Orlando Pride vs. Chicago Red Stars: Final Score 4-1 as Barbra Banda Brace Lifts Pride to First-Ever Playoff Win

The Orlando Pride kicked off their 2024 NWSL playoff campaign with a dominant 4-1 win against the Chicago Red Stars. Haley McCutcheon opened the scoring in the 26th minute before Barbra Banda netted a first-half brace with goals in the 39th minute and first-half injury time. A Marta penalty put the game away in the 56th minute, though Jameese Joseph got a consolation goal for Chicago at the hour mark.

Pride Head Coach Seb Hines made one change to the team that beat Seattle Reign FC 3-2 in the regular season finale as Angelina started in place of Viviana Villacorta. The back line in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was Kerry Abello, Kylie Strom, Emily Sams, and Cori Dyke. Angelina and McCutcheon were the defensive midfielders behind Summer Yates, Marta, and Ally Watt with Banda up top.

This game was never in doubt for the Pride as they dominated the entire 90 minutes. They were better than the 3-0 halftime scoreline and it would’ve been a clean sheet if not for a Moorhouse mistake in the 60th minute and two Orlando shots off the woodwork. Overall, it was a great way to start the playoffs for the club.

The Pride kicked off the game and started quickly. Immediately after the start, Angelina found Banda making a run behind the Chicago back line. The striker was looking to slip the ball inside the far post but missed just wide.

A minute later, Banda played a nice long ball to the right side of the field where Watt was making a run. She took Taylor Malham one-on-one and found enough space for a shot but missed the target.

The Pride’s third chance of the game came in the fifth minute when Yates made a run into the middle of the field. She let her final touch get a little too far in front of her, but Angelina was there to shoot from just outside the box. Unfortunately, this attempt also went wide.

It looked like the Pride would open the scoring in the 10th minute when Marta and Angelina combined to send Banda behind the Red Stars’ back line. The striker was in on goal with only goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher to beat, but decided to pass it across for Yates instead of shooting. The pass was behind the midfielder and Bea Franklin was able to clear.

“We always talk about setting a tone early. And so, you know, having that fear factor when a team comes to our environment, and, you know, we always want to make it difficult,” Hines said about creating four chances in the first 10 minutes. “So that first 5-10 minutes is really important to set a tone.”

In the 19th minute, McCutcheon found Watt on the right. The attacker attempted a shot from a tight angle, but Malham blocked it out for a corner kick. The set piece by Marta was headed back out to the Pride captain and her second ball in was cleared, ending the threat.

The Pride finally broke through in the 26th minute from another set piece. It started with a give-and-go between Abello and Watt, enabling the former to send a cross into the box that was cleared behind the goal by Cari Roccaro. The ensuing corner kick was short to Yates, whose cross was blocked to Angelina. Franklin got in front of the Brazilian midfielder’s shot, but it went straight to Watt, who tried to put it on target. While the attacker couldn’t get much on the ball, McCutcheon was in the right place at the right time to redirect the ball in with her head, giving the Pride a well-deserved 1-0 lead.

“I think we started on the front foot. We almost had one from kickoff I think. So yeah, we had just put the pressure on, you know, going forward. And I was happy to be the one to score,” McCutcheon said about the early conversion. “I honestly thought I was offside, so I didn’t really celebrate, but I’m happy that it was onside. And then, yeah, got the team going from there.”

Yates made a cut to beat Joseph in the 34th minute and the two bumped knees when the Orlando midfielder tried to move past her. The second-year player grimaced as the Pride medical staff looked at her and, after receiving more treatment off of the field, was forced to depart. She was replaced in the 38th minute by Adriana.

“Summer got a dead leg, charley horse, whatever you call it, which is pretty significant,” Hines said about Yates’ condition after the game. “But we’ll assess it going into next week. We had to bring her off because it was really painful for her.”

Immediately after the substitution, the Pride doubled their lead. Angelina won the ball off of Mallory Swanson and Sams picked it up, playing a long pass on the ground for Banda, who let it run and then blazed past the Red Stars back line, putting herself in alone on goal. Nobody could catch up with the speedster, who slipped it past Naeher to give the Pride a 2-0 advantage.

Banda nearly had her second goal in the 44th minute when she played a quick give-and-go with Adriana, getting in behind the back line on the left side. The striker was too fast for Natalia Kuikka to keep up, setting herself up for a curling shot around Naeher. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to get around it enough and the ball bounced wide of the far post.

Banda scored her second of the night and gave her team a 3-0 lead in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time after Watt sent the ball long into the Chicago half of the field. Roccaro tried to keep up with the striker, but was unable to as Banda played the ball past Naeher.

“Honestly, those balls are always very dangerous,” Banda said about her second goal of the night. “And I think I saw the keeper, she came out, but my instincts were right because I knew if she had to touch me, it was going to be a penalty. That’s why I had to put the ball down and I had to find the post. So I think my instincts were not wrong.”

