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Orlando Pride vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC: Final Score 2-0 as Pride Win Again

The Pride beat NJ/NY Gotham FC 2-0 to extend their unbeaten run to 19 games.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride /Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride (13-0-5, 44 points) continued their unbeaten streak by defeating NJ/NY Gotham FC (10-4-4, 34 points) 2-0 tonight at Inter&Co Stadium. Adriana netted a first-half brace, which held up for 71 minutes as the Pride extended their winning streak to five games and unbeaten run to 19 matches.

Pride Head Coach Seb Hines made one change to the team that beat the Houston Dash 1-0 on Aug. 23. Summer Yates, the goal scorer in that game, replaced Julie Doyle in the midfield. The back line in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was Kerry Abello, Kylie Strom, Emily Sams, and Cori Dyke. Haley McCutcheon and Angelina were the defensive midfielders behind Yates, Marta, and Adriana with Barbra Banda up top.

The game was originally scheduled to begin at 6 p.m., but storms in the area pushed the start time back to 7:25 p.m. The Pride came out flying once the game began, taking control in the first 20 minutes. Adriana scored in the sixth minute and again in the 19th minute, giving the hosts a 2-0 lead. That was enough as Gotham only put two of its 16 shots on target, both of which were saved by Moorhouse.

Gotham created the first shot of the game in the third minute when the inability of the Pride to clear gave Delanie Sheehan space outside of the box. The midfielder tried to guide the ball inside the far post but was unable to get around it, resulting in the ball sailing harmlessly wide.

The first chance for the Pride gave the hosts an early lead. In the sixth minute, Yates’ cross to the six-yard box was converged on by Strom, Nealy Martin, Jess Carter, and Gotham goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger. Despite being outnumbered, Strom got her head to the ball, putting it down for a wide open Adriana to finish and giving the Pride a 1-0 lead.

During the play, Berger accidentally punched Strom while trying to reach the ball and Martin also went down with a head injury. Both players received treatment but were eventually able to continue.

The Pride doubled their lead in the 19th minute when Yates played a great, long switch across the field to Adriana with space. The Brazilian took Jenna Nighswonger one-on-one, eventually creating enough room for a shot towards the far post. Berger couldn’t get close to the attempt and Adriana had a brace in less than 20 minutes, giving the Pride a commanding 2-0 lead.

“It was a great moment for Adriana. She’s been looking forward to getting on the score sheet,” Hines said about the brace. “She’s been working extremely hard with her finishing, and she had a night tonight.”

As you might expect, the Pride were trying to find Banda in the box with space and the striker finally got the ball in the box in the 27th minute. The team’s leading goal scorer took a touch inside to create space from the defender before taking a shot at goal. However, the attempt was right at Berger, who made an easy save.

Yates tried to send McCutcheon through on goal in the 30th minute, but the ball was a bit too far in front of her, and Berger was able to clear it away. The Pride maintained possession, resulting in a cross attempt by Adriana that Nighswonger knocked out for a corner kick. The ensuing set piece found the head of Banda, but the striker couldn’t get much on it.

Gotham had a good chance in the 43rd minute when Emily Sonnett played a great ball across the field from the midfield line into the Pride box. The cross went just over the head of Sheehan to Yazmeen Ryan on the far side. Taking Dyke on one-on-one, Ryan created enough space for a shot but sent the attempt over the goal.

It looked like the Pride might have a third goal in the 45th minute when Abello and Yates combined to play McCutcheon forward. Banda was making a diagonal run and McCutcheon played her in on goal. The Pride striker opened her body before firing for the far side of the goal, hitting the post. It wouldn’t have counted anyway as the flag came up for offside.

In the fifth minute of first-half stoppage time, Adriana sent a long ball across the box that Banda headed to the top of the six. Yates was making a run, but Sonnett got there first to knock it out for a corner kick. Marta’s set piece was cleared away, ending the threat.

The final chance of the half came in the eighth minute of injury time when Rose Lavelle played Ryan forward. Rather than dribbling into the box, the attacker shot from outside the 18, sending the attempt wide.

