The Orlando Pride have executed their first major move of 2020 in a trade with Portland Thorns FC. On Jan. 8, the club announced a trade that brings United States women’s national-team defender Emily Sonnett and Australian forward Caitlin Foord to Central Florida. The Pride have also received the No. 7- and No. 14-overall picks in the upcoming 2020 National Women’s Soccer League College Draft.
In return, Portland now has the first-overall pick in this year’s draft.
“Acquiring not only one but two players with the domestic and international résumés of Emily and Caitlin, plus additional draft picks for 2020, puts the club in a strong position to continue building for both short- and long-term success,” Pride General Manager Erik Ustruck said, per the release. “Emily and Caitlin are two players we have targeted for a while, and we are incredibly happy to come to terms on this deal.”
Since debuting for the U.S. senior team in late 2015, Sonnett has recorded three assists in 40 appearances. She was named an alternate for the U.S.’s 18-player roster for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. The 26-year-old has helped the U.S. to first in two SheBelieves Cups, the 2018 Tournament of Nations and the 2018 Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF) Women’s Championship.
Sonnett has played her entire professional career in Portland, having been drafted by the Oregonian side with the first-overall pick in 2016. Since then, the University of Virginia product has started 71 of her 72 appearances, recording six goals and two assists.
She helped the Thorns become NWSL Shield winners in 2016 and NWSL champions in 2017, beating the Pride in the semifinals along the way. In total, Sonnett has appeared in six playoff matches, scoring twice. She was also named a member of the NWSL Best XI in 2018 and the NWSL Second XI in 2019.
Sonnett will reunite with Pride midfielder Alanna Kennedy in Orlando. Both played in Australia’s W-League on Sydney FC’s roster in the 2017-18 season, reaching the grand final.
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Foord joins Orlando following almost two seasons with the Thorns. The 5-foot-5 forward appeared in 26 matches across all competitions for Portland, tallying three goals and two assists. Most of her NWSL experience has come from playing with New Jersey side Sky Blue FC. She played there from 2013, the league’s inaugural season, to 2015, appearing in 46 games.
About a year later, she joined Japanese side Vegalta Sendai Ladies, scoring four times in 17 appearances. Her rights were subsequently traded from Sky Blue to then-Seattle Reign FC, bringing her back to the NWSL. They were traded again, this time from Reign FC to Portland in exchange for U.S. midfielder Allie Long.
On the other side of the world, Foord, 25, is already in her 11th season in the Australian W-League. The Shellharbour, New South Wales, native has played most of career with Sydney FC, netting 26 goals in 77 appearances across eight seasons and two stints. She also played for Perth Glory FC from 2014 to 2016. In 2009, Foord made her NWSL debut in 2009 for the since-absorbed Central Coast Mariners at 16 years old.
Foord’s time with the Australian women’s national team boasts similar experience. She has made 77 appearances, scoring 17 times for the Matildas. She made her senior-team debut for Australia in 2011 in a friendly against the New Zealand women’s national team. Foord became just the second player to win both Asian Women’s Young Footballer of the Year honors (2011) and Asian Women’s Footballer of the Year (2016).
She has appeared in three World Cups and in the 2016 Summer Olympics. Foord scored her first World Cup goal in a 3-2 win over the Brazilian women’s national team in the group stage in 2019.
Because she has a green card, Foord will not take up an international spot for Orlando.
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Orlando now has six picks in the upcoming draft: No. 7, No. 10. No. 14, No. 19 and No. 30. The 2020 draft will be held at 11 a.m. on Jan. 16 in at the United Soccer Coaches Convention at the Baltimore Convention Center.
For more on the Pride, as they prepare for their fifth season in the NWSL, follow Victor Tan on Twitter at @NDR_VictorTan.
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