Another sign that player concerns are starting to be heard
The Orlando Pride weren’t due for an away kit change in 2023, but have made the move for a good reason.
The NWSL club has ditched the white shorts that were part of their “Luna” kit in 2022 in recognition of player comfort concerns over having to compete while menstruating.
“The reasons behind not wanting to wear white shorts are clear, but it is unfortunately something that hasn’t been addressed until recently,” said Pride midfielder Erika Tymrak in a club statement on the change. “I think it’s a big step for us as a club to make players feel comfortable and allow us to focus solely on competing.”
In a move that the club says is a league first, the Pride will do away with white shorts in training and throughout all levels of their girls’ academy set-up as well.
“We must remove the stigma involved in discussing the health issues impacting women and menstruating non-binary and trans athletes if we want to maximize performance and increase accessibility to sport,” said recently-appointed Pride general manager Haley Carter. “The experience that players have and the safety and comfort they feel when wearing an Orlando Pride crest is a critical area of focus for us.”
Orlando is not alone in making the shift. Back in October, Manchester City announced a change that will begin with their 2023-24 kits, and have informally begun using burgundy shorts with their customary sky blue home shirts. Equalizer Soccer reports that the U.S. women’s national team will wear navy blue shorts whenever possible at this summer’s World Cup, while England players have told the FA and Nike that they’d like a change to the country’s traditional all-white home kit.
“This is a commendable move by the Orlando Pride and one that will surely improve the level of comfort amongst its players,” said Dr. Christine Greves, the Pride’s team OBGYN. “As a society we need to continue to work to normalize talking about the health and well-being pertaining to the female body and the period is a huge part of that. The more we do that, the more we’ll be setting up our athletes for success both on and off the field.”
Orlando will debut the new kit on March 26, in what will be a 2023 season-opening road game against the Portland Thorns.
Number color changed as well
The Luna kits debuted in 2022, and while the design was lauded for connecting to Florida’s history with NASA space launches, they ran into a problem in photos and television broadcasts: the pale gray numbers designed to match the lunar pattern on the kit were borderline invisible.
Reflecting that reality, and to match the change to black shorts, the Pride have also done away with the unreadable numbers and name coloring in favor of a far more legible black option.
While the change in shorts is a more serious matter, the Pride had some fun with last year’s issues with kit legibility:
Hines has been retained amid a broader restructuring of the Pride’s soccer operations
The Orlando Pride are turning to a familiar face to help them change their stars.
Seb Hines, who spent most of 2022 leading the club on an interim basis, has been named the club’s head coach after signing a multi-year contract. The move comes amid larger restructuring aimed at lifting a team that has just one playoff appearance in its history.
“Seb is a talented coach that has demonstrated great leadership and an ability to get the most out of his players, while also establishing an inclusive and competitive team culture,” said Pride chairman Mark Wilf in a club statement. “He stepped into a difficult position this year, handling it with professionalism and brought about many positive changes both on and off the field for our club. After evaluating what we want the future for the Pride to be, listening to player feedback and discussing with Seb, it became very clear that he has earned the opportunity to continue leading our club.”
Orlando is coming off of a difficult season, and on the surface, Hines’ 3W-5D-7L record might not seem very impressive. Context is key, though: Orlando started the season with a brand-new coach in Amanda Cromwell, who was suspended by the Pride after just seven games after a recommendation from the NWSL and NWSLPA joint investigation team.
On top of that, Orlando lost Marta — the centerpiece of an attack that was otherwise in stage one of a rebuild — to a torn ACL suffered in their second competitive match of the season. It was a one-two punch that few teams would be expected to overcome.
Speaking with Pro Soccer Wire, Hines said that his path towards putting himself up as a permanent head coaching candidate after the worst game of Orlando’s season, a 6-0 shellacking at the eventual NWSL champion Portland Thorns.
“Obviously, that performance just wasn’t good enough. You know, that wasn’t a reflection of who we were,” said Hines. “After that game, we knew that we had to make changes. We had to implement our ways, and our culture, and our standards and expectations.”
Orlando staffed up, with Giles Barnes and Miguel Gallardo (like Hines, both former Orlando City players) joining Hines’ staff on an interim basis. The changes in mentality and structure paid off immediately, with the Pride going seven straight games without a loss. That streak included wins over two playoffs teams (San Diego and Houston) as well as a road draw against a Kansas City Current side that was in the midst of their own lengthy unbeaten run.
