They said it: Seb Hines, Simone Charley and Prisca Chilufya share their thoughts following draw with Utah Royals

Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines

Opening Statement

“Kind of mixed feelings because we didn't start the way that we would have liked. We weren't ourselves early on, and obviously Utah capitalized on that, they took an early lead. It was much better in the second half, more energy, more intensity, a willingness to go and put pressure on them. We got the well-deserved equalizer, but it wasn't enough to win the game after that, so I think overall, it's two points dropped. We’ve always been very proud to play here in front of our own fans and try and get three points regardless of who we play, and we fell short today."

On having to respond to an early goal

“I think we all know it is incredibly difficult to win games in this league. The parity within the league is very close and we can’t take for granted a team like Utah. They’ve had nearly six weeks to prepare for this game. They have their principles; they have an objective to come here and get the win. It becomes incredibly difficult when you go 1-0 down so early, but you still have enough time to get yourself back into the game. And again, I think that first 20 minutes we weren’t ourselves, we couldn’t connect many passes. Other than the early opportunity from Barbra [Banda], we didn’t really create much either. The weather delay came at a good time for us because after that we were much better, and we were a lot more intentional with everything that we did. We had full belief that we’d come away with the win tonight. We knew that the equalizer would come. We put immense pressure on Utah’s backline and we just fell short. Keeper made some good saves, some good blocks, but I sound like a broken record because it keeps happening. We need to continue to work on that and when we’re on top, scoring the goal.”

On handling the physicality of Utah

“Yeah, it's a regular thing I think in this league. You know, we have to do better. We have to, have little separation movements. The quality of our passing needs to be cleaner. A lot of the time it is player marking. So, can you get away from your marker? Earlier on in the game, we didn't do that. We'll review it. It's good to have players back in mark it as well. There's a lot of players who have been on international duty and missed a lot of the work that we've been doing leading up to this game. That's the consequence of having so many great players who are on the international stage. We'll keep working at it. There's still a lot of games still to be played. We'll just fine tune a lot of things. It's really fine margins right now and if we can continue to improve in those fine margins, we'll be talking about three points.”

Orlando Pride Forward Simone Charley

Opening Statement

“I think it was a hard-fought game. I don’t think we got off to the start that we wanted to, but I think we showed our resilience. Especially with how we responded to going down a goal and being able to come back and get a goal, I think is a testament to our grit. This is just another building block on part two of the season. We have so many more games to go so we’re just getting started.”

On returning to play after over two years of being out due to injury

“It’s been a journey to say the least, 854 days to be exact. It was just surreal. I’m just so grateful for the belief that this club has had in me and just for being part of the whole journey. Stepping on the field right before the game, I just think back to how many people worked so hard to get me there. I think of Cory [Price], I think of Erin [Angelini], I think of Kelly [Turney], who’s the one who carted me off the field as I’m sobbing that I tore my second Achilles. There are so many people like Kelly, I feel like those are all the people who come to mind. As I stand there, just standing on their shoulders, and then I run out on the field and I’m like, ‘It’s happening, guys, it’s happening.’ It’s been two years and it's here. It feels surreal. I feel like it’s a dream. Someone pinch me.”

On the moment she entered the match

“It’s been a moment I've thought about for almost two and a half years. The thought of that is what kept me going. So many days I lost sight of that. So, for that moment to happen, I feel like I was trying to play free. I had a conversation with Grant Hill and one thing he had said was just to have fun, no judgement, relax, and be yourself. I was just like, ‘I’m going to have fun today’ and that’s what I tried to do.”

Orlando Pride Forward Prisca Chilufya

Opening Statement

“It was a tough game. Going in, I knew it wasn't going to be an easy game. You know, playing a team that's like at the bottom of the table, they have nothing to lose. So, they always come at you with everything they have. It wasn't easy at all. It wasn't an easy game. But we just look forward to the next task that’s ahead of us and just see how we can get the points that we need.”

On her mindset entering the match

“In my mind, I only had one thought, which was, ‘What can I do to change the faces of the fans? What can I do to give hope to my fellow teammates?’ That was the only thing that was on my mind. I was just thinking, ‘let me do my part.’ But I wanted the opponent to feel that something had changed. So, my focus was just on helping the team and at least giving some hope to the fans so that they keep cheering us on.”

On dealing with the pressure from Utah

“I feel like we did very well towards the end of the game. I think we did a lot that we were supposed to do in the first half, just putting pressure on them. So, I didn't feel any kind of pressure from the opponents, especially when I went in because we had more control of the game. I think we had more rhythm than the opponent. It's just unfortunate that we only had one goal.”