Before transferring to Penn State, Orlando Pride’s newest midfielder Nickolette Driesse spent two years playing at Florida State University. In 2014, she won a national championship with fellow Seminole Jamia Fields. Now, these two best friends are reunited in Orlando.
“She’s my all-time best friend and we’re really excited,” Driesse said regarding Fields. “It feels great [to be drafted], especially by Orlando.”
Driesse is hoping that having a friend on the squad will help calm some of her nerves, and maybe spark a connection on the field.
“That’s definitely gonna take some weight off my shoulders,” Driesse said. “We had a really good connection on the field at Florida State so I think we’re really excited about that aspect.”
Head Coach Tom Sermanni said he had no idea that Driesse and Fields were friends. But he thinks their friendship will be helpful when Driesse arrives for her first day of training with the team.
“I think it’s helpful when you come in at first to have someone that you know because it can be quite intimidating when you come in there,” Sermanni said. “So, hopefully having a familiar face there helps.”
Fields came to the draft to support her best friend, but she had no idea that Driesse would be selected to join the Pride. Or if she did, she certainly didn’t say anything to her friend.
“I had zero idea,” Driesse said. “I mean that was definitely somewhere I was hoping to get drafted but you never know.