The Pride led most of the statistical categories in the first half, including possession (52%-48%), shots (7-4), shots on target (3-0), corner kicks (3-0), and crosses (10-4). The hosts also had better passing accuracy (88%-85%) in the first 45 minutes.

“We always mention it at halftime. You know, 2-0 is a dangerous score line at halftime,” Hines said. “Two halves are never the same. And especially when we’re dominating so much in the first half and creating some really good opportunities in the first half and played some really good football. A team like Gotham is going to adjust things.”

“We say it all the time, 2-0 is a very dangerous lead,” Strom added. “So we knew that they were going to change something. We weren’t sure what. So, we just needed to problem solve and adapt and, you know, try to figure out how to beat the press in the second half.”

The only halftime substitute was Esther Gonzalez coming on for Martin and the Spanish international tried to make an immediate impact. Seconds after the restart, she won the ball from Strom and attempted to chip Moorhouse. It was an ambitious attempt that went over the target.

The Pride had their first chance of the second half in the 48th minute when Abello sent Banda long down the left. The forward found an open Adriana in the middle and the attacker volleyed the ball with the outside of her right foot right to Berger.

Gotham had a good chance to get one back in the 52nd minute when Lavelle lifted the ball over a leaping Yates for Carter making a run towards the back post. The defender sent the ball across the face of the goal where Gonzalez was making a run, but the forward couldn’t get her foot to it.

The visitors had another good chance in the 54th minute when Nighswonger sent an excellent ball to Dunn making a run towards the back post. Dunn had gotten behind the back line and tried to volley the ball on goal, but hit the attempt over the crossbar.

Gotham nearly scored an own goal in the 59th minute when Tierna Davidson got to an Abello cross before Marta. She redirected the ball over Berger and it looked like the ball would cross the line, but it hit the bottom of the crossbar instead. It was enough to keep it out and allow Berger to collect it.

Hines made his first change of the night in the 65th minute with Doyle coming onto the field for Yates.

Gotham continued to try to find a goal that would get them back into the game. In the 70th minute, Davidson sent a long ball for Gonzalez that got her behind Strom. The forward’s second touch was a shot from a tight angle that went over the crossbar.

A minute later, pressure from a Pride goal kick created a chance for Nighswonger. McCutcheon received the ball near the top of the box but quickly gave it away to Katie Stengel. The second-half substitute played Lavelle forward and the U.S. international found Nighswonger with more space. The defender was aiming for the far post but sent the attempt wide.

Pressure in the back created problems for the Pride again in the 77th minute when a weak pass from Strom to Sams enabled Stengel to take possession. The substitute dribbled around Sams to create space for a shot, but McCutcheon came flying in to block the shot out of play.

After the first corner kick was cleared out of play, the second resulted in a shot from long distance by Nighswonger. However, Moorhouse was up to the task, blocking it behind her goal. It wasn’t until the fourth consecutive corner kick that the Pride were able to clear.

The Pride immediately went the other way, trying to create something of their own. The number of Gotham players forward enabled the Pride to create a counterattack when Marta chipped the ball for Doyle and the midfielder sent Banda forward. Banda was looking to take Bruninha one-on-one and was taken down by the Brazilian when a teammate got back.

Bruninha was booked for the challenge and Banda required attention. Hines took the opportunity to make another substitution, replacing Banda with fellow forward Ally Watt. Adriana stepped up to take the free kick but it was stopped by Berger.

Watt had a chance to make her impact on the game in the 84th minute when McCutcheon sent her behind the Gotham back line. However, she took too many touches, enabling Berger to come off her line and block her attempt at goal.

In the 90th minute, Pickett pulled back Jessica Silva near the top of the Pride box, giving the visitors a good chance. Lavelle’s free kick was headed on goal by Stengel, but Moorhouse was there to make the catch.

