Rookie Washington pushes to grow during roller-coaster year

During the days leading up to the NWSL Challenge Cup, Orlando Pride rookie Chelsee Washington wanted one small thing — a Nike Orlando baseball cap

Washington saw it at the mall during one of the first weeks after she first moved to Orlando. At the time, she promised herself when she signed a contract, she’d buy the hat as a personal celebration of a major milestone during her career.

Months later, as she was packing for the flight to Utah days after signing a short-term contract for the tournament, she remembered her promise. Washington made a quick detour to the mall to see if the hat was still available.

As Washington got out of the car, her phone rang. It was a call from the Pride’s medical staff — she had tested positive for COVID-19. The hat was quickly forgotten.

“I just turned around and got in my car and sobbed,” Washington said. “It was a very, very hard day.”

The following week was a blur. At first, Washington couldn’t be told who else — if anyone — had tested positive. By the end of the day, the Pride had withdrawn from the Challenge Cup following a slew of positive and inconclusive tests throughout the club.

Days later, when her test was proven to be a false positive along with many of her teammates, Washington wasn’t sure how to feel.

There was instant relief that she was healthy, no longer having to monitor herself for symptoms or isolate from others. But that was balanced by a nagging frustration about what could have been.

Now, Washington says losing the chance to play most of this year has taught her to cherish any chance she has to step on the pitch.

“You don’t really realize how real it is until it happens to you,” Washington said. “We all grew a little bit more appreciative of the things that we have.”

For Washington, a saving grace amid the roller coaster of the team’s COVID scare was her host family, the Loncars.

When she moved in with the family during preseason, Washington expected to only spend a few weeks with the Loncars. Instead, they offered Washington a second home for six months.

The Loncars welcomed in other Pride rookies and threw a graduation party for Washington. When she received her initial positive test result, she called her host mom crying. Her response was immediate — come home.

Although Washington has since moved into an apartment, the Loncars still invite her and teammate Courtney Petersen for dinner at their home.

“I struck gold with Washington said.

Now signed to a contract through the 2021 season, Washington has become an integral part of coach Marc Skinner’s plan

them,” for the future of the Pride.

Skinner sees Washington as an “understudy” to English midfielder Jade Moore, a new signee who has yet to play with the Pride. The two players bring a similar style to the holding midfield position — athletic frames and physicality that bring a much-needed edge to the Pride’s style.

It is a model Skinner hopes to develop for the entire roster. For every national team player, he aims to sign an understudy option who can slot into that position during international windows to create team-wide depth.

The role fits well with how Washington sees herself as a player — a tough holding midfielder who grew up idolizing the play of American standout Shannon Boxx.

To become a secondary option to Moore, Skinner wants to see Washington unleash a new level of aggression in both the offensive and defensive sides of her game.

“She needs to impose that on the opposition,” Skinner said. “Most of the games last year, we lacked the physical fight to be in games and we just couldn’t match the opposition for that reason. … I’m kind of trying to awaken the beast within her because I know it’s in there.”

After three preseasons with the team, Washington said it’s hard to define the Pride’s 2020 draft class in terms of experience. Despite being a rookie, she feels an expectation to lead among a group of short-term additions to the roster.

At the same time, Washington is eagerly using every minute of game experience to adapt and improve her game at the professional level. Her greatest learning curve came during the team’s second Fall Series match against the Houston Dash.

“In college, I could get away with like driving and dribbling,” Washington said. “But that was something I had to figure out in Houston really quick is that, ‘OK, that’s something I want to get better at and develop my speed a little bit more to be able to bring that into the professional game.’”

Without Sydney Leroux or Kristen Edmonds to offer holdup play, Washington and the rest of the young midfield struggled to maintain possession against Houston’s high press.

The rookie was especially challenged by the play of Canadian Sophie Schmidt, who dominated the central third of the pitch.

But Skinner said he’s not worried about Washington’s mistakes. Instead, he’s carefully studying how she improves from game to game in the NWSL Fall Series.

“I’m not looking for perfection,” Skinner said. “I’m looking for consistency.”

At times, Washington said the Fall Series feels like shoving years of experience into a handful of weeks. The Pride will close the series at home Saturday against NWSL powerhouse North Carolina Courage. Kickoff is at 4 p.m. and the match is closed to the public.