It’s not clear whether Hines will keep the same staff or if further changes are coming. For one thing, Hines has only just gotten the job. The Pride are also undergoing a major restructuring, with the club listing player development, analytics, scouting, and medical services as departments where new hires are coming in the near future. General manager Ian Fleming is no longer with the club due to the restructuring process, leaving an open question about planning the early stages of their offseason.
All of that is to say that how Orlando will look in four or five months is unclear. Hines knows he has to focus on controlling what he can amid a rapidly changing environment, and he wants to start by getting the Pride to be more effective in possession and at the back.
Mark Thor – Courtesy of Orlando Pride
“I played center back so conceding goals was something that I hated,” said Hines. “There’s no hiding places, we conceded way too many goals last year. And that’s an issue, that’s a problem.”
For Hines, the preferred recipe to help Orlando — who gave up 30 goals in 15 games under Hines in 2022 — at the back is to take better care of the ball, dictating the terms by maintaining possession and leaving their defense with fewer fires to put out.
“The league is transitional. It’s survival of the fittest sometimes. You try and prevent that as much as you can, but one way of trying to prevent transition is keeping the ball,” explained Hines, who also noted that specifically for Orlando, possession-oriented play has an added benefit.
“We want to use our home field advantage a lot more. You know, only getting one win at home is not good enough in front of our fans,” Hines said after a season where the Pride went 1W-5D-5L at Exploria Stadium. “We need to start using the heat as best as we can… something that you know other teams don’t have is the humidity, and in Orlando, we must use that.”
Beyond expanding on a game model that had to be improvised, Hines was quick to point out that the Pride should improve organically thanks to some younger players seeing plenty of action in 2022.
“It was a big revamp year for us,” observed Hines on an Orlando side that traded Alex Morgan, Ashlyn Harris, and Ali Krieger away last December, and then moved Sydney Leroux to Angel City mid-season. “It allowed the young players to get that experience which they may not have got. You’re looking at some really good young, talented players getting really good, significant minutes. So, experience is irreplaceable… it’s something that they can build on. They know what the league is about, they know what the standards are in this league.”
Hines also had some welcome news to boost his squad, as well as the hopes of Pride fans: Marta, that ageless wonder, is ahead of her ACL rehab schedule.
“She’s so driven,” enthused Hines, who said the Brazil captain’s return should have a comparable impact to making a big move in the transfer market. “She’s running, she’s cutting, she’s passing. She’s beyond where she should be at this point in terms of rehab.”
Getting Marta back will add a creative, technical element that was missing from Orlando’s attack all year, but it also adds a world-class professional to the mix for a young group to learn from.
“To have someone who has won every personal accolade that you can think of, she fits everything that we’re talking about,” said Hines. “I’ve seen her over the last four years and just see what she brings to the to the team, she’s first class.”
Hines has seen a lot since coming to Florida to play in MLS with Orlando City: ownership changes, several general managers, and of course numerous coaches with the Pride. With the Wilf family taking a controlling stake in the club in 2021, Hines says he feels there’s a sense of “stability” to come with the forthcoming investment in the club.
“They have a vision, and I’m very grateful that they see me being part of this vision as well, moving forward. So they are fully invested. They want to see success in Orlando, they want to see us lift a trophy… We’re super excited and can’t wait to get started.”
Cromwell immediately hit back, saying the investigation “lacked transparency, professionalism, and thoroughness”
The NWSL announced that it has terminated the contracts of Orlando Pride head coach Amanda Cromwell and assistant coach Sam Greene following an investigation into retaliatory conduct.
On Monday the league announced the results of the joint investigation between the NWSL and NWSL Players Association, saying that Cromwell and Greene “engaged in retaliation and attempted retaliation against Pride players whom Cromwell and Greene believed had made or supported earlier misconduct allegations against them, in violation of league policy.”
The NWSL statement continued: “Specifically, Cromwell and Greene were found to have engaged in conduct that discouraged reporting and fostered a general fear of retaliation, and to have taken negative actions against certain players, including by seeking to waive or trade them.
“Cromwell’s and Greene’s employment contracts are terminated effective immediately. Cromwell and Greene are ineligible to work in the NWSL in any capacity unless or until approved by the Commissioner.”
Pride goalkeeper coach Aline Reis was also placed on unpaid administrative leave. The league said Reis didn’t fully cooperate with the investigation, including “pressuring players to share favorable information with investigators.”
Cromwell had only been in charge of the club for a few months when she was placed on leave, having taken over in December after a successful nine-year run as head coach at UCLA.
