ORLANDO, Fla. (Feb. 4, 2021) - As the 2021 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) preseason continues on, the Orlando Pride have acquired the rights to forward Jodie Taylor from the North Carolina Courage. In exchange, the Courage will receive defender Carson Pickett from the Pride.
“On behalf of everyone here at the Pride, I’d like to thank Carson for her contributions both on the field and as a member of the Orlando community,” Orlando Pride General Manager Ian Fleming said. “We wish her the best of luck in this new opportunity with the Courage.”
Taylor, 34, is currently playing overseas with Olympique Lyon of Division 1 Féminine in France’s top-tier. Since joining the club in August 2020, Taylor has found the back of the net twice in nine appearances, scoring a brace in a 4-0 victory over PSV Eindhoven, while featuring twice in UEFA Champions League play.
A native of Birkenhead, England, Taylor spent three seasons with OL Reign from 2018-20, featuring in all five of the Tacoma-based side’s matches at the NWSL Challenge Cup a year ago. In three seasons with the Reign, Taylor made 40 appearances for the club, finding the back of the net 14 times, before her rights were traded to the Courage in December 2020.
Prior to her time with the Reign, Taylor played a brief spell at Melbourne City of Australia’s W-League following nearly two years at Arsenal from 2016-17. While with the Gunners, the English international found the back of the net 10 times in 17 appearances. Before returning to her native nation of England, Taylor had previously spent two years in the NWSL, with stints at the Washington Spirit and Portland Thorns FC.
On the international stage, Taylor has totaled 48 caps for the Lionesses, making her international debut on Aug. 3, 2014 in a 4-0 victory over Sweden. She would go on to score her first international goals on March 5, 2015, netting a hat trick at the 2015 Cyprus Cup against Australia. Since then, Taylor has appeared for England at both the 2015 and 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup, scoring a goal at each, and was a member of the Lionesses’ 2017 UEFA Women’s Euro squad.
A graduate of Oregon State University, Taylor was inducted into the Beavers Hall of Fame this past year. Throughout her collegiate career, Taylor earned Freshman All-American honors, was a four-time Pac-10 First Team honoree and was named to the All-Region side in three of her four years at OSU. To this day, she remains the school’s career leader in six statistical categories, including goals (47) and points (113).
Following her collegiate career, Taylor spent time in the USL W-League with various sides before joining the Melbourne Victory in 2010. She would then return to England a year later as a member of Birmingham City, where she played for two years with loan spells to Lincoln Ladies and Swedish side Göteborg before signing with Sydney FC in 2013.
Pickett, 27, joined the Pride prior to the 2018 NWSL season via a multi-player trade with the Reign. Since then, the Florida State graduate has gone on to make 39 appearances with the Pride, now with 75 NWSL matches in her career.
The NWSL will begin competitive play on April 9 with the second edition of the Challenge Cup prior to the start of a 24-game regular season on May 15. Season Ticket Memberships for the 2021 season are also available at Orlando-Pride.com or by calling (855) ORL-CITY.
TRANSACTION: Orlando Pride acquires the rights to Jodie Taylor from the North Carolina Courage in exchange for defender Carson Pickett.
Jodie Taylor
Position: Forward
Height: 5-6
Born: May 17, 1986 in Birkenhead, England
Hometown: Birkenhead, England
College: Oregon State University
Citizenship: England / USA