Doyle did well to shield the ball from Carter in the second minute of stoppage before splitting a pair of defenders to enter the box. Adriana, who initially gave Doyle the ball, continued her run into the 18 and Doyle found her. The midfielder shot in an attempt to score the first hat trick in Pride history, but it was directly at Berger.

On the other end, Gotham had a good chance to convert in the fifth minute of stoppage time when Stengel won a header between Sams and Dyke. It set up perfectly for Taryn Torres, who sent her shot for the far post. Moorhouse had no chance at stopping the attempt, but it went just wide of the far post.

It looked briefly like the Pride had a third in the ninth minute of stoppage time when Doyle dribbled inside and towards the top of the box to create space from two defenders. The midfielder’s strike was a beautiful one, getting just over the outstretched arm of Berger and into the roof of the net. Unfortunately, the flag went up for offside.

That was the last chance for either team as the Pride won 2-0. At full time, Gotham had more possession (50.5%-49.5%), shots (16-13), corner kicks (6-3), and crosses (12-10). However, the Pride put more shots on target (9-2) and converted twice. Both teams completed 82% of their passes.

“I think every game that we’re playing in is always going to be a challenging game, but it’s just a testament to the players and their attitudes,” Hines said about the performance. “We wanted to start the game on the front foot. We wanted to start with intensity and to take the lead after 20 minutes, I thought we were terrific. I thought we played some really good football. I think the second goal epitomizes what we’re trying to do. And, you know, Adri takes both goals really well. And then, obviously towards the end, as they’re pushing more numbers forward, trying to get back into the game. Again, talk about mentality, and attitude, and throwing your body on the line to keep the ball out of the net was brilliant to see. And again, it’s another clean sheet against a good opponent.”

The clean sheet was the Pride’s fifth in the last six games, a remarkable record for a team that has featured the best defensive unit in the league.

Even more impressive than the clean sheets is they’ve done it with changes on the back line. Rafaelle was injured in the Olympics, causing Sams to move to center back and Dyke to enter the starting lineup. Despite the changes, the Pride continue to avoid conceding goals.

“I just think it speaks to the depth of this team,” Dyke said about the defensive success. “We just have such a talented roster of players that could play 90 minutes on any given day. And I think that makes a really competitive training environment. So, I think just the way we’re pushing ourselves every day in training and holding each other to that high standard allows us to continue to have those clean sheets.”

“I think we just take a lot of pride in our defending. And when we say defending, it’s not just our back line or goalkeeper, it’s front to back,” Strom added. “So, we just want to make things predictable. We want to lock them to one side. We want to end it when it gets wide. And when we do that, we have a lot of success.”

In a season full of new team and league records, the head coach set a new one tonight. The win was Hines’ 26th as Pride head coach, surpassing Tom Sermanni for most wins in team history. Since neither coach has a win outside of league play, the record is for NWSL and all competitions.

“It’s cool, I guess,” Hines said about setting the team record. “You know, I don’t even think about it. I’m just one who lives in the moment and I’m already thinking about the next game. So, yeah, we’ve said it all season long, records are great. The winning streak, the unbeaten streak, winning as coach, they’re all great. But we have an objective that we want to achieve this year and we’ll continue it.”

The Washington Spirit drew 1-1 with the San Diego Wave and the Kansas City Current lost 2-1 to the North Carolina Courage 2-1 tonight. As a result, the Pride increased their lead on the field to six points.


After a brief stop at home, the Pride will now head back out on the road as they face the Chicago Red Stars next Sunday.

Orlando Pride

Orlando Pride Re-Sign Marta through 2026 Season

The Pride captain returns to Orlando for two more seasons with a new deal that could take her through the end of her playing days.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Orlando Pride talisman and team captain Marta will most likely end her illustrious playing career in the City Beautiful after inking a new two-year contract with the club through the end of 2026. The club announced the signing today, just 47 days after concluding her most productive season since 2017 and the Pride’s — and arguably any NWSL team’s — best season ever.

