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How Orlando Pride Players Have Performed in Olympics Past and Present and Predictions for the Future

A deep dive into the history of the Orlando Pride at the Summer Olympics.

Published

2 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Charles Dickens I am not, but being that much of the women’s soccer world is focused on the Olympic football (soccer) tournament, I want to write a little about the (ghosts of) Orlando Pride’s Olympics past, present, and future. The good news is that we are going to be looking at the fun topic of players who played, or still play, for the Pride. The bad news is, again, you will be reading my prose and not that of Charles Dickens.

It would take some real David Copperfield (you English majors out there see what I did there) type magic for Dickens to write this since he died in 1870, 26 years before the first-ever Summer Olympics and 126 years before the inclusion of women’s soccer in the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. We will not be going all the way back to 1996, but let’s go back to 2016 and 2021 (and yet, somehow, also 2020), and from there we will look at the current Paris games and I will close with a prediction about which Pride players I think have a chance to participate in a future Olympiad.

The Pride’s inaugural season was 2016, and that team sent five players to the Rio de Janeiro Olympics: Steph Catley and Laura Alleway represented Australia; Mônica represented Brazil; Josée Bélanger represented Canada; and the face of the franchise, Alex Morgan, represented the U.S. All four nations advanced out of the group stage and into the knockout stage, and all of the Pride players averaged playing at least 60 minutes per match, with two players even averaging more than 90 minutes per match due to playing in games where there was extra time.

Here is a chart of some of the 2016 Pride players’ key statistics during those Olympic games, laid next to their stats from the NWSL season (all data from fbref.com, and it should be noted that Alleway, Catley, and Mônica were defenders):

A few items on these players and their performances in the 2016 Olympics:

  • There were several Pride vs. Pride matchups, with only Morgan going through the tournament without seeing one of her teammates on the opposing side of the field.
  • Canada defeated Brazil in the third-place game, with both Bélanger and Mônica going the full 90 for their respective teams. Also on the field during that match for Brazil were future Pride players Marta and Rafaelle, though neither were playing in the NWSL at the time.
  • Morgan’s two goals tied her for sixth in the Olympics, despite the Yanks’ early departure in the quarterfinals, when they were defeated by Sweden.
  • It is rather crazy to see that both Alleway and Mônica averaged more than 90 minutes per game, but Brazil went into extra time in two separate matches and Australia did in one.

The next Olympics should have been during the 2020 season, but despite the branding staying as the 2020 Summer Olympics, the games actually took place in 2021 in Japan due the pandemic. The Pride sent four players to Japan: Marta represented Brazil; Erin McLeod represented Canada; Ali Riley represented New Zealand; and Morgan once again represented the United States.

New Zealand did not make it out of the group stage, but the other three nations did, with Brazil losing in the quarterfinals, the U.S. winning bronze, and Canada winning the gold medal. It was somewhat of a backwards performance for the Pride players, as the best two individual performers (Marta, Riley) had their teams go out the earliest, and of the two who earned medals, one did not play at all (McLeod, who was a backup goalkeeper) and the other had a poor performance by her high standards (Morgan).

Here is a chart of some of the 2021 Pride players’ key statistics during those Olympic games laid next to their stats from the NWSL season (note: McLeod was an unused goalkeeper in the Olympics and Riley is a defender):

A few items on these players and their performances in the “2020” Olympics held in 2021:

  • There were once again several Pride vs. Pride matchups, and this time every Pride player played at least one game against a teammate. Well, McLeod did not play, but you know what I meant. You did. I know you did.
  • Both Marta and Riley were the captains for their respective nations, though neither captained even one match throughout the entire 2021 Pride season (Ashlyn Harris captained most matches, with Ali Krieger and Toni Pressley captaining the other matches).
  • Marta’s three goals tied her for eighth overall, and when she scored her first goal it marked the fifth — let me repeat the fifth — straight Olympics where she had scored at least one goal. Ranking second overall in goals scored during that Olympics? A 19-year-old Barbra Banda, then playing her club soccer in the Chinese Women’s Super League.

