The NWSL season is just over halfway complete and the Orlando Pride show no signs of slowing down. With nine wins, five draws, and no losses, they continue to rewrite club and league record books. While there is everything left to play for, this piece will serve as a retrospective on the Pride’s performances and results in the NWSL so far. It will look at notable statistics for the players and the club, as well as highlighting the records and milestones already surpassed by the midpoint of the 2024 season.

Fixture Results and the NWSL Table

Despite the incredible first half of the season for Orlando, the Pride are not the only undefeated team in the league. A look at the league table below shows Orlando and the Kansas City Current tied at the top with identical records, though the Current claim first place due to the goal-differential tiebreaker.

It seemed that the Pride had closed the gap in goal differential with their recent 6-0 win over Utah Royals FC, but the Current then followed Orlando’s lead with a 4-1 road win over the Portland Thorns. Hot on the heels of the teams tied at the top are the Washington Spirit, and the NJ/NY Gotham FC side they defeated on Sunday.

NWSL Table and Pride Fixture Results

The 26-match NWSL regular season is formatted so that each team plays each other twice, once at home and once on the road. The table illustrates that the Pride have played more matches at home and more matches against the middle of the table than the top. However, while the Pride have yet to play either Kansas City or Gotham, wins against Washington and Portland do show that the Pride are beating some of the league’s better teams during their undefeated run.

Even after the 6-0 thrashing of Utah on Friday, the 3-2 win against the Spirit may stand as the most impressive result so far. Fans will remember that game as Barbra Banda’s full debut; with a goal, assist, and penalty drawn on the night, she started her career at the blistering pace that has continued since.

Pride Players on the Leaderboards

Orlando’s place at the top of the table has all the hallmarks of sustained success, with an emphasis on defense and the ability to overcome absences around the pitch. To go along with their league position, Pride players are also among league leaders for defensive performances and goal contributions.

Defensively, the Pride’s 11 conceded goals are tied for the fewest goals allowed in the league along with Gotham, and their six clean sheets are tied with the Houston Dash for most in the league. The defense has been critical to preventing opposition chances, and Anna Moorhouse has been a solid shot stopper. Her 41 saves, at an impressive 80% save rate, are enough for fourth in the league. Houston’s Jane Campbell leads all goalkeepers with 67 saves.

Another key to the defensive rigidity has been the availability and adaptability of several defensive standouts. The table below shows Orlando’s leaders in minutes played, headlined by Moorhouse, the only player who has played every minute.

Minutes Leaders for the Pride

Below Moorhouse, the rest of the top five players in minutes played have all started at multiple positions and thrived. The value of being able to deploy Kylie Strom and Emily Sams at center back or fullback, Kerry Abello at fullback or anywhere else, and Haley McCutcheon at fullback or midfield can’t be overstated.

At the other end of the pitch, Banda is putting together a historic run. With 10 goals scored in just 10 matches, she’s tied with Sophia Smith for the most in the NWSL. Banda is particularly lethal with her headers – her five headed goals have already broken the Pride’s record for all-time headed goals in just half of a season.

Banda’s five assists also place her on the league leaderboard, behind Spirit rookie Croix Bethune who has nine and Smith and Chawinga who both have six. Despite dominating the headlines, Banda isn’t the only cog making the Orlando Pride machine run. Orlando’s attacking midfield pair of Marta and Summer Yates have contributed four goals each. Julie Doyle and Ally Watt have each added two goals as well. Behind Banda, Abello has contributed two assists, and no other player has had more than one, as the attacking buildup play has been spread throughout the squad.

One of the underappreciated aspects of Orlando’s season has been the development of talent acquired through the NWSL draft. While not every drafted player stars immediately, Head Coach Seb Hines has a proven track record of developing players to contribute. To show this development, the table below includes nine players drafted over the previous three seasons who have debuted for Orlando. The minutes these draftees have played in the NWSL is then tallied as a percentage of the full season to track each players’ involvement from year to year.

