2019 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Camila

Camila was playing outstanding soccer in 2017 as the Orlando Pride were humming along toward an appearance in the 2017 NWSL playoffs. She was a key factor in an eight-game unbeaten streak (6-0-2) to close the season before sustaining a devastating knee injury in the regular season finale — a 3-2 road win at North Carolina that propelled the Pride into a third-place league finish.

But since returning to the pitch after the halfway point in the 2018 season, the Brazilian has struggled to get minutes and has yet to show more than flashes of the player she was before the injury, eventually losing her spot on her national team in the process.

She recently completed her third season with the Pride since being signed by the club in December of 2016.  After receiving a 7.5 in her first season with Orlando, Camila dropped to just a rating of 4 from The Mane Land after a sluggish return from injury a year ago. So, how did Year 3 turn out?

Statistical Breakdown 

Camila appeared in 16 matches (four starts) in 2019, playing 579 minutes, missing four Pride games due to international duty before seemingly losing her national team spot late in the summer. She played in seven more matches than in 2018 but made only one more start and played just 261 more minutes in a year in which the team was left barren by international absences and injuries. She scored one goal but added no assists, and attempted 14 shots, getting seven on target. Camila passed at a 73.6% rate, made nine key passes, won 45.6% of her duels, and tackled at a 59% rate. Her passing rate was up slightly (1.3%) and her duel success was up 8.8% from her 2018 numbers. Camila made three clearances and one block, and committed 17 fouls while drawing 16 from the opposition and earned two yellow cards on the season — one fewer yellow card than last year. These numbers show a slight improvement from 2018, so maybe she’s trending back to her pre-injury form, but if so it’s been a slow process so far.

Best Game

Camila didn’t have many standout performances so I’m going with the game in which she scored her lone goal of the season on Sept. 7 at Reign FC. No one on the team played well in the opening minutes as the Reign quickly jumped out to an insurmountable three-goal lead in the first 17 minutes, before the game went into a lengthy delay for inclement weather. But the Pride played well after the game resumed before falling, 3-1. Camila fired three shots and scored a goal from the penalty spot to prevent the road shutout. The keeper guessed correctly but couldn’t stop the well-placed shot.

Camila played the full 90 minutes — a rarity in 2019 — and also made three tackles in the match. The Brazilian must enjoy playing the Reign, as her only other 90-minute match of the season came in the season finale against the Tacoma-based team, when she fired a season-high four shots and got all of them on target — nearly half her season total of shots on target — and created one scoring chance.

2019 Final Grade

Once again this season Camila received a composite score of 4 from The Mane Land staff. While some slight improvements were made, she still wasn’t able to make the same impact she had been routinely making before her knee injury at the end of 2017. Her inability to get more minutes in 2019 when Marc Skinner was giving minutes to former National Team Replacement Players and Supplemental Players was curious. Whether it was a poor approach in training, a lack of quality displayed in those sessions, or an inability to grasp the new system satisfactorily is unclear.

2020 Outlook

Camila’s prospects for a return are unclear. Skinner often turned to other players in a year in which there were plenty of minutes for her to earn, which would cast some doubt as to whether she’ll be in the plans for next season. What else is unclear is whether she can return to her previous form or if the knee injury has derailed a once promising career. If the Pride believe she can reach her 2017 form once again and fully grasp Skinner’s system, she’d be worth having around.

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)
• Caitlin Farrell (10/26)
• Sydney Leroux (10/27)
• Joanna Boyles (10/30)
• Julie King (10/30)