This brings us to the current Olympiad, in which the Pride are tied with Gotham FC for the highest representation across the NWSL with seven players on Olympic rosters: Adriana, Angelina, Marta and Rafaelle representing Brazil; Emily Sams representing the U.S.; and Banda and Grace Chanda representing Zambia.

The tournament is still ongoing, so these stats may change, but here is how the players have been doing thus far, as compared to their NWSL stats (Angelina is an alternate for Brazil and was in the lineup for only one match, and Sams is an alternate for the USA and was in the lineup for only one match. Chanda was only recently signed by the Pride, so she has not yet dressed for a Pride match.):

A few items on these players and their performances in the 2024 Olympics:

  • Thus far, there have not been any Pride vs. Pride matchups. Although the U.S. played Zambia, Sams was not in the lineup for that match.
  • Banda scored her third career Olympic hat trick in Zambia’s matchup against Australia, which makes her the only woman ever with three hat tricks in the Olympics. She now has scored 10 goals total in her Olympic career, which ranks her tied for fourth all-time on the Olympic scoring list.
  • Marta is playing in her sixth straight Olympics. Very few athletes in any sport are able to compete in six consecutive Olympics, and those who do generally play in sports which require less physical exertion than that is required from soccer (shooting, equestrian and sailing have the most athletes who have six or more Olympic appearances) .
  • Both Rafaelle and Chanda suffered injuries and missed games during the group stage.
  • Banda and Marta both captained their teams in every game they played.
  • Brazil and the U.S. have both advanced to the quarterfinals, while Zambia is out, so the stats for Banda and Chanda are final, but the stats for the other five Pride players could change.

I would be remiss not to mention that Marta has said she will be retiring from playing for Brazil after this season, but I certainly hope that she plays at least one more match for the Seleção (Brazil’s nickname for their national team), so that her final match for her country does not end with her having received a straight red card, which is currently the case after Brazil’s match against Spain on Wednesday. Marta will be suspended for the quarterfinal match, but if Brazil wins, I am sure she will be back in the lineup for the semifinal.

That said, let’s transition to looking at the future and consider which current Pride players are most likely to make an appearance in a future Olympiad. Looking at this by nation:

Argentina — Mariana Larroquette started all three matches during the 2023 World Cup and is still a common call-up for the national team. Argentina has a decent chance to qualify for an Olympics, though it did not this year, but Larroquette may need to be playing more minutes to still be a viable selection in four years, and minutes are going to be hard to come by for the Pride as long as Banda is still on the team. My confidence level (on a scale of 1-10, where 10 is the highest level of confidence): 2.

Brazil — Luana, Marta, and Rafaelle will be likely nearing the end of their careers or possibly already retired in four years (and Luana’s soccer future is currently uncertain), so although I would never put anything past any professional athlete, I am going to remove all three from consideration. That leaves Adriana and Angelina from the Brazilian contingent, and I think it is likely Brazil will qualify and that both have excellent chances of being on that team in four years. My confidence levels: Adriana 7, Angelina 9.

Canada — Amanda Allen has already been called up to the senior team once and has played frequently for the youth national teams of Canada, one of the strongest teams in the world. Canada is likely to make every Olympic tournament until other nations in Concacaf get stronger, and since Allen is only 19, she likely has several chances to make the team at least once. She will have the same issue as Larroquette in terms of earning minutes while on the Pride, but I think her talent will get her on the field somewhere, and she will make a future Canadian Olympic Team. My confidence level: 9.

England — Anna Moorhouse was called into camp for England just a few weeks ago on the strength of a solid performance in the first few months of this season. England is very deep in goalkeeping talent though, with three players around her age or younger with eight or more starts for England and several others who are starters in the Women’s Super League in their home country. England also did not qualify for this year’s Olympics, and is in a difficult area of the world to feel confident that it will qualify in the next cycle. My confidence level: 1.

Spain — Celia has not played for the national team since 2019, and being that Spain is the reigning World Cup champion, it feels unlikely she will return to the team in the near future, let alone in four years’ time. My confidence level: 1.

