They said it: Seb Hines, Emily Sams and Kylie Nadaner share their thoughts following draw with Racing Louisville

Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines

Opening Statement

“I think it was a good battle. We started off really well and created some opportunities. Then Louisville took the lead and we showed great resilience again to come back and get a point in the dying seconds and we could have won it.”

On the team's performance

“Yeah, I'll take the positives though. Something that we spoke a lot about was starting the game fast and with lots of energy and I think we did that today. I think we achieved that today. I think when you’re up, when you have good momentum, you have to take advantage of that. And that's where we fell short by not getting that first goal. And then any time we don't get that first goal, we give the other team an opportunity to win the game, and it's already incredibly difficult. So, disappointed in that sense that we didn't reward ourselves with the goal, but I can't fault the players’ effort. They put everything into it. You could see that there was a lot of energy. There was good intensity, both in possession and out of possession. Again, we created some really good opportunities and it’s the final part again. I sound like a broken record, but it really comes down to that last moment of putting the ball in the back of the net. But overall, really pleased with the players’ performance tonight.”

On the team’s character

“ They showed resilience, a never-give-up mentality. Everything that we speak about every week. It is defined by moments at times. It’s a cruel game, this game, even when you dominate you don’t always get what you deserve. We concede a goal and showed heart and desire to get back into the game. I know we left it late on, but again, after we made the equalizer, and a well deserved equalizer, we still had moments to win the game. Again, can’t fault the players’ effort ‘cause they’re not leaving anything on the field. They’re putting absolutely everything to get a win and it was shown tonight in our performance.”

Orlando Pride Defender Emily Sams

Opening Statement

“Tonight has been one of our best 90-minute performances, other than the fact that we should have scored a lot more and should have come away with three points. It’s definitely a disappointment. I would say, besides a little point in the first half, we dominated. I think that’s the best team performance we have put together besides the final piece.”

On the frustration of not winning the game

“It's definitely frustrating. I think everyone feels a little bit of that frustration, but I also want to turn that into a positive because we never gave up the whole time. I think we had that belief as soon as we went down that we were going to win that game, so of course it's frustrating to not come away with three points. I think it's a positive that we stuck to what we were doing, and we never let the pressure off and show that disappointment. It's frustrating to do all that work and not come away with three points.”

On the team’s approach to Louisville’s game plan

“I think they were very focused on transition and on the first and second balls. Obviously, they have [Taylor] Flint in the middle who is very tall and very good at flicking the balls on. I think we struggled with that a little bit the first time that we played them at their place a couple weeks ago. I think that we did a lot better with that. I really just think eliminating their transition as much as possible, and I think second balls are just really important. I think we did very well with that. I don't think they had very many chances besides the goal that they had, so I think we did very well with that.”

Orlando Pride Defender Kylie Nadaner

Opening Statement

“We never gave up. That’s a big positive from us. I think we deserved more than that game, but the game is cruel and that’s the way it goes. We just have to take the positives and learn from the negatives and then we will go again.”

On the team’s resilience late in games

“We are resilient. That is part of our identity. We never give up and we are always playing to win, and we always believe in ourselves. I thought we were going to win that game, whole-heartedly. Every single player on the field did. We never give up. I think we need to start games the way we finish them. We tend to finish games very strong and whenever we get down that's when we seem to get a little wake-up call. So, we just need to start games the way we finish them.”

On defensive adjustments throughout the match

“Louisville is a good team. They are fearless. They come to our place, and they press us, and we want it. We invite it. We want teams to press us because it opens up space in behind. So, we just wanted to play through the lines and exploit the space behind it, which we did really well the first few minutes of the game. I think what we are so good at is that we can do both. We can play in behind and play a more direct game, and we can also pick teams apart if they want to press us.”