ORLANDO, Fla. (Dec. 6, 2021) — The Orlando Pride has acquired a 2022 NWSL Draft First Round selection, a 2023 NWSL Draft natural Third Round pick and $50,000 in Allocation Money from NJ/NY Gotham FC, it was announced today. The 2022 pick is one that Gotham FC received from the Chicago Red Stars’ in a previous trade, with the pick number to be officially locked in at 8 p.m. ET on Dec. 17.
In exchange, the Pride have traded the rights to goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris and defender Ali Krieger to Gotham FC.
“We have great gratitude for Ashlyn and Ali, two players who have been so ingrained in our Club and community, so this was an extremely difficult decision. However, we believe this will be in the long-term best interest of Ashlyn, Ali and the Pride. We wish them nothing but the best in their new opportunity with Gotham FC,” General Manager Ian Fleming added. “Each decision we make is not done in a vacuum, and with these acquired assets we will continue to work hard to develop our roster to best position this Club for success and bring a championship to Orlando.”
“On behalf of the Club and the Orlando community, we want to thank Ashlyn and Ali for their dedication and leadership at the Pride over the last six years. They both have been great ambassadors for our organization as well as great players. We wish them the best of luck on this next chapter of their careers,” Orlando Pride Owner and Chairman Mark Wilf said. “As we move forward, we continue to be very optimistic about the future as we build the Pride toward long-term success on the field.”
Harris, 36, departs the Pride as the Club’s all-time appearance leader, having made 89 appearances across all competitions during her six-year tenure in Orlando. Selected with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NWSL Expansion Draft, Harris became one of the organization's first players and would go on to become the team’s captain during the 2017 season, a responsibility she held through the remainder of her career in Orlando. Playing for her hometown club, the Satellite Beach, Fla. native totaled 321 total saves with 16 shutouts between the pipes.
Krieger, 37, joined the Pride head of the 2017 season via trade and has served as the team’s co-captain since the 2019 season. Like Harris, Krieger was a stalwart in the Pride lineup, making 86 total appearances in purple, the second-most in Club history. During her Pride career, Krieger tallied seven assists, earned NWSL Team of the Month honors four times, and was also named to the NWSL’s Best XI in both 2017 and 2019.
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TRANSACTION:* Orlando Pride acquires a 2022 NWSL Draft First Round pick, a natural 2023 NWSL Draft Third Round pick and $50,000 in Allocation Money from NJ/NY Gotham FC. In exchange, NJ/NY Gotham FC receives goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris and defender Ali Krieger.
