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2024 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Barbra Banda

The arrival of the Zambian international helped turn a playoff contender into the best team in the NWSL.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

The Orlando Pride were looking to make a splash. The club needed a dynamic goal scorer to pressure opposing defenses — and to score goals, obviously — and Vice President of Soccer Operations and Sporting Director Haley Carter swung for the fences. The Pride made their splash on March 7, signing Zambian international striker Barbra Banda from Chinese Women’s Super League side Shanghai Shengli FC to a contract through the 2027 season.

Banda arrived a few weeks later when her exit from Shanghai Shengli and international paperwork were taken care of, and from the moment she stepped onto the pitch with her Pride teammates on April 19 in a home win over the San Diego Wave, she completely changed the team’s attack, embarking on a season that resulted in NWSL regular-season and playoff titles and racking up a full trophy case worth of awards, including:

  • NWSL Player of the Month for May
  • NWSL Team of the Month for May and June
  • NWSL Championship MVP
  • 2024 NWSL Best XI First Team
  • BBC Women’s Footballer of the Year
  • FIFPRO Women’s World 11 — the first African player to earn the honor

In addition, she was a finalist for NWSL Most Valuable Player and the FIFA Ballon d’Or awards. It’s difficult to imagine a Pride player having a bigger first year with the club.

Let’s take a look back at Banda’s first season in Orlando.

Statistical Breakdown

Banda made her Orlando Pride and NWSL debut in a 1-0 home win over San Diego Wave FC on April 19 off the bench and started her first game in purple April 26 in a 3-2 road win over the Washington Spirit, meaning she symmetrically bookended her first and last starts (and wins) of the year against the Spirit. She finished the 2024 season with 22 appearances (20 starts) in which she played 1,743 minutes, placing fifth on the team in the latter category. Banda led the Pride with 13 goals in the regular season, adding a team-high six assists. Naturally, that gives her a team-leading 19 goal contributions in the regular season. Although they don’t technically count as goal contributions, she also drew four penalties from her opponents that her teammates converted into goals. She completed 58.6% of her 256 passes with 35 key passes, nine successful crosses, and seven completed long balls. Defensively, Banda recorded nine tackles, three interceptions, and 42 headed duels won. She committed 29 fouls, suffered 37 (including the four that drew penalties), and was shown one yellow card.

In the playoffs, Banda started all three of Orlando’s matches, playing 263 of the available 270 minutes. She led all scorers with four playoff goals, finding the back of the net at least once in each match. She added one postseason assist on what turned out to be the game-winning Marta wondergoal in the semifinal against the Kansas City Current. Banda attempted 13 shots, putting five on target, meaning she finished on 80% of her shots on target in the postseason and on 38% of all her attempts. She completed 72.4% of her 29 playoff passes, including five key passes, one accurate cross, and one successful long ball. On defense, she won four of her six tackle attempts (66.7%), recorded one interception, and won one headed duel on five attempts. In terms of discipline, she seemed to be oddly penalized at times in the semifinal and final for her strength or for pushing off an opponent who was holding her back, as she was called for nine fouls while suffering six, and she was shown a yellow card in the NWSL Championship.

Because she was away with the Zambian Women’s National Team at the Olympics, Banda did not compete in the 2024 NWSL x Liga MX Summer Cup.

Best Game

Few players in the NWSL present a bigger problem finding a “best game” of the year for than does Banda, so pardon me if this section is long. A run down her game-by-game stats provides so many strong candidates. I eventually had to narrow it down to four. These include her first start in the game at Washington mentioned above, when she scored a goal, assisted on one, and drew a penalty that Summer Yates converted, factoring in all three goals in the 3-2 road victory. There was also a strong showing in her first home start with the Pride, as she scored a brace and added an assist in Orlando’s 4-1 win over the North Carolina Courage on May 1, becoming the first NWSL player to record a goal and an assist in each of her first two starts. And there’s the incredible two-goal, two-assist game in a 6-0 win against the Utah Royals June 21, when she became the second player in club history to record four goal contributions in a match, joining Marta. She helped the Pride earn their most lopsided win in club history and momentarily took over the Golden Boot lead, breaking Orlando’s single-season record for braces with her fourth, and becoming the first player in NWSL history to score 10 goals in her first 10 games. Even against a bad Utah team, that is an impressive match.

