The Orlando Pride poured on the shots against the Seattle Reign but could only put one away in a 2-1 season-opening loss in front of a crowd of 16,320 fans. The Reign (1-0-0, 3 points) took an early lead through Jess Fishlock and held a 1-0 advantage at the break. A second half delayed by roughly two and a half hours due to lightning saw Barbra Banda tie the match for Orlando (0-1-0, 0 points), but a late Brittany Ratcliffe goal off a recycled corner kick spoiled opening day for the Pride.

Orlando dominated most of the match, but a poor refereeing decision cost the hosts an equalizer before halftime and a slew of late substitutions undid the chemistry of a cohesive starting unit that was creating chances. Unfortuntaely for the Pride, they wasted many of those by firing off target or at the goalkeeper.

Head Coach Seb Hines’ first lineup of 2026 consisted of Anna Moorhouse in goal behind a back line of Cori Dyke, Rafaelle, Hailie Mace, and Oihane. The defensive midfield consisted of Haley McCutcheon and Ally Lemos behind an attacking midfield line of Seven Castain, Summer Yates, and Jacquie Ovalle, with Banda up front.

The match got off to a shaky start for Orlando’s center backs, who were too slow to deal with a dynamic Seattle attack as the Reign started the game with more jump than the hosts. But the Pride quickly fought back, resulting in a shot on goal in the fifth minute that was created by a clever overlapping run by Oihane and the shot by Yates.

Banda nearly got in on a through ball but was fouled about 25 yards from Seattle’s goal by Emily Mason in the seventh, earning her a yellow card. The ensuing free kick was too close to Seattle’s goal and was easily collected by Claudia Dickey. Seattle replied with a shot high over the bar in the 10th minute by Ainsley McCammon.

The Pride put together some good buildup down the left side, ending with a cross sent in by Dyke to earn a corner in the 11th. The ball in was an easy save for Dickey, however.

An ill-advised overcommitment by Mace gifted a shot on goal by Mia Fishel that Moorhouse palmed away in the 14th minute. The Pride responded, working the ball into the Seattle half and getting a shot off in the 16th from distance by Castain that went just wide.

Orlando continued to apply pressure, resulting in a long distance shot by Dyke in the 19th that Dickey easily saved. The Pride forwards continued to try to create opportunities in the Seattle box but couldn’t manage anything clear cut. When given space, they often opted to shoot too early from distance when there were chances to work for a closer opportunity. One of those came in the 20th minute on an Ovalle shot that Dickey easily saved. Two minutes later, Castain shot right at Dickey.

Despite those chances, it was Seattle that struck first due to some poor defending in front of the 18-yard box by Mace, who made a desperate dive to win the ball but missed, leading to a goal by Fishlock in the 24th.

Both teams continued to exchange shots with some well-crafted attacks. McCutcheon got forward in the 26th for a shot, but Seattle’s Madison Curry responded in kind in the 28th and Fishlock tried to double the lead a minute later.

Orlando tried to strike back through Ovalle in the 30th and Banda and Ovalle both in the 31st. The first Ovalle attempt was wide of goal. Dickey fought off Banda’s 31st-minute effort. The rebound fell for Ovalle just outside the box but again the Mexican forward fired off target on a wasteful evening.

Seattle’s Maddie Dahlien fired in the 37th for Seattle which was blocked by Oihane.

Some gritty defensive play by Dyke, who shut down Nerilia Mondesir and won the ball, started a breakout that ended in a low cross by Ovalle, but no one was on the back post to collect it and the chance fizzled out. Orlando was able to carve out a shot in the 38th by Ovalle and another by Banda in the 39th, but the Pride were their own worst enemy and could not truly test the Seattle keeper.

The Pride thought they’d tied things up in the 42nd minute off a corner kick. Ovalle sent in a dangerous ball to the back post, where Rafaelle slammed it into the net, but referee Alex Billeter blew the whistle for a foul on Banda before the shot. Banda had stationed herself in front of the keeper, but replays clearly show it was Dickey who initiated contact by shoving the Zambian forward in the back. Because Billeter didn’t let the play finish, the video assistant referee could not review the play.

“Banda impeded the goalkeeper, which prevented her ability to fairly jump for the ball and knocked the goalkeeper off balance,” Billeter wrote in response to a pool reporter’s question.

Spending time shoving Banda likely prevented Dickey from jumping for the ball, which she seemed unlikely to reach anyway, as the Orlando striker was entitled to be positioned where she was when the play started and did not appear to move toward the goalkeeper.

