win, “because we need to get her back on the field for both the team but also to keep her spirits high and to keep her confident.
“So we always had her penciled in at 60 minutes she was coming on. Great for us. You know, a boost for her and really good in the sense that, now, we feel confident that she’s come through that, come through it well and is ready for selection.”
Overall, Camila was pleased to simply be back playing soccer again. Her first match minutes in more than nine months took her by surprise, as she said her excitement made her a little more fatigued than she’s used to.
No more than three minutes into her stint did Camila take a shot from distance that soared too high. Then, with the game still tied in the 81st minute, Camila unleashed two shots in two minutes: the first, an outside-the-box attempt that missed left; the second, another deep shot that was blocked.
“Because of the [anxiety] and how the game was, I got more tired than used to. And because of all the months I’ve been out, ” Camila said. “But I was happy. I was happy I got in. I was happy I could help my team to this win and [that] we could be in a better position for the next games.”
It’s been only one match for Camila, but Sermanni is hoping he gets the same Camila that played for him in 2017 — nothing more, nothing less.
In her first season with Orlando, Camila, was a mainstay in the Pride’s lineups: She made 24 appearances, starting 22 of them for 1,900 minutes. Camila also contributed four goals and five assists on 34 shots (18 on-goal) to the Pride’s league-leading offense (45 goals).
“I think she just needs to keep getting in there and getting game time and then bringing her, you know, A game to the table and what she did last year,” Sermanni said after training on July 9. “I mean, if we can get the same Camila as last year, then I would be delighted with that.”
Camila may have an opportunity to tally more minutes and play her former club when the Pride travel for a Wednesday night matchup with Houston. Kickoff is slated for 8:30 p.m.
For more on Camila and her progress to being fully fit, 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.