And as worthy as all of those above games are, I’m going with her dominant two-goal performance in a 4-1 win against the Chicago Red Stars on Nov. 8 in the first-ever playoff game hosted by the Orlando Pride. There are two reasons I’m making this selection. First, the stakes of the game were so much higher than the games mentioned above, with Banda’s performance helping the Pride capture their first-ever NWSL playoff victory. Secondly, Banda had been mired in a scoring slump since returning from the Olympics, scoring just one regular-season goal in her final 10 matches — a header that beat Bay FC 1-0 on the road Sept. 20. She hadn’t scored with her foot in ages entering the playoffs. Lastly, it came against an opponent the Pride have historically struggled against at home. Orlando was just 1-7-2 in home matches against the Red Stars in their history. And Banda was terrific in that game. She scored twice and drew another penalty that Marta converted to factor heavily in the lopsided postseason win.

The game was an understandably nervy one early on, remaining scoreless for more than 25 minutes despite Orlando dominating play. It stayed 0-0 until Haley McCutcheon turned into an unlikely offensive hero off an Ally Watt assist, as she headed in a shot attempt that was going to stray wide, opening the scoring in the 26th minute. The game remained close at 1-0 for a while longer, until Banda got going. Emily Sams sent a great through ball forward that split the defense toward the right corner of the penalty area. Banda followed it, got to it first, then calmly beat legendary USWNT goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher to score her first Pride goal since Sept. 20 and the first with her foot since before the Olympics.

The goal apparently gave Banda a confidence boost, as she nearly scored moments later, curling a shot around Naeher that didn’t have quite enough bend on it to find the right corner. However, she essentially put the game out of reach in the dying moments of first-half stoppage time. This time it was Watt sending a long ball to the left side. Banda blazed past Cari Roccaro to reach it and slotted it home past Naeher to make it 3-0 in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time.

Banda continued to cause problems for Chicago in the second half. She nearly completed a hat trick in the 51st minute, getting around Naeher but hitting the post. In the 54th minute, she got past Hannah Anderson, who pulled her shirt to try to slow her down. There was no initial penalty given, but after a short video review, the referee awarded a penalty, which Marta dispatched to make it 4-0. Chicago pulled one back on a mistake by goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse, but the Red Stars got no closer and the Pride had their first playoff win, thanks in large part to Banda’s contributions.

In addition to her two goals and winning a penalty, Banda fired seven total shots, putting two on target, but coming tantalizingly close to a hat trick multiple times. She completed 75% of her 16 passes with one key pass and one successful long ball on her lone attempt. She won her only tackle attempt, recorded three recoveries, and won four of her six ground duels and one of two aerial duels. She did not commit a foul and drew one foul, which produced a penalty.

On the big stage, Banda returned to the form we saw in the first half of the season, and it was an outstanding performance.

Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Banda a composite rating of 9 out of 10 for the 2024 NWSL season. It’s just the third grade this high we’ve ever given, but it’s the second this season as Banda joined 2024 NWSL Defender of the Year Emily Sams and 2017 NWSL MVP finalist Marta in reaching that lofty final grade. Had it not been for a scoring slump after the Olympics, in which she scored just one goal from 42 shot attempts in 10 games between Aug. 23 and Nov. 2, she likely would have challenged Temwa Chawinga for both the Golden Boot and MVP awards and taken home our first perfect 10. As it is, a 9 gives her room to improve on a season that may not have been flawless, but certainly was as close to it as any fan should reasonably expect.

2025 Outlook

Teams all over the world are going to be making offers for Banda’s services, so there’s no such thing as a sure thing, despite Banda being under contract through 2027. For her part, Banda seems happy to be in Orlando, although winning trophies doesn’t hurt on that front. Given the team’s culture and strong leadership group, I expect Banda to be leading the attack for Orlando in 2025, armed with the experience of a year in the league under her belt. She has a good idea how teams will game plan to try to stop her — which includes comitting numbers in defense to body her and hold her up from getting to direct balls over the top in a way that’s not always strictly legal under the laws of the game. If the playoffs were any barometer, she’ll find a way to fight through the physicality of multiple defenders and find ways to score anyway. If the Pride can continue to get her service and she stays healthy, Banda may again be among the contenders for MVP and the Golden Boot next year.

Previous Season in Review Articles (Date Posted)

This concludes our 2024 Orlando Pride Season in Review player-by-player ratings. We hope you got as much enjoyment from reading them as we did putting them together for you. It was a special season for the Pride and one of the best years any NWSL team has ever had. The club won two of the three available trophies and set numerous league and club records along the way that may stand for some time. Looking back on the 2024 Orlando Pride season is something we will do forever.

