Orlando Pride
How the 2024 Orlando Pride Stack Up against the Best Clubs in World Soccer
The Pride are off to a tremendous start to their NWSL season, but how do they compare to many of the other top clubs across the world?

As someone who majored in mathematics in college, I love when I find an answer to a problem and it is undoubtedly and unassailably correct. I like the analysis and the problem-solving parts too, but for me the best part of any math problem is when I find the answer and I know that there is no more work to do for that problem. In mathematics there is a defined answer, and the only question is why did Dr. (Redacted) at the Harvard of the South Rollins College always take points off for not showing my work even though I had the correct answer all most of the time? I fear I may have gone off track.
Where I want to go this week is an evaluation of the Pride and whether the 2024 version is one of the best clubs in the world — a question that, unlike those math problems I like so much, does not have a simple, defined answer. I mean, in the end the answer will be either yes or no, which is about as simple as it gets, but the dreaded phrase “it is a matter of perspective” looms large over any question about “who is the best?”
Mathematicians like questions that end in “st,” like ones about answering who/what achieved the most, highest, farthest (though not furthest, thank you Finding Forrester), fastest, or was the least, lowest, nearest, or slowest, but even though best qualifies as ending in those two letters, there is no simple mathematical way to show best in most cases. State fairs and the Winchester Dog Show’s judges may disagree with their Best in Show awards, but when it comes to the “best” teams in women’s soccer, we can try to quantify, but we also have to qualify, because women’s soccer does not yet have a true global competition pitting leading clubs against one another.
In the last two years we have had an incredible Olympic tournament and World Cup in the women’s game, both viewed by millions across the world, and both of those tournaments will play a large role in my evaluation of how to determine which club teams are the best right now in 2024. While we have a limited sample of club vs. club games that we can use to compare teams from different leagues all over the world, what we can do is look at the players who are on high-performing teams and look at collections of talent to compare those against one another.
I looked at the rosters of all the club teams across every women’s league tracked on fbref.com, which includes the following (apologies for the long list, but it is important to see for perspective): Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United States. There are of course many other women’s leagues across the world, including some with outstanding teams, but I am relying on the available data to evaluate teams, and Opta, the company that tracks all the data and provides it to fbref.com, has not yet decided to track women’s leagues in China, Mexico, Portugal, Scotland, and many others.
Across all of those tracked leagues are nearly 200 women’s teams, and that includes the leagues that have produced most of the winners of the continental competitions in Europe and South America for as long as they have existed (Europe since 2001 and South America since 2009). Asia and North America are both rolling out continental women’s “Champions Leagues” for the first time in 2024 and 2025, and Africa has had a women’s Champions League since 2021, but aside from the leagues in Japan and the United States, none of the leagues in Africa, Asia, or North America are tracked in as easily accessible places. I hope this changes soon, and once more data is available, I will certainly use it when I compare players, leagues, and teams.
That said, I do have a working database of nearly 200 women’s club teams for this season (2023-2024 for the leagues where their season has finished and 2024 year to date for the clubs that are currently in season). I also have a thorough database of all the players who played in the 2024 Olympics and in the 2023 World Cup, since tracking is much better at the national team level. Looking at the 190+ teams, here are the total players in each league who competed in either, or in some cases both, tournaments (Notes: a player like Grace Chanda, who has not yet dressed for the Pride, does not count toward the NWSL’s totals; Medal winners means the teams that finished first, second, or third):

Looking at this list, which was sorted by the count of participants who competed in the 2023 World Cup, there is a clear top three among the leagues when looking at which leagues produced the most participants in the last two major international tournaments. Some of this data may include a little double counting, as players may have played for multiple teams during the season, so they show up in the same league multiple times, but I do not believe there would be any major shifts were I to get the fine-tooth comb out. And I have shaved my head since 2006, so in all honesty I would have to get my son’s comb and that one is designed for boys, so it would be so fine toothed it might not even allow any data to stay. I think we just move on.
