# 2016 Orlando Pride season

The 2016 season was Orlando Pride's inaugural season. The team competes in the National Women's Soccer League, the top division of women's soccer in the United States.

## Team launch

The team was launched at a press conference held at Lake Eola Park in Downtown Orlando on October 20, 2015. At that time, it was announced that Tom Sermanni, previously the manager of both the Australian and United States women's national teams, would be the team's first manager. It was also announced that the team would share its home with Orlando City SC, beginning at Camping World Stadium in 2016, and eventually moving to Orlando City Stadium.

## Squad information
### Coaching staff

| Position | Staff |
| Head Coach | Tom Sermanni |
Last updated: October 26, 2015 Source: Orlando Pride: Staff

### Roster

The NWSL held an Expansion Draft to populate the Pride's roster on November 2, 2015. The Pride held the first pick in the 2016 NWSL College Draft, though it traded that pick to Portland Thorns FC in exchange for Alex Morgan and Kaylyn Kyle. It will get the first pick in the subsequent rounds of the College Draft. Orlando will also receive top priority in player discovery and the waiver wire.
| Number | Player | Position | Date of birth | Previous club | 2016 NWSL appearances | 2016 NWSL goals | 2016 NWSL assists | Notes |
| Goalkeepers ||||||||||
| 1 | Ashlyn Harris | GK | (1985-10-19) October 19, 1985 (age 39) | Washington Spirit | 10 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 19 | Aubrey Bledsoe | GK | (1991-11-20) November 20, 1991 (age 33) | Fortuna Hjørring | 1 | 0 | 0 | injured |
| 25 | Kaitlyn Savage | GK | (1990-10-27) October 27, 1990 (age 34) | Glenfield Rovers FC | 2 | 0 | 0 | – |
| Defenders ||||||||||
| 2 | Camille Levin | DF | (1990-04-24) April 24, 1990 (age 34) | Sky Blue FC | 3 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 3 | Toni Pressley | DF | (1990-02-19) February 19, 1990 (age 35) | Houston Dash | 8 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 5 | Laura Alleway | DF | (1989-11-28) November 28, 1989 (age 35) | Melbourne City | 9 | 0 | 0 | - |
| 7 | Steph Catley | DF | (1994-01-26) January 26, 1994 (age 31) | Melbourne City | 11 | 1 | 1 | – |
| 9 | Josée Bélanger | DF | (1986-05-14) May 14, 1986 (age 38) | FC Rosengård | 11 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 12 | Kristen Edmonds | DF | (1987-05-22) May 22, 1987 (age 37) | Western New York Flash | 12 | 3 | 1 | - |
| 21 | Mônica | DF | (1987-04-21) April 21, 1987 (age 37) | Flamengo | 11 | 0 | 0 | – |
| Midfielders ||||||||||
| 6 | Kaylyn Kyle | MF | (1988-10-06) October 6, 1988 (age 36) | Portland Thorns FC | 10 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 14 | Becky Edwards | MF | (1988-05-22) May 22, 1988 (age 36) | Western New York Flash | 11 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 16 | Leah Fortune | MF | (1990-12-13) December 13, 1990 (age 34) | Charlotte Lady Eagles | 2 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 17 | Dani Weatherholt | MF | (1994-03-17) March 17, 1994 (age 30) | Santa Clara Broncos | 5 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 18 | Maddy Evans | MF | (1991-04-21) April 21, 1991 (age 33) | Boston Breakers | 10 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 26 | Samantha Witteman | MF | (1994-02-26) February 26, 1994 (age 31) | California Golden Bears | 11 | 0 | 0 | – |
| Forwards ||||||||||
| 4 | Jamia Fields | FW | (1993-09-24) September 24, 1993 (age 31) | Western New York Flash | 7 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 8 | Sarah Hagen | FW | (1989-11-18) November 18, 1989 (age 35) | FC Kansas City | 11 | 1 | 1 | – |
| 10 | Lianne Sanderson | FW | (1988-02-03) February 3, 1988 (age 37) | Apollon Limassol | 8 | 2 | 1 | transferred |
| 10 | Lisa De Vanna | FW | (1984-11-14) November 14, 1984 (age 40) | Melbourne City | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| 11 | Christina Burkenroad | FW | (1993-07-12) July 12, 1993 (age 31) | Cal State Fullerton | 5 | 0 | 0 | – |
| 13 | Alex Morgan | FW | (1989-07-02) July 2, 1989 (age 35) | Portland Thorns FC | 10 | 4 | 1 | – |
| 23 | Jasmyne Spencer | FW | (1990-08-27) August 27, 1990 (age 34) | Western New York Flash | 13 | 4 | 1 | – |