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2024 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Kylie Strom

In her fourth season in Orlando, the veteran changed positions to help the NWSL’s best defense.

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1 day ago

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December 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

The Orlando Pride originally signed Kylie Strom from Atletico Madrid in July 2021. Prior to her time overseas, Strom spent the 2016 and 2017 seasons in the NWSL with the Boston Breakers. Her initial contract in Orlando was through 2022 with an option for 2023 that was exercised prior to that year. Despite being briefly out of contract this past off-season, Strom, now 32 years old, re-signed for the Pride, extending her stay in Orlando through the 2026 season. This ended up as one of the most important moves of the off-season, as Strom went on to partner Emily Sams in the league’s best defense, earning an NWSL Defender of the Year nomination and playing in all but one game of the 2024 season.

Let’s take a look back at Kylie Strom’s 2024 season, her best in Orlando so far.

Statistical Breakdown

Strom made 25 appearances for the Pride in the NWSL regular season, starting 24 times and playing 2,158 minutes, less than 200 minutes from playing the entire regular season. Most of the game time she missed was due to the red card and one-match ban she picked up on opening day at Louisville. Strom only took six shots in the regular season with two on target and no goals scored. She contributed her lone assist against Gotham at home in September. In possession, Strom completed 1,298 of her 1,503 passes (86%), the highest number of completed passes in the squad and the third-highest completion percentage among the regular starters, closely following Sams and Morgan Gautrat. She recorded 10 key passes, no completed crosses, and 46 successful long balls. Defensively, she succeeded in 20 of her 40 tackles (50%), contributed 39 interceptions, and won 73 headed duels. She was fouled 23 times, committed 17 of her own, and earned two yellow cards in addition to the previously-mentioned red card.  

Strom started and played every minute of Orlando’s three NWSL playoff wins (270 minutes). She attempted no shots but did provide an assist for Barbra Banda’s goal against the Kansas City Current. In the playoffs, Strom completed 144 of her 169 pass attempts (85%), with one key pass, no completed crosses, and four successful long balls. In defense, she added four tackles and six interceptions without committing a foul, suffering a foul, or receiving a card. 

Strom also started all three matches in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, playing 239 minutes in total. She did not take a shot and thus could not score a goal in the tournament, nor did she record an assist. The defender completed 136 of her 158 passes (86%) without a key pass or successful cross, but she managed 11 accurate long balls. She added three tackles in four duels (75%) and four interceptions with one headed duel won on the defensive end. She also committed two fouls and was on the receiving end of two herself, but she was not shown a card.

Best Game

Looking at her availability, passing, and defending, Strom was remarkably consistent in 2024, across all competitions. This makes it difficult to pick one game from the bunch, so it would be tempting to pick any shutout against high-profile opponents, such as the NWSL Championship game or the NWSL Shield-clinching game, both wins against the Washington Spirit. Instead, the best game and best representation of Strom’s work was the 1-0 victory over the struggling Utah Royals on the road in April, the first win of the year.

In the victory over Utah, Strom completed 61 of her 68 passes (90%). She also added two tackles and four interceptions en route to holding Utah to just 0.1 expected goals per FBRef.com. With Marta coming off the bench in this match, this was also the first time Strom wore the captain’s armband for Orlando, though she went on to wear it for six additional starts in the NWSL. 

Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Strom a composite grade of 7.5 out of 10 for the 2024 season, a significant improvement over her score of 6 out of 10 in 2023. Previously,  Strom received a grade of 4.5 in 2022 and an incomplete during what was a rough stretch run in 2021 after joining the club midseason.

Going into the 2024 season, it was assumed that Rafaelle would be the primary center back partner for Sams, and Strom would play at fullback, her natural position to that point in her career. Instead, Rafaelle struggled with injuries, including at the start of the year, so Strom paired with Sams for four of the first five games, with the Pride having to employ a four-fullback back line in the second game due to player unavailability. Rafaelle then played with Sams in the middle for one match, before Seb Hines pushed Sames out to right back with Rafaelle and Strom paired together for the next five matches. From that point on, it was Sams and Strom in the middle the rest of the year.

The new position suited Strom and accentuated her strengths as a soccer player. She defended well as a unit with Sams and the fullbacks, using her physicality to win many tackles and headed duels while cutting out the mistakes she’d previously made when playing out wide. In possession, she was steady in building play through short- and medium-distance passes without taking too many risks. She was a vocal leader on the pitch and adept at snuffing opposition attacks before they could materialize. That she was able to adapt so quickly to a new role in the latter stages of her career is all the more impressive.

