2019 Orlando Pride season

Orlando Pride

2019 season
CEO	Alex Leitão
Head coach	Marc Skinner
Stadium	Exploria Stadium Orlando, Florida
NWSL	9th of 9
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Top goalscorer	Marta (6)
Highest home attendance	9,415 (June 20 vs. Sky Blue FC)
Lowest home attendance	3,703 (July 6 vs. Washington Spirit)
Average home league attendance	5,565
Home colors Away colors
← 2018 2020 →

The 2019 Orlando Pride season was Orlando Pride's fourth season in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States. The team played its home games at Exploria Stadium, renamed from Orlando City Stadium on June 4, 2019.^[1] Following the departure of Tom Sermanni at the end of the 2018 season, Marc Skinner was announced as his replacement in January.

Notable events[]

Seven players signed with Australian W-League teams to play with during the 2018–19 NWSL offseason: Chioma Ubogagu and Carson Pickett joined Brisbane Roar, Dani Weatherholt and Christine Nairn joined Melbourne Victory, Rachel Hill joined Perth Glory, Alanna Kennedy joined Sydney FC and Emily van Egmond joined Newcastle Jets.^[2] Alanna Kennedy, Rachel Hill and Christine Nairn were named to the W-League Team of the Season. Weatherholt and Nairn won the regular season Premiership title with Melbourne Victory and Kennedy won the 2019 W-League Grand Final with Sydney FC.^[3]

The team's opening day roster was announced on April 10 and included 17 returning squad members.^[4] Sydney Leroux was notably placed on the supplemental roster instead of being deactivated on maternity leave in the hope she returned before the end of the season. She returned on September 29, making an 86th minute substitute appearance against Sky Blue FC, just three months after giving birth.^[5]

On May 23, after losing Shelina Zadorsky, Emily van Egmond, Camila, Marta, Ali Krieger, Alex Morgan, Alanna Kennedy and Ashlyn Harris to the World Cup, the Pride temporarily signed three National Team Replacement players.^[6]

On August 7, the club announced that Toni Pressley underwent surgery and was beginning treatment for breast cancer. She was placed on the 45-day disabled list.^[7][8] The final game of the season was designated as a Breast Cancer Awareness match with the team wearing limited edition pink pre-match warm-up tops to be auctioned off later. All nine NWSL teams also donated autographed items for the online fundraising auction.^[9] Pressley made her first appearance since the surgery during the game, coming on as a substitute with Harris handing her the captain's armband.

On August 15, the club announced that Emily van Egmond would undergo season-ending ankle surgery in Australia. She was placed on the season ending injury list.^[10][11]

On September 16, the club announced that Alex Morgan would be placed on the season ending injury list following a knee injury picked up on international duty.^[12]

Roster[]

As of September 16, 2019^[13]

