Van Egmond excited to go after Cup

For Orlando Pride midfielder Emily van Egmond, the greatest challenge in preparing for the NWSL Challenge Cup is adjusting to a time difference.

Van Egmond was still in Australia finishing up the postseason with Melbourne City FC when the NWSL suspended play in March. While sports leagues around the world shuttered their stadium doors and suspended training, the W-League committed to finish the season without fans.

The midfielder helped lead Melbourne City to clinch a W-League title. Then she returned home to stay with her family to wait out the NWSL shutdown.

After nearly two months, the announcement that teams would compete in the Challenge Cup spurred van Egmond to join the Pride. She arrived in Orlando the day after the tournament was announced, then completed seven days of selfisolation and COVID-19 testing to clear health and safety requirements.

Van Egmond was the first of four Pride players quarantined outside of the country to return to the U.S. Midfielders Jade Moore and Claire Emslie are attempting to travel from the United Kingdom, while midfielder Alanna Kennedy remains in Australia.

Now van Egmond is focused on building chemistry with new teammates and regaining fitness ahead of the tournament in Utah.

“I think everyone’s just excited now that we have something to look forward to and to play for,” van Egmond said. “We’re working really hard every single day. We don’t have a lot of time to prepare, so we’ve just got to use that time smartly, which we are.”

The 2019 NWSL season was fitful for van Egmond. The midfielder logged five matches for the Pride before leaving for the FIFA World Cup in France, where Australia suffered an early exit.

Upon her return, van Egmond was eager to make an impact for the Pride, assisting on a goal during her first return to the pitch on July 7. But a left ankle injury from the World Cup nagged the midfielder, softening her challenges and strikes and slowing her typical ability to weave through traffic.

After hiding her injury from her coaches and teammates for two more matches, van Egmond couldn’t grit through the pain any longer. She disclosed the injury to coach Marc Skinner, then went home to Australia to undergo surgery in August.

Van Egmond returned from surgery into the WLeague season with renewed energy. She led Melbourne City with six goals on the way to a league title.

On the international level, she notched three goals and four assists for the Matildas in her first 140 minutes of 2020.

Fully recovered from her injury, van Egmond’s play reflected a full return of confidence, whipping in crosses and taking shots on goal without hesitation.

Now back in Orlando, the midfielder is looking to carry that form into the upcoming tournament with the Pride.

“Obviously as a player, you want to be as consistent as possible, so that’s a goal of mine,” van Egmond said. “Just to be able to help the team in this Cup we’re about to play in Utah, and just enjoy it and have fun. It’s going to be a good thing that we’re able to go out and play.”