England’s WSL, Spain’s Liga F, and the NWSL in the U.S. all are top three in Olympians and World Cup participants, and while that does not mean that they have all of the best (and again, how is best defined?) players in the world, it does mean that they have the most (ah, a beautiful word with a clear definition) players who were selected to compete on behalf of their nations in the two most recent major tournaments.
Injuries do play a role here, as Mallory Swanson, for example, would have played in the 2023 World Cup except for an injury, and she is but one of likely double digits’ worth of players who play on a club today but did not make their national team due to injury. Some national teams are extremely deep as well, so a player like Alex Morgan did not make the U.S. team for the Olympics but she almost certainly would have made the roster for several, if not many, of the other nations that qualified.
That said, the numbers are the numbers, and looking at them you can see that the three deepest leagues seem to be the ones at the top of that chart. This will be critical when we try to compare team performance across leagues, because being at or near the top in a league full of elite players is much different than being at or near the top in a league where only a few teams have all of the elite players.
Now, let’s take a look at that same chart, but looking at club teams instead of leagues (Note: there are five other clubs that also had six World Cup participants, but none had as many Olympians as did the Pride so I did not include all of them on the chart):

The Pride are tied for 19th for World Cup participants, which is pret-ty, pret-ty good. And if you look at the total medal wins for the Olympics plus the World Cup, the Pride have five (you are welcome for me doing the tough addition of five plus zero for you), which ranks them tied for seventh. I mentioned earlier that I was not able to pull in every league and club into my dataset, but I did look at every Olympic and World Cup medal-winning player, and there are no clubs from other leagues that would rank higher than the Pride for medal winners, though there are some clubs like Benfica of Portugal and Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa that had more than the Pride’s six World Cup participants.
So the Pride are looking pretty good for participants in recent major tournaments, but tournaments have qualification rounds and sometimes good teams have a bad spell and miss a tournament. A better indication might be looking at FIFA’s list of the top-ranked national teams, since that is determined by all games played by a national team and not just in the two most recent major tournaments. Zambia, for example, played in both the World Cup and the Olympics but is currently ranked 64th in the world, so having a player on Zambia, as the Pride do, may actually not be as impressive as having a player on Iceland, which is ranked 14th in the world but did not qualify for the World Cup or the Olympics.
Looking at clubs in this manner changes the analysis quite a bit, and the Pride fall from being a team in the top 20ish to a team in the top 40ish if I change the evaluation to be clubs with players on national teams ranked in the top 25 of FIFA’s rankings. The Pride have five players who have played on top 25 national teams this season — Adriana, Angelina, Marta, and Rafaelle from Brazil and Emily Sams from the U.S. — but there are 15 clubs that have twice that number or more, and the list is topped by Chelsea (22), Arsenal (20), and Barcelona (18). Going back from club to full league and ranking the leagues by count of players on top 25 national teams, the list still is led by England, but now the gap is even larger, and Germany has surpassed Spain into the top three. There really is a clear number one and then four sitting tightly bunched behind, and then another gap after that:

Looking at the data this way again shows the depth of the league in England, with well more than 100 players who play on top 25 national teams and who also ply their trade in England’s Women’s Super League, and that is across a league of only 12 teams. By contrast the NWSL had less than half as many players who play on top 25 national teams and our league has 14 teams.
As I mentioned previously the Pride have five players on top 25 national teams, which ranks them tied for fifth in the NWSL, behind San Diego (10), Gotham (9), Portland (8), and Washington (6) and tied with Kansas City, Chicago, and Houston. In fact every NWSL team except for Louisville has a player on a top 25 national team, and 10 of the 14 teams have at least three. Only the leagues in England and the U.S. have 10 or more teams with at least three top 25 national team players, which leads me to my next chart.
