Pride goalkeeper and team captain Ashlynn Harris was injured in last weekend’s match against Seattle. Harris suffered a quad injury and will miss the next eight weeks of the season . The Pride have depth at that position and will be relying on their improved defensive stability to hold down the fort in Harris’s absence.
“Like any outstanding player you lose in any team, you miss them. But I think we’ve got the experience, the character, and the personality in the team to cope with losing [Harris],” Pride Head Coach Tom Sermanni said after the team trained Thursday morning.
The Pride have plenty of capable leaders in the squad and, in particular, on the back line. The defensive line is led by USWNT veteran Ali Krieger who has the unwavering respect of everyone in the locker room. Pride Defender Alanna Kennedy was asked about the team coping without their captain these next few weeks: “We’ve got a lot of leadership at the back, especially with Ali. So I think she will make it easier and hopefully the five of us [back line plus GK] can stick together and get the clean sheet.”
Krieger is on a long list of Pride players who have vast amounts of experience playing for both club and country. Marta, Monica, Steph Catley, Alanna Kennedy, and Kristen Edmonds are some of the players in the team who have seen it all at the top level.
This is the type of experience Tom Sermanni will be pleased to have in his team with their emotional and on-field leader out for the immediate future. The Pride head coach also spoke about the atmosphere in the club and how new goalkeeper signing Caroline Stanley is settling in: “The great thing we’ve got about this squad is that players can assimilate into it very quickly. I think the environment amongst the players is one that is very welcoming.”
The Pride travel to New Jersey this weekend and will be hungry for points on the road against the Sky Blue.