Sweden — Evelina Duljan is in a similar situation to Allen, though at a different position and at a slightly older age. Duljan has played quite a few matches for the youth national teams of Sweden and seems a likely part of the senior team’s future, but she will need to get minutes at the club level in the next few years. As fellow Mane Land writer Sean Rollins wrote recently, the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup (which should be sponsored by Dos Equis…think about it), is a great opportunity to get some minutes for players like Duljan, who have been on the bench for most of the season. Sweden did not qualify for the 2024 Olympics and is in the tough European region, so that does knock down my confidence level for Duljan, but she is still young enough that I think she will have multiple chances in her future. My confidence level: 5.

United States — Americans make up approximately half of all members of the Pride, but I think really only a few have a chance to play for the national team: Ally Lemos, Emily Sams, and Summer Yates. Although Yates has played for the youth national team in the past and is having an excellent second season in the NWSL, I think she is a longshot to get a call-up and to be on the the team for the next Olympics, even though I have been impressed by her play this season. Lemos has been part of the youth national team since she was 14 and frequently starts for the U-20 team. She is one of only 37 players in NWSL history to have played more than 250 minutes in a season at the age of 20 or younger. I think she has a decent chance to be called up the senior national team, and then she will have a chance to prove herself and earn a full-time role. Sams is already on the team today as an alternate (recently moved to the active roster as a replacement for the injured Tierna Davidson) and will definitely be involved in the program during the next few years. My confidence levels: Lemos 5, Sams 8, Yates 2.

Zambia — Without Banda, it is doubtful that Zambia makes the Olympics, so as she goes, they go. She is one of the best players in the world, and I think she can get the team into the Olympics on her own at least once, if not multiple times during the rest of her career. Chanda I have not seen enough from yet, but she made the team and played in this Olympics and is still young enough (27) that she likely would be in contention if Zambia qualifies for 2028 and possibly also 2032. My confidence levels: Banda 10, Chanda 6.

So, there it is. I am not Jacob Marley, but we were visited by the ghosts of Pride Olympic past, present, and future, and hopefully for all of you it was as enjoyable a read as are the sounds of the music of another famous Marley — Bob, who obviously would have been a Pride fan. All the remaining Pride players will play again on Saturday in the Olympic quarterfinals, and the bracket is set up for a possible Brazil vs. U.S. gold medal game if each team can win two more games.

I will be rooting for that final, as even though it would delay the return of five players, it would be amazing to see Marta potentially close out her international career with a gold medal. No matter what, it will be exciting to see, and I look forward to watching this coming weekend.

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Orlando Pride

Orlando Pride vs Angel City FC: Final Score 2-1 as McCutcheon’s Brace Lifts Pride to Win

Three goals in the last 15 minutes thrilled the crowd in Orlando as the Pride picked up their first home win of the season and ended Angel City’s perfect start.

Published

3 weeks ago

on

April 3, 2026

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

The Orlando Pride shut down March NWSL Player of the Month Svendis Jonsdottir and got a brace from Haley McCutcheon in a 2-1 win over Angel City in front of 8,040 fans at Inter&Co Stadium tonight. Orlando (2-1-2, 8 points) picked up its first home win of the season, extended its unbeaten run to four games (2-0-2), and snapped the perfect start to the season for Angel City (3-1-0, 9 points)

“If we have a good defensive structure, that makes us have more possibilities of winning games, of having more chances in the front,” midfielder Angelina said after the match. “We’re going to be confident on the back and gaining the ball high up the field. The last few games, we’ve done a good job of that — lowering the chances of the opponent to just hit the target.”

The Pride came out the aggressors in the first half but it wasn’t enough to put anything on the scoreboard. The second half was heading toward a scoreless draw until the last six minutes of normal time, when the teams engaged in a mad scramble to see who could put the decisive winning goal in after trading opening goals in an eight-minute span.

Pride Head Coach Seb Hines rolled out the same lineup as Sunday in the scoreless draw against NJ/NY Gotham FC. This was the first time this season the Pride were able to put together a grouping that had played together in a match in 2026.