2025 Outlook

Strom has two more years on her contract going into 2025. Orlando will hope to get healthier in defense in the off-season and may sign some reinforcements, as both Megan Montefusco and Carrie Lawrence retired. But Strom has earned the starting center-back spot next to Sams. Given Cori Dyke’s late emergence at right back, there is less of a need to move Sams out wide. At the same time, Kerry Abello’s Best XI Second Team performance throughout 2024 would make it difficult to move Strom back to fullback on the left. It will be interesting to see how a position group that has become a strength of the team.

Regardless of how it unfolds, the goal for Strom moving forward should be to continue to play at the level she did during Orlando’s championship season, and given her consistency all year, this is a reasonable expectation for the player.

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2024 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Adriana

The Brazilian attacker was a key player in the Pride’s magical 2024 season.

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2 days ago

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December 20, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

The Orlando Pride signed Brazilian international Adriana on Jan. 19, 2023 to a three-year contract through the 2025 NWSL season. One of the brighter spots of the Pride during the 2023 season, it seemed Adriana was on the verge of becoming a dominating NWSL player. Seb Hines again deployed her mainly as an attacking player, particularly on the wing, but sometimes as a second forward. While she was still a key player for the Pride in 2024, there were some bumps in the road when she would disappear from games and consistency was sometimes an issue.

Let’s take a look at Adriana’s second NWSL season.

Statistical Breakdown

Adriana appeared in 23 regular-season games, starting 19 and playing a total of 1,688 minutes. She scored six goals, which was third most on the team, and added one assist. It is notable that two of her six goals came from the penalty spot, where she went two-for-two in the regular season. She completed 71% of her 557 passes, which was a slight dip from a year ago, with 31 key passes, seven completed crosses, and 14 successful long balls. Defensively, Adriana chipped in nine tackles, 13 interceptions, and 18 headed duels won. She committed just 10 fouls while drawing 30 on the opposition, and she did not receive a card.

In the playoffs, Adriana appeared in all three of the Pride’s games, starting two and logging 197 minutes. She did not make a goal contribution, attempting six shots with only one of those hitting the target. Her passing wasn’t up to its usual level in the postseason, as she connected on just 63.9% of her 36 passes, including only two of nine in the NWSL Championship. She tallied five key passes and one successful long ball, but no accurate crosses. On defense, she finished the postseason with three tackles and an interception. The Brazilian international committed five fouls, suffered two, and was not booked.

Adriana was away at the Olympics during the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, so she did not play in the competition.

Best Game

Adriana had several big games in 2024, but perhaps her best was Orlando’s 2-0 home win over Gotham FC. She scored both Orlando goals in the match, lifting the Pride to their 19th straight game without a loss, tying the club’s single-season record for home wins (7), and pushing Hines past Tom Sermanni and into sole possession of the most coaching wins in club history (26). It didn’t take long for her to get involved, scoring just five and a half minutes after the opening kickoff. Angelina’s ball into the box was knocked into the air, and Adriana ran onto it and volleyed a blast into the net to make it 1-0 with one of the most impressive Pride goals of the season.

Not content with just one goal, Adriana struck again in the 19th minute. Summer Yates switched the play to send Adriana down the right side, where she took on USWNT defender Jenna Nighswonger, then used Barbra Banda’s presence in the box to create space for her shot, which she placed perfectly inside the left post to make it 2-0.

Adriana played the full 90 minutes in the match and fired six shots in all against Gotham that night, putting all six of them on target and giving her a season high in the latter statistic. She led all players in the match in both categories. She completed 87% of her 23 passes on 48 total touches, with one key pass, one accurate cross, and two successful long balls. Defensively, she made three recoveries, and she committed one foul while drawing two and did not pick up a booking. It was a great performance by the attacking midfielder against one of the NWSL’s elite defensive clubs.

2024 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gives Adriana a composite score of 7 out of 10 for her 2024 campaign. This is a slight dip from the 7.5 we gave her last season, but there were times when she struggled to find her game in 2024. When she was on her game, she was outstanding, but there were games and even stretches of matches when she didn’t provide her usual quality. Her form isn’t the only reason she was dropped at times from the starting XI, because some of her teammates elevated their own, but it was a factor. While she increased her goal total by one, it came in more appearances and minutes, and her assist total fell, despite having a better cast around her. The Brazilian is capable of more, but the staff still felt it was a solid season.

