The National Women's Soccer League returns in earnest this weekend and Friday night starts the action off as the Orlando Pride take on the Washington Spirit.
All international players are scheduled to be back for both teams tomorrow and, depending on their fitness, we could see both teams at near full strength. The key players missing from both teams will be Steph Catley and Estefania Banini who will both miss the rest of the season due to injury and surgery respectively.
Wins are needed by Orlando
If the Pride have any ambitions of reaching the postseason, they need to win all of their last five matches and hope that teams above them will drop points. Orlando currently sits in seventh with 18 points, seven away from the Chicago Red Stars who occupy the last spot in the race for the playoffs. A win against the Spirit, who are in first, will edge Orlando closer to that fourth position and set them up well for the last stretch of the regular season.
US internationals Ashlyn Harris and Alex Morgan are expected to be available and probably start this match while it has been reported that Canadian internationals, Josée Bélanger and Kaylyn Kyle, Australian international Laura Alleway and Brazilian international Monica Alves could all potentially feature at some point for the Pride after their exploits at the 2016 Rio Olympics. All these reinforcements will help head coach Tom Sermanni and the team to regain their momentum after going on a run of one win in four games since their international players departed for the Olympics. Harris, Alleway, Bélanger and Monica should shore up a defense that had let seven goals through in four matches while the re-addition of Morgan and Kyle will surely give the team further attacking threat as they look to defeat a formidable Spirit side.
Momentum is the name of the game for the Spirit
The Washington Spirit come into this match on a high after defeating the Houston Dash last week in their make-up game. The Spirit are on course to finish on top of the table at the end of the regular season and are currently three points away from second-placed Portland Thorns FC. If they continue to pick up points, they will finish in first and as they are virtually guaranteed to end up in the post-season, they will want to keep winning and get home advantage to start off the playoffs.
Like Orlando, Washington also welcomes back a number of internationals. Defender Ali Krieger featured in the match against the Dash and this week she will be joined by fellow US international Crystal Dunn. Canadian internationals Diana Matheson, Stephanie Labbé and Selina Zardosky, fresh from their Bronze medal win at the Olympics, could also have a part to play if head coach Jim Gabarra feels that they are ready and match fit enough. The Spirit have fared well without their internationals, picking up three wins in four matches and this run of form doesn't seem to be slowing down anytime soon.
Key matchups to look out for
This game will be won based on whoever comes out on top between the Pride's back line and the Spirit's forward line. In Dunn, the Spirit have one of the most explosive players in the league and even though Alex Morgan will be vying to make an impact of her own on the other side of the field, the Pride's defense seems shakier than the Spirit's based on previous matches. Joanna Lohman has also been in good form this season and her, alongside Christine Nairn, can ably provide for the likes of Dunn and Cheyna Williams.
Another impact point could be the duel between Kristen Edmonds and Ali Krieger. Krieger is well-regarded as one of, if not the best, right back in the game right now and Edmonds has probably been Orlando's best player so far this season so it will be interesting to see how Krieger deals with Edmonds pace and how Edmonds will tackle Krieger's great positional sense.
Washington can clinch playoff spot
If Sky Blue FC and the Seattle Reign both lose this weekend, the Spirit will become the first NWSL team to clinch a spot in the 2016 NWSL Playoffs. Washington has accumalated 35 points in 16 games played and there are only three teams that can match that total.