By Luis Carlos Pineda
During the press conference, coach Mark Skinner said that the atmosphere of the Orlando Pride is superb. The commitment is there from every single member of the team. Also the players are committed to the long term vision of the Pride.
In regards to Sydney Leroux and the 3 year contract she just signed with the Pride, he said that its is easy for a coach to be excited with a player of Sydney’s caliber. “What you get with Sydney is the grit, the determination, her work class abilities”. He mentioned that despite he hasn’t been able to unlock that mentality of her yet. He that saw little bits of sydney on the last fall tournament. He also mentioned that she is a positive influence for all younger players and looks forward to work fully with her to achieve goals with the Orlando Pride. He mentioned that she is the “gel” between some of the younger and experienced players.
Skinner then added that, he was static to find out about Sydney’s max deal. Also he believes that the club is committed to make the Pride a winning team.
Skinner mentioned as well that him and the front office are working into adding several more pieces to the Pride in the attack and on the backline. But as the Challenge Cup nears, Skinner is very confident in his group, especially in the attack.
When asked about the Pride conceding 8 goals and have only 1 clean sheet in the last fall tournament he said that those stats do not reflect reality and due that he lost players due to the pandemic, there was tons of rotation amongst the players. Furthermore, he added that the defense is going to be one of the key ingredients to work on in the preseason so they’ll be able to come both offensively and defensively sharp when it starts.
Sydney Leroux, came into the conference and said that the Pride was there along the way with her and he is excited for this upcoming season in Orlando. For her staying was a no brainer. Then she mentioned that the USWMNT is not in her foreseeable future but if it happens then it’s welcomed. She wants to deliver quality to the Orlando Pride and elevate her level and the team’s first before going back and talking about a potential call up. She also mentioned that she is still have tons of play time left in the tank and that skinner’s trust in her abilities was detrimental to stay with the Pride.
When asked about her ambitions with the USWMNT and if she maybe can deliver one more World Cup and one more gold medal, Leroux said “I feel like everyone always thinks that being 30 now is like this old girl,” Leroux said. “I just look at some of the people that I’ve played with and I’m like, ‘I’m just getting started.’”
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