Orlando Pride midfielder Abby Elinsky is taking her professional career one step at a time.
Even though she was drafted by the Houston Dash, the former UNC player knew opportunities to play in the NWSL were limited. There are just nine teams, each with 18-20 available roster spots. She was released on March 10 – two weeks before the start of the 2018 NWSL season.
She landed with the Pride shortly after and stuck around as a trialist.
“Being able to have the chance to train and compete with the sort of players that are here at the Pride, getting up to compete is right there for me,” she said. “I’m really thankful for that. I love being in this environment with the sort of coaches that are here and the players motivate me and help me every day to get better.”
With 10 players gone for international duty, the Pride had to sign additional players to temporary contracts. The squad won’t be back at full strength until the end of the month and since the start of the season, four National Team Replacement players, including Elinsky, have been signed by the club.
Two of those players, midfielders Christine Creighton and Bridget Callahan, have been from UCF. Forward Nádia Gomes, who the Pride selected with the 23rd pick in the 2018 NWSL draft, was signed and on the Pride’s bench for their recent game against the Washington Spirit, but she was recently called up to Portugal’s women’s national team.
The NWSL implemented National Team Player Replacement this season and did away with the Amateur Player Lists that allowed teams to use unpaid players as game-day replacements.
Under National Team Player Replacement rules, players signed to temporary deals must receive the minimum player salary.
They must also be domestic players and are released once the player they’re replacing comes back.
Against the Spirit, four of the Pride’s 18 available players were National Team Replacements. Only Callahan saw match minutes for the Pride — she came on as a sub in the 90th minute.
“We’ve got a group of players and an organization that makes players feel very welcome here,” Orlando Pride coach Tom Sermanni said. “The acclimation, I don’t think, is that difficult. Obviously, finding players has been a little bit challenging. We’re lucky we’ve got great relationships with the universities, particularly UCF, FSU, USF and Florida.
“That helps us. We know those coaches and they help us get players .The young players that have come in here as replacement players have been terrific.”
Elinsky – whose goal is to play for the U.S. women’s national team – said she’s hoping to eventually sign a long-term contract.
“Right when I got here, I was just training with [the Pride] for trials,” she said. “I was just happy that whole week. To be in a sort of spot like this, the environment and the trainings, I just thought there was so much I was getting out of it right off the bat. So much that I was learning.”
Sermanni said the players signed as National Team Replacements can’t have any NCAA eligibility left.
“When you’re recruiting and when you’re looking at players for the draft, it’s very difficult when you’re looking at college soccer,” he said. “Apart from the very top-end players, it’s a real mix. You’re not quite sure how they’re going to adjust to coming into the professional game.”
Sermanni said he trusts the word of the coaches who contact him about potential new players – that’s how Dani Weatherholt landed with the Pride. Santa Clara coach Jerry Smith advocated for Weatherholt, who was with the Broncos for four seasons.
“We’d gone into the fourth round of the draft, Year 1,” Sermanni said. “We had one pick left. Didn’t really know who to pick and Dani was out there. Spoke to Jerry and he gave us the exact description of what Dani Weatherholt’s about. She’s been here three years now and is established on our team.”
Hill sidelined
Forward Rachel Hill sat out a portion of training open to media due to a groin strain. Coach Tom Sermanni said the club is being cautious with her. The groin strain is something she’s been dealing with since the preseason, he said.