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Orlando Pride vs. NJ/NY Gotham FC: Final Score 3-1 as Pride Drop Second Straight Game

One loss turned into two in a row as the Orlando offense and defense both struggled again on the road.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

The Orlando Pride (17-2-6, 57 points) fell for the second straight game, losing 3-1 to NJ/NY Gotham FC (16-4-5, 53 points) at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. The hosts took the lead in the 13th minute through Sam Hiatt and the Pride answered when Adriana converted a penalty in the 31st minute. Gotham retook the lead in first-half stoppage time through Rose Lavelle and Ella Stevens put the game away in the 49th minute.

After making five changes to the lineup for the 2-0 loss to the Portland Thorns on Oct. 11, Pride Head Coach Seb Hines went back to his usual team. Anna Moorhouse was in goal behind a back line of Kerry Abello, Kylie Strom, Emily Sams, and Cori Dyke. Morgan Gautrat and Angelina were in the defensive midfield behind Julie Doyle, Marta, and Adriana, with Barbra Banda up top.

Despite having their regular starting lineup back in action, this was a poor performance by the Pride. They struggled to clear the ball out of their own box and only put two shots on target. The first two Gotham goals should have been cleared, but the Pride were slow to react. Meanwhile, they rarely threatened Gotham goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger, enabling the hosts to walk away with a stress-free win.

The Pride created the first shot on goal in the seventh minute when Angelina sent Banda down the left. The striker used some nifty moves to beat Jess Carter before playing the ball to Adriana, who was approaching the top of the box. The Brazilian took a touch inside to lose Jenna Nighswonger and tried to beat Berger to her left post but missed just wide.

In the 13th minute, Sams headed the ball away, but Stevens collected it. The midfielder found Esther near the top of the box and the striker continued it to Yazmeen Ryan on the far side. Abello left the midfielder, providing her with a free shot on goal, but Moorhouse tipped it over the top.

Stevens and Adriana challenged for the ensuing set piece in the box with the Gotham attacker getting her head to it. Hiatt was in front of goal and it didn’t appear as though she got a touch to it, but Moorhouse’s view was blocked and the ball went in to give the hosts an early 1-0 lead.

The goal was originally given to Stevens before it was changed to Hiatt when they determined the defender got a slight touch to the ball before it went in. Regardless of who scored, it was the second straight week that the Pride trailed in a game after playing the previous 21 without trailing.

In the 29th minute, Angelina sent a long pass behind the Gotham back line for Banda to run onto. Hiatt got back to defend the striker in the box, but Banda did well to tap the ball past her. It was an ill-advised challenge by Hiatt as she stuck her foot in and tripped the Zambian. Referee Ricardo Fierro immediately pointed to the spot, awarding the Pride a penalty.

Adriana stepped up to take the spot kick and sent Berger the wrong way, putting her penalty into the bottom right corner of the goal to even the game at 1-1.

Gotham tried to retake the lead in the 33rd minute when Nighswonger built an attack on the left. Receiving the ball at the top of the box, Esther laid it back for Lavelle just outside the 18, where the U.S. international fired towards goal. The midfielder was unable to get over the ball, sending it over the top.

Marta played Adriana forward in the 39th minute and the Pride had a promising attack with Banda on her right. Hiatt kept the striker onside and Adriana should’ve sent Banda into the box but kept the ball to herself instead. Eventually, Adriana took a shot that went right to Berger.

Gotham nearly regained the lead in the 41st minute when Lavelle played a dangerous ball across the box for Ryan. Sams was in front of the goal, but the midfielder had plenty of space for a shot. However, she was unable to connect with the ball, enabling the Pride to avoid conceding for a second time.

After Gotham recycled the ball, it ended up with Ryan again, providing the attacker with a second opportunity. She sent this chance over the top, again enabling the Pride to clear.

Abello lost the ball to Ryan in the 43rd minute while trying some fancy turns, giving Gotham another good chance to retake the lead. The midfielder dribbled through Angelina and Strom before Sams knocked it off of her foot. It went straight to Stevens, who tried to tuck it inside Moorhouse’s far post, but the ball rolled just wide.

In the first minute of stoppage time, Stevens used some quick turns to lose Angelina and sent a cross towards the back post. Esther tried to redirect the ball with her head, but only got a brief touch to it. However, the ball went to the far post, where Mandy Freeman was making a run. The defender took a shot on goal that Moohouse blocked with her foot.

Nobody in orange was able to clear the ball and it went to Lavelle with nobody on her. It was an easy finish for the midfielder, giving her team a 2-1 lead. 

It was the first time the Pride have conceded twice in the first half since the season opener against Racing Louisville FC on March 16. The opposition that day scored twice inside the first 20 minutes.

The Pride had more first-half possession (55%-45%), but Gotham created more shots (10-5) and put more chances on target (4-2). Gotham also had more crosses (8-7) while the Pride had more corner kicks (3-1) and better passing accuracy (81%-79%).

Hines made one halftime change, replacing Gautrat with Summer Yates.

