Eight games remain for the Orlando Pride in this year’s NWSL regular season. For head coach Tom Sermanni, the Pride’s next two matches at Orlando City Stadium are essentially must-win encounters:
“We need to get six points out of these next two games,” the Pride head coach said after Saturday night’s draw against Chicago. “You start talking about coming down to must-win games, now is the time. Mathematically it may not be the case, but real terms, it is the case. We are coming down now to games that we must win."
Next up for the Pride is a home match against the Washington Spirit -- who currently sit ninth in the NWSL table. Then, on Saturday, August 12th, Orlando finishes its three-match home stand against Sky Blue FC -- who are in fifth position, currently three points ahead of the Pride.
“We have a pretty unique opportunity to gain points [at home] and we need to put in the work to do that,” Orlando Pride forward Alex Morgan said in a recent press conference. “We need to gain points if we’re going to be in playoff contention. This week is massive.”
Look for Sermanni to field his strongest possible lineup in these next two home matches. All seven Pride players who featured in the Tournament of Nations will be fit and available for selection on Tuesday night.
