On NWSL championship media day, Washington Spirit and Orlando Pride players both seemed excited — but not too excited — to face each other in the final Saturday. Plenty of players mentioned finding the balance between riding their respective semifinal successes into the final while also trying to get the timing and intensity right so that their emotions would help instead of hinder.
Both teams had interesting roads to the final, with the Spirit going all the way to penalties and getting three saves out of Aubrey Kingsbury, and the Pride eventually opening up to take the lead on the Current but having to endure 18 minutes of stoppage before they could seal the victory.
For the Pride, there was a lot of reflection on the unprecedented season they’d had and just how much work has gone into this moment, including their league-leading defense, featuring Defender of the Year Emily Sams.
“I don’t know what it is,” Sams said when asked what about the Pride’s defensive unit had them clicking all season long. “I think for me, I love playing with Kylie (Strom). We’ve had conversations about that, and I think that makes like this – and with Anna (Moorhouse) the center of our defense — so solid, just because we both enjoy playing with each other so much, and we’ve gotten to know each other’s tendencies. And I think we see the game very similarly. So I think that contributes a lot to it, but I think it’s just the chemistry.”
“There’s a reason why what we did this year has never been done before and may never be done again,” said Strom. “I think we fully understand what we did is incredible. And next year, I don’t think we’re gonna go into preseason being like, ‘Hey, we’re gonna go 24 games unbeaten.’ Our goal setting is not going to be these crazy things. I think for us, why we’ve broken all of these records and had an incredible season is we’ve just been worried about the process and not the result.”
Part of that process is obviously the defensive work that former defender and head coach Seb Hines has put into the team. But Orlando is also a team that can hit you through build up, through transition, through direct balls or wide play, and that makes it hard to predict how this No. 1 versus No. 2 clash will play out.
“I think we have good variety to our attack, and so that’s our biggest strength,” said Kerry Abello. “If we’re being shut down out wide, we’ll go right up the middle. I think (Washington’s) biggest thing is their attacking threats with (Trinity) Rodman, (Rosemond) Kouassi, that we know that we’re gonna be under it a little bit.”
For the Spirit, the clear highlight of their afternoon was Rookie of the Year Croix Bethune also picking up the Midfielder of the Year award. The entire team had come prepared with t-shirts, which they all donned before posing for a group photo on stage (owner Michele Kang played along, though opted to hold up her shirt rather than layer it over her far more fashionable ensemble than the Nike tracksuit sported by the players).
Many of the Spirit players have spoken about the changes across the season, but one of the other main storylines heading into this championship is the stellar play of their rookies — including Bethune, but certainly not limited to her.
Midfielder Hal Hershfelt said Thursday that the rest of the team had the expectation from day one that while it was understood the rookie class was young, that didn’t change anything. “We’re not going to treat you like rookies,” was the message, according to Hershfelt.
“They expect you to make an impact, like any other player of any other age would,” she said. “That set our confidence up. They believe in us.”
The team’s grit was another constant theme, no matter what player was speaking — but the team has also felt prepared all season long for whatever challenge laid ahead of them, even as change was a constant.
The semifinal win over Gotham was the first example Andi Sullivan brought up.
“We felt prepared. We felt like we had momentum in the game, although sometimes the other team, especially if they’re down a player, would want to just make it to penalties,” she said.
But they were prepared for those too. “We approached it in the way that we wanted to, and I felt really confident.”
“I didn’t realize how many changes and battles we’ve had to overcome until being asked these questions,” said Casey Krueger, referencing the team’s midseason coaching change and its multiple injured players. “I’m like, ‘wow, we have actually had to go through a whole lot.’ And I think that just illustrates how well leaders have stepped up within the team, how well the club has done to make it such a seamless transition, to make it seem like — you know, I didn’t even think about all these things that we’ve gone through.”
The Pride and the Spirit will face each other for the final trophy of the year on Saturday night in Kansas City at CPKC Stadium, at 8 p.m. ET. The game will air on CBS.
(Photo: Stephen M. Dowell / Orlando Sentinel / Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