Anna Moorhouse started in goal behind a back line of Cori Dyke, Hailie Mace, Rafaelle, and Oihane. Ally Lemos and Angelina lined up in the defensive midfield behind an attacking midfield line of Jacquie Ovalle, Haley McCutcheon, and Solai Washington. Barbra Banda started up top looking to add to her total of three goals.

“Chemistry is always helpful” McCutcheon said. “It helps to be able to get that communication and trust that people are going to do their jobs.”

Both teams traded empty possessions for the first 10 minutes of the game until Angelina turned Banda loose on a long ball for the first shot of the game. The Zambian got behind the back line but did not make good contact on her shot, sending it at Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson. McCutcheon got on the end of an Ovalle cross but headed it over the bar one minute later. There was a scramble off a free kick that Lemos fired off a defender and, on the rebound, Banda put it well wide in the 13th minute.

Angel City had its first significant offensive chance when Rafaelle fouled Jonsdottir in the 20th minute, leading to a free kick from 30 yards out. However, Kennedy Fuller sent it into the defense.

Savy King was booked holding back Ovalle in the 21st minute, giving the Pride a 30-yard free kick, but Angelina sent it straight into the wall. It was into the head of Maiara Niehues, who needed a couple of minutes after to recover.

Shortly after that, Dyke was fooled on a dummy by Gisele Thompson that turned Fuller loose into the box. However, Rafaelle blocked Fuller’s attempt on goal. Banda won a corner kick in the 30th and Ovalle sent the ball across the goal mouth to Rafaelle, who put the header on goal, but Anderson made a big save, deflecting it out for another corner. Angelina took the next corner, which Rafaelle put into the net but the Pride center back was called for a push on the play, nullifying the goal.

The Pride left Jonsdottir alone at the top of the 18 in the 35th minute, but she shot the ball well high. In the 41st, McCutcheon fouled Thompson on the right side, leaving a 25-yard free kick, which Fuller sent long and it turned into nothing.

Banda worked herself free outside the left corner of the box in the 45th minute, but she wasn’t able to get anything on the attempt to Anderson. The two teams closed out the half without any significant action and headed into the locker room scoreless.

Even though Angel City dominated possession in the first half (66%-34%), the Pride were certainly the more dangerous team. The Pride attempted more shots (9-3), with seven of those from inside the box but couldn’t score on any. Banda continued to prove to be her dangerous self with four shots (two of them forcing a save) and had support from her teammates, yet nothing ended up on the scoreboard. On the other side of the matchup of league-leading forwards, Orlando limited Jonsdottir’s touches in dangerous areas.

After a long kickoff out of bounds by Angel City to open the half, McCutcheon put Banda through on goal, but she was on the right from a difficult angle, and her shot was straight at Anderson. Oihane won a corner a minute later, but Ovalle sent it too long and over the goal line. In the 49th minute, Ovalle crossed the ball to McCutcheon, but she couldn’t put it on frame, sending it well wide.

Lemos sent a dangerous pass forward in the 52nd minute to Banda, who put it across the goal mouth and McCutcheon put it into the goal, but the flag came up immediately as the ball went in, as the Pride midfielder was a step offside. Washington was held by Thompson on the left side of the box at the 55-minute mark, leading to an Orlando free kick. Angelina sent a hard cross to Banda in the box on the set piece, and it deflected out to Dyke, who saw her shot easily blocked, igniting the Angel City counter.

Jonsdottir picked up the loose ball and sprinted down the field, muscling her way past Ovalle and then nutmegging Mace before turning a shot loose that went wide of the right post. It was a disastrous play for the Pride, as Ovalle remained down for a while after grabbing her hamstring. She was carried off the field by trainers and replaced by Summer Yates.

In the 60th minute, Oihane and Jonsdottir banged heads, leading to a long free kick by Angel City, which turned into a harmless header over the end line.

Angelina received a yellow card in the 62nd minute 40 yards, out but Kennedy Fuller wasn’t able to connect with anyone on the set piece. Banda picked up a booking of her own in the 65th trying to swim past Sarah Gorden.

Both teams brought on a sub in the 66th minute, with Marta taking Washington’s place and Taylor Suarez subbing in for Nealy Martin.