### Preseason non-roster invitees

| No. | Position | Player | Nation |
| — | MF | Leah Fortune | Brazil |
| — | GK | Julia Kantor | United States |
| — | FW | Chelsea Leiva | United States |
| — | MF | Sierra Lelii | United States |
| — | MF | Kim Reynolds | United States |
| — | DF | Jackie Simpson | United States |
| — | MF | Lauren Smith | United States |
| — | FW | Allie Wisner | United States |

## NWSL College Draft

Draft picks are not automatically signed to the team roster. The 2016 NWSL College Draft was held on January 15, 2016. Orlando had three selections.
| Round | Pick | Player | Pos. | College | Status |
| 1 | 10 | Samantha Witteman | DF | University of California, Berkeley | Signed |
| 2 | 15 | Christina Burkenroad | FW | Cal State Fullerton | Signed |
| 4 | 31 | Dani Weatherholt | MF | Santa Clara University | Signed |

## Match results

Win  Draw  Loss

### National Women's Soccer League

    All times in regular season on Eastern Daylight Time (UTC-04:00).
It was announced on February 17, 2016, that the Pride would open their inaugural season on the road on April 17 at Portland Thorns FC, and would host Houston Dash for their home opener on April 23. The remainder of the schedule was released the next day.
The Pride's "local opponent" by league definition is the Houston Dash. They will play the Dash four times this year, and every other team home-and-away.

#### Results summary

| Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Overall | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Home | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away | Away |
Last updated: September 24, 2016. Source: Match reports
| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 |
| Stadium | A | H | A | H | H | A | A | A | A | H | H | H | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H |
| Result | L | W | L | W | W | W | L | L | L | W | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | D | L | L |

#### League standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Portland Thorns FC | 20 | 12 | 5 | 3 | 35 | 19 | +16 | 41 | NWSL Shield |
| 2 | Washington Spirit | 20 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 30 | 21 | +9 | 39 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 3 | Chicago Red Stars | 20 | 9 | 6 | 5 | 24 | 20 | +4 | 33 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 4 | Western New York Flash (C) | 20 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 40 | 26 | +14 | 32 | NWSL Playoffs |
| 5 | Seattle Reign FC | 20 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 29 | 21 | +8 | 30 | |
| 6 | FC Kansas City | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 18 | 20 | −2 | 26 | |
| 7 | Sky Blue FC | 20 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 24 | 30 | −6 | 26 | |
| 8 | Houston Dash | 20 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 29 | 29 | 0 | 22 | |
| 9 | Orlando Pride | 20 | 6 | 1 | 13 | 20 | 30 | −10 | 19 | |
| 10 | Boston Breakers | 20 | 3 | 2 | 15 | 14 | 47 | −33 | 11 | |

## Honors and awards
### NWSL Awards
#### NWSL Team of the Year

| Team | Position | Player | Ref. |
| Best XI | Goalkeeper | Ashlyn Harris | |

#### NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year

| Player | Saves | Goals-Against-Average | Appearances | Ref. |
| Ashlyn Harris | 62 | 1.33 | 15 | |

### NWSL Weekly Awards
#### NWSL Player of the Week

| Week | Result | Player | Ref. |
| 12 | Won | Kristen Edmonds | |

#### NWSL Goal of the Week

| Week | Result | Player |
| 1 | Won | Steph Catley |
| 5 | Won | Alex Morgan |
| 10 | Won | Jasmyne Spencer |
| 12 | Won | Kristen Edmonds |
| 17 | Won | Alex Morgan |

#### NWSL Save of the Week

| Week | Result | Player |
| 2 | Won | Ashlyn Harris |
| 3 | Won | Ashlyn Harris |
| 4 | Won | Ashlyn Harris |
| 6 | Won | Ashlyn Harris |
| 8 | Won | Ashlyn Harris |
| 9 | Won | Ashlyn Harris |
| 10 | Won | Ashlyn Harris |
| 18 | Won | Ashlyn Harris |

## Media

All NWSL matches not aired through their national contract with Fox Sports 1 are livestreamed on the NWSL's YouTube channel. Orlando Pride home matches are being called by Orlando City play-by-play announcer Jeff Radcliffe and color commentator Becky Burleigh, head coach of the Florida Gators women's soccer team.