The Pride have earned 79% of the possible points they could earn this season (38 points out of a possible 48), but the team only has five top 25 national team players out of the NWSL’s total of 63, for a total of 8%. That 79% number seems like pretty high percentage of total points earned, but it actually ranks 20th among the 189 teams among all the 2024 leagues I have been writing about thus far, as you can see below:

There were two other takeaways from this chart:
- A total of 12 of the 16 leagues have at least one team that earned a higher percentage of points than the Pride, who are leading the NWSL thus far this season and are well ahead of the pace of last year’s champions, the Wave, who finished the season earning 56% of their possible points.
- The Pride are leading the NWSL but with a much lower percentage of top national team players on their roster, meaning that: a) the top teams in other leagues are disproportionately heavy with elite national team players (all leagues have at least 10 teams, so if players were evenly dispersed, the expected percentages would be closer to 10% or lower), and b) the makeup of the Pride is markedly different than most of the other highly performing teams.
Markedly different does not mean worse, it just means in a different manner. The Pride have an elite level talent in Barbra Banda, who plays for her national team but that national team is not an elite team, even though she is an elite talent. And speaking of elite talent, since 2021 ESPN has used a panel of experts to rank the top 50 players in women’s soccer, and during the three seasons (2021, 2022, and 2023) when the outlet has put out these rankings, the Pride are one of fewer than 30 clubs in the world that currently have at least one player who was ranked in the top 50 during at least one of the last three years, and as you surely guessed, that is Marta, who was in the top 50 in 2021, though not on the 2022 or 2023 versions of the list.
When ESPN comes out with its 2024 list, I expect that Barbra Banda will be ranked high on it, meaning that in most games the Pride are rolling out one player who is currently considered one of the world’s best (Banda), one who was in a recent year and who is still playing at a high level (Marta), four others who are on elite-level national teams (Adriana, Angelina, Rafaelle, and Sams), one who was recently called into the camp of an elite national team (Anna Moorhouse), one who can successfully dribble through a hospital full of people chasing her while also interrupting an MRI, a surgery, and physical therapy without hurting anyone (Kerry Abello — I believe she is the only player in the world who has done this), one who made the roster for the U-20 USWNT World Cup squad (Ally Lemos), and then a full rest of the roster that has contributed to an undefeated start and taking 79% of the possible points from a league that is deep with talent from top to bottom. This is a strong team.
There is one site I found that does have a ranking of women’s teams across the world, and you can find its 2023 club ranking here. The site does not disclose its algorithm, but it did rank the 2023 Pride tied for 132nd in the world, and that was a team that did not win a game in the NWSL Challenge Cup and did not make the 2023 playoffs either.
The 2024 Pride are objectively much better than the 2023 Pride, and in looking at their record (top of the league) and goal differential (+20 overall, +1.25 per game played) in a league that is clearly one of the three, and debatably one of the two, best leagues in the world, as well as the pedigree of the players the Pride have on their team, I think that I can answer the question in the title of this story with a yes. The 2024 Pride are one of the best clubs in the world, and I think they are likely in the top 10-15%.
How close are they to the top of the list, though? That is for another article…at the end of the season.
Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride Sign Forward Simone Jackson Through 2028
The Orlando Pride have signed 22-year-old forward Simone Jackson through the 2028 NWSL season.

The Orlando Pride announced the signing of former University of Southern California forward Simone Jackson today. The 22-year-old’s deal is through the 2028 season.
“We are thrilled to welcome Simone Jackson to the Orlando Pride family through 2028. Her versatility, technical ability, and quickness immediately impressed our technical staff, but it’s her character and personality that truly make her a perfect fit for our culture,” Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and Sporting Director Haley Carter said in a club press release. “Simone represents exactly the kind of player and person we want to invest in as we build the future of this club. Her signing reflects our commitment to bringing in talent that will help us compete at the highest level while embodying the values that make the Pride special.”