Shortly after the restart, Oihane worked her way into the box and King knocked the ball out for a corner in the 70th minute. Marta had her first significant contribution with the corner delivery, which sent the ball pinging around, leading to an open shot at the penalty spot by Angelina, who was wide open but put it over the bar, wasting a golden opportunity to open the scoring.

Jonsdottir floated a ball from deep left that almost caught Moorhouse off her line, but she scrambled back and just got a hand to it. It came off yet another deep throw-in, where Angel City interestingly has Jonsdottir take, even though she’s clearly the team’s most dangerous attacker.

Oihane went down injured in the 75th minute, leading to an eventual substitution with Hannah Anderson replacing her. It was deemed a concussion substitution due to the previous contact, sparing Orlando a sub.

At this stage of the game, Orlando was getting sloppy with its passing and struggling to keep possession, and all the attacking pressure started to come from Angel City. However, it was the Pride that broke the scoreless deadlock.

Banda worked in from the left side and put the ball across the goal mouth where it bounced around and ended up in front of McCutcheon, who put one in that counted. It was a team effort as Lemos, Rafaelle, Marta, and Hannah Anderson all moved the ball around and kept Angel City from escaping with it. McCutcheon’s 84th-minute strike was reviewed for a possible offside, but the replay was inconclusive and the goal stood.

“We brought in Marta, put her at the 9, and shifted Barbra wide,” Hines said about his late-game tactics, which led to the goal. “Get her directness dribbling at people, receiving the ball facing forward, taking players on. A great cross into a dangerous area with her left foot. We discussed as a staff that it’s a great idea to put her more on that left side to receive it and get away from players like Gorden and Emily (Sams).”

Dyke picked up a booking in the 89th minute for a tough challenge that the referee let play on and came back to give her the caution. Angel City then subbed Evelyn Shores on for King and Prisca Chilufya for Fuller.

Rafaelle was given a yellow card for a handball near the left sideline in the first minute of added time, leading to a free kick from next to the sideline. Shores put the kick in front of the goal, which Tiernan passed out to the top of the box. Thompson then blasted the ball off the underside of the crossbar and just over the goal line to even the score up. It was Angel City’s only shot on target, tying the game in the second minute of stoppage time.

Angel City stayed on the front foot after the goal, looking for a late winner. But again, it was Orlando that went the other way and found the back of the net.

The Pride won a corner on a drive into the box. Marta put the corner on the far post, where Hannah Anderson kept it alive, knocking it back in front. The ball pinged off a couple of bodies before falling to McCutcheon again, who poked it home in the eighth minute of stoppage time.

There were 10 minutes of stoppage time originally added, but the game went 14 minutes beyond the 90th. However, the Pride were able to see out one final scramble in front of goal, in which Moorhouse came off her line but was beaten to the ball by former Pride striker Chilufya. Angel City could not work through the traffic in front, and Orlando held on for the win.

At full time, Angel City held the advantage in possession (63%-37%) and passing accuracy (83%-77%), but the Pride had more shots (17-15), shots on target (6-1), and corner kicks (5-3).

It was a big win for Orlando, which finally sent the supporters at Inter&Co Stadium home happy. The Pride continue to play standout defense, limiting Angel City to one shot on target and only a few threatening looks at goal for a team that entered with a top-tier attack.

The Pride are off for three weeks for the international break before traveling to Kentucky to take on Racing Louisville on April 24. Orlando has never won at Louisville.

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Orlando Pride vs. Angel City FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Pride return home looking to keep up their positive momentum after a strong road trip.

Published

3 weeks ago

on

April 3, 2026

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Welcome to your preview and match thread as the Orlando Pride (1-1-2, 5 points) welcome league-leading Angel City FC (3-0-0, 9 points). This is the first of two meetings between these two teams this year, with the return game in California scheduled for July 3.

Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s game.

History

Angel City was one of the NWSL’s two expansion teams entering the league in 2022. As a result, the Pride have only played tonight’s opponents eight times. The Pride are 4-2-2 in those games, all in NWSL regular-season play. While the Pride have a 3-1-0 record against Angel City in Los Angeles, they’re only 1-1-2 at home.