The 38-year-old Brazilian, who will turn 39 in February, said after the Pride won the NWSL Championship in November that she’d like to play one or two more seasons. This contract will allow her to do just that, putting her on track to play 10 seasons in Orlando and retire (if she chooses to do so at that time) at age 40.

Marta, who was out of contract after captaining the Pride to the NWSL Shield and the NWSL Championship in 2024, was a priority for Orlando this off-season, with the Pride announcing Dec. 10 that the club was in negotiations with the captain over her return. That business is now concluded with today’s announcement.

“Coming off the most successful season in our club’s history and, personally, one of the best of
her professional career, re-signing Marta was a key business priority for us during this offseason,” Orlando Pride Vice President of Sporting Operations and Sporting Director Haley Carter said in a club press release. “The impact she has made on our team, our locker room, and our community is evident, of course through her incredible skill as a player, but even more so through her selfless and exemplary leadership style. We are thrilled to have secured her as a member of the Pride for the next two years and look forward to seeing what more we will accomplish during her tenure.”

“This is a team where everybody works for each other, where everyone believes in each other,
and I’m so excited to continue this journey with this club,” Marta said in the club’s release. “Last year we proved everyone wrong and did something so special as a team, and that’s why I’m so happy to have the opportunity to sign for two more years. Personally, it also means a lot to me that I will reach 10 seasons as an Orlando Pride player, a special number for me as I have worn the No. 10 jersey most of my career. As I have said many times, I love living in Orlando, I love the community, and I love the way that people embrace and enjoy Orlando Pride soccer. I can’t wait for the season to start.”

Marta has been a fixture with the Pride since 2017, signing on April 7 from Swedish side FC Rosengard on a two-year deal with a club option for 2019. On Oct. 24 of that year, Marta signed a new one-year deal with a club option for 2020, although ultimately the NWSL regular season was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pride further extended her stay in Orlando on Feb. 17, 2021, with a new one-year contract through the 2021 season with a club option for 2022, using Allocation Money. In 2022, she signed a new two-year contract, taking her through what turned out to be a magical 2024 championship season.

The attacking midfielder is coming off a season in which she was a finalist for NWSL MVP and NWSL Midfielder of the Year, scoring nine goals and adding one assist in 23 games (19 starts), logging a total of 1,739 minutes. In all competitions, Marta scored 11 goals. Following the season, Marta was named to the 2024 NWSL Best XI First Team and the 2024 FIFPRO Women’s World XI.

Since her arrival in Orlando, Marta has become the franchise’s all-time leader in games played (128), goals (42), and assists (19). Of her 42 goals, 14 were game winners, including the strike against the Kansas City Current in the 2024 NWSL semifinals that ultimately pushed the Pride into the NWSL Championship game against the Washington Spirit.

A professional player since 2000 — at the age of 14, when she broke in with Vasco de Gama — Marta became one of the most feared attacking players in the world, winning FIFA World Player of the Year six times over her considerable career, including five straight times (2006-2010). The native of Dois Riachos, Alagoas, Brazil has represented her native Brazil on the world stage since 2002, scoring 119 goals in 204 caps for her country. With 17, Marta holds the world record for career goals in the World Cup and scored in five different iterations of the competition. She has also scored in five consecutive Olympic Games, finally calling an end to her international career after the 2024 Paris Olympics, in which she led her team to the Silver Medal — her third time claiming silver.

Marta has become such an icon in women’s soccer that FIFA named an award after her — the FIFA Marta Award. She won the very first Marta Award in December for a goal she scored for Brazil against Jamaica in 2024.

What It Means for Orlando

Orlando has its captain back and even at her age, she’s one of the league’s best attacking midfielders. She had been slowed in recent years by injuries, including an ACL tear that cost her almost all of the 2022 season. Working her way back from that injury throughout the 2023 campaign, which saw the Pride tie for the final playoff spot, only to see the position go to Gotham on goal differential, Marta turned back the clock in 2024 with her MVP finalist performance. Her nine goals in 2024 were second in her Pride career only to her 2017 season, in which she scored 13 times and finished second to Sam Kerr in the Golden Boot race.

