Rookies benefitting from loans abroad, 2020 play in Europe

When the Orlando Pride’s 2020 season was upended ahead of the Challenge Cup, forward Taylor Kornieck and defender Phoebe McClernon both turned their sights toward Europe.

The rookies were eager to start their professional careers, even if that meant leaving their home country for months, so they signed for short loan periods — Kornieck to Duisburg in Germany and McClernon to Växjö in Sweden.

As they prepare for their NWSL debuts, both players feel redefined on and off the pitch by their loan periods.

“It was tough,” Kornieck said. “But I thought at the end of the day, this is what I’ve been dreaming about my entire life and I wanted to give myself the best opportunity possible. So if my agent and my head coach here, if they all thought it was the best thing for me, then I’m all for it. I’m ready to do whatever it takes for me to make it in this job.”

Although McClernon and Kornieck made the same decision, their experiences abroad were markedly different.

Most Swedes speak English and the __ goalkeeper was from Florida, making it easy for McClernon to bond with her teammates and explore the local city.

She took advantage of the opportunites off the pitch, taking a 21-hour train trip up to Swedish Lapland to see the Northern Lights and trying reindeer steak and authentic Swedish meatballs.

“I didn’t have any expectations, I didn’t do any

“I just felt that I needed to go overseas and get a sense of what it means to actually be a professional.”

— Forward Taylor Kornieck on playing in Germany

research, I went in there with no preconceived notions about truth or anything,” McClernon said. “So it was all surprising and interesting.”

Moving to Germany was different for Kornieck. None of her __ teammates spoke English, so she relied on an assistant coach to translate every practice. During games, she was on her own. Kornieck learned some basic German phrases, but __ months wasn’t enough time to learn enough to meaningfully communicate with her team.

Off the field, Kornieck spent most of her time at home, watching any soccer game she could find and FaceTiming her friends and family back home in the U.S.

It was lonely, she says, and challenging. But Kornieck needed that push, and the growth that came with it.

“The transition from college to professional was just really difficult for me in particular,” Kornieck said. “I just felt that I needed to go overseas and get a sense of what it means to actually be a professional. I definitely needed to learn that for myself.”

Coach Marc Skinner encouraged Kornieck to seek out that challenge. He always saw her potential, which led him to use the Pride’s top pick to select her in the 2020 draft.

In the early weeks of preseason, Skinner said he’s been impressed by Kornieck’s development following her loan.

“I can see a hell of a lot of growth in her and her maturity as a player,” Skinner said. “We’ll keep her feet right on the ground and ready to play and perform and she’ll be a real, real handful.”

Following their loan periods, Skinner chose to protect both players in the 2021 expansion draft.

As the No. 3 overall pick and the Pride’s first 2020 draft pick to be signed to a contract, Kornieck was a seemingly guaranteed pick. But McClernon’s selection over longtime starters like Alanna Kennedy came as a surprise to both fans and the defender herself.

“That was a total shock to me,” McClernon said. “I had no idea that I was coming.”

Assistant coach Carl Green texted McClernon the news while she was in Stockholm. She immediately texted former Virginia teammate Courtney Petersen, who had played with the Pride in the Fall Series. They both celebrated, knowing it meant she was likely to join the Pride permanently in 2021.

For the defender, the protection and the contract that followed were the entire reason she went on loan.

“You never know how somebody’s going to transition to the next level,” McClernon said. “For me, it was just letting my coaches see that even at this level I still have the same tenacity, the same quality, whatever it is that led them to offer me a contract.”

Both players say they learned a different pace and tactics playing in the European leagues. Kornieck noted the patience required to break down defenses in the German leagues, saying it bolstered her decision-making on the pitch.

Although Kornieck and McClernon struggled to communicate with their head coaches on loan — neither of whom spoke English — they studied film with their Pride coaches regularly. Defensive coach Seb Hines checked in on McClernon regularly, offering pointers based on film received from her Swedish side.

Now, Kornieck says she feels better prepared and more confident to make her long-awaited debut in the NWSL.

“Before I was very timid and I wanted to get the ball away as fast as possible,” Kornieck said. “But now I’m a lot more confident. I’m a lot more confident in my decision making and in my ability to hold the ball and protect the ball with using my body. I feel like I’ve been working a lot harder . ... I just feel like an overall better athlete.”