No.	Nationality	Name	Position(s)	Date of birth (age)	Previous club	Notes
Goalkeepers
18		Lainey Burdett	GK	(1996-12-22)December 22, 1996 (aged 22)	Arizona Wildcats	SUP
24		Ashlyn Harris	GK	(1985-10-19)October 19, 1985 (aged 33)	Washington Spirit	FED
28		Haley Kopmeyer	GK	(1990-06-28)June 28, 1990 (aged 28)	Seattle Reign FC	–
Defenders
3		Toni Pressley	DF	(1990-02-19)February 19, 1990 (aged 29)	Houston Dash	–
4		Shelina Zadorsky	DF	(1992-10-24)October 24, 1992 (aged 26)	Washington Spirit	FED
11		Ali Krieger	DF	(1984-07-28)July 28, 1984 (aged 34)	Washington Spirit	–
14		Alanna Kennedy	DF	(1995-01-21)January 21, 1995 (aged 24)	Western New York Flash	INT
16		Carson Pickett	DF	(1993-09-15)September 15, 1993 (aged 25)	Seattle Reign FC	–
19		Erin Greening	DF	(1997-06-20)June 20, 1997 (aged 21)	Colorado Buffaloes	–
21		Julie King	DF	(1989-10-21)October 21, 1989 (aged 29)	North Carolina Courage	–
27		Morgan Reid	DF	(1995-06-13)June 13, 1995 (aged 23)	North Carolina Courage	–
29		Alika Keene	DF	(1994-01-15)January 15, 1994 (aged 25)	Harvard Crimson	NTR
32		Hana Kerner	DF	(1997-03-17)March 17, 1997 (aged 22)	Virginia Cavaliers	NTR
Midfielders
5		Emily van Egmond	MF	(1993-07-12)July 12, 1993 (aged 25)	Newcastle Jets	INT D45
9		Camila	MF	(1994-10-10)October 10, 1994 (aged 24)	Ferroviária	–
12		Kristen Edmonds	MF	(1987-05-22)May 22, 1987 (aged 31)	Western New York Flash	–
17		Dani Weatherholt	MF	(1994-03-17)March 17, 1994 (aged 25)	Santa Clara Broncos	–
20		Abby Elinsky	MF	(1996-01-08)January 8, 1996 (aged 23)	ASPTT Albi	–
22		Bridget Callahan	MF	(1996-04-16)April 16, 1996 (aged 22)	UCF Knights	–
23		Marisa Viggiano	MF	(1997-02-05)February 5, 1997 (aged 22)	Northwestern Wildcats	–
25		Joanna Boyles	MF	(1995-11-13)November 13, 1995 (aged 23)	Chicago Red Stars	SUP
Forwards
2		Sydney Leroux	FW	(1990-05-07)May 7, 1990 (aged 28)	FC Kansas City	SUP
7		Claire Emslie	FW	(1994-03-08)March 8, 1994 (aged 25)	Manchester City	INT
8		Danica Evans	FW	(1995-06-02)June 2, 1995 (aged 23)	Colorado Buffaloes	–
10		Marta	FW	(1986-02-19)February 19, 1986 (aged 33)	FC Rosengård	INT
13		Alex Morgan	FW	(1989-07-02)July 2, 1989 (aged 29)	Portland Thorns FC	FED D45
15		Rachel Hill	FW	(1995-04-17)April 17, 1995 (aged 23)	UConn Huskies	–
26		Caitlin Farrell	FW	(1997-09-29)September 29, 1997 (aged 21)	Georgetown Hoyas	SUP

Staff[]

As of February 27, 2019^[14][15]

Executive
Majority owner and chairman	Flávio Augusto da Silva
Minor owner/life president	Phil Rawlins
Owner	John Bonner
Chief executive officer	Alex Leitão
General manager	Erik Ustruck
Coaching staff
Head coach	Marc Skinner
Assistant coach	Carl Green
Goalkeeping coach	Lloyd Yaxley

Transfers and loans[]

2019 NWSL College Draft[]

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. The 2019 college draft was held on January 10, 2019. Orlando had two selections.

Round	Pick	Player	Pos.	College	Status
3	25	Erin Greening	DF	University of Colorado	Signed[16]
4	30	Marisa Viggiano	MF	Northwestern University	Signed[16]

Transfers in[]

Date	Player	Pos.	Previous club	Fee/Notes	Ref.
April 4, 2019	Morgan Reid	DF	North Carolina Courage	Traded in exchange for Orlando's natural fourth round pick in the 2020 draft	[17]
April 10, 2019	Abby Elinsky	MF	ASPTT Albi	Free agent signing	[16]
April 10, 2019	Bridget Callahan	MF	UCF Knights	Free agent signing	[16]
April 10, 2019	Joanna Boyles	MF	Chicago Red Stars	Free agent signing; signed to supplemental roster	[16]
April 10, 2019	Lainey Burdett	GK	Arizona Wildcats	Free agent signing; signed to supplemental roster	[16]
April 10, 2019	Caitlin Farrell	FW	Georgetown Hoyas	Free agent signing; signed to supplemental roster	[16]
May 23, 2019	Alika Keene	DF	Harvard Crimson	National Team Replacement signing (short-term)	[6]
May 23, 2019	Taylor Porter	MF	NC State Wolfpack	National Team Replacement signing (short-term)	[6]
May 23, 2019	Hana Kerner	DF	Virginia Cavaliers	National Team Replacement signing (short-term)	[6]
May 30, 2019	Claire Emslie	FW	Manchester City	Free agent signing	[18]
August 8, 2019	Julie King	DF	North Carolina Courage	Free agent signing (via Discovery)	[19]