2025 Outlook

Like her Brazilian teammate Rafaelle, Adriana’s contract runs through the 2025 season, so she’ll be working hard to earn a new deal beyond the upcoming season. If she starts the season well, the Pride will no doubt offer a new contract midseason if there’s not already a new deal in place before opening day. At 28 years old, Adriana is in the prime of her career and can still be an effective player. With the Pride improving, she’ll need to play more consistently or at a higher level to keep starting with this club, but she’s capable, and I expect her to fight to hold onto her starting spot in Hines’ XI.

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2024 Orlando Pride Season in Review: Marta

Marta showed why she’s the GOAT in her eighth season with the Pride.

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3 days ago

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December 19, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

In case you forgot, Marta first signed with the Orlando Pride way back in 2017. She has been the constant for the club through ups and mostly downs. That all changed this season as she captained her club to two trophies. Back in 2022, she signed a new two-year contract, taking her through 2024.

Marta may not be as young as she once was, but she definitely made you forget it often enough this season. It was undoubtedly the best she’s performed in a few years, and it made a difference in the standings. Let’s take a look at the GOAT’s latest season in Orlando.

Statistical Breakdown

Marta was the leader and the heart of this year’s Orlando Pride team. Her teammates wanted to win, but they also wanted to win for Marta. She played most of the regular-season games, but missed the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup because she was with Brazil at the Olympics. 

Marta made 23 appearances in the NWSL regular season, starting 19 games and recording 1,739 minutes. Marta was second on the team with nine goals on 40 shots, 18 of which were on target. Additionally, she completed 648 of her 878 passes (74%), including one assist, 52 key passes, nine successful crosses, and 75 completed long balls. Defensively, Marta posted 16 tackles, 27 headed duels won, and 12 interceptions on the year. She committed 12 fouls, suffered 45, and was booked four times (all yellow cards).

In the playoffs, Marta started all three games, recording 267 minutes. She scored two goals on 12 shots with five on target, and she completed 86 of her 108 passes (80%) without an assist, although she recorded six key passes, three accurate crosses, and 14 completed long balls. She was also active defensively in the postseason, with six tackles and two interceptions. She committed three fouls in the playoffs, suffered four, and was not booked.

Best Game

You might think that the one match in which Marta scored a brace would be her best match, but that isn’t the case. That match was the 6-0 beatdown of the Utah Royals, who were bottom of the table. I’m going with her performance in the 3-2 playoff semifinal victory over the Kansas City Current.

That goal summed up Marta’s season for me. She was not going to let this team lose when the Pride were so close to the championship. When needed, she could find the speed — even late in a match — and put two defenders on the ground in unison. It was a goal she willed to happen against one of the best teams in the NWSL.

In this match, Marta took four shots, with two on target, scoring the aforementioned goal. She completed 29 of her 38 passes (77%) on a total of 74 touches, and took all three Pride corner kicks. Defensively, she contributed four tackles and two interceptions. She committed one foul, did not suffer any fouls, and was not booked. She simply displayed the full range of her skill and leadership qualities, helping her team reach the final.

2024 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Marta a composite grade of 8 out of 10 for her eighth season with the club. Her passion, drive, and leadership were a major reason why the club won the NWSL Shield and the NWSL Championship. This was the best Marta we’ve seen for several seasons, and she wanted to win more than almost anyone else in any given match. To illustrate how much better she was, we gave Marta a grade of 6 out of 10 last season. That came on the heels of an incomplete grade in her injury-shortened 2022 season. She also received a 6 in 2021 and a 6.5 in 2019. This year is the closest Marta has come to the 9 out of 10 we gave her back in 2017, when she had 19 total goal contributions and finished second in the league in both goals and assists. She turned back the clock and gave us much more of the vintage Marta in 2024 than we’d seen in a long time, which is why we considered her one of the best players on the team.

(Note: If you’re wondering why 2020 wasn’t mentioned, its’ because we did not give out grades because the Pride only participated in the Fall Series during that lost season because of the pandemic.)

2025 Outlook

Marta’s contract expired after the 2024 season, but she has stated that she wants to keep playing one or two more years. She will be 39 years old at the start of the 2025 season but had a very good 2024 season. I think that she wants to retire with the Pride, and I feel that the club will offer her a one-year contract. The Pride indicated in their postseason roster status update that the club was in negotiations with her about returning. If a new deal happens, and if she can keep up her current form, she will find a way to contribute as the Pride look to defend their titles. She will have to hang up the boots at some point, but I don’t think it will be this coming season.

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