The most recent matchup between these two teams took place on Aug. 21, 2025 in Los Angeles. The hosts dominated possession and the number of chances as the game appeared to be heading to a scoreless draw. But Alyssa Thompson converted in the 86th minute as Angel City took all three points.

The first game last year between the two teams occurred on April 25 in Orlando. The visitors got off to a great start with first-half goals by Riley Tiernan and Katie Zelem. But the Pride took over in the second half. Marta got one back midway through the second period, and Barbra Banda equalized four minutes later. An own goal by M.A. Vignola in the third minute of stoppage time gave the Pride a 3-2 win.

The first of two meetings in 2024 took place on March 22 in Orlando. Former Pride attacker Claire Emslie gave the visitors the lead from the penalty spot, and it looked as though the Pride would drop their first game of the season. But Marta volleyed home an equalizer from an Angelina corner kick late, pulling out a 1-1 draw. On June 30, 2024 in Los Angeles, Adriana gave the Pride the lead early and scored a second goal six minutes later. Banda netted a goal of her own six minutes into stoppage time, leading the Pride to a dominating 3-0 win.

The first meeting of the 2023 season took place April 2 in Orlando. Emily Sams took down Thompson in the first half, giving the visitors a penalty. Emslie stepped up and converted to give her team a 1-0 lead. Messiah Bright responded just after halftime to make it 1-1, and the game appeared to be heading for a draw. But Katie Johnson scored the winner in the 10th minute of second-half injury time. On Oct. 2, 2023 in Los Angeles, an Adriana volley beat Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson to her near post for the only goal as the Pride won a crucial late-season game.

The first-ever game between the teams took place on May 8, 2022 in Los Angeles. In the third minute, Gunny Jonsdottir’s cross was tipped by Angel City goalkeeper DiDi Haracic, but it went right to Sydney Leroux. The Pride striker fired right at Morgan Reid standing in front of goal. The ball bounced off the defender and went in to give the Pride an early lead. The hosts controlled the final hour, but the Pride held on for 87 minutes to claim their first win of the season.

The teams met again on Aug. 7 in Orlando. Former Pride defender Ali Riley opened the scoring with a wonderful strike from the left side. The Pride responded in the second half through Julie Doyle, three minutes after she entered the game, to even it at 1-1. The visitors took another lead when Cari Roccaro beat Viviana Villacorta to a corner kick, putting it past Erin McLeod. The Pride equalized for a second time in the 90th minute when Doyle and Paige Nielsen raced for a Thais Reiss cross, with the defender reaching it first. But Nielsen’s attempted clearance went into her own net, allowing the Pride to claim a 2-2 draw and extend their unbeaten run to five games.

Overview

The Pride return home tonight after a two-game road trip in which they claimed four points. They had a dominant performance in Chicago on March 25, defeating the Stars 3-0. Banda, Jacquie Ovalle, and Hannah Anderson scored in the first half and the Pride held onto that lead in the second 45 minutes to claim their first win of the season.

It was a quick turnaround as they played defending champion NJ/NY Gotham FC Sunday night in New Jersey. The hosts dominated possession in the game, but the Pride were able to keep the opposition from creating too many opportunities, pulling out a scoreless draw.

Sunday night’s draw saw Banda’s three-game goal streak come to an end. However, after conceding three goals in the first two games, the Pride recorded their second consecutive clean sheet, something Head Coach Seb Hines is very happy with.

Another positive was that Rafaelle played all 90 minutes. The Brazilian has had constant injury issues since joining the Pride in 2023, which seemed to return when she was listed as questionable for the game in Chicago. The center back came on in the second half of that game and started against Gotham, providing a solid performance.

While the Pride are pleased with their performances away from home, they need to play better at home. The team has now played four games with new players like Hailie Mace and Hannah Anderson, so they’ll be expecting better results than the first two games, although they dominated those matches and created lots of scoring chances.

