On Sunday, the Orlando Pride traveled to Bridgeview, Illinois to take on the Chicago Red Stars. The competitive match ended 1-0 after a goal by Christen Press off a free kick from Danielle Colaprico. Despite many offensive opportunities, the Pride couldn’t find a way to get past Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher.
“[The match was] frustrating, to be honest,” Head Coach Tom Sermanni said after the match. “I thought… we dominated parts of play but didn’t get anything for it.”
Still, Coach Sermanni acknowledged the progress that his team. This performance marks the third game that the Pride has played this season, and while they’re still having problems finishing plays, their dominate possession and passing skills are impressive.
Watch it Again: Chicago Stars vs. Orlando Pride
“I thought the effort from the players was fantastic and the players kept going right until the end and almost gave ourselves a chance to equalize,” Coach Sermanni said. “But we had enough possession and we had enough chances to probably win a couple of games.”
Next week, the Pride will return home to take on the Seattle Reign at Camping World Stadium (formerly the Orlando Citrus Bowl). The Reign have won two of their first three games, and with players like Goalkeeper Hope Solo and Midfielder Kim Little, they will not be an easy opponent to beat. But Coach Sermanni is ready to sit down with his team and look at what they need to improve to win.
“This is our third game as a brand new team,” Coach Sermanni said after the game. “It’s not going to be perfect but I think, when you look at the three games we’ve played, we’ve given a really good account of ourselves. We’re giving ourselves chances to win. We’ve won one but the two games that we’ve lost, we’ve given ourselves enough chances to win those games. We’re just going to go in and have a look and see what we need to do.”