While Jackson is a new signing, the attacker isn’t new to the Pride. She was with the team during preseason as a non-roster invitee, playing well enough to earn a spot on the roster.
“I’m incredibly excited and honored to join the Orlando Pride. From the moment I arrived, I felt the special culture this club has built and knew this was where I wanted to be,” Jackson said in the club’s release. “The vision the coaching staff shared with me aligns perfectly with my goals as a player, and I can’t wait to contribute on the field and connect with our amazing fans. Orlando has such a rich soccer community, and I’m thrilled to call this city home for the next chapter of my career. I’m ready to put in the work every day to help bring championships to this club and make an impact both on and off the field.”
Prior to joining the Pride for preseason, Jackson spent four years at the University of Southern California. She played in 75 games for the Trojans, scoring 22 goals and adding 13 assists. Her best season was her senior year, where she accumulated 1,304 minutes and scored six goals, second most on the team.
The Redondo Beach, CA native was a member of the All-Big Ten third team in 2024, first-team All-Pac-12 in 2022, third-team All-Pac-12 in 2023 and 2021, and a Pac 12 All-Freshman Team honoree in 2021.
Internationally, Jackson represented the United States at multiple youth levels, including at the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. She scored her team’s lone goal in a 3-1 loss to Japan in that tournament. Jackson participated at every youth level for the U.S., starting at U-14.
What It Means For Orlando
Having successfully put a strong starting lineup together, Carter and Pride Head Coach Seb Hines now work on the team’s depth. And that’s where Jackson comes in. The forward will be behind starter Barbra Banda and Ally Watt on the depth chart. However, Banda could depart at times for international duty with Zambia, giving Jackson a spot on the bench.
At 22 years old, the young attacker has plenty of time to develop. She’ll be playing with seasoned professionals in the same position, providing valuable role models. Barring injuries, she probably won’t get much playing time this year but could be a key player for the Pride in the future.
Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. Utah Royals: Final Score 3-1 as Pride Win Behind Barbra Banda Hat Trick
A first-half Barbra Banda hat trick lifted the Pride to a much-needed road win over the Utah Royals.

The Orlando Pride (6-3-1, 19 points) rode Barbra Banda’s hat trick to a 3-1 win over the Utah Royals (1-7-2) tonight at America First Field in Sandy, UT. Banda gave the Pride the lead in the sixth minute and Brecken Mozingo equalized in the 14th minute, but Banda took over late in the first half, scoring two goals in two minutes to net the first hat trick in Pride history.
The win snapped Orlando’s three-game winless skid and marked the first time the Pride scored more than one goal since a 3-2 home win over Angel City on April 25.
Pride Head Coach Seb Hines made two changes to the team that lost 1-0 to the Kansas City Current last week. Kerry Abello and Marta, who had started every game until tonight, began the game on the bench. They were replaced in the lineup by Cori Dyke and Ally Watt.
The back line in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was Dyke, Kylie Nadaner, Emily Sams, and Oihane. Angelina, Morgan Gautrat, Haley McCutcheon, and Carson Pickett were in the midfield, with Banda and Watt up top.
This was a game of two halves with the best chances coming in the first 45 minutes. It looked like it would be a high-scoring affair, but the game slowed down considerably in the second half. The Pride were unquestionably the better team throughout, causing problems for the Utah back line. In the end, it was a fair result, as the Pride come home with all three points.
The hosts nearly created the game’s first chance in the fifth minute when Janni Thomsen played Cece Kizer down the right. The veteran midfielder’s first touch was a low ball into the box for Mozingo, but Oihane got there first to clear it away.
A minute later, the Royals created the first shot on goal. Ally Sentnor tried to dribble through Nadaner, who got a touch on the ball but couldn’t win it. The ball went straight to Mozingo, who shot, but the attempt was right to Moorhouse at the near post.
The Pride immediately went the other way with Oihane finding Watt down the right . The attacker sprinted down field before playing it into the box where Banda was making a run. The striker’s first touch guided the ball inside the far post to give the Pride the early 1-0 lead.