That will be difficult tonight as the Pride welcome the league-leading Angel City. The California-based team had an eventful off-season, losing Thompson to Chelsea FC and Riley and Christen Press to retirement. Meanwhile, they added Ary Borges and former Pride center back Emily Sams.

Angel CIty has been terrific offensively this season, scoring multiple goals in all three games. However, tonight’s visitors have only played Chicago, Bay FC, and the Houston Dash, three of the worst teams in the league. Additionally, two of those three games were at home and the other was in California.

Tonight will be a much harder challenge. The Pride are widely expected to be a team challenging for at least a top four spot. They’re a stronger team offensively and defensively than the teams Angel City have played this year.

Angel City is led in the attack by Sveindis Jonsdottir, who has three goals in her first three games of the season. She’s the only player on the team with multiple goals. Tiernan, Gisele Thompson, Evelyn Shores, Maiara Niehues, Kennedy Fuller, and Ary Borges each have scored one goal. Jonsdottir and Fuller lead the team in assists with two each.

Defensively, Angel City has a solid center back pairing of Sams and Savy King, who returns after missing most of last season after suffering a cardiac issue on the field. They’ll line up in front of Anderson, who returns as the starting goalkeeper.

“I think with Angel City, they’re a team that’s got a lot of good momentum right now,” Hines said ahead of the match. “Obviously, sitting top of the table. Three wins after three games. They’ll come with the expectation that they’ll go four for four, and we want to stop that of course. We want to get off to a good start as well, being back at home in front of our own fans. We’ve had a good road trip as well, four points in two games. So, to finish this part of the season with a win at home is where our minds are at right now.”

The Pride are still without Kerry Abello (hip), Zara Chavoshi (lower leg), Cosette Morche (ankle), Kylie Nadaner (maternity leave), and Viviana Villacorta (knee). Angel City will be without Karsyn Cherry (thigh), Emslie (maternity leave), Jun Endo (knee), Leroux (excused absence), Rajanah Reed (ankle), and Hina Sugita (knee).

Official Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Cori Dyke, Rafaelle, Hailie Mace, Oihane.

Defensive Midfielders: Ally Lemos, Angelina.

Midfielders: Jacquie Ovalle, Haley McCutcheon, Solai Washington.

Forward: Barbra Banda.

Bench: Cara Martin, Hannah Anderson, Reagan Raabe, Luana, Summer Yates, Seven Castain, Marta, Julie Doyle, Simone Jackson.

Angel City FC (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Angelina Anderson.

Defenders: Savy King, Sarah Gorden, Emily Sams, Gisele Thompson.

Defensive Midfielders: Ary Borges, Nealy Martin.

Midfielders: Riley Tiernan, Maiara Niehues, Kennedy Fuller.

Forward: Sveindis Jonsdottir.

Bench: Hannah Seabert, Faith Nguyen, Sophia Mattice, Evelyn Shores, Carina Lageyre, Taylor Suarez, Casey Phair, Prisca Chilufya.

Referees

REF: Jeremy Scheer.
AR1: Kendall McCardell.
AR2: Race Williams.
4TH: Stefan Perri.
VAR: Elijio Arreguin.
AVAR: Karen Coulson.

How to Watch

Match Time: 8 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV: None.

Streaming: Prime Video.

Social Media: For live updates and rapid reaction, follow @themaneland.bsky.social on Bluesky and the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter (@ORLPride) or Bluesky (@orlpride.com) feed.

Enjoy the game. Go Pride!

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The Pride’s Offense Often Relies on Bank of Banda for a Bailout

A look at how Banda-dependent the Pride’s offense has been this season, and how that compares to prior seasons and the rest of the NWSL.

Published

3 weeks ago

on

April 2, 2026

By

Image of Barbra Banda celebrating a goal.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

It feels like Orlando City’s season has been going on for months and the Orlando Pride’s season just started. But all of a sudden, the Pride are already four games into the new season, with their fifth match — the same number of games as Orlando City has played — coming on Friday night. The Pride are off to a better start than the Lions, both in the standings and in how they have looked on the field, and the basis behind their better start is brought to you by the letter B, and Barbra Banda.

