On NWSL championship media day, Washington Spirit and Orlando Pride players both seemed excited — but not too excited — to face each other in the final Saturday. Plenty of players mentioned finding the balance between riding their respective semifinal successes into the final while also trying to get the timing and intensity right so that their emotions would help instead of hinder. Advertisement Both teams had interesting roads to the final, with the Spirit going all the way to penalties and getting three saves out of Aubrey Kingsbury , and the Pride eventually opening up to take the lead on the Current but having to endure 18 minutes of stoppage before they could seal the victory.
For the Pride, there was a lot of reflection on the unprecedented season they’d had and just how much work has gone into this moment, including their league-leading defense, featuring Defender of the Year Emily Sams . “I don’t know what it is,” Sams said when asked what about the Pride’s defensive unit had them clicking all season long. “I think for me, I love playing with Kylie (Strom).
We’ve had conversations about that, and I think that makes like this – and with Anna (Moorhouse) the center of our defense — so solid, just because we both enjoy playing with each other so much, and we’ve gotten to know each other’s tendencies. And I think we see the game very similarly. So I think that contributes a lot to it, but I think it’s just the chemistry.
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