“2-0 is always a dangerous scoreline, especially when you go into halftime,” Hines said about the importance of the third goal. “You know, the next goal is really important. So to go into halftime with 3-0 it kind of puts us at ease a little bit.”

It was an absolutely dominant first half by the Pride as they outshot their opponents 13-0 and put three of those shots on target. While Chicago had slightly more possession (53%-47%), the Pride also had more crosses (11-2) and corner kicks (4-1).

Hines made one halftime change, replacing Watt with Julie Doyle. It was the second substitution after Yates was forced off with an injury in the first half.

Marta tried to chip the ball into the Red Stars box in the 49th minute and it hit Hannah Anderson’s arm just outside the 18-yard box. The Pride captain took the set piece and went for goal, rattling the crossbar just above the upper right corner of the net.

A minute later, Marta found Doyle on the left and the midfielder’s second touch was forward for Banda into the Chicago area. She tapped the ball around Naeher and it looked like she would score the first hat trick in Pride history but hit the near post with the net empty.

In the 54th minute, Dyke’s throw-in for Banda in the box saw the striker get behind her defender. Anderson reached out and grabbed her shirt just as Banda entered the box. Referee Alyssa Nichols didn’t award a penalty, but the video assistant referee had the official go to the monitor. After a short check, Nichols pointed to the spot.

It seemed like Banda might take the penalty as she was sitting on a hat trick, but Marta — the regular penalty taker — took it instead. The captain didn’t take any chances with the attempt, hitting the ball hard past Naeher to give the Pride a 4-0 lead.

“Fully deserved the penalty as well, which Barbra won. Class that as an assist. Anytime a player gets a penalty, we class that as an assist,” Hines said. “So Barbra contributed to that also, and Marta puts it away like she’s done all season.”

The only way the Red Stars were going to get on the board in this game was from a mistake and that happened in the 60th minute. Dyke played the ball back to Moorhouse and the goalkeeper took a touch with Joseph putting pressure on her, rather than simply clearing it up the field. As a result, Moorhouse’s attempted clearance was blocked into the net by Joseph, cutting the Pride lead to 4-1.

A Chicago corner kick in the 72nd minute gave the Red Stars their best attack of the game. The set piece went long to Anderson, who headed the ball towards goal. Moorhouse was caught in a bad position, but Sams cleared it off the line.

The Pride broke the other way with Marta sprinting towards the Chicago box. Banda was making a run on the far side but was covered, so the captain played it back for Adriana instead. Taking a touch to create space, the Brazilian’s shot was straight to Naeher.

Abello dribbled the ball into the Red Stars’ box in the 78th minute before running out of space and playing it back for Doyle. The midfielder had plenty of time to shoot and forced Naeher to tip the attempt over the crossbar. The ensuing set piece was punched away by Naeher.

A similar play occurred on the other side of the box in the 81st minute, but this time it was Adriana playing the ball back for second-half sub Morgan Gautrat. The defensive midfielder’s first touch was a shot that was tipped over the top by Naeher. Again, the Pride were unable to create anything from the corner kick.

Chicago broke out of the back in the 84th minute after Gautrat gave up possession near midfield. Swanson found Jenna Bike charging down the right. The second-half substitute took a touch inside to lose her defender and shot, but the attempt was right into the arms of Moorhouse.

Hines made his final two changes in the 87th minute as Banda and Marta made way for Carson Pickett and Villacorta.

Adriana was sent behind her defender in the 88th minute but was unable to get enough space for a shot. Moving towards the center of the box, she played it back for Angelina, running behind her. However, Angelina’s shot was right to Naeher.

The final chance of the game came in the third minute of stoppage time when Swanson sent Bike down the right again. Slipping behind her defender, Bike sent a shot towards goal that Moorhouse tipped wide. The ensuing corner kick was headed by Anderson and Ally Cook, before Joseph sent it over the crossbar with her right foot.

The Pride finished the game with the advantage in possession (50.7%-49.3%), shots (27-8), shots on target (9-4), crosses (13-7), corner kicks (8-7), and passing accuracy (82.7%-82%).

“Brilliant, brilliant from start to finish,” Hines said about the performance. “Started the game really well, created two opportunities within the first two minutes. You can see the hunger within the team. You can see the commitment and fully deserved. I think we were phenomenal today.”

“Oh my gosh, I think we’re finding form at the perfect time,” McCutcheon added. “Getting Barbra going is massive for us. And so, yeah, we’re just firing on all cylinders. And can’t be more excited to make history again.”

In a season full of making history, the Pride did it again in this game. They lost 4-1 to the Portland Thorns in 2017 and matched that score tonight but were on the right side this time. The first home playoff game in team history resulted in the first postseason win in team history in front of 11,496 fans.

The Pride have already advanced to the NWSL semifinals for the first time and can reach the NWSL Championship if they beat the winner of the match between the Kansas City Current and North Carolina Courage at Inter&Co Stadium next weekend.