“It was a quality goal,” Hines said about the opener. “A breakaway with Ally and she does a really good job of finding Barbra and it’s a quality finish from Barbra.”
The Pride had a great opportunity to double their lead in the 10th minute when Claudia Zornoza pulled down Angelina from behind near the top of the Utah box. Angelina stepped to the ball first before backing off and letting Pickett take the set piece. Oihane ran onto the ball and tried to flick it on goal, sending it just wide of the right post.
In the 13th minute, Pickett, Gautrat, and Angelina combined to send Banda into the final third. The low cross was right to Ana Tejada, but the defender got it caught in her feet. The ball slipped through to Watt behind her, and the attacker had two chances. However, Royals goalkeeper Mandy McGlynn made a pair of saves to keep her team in the game.
The Pride paid for the missed chance a minute later when the Royals equalized. Zornoza sent Mozingo into the Pride half of the field. Nadaner kept the play onside, and the attacker got behind the back line and in on goal. Moorhouse came out to cut down the angle, but the shot was past her and inside the far post to even the game at 1-1.
There was a stoppage while the video assistant referee examined the play to see if Mozingo was offside. However, Nadaner never stepped up with the rest of the back line, and the goal correctly stood.
Banda nearly had a second in the 20th minute when Sentnor knocked the ball off McCutcheon’s foot, but right to the Pride striker. However, Lauren Flynn made a last-ditch tackle, knocking the ball off of Banda’s foot to prevent a likely goal.
A minute later, Banda won a long punt by Moorhouse and got into the Royals’ box. Kate Del Fava did well to push her outside, and the striker’s shot was right to McGlynn.
Banda made a long run in the 26th minute, getting behind the Royals’ defense and into the box. McGlynn came off her line to challenge the striker and blocked the attempt. The rebound went to Watt with an empty net, but Nuria Rabano made a goal-saving block.
A bad turnover by Gautrat under pressure in the 28th minute nearly resulted in Utah taking the lead. Kizer took possession and found Mina Tanaka in the box. The Japanese international laid it back for Zornoza, who shot, sending her attempt over the goal.
Banda struck again in the 37th minute when Thomsen played a terrible pass back and the striker intercepted it. Flynn was on her back the whole time, but Banda dribbled around McGlynn and touched it in to make it 2-1.
A minute later, Banda made history. McCutcheon sent the striker down the left behind Del Fava. The defender caught up, but decided to block her pass into the middle rather than get to the goal side. Banda fired to McGlynn’s near post, slipping it between the post and the goalkeeper to give the Pride a 3-1 lead.
In the 224th Pride game in all competitions, it was the first hat trick in team history, the third in NWSL history to take place in the first half, and the first time an NWSL player has scored a road hat trick in the first half.
“She’s a constant threat. It was three different types of goals, which is pleasing to see,” Hines said about Banda’s hat trick. “She’s been waiting patiently. She’s been hitting half chances, but no real clear-cut opportunities. And so I was really pleased for her. Obviously, it’s the first hat trick in Pride history. That’s been a long wait for that opportunity, but she took it really well.”
Banda also became the first African international to score a hat trick in the NWSL.
The Pride nearly had a chance in the third minute of first-half stoppage time when Pickett sent a beautiful ball into the box for Angelina. It was right there for the Brazilian, but she couldn’t control it.
After 45 minutes of action, the Pride had more possession (54%-46%), shots (10-7), shots on target (9-2), crosses (7-5), and corner kicks (2-1). They also had better passing accuracy (84%-82%) in the first half.
While the Pride were the more attacking team to start the first half, the Royals were on the front foot in the second. In the 48th minute, Mozingo found Zornoza near the top of the box. Sentnor made a diagonal run and Zornoza found her. However, the U.S. international sent her attempt well wide of the target.
