For a team to be successful, it doesn’t just need to have a strong starting eleven. It needs to have strong players waiting in the wings, players that can come on and make an impact at critical moments of the match. For the Orlando Pride playing against the Washington Spirit, that player was Forward Sarah Hagen.
Hagen scored her second goal of the season on Friday night, giving the Pride a crucial push that changed the momentum of the game. “It felt great,” Hagen said. “To come into the game with 30 minutes to play and to make an impact felt good.”
Players who come in off the bench can shift the entire tone of a match. If the team is ahead, the players coming in need to maintain that dominance. If the team is behind, the players need to bring energy and passion. “They’re just looking for someone to come in and give the team a spark,” Hagen said. “That’s kind of been my role this season so I kind of expect… to get in there and try and give the team a little bit of fire, a little bit of energy. Anything to help us get back in the game.”
The Orlando Pride has an immense amount of talent waiting to come into any match. These players have changed the tempo of play throughout the season, whether it’s Hagen or Jamia Fields or anyone else. To finish the season as strong as they can, the Pride will need these players to step up and bring the passion to the pitch.
