Orlando Pride vs. Chicago Red Stars: Player Grades and Player of the Match

With the 3-2 loss to Chicago on Sunday night, the Pride near the end of the first half of the season with just five points. However, taking a step back, we can see that six of the eight goals this season have been scored in the last three matches.

There is still a long way for the Pride to go, and the steps forward have felt like teeny-tiny baby steps, with this match in particular feeling that way. It was a frustrating match to watch as almost every player played with their back to the goal or their head down. Even against a Chicago team finding its way out of its own struggles, you can’t expect results to go your way playing like that.

Let’s get to it.

Starters

GK, Haley Kopmeyer, 6 — She wasn’t without her own gaffes in this one, but man, she couldn’t catch a break from her teammates on Sunday. The moments when she could, she put together several great saves, including the last minute hustle in the 94th, which I can’t stop rewatching.

D, Erin Greening, 5 — Erin had a pretty good game defensively, and a pretty atrocious game offensively in my opinion. She out-touched everyone on the field with 103 touches. She also had the second-lowest passing accuracy at 55%. (Only beating Danica Evans, who completed one of two passes.) So yeah, needless to say, the ball just never went anywhere on the right side of the pitch, really making it hard for the team to have more than one dimension.

D, Morgan Reid, 3.5 — Not a good one for Morgan. Several turnovers that directly impacted the match and led to the opening goal. She would eventually get subbed off in the 62nd minute. With more of the World Cup players coming back, I suspect she’ll get to take a step back and recalibrate to those first few promising performances.

D, Toni Pressley, 4.5 — Decent distribution with 90%, however, she had to get bailed out by Kopmeyer for a horrible back pass in the 51st minute that should have given Sam Kerr a hat trick a bit earlier. Defensively, her moments were mixed, she got turned around by one of the best out there — Kerr — and that led to Chicago’s final goal of the game. But hey, only five missed passes. More of that please, but preferably not in your own box.

D, Carson Pickett, 6 — A great save by Emily Boyd kept Carson from notching her first NWSL goal. A lot of missed runs plagued Carson’s game. Whether it was her doing the running, or her with her head down, the play along the left could have been a lot more threatening if it weren’t for that.

MF, Joanna Boyles, 5.5 — A pretty active shift for Boyles. She was third in touches with 65, second in passes with 53, and had a completion rate of 79.2%. To me, she just seemed a bit slower in this match compared to previous ones, and her tenacity is a big part of her game.

MF, Bridget Callahan, N/A — There’s not much to say for this one due to the injury in the 12th minute, so it wouldn’t be fair to give her a grade for such a short stint. She took to Twitter the following day to update everyone on her condition and appears to be in high spirits. She completed all four of her passes.

MF, Marisa Viggiano, 5 — The rookie sent very few balls forward, and I think that was a large portion of the problem on Sunday night. Not just her specifically of course, but her pass chart looks more like a sweeping defender’s — not the ideal look you want from your midfielder.

F, Rachel Hill, 5 — We saw only 30 touches from Hill. This is a callback to my assessment on Greening as well, but the ball just couldn’t ever get in a dangerous area on that right side, taking her out of the game for long periods. She put in a great cross in the 58th minute, and had solid moments defending, but the offense just seemed nonexistent at times.

F, Marta, 7 (PotM) — Marta was the only player on the field playing facing the goal, and moving the ball forward consistently. For that alone, she gets Player of the Match from me. Putting away the penalty kick is a cherry on top. She also helped set up the penalty with the pass of the night to spring Camila into the area. Her post-game comments show that her leadership knows no bounds.

F, Chioma Ubogagu, 6.5 — Chi pouncing on an Emily Boyd misplay kept the Pride from being completely out of the game. She showed great awareness and reaction on that play. A couple of tackles, a few fouls won, and a passing rate of 76.9%. Now, if she can just look up when moving forward.

Substitutes

MF, Camila (16’), 6 — It was the first long look we’ve gotten of Camila in what feels like forever. I thought she was good at putting herself in dangerous positions, and her earning the penalty in 79th minute really showed that.

MF, Abby Elinsky (62’), 4.5 — In 28 minutes played, Abby just didn’t have an impact at all. I think with just the style of players that Abby and Danica are, I would have preferred those two subs be swapped.

F, Danica Evans (81’), 6 — To add on to my comments from Abby’s grade, I think a player like Danica benefits more from time on the field, and if those two subs are swapped, you are getting more out of each player. She almost had a good moment from a Chi cross and had a decent header from a Marta free kick.

That’s it. This Saturday against the Washington Spirit will mark the halfway point for the season. With the internationals trickling back into the line-ups, we’ll probably start seeing less of some of these players. Who made an impression on you? Let me know, and of course, any other perspective you had on this one. Now vote on your favorite performance below!

Polling Closed