Transfers out[]

Date	Player	Pos.	Destination club	Fee/Notes	Ref.
January 25, 2019	Poliana	DF	São José	Waived	[20]
February 18, 2019	Mônica	DF	Corinthians	Contract expired	[21]
February 26, 2019	Christine Nairn	MF	Houston Dash	Traded in exchange for a 2019 international roster spot and Houston's natural third and fourth round 2020 draft picks	[22]
July 5, 2019	Taylor Porter	MF	Spartak Subotica	Released from National Team Replacement contract	[23]
August 29, 2019	Chioma Ubogagu	FW	CD Tacón	Waived	[24]

Preseason trialists[]

Orlando Pride began preseason training on March 4, 2019. The squad included eight non-roster invitees on trial with the team during preseason.^[25][26] A total of five were eventually signed by the team with another later added as a temporary national team replacement player.

2019 Orlando Pride trialists
Player	Position	Previous team
Lainey Burdett [B]	GK	Arizona Wildcats
Alika Keene [C]	DF	Harvard Crimson
Kim Reynolds	DF	Orlando Kicks
Joanna Boyles [B]	MF	Chicago Red Stars
Bridget Callahan [A]	MF	UCF Knights
Abby Elinsky [A]	MF	ASPTT Albi
Leah Mohammadi	MF	Harvard Crimson
Caitlin Farrell [B]	FW	Georgetown Hoyas

Match results[]

As per league schedule, preseason camp began on March 4 with many of the squad still away on international duty.^[27] The Pride played their first ever preseason game against fellow NWSL opposition on March 23, taking part in North Carolina Courage's inaugural Friendship Cup which ended in a 4–0 defeat. On March 30, the Pride hosted the University of South Florida for a closed-door friendly, marking the fourth consecutive preseason meeting between the two teams.^[28] Liga PR Femenino champions Sol traveled to Orlando the week before the NWSL season began for the final preseason friendly, a match open to the public with for free.^[29] The Pride won both of their final two preseason games.

Preseason[]

National Women's Soccer League[]

Results summary

Overall								Home						Away
Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD
24	4	4	16	24	53	−29	16	2	1	9	10	24	−14	2	3	7	14	29	−15

Results by round

Results

League standings

Pos	Team v t	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	North Carolina Courage (C)	24	15	4	5	54	23	+31	49	NWSL Shield
2	Chicago Red Stars	24	14	2	8	41	28	+13	44	NWSL Playoffs
3	Portland Thorns FC	24	11	7	6	40	31	+9	40
4	Reign FC	24	10	8	6	27	27	0	38
5	Washington Spirit	24	9	7	8	30	25	+5	34
6	Utah Royals FC	24	10	4	10	25	25	0	34
7	Houston Dash	24	7	5	12	21	36	−15	26
8	Sky Blue FC	24	5	5	14	20	34	−14	20
9	Orlando Pride	24	4	4	16	24	53	−29	16

Squad statistics[]

Appearances[]