If the Pride get the 2024 version of Marta — or even close to it — for the next two seasons, the club will take that every day of the week.

However, this is not a move without risk. Marta figured to be one of the team’s most expensive players under her previous few deals, and she is about to turn 39 next month and 40 just before the final year of her new (final?) playing contract. Although it would be foolish to bet against Marta turning in another outstanding season, the reality of age catches up with everyone eventually. With her in the lineup, the Pride will have someone who can keep possession with her on-ball and passing skills. She’ll continue to smartly release pressure in the midfield with her timely and accurate switches of play. And she’ll likely continue to contribute to the team’s offensive numbers, looking first to set up striker Barbra Banda. She will be the port the Pride turn to in a storm.

The Orlando icon is a lock to be a future member of the Legends Terrace at Inter&Co Stadium, with her name likely being enshrined next to inaugural inductee, Kaká’s. Having the opportunity to potentially sign Marta through the end of her playing days is worth the risk for the Pride. Although Seb Hines would do well to try to get his aging star as much rest as possible during a long season, she’ll be on the pitch for almost every meaningful minute as long as she remains fit.

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Orlando Pride

Orlando Pride Need to Address Center Back Depth This Off-Season

The Pride’s starting center backs are strong, but departures have created a depth issue that Haley Carter must address.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride are in arguably the best roster scenario of any off-season in team history. While the team was breaking records on the field, Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Haley Carter was busy keeping the team together for the foreseeable future. The result is that most of the roster is intact for 2025, but there are some issues that need to be resolved.

Following the 2024 NWSL campaign, only two contracts expired  — 21-year-old midfielder Evelina Duljan and club captain Marta. While Duljan will depart the club, the Pride stated they’re in discussions with Marta about returning next season. If the club re-signs Marta, it will have its entire double-winning starting lineup back.

With the possible exception of replacing Marta, the biggest issue for the Pride this off-season involves the three retirements announced prior to the end of the season. Right back Celia, center back Megan Montefusco, and versatile defender Carrie Lawrence all ended their professional careers. Celia’s absence won’t affect the team much as it has plenty of right back options, but the loss of Montefusco and Lawrence — both of whom have plenty of experience at center back — leaves the team short of depth at the position.

The lack of central depth on the back line was on full display during last season. Montefusco had surgery on her right foot, ending her season before it began. Head Coach Seb Hines moved left back Kylie Strom to a center back role alongside Rafaelle and Emily Sams — who played most of 2023 at center back — to right back. However, Rafaelle’s absence due to injury forced Sams into her natural center back position.

In addition to Strom, Sams, and Rafaelle, three other players started at center back last season. Hines used a center back pairing of Brianna Martinez and Kerry Abello once, putting the two together in the second regular season game, a 1-1 draw with Angel City FC. Cori Dyke was only used in the position late in the season when Sams was given a rest. While all three have played center back before, it’s not the first choice for any of them.

Abello and Dyke played the position in college but have primarily played in different positions professionally. Abello started as a left attacking midfielder before moving back to left back last season. Dyke moved from central midfield to center back for her senior year at Penn State and became the starting right back after the Olympic break. Martinez has usually played right back since joining the Pride. The trio only made five combined starts at center back in 2024, with Abello appearing three times and Dyke and Martinez once.

While there are players that can play center back, only three have at least one full professional season of experience at the position. If Hines has the same vision as last year, Strom and Rafaelle would start at center back and Sams at right back when everyone is healthy. While Sams and Strom proved to be an effective partnership, the Pride boss will want the Brazilian international in the lineup if she’s available. However, Rafaelle suffered a partial tear to her right quadricep tendon late last season and it’s unclear when she’ll be ready to play again. As a result, the Pride could begin the season with only two regular center backs.

If Rafaelle isn’t ready to go when the season starts and Strom or Sams go down, it’s currently most likely that Abello would move over to center back and be replaced by Carson Pickett on the left. Considering that it’s the position that Abello has the least experience of her three potential roles, that’s a less than ideal scenario. Signing a natural center back would enable Hines to make a like-for-like change in the lineup and keep everyone else in their familiar spots.