While the Pride are off to a better start than Orlando City, they are not off to a bodacious beginning (all right, all right, enough with the “b”words), as they have only earned five points from their four games played and are currently seventh in the league standings. With league leaders Angel City coming to Inter&Co Stadium on Friday night it is possible that by the end of the weekend Orlando will drop out of the playoff spots, but even if they do, they will probably not be too worried, as the Pride had a difficult schedule in their opening five games and Marta has only been on the field for a total of 18 minutes through the first four.

The Brazilian superstar’s absence has deprived the Pride of the opportunity to roll out an offense with Banda, Marta, and Jacquie Ovalle all on the field together for the first time, but with Marta working her way back to fitness, that is going to happen soon. It may not happen against Angel City, but with a long break between that game and the next game against Racing Louisville on April 24, it seems likely that soon we will finally see the attacking group that Pride fans have been excited about ever since the acquisition of Ovalle last August.

La Maga (the magician) joined the Pride right after Banda’s season-ending injury last summer, and she looks much more comfortable this season than she did during the closing months of the 2025 season. She scored her first goal of the season last week against Chicago and she has two assists as well, which ties her for the team lead in goal contributions with Banda, who picked up right where she left off and is leading the team — and the league — in goals scored with three.

The Pride have only scored five goals on the season for an average of 1.25 goals per game, and Banda’s three gives her 60% of their goals scored. Four games is a small sample size, only 13% of the season, so Banda’s high share of the goals scored is not a huge concern this early in the year. What is a bit of a concern, however, is Orlando’s reliance on the Zambian for so much of its offensive threat.

The scatterplot below is from the past three NWSL seasons and shows the 246 players who took at least 12 shots during each season (I chose 12 shots because of a limitation in Microsoft Excel that does not allow more than 255 dots on a scatterplot; if you were wondering, 826 players have taken at least one shot during any of the last three seasons). Most of the dots are from 2024 and 2025, but there are four players in 2026, Banda included, who have already taken at least 12 shots this season. I put a purple circle around Banda’s 2024, 2025 and 2026 seasons.

Scatterplot showing percentage of a team's goals scored on one axis and percentage of a team's shots taken on the other. Banda's 2024, 2025, and 2026 numbers are all in the upper right quadrant, meaning high percentage in both categories.

There is no official measure for “reliance,” but the location of Banda’s three pairings for the percentage of goals scored (excluding opposition own goals) and the percentage of shots taken show just how much the Pride rely on her to generate offense, how much more that is than many teams, and how they rely on their top attackers. It is strongly unlikely that Banda’s percentages in 2026 will stay as high as they have been through four games, especially when Marta is back to full health, but by looking at 2024 and 2025, it is unlikely that she is going to see a drastic reduction either.

Banda will miss a few games later this summer when she goes to Morocco to represent Zambia during the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), but she also missed nearly half of the 2025 season and still ended up as Orlando’s leading scorer and shot taker by wide margins (twice as many goals scored and shots taken as her next closest teammates).

Seb Hines and the Pride’s coaching staff would probably prefer a more balanced set of numbers long before her departure, as it is harder to defend multiple threats than one, but in the end, they will not care who scores as long as the Pride score enough goals to win games. The early dependency on Banda is not yet majorly alarming, especially considering that she is one of the best strikers in the world. I am somewhat concerned about her share of both shots taken and goals scored though and am hoping to see some other players step up their offensive contributions as the season progresses.

Friday night will be a big test for Orlando against Angel City and its NWSL-leading (only two goals allowed through three games) defense. Stopping Banda will be the clear priority, but that is a lot easier said than done. Solai Washington has looked good during the last few games and Ovalle is playing well also, and Marta will likely play for as many minutes as the training staff clears her for. Hopefully, between those three, Angelina, Ally Lemos, Haley McCutcheon, and any defenders who creep up into the attacking third of the field, they can either draw enough attention that Banda can get free, or use the open space that exists because of the gravity around the Zambian international to their advantage and put some shots into the back of the net.

Either way, the offense will need to deliver against Angel City, whether they are using Plan A or Plan B(anda).

Vamos Pride!

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