In the 48th minute, Stevens carried the ball into the Pride third and sent Delanie Sheehan into the box. Sams was on the attacker and forced her to tap the ball towards goal, but Strom was there. It wasn’t a simple clearance as the center back got the ball caught in her feet, but she eventually sent it out for a corner kick.

The ensuing set piece was cleared, but only to Nighswonger. The right back played it forward to Lavelle, who played a beautiful ball with the outside of her foot for Bruninha. The Brazilian’s first touch was into the six where Stevens beat her defenders and put it past Moorhouse to give Gotham a 3-1 lead.

The goal saw the Pride concede three goals in a game for the first time this season. The last time they conceded three times was on Oct. 6, 2023, the last loss they suffered prior to Portland and one they lost 3-2.

“I think we just gifted them goals,” Hines said about conceding three times. “You know, it’s another set piece that we conceded from. And, yeah, it’s a couple of giveaways that have led to the opportunities to score. So we haven’t showed (that) the whole season long. And so it’s such a critical time in the season that we can’t afford to give teams like Gotham those types of gifts.”

The Pride had a chance to get one back in the 53rd minute when Nighswonger pulled Adriana down from behind just outside the Gotham box, earning a yellow card for the challenge. Marta took the set piece, but sent it into the wall.

Hines made his second and third changes in the 60th minute, replacing Adriana and Doyle with Ally Watt and Haley McCutcheon.

Nealy Martin took out Marta from behind in the 66th minute, giving the Pride a free kick. Angelina sent the set piece to the back post, where it found the head of Watt, but the substitute forward’s chance went wide.

Immediately after the missed chance, Hines made his fourth change of the game. It was a more attacking one as Viviana Villacorta came on for Abello.

Yates sent a dangerous ball into the box and towards the back post in the 72nd minute. Banda and Watt were making runs, but Hiatt got to it first and headed it out for a corner kick. The ensuing set piece by Marta was too high and rolled out of play untouched for a goal kick.

Yates sent Banda down the left in the 74th minute and Carter did well to shield the striker, knocking the ball out for a corner kick. Hines took the stoppage in play to make his final change of the game, replacing Marta with Evelina Duljan.

The set piece was sent into the six-yard box where Duljan and Watt went after it. Duljan got to the ball first and headed it towards goal, but it bounced off the top of the crossbar and out for a goal kick.

Watt made a long run towards the top of the Gotham box in the 87th minute. Dribbling to the right and away from goal, the forward tried to turn and shoot. However, she was slightly unbalanced while shooting, sending the weak attempt wide.

In the first minute of stoppage time, Nighswonger went over Duljan and was called for a foul. Angelina lifted the free kick into the box and Berger punched it away. After Duljan’s ball back in was cleared, Sams’ poor touch enabled McCall Zerboni to knock it forward for Lavelle. The midfielder quickly sent it wide for Bruninha, who charged up field before sending an ambitious shot towards goal. Moorhouse seemed to know it was going over the whole time, but the ball barely missed the crossbar.

That was the last chance of the game as the Pride fell for the second straight time. The Pride ended the game with more possession (55%-45%), but Gotham took more shots (15-9) and put more on target (5-2). The visitors also had the advantage in crosses (16-10), corner kicks (5-2), and passing accuracy (78%-74%) despite losing by two goals.

“We showed our quality at times and we showed that if we don’t handle the ball with better care, you know, you get punished for it,” Hines said. “The goals that we conceded we’re really disappointed with. And so, yeah, we’ll review it and we’ll reflect, and again, make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

“Obviously we’re disappointed. We know it was not our best showing. We know we’re a way better team than that, so that’s frustrating,” Dyke added. “But with that, we know we just have to remember everything we did right leading up to this point and not let our confidence drop from that.”

The Pride entered this two-game road trip on the heels of clinching the NWSL Shield and maintaining an unbeaten record this season. It was a pair of games to forget as they lost their first two games of the year and were outscored 5-1 by the opposition. Despite the recent struggles, the players are still expressing confidence in their abilities.

“This team, this culture, is so great. And it’s easy to have a good culture when you’re winning, but, In instances like this, that culture kind of gets put to the test,” Dyke said about the losing streak. “And I think there’s a lot of growth that we can have in that through this adversity going into playoffs. I think when we learn from these mistakes. We can be even better going into the postseason.”

“Just to get back to where we were before the shield,” Hines added about his message to the team after the two losses. “We showed some really good form. We were hungry, we had desire, we’re very committed. And I feel at this period where whatever happens in the game, it doesn’t have any dividends on our position. So we just have to get back to who we are, our identity, you know, working extremely hard, not allowing teams to work harder than us once we step onto that field.”

The Pride will have two weeks before they take the field again. Next weekend is an international break and the NWSL will stop to avoid teams losing key players. It’s something that could enable the Pride to refocus before their last game of the season.


The Pride will return home on Nov. 2 for their last game of the regular season as they take on Seattle Reign FC.

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 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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