2022 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Thais Reiss

Thais Reiss signed with the Orlando Pride on June 11 after training with the club for the first part of the season. The Brazil native attended college at the University of North Florida before joining the Pride as a training player in February.

Starting the day following her signing, Reiss was on the team sheet for the final 15 games of the season. However, she didn’t get on the field very often and played sparingly in most of her appearances.

Let’s take a look back at Reiss’ first season with the Pride.

Statistical Breakdown

Reiss only got on the field in five of her 15 games on the Pride roster. She started twice, playing 58 minutes against Racing Louisville on July 3 and 62 minutes against San Diego Wave FC on Sept. 25. The Brazilian midfielder finished the season with a total of 152 minutes on the season. She completed 35 of her 49 passes (71.4%) and one of her four long passes (25%). She attempted four shots in her five games. Two of the shots were on target and the other two were blocked. Reiss had three key passes on the season but didn’t record any goals or assists.

Best Game

While Reiss had two starts in which she played around an hour, her best performance was a game in which she was only on the field for a little over five minutes. On Aug. 7 against Angel City FC at Exploria Stadium, the midfielder came on in the 85th minute for Meggie Dougherty Howard. Reiss immediately tried to help her team equalize, taking a pair of shots from outside of the box in the 87th minute. The first was a free kick but she sent it straight into the wall. The ball went right back to Reiss and she tried again. However, this one was also blocked. But three minutes later, the Brazilian had her biggest impact of the season.

In the 90th minute, Reiss received a pass at the top of the box from Courtney Petersen and her first touch was out wide to Kerry Abello. Reiss made a run to the near post, drawing some defenders to her and creating some extra space in the box. The ball ended up being turned in by Angel City defender Paige Nielsen for the equalizing goal, allowing the Pride to escape with a 2-2 draw.

2022 Final Grade

Reiss didn’t meet the minimum required minutes for a grade, so she gets an incomplete for the 2022 NWSL season from The Mane Land staff. While she was on the team sheet for 15 games, she only got into five and only started twice. In her three games coming off the bench, the midfielder played five, eight, and 19 minutes. As a result, she didn’t have enough time on the field or impact on play to get a grade.

2023 Outlook

The Pride will have to make a decision about Reiss going into next season as her contract was only through the end of the 2022 season. While she only had five appearances, she’s also only 22 years old. A player that young with some NWSL experience could be useful as the Pride continue their rebuild. The decision on Reiss may have to wait until the Pride determine who the head coach will be during next season and how that coach rates the player. Interim Head Coach Seb Hines seemed to like Reiss and she might have a job on the team next season if he gets the full-time role.

Previous Season in Review Articles (Date Posted)

• Kaylie Collins (10/11/22)
• Parker Roberts (10/13/22)
• Haley Bugeja (10/14/22)
• Anna Moorhouse (10/15/22)