Pride confident they can win title
The Orlando Pride are optimistic about their chances to win a National Women’s Soccer League title after clinching the first bid in franchise history.
They will have knock out a playoff field that also includes the North Carolina Courage, Portland Thorns and Chicago Red Stars, all formidable teams with international stars on their rosters.
Orlando star forward Alex Morgan said the Pride, who are riding a seven game unbeaten streak, believe they can win their regular-season finale against the Courage and defeat anyone they face in the four-team playoff.
“I think we’re very confident,” Morgan said. “We have been playing some of the best soccer of the season. We are continuing to play better and better and for longer periods of time during matches.”
The final NWSL seeds aren’t set yet, although Portland and North Carolina have locked in the right to host first-round games against either Orlando or Chicago on Oct. 7 and Oct. 8.
The teams that advance will play in the NWSL championship game at Orlando City Stadium, regardless of whether the Pride reach the title tilt.
Orlando coach Tom Sermanni doesn’t want his team to focus too much on the location of championship game.
“It’s not in your mindset in relation to preparation,” he said “... You can’t hide from it, but at the same time you don’t want to overly rely on it as a motivational factor.
“It would be fantastic for the club and everybody involved in the club and the city. If we can get to this final, we've got a full house at the stadium all dressed in purple, that'd be a phenomenal way to end the year.
“But we’ve got a very important game and a very difficult game to get past. And that's all that we can focus on at the moment.”
Take a closer look at the Pride’s top playoff competition: 46 points 1-0-1
North Carolina won last year’s NWSL title when the club was named the Western New York Flash. Key pieces of the lineup stayed with the team when it was sold and relocated to North Carolina. The Courage are in first place, but Orlando’s potent scorers have enjoyed success against North Carolina this season. 44 points 1-0-1
Christine Sinclair leads the Thorns with eight goals, while Nadia Nadim has chipped in five goals. Meghan Klingenberg has recorded six assists and goalkeeper Adrianna Franch recorded 79 saves.
The Thorns has strong players all over the field, with midfielders proving to be especially strong against Orlando. 39 points 2-0-1
Christen Press leads Chicago with 11 goals and 48 shots on goal. Sofia Huerta isn’t far behind for the balanced Red Stars with five goals. Alyssa Naeher, who starts for the U.S. women’s national team, is a formidable goalkeeper who gives Chicago an edge.
Orlando leads the NWSL in goals, but the Pride have struggled to get much past Naeher during their matchups. However, the Pride and Red Stars have not tangled during Orlando’s recent surge.