Carter and Hines have built a team full of versatile players, preparing them for these situations. Nearly everyone on the team has played multiple positions in league games and some have played offensive and defensive roles. As a result, players can take over positions they’re less familiar with when needed with at least some experience, even if just one game.

While Abello, Dyke, and Martinez are capable of filling in at center back in an emergency, the Pride would ideally have someone more experienced in that role. Since the rest of the roster is nearly complete for the first game, Carter can focus on ensuring there’s plenty of depth. The first position in need of additional bodies is the center back position.

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Orlando Pride

Top 10 Moments of 2024: Orlando Pride Win NWSL Championship

Our No. 1 moment of 2024 features the Orlando Pride bringing home an NWSL Championship to clinch the league’s double and cap a historic season.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

As we count down to the new year of 2025 — which will be Orlando City’s 11th in MLS, the Orlando Pride’s 10th in the NWSL, and OCB’s third in MLS NEXT Pro — and say goodbye to 2024, it’s time to look back at the club’s 10 best moments of the year as selected by The Mane Land staff via vote.

What do you do after you’ve won the NWSL Shield, went unbeaten for 24 consecutive games, set NWSL records for wins, points, clean sheets, and consecutive shutout minutes? Well, to paraphrase Jake Taylor in Major League, there’s only one thing left to do…win the whole f#@%ing thing! That’s exactly what the Orlando Pride did after the 2024 NWSL regular season. The Pride earned the right to play at home up until the championship game by virtue of finishing with the league’s best record in the regular season, and doing all those things I mentioned above. So, the team entered the postseason needing three victories to leave no doubt about which team was the league’s best.

It’s not that a regular-season title would be a hollow victory without a playoff championship, but it had been a few years since the league’s shield winner had completed the double and won the NWSL Championship. Orlando had high aspirations after such a successful regular season, and three wins in a row — even against a trio of the better teams in the league — seemed like child’s play for a Pride team that had winning streaks of eight, six, and three matches during the regular season. On the other hand, every team wanted to be the one to bring down the mighty Pride.

The team’s run to the double started at home against the Chicago Red Stars, a team that the Pride have famously struggled against, especially in Orlando. I won’t belabor it here, as it was the No. 5 moment in our countdown of the club’s biggest moments of the year in 2024. I’ll simply point out that the Pride breezed past the Red Stars so easily that Barbra Banda and Marta were playing goal frame challenge after Orlando built up a big lead, and Anna Moorhouse gave up a silly goal just to give Chicago one solitary moment of happiness in the match. I kid, but only just. Few playoff wins have come more easily.

That left the Pride with an NWSL semifinal matchup against the Kansas City Current — a team desperate to beat Orlando for perceived slights earlier in the season and because the title game was scheduled to take place in their home stadium. If Current players didn’t like Orlando celebrating in their stadium, they hadn’t seen anything yet. But first, the Pride had to get past Kansas City, a team they beat while down a player on the road July 6 and played to a scoreless stalemate in Orlando on Sept. 13.

The Pride took care of business, building a 3-1 lead after falling behind early, with Haley McCutcheon and Banda starting the comeback and Marta ultimately scoring the game-winner (our No. 7 moment of the year). Orlando had to withstand a desperation rally attempt by the Current that came too close for comfort after a late penalty kick goal cut the lead to one, but the Pride held on as they did throughout the season and booked their ticket to Kansas City to face the Washington Spirit.

If fans needed some good omens, there were a few. The Pride had swept the season series, so they knew they could beat Washington. Orlando had played the Spirit in a trophy-clinching game weeks earlier, beating them to clinch the NWSL Shield (our No. 2 moment of the year). The Pride and the Spirit headed to CPKC Stadium on Nov. 23 with a championship trophy on the line.

