2019 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Caitlin Farrell

All nine NWSL teams passed up on Georgetown University product Caitlin Farrell in the 2019 draft. The MAC Hermann Trophy finalist and Big East Conference Offensive Player of the Year had big hype (for an undrafted rookie) surrounding her coming into the season, but she rarely saw the field in her rookie season with the Orlando Pride. The Pride brought Farrell in as a non-roster invitee heading into the season, and then signed her as a Supplemental Player at the start of the season.

Statistical Breakdown

It was a tough rookie season for Farrell. She saw the field in just three games for a total of 15 minutes. She made her NWSL debut in the Pride’s 2-0 loss to the Utah Royals in May. She played six minutes, took two shots, none on target, and had one pass that did not find its intended target. A few weeks later, she came off the bench again. Orlando lost 3-0 to the North Carolina Courage, and the rookie saw the field for the final eight minutes. Farrell took no shots and had two passes, both of which ended in turnovers. Her final match was in Orlando’s 2-2 draw to the Houston Dash in June. She came on for just one minute and did not have any impact on the game. This time, though, she had one pass that did find its intended target.

Combined, Farrell finished her rookie season with no goals or assists, two shots, none on target, four passes, and a passing accuracy of 25%.

Best Game

Farrell did not have an impact on any of the matches that she played in, and barely had time to register any statistics. Her best look came in her aforementioned NWSL debut. She played six minutes, and both her shots in 2019 came in this match. One of those two shots was heading towards goal but was blocked in front of the net.

2019 Final Grade

The 22-year-old did not have anywhere close to the minimum number of minutes needed for a grade and therefore receives a rating of incomplete. As such, this could not be seen as a good year for her. She made the bench just six times in 2019 and only came on for three games. Both Abby Elinsky and Danica Evans got the nod at striker ahead of Farrell. This is telling of how the coaching staff sees her, as Elinsky got the most minutes of the three, and is a natural defensive midfielder. Marc Skinner gave six players their professional debuts and two players their first starts this season, and Farrell got the fewest minutes out of any of them.

2020 Outlook

It could be another tough year for Farrell next season. She certainly has the scoring potential seen at her days with Georgetown. However, she needs to find a way to break into Marc Skinner’s match squad. With the Olympics coming up and Alex Morgan set to miss the majority of the season with her pregnancy, Skinner will be forced to use his depth again. The question is, can he rely on Farrell or will he look elsewhere? It seems like the latter will happen and Farrell will have another year of limited minutes if she even returns to the squad at all.

Previous Season in Review Articles (Date Posted)

• Abby Elinsky (10/16)
• Morgan Reid (10/17)
• Emily van Egmond (10/18)
• Carson Pickett (10/19)
• Lainey Burdett (10/22)
• Alex Morgan (10/25)