“I’d love to hear the report why that goal is canceled or ruled out. It didn’t seem, looking back on the video, that our players did an awful lot wrong,” Hines said. “And yeah, I’ll be interested to hear the referee’s view on why she called it even before the ball hit the back of the net, you know, why not allow VAR? I think that’s the reason we have VAR, you know, so they can reflect and look back at it and see that there wasn’t a foul there, but to call the whistle so early into it like, you know, it’s very bizarre for me.”

That was the last chance of the half and the Reign took their 1-0 lead to the break.

The first half ended with Seattle leading 1-0 but Orlando had the lead in every category, possession (52%-48%), shots (13-9), shots on target (4-4), corners (3-1), and passing accuracy (84%-76%).

“I thought we allowed Seattle to get on top, you know, in the first 15 minutes, and then we got back into the game with some really good opportunities to score,” Hines said. “And when you have great opportunities like that, you’ve got to punish the team. And we didn’t in the first half.”

“I don’t think that we came out as sharp and as energetic as we wanted to, and I think we did create a lot of opportunities, but the energy just wasn’t quite there in the first half,” Castain added.

Orlando started off the second half the same as the first, as Yates sent a 46th-minute free kick over the bar. This was followed by a Banda shot in the 48th which was eventually cleared by the Reign. Orlando recovered and won a corner. The entry ball fell to Oihane, who fired high, wasting the chance.

Seattle came the other way after the restart, but the attack was shut down by the Orlando defense and a foul by Fishlock on Mace, earning the Seattle goal scorer a yellow card.

Orlando finally found the net in the 51st minute through some excellent buildup involving. Rafaelle and McCutcheon and an excellent strike by Banda to make it 1-1. Rafaelle came forward and found McCutcheon on the left. The captain quickly sent Banda down the left channel and the Zambian international blasted her shot past Dickey into the bottom right corner to tie the game.

“Scoring on the first game (back from last year’s injury), I think that gives me a go-ahead into the next game,” Banda said.

Orlando earned a corner shortly after which was taken in the 55th, resulting in a well struck Oihane grounder just wide of the net. Then Banda’s patented holdup and breakout move led to a solo run. Surrounded by three Seattle players, she still managed a shot that was just inches wide of the left post with the goalkeeper caught frozen and flat footed.

The Pride continued to press and carved out another attempt on goal in the 63rd minute that was weak and easily saved by Dickey. A scary moment for the Pride followed with Banda down in the box for a short period of time, but she was able to continue.

Rafaelle was subbed of in the 66th minute for Hannah Anderson, who made her Pride debut. For a time, the Reign seemed totally out of their depth and could not seem to put together much of anything other than a long-range attempt in the 72nd minute by Dahlien that went well over the crossbar.

Orlando then fashioned a nice breakaway in the 76th, with Banda sending Castain in on goal, but the rookie sent the ball wide and could have done a better job testing the keeper on this one.

Hines then made a triple sub in the 76th. Luana, Solai Washington, and Reagan Raabe came in for Yates, Ovalle, and Oihane respectively.

Seattle had a weak shot in the 80th minute by Mondesir that went wide.

Orlando made its final sub of the match in the 81st with Doyle coming on for Banda. The substitutions not only took off some of Orlando’s more effective players on the night, but the replacements struggled to link passes together and Seattle regained more control of the match in the final minutes.

Seattle earned a corner in the 82nd minute against the run of play and it proved to be Orlando’s undoing. Moorhouse punched away the initial cross, which was recycled from Seattle’s right to left and sent back into the box again from the side on which the play started. Ratcliffe got her head to it over Dyke, knocking it inside the right post to restore Seattle’s lead in the 83rd minute.

Substitute Raabe managed a weak shot on goal in the 83rd that Dickey scooped up with ease. Seattle began to grow in confidence at this point and Orlando continued to struggle to string passes together to build an attack.

Orlando’s energy completely drained late, and all semblance of the clarity and purpose was gone. Passes were rushed and sent directly at Seattle players or overhit. The Pride did not even appear to be able to commit to basic game management at this point and the ref blew the final whistle, putting an end to a game from which the Pride should have taken something.

The match ended with a Seattle win 2-1 while Orlando led in all the stats, possession (50%-50%), shots (23-13), shots on target (8-5), corners (5-2), and passing accuracy (76%-73%).

“Yeah, first game of the season, and it didn’t go our way, but I think we played well as a team, and it’s a lesson for us going into the next game,” Banda said. “We know the league is very tough, so we need to pull up our stockings and hoping for the next game we need to get a maximum three points.”