The game was every bit as tight and nervy as you could expect from a championship match. The teams were physical with each other, and referee Alyssa Nichols was letting them play. Well, everyone except Banda, who was called for every collision and bump, even when she was trying to fight through a hold by the defense. The Spirit and their fans no doubt weren’t happy when the physical play wasn’t called on the game’s only goal.

Angelina won the ball in the midfield and Washington’s Leicy Santos bodied her from behind, trying to win it back. The Brazilian fought Santos off in a physical confrontation and then launched a good long ball down the right channel for Banda to run onto.

Despite getting to the ball first, Banda had a lot left to do from the right flank. She cut inside, flicked the ball with her back heel to beat her defender, working her way nearly to the corner of the six. Former Pride goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury saw the ball on Banda’s left foot and thought Orlando’s striker might try to pick out a runner in the middle of the box. Instead, Banda smashed the ball with her left foot. Kingsbury got a piece but the shot had a lot of powper and surprised the goalkeeper, opening the scoring in the 37th minute.

That was the only goal celebration in the 2024 NWSL Championship. The Pride held off Washington’s repeated advances into the final third. The Spirit chased the game hard, finishing with advantages in many statistical categories, including possession (58%-42%), shots (26-9), shots on target (5-3), corner kicks (8-3), crosses (25-11), and passing accuracy (79%-69%). But the league’s best defense in the regular season held strong, and the Pride had their second major trophy in a 48-day span with the 1-0 win over Washington.

The Pride were even more effusive in their celebrating than they’d been in their last trip to Kansas City, when they’d suffered down a player for more than half the game and won the battle of the NWSL’s last two undefeated teams in the Current’s seemingly impenetrable home fortress. Team captain Marta can perhaps be forgiven for getting on the bad side of the television censors when expressing the intense relief of finally winning the league championship. Pride fans, who had suffered through some miserable seasons since the team’s inception, likely were experiencing similar feelings.

Upon returning home, the Pride were honored with a parade through downtown Orlando, showing off the team’s two trophies to a huge crowd downtown in front of City Hall. The players, coaches, and front office were showered with adulation from the fans, and rightfully so. Even entering the season with raised expectations, few could have foreseen the club achieving so much, and it was the culmination of an extraordinary amount of work and chemistry from everyone.

While winning the NWSL Shield is considered by some to be the bigger accomplishment of the two trophies Orlando won in 2024, doing the double was twice as nice. With the victory, the Pride became the first professional sports team from Orlando to win a major league trophy. As such, the NWSL Championship is worthy of the top spot on our list of the biggest moments of 2024. It wasn’t a unanimous choice by our staff in the voting, but it was the overwhelming winner.


This concludes our list of the the top 10 moments of 2024 for Orlando City, the Orlando Pride, and OCB. There’s no doubt the list was heavy on the Pride accomplishments this season, but that’s what happens when you win the double and set so many league and club records along the way. We had a lot of fantastic moments to choose from in 2024, so if we didn’t pick yours, well…maybe next year. We tried to work OCB into the list, but the Young Lions didn’t make the final 10 in our staff vote. Hopefully you enjoyed reliving these moments as much as we did writing about them.

Previous Top Moments of 2024

10. Orlando City’s massive second-half surge clinches top-four spot in Eastern Conference.

9. The Orlando Pride sign Zambian international striker Barbra Banda ahead of the 2024 season.

8. Facundo Torres scores his 47th goal for Orlando City, breaking the Lions’ all-time goal record.

7. Marta’s magical goal pushes the Orlando Pride past Kansas City and into the NWSL Championship.

6. Orlando City wins nervy three-game MLS Cup playoff series to advance past Charlotte FC.

5. Orlando Pride pick up the club’s first-ever playoff win in their first-ever time hosting a postseason match.

4. Orlando Pride rewrite club and NWSL record books throughout 2024 season and playoffs.

3. Orlando City dumps rival Atlanta United to advance to the club’s first-ever MLS Eastern Conference final appearance.

2. Orlando Pride earn the club’s first trophy by claiming the 2024 NWSL Shield with a win over Washington.

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