ORLANDO, Fla. (August 29, 2017) - Orlando Pride has signed midfielders Jocelyn “Jo” Blankenship and Jordan O’Brien, pending the receipt of her International Transfer Certificate (ITC), ahead of the 2017 Roster Freeze on Tuesday, Aug. 29. Both players have been added to the team after joining the Pride as training players mid-way through the 2016 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) season.
“We’re really happy to reward Jo and Jordan after they’ve both been training in our environment for the past two seasons. They both have great attitudes and have been great additions to the team at training,” Head Coach Tom Sermanni said. “They are both very technical, talented players and I’m really delighted to be able to put them on contract and join us in our playoff push.”
Blankenship comes to the Pride after spending the 2016 preseason with NWSL side Boston Breakers before moving to Orlando in July to train with the expansion side.
Prior to joining the Pride, Blankenship played for SoCal FC, a semi-pro team in the Women’s Premier Soccer League (WPSL). The California native led her home state team to the 2015 WPSL Championship match, falling to the Chicago Red Stars Reserves.
Blankenship is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University, where she led the Lions to their first-ever NCAA Tournament win, a 1-0 defeat of Cal in 2014. Over her four-year career (2012-15), Blankenship totaled 14 goals and 22 assists with her 50 career points ranking second all-time in LMU history. Her career assist total remains a school record.
Blankenship finished her career with LMU as a four-time All-West Coast Conference honoree, three-time WCC All-Academic honoree and two-time NSCAA All-West Region honoree.
O’Brien also joined the Pride as a training player in 2016, coming to Central Florida after stints with KR Reykjavik in Iceland and QBIK of Sweden.
A 2014 graduate of Tulsa University, O’Brien ended her career with eight goals and 19 assists, which tied the school record for first all-time. The California native was selected as an All-Conference USA honoree three times and was also tabbed as the Conference USA Freshman of the Year in 2010.
Blankenship, O’Brien and the Pride put their four-game winning streak on the line on Saturday night, hosting the Boston Breakers at 7:30 p.m. ET at Orlando City Stadium. The match will kickoff a three-game homestand, the Pride’s final regular season matches in Central Florida, as the team makes a push for its first-ever playoff berth. Orlando currently holds the fourth and final playoff spot.
Tickets for the match are available at orlando-pride.com/tickets or by calling (855) ORL-CITY.
Jocelyn “Jo” Blankenship
Position: Midfield
Height: 5’ 5”
Born: Clovis, Calif. on June 10, 1994
Hometown: Eastvale, Calif.
College: Loyola Marymount
Citizenship: USA
Acquired: via Discovery on August 29, 2017
Jordan O’Brien
Position: Midfield
Height: 5’ 7”
Born: Anaheim, Calif. on October 11, 1992
Hometown: Huntington Beach, Calif.
College: Tulsa
Citizenship: USA
Acquired: via Discovery on August 29, 2017