“I think we created enough chances, and that time will come,” Hines said. “I thought they did well, like I said, the hardest thing is to create chances. I fully believe that, you know, after today, they’ll start hitting the back of the net.”

The Pride’s next match will be home against the expansion Denver Summit on Friday.

Welcome to your match thread and preview as the Orlando Pride begin their 2026 NWSL campaign against the Seattle Reign. The two teams bookend the season, with the second meeting scheduled for Nov. 1 in Seattle. For the Reign, it is their third consecutive league game against Orlando after finishing the regular season in Orlando in 2025 and then getting knocked out of the playoffs at Inter&Co Stadium by the Pride the following week.

Here’s everything you need to know about today’s game.

History

The Pride and Reign have met 21 times since Orlando joined the NWSL in 2016. The Pride hold a 6-7-8 record in those meetings, with an all-time record of 4-2-5 in Orlando. All but one of the contests have been in the regular season with the only non-regular-season game in the 2025 playoffs.

The most recent meeting took place on Nov. 7, 2025, when the Pride hosted the Reign in the NWSL quarterfinals. Haley McCutcheon gave the hosts the lead early, a lead the Pride held until Marta made a magnificent run in stoppage time, drawing a foul in the Seattle box. Despite being the primary penalty taker, Marta handed the ball to her Brazilian teammate Luana. The midfielder converted her first Pride goal in an emotional moment after her return from Hodgkin’s Lymphoma treatment, sending the Pride to the semifinals for the second consecutive season with a 2-0 win.

It was back-to-back meetings for the teams as they ended the season against each other on Nov. 2. They were playing to host a quarterfinal game and the Pride were the better team in the first 45 minutes. Substitute Carson Pickett gave the Pride the lead just eight minutes after coming on, but Jordyn Bugg equalized three minutes later. The 1-1 draw was enough for the Pride to finish fourth, pushing Seattle down to fifth and setting up a rematch five days later.

The first meeting last year took place April 12 in Seattle. Barbra Banda was the hero of that game, netting the game’s only goal in a 1-0 Orlando win just before halftime. It extended the team’s season-opening winning streak to four games.

The first meeting of 2024 occurred on May 19 at Lumen Field in Seattle. Emily Sams opened the scoring early and Banda doubled the advantage minutes later. However, the Reign scored on either side of halftime through Angharad James-Turner and Bethany Balcer before Banda netted the deciding goal, lifting her team to a 3-2 win.

On Nov. 2, 2024 in Orlando, Ally Watt gave the Pride the lead early, but Jordyn Huitema equalized a minute later. Kerry Abello gave the Pride the lead before halftime, and Marta made it 3-1 in the second half. Maddie Mercado got one back late, but it wasn’t enough as the Pride came away with a 3-2 win. The win capped off a historic regular season.

The first game between the teams in 2023 occurred on July 7 at Exploria Stadium and featured one of the best performances of the year for the Pride. Julie Doyle beat her defenders and found Messiah Bright, who scored the game’s lone goal early in the match as the Pride won 1-0 for their second all-time win over the Reign. On Sept. 3 in Seattle, the Pride got off to a terrible start when goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was sent off in the third minute. Carly Nelson came in and did well in relief, but Huitema scored early in the second half as the Reign won 1-0. 

The teams played for the first time in 2022 on Aug. 26 in Orlando. Meggie Dougherty Howard gave the hosts the lead, and the Pride tried to hold onto that one-goal advantage, but Megan Rapinoe found Balcer for an equalizing header. The visitors pushed for a win and Rapinoe got a goal for herself two minutes into second-half injury time, lifting the Reign to a 2-1 win, snapping Orlando’s seven-match unbeaten run.

The return game took place Oct. 1, 2022 at Lumen Field in Seattle. The Pride had already been eliminated from playoff contention and it looked like it, as the team then known as OL Reign dominated the game. Rapinoe opened the scoring early, Huitema doubled the hosts’ lead soon after, and Balcer made it 3-0 just past the half-hour mark. The Pride held the Reign scoreless in the second half but fell 3-0.

The teams played twice during the 2021 season and the first game was July 24 in Orlando. The Reign scored a goal in each half, with Jess Fishlock scoring early and Tziarra King doubling the lead just after the break in a 2-0 win. On Sept. 26 in Tacoma, WA, Balcer opened the scoring early and Eugenie Le Sommer scored a brace, giving the Reign a 3-0 lead at halftime, ultimately beating the Pride by that score.