## Squad statistics

Source: NWSL
| N | Pos | Player | GP | GS | Min | G | A | PK | Shot | SOG | SOG% | Cro | CK | Off | Foul | FS | YC | RC |
| 5 | DF | Laura Alleway | 11 | 9 | 781 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 50% | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 9 | FW | Josee Belanger | 14 | 14 | 1084 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 33% | 2 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 13 | 2 | 0 |
| 19 | GK | Aubrey Bledsoe | 1 | 1 | 90 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | MF | Christina Burkenroad | 7 | 2 | 253 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | DF | Stephanie Catley | 11 | 11 | 990 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 6 | 67% | 11 | 22 | 1 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Lisa De Vanna | 3 | 2 | 154 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 33% | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | MF | Kristen Edmonds | 19 | 19 | 1701 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 30 | 16 | 53% | 6 | 41 | 1 | 8 | 22 | 1 | 0 |
| 14 | MF | Becky Edwards | 16 | 10 | 808 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 50% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 7 | 1 | 0 |
| 18 | DF | Maddy Evans | 16 | 12 | 1108 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 33% | 2 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 15 | 2 | 0 |
| 4 | MF | Jamia Fields | 12 | 6 | 627 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 17% | 6 | 0 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | FW | Leah Fortune | 3 | 0 | 43 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | FW | Sarah Hagen | 17 | 8 | 587 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 7 | 78% | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | GK | Ashlyn Harris | 15 | 15 | 1350 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | DF | Monica Hickmann | 16 | 15 | 1376 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 50% | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | MF | Kaylyn Kyle | 18 | 16 | 1436 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 20% | 0 | 1 | 5 | 18 | 9 | 2 | 0 |
| 2 | DF | Cami Levin | 10 | 9 | 836 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 50% | 2 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 13 | FW | Alex Morgan | 15 | 15 | 1350 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 44 | 20 | 45% | 3 | 0 | 10 | 7 | 19 | 1 | 0 |
| 3 | DF | Toni Pressley | 14 | 11 | 1027 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 13% | 0 | 5 | 1 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 0 |
| 10 | FW | Lianne Sanderson | 8 | 3 | 419 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 43% | 2 | 12 | 1 | 5 | 11 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | GK | Kaitlyn Savage | 4 | 4 | 360 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 23 | FW | Jasmyne Spencer | 20 | 17 | 1564 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 18 | 60% | 7 | 0 | 15 | 12 | 33 | 2 | 0 |
| 17 | MF | Dani Weatherholt | 12 | 9 | 786 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 43% | 2 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | DF | Sam Witteman | 16 | 12 | 1070 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 57% | 7 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Total | Team Total | Team Total | 20 | — | 19800 | 19 | 11 | 0 | 194 | 93 | 48% | 52 | 82 | 44 | 155 | 187 | 15 | 0 |
| N | Pos | Goal keeper | GP | GS | Min | GA | GA/G | PKA | PKF | Shot | SOG | Sav | Sav% | YC | RC |
| 19 | GK | Aubrey Bledsoe | 1 | 1 | 90 | 2 | 2.00 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 50% | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | GK | Ashlyn Harris | 15 | 15 | 1350 | 20 | 1.33 | 1 | 1 | 161 | 82 | 62 | 76% | 0 | 0 |
| 25 | GK | Kaitlyn Savage | 4 | 4 | 360 | 8 | 2.00 | 1 | 1 | 50 | 26 | 19 | 73% | 0 | 0 |
| Team Total | Team Total | Team Total | 20 | — | 1800 | 30 | 1.50 | 2 | 2 | 222 | 112 | 83 | 74% | 0 | 0 |