2019 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Morgan Reid

Morgan Reid joined the Orlando Pride on April 4 via a trade with the North Carolina Courage, with Orlando giving up just a 2020 fourth-round pick. Head Coach Marc Skinner knew the Pride needed depth on the back line, and got a player just one year out of helping Duke University record 18 shutouts — a school record. Let’s take a look at how Reid’s season went.

Statistical Breakdown

Reid benefited from not being tossed into the fire right away, but as the summer got closer, and players started departing, she made her first professional appearance in the National Women’s Soccer League on May 11. Reid tallied seven appearances for the Pride in 2019, all of them starts, for a total of 602 minutes played. In that time, she accrued 19 clearances, three blocks, and five interceptions with a tackle success rate of 58.3%. She did not score or assist on a goal.

A shining spot for Reid was her passing, which rated at 77.7%, the highest among the other center backs and tied with only Kristen Edmonds at the top for anyone else on defense.

Best Game

Reid started out strong, but as the season wore on, the quality slipped a bit. So I put her performance against North Carolina on June 1 as her best game. The final score, 3-0 to the Courage, doesn’t tell the story of her performance by a long shot. If you recall, this is the match we all knew would be a disaster. The Pride were in a severe goal drought and playing against the highest quality opponent around. However, they held tight, with a 0-0 draw up until the 60th minute. A huge part of this was Reid’s calmness in the back and getting the ball forward.

She had a few clearances and a block, but it was her 85% passing that stood out. Once the Courage’s Kristen Hamilton scored once though, it took the wind out of the team, and Hamilton went on to finish off her hat trick in just 26 minutes. Despite this, Reid was still my Player of the Match.

2019 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Reid a composite grade of 4.5 for the 2019 season. It was a strong and impressive start for essentially a rookie, but opposing teams were finally able to target her as the summer rolled on. As her performance waned, so too did her appearances. Her ability to move the ball forward was definitely a high note though.

2020 Outlook

There are a dozen different directions this could go. I personally really liked what I saw from Reid this year and think she can continue to provide depth as the Olympics roll around. If she can continue to grow as a player, she’ll definitely be relied on like she was in 2019. A lot is dependent on what happens to every other member of a defense that allowed a league-worst 53 goals.

Previous Season in Review Articles (Date Posted)

• Abby Elinsky (10/16)