It’s impossible to think about coming Orlando Pride playoff run without starting with the goalkeeper.
When discussing a soccer club’s success, especially Orlando Pride, the talk always starts with scoring. Who takes the penalty kicks? Who catches the long passes and crosses and kicks or heads them into the net?
But with Orlando Pride, the focus inevitably moves toward the goalkeeper. That is Anna Moorhouse. Every coach, scout, and supporter recognizes not only her startling statistics. But descriptions fly off the statistics sheet and start describing the art form she’s created keeping goals for Orlando.
Whether playing forward, midfield, or defender for the Pride, the squad always takes the pitch with confidence knowing Moorhouse has the goal.
Head Coach Seb Hines admitted he was concerned during their latest match with Bay City FC. The team reacted negatively to the strategy their opponent presented. Hines recognizes that all opponents go to their brain trust in developing a special game plan when facing the Pride.
The match started going back and forth as Pride players were pushed a bit off their beam. While Bay City rests in eighth place and Orlando solidly in first, they are no pushovers. The opponents gave Orlando everything they could handle, even matching the Pride with 13 shots.
It was a 1-0 win that took all the effort Pride players could muster. And anchoring that effort was Moorhouse in goal.
At the end of the match, Moorhouse became the all-time NWSL leader in clean sheets in a season with her 12th. Moorhouse acknowledged she has been hunting that very record since before the start of this season. Yet, she’s not satisfied to sit and admire her work.
For the rest of the season, Moorhouse will work to extend that record of clean sheets as far as she can. She’d like to see the record stand for many years.
She said as she thinks about the record, she envisions the names of her teammates on it, as well. That’s because solid defense and ball control enabled her to protect the goal in every shutout this season.
Her teammates get credit, of course. Yet the anchor of her teammates’ effort in the greatest season of the Orlando Pride is the player protecting the goal. That is Anna Moorhouse.
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