Orlando Pride vs. Sky Blue FC: Player Grades and Player of the Match

If you watched Sunday’s 2-2 draw with zero expectations or you are a Sky Blue fan, you watched a pretty entertaining match, but for all of us Orlando Pride fans out there with high expectations, this felt like one huge chance passing us by.

The game has been played, and it has been rewatched, so let’s get down to it and break down the performances.

Starters

GK, Ashlyn Harris, 6.5 — Harris had a decent night in net, and if it wasn’t for a completely wide open Imani Dorsey, and a perfectly placed header by Shea Groom, we could call it a great night. A few fantastic saves kept it from being a lot worse.

D, Ali Krieger, 5 — A few key moments on the night can be summed up by that first Sky Blue goal. All three defenders decided to take on Groom (poorly I might add) and left Dorsey completely unmarked in front of the box. Ali is a superb player that can’t be caught that far out of position.

D, Alanna Kennedy, 4 — I thought it was a rough night for Alanna, as she too got caught several times out of position. She was involved in both Sky Blue goals, and Carli Lloyd almost put another in the net in the 69th when she dribbled circles around Kennedy.

D, Toni Pressley, 5.5 — Although her passing was a team worst 57.8%, I thought she was the best defender on the night, and she also put a couple of great balls forward to quickly transition the team into an attack.

MF, Kristen Edmonds, 6 — Kristen looked a lot more settled in, and had a great passing rate of 93.8%. I would like to see her bomb forward a bit more and open up that side of the field for the attack, but nonetheless, it was good to see her involved a bit more than usual.

MF, Emily van Egmond, 5 — I thought it was just an average night for the Australian, and I really wish she could find that early season form that wowed me. The instincts are clearly there, but the touch has gone missing as she had a 76.6% passing rate, and zero chances created.

MF, Dani Weatherholt, 7.5 (PotM) — What can be said that hasn’t been said by now? Besides the usual — amazing work rate, her ability to disrupt the opposition’s possession — she has now added goal scoring to her skill set as she notched her second of the season. Hopefully this just adds to her confidence going forward.

MF, Christine Nairn, 4 — Nairn had a very off night. I think this was probably her poorest performance on the season. A lot of passes were simply off, and a few went directly to an opposing player. Her up-field vision was sorely needed, but unfortunately absent.

MF, Chioma Ubogagu, 6 — Chi had some really great moments throughout the night, and I definitely would like to go higher on the score if her passing (a 66.7%) was a bit higher. Her footwork has drastically changed in my opinion since the beginning of the season, and at least Sunday night, it wasn’t the end of the world to see her take a defender head on.

F, Rachel Hill, 5.5 — Hill has got to get more involved than 29 touches. I feel like we would have gotten the same stats if she came on for the final 30 minutes, versus starting the first 60. There were a couple of good moments of course, but all they ended up being, were just that, a couple of good moments.

F, Marta, 7 — Marta had a great match, I thought, and if she had buried the penalty kick, it would have been yet another legendary moment in a growing list of legendary moments. She, as usual, was all over the pitch, and kept the ball in the Pride’s hands, at times, taking on three defenders and leaving them far behind.

Substitutes

F, Alex Morgan (61’), 6 — A decent showing on a short amount of time, and it felt like she was going to get a goal for sure, with what would have easily been Goal of the Week material in the 79th minute, but Kailen Sheriden got her hand high enough to fingertip it over the crossbar.

MF, Camila (61’), 5.5 — Camila is coming back, slowly. I had hoped, probably a little too ambitiously, to see her regain that 2017 form sooner rather than later, but it is coming back, and yet again, we are seeing her get settled in.

F, Danica Evans (85’), N/A — Even if there ended up being a decent amount of stoppage time, I just don’t like seeing a forward come on so late, especially one with such limited playing time. She had four touches and completed two of three passes, so it is what it is.

All right, let me have it if you saw it any other way, or hey, let me have it if you agree and just want to add to the discussion. Be sure to vote below!

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