The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly: USWNT, the Pride, and What is a Transfer?

Well, that was an incredibly disappointing transfer deadline day. I would say it was anti-climatic, but I’m not sure I really thought Orlando City was going to do anything anyway. However, I’m skipping ahead, so let’s take a look at the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The Good

The USWNT won the 2018 Tournament of Nations, defeating Brazil 4-1 in the final match. The Yanks needed a two-goal victory or better in the final match to win the tournament on goal differential over Australia, which had beaten Japan, 2-0 earlier that day. It was a good result for the USWNT, especially with the Women’s World Cup coming up next year. This is a talented team, though as we saw both this year and last, Australia is no slouch. The Matildas won the tournament last year, and took second this year. Still, there are plenty of positives to take away from the USWNT’s performance, including an Alex Morgan that has been scoring a lot of goals. Hopefully, she can continue that both for the Orlando Pride, and next year in the World Cup.

The Bad

No shocker here, the bad was the disturbing lack of any more transfers by Orlando City. I say more, because the team did bring in Shane O’Neill, but that was known weeks before the window even opened. The other move was shipping Justin Meram back to Columbus. If he didn’t want to be here, then I’m glad the Lions were able to get as much for him as they did. What is actually worse is that none of Orlando City’s needs were addressed by the front office. There’s a need for help in the attack to complement Dom Dwyer, help along the left wing with the Meram experiment failing, and a glaring need at left back, where Victor “PC” Giro has somehow been the Lions’ best option.

The Ugly

The Orlando Pride did get a 2-2 result in their last match against Sky Blue — the same Sky Blue that is at the bottom of the table. The same Sky Blue that had no wins, and only three draws heading into the match against the Pride. It was a game that the Pride should have won. They had plenty of chances to win it, including a penalty kick near the end of seven minutes of stoppage time in the second half. Seven minutes! Marta kicked it right to goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan, and the Pride weren’t able to capitalize on a match that should have helped them in the fight to stay in the playoffs. It was a result, but it simply should have been better. The team needs to be better.

That’s all I’ve got for now. It’s funny and sad as I finish writing this, that I keep looking to see if Orlando has made any moves. Obviously, given the above content, the team did not.