Apparently, Tom Sermanni was looking forward to his first preseason media availability of 2018.
“Good morning! I got a haircut yesterday just for this,” Sermanni boasted to the crowd of reporters and TV cameras. “It feels fantastic to get out of the office and back on the soccer field.”
The perpetually upbeat Scotsman was in fine form Monday morning as he fielded questions about his team. It was another busy offseason for Sermanni and his staff; the Pride bid farewell to several mainstays from the inaugural 2016 squad, but once again bolstered the roster in significant ways.
Sermanni pointed to the defense as an area of vulnerability in 2017, so four new faces will patrol the back line in defenders Poliana, Carson Pickett, Emily van Egmond and Shelina Zadorsky, as will goalkeeper Haley Kopmeyer. Then there’s the already strong midfield that was boosted with NWSL veteran Christine Nairn.
“Everyone, whether they admit it or not, wants to come to Orlando,” Nairn said.
And then, of course, there’s Sydney Leroux.
“We recruited fantastically last year, particularly what we had to give up to get the players that we did, and I think we’ve done the same job this year,” he said. “We’ve now really got a squad where there is, literally, tough competition in every spot. Nobody is guaranteed a spot.”
But there are spots aplenty at the moment. With so many key pieces splitting time with their respective national teams for the SheBelieves and Algarve Cups, strengthening roster spots 12 through 20 was of particular importance.
“There’s going to be times where our Brazilians, our Canadians, our Americans and our Australians will be gone. We need to have a core of really good domestic players and that’s important that we keep building that up,” Sermanni said. “We want to build up a strong squad. I think that’s what we’ve done.”
And it’s not just the acquisitions that strengthened the Pride. Returning Lioness Rachel Hill continued her development overseas during the offseason, so she’ll be ready when her number is called this season.
“The good thing is, if it’s not someone’s day we have a bunch of other players who can step up and make their mark on the game,” Nairn said.
A strong squad top to bottom will be essential for the Pride. Though Sermanni hasn’t explicitly laid out the team’s goals this season - wouldn’t make much sense to when nearly half the team is out of market - the Pride’s offseason moves are a clear indication of their intent to build off their 6-0-3 finish down the stretch that clinched the third seed in the playoffs.
And the core that led the team back then - Alex Morgan, Ali Krieger, Ashlyn Harris, Camila and Marta - all return this year.
“It’s great to get out there,” Sermanni said. “To have the energy of the players around and kick off the preseason. Yeah, really good.”