Cromwell slams investigation
Following the league’s announcement, Cromwell released a statement of her own slamming the investigation and saying she’s “reviewing all legal options.”
“The investigation lacked transparency, professionalism, and thoroughness, and as a result my character and integrity have been mischaracterized,” Cromwell said.
There’s so much potential for NWSL chaos this weekend
The NWSL season has just two rounds of games left, with every team having two more chances to pick up points.
Eight teams are alive in the playoff race, and somehow only the Portland Thorns know that they’re definitely going to the postseason. The table is packed like the stands at Snapdragon Stadium! It’s as crowded as a storage container locker room at Segra Field! It’s a lot to take in, is what we’re saying.
NWSL Chaos is in the eye of the beholder, and while we can all agree on an idea like a seven-team tie was the wildest thing out there last week, that dream is over. We now have a wide range that are all arguably the most bonkers outcome.
The last version of this piece was omakase; you got one incredible scenario to savor, but no choices. This time, you’ve got the whole menu to look over, with truly wild scenarios peppered throughout this piece.
What if everyone finishes tied for first? The NWSL wants to find out!
There are less than two weeks left in the NWSL regular season, and yet no team has clinched a playoff spot. Only three teams are officially out of the running, and the prospect of a truly bonkers final table — we promise, there is a possible scenario detailed below that is a true mind-melter — is still very much looming over proceedings.
Here, then, is Pro Soccer Wire‘s breakdown of every team’s situation heading into the last 12 days of the season.
We stared at the NWSL standings for 10 hours so you don’t have to
The NWSL is officially in the home stretch, with the season down to its final three weekends. Most teams have just four games left to play, and we have an incredible five teams all within two points of one another at the top of the table, along with a potentially wild race for the last playoff spot.
Here, then, is Pro Soccer Wire‘s breakdown of every team’s situation heading into these final, critical games of the season.
Dunn’s return from giving birth took less than four months
Crystal Dunn may have had her first child 113 days ago, but since she’s a force of nature, she’s already back on the field.
The U.S. women’s national team and Portland Thorns star, who gave birth on May 20, returned to action Friday night in a 2-0 win for the Thorns over the Orlando Pride.
Dunn made a short appearance off the bench, replacing Sophia Smith in the 86th minute as the Thorns used extensive possession to set themselves up for a road win on goals from Yasmeen Ryan and Hina Sugita.
The appearance was Dunn’s first for either the Thorns or the USWNT since a 1-0 road win in Houston on October 17, 2021, and comes just days after national team manager Vlatko Andonovski—who called Dunn into his September camp in a training-only capacity—told reporters he felt like she was ready to play.
“I’ve visualized this moment for a really long time. Just, you know, thinking about how I was going to feel when I stepped on the field,” Dunn told reporters following the match. “I’ve been training full (speed) for a while now. I went in with the national team, which was really great for me, and I think coming to this moment, I was just like, ‘Crystal, you are a soccer player. Just play soccer, play simple.'”
Dunn said that while she’s not at maximum fitness yet, her status at the moment is right around where she expected to be at this point. One big help, according to her, was that her husband happens to be Thorns head trainer Pierre Soubrier.
“Obviously, he is my husband, but you know, he’s my athletic trainer. He’s really knowledgeable of the return-to-play process,” said Dunn. “I had to really respect that he knows his job well. There were times where he was telling me, ‘Hey, you can’t do this today, you gotta take it slow,’ and I was like (groans) but ultimately, I was like, ‘okay, you’re right.'”
Dunn also noted that she trained with Portland nearly until her due date, and that time spent in the weight room—a place she noted with a grin was not her favorite in the past—has helped her come back so quickly.
That said, she said it’s important to acknowledge that she’s not going to just be the same old Crystal Dunn.
“I feel like people are expecting you to feel the same. And I’m like, ‘you know what? I’m never going to be the same again,” explained Dunn. “I went through childbirth, there’s no going back to Crystal before getting birth, you know?”
No matter how different this version of Dunn is, Thorns veteran Meghan Klingenberg was delighted to have her back on the field.
“Our Thorns baby mama is incredible,” said Klingenberg. “She’s the ultimate team player. She’s the ultimate hard worker. And you know, it’s nice to see her have her moment, because I think a lot of times Crystal doesn’t get her moment. But this was a Crystal moment, and I love being part of it because you know she steps on the field and creates a huge difference.”