The Royals created the second shot of the second half in the 63rd minute when Tanaka laid the ball off for Sentnor. Despite being far from goal, the striker fired. The shot was on target but into the arms of Moorhouse.
A minute later, Kizer dribbled into the right side of the box and took a shot from a tight angle. However, Moorhouse had her near post covered and the attempt didn’t cause her any trouble.
The next time the ball went out of play, Hines made his first two changes. Abello and Summer Yates came on for Oihane and Angelina.
Shortly after the substitution, the Pride created their first shot of the second half. A poor pass out of the back by McGlynn was intercepted by Yates. The midfielder played the ball to Banda on the right and the striker took a shot, but it didn’t cause much trouble for McGlynn.
McCutcheon had a great look in the 72nd minute, when Pickett sent Yates down the left. The second-half substitute played it into the six-yard box, where McCutcheon found herself all alone. However, she seemed surprised by the situation, sending the ball wide from very short distance.
In the 77th minute, Dyke found Yates in the box. The midfielder did well to turn Ana Tejada and fired on target. However, McGlynn did well to get a hand to it. Watt had position on Del Fava in front of an empty net near the left post, and the defender pushed the attacker over to win the ball. Pride players in the area wanted a penalty, but the referee disagreed.
The Pride won a free kick in the opposing third in the 78th minute when Watt was pushed over by Flynn. Pickett sent the set piece into the box and Lemos got her foot to it, but she sent the attempt wide.
The Royals nearly got one back in the 80th minute when Sentnor sent a low cross into the box from the left. Bianca St-Georges was behind her defender and right in front of the goal, but the pass was just behind her.
Play stopped in the 82nd minute as McCutcheon went down with an injury. The Pride medical staff came out to examine the defensive midfielder, eventually resulting in the team’s final change of the night. In the 84th minute, Viviana Villacorta came into the game for McCutcheon.
St-Georges had a chance in the 87th minute when a long ball bounced away from Abello. The Royals substitute turned and shot, but sent the attempt well wide of the target.
Tanaka received a pass forward in the 89th minute and fired from distance. However, Lemos got her foot in from behind, getting a piece of the ball and allowing Moorhouse to make the easy stop.
The Royals had a good chance to get one back in the fifth minute of stoppage time, when Madison Pogarch sent a dangerous ball to the back post. St-Georges was behind Abello and Moorhouse was trying to get over, but the ball went out of play.
That was the last chance as the Pride claimed a huge three points away from home.
At full time, the Pride had more possession (52%-48%), shots on target (11-5), crosses (12-10), and corner kicks (4-1). Utah had better passing accuracy (83%-82%) and more shot attempts (14-13).
“Priority was to come away with three points before we go into the international break,” Hines said. “I think in recent games we played well, but we haven’t really got the results. So, we wanted to make sure that we performed well and got the result. It’s great to come away from this game with three points and a nice 3-1 win.”
“Interesting match,” Banda added. “Coming back from the loss, we wanted to win this game, so we had to put all what it takes. We didn’t want to leave anything on the field, but to get the maximum three points.”
The win vaults Orlando back into second place, two points behind the first-place Current. However, the Current have yet to play this weekend. They’re also two points ahead of the San Diego Wave, who also have a game in hand.
Following the international break, the Pride have three games before the summer break, which will last over a month. Two of those three games are away from home, but they’re all winnable.
“We need to take that confidence going into these last three games before the summer break,” Hines said. “Obviously, we’re going into the international break, so players are representing their country. But when they come back, we need to carry on that momentum into the last three games going into the summer break.”
The Pride will have an extra week to soak in this win, as they don’t play next weekend. They’ll return to action on June 7 when they host the Houston Dash at Inter&Co Stadium.
Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. Utah Royals: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Pride look to return to their winning ways as they travel to face the struggling Utah Royals.

