Pride’s Kopmeyer always upbeat Backup goalkeeper will get her first start for Orlando against familiar Reign
Getting to know Orlando Pride backup goalkeeper Haley Kopmeyer requires some insight into a Monday evening she spent watching the Season 14 premiere of ABC’s “The Bachelorette’’ with her teammates.
Kopmeyer sat with fellow Pride players Emily van Egmond, Alanna Kennedy, Shelina Zadorsky and Toni Pressley and lamented the pool of men contestant Becca Kufrin had to choose from.
“Not to knock the current show that’s going on,” Kopmeyer said matter-of-factly at a Tuesday training session. “We don’t think the current pool of men is very good. There’s only probably one or two guys on there that we’re like, ‘Wow, we’re really pushing for.’”
So Kopmeyer and her teammates set to work on coming up with a list of criteria.
And Kopmeyer thought it would be funny to make up an application specifically for Pressley, who is her roommate.
That application, of course, was later posted on Twitter.
“I think Toni found it humorous,” Kopmeyer said before laughing a bit.
She added, “It’s an ongoing process. I am going to vet as hard as I can. If we could do a Toni Pressley ‘Bachelorette,’ I’d be all about it.”
Kopmeyer, who will start in goal during the Pride’s match today against the Seattle Reign with Ashlyn Harris called up to the U.S. women’s national team, is fun.
She’s got a wide smile that leaves only when she’s on the pitch — that’s when she’s 100 percent focused on that task at hand.
The 27-year-old goalkeeper was acquired from the Reign in the offseason in exchange for forward Jasmyne Spencer.
“We’re ready for her to put on a big performance,” Pride goalkeeper coach Lloyd Yaxley said. “We’re really confident in what she’s going to be able to do and [that she’ll] be able to win us a game. She’s ready.”
When she’s not on the pitch, Kopmeyer enjoys putting smiles on the faces of her teammates.
“That stuff gets me in trouble, too,” Kopmeyer said with a shrug. “I did something last year where I said, ‘Get this 1,000 retweets and someone will wear a wig in a game.’ Sure enough, it got well over the amount I said. It wasn’t even close.
“Everyone was like, ‘... Haley, you can’t do this.’ So then she had to wear a wig during warm-up and the club kind of scolded me.”
Jokes aside, Kopmeyer has proven she’s a more than capable starter.
A Michigan grad, Kopmeyer was taken 31st overall in the 2013 draft by the Seattle Reign, who cut her after one appearance due to roster constraints.
She was re-signed by the start of the 2014 season — after she worked on her own to stay ready — and served as a backup to Hope Solo.
Now with the Pride, she’s the backup for another U.S. national-team goalkeeper in Harris.
“Just fantastic, week-in and week-out,” Pride coach Tom Sermanni said of Kopmeyer. “Haley, again, is a starting goalkeeper in this league. She just happens to be a little bit unfortunate that we’ve got Ash Harris here. There’s probably, I would say, four or five teams in this league that Haley would be starting for.”
Kopmeyer said it can be frustrating to be a backup. There’s a balance to pushing for playing time while still doing everything possible to be a good teammate.
“I think opportunities in this game are few and far between,” Kopmeyer said. “For me, would I like to be a 1? Yeah, that’s why I’m still playing. At some point, yes I would like that opportunity to play and do it. I’ve had that in other places. Not only in other countries, but also in this league.”
Kopmeyer started a career-high 20 matches for the Reign last season.
“To be in a backup role again, it’s not always the easiest thing in the world, because then I think everybody would be playing. I think you’re at a point where there’s only, what, nine teams? There’s not that many goalkeepers that can say they’re even here. Nobody’s bad. There’s a lot of people vying for playing time an opportunities and it’s kind of a tough world to be in.
“I’m here and I’m working and I’m learning as much as I can from Ash. I learned as much as I could from Hope
Kopmeyer has the support of her teammates.
“She’s one of my favorite people to be around,” Pressley said of Kopmeyer. “She’s always so positive and so happy and she instantly puts me in a better mood if I’m feeling down. A breath of fresh air.
“... She’s a great roommate. She loves my dog, as well, so that always helps — probably more than I do, if that’s possible. Just a super-positive, super-happy person. Love being around her.”
Pressley was unable to hold back laughter when talking about Kopmeyer’s “Bachelorette”-themed Twitter post.
“It was funny,” Pressley said. “We were watching the show and I was like, ‘I need a man,’ so you know … that’s what happened. She is the ultimate wing-woman.”
Outside training, Kopmeyer likes to explore.
One of the first places Kopmeyer visited when she joined the Pride was the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.
Kopmeyer is a proud Hufflepuff.
“It’s OK,” she said. “I accept it. I’d be on the Quidditch team. I’d like to be one of the leaders. I’d be a prefect of the Hufflepuff House. I’d live and die by that. We’d be kind of like a dark horse to make a run to upset for House Cup. We’re a bunch of good down-home people in the Hufflepuff House.
“At first, when you take that Pottermore online quiz and you’re like, ‘Oh, I’m a Hufflepuff.’ You’re kind of whelmed. Not over-, not under-, you’re kind of like, ‘I guess it could be worse, but also could be better.’ The more you just let the Hufflepuff kind of ride and die within you, you start to own it.”
To explore more of Orlando, she’s teamed with midfielder Christine Nairn for a YouTube series. She recently chronicled a trip to the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey in Maitland.
“I’m here for a good laugh,” she said. “I enjoy having a good time. I like seeing other people happy and if it bring it in that moment, I’ll probably do it. That’s kind of the person I am.”