Portland head coach said that due to Dunn’s experience, there wasn’t a ton of advice she had to give on the touchline before sending her in.
“All I said was ‘just do what you do, and keep the keep driving the quality of our (passing) and our movement,’ and that’s exactly what she did,” said Wilkinson. “She’s not fully back yet, but she’s not far off. What a phenom. So impressed by her.”
Angel City FC has given their attack a significant boost, as they’ve completed a trade to bring Sydney Leroux over from the Orlando Pride.
In the deal, Orlando will receive Angel City’s natural first round pick in the 2024 NWSL College Draft, $75,000 in NWSL allocation money, and a potential $10,000 allocation money bonus this year and in 2023 based on Leroux’s performance.
“I am so excited to be a part of Angel City and everything being built with this club,” said Leroux in a press release from Angel City. “The atmosphere I felt playing at the Banc [of California Stadium] on Mother’s Day was unbelievable. It really feels like I’m coming home, between going to UCLA and living in LA. Angel City is truly putting women’s soccer on the map in Los Angeles and it shows if you invest in women, great things will happen. I am excited to be a part of that.”
Leroux, 32, had two goals and an for Orlando this season, as the Pride struggled throughout the spring and suffered the added difficulty of new coach Amanda Cromwell being suspended during an investigation into alleged retaliatory conduct.
In 2019 and 2020, injuries, pregnancy, and Orlando having to miss out on the original Challenge Cup kept Leroux off the field, but she came back with a vengeance in 2021. An 8 goal/2 assist season in which she played in all but one Pride game marked her best season since 2013.
For Angel City, the rationale for the trade is straightforward. Christen Press suffered a torn ACL earlier in June, and when coach Freya Coombe has looked to rest striker Simone Charley, the alternative has often been to push attacking midfielder Savannah McCaskill up as an ad hoc forward due to a lack of attacking depth.
For the moment, interim coach Seb Hines and captain Gunnhildur Jónsdottir just want to win on Sunday.
Just one day after NWSL announced that Orlando Pride head coach Amanda Cromwell and assistant Sam Greene would both be placed on temporary administrative leave amid an investigation into alleged retaliation, interim coach Seb Hines and team captain Gunnhildur Jónsdóttir said the team is narrowing their focus for the time being to simply winning their next game.
With Cromwell and Greene suspended, the Pride coaching staff consists of Hines, USWNT legend Michelle Akers, and goalkeeper coach Aline Villares Reis. Cromwell is the second NWSL head coach to be suspended this year, following James Clarkson with the Houston Dash. Clarkson’s situation remains unresolved at this point.
Speaking to reporters ahead of a road game against the Chicago Red Stars this Sunday, both Hines and Jónsdóttir offered little comment on the internal situation involving Cromwell and Greene beyond saying that they were informed on Tuesday.
“I know that I have to come here and do a job, and prepare the team for Sunday,” said Hines. “We want to go out there and compete against Chicago, and that’s my job at hand right now, is to make sure the players are prepared for that.”
Hines didn’t specify how long he expects to be the interim coach, saying “I take it every day as it comes” before breaking down Orlando’s schedule through Sunday’s game. “I focused on the field. I can control what’s happening on the field at this present moment,” he added.
Jónsdóttir struck a similar chord, saying she had no particular reaction to the news and that her thoughts at the moment are on improving on the 5-0 loss to the Houston Dash this past Friday. “You’re never going to be happy after losing 5-0,” said Jónsdóttir. “I think the group is just hungry, wanting to do better.”
For Jónsdóttir, the message for the rest of the team was simple. “We want to win games. And that’s what we’re going to focus on: come to training, take it day by day, and try to get results in the games that we have,” said the Iceland international. “I think the team knows what they need to do.”
The Pride accepted a recommendation from the NWSL and NWSLPA Joint Investigative Team
The Orlando Pride have placed head coach Amanda Cromwell on leave amid an investigation into alleged retaliation, the NWSL announced on Tuesday.
The NWSL and NWSLPA Joint Investigative Team recommended that Cromwell and assistant coach Sam Greene be placed on temporary administrative leave while the investigation continues, a recommendation that the Pride accepted.
Pride assistant coach Seb Hines will serve as interim coach while the investigation is ongoing. The Pride will make a decision on the future of Cromwell and Greene following the conclusion of the investigation.
Orlando Pride Announces Amanda Cromwell and Sam Greene Placed on Administrative Leave pic.twitter.com/l8p8lBA61Y
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