The Orlando Pride knew they were getting a good player when they traded for Ali Krieger in the offseason. But even they didn’t anticipate how fast she would be.

“I always knew she was quick,” Head Coach Tom Sermanni said. “Obviously, as players start getting into the dreaded 30s, you never quite know how long that speed lasts for and it varies from player to player. No, I’m not surprised because she’s a consummate professional and a great athlete. So, she’s got great attributes. What we don’t know in all of that is as players start to get into their 30s and head into their mid-30s is you don’t know when that’s going to drop off. And you have different examples, look at Rampone. She’s still being able to get forward and get back at 40. So, hopefully Ali Krieger will be a carbon copy of Christie Pearce.”

Christie Pearce is a 42-year-old defender for Sky Blue FC and a former U.S Women’s National Team member. Pearce has announced that this season will likely be her last in the NWSL, but playing into your 40s is an achievement for any player. At 32-years-old, Krieger is doing what she needs to do to maintain her speed as she gets older. As a result, she feels like she has never been in better shape in her life.

“It’s been really good,” Krieger said. “As I get older, I feel like I need to have really good form in order to continue to be fast and also to keep up. And I think that as long as I practice my form and the running, then everything else comes into play. Once I get into my stride, I feel a lot better running. You know, as I get older, I feel like I’m getting better. I’m feeling better, I’m feeling fitter, and I’m faster. And it’s funny, people tend to think as you get older you get slower and you’re not as good as you were when you were young. But I actually feel faster, fitter, stronger, and even more intelligent than I was when I was young with all the experience.”

Her experience and intelligence helps her team significantly as well. Sermanni believes that Krieger has exceeded the team’s expectations not only with her speed and her fitness, but also with her leadership.

“We knew how good she was when we made that signing,” Sermanni said. “She’s lived up to expectations and in many ways surpassed those expectations with her performances at training, her performances in games, her leadership, and how she goes about demanding the best of herself first and then demanding the best of the players around her. And she does it in such a way that it’s done in a real positive environment. So, she’ll give out a strong message to players when it's needed but she manages to do it in a really positive way. And that’s where that key leadership role comes in.”

Whether it’s keeping up with players like Christen Press in the run of play or helping her team make critical decisions in key moments, Krieger is a leader and a huge contributor to this Orlando Pride squad. Heading into the second half of the season, she will work to continue to get faster, stronger, and more intelligent and vocal with the goal of helping her team climb that table.