Team to finally host fans again
Revamped lineup to face Gotham FC
For the first time in 549 days, the Orlando Pride are returning home to their fans.
The team played only a single match at Exploria Stadium in 2020, an NWSL Fall Series friendly closed to fans amid the pandemic. But on Wednesday night, the Pride will return to their home pitch to host the newly-rebranded Gotham FC in Orlando’s second match of the NWSL Challenge Cup.
The match will kick off at 7 p.m. with a live broadcast on CBS Sports Network.
Coach Marc Skinner hopes his team will bring much-needed joy to fans after last year’s challenges on and off the pitch.
“We have to start to make this home a real fortress for our performances,” Skinner said. “That will give us the best chance to win the games . ... I think we have to put people to sword in this heat. Because nobody trains in heat like this, so we need to use that to our advantage, use the wonderful support being in front of our fans again to drive us forward.”
The Pride opened the Challenge Cup with a 2-2 draw Saturday against Racing Louisville. The match was both thrilling and gutting for the Pride, who clawed back from a 1-0 deficit to take the
lead in the 88th minute, only to cede a 93rd minute equalizer.
Against Gotham, Orlando will face a similar challenge as it did against expansion side Louisville — a lack of film. Gotham FC, formerly Sky Blue FC, has made numerous changes to its brand, roster and front office.
The Pride also will be missing key players for the match.
Star forward Alex Morgan played with the United States women’s national team in France on Tuesday and will not return to NWSL competition until next week’s match against the Washington Spirit. Veterans Erin McLeod and Gunny Jónsdóttir will also be absent due to international duty with Canada and Iceland, respectively.
Pride midfielder Jade Moore left the Louisville match with knee tightness and will remain questionable for Wednesday, and forward Crystal Thomas is also sidelined for at least a week with hamstring tightness.
Skinner said the rest of the team is healthy, but he plans to rotate parts of the roster due to the short turnaround and different opponent.
“We have to look at each player to see how they are, how they feel,” Skinner said.
“My ideal at this club would be a team that’s interchangeable, that players understand their role and responsibility when they’re in that specific position. We will be looking at a potential rotation for the right reasons as well, not just the sake of it, so if we feel that we can exploit the opponent with a certain type of player.”
The match will also mark an important debut for most of the Pride roster — their first time performing in front of Orlando fans.
Only six of the available players on the roster — Sydney Leroux, Ali Krieger, Toni Pressley, Ashlyn Harris, Marta and Marisa Viggiano — have played a match for the Pride in front of fans at Exploria Stadium. The rest of the team consists of new additions who either debuted during the Fall Series or joined the team in the offseason.
For these new players, this debut marks an important moment in their careers with the Pride.
“Last year, I watched the [United States women’s] national team play at Exploria, and it was amazing,” rookie Abi Kim said. “The field was amazing, the atmosphere and vibe was amazing, and I was really excited to be able to have the opportunity to play there. It’s gonna be an amazing feeling, especially with the fans.”
The match will be Gotham FC’s 2021 season opener.
The club launched the new name and logo imagery last week leading to the start of the Challenge Cup. The new style is meant to pay tribute to the New York and New Jersey communities that support the team.
Skinner said changes off the field won’t affect the Pride’s preparations for the team on the pitch, although he did lean into the Batman jokes prompted by the new name.
“For us, they’re still the same team that they were last year with just a different rebrand,” Skinner said. “We have to make sure that we’re honest and we’re committed to, to the challenge that they face regardless of what they’re called now . ... We just need to make sure that maybe we pull the Joker card out and see if we can attack them and take the points on Wednesday.”