Top 10 Moments of 2024: Orlando Pride Capture Club’s First Playoff Win

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.

It was 10 years in the making. A decade after the National Women’s Soccer League announced Orlando would become the league’s newest team, the Pride finally got to host a postseason game. It was only the team’s second playoff appearance ever, but the club left no doubt, going unbeaten until the NWSL Shield had been clinched, guaranteeing that every match in the postseason up until the final would take place at Inter&Co Stadium, where the team had become seemingly invincible in 2024. That remained the case in the playoffs, as Orlando kicked off its NWSL Championship run with a commanding 4-1 home win over the Chicago Red Stars.

Once the Pride defeated the Washington Spirit on Oct. 6, it was just a matter of waiting to see which team Orlando would host in the first round of the 2024 NWSL playoffs. It seemed destined to be Bay FC for a few weeks, but the Chicago Red Stars found themselves in the No. 8 spot after the final weekend of the regular season. Mallory Swanson, Alyssa Naeher, and company headed to Inter&Co Stadium on Nov. 8.

This wasn’t exactly the best possible news for the Pride, who have had their problems with the Red Stars since joining the NWSL. The Pride and Red Stars had played every season except the COVID-19 year of 2020. The teams had met 20 times in all, with the Pride going just 6-12-2 against Chicago. The Pride were even worse at home against the Red Stars, struggling to just a 1-7-2 home record in the all-time series.

Even in a dominating 2024, the Pride could not beat the Red Stars at home in the regular season. In fact, Orlando couldn’t even score a goal for itself in the match, relying on an own goal by Taylor Malham on a first-half set piece to get a result, scratching out a 1-1 home draw against Chicago on March 29.

That match — the team’s third consecutive draw to open the season — took place before Barbra Banda’s arrival. The Zambian striker was signed a few weeks earlier, but had to wait for international paperwork before traveling to the U.S. She then had to get acclimated to her new team and go through a few training sessions before eventually entering the lineup on April 19.

By then, the unbeaten/winless streak of draws had turned into just an unbeaten streak.

The Pride sometimes fought and sometimes cruised their way to an incredible 18-2-6 record and were never beaten at home. Still, as the Red Stars arrived for the first home playoff game in Pride history, there was that nagging fact that Orlando still had only beaten Chicago at home one time.

Orlando wasn’t interested in that narrative. The players blasted out to a fast start, creating chances from the jump. Banda missed just wide of the far post early and Ally Watt similarly missed the target moments later. Angelina joined in the wide-shot parade in the fifth minute, but the Pride were creating great chances and not allowing the Red Stars to settle into the match.

Banda, who had only scored one goal in 10 matches with Orlando after returning from the Olympics, turned down an opportunity to shoot on Naeher in the 10th minute, instead trying to thread a ball through traffic to Summer Yates. Chicago cleared the pass, which was behind its intended target. The option wasn’t a bad one for most players, but Banda turning down a scoring chance made it seem as if the striker’s confidence was starting to waver after her scoring drought to end the regular season.

Whether that was the case didn’t end up mattering, because Banda’s teammates picked her up 16 minutes later, as Haley McCutcheon picked an outstanding time to score her first goal of the season. A shot by Angelina deflected to Watt off of Bea Franklin. The Pride forward tried a shot but didn’t get a clean hit on it, sending it sailing off line toward the back post. McCutcheon was in the right spot at the right time, redirecting it into the net with a well-placed header to open the scoring at 1-0 in the 26th minute.

After nearly half an hour of domination without a goal, McCutcheon’s strike changed everything. The Pride seemed to relax and start playing their game. That helped in front of goal, as the team continued putting its chances away.

A good tackle in the midfield by Angelina resulted in Emily Sams getting to the ball and sending a quick, long pass through the defense in the 39th minute. Banda blasted past the back line, picked up the pass, and calmly beat one of the league’s best and most experienced goalkeepers to double the lead.

Banda fed off that goal, eventually scoring one more, but setting herself up repeatedly as the game went on, threatening to become the first Pride player to net a hat trick, but not quite getting there. Her 44th-minute try from the left beat Naeher but didn’t curl enough to find the inside of the back post. It seemed as if the Pride’s 2-0 lead would stand until halftime.

But Banda had other ideas. Watt played Banda down the left with a long ball in first-half stoppage time. The Zambian turned on the jets, getting to her heavy first touch just before Naeher, and scored her second goal of the night, extending the lead to 3-0 just before the break.

The big halftime lead, combined with a 13-0 halftime edge in shot attempts, had Pride fans feeling good. It was 45 minutes thoroughly dominated by Orlando.

The Pride didn’t let up despite the big advantage. Marta smacked the crossbar with a free kick just moments after the restart. A minute after that, Banda had a gaping net into which to complete her hat trick, slipping past Naeher but firing off the left post. Banda managed to help the team score its fourth goal shortly after that anyway, but it was Marta that scored it.

Banda blew past Hannah Anderson and into the penalty area. A helpless Anderson reached out and grabbed Banda’s shirt, pulling her back. Referee Alyssa Nichols played on but was sent to the monitor moments later by video assistant referee Ekaterina Koroleva. Upon reviewing the play, Nichols saw the clear infraction in the box and awarded a penalty. Orlando captain Marta stepped up to the spot and blasted her shot past Naeher to make it 4-0 at precisely the 56th minute.

At that point, it was just a matter of the final score, and the rest of the game had a celebratory feel. Chicago, to its credit, fought hard to try to make a game of it. The Red Stars managed to score a goal, but even that came from a careless mistake by Orlando goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse as much as it did from the hustle of Chicago’s Jameese Joseph.

When the final whistle blew, Orlando had out-shot Chicago 27-8 in a thoroughly dominant performance. The Pride made history with their first-ever postseason win, rewarding the 11,496 fans who came out to witness Orlando’s first home playoff match. The performance they saw was one for the ages, and it was echoed in the words of Pride Head Coach Seb Hines in his postgame comments.

“Brilliant, brilliant from start to finish,” Hines said. “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.”

Banda’s brace reignited the Zambian’s threat, as she went on to score in each of the team’s playoff matches, leading the team to its first league title and historic double. Every postseason championship starts somewhere, and that 4-1 win over the Red Stars started it for Orlando. That, combined with it being the historic first postseason win and first home playoff match, makes the win over Chicago a worthy top-five inclusion in the club’s best moments of 2024.

Come back through New Year’s Eve as we count down the remainder of the top 10 moments of 2024 for Orlando City, the Orlando Pride, and OCB.

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.