The Pride welcomed San Diego to town on a beautiful March day. Hopefully, the visitors enjoyed the weather, as Orlando continued its winning ways, dispatching the Wave 2-1 in a hard-fought match on a hot afternoon.

Maybe due to the early start, both teams seemed to take awhile to find their rhythm. The Pride pulled out their scoring boots at the intermission, going ahead on yet another Haley McCutcheon goal shortly after the intermission. Unfortunately, Seb Hines’ side switched off for a moment shortly after that and the Wave drew level on their only real chance of the game two minutes later.

The Pride kept showing their grit, with Barbra Banda drawing a penalty, which was eventually dispatched by Marta in the 75th minute. It did take Marta two attempts — she had a rare miss off the right post on her first attempt, but a retake was awarded for encroachment as San Diego goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan came off her line early. After the penalty, the game really opened up, with San Diego forced to push for an equalizer. The Wave managed to get several good runs in behind, but the Pride defense covered well, running down and cleanly tackling several breaks.

Goal excepted, it was another excellent showing by the Orlando defense. While San Diego did get forward multiple times, the only shot on goal resulted in the goal, and the other four attempts were all blocked.

We hope you enjoy these photos of another Pride victory on a beautiful day at Inter&Co Stadium.

With Orlando City’s thus-far proficient offense on one hand and Christian Benteke on the other, Saturday’s game had the potential for a high-scoring affair. The Lions did not disappoint on that front, scoring twice in the first half and twice again just after the break to thoroughly overmatch D.C. United. The only black mark on the evening was the consolation goal that D.C. got late, resulting in a 4-1 scoreline that didn’t feel that close.

Orlando’s attack was clicking, with all three Designated Players making substantial contributions both in play and on the score sheet. Luis Muriel (goal, assist), Martin Ojeda (goal, two assists) and Marco Pašalić (goal) at times looked like they were playing a charity game instead of a league match, especially later in the game. Ojeda especially seemed to take upon himself a personal challenge of doing all his shots the hard way. Of his six shots, he deflected off Aaron Herrera’s leg in the 24th minute, Hosei Kijma’s foot in the 38th minute, and off Herrera’s rear end in the 44th minute — his goal — and then volleyed a shot in the 60th and murdered the right post in the 69th.

Goalkeeper Javier Otero got his first MLS start, stepping in due to the international window taking Pedro Gallese to South America. While D.C. provided inconsistent attack, United challenged occasionally, and Otero acquitted himself well, making three good saves. He parried away a wicked curling shot in the 77th minute and smothered two shots well in the fourth and 68th minutes, adding a handful of other critical claims.

His one sweeping foray in the 25th minute was successful but nervy, as he did not get the ball, but he and Robin Jansson managed to protect the ball and each other until the Swedish defender could clear it away. He had no real chance on the goal conceded, as Benteke beat two defenders in the air to head back across to a box full of crashing D.C. attackers in desperation time. Overall, it was a great game for the young goalkeeper to learn from and build confidence.

Overall it was an exciting game on a beautiful evening in Orlando. We hope you enjoy these images from a memorable win over D.C. United.

The Orlando Pride opened the 2025 NWSL season in style Friday night, celebrating their record-smashing 2024 campaign with a double banner raising for their NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship. They then provided a performance of intent to hold onto those honors with a thorough 6-0 beatdown of the newly rebranded Chicago Stars in the game that followed. The community seems to have noticed, as the attendance of 19,237 was the second largest for the Pride and a new record for the team at Inter&Co Stadium.

Haley McCutcheon and Barbra Banda set the tone early, each causing Chicago goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher to make good saves in the opening three minutes. McCutcheon found the net in the seventh minute and the Pride did not look back. By the time the final whistle blew, four different Pride players contributed goals — McCutcheon, Ally Watt, Julie Doyle, and Banda (twice), with an own goal by Hannah Anderson rounding out the scoring. It could have been even more, as Banda played in Zambian Women’s National Team teammate Prisca Chilufya, who buried her shot in second-half stoppage time. However, Banda was offside on the play, and the flag went up quickly after the strike. Still, it was an excellent sign that a new member of the team is finding her form already.

The Pride smothered the game, affording Chicago only 36% posession. Without the ball, Chicago was only able to manage two sequences that even led to shots during the run of play (plus some desperation low-chance looks in second-half stoppage time).

We hope you enjoy these images of a celebratory night at Inter&Co Stadium.