Orlando’s Sydney Leroux Dwyer attempts to block Utah Royal keep Abbey Smith (Photo by Mercedes Carbrera)
Orlando Pride kicked off their ’18 season with a 1-1 draw against the newest NWSL expansion team, the Utah Royals. First game jitters were apparent for the revamped roster of the Pride after a defensive breakdown during the third minute of play resulted in Utah scoring the first goal of the match. However, a hand ball in the box by Becky Sauerbrunn allowed Legendary Pride Forward, Marta to score the equalizer in the 21st.
Utah didn’t waste any time taking it straight to the Pride during their first match. Diana Matheson delivered a cross to Royal Midfielder Gunnhildur Jonsdottir, which she had no problem placing past Pride goalie Ashlyn Harris after a defensive breakdown during the third minute of play. Composure was something that the Pride maintained as they worked through the challenge of building chemistry. In efforts to stop an aggressive drive by Dani Weathholt, Becky Sauerbrunn was called for a hand ball and issued a yellow card. With ease, Marta beat Abby Smith to the bottom right corner to tie the game.
Pride Coach Tom Sermanni was not totally unsatisfied with his team’s performance outside of not being able to earn three points. “When you consider we had five new starters on the field tonight, when you consider we virtually, like most teams, had no preseason. I’m satisfied that we’ve come out and kept our run in the league going from last year and not losing the game. That was important. We’re one point better off than we’ve been at the start of the first two seasons in the league”.
New Addition to the Pride starting lineup and USWNT Forward Sydney Leroux stated, “I think with any team it takes a little learning curve and we still don’t have all of our players. We have our Australians gone, our Brazilians leaving so we just have to come together and figure it out. It’s almost like figuring it out on the fly sometimes and we need to be able to do that”. The Pride certainly added some depth to their roster which may be needed after a first half injury to Alex Morgan left her status for next game questionable. In week two, the Pride will hit the road to clash with the Washington Spirit.
Orlando Pride
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