RACKING UP THE MILES
From May 2 to June 3 the Orlando Pride will travel a collective 16,923 miles as the team embarks on five road games with a single home match in between. This is almost double the number of miles than the second-longest trip the Pride have ever traveled in a single month. From May 20 to June 23, 2016, Orlando logged 8,582 miles of travel, playing four road matches.
Over the Pride’s other seven road games of 2018, the team will travel a total of 17,576 miles - just 653 miles more than the five-game stretch from May to June.
TWO IS BETTER THAN ONE
Last Saturday against the Chicago Red Stars forward Alex Morgan scored her 15th goal with the Orlando Pride, tying her with Marta for the most goals in Club history. Morgan recorded her first goal as a member of the Pride on April 23, 2016, against the Houston Dash in a 3-1 victory. The forward now has 30 career NWSL goals, the most of anyone on Orlando’s roster. Marta recorded her first goal with the Pride on May 7, 2017, against the former FC Kansas City. Her 15th goal came on April 28 against the Seattle Reign. Both players will miss Sunday’s match, Morgan due to international duty and Marta due to injury.
TWO IN TWO
Sydney Leroux scored her first two goals as a part of the Orlando Pride last Saturday against the Chicago Red Stars. Leroux recorded the game-winning goal in the 61st minute, which went on to win NWSL Goal of the Week, and helped secure the victory two minutes later with her second goal. Leroux’s two goals bring her career NWSL total to 25, the second-most of anyone on the Pride roster. The last time Leroux scored was on Sept. 3 while a member of FC Kansas City. Since joining Orlando on Feb. 2, Leroux has made nine appearances and recorded one assist.
BREAKING THE STALEMATE
The past three matches against Seattle Reign FC have resulted in 1-1 draws. The Reign are the only team that the Pride have drawn against three times in the Club’s history. They have drawn twice against the Washington Spirit. The other two matches against Seattle ended in a win and a loss for Orlando; both matches occured in 2016.
FOUR LEAF CLOVER
For the second time in Club history, the Pride had four players appear on the score sheet in a single match. Rachel Hill, Sydney Leroux, Alex Morgan and Dani Weatherholt all recorded goals against the Red Stars in the 5-2 victory. The only other time this has happened in the history of the team was on July 15, 2017 against FC Kansas City. That night Kristen Edmonds, Alanna Kennedy, Alex Morgan and Toni Pressley all scored for the Pride.
A MONTH OF ROAD STREAKING
The Orlando Pride are currently riding a Club-record four-game unbeaten road streak that began on May 2 against the Chicago Red Stars (2-0) and included matches against Utah Royals FC (0-0), Portland Thorns FC (2-1) and a second match against the Red Stars (5-2). The Pride will look to extend this streak against the Reign this weekend. Orlando previously won three consecutive road-matches from Aug. 19-Sept. 30, 2017.
GOALS FOR DAYS
The Pride have set a Club-record for the most goals scored in the first 10 games of the season with 16 and currently have the second-most in the league. Last year the team recorded 15 goals through the first 10 matches and in 2016 they scored nine. In 2017 the team led the league for goals scored (45) and finished the season with 46 total.
THE PRIDE REIGN
Haley Kopmeyer, Christine Nairn and Carson Pickett will return to Seattle for the first time since being traded to the Orlando Pride on Jan. 29. Kopmeyer made 47 appearances for the Reign during her five seasons, Nairn made 45 appearances in two seasons and Pickett made 36 appearances during her two seasons in Seattle. Since joining the Pride, Nairn has scored one goal and recorded three assists in nine matches and Pickett has played in nine matches as well. Kopmeyer has not yet appeared for Orlando this season, but with Ashlyn Harris out on national team duty, she will likely get her first start for the Pride against her former team.
WELCOME REINFORCEMENTS
Ahead of Saturday’s match against the Seattle Reign, the Orlando Pride have signed Abby Elinsky and Sarah Shimer as National Team Replacement Players. This will be the second time Elinsky has served as a NTRP and the first for Shimer. In April, Elinsky made two appearances for the Pride. The two were both drafted by the Houston Dash before joining the Pride. The NTRPs will be under contract while national team players are on duty. Currently, Alex Morgan and Ashlyn Harris are on duty with the United States.
COUNT ON SHE
If she plays Saturday against Seattle Reign FC, defender Shelina Zadorsky will be the only Orlando Pride player to feature in every match thus far. She is currently tied with goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris for minutes played, but with Harris out on national team duty, Zadorsky will likely surpass her. Zadorsky, along with Ali Krieger and Harris, are the only Pride players to feature in the team’s last 10 games. Since joining the league in 2016 the center back has totaled 3,604 regular season minutes.