Pride Draftee Development by Season

Starting with the 2022 rookie class, Doyle shows the trajectory any coach would hope for. She has been rewarded for her year-over-year improvement with more involvement each season. Cluff was on a similar trajectory before her trade to Utah. While she no longer plays for the Pride, her development in Orlando increased her value and the returns for the Pride when she was traded.

The 2023 rookie class was signed to contribute immediately, as shown by the large minute shares garnered by Emily Sams and Messiah Bright in their first seasons. While Bright requested a trade before year two, Sams is just as important for the club in her second season. She has played almost every minute since being drafted, showing her fitness and importance to the team.

Yates and Brianna Martinez, on the other hand, show a different path to impacting the club. While their involvement in 2023 was minimal, they worked hard on their fitness and skills in the off-season and have played bigger roles in 2024, earning the trust of Hines.

This growth is something the new rookies should be keen to learn from. Both Ally Lemos and Cori Dyke are featuring periodically from the bench. The plan is that exposure now hastens their development into key players one to two years down the road.

All in all, Hines and his staff have a track record of improving players and maximizing the roster. It will be up to the rookies and younger players to make the most of the opportunities in front of them.

Milestones and Records Broken in 2024

1. Marta continues to surpass her own milestones. Every match she plays grows the club record for all-time appearances, standing now at 132. Her goals against Utah also extended the club record for all-time goals to 35.
2. Banda has set the club record for braces in a season with four. Is it only a matter of time until she achieves the first Pride hat trick?
3. Friday against Utah, Orlando set team records for goals scored and winning margin with six each. This surpassed the previous records set in a 5-0 win over the Chicago Red Stars in 2023.
4. Earlier in 2024, Orlando set the NWSL record for consecutive wins with eight by defeating Portland at home. The streak ended with their draw at San Diego Wave.
5. The Pride continue to extend their team-best undefeated streak, which sits at 15 games and dates back to the final day of 2023.
6. Orlando’s 0-0 draw against the North Carolina Courage on June 15 marked the end of a 16-match scoring streak, which was a new club record.
7. Orlando has 32 points in NWSL play and is rapidly closing in on their best single-season points total of 40, set in 2017. Just three wins from the final 12 games would be enough to exceed the current record.

As the numbers and milestones show, Orlando is having a historic season in the NWSL. In post-match interviews however, the players and staff repeatedly make it clear that the club’s biggest goals are still ahead of it.

The Orlando Pride defeated the Utah Royals 6-0 Friday night in a record-setting performance. In front of the third-largest crowd in club history — and the biggest for a game that wasn’t the team’s home opener — the Pride scored the most goals in team history and won by the largest margin in team history. Barbara Banda became the second Pride player to be involved in four goals in a game with two goals and two assists. While it was a dominant performance, Head Coach Seb Hines will undoubtedly be pleased with when the team scored its goals.

Since taking over as interim head coach in 2022, Hines has spoken several times about the “big five moments” in games. These include the beginning of the game, just before halftime, right after halftime, the end of the game, and right after a goal. Soccer is largely a game of momentum, and scoring in those moments can be crucial. It can lift a team to a win, while failing to make the most of those points in the game can send the club to a loss.

On Friday night, the Pride scored in all of these moments, enabling them to keep full control of the game. While not the earliest goal they’ve scored, Barbra Banda’s 27th-minute header gave the Pride a much-needed and deserved lead. Summer Yates intercepted a poor Agnes Nyberg pass in the third minute of first-half stoppage time and beat Mandy Haught to make it 2-0, putting a second goal on the board just before the break.

The Pride have dominated several first halves this season, but rarely led by more than one at halftime. When the opponent gets into the break only down one, it provides inspiration to go back out and find an equalizer. Similarly, failing to convert shortly after halftime keeps the opposition in the game. The second goal just before halftime was essential in keeping control of the game and it led to a third.

“The message to the players at halftime is 2-0 is always a dangerous score line,” Hines said after the game. “We’ve got to make sure we get that third goal.”

The Pride took that message to heart, scoring just two minutes into the second half. The second goal just before the break took the wind out of the sails of the Royals, enabling the Pride to continue pushing. That third goal sealed the three points for the Pride, ensuring a comeback wouldn’t occur.