Welcome to your match thread as the Orlando Pride (5-3-1, 16 points) travel west to take on the Utah Royals (1-6-2, 5 points) in Sandy, UT. This is the first of two matchups between these teams with the return game in Orlando scheduled for Aug. 3.
Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s game.
History
The Royals first played in 2018 and 2019 before the team was purchased and relocated to Kansas City. The new owners of Major League Soccer’s Real Salt Lake bought an expansion side, so 2024 was the first season the two teams met since 2019, although this is an all-new side. The Pride are 3-3-2 against the Royals all-time, with all games coming in the NWSL regular season. Orlando is 2-0-0 against this current iteration of the Royals (1-0-0 on the road) and 2-1-1 all-time in the state of Utah.
The last time the Pride met the Royals was on June 21, 2024 in Orlando. It was a dominant performance from start to finish as the Pride roared to a 6-0 win. Barbra Banda started the scoring, and Summer Yates made it 2-0 just before halftime. The Pride took off in the second half with goals by Banda and Ally Watt, along with a Marta brace.
On April 12 in Sandy, UT. Marta started on the bench and came on for Adriana in the 62nd minute. It didn’t take long for the Pride captain to make an impact, netting the game’s lone goal six minutes later, as the visitors left the Beehive State with a 1-0 victory.
The 2019 season was the final one for the original Royals and the Pride faced this opponent three times that year. The first game between the teams was on April 27 in Orlando, and the difference was Christen Press, who netted the lone goal early in a 1-0 result. On May 25 in Utah, Amy Rodriguez opened the scoring from the penalty spot and Makenzy Doniak made it 2-0 late. The third meeting was on Aug. 17 in Orlando. Press gave the visitors the lead in the 60th minute and Rodriguez doubled the advantage late as the Royals won 2-0.
The 2018 campaign was the Royals’ inaugural season, and Orlando got the better of the newcomers, going unbeaten in three matches (1-0-2). In the 2018 season opener, Utah and the Pride played to a 1-1 draw in Orlando. The Royals scored on their first chance of the game. They had an excellent spell of early possession. Diana Matheson put in a cross and Gunny Jonsdottir — who later played for the Pride for two seasons in 2021 and 2022 — volleyed it into the back of the net. Marta tied things up from the spot later in the first half, and the game ended 1-1.
About a month and a half later, the teams met again, playing to a 0-0 draw, this time in Rio Tinto Stadium. It was a relatively dull night with no goals and the majority of the action in the middle of the field. Both teams struggled on the attacking end. There were no shots on target in the first half and just three in the second.
While those first two matches ended in draws, the last meeting of 2018 finally saw a winner. On July 14, 2018, there was end-to-end action, and both teams saw chances in front of the net. Utah found an early goal from Rodriguez, and then Alex Morgan tied it up with a penalty kick just before halftime. In the second half, a good through ball from Ali Krieger found Kristen Edmonds one-on-one with Utah goalkeeper Abby Smith, who was caught out of position. Edmonds chipped the ball past Smith for the game-winner, and Orlando got its first-ever victory against the Royals, 2-1.
Overview
The Pride are coming off a tough stretch where they’ve lost two of their last three games 1-0, and only a last-minute equalizer in North Carolina kept it from being three straight losses. The most recent loss came a week ago tonight when the Pride hosted the Kansas City Current in a battle for first place. Temwa Chawinga’s 52nd-minute goal was the difference, sending the Pride down to third in the NWSL standings.
The problem for the Pride has been the attack. Other than scoring three goals in 20 minutes against Angel City FC in a 3-2 come-from-behind win, the Pride haven’t scored multiple goals in a game since March 29, when they defeated San Diego Wave FC 2-1.
Meanwhile, the Pride’s defense has been fantastic. That Angel City game is the only time the Pride have conceded multiple goals this year. Head Coach Seb Hines even gave starting center backs Kylie Nadaner and Emily Sams a break, replacing each of them with rookie Zara Chavoshi in successive games, but they only gave up one goal in those games combined. Unfortunately, the lack of offense resulted in only getting one point.
