Orlando Pride players
Alex Morgan and Ashlyn Harris continue to recover from injuries.
Through the ups and downs of the first half of the 2017 season, the Orlando Pride have yet to compete at full strength. But with two of its stars quickly progressing from injuries, the team may be close to getting a big boost.
Alex Morgan, who suffered a hamstring injury while playing overseas, continues to show progress in training and could be close to making her season debut with the Pride.
“Alex completed a lot of the session this morning,” Pride coach Tom Sermanni said Monday. “She’s had a couple of days rest over the weekend. This is now her way of getting really integrated into the squad.” Goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris, who went down with a quad injury against Seattle last month, continues to remain on track for an earlierthan-expected return to the field.
“Ashlyn feels terrific,” Sermanni said. “She’s now at the end of Week 5 in her rehab, so it’s going along as planned and we’ve said six to eight weeks. Hopefully, it will be somewhere in the middle of that.”
Heat index
The Pride’s game against the Houston Dash on Saturday presented more challenges than just a tough opponent. The teams played through stifling heat, with the club reporting the temperature at kickoff was 95 degrees.
New NWSL league rules state games with temperatures of 95 degrees or higher must be delayed. Saturday’s game was not delayed, however, due to the method the league uses to evaluate the temperature.
NWSL readings come from a Wet Bulb Globe Thermometer, which takes into account air flow and humidity in addition to temperature. According to a Pride spokeswoman, the globe thermometer before the Houston match read 89 degrees, so the game was not delayed.
Instant replay
Major League Soccer tested the Video Assistant Referees technology during Orlando City’s 4-0 loss in Chicago Saturday.
The system, which will review major plays during games, such as goals and red cards, is expected to be implemented after the MLS All-Star break in early August.
Many fans scoffed at the news it was being tested in Chicago because of a missed call in the 75th minute when Fire goalkeeper Matt Lampson took down Orlando City striker Carlos
Rivas with studs to his ankle. No call was made when the play warranted a foul or ejection.
Rivas left the match with a swollen sprained ankle that will need further evaluation this week.
However, according to a description of the testing on Orlando City’s website, it was all “offline,” meaning the match officials had no contacts with the Video Assistant Referees or access to the review technology. Orlando City Jason
Kreis and multiple players confirmed there was no interruption in the flow of the game and they did not know the technology was being tested during the match.