“To get it so quickly after halftime was important for us,” Hines said about the team’s third goal of the night. “And I think that momentum kind of settled us into the rest of the game.”

Banda took advantage of another bad pass in the back in the 86th minute to make it 4-0, found Marta two minutes later to make it 5-0, and the duo teamed up to set up Ally Watt for the sixth in the fifth minute of stoppage time. They nearly had a seventh just before the final whistle when a Marta corner kick was headed off the crossbar by Kylie Strom.

For the first time since taking over as head coach, the Pride scored in each of the big five moments that Hines has spoken so often about. Each of those conversions had an impact on the win and on what became a historic night for the club.

The Pride have made huge improvements during the 2024 season. They’ve been much more accurate when shooting and shown an ability to close out games, while multiple young players have shown development. Scoring in each of the big five moments for the first time is another milestone. The next step is to do that more often as the Pride look to become the top team in the NWSL.

“It was incredible to get into those positions and be relentless and score the goal and put the ball in the back of the net,” Hines said after the game. “There’s a lot of games still to be played. But I think what the players have set for themselves, they want that consistency.”

While most people will focus on the number of goals, the margin of victory, or the clean sheet, scoring at the most significant points of the game was another major factor in the team’s impressive performance. It’s something they’ll look to repeat as the season continues.

The Orlando Pride announced this afternoon that the club has agreed to a new two-year contract with defender Brianna Martinez. The deal will keep the right back in purple through the 2025 NWSL season.

“We’re excited to keep Bri in Orlando through next season,” Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Haley Carter said in a club press release. “She invested in herself in the off-season and has demonstrated she can step up and perform when called upon. She’s been a reliable contributor at every opportunity presented to her. Since joining us in 2023, she’s provided a spark when coming off the bench and has excelled when it’s been her time to start in the back line. She’s enthusiastic to play any role asked of her, competes every day in training, and challenges those around her to do the same. She’s earned this new contract with her commitment to growth and her consistent performances day-in and day-out, and we’re thankful she wants to continue building with us.”

Martinez was selected by Racing Louisville with the 17th overall pick in the 2023 NWSL Draft. The Notre Dame product joined the Pride during the 2023 preseason as a non-roster invitee, eventually making the team. She played in eight regular-season games off the bench last year, recording 49 minutes. Additionally, she played in four NWSL Challenge Cup games (three starts), recording 301 minutes. The second-year player has made a much more significant impact this season, often starting at right back. She’s played 12 games this year (eight starts) and recorded 696 minutes.

“I am beyond thrilled to be staying in Orlando. I have already learned so much from my coaches and teammates, and I cannot wait to continue to grow as a player with such an amazing team,” Martinez said in the club’s release. “This is such a special environment and I’m so excited to continue to be a part of it. Vamos Pride!”

Prior to being selected in the 2023 NWSL Draft, Martinez was a key contributor at the University of Notre Dame. She captained the team during the 2021 and 2022 seasons, logging 1,476 minutes and recording two goals and two assists during her collegiate career. She was also selected to the U.S. U-23 National Team for the 2022 Thorns Preseason Tournament.

The Pride picked up Martinez’s contract option for 2024 during the off-season, meaning she would have been out of contract after this season. As has been club practice in recent years, Orlando has eliminated the need to negotiate a new deal in the off-season by signing Martinez early and extending her stay in the City Beautiful.

What It Means for Orlando

Pride Head Coach Seb Hines has made multiple positional moves this season, including shifting Kylie Strom from left back to center back, Emily Sams from center back to right back, Kerry Abello from attacking midfield to left back, and Haley McCutcheon from right back to defensive midfield. Martinez hasn’t been the first choice right back this season, but Rafaelle’s injuries and international absences have forced her into a starting role as Sams has shifted over to center back.

Rafaelle and Sams are signed through the 2025 NWSL season, so Martinez will likely continue in a reserve role. However, her signing ensures depth at that position. Given that she’s played in 12 games this season and started nine, Hines clearly trusts her in that role and will deploy her as the starting right back when needed.