Pride chase road win over revamped Dash
It has not been easy for the Orlando Pride to prepare for their road matchup with the Houston Dash.
With Houston just a few weeks removed from a coaching change and star midfielder Carli Lloyd back in the mix for the first time this year, Orlando doesn’t really know what to expect from the Dash.
“They’re a little bit of the unknown actually because they’ve obviously changed coaches over the past couple of weeks and the new coach has only had one game in charge at very short notice,” coach Tom Sermanni said. “They’ve got Carli Lloyd coming back and they’re playing at home, so there are a few sort of unknowns.”
One thing that the Pride do know is that getting a win will not be easy on Saturday when they begin a two-game series with the Dash at 8:30 p.m. in Houston. The Dash will play the Pride in Orlando the following week.
Houston (2-6-0, six points) may have the fewest points in the National Women’s Soccer League, but with very little talent difference between teams, Orlando (2-3-3, nine points) still expects a tough match.
“Anybody could beat anyone on any given day,” Pride forward Jasmyne Spencer said. “At one point, we were at the bottom of the league and we knocked off [leader] North Carolina. So, where you are in the standings really doesn’t mean much but, you know, you have to get points.”
Similar to Orlando, Houston has had difficulty taking advantage of scoring chances this season. The Dash have earned just six goals, the fewest in the league, despite taking the second-most shots. They are also fourth in shots on goal.
“Their position in the league in relation to the type of soccer they play and to the quality of the squad is a little bit false,” Sermanni said. “Virtually every game Houston’s played, they’ve had more shots at goal, they’ve had more goal-scoring opportunities, they’ve had more possession than the opposition. They’ve just had a team that’s just gone through a losing streak, so Houston are as dangerous as any other team in the league.”
The Pride will also have to be prepared for Lloyd’s return. Like Orlando’s Alex Morgan, she missed the first portion of the season playing overseas. While Morgan is still unavailable due to a hamstring injury, Lloyd returned from Manchester City healthy and is expected to make her 2017 NWSL debut against the Pride.
Lloyd has spent little time getting acclimated to her teammates in Houston, which could help Orlando.
“She’s coming back, so I don’t know how long she’s been training with them,” said forward Chioma Ubogagu, who played for Houston last season. “We’re just gonna focus on what we’re doing and our strength and the players that we have and, you know, hopefully go in there and steal three points.”
The Pride got off to a rough start to the season but, after shutting out Boston in their last match, could potentially move within a point of a playoff spot with a win against Houston. Even through the low points of the year, Orlando has remained focused on making a postseason run.
“Our goal this year is to make the playoffs,” Ubogagu said. “We really feel like we have the players to make a run this year for the championship. So, this game is super important and we turn around and play them at home so these are, you know, six points on the table that are definitely up for grabs and I think the mentality is to go in there at their place and get nothing less than three points.”