The Orlando Pride were dealt a heavy blow to their team when their budding midfield star, Camila, went down with injury in last weekend’s game against North Carolina FC. The team will miss her for the remainder of the season with injuries to both her ACL and MCL. While this is a substantial blow to the Pride, it is not one the team can’t overcome.
As the Pride prepare for Portland coming up this weekend, the team is confident in their depth and the players that can slot into that attacking void left by the injury.
“Of course that's a big hit,” Goalkeeper Ashlyn Harris said on Tuesday. “We’re extremely upset for Camila and sad about the situation. She’s worked so hard and she's one of our key players, but unfortunately this is the game, these things happen and you have to deal with it. We have great depth, we have great players who are gonna step into that role. Maybe not fill it the same, but bring their own craft to the game and own individual skill. No matter what, whoever's out there, we all have the same goal in mind and we're gonna give it everything we have. We are continuing to support her right now. It's not easy for her, it’s not an easy time for her, but we're a family here and we take care of each other and that's what we're doing right now.”
Players like Jasmyne Spencer, Rachel Hill and Danica Evans have the ability to slot into that role for the Pride and provide a dangerous attacking presence, in their own way.
“I think it’s a testament to our team, because we’ve had a lot of injuries throughout the season and we’ve had a lot of people step up,” forward Chioma Ubogagu said, “We’ve had a lot of people play different roles, so I think it’s going to be a similar situation when someone does fill that role and I think whoever it is, whoever is called upon will excel and strive for the team.”
To this point, Spencer, Hill and Evans have combined for seven goals and five assists through the season. Spencer has four of those five assists, in addition to three goals. Each of the three attacking players have played in multiple matches this season and will be incredibly vital for the Pride’s upcoming match as they head to Portland for the semi-final.
Head Coach Tom Sermanni put it best after training on Tuesday: “We feel that we’ve got the strength, the depth, and the character in this squad to deal with it.