As of matches played October 12, 2019

No.	Pos.	Name	NWSL
			Apps	Starts
2	FW	Sydney Leroux	3	0
3	DF	Toni Pressley	10	9
4	DF	Shelina Zadorsky	16	16
5	MF	Emily van Egmond	8	7
6	FW	Chioma Ubogagu	17	15
7	FW	Claire Emslie	11	9
8	FW	Danica Evans	9	4
9	MF	Camila	16	4
10	FW	Marta	14	14
11	DF	Ali Krieger	12	12
12	DF	Kristen Edmonds	13	9
13	FW	Alex Morgan	6	5
14	DF	Alanna Kennedy	15	15
15	FW	Rachel Hill	24	23
16	DF	Carson Pickett	20	19
17	MF	Dani Weatherholt	19	16
18	GK	Lainey Burdett	1	1
19	DF	Erin Greening	17	16
20	MF	Abby Elinsky	18	5
21	DF	Julie King	2	2
22	MF	Bridget Callahan	8	6
23	MF	Marisa Viggiano	19	15
24	GK	Ashlyn Harris	13	13
25	MF	Joanna Boyles	19	16
26	FW	Caitlin Farrell	3	0
27	DF	Morgan Reid	7	7
28	GK	Haley Kopmeyer	10	10
29	DF	Alika Keene	0	0
31	MF	Hana Kerner	0	0
32	DF	Taylor Porter	0	0

Goalscorers[]

As of matches played October 12, 2019

Rank	No.	Pos.	Name	NWSL
1	10	FW	Marta	6
2	6	FW	Chioma Ubogagu	4
	15	FW	Rachel Hill	4
4	3	DF	Toni Pressley	1
	4	DF	Shelina Zadorsky	1
	8	FW	Danica Evans	1
	9	MF	Camila	1
	14	DF	Alanna Kennedy	1
	19	DF	Erin Greening	1
	23	MF	Marisa Viggiano	1
	25	MF	Joanna Boyles	1
Own goal				2
Total				24

Shutouts[]

As of matches played October 12, 2019

Rank	No.	Name	NWSL
1	24	Ashlyn Harris	1
Total			1

Disciplinary record[]

As of matches played October 12, 2019

No.	Pos.	Name	NWSL
3	DF	Toni Pressley	1	0
4	DF	Shelina Zadorsky	1	0
5	MF	Emily van Egmond	1	0
6	FW	Chioma Ubogagu	3	0
7	FW	Claire Emslie	4	0
9	MF	Camila	2	0
10	FW	Marta	4	1
11	DF	Ali Krieger	1	0
12	DF	Kristen Edmonds	2	0
13	FW	Alex Morgan	1	0
14	DF	Alanna Kennedy	2	1
15	FW	Rachel Hill	2	0
16	DF	Carson Pickett	2	0
17	MF	Dani Weatherholt	1	0
19	DF	Erin Greening	3	0
20	MF	Abby Elinsky	3	0
21	DF	Julie King	0	1
22	MF	Bridget Callahan	1	0
23	MF	Marisa Viggiano	1	0
27	DF	Morgan Reid	1	0
Total			35	3

Honors and awards[]

As of October 24, 2019.

NWSL Team of the Season[]

Player	Position	Ref.
Ali Krieger	Defender	[31]

NWSL Team of the Month[]

Month	Player	Position	Ref.
July	Marta	Forward	[32]

NWSL Weekly Awards[]

NWSL Player of the Week

Week	Result	Player	Ref.
13	Won	Marta	[33]

NWSL Goal of the Week

Week	Result	Player	Ref.
2	Won	Alanna Kennedy	[34]
9	Nominated	Joanna Boyles	[35]
12	Won	Marta	[36]
13	Nominated	Marta	[37]
14	Nominated	Marisa Viggiano	[38]
19	Nominated	Marta	[39]
22	Nominated	Rachel Hill	[40]
25	Won	Marta	[41]

NWSL Save of the Week

Week	Result	Player	Ref.
1	Won	Ashlyn Harris	[42]
2	Nominated	Ashlyn Harris	[43]
5	Won	Haley Kopmeyer	[44]
8	Nominated	Haley Kopmeyer	[45]
9	Won	Haley Kopmeyer	[46]
10	Won	Haley Kopmeyer	[47]
11	Won	Haley Kopmeyer	[48]
12	Nominated	Haley Kopmeyer	[49]
13	Won	Haley Kopmeyer	[50]
19	Won	Ashlyn Harris	[51]
22	Won	Ashlyn Harris	[52]
24	Won	Ashlyn Harris	[53]
20[a]	Won	Lainey Burdett	[54]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website