Banda got off to a great start this season, netting a brace in the opener. However, she’s only scored twice in the last eight games and hasn’t found the back of the net in the last three matches. Marta has had similar struggles, failing to score since the win over Angel City.
The Pride desperately need three points to get themselves back on track, and they face the perfect team tonight. The Royals were one of the worst teams in the league last year, finishing 11th of 14 teams. They aren’t any better this year so far, with just five points from nine games, good enough for 13th place.
As you might expect from a team with just one win, Utah has struggled offensively and defensively this year. Their seven goals are second fewest in the NWSL, and their 16 goals conceded are tied with Angel City for second most. The only team worse is the last-place Chicago Stars, who have scored five times and conceded 19 goals.
While the Royals have struggled defensively this year, they’re coming off their best game of the season, a 3-3 draw at the Washington Spirit. The sudden production ended a three-game goalless streak. We’ll see if that carries into tonight.
Nobody on the Royals has multiple goals or assists this year, understandable by their lack of scoring. But they’ll have their work cut out for them tonight when they face one of the league’s best defenses. The Pride’s seven goals conceded is tied with Seattle Reign FC for second, just one behind the Current.
The Pride started the season as the most prolific offense, scoring six times in the season opener. But, apart from the three-goal output against Angel City, they’ve cooled off considerably. Facing a team that has leaked goals all year, this could be the game the Pride need to get back to their scoring ways.
“I think they put up a good performance against a good Washington Spirit side. They should be happy walking away with a point,” Hines said about tonight’s opponent. “Obviously, they were close to three points as well, but I think before the game they probably would’ve taken that. So we can’t take them too lightly. We’re trying to bounce back from some disappointing results, not performances. And I think it’s a great opportunity for us to go there and come away with three points.”
The only change to the Pride availability report is the removal of Julie Doyle (knee). Simone Charley (ankle), Luana (illness), Amanda Allen (shoulder), and Rafaelle (thigh) remain out.
The Royals will be without Mikayla Cluff (concussion), Macey Fraser (knee), Olivia Griffiths (maternity leave), Cloe Lacasse (knee), Alex Loera (knee), Tatumn Milazzo (knee), Paige Monaghan (foot), and Kaleigh Riehl (lower leg).
Official Lineups
Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.
Defenders: Cori Dyke, Kylie Nadaner, Emily Sams, Oihane.
Defensive Midfielders: Haley McCutcheon, Morgan Gautrat.
Attacking Midfielders: Carson Pickett, Angelina, Ally Watt.
Forward: Barbra Banda.
Bench: McKinley Crone, Julie Doyle, Prisca Chilufya, Summer Yates, Zara Chavoshi, Kerry Abello, Viviana Villacorta, Marta, Ally Lemos.
Utah Royals (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Mandy McGlynn.
Defenders: Nuria Rabano, Lauren Flynn, Kate Del Fava, Janni Thomsen.
Defensive Midfielders: Ana Tejada, Claudia Zornoza.
Midfielders: Brecken Mozingo, Mina Tanaka, Cece Kizer.
Forwards: Ally Sentnor.
Bench: Mia Justus, Ana Guzman, Madison Pogarch, Kherrington Ream, Dana Foederer, Imani Dorsey, Aisha Solorzano, Aria Nagai, Bianca St-Georges.
Referees
REF: JC Griggs.
AR1: Matthew Rodman.
AR2: Darren Bandy.
4TH: Rachel Swett.
VAR: Katherine McCormick.
AVAR: Brian Marshall.
How to Watch
Match Time: 9:30 p.m.
Venue: America First Field — Sandy, UT.
TV: None.
Streaming: FDSN App, NWSL+.
Social Media: For live updates and rapid reaction, follow @themaneland.bsky.social on Bluesky and the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter feed (@ORLPride).
Enjoy the game. Go Pride!
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