COVID canceled the teams’ meetings in 2020, but they played three times in 2019. On April 21 in Tacoma, Alanna Kennedy gave the Pride an early lead. But Balcer equalized and the teams drew 1-1. They met again on Sept. 7 in the same location. This time, the Reign took the early lead as Darian Jenkins scored twice inside the first 12 minutes. Beverly Yanez made it 3-0 soon after, effectively putting the game away early. Camila converted a late penalty, but the Reign won 3-1. The final meeting that year came on Oct. 12 in Orlando. The Pride scored first through Rachel Hill, but Jenkins and Jodie Taylor gave the visitors a 2-1 lead going into halftime. Marta equalized late and the teams drew 2-2.

The first meeting in 2018 came on April 28 in Orlando. Allie Long gave the Reign a first-half lead, but Marta equalized, resulting in a 1-1 draw. On June 3, the teams met in Seattle but neither team could find the back of the net as the game ended in a scoreless draw. The final meeting that year took place July 21 in Orlando. Toni Pressley gave the Pride a first-half lead but Taylor equalized late and the teams drew for the third time that year.

The 2017 season saw the Pride and Reign play to a pair of 1-1 draws — first in Seattle on May 21 and later in Orlando on Sept. 7. The teams split their two games in 2016, with the Pride winning 2-0 in Orlando May 8 and Seattle winning 5-2 at home on July 23.

Overview

The Pride had an eventful off-season to say the least. Haley Carter left the club and joined the Washington Spirit and was replaced by former Kansas City Current General Manager Caitlin Carducci. Sams also left the club after requesting a move to Angel City FC. Additionally, the Pride are without club vice captain Kylie Nadaner, who’s out on maternity leave.

On the positive side, the club rebuilt its defense after losing Sams and Nadaner. Rafaelle will likely start at center back alongside new signing Hannah Anderson. The Pride also acquired free agent Hailie Mace, who can play across the back line but will probably take over as the starting right back. While Anderson might not be an upgrade from Sams, it’s a good signing considering the situation the Pride were in with the U.S. international requesting a trade.

Even more important, starting striker Banda is back from a season-ending injury suffered on Aug. 16 in Kansas City. She’ll join Mexican international Jacquie Ovalle, who arrived after Banda’s injury. The two should make a formidable combination this coming year, solving the goal-scoring problem that plagued Orlando the majority of last season.

The Reign are happy with their roster from the 2025 season, making few changes and returning everyone. The most notable changes for today’s visitors are gone via retirement. Lauren Barnes, Hanna Glas, and Veronica Latsko all called it a career, departing the club in the process. The biggest departure for the Reign that wasn’t a retirement was Huitema, who was traded to the Chicago Stars. She’s replaced by Brittany Ratcliffe, who was signed as a free agent.

Given the lack of turnover this season, we know what to expect from Seattle. However, it’s much more difficult for the Pride. Questions include how will the new center back pairing gel, can Rafaelle stay healthy, and how will Banda return from a major injury.

“It’s been a luxury having so long of a preseason. It’s allowed us to integrate a lot of the new players on how we want to play, our principles, our style of play, our intensity of everything that we do here,” Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said ahead of the match. “And so, with that, it’s all preparation for this home opener. We have our fans here supporting us. It’s going to be a great opportunity for us to put everything in place for us to go out there and perform. So, we’re really excited, we’re ready to get going, and hopefully we have a really good season.”

The Pride will take the field without Abello (hip), Zara Chavoshi (lower leg), Marta (excused absence), Cosette Morche (ankle), Kylie Nadaner (maternity leave), Nicole Payne (knee), and Viviana Villacorta (knee). Additionally, Angelina (thigh) is listed as questionable.

The Reign will be without Lynn Biyendolo (maternity leave), Bugg (leg), Shae Holmes (lower leg), Sally Menti (knee), and Cassie Miller (leg).

Official Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Cori Dyke, Rafaelle, Hailie Mace, Oihane.

Defensive Midfielders: Haley McCutcheon, Ally Lemos.

Attacking Midfielders: Jacquie Ovalle, Summer Yates, Seven Castain.

Forward: Barbra Banda.

Bench: Cara Martin, McKinley Crone, Hannah Anderson, Luana, Julie Doyle, Reagan Raabe, Simone Jackson, Solai Washington.

Seattle Reign FC (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Claudia Dickey.

Defenders: Madison Curry, Phoebe McClernon, Emily Mason, Sofia Huerta. 

Defensive Midfielders: Sam Meza, Ainsley McCammon.

Attacking Midfielders: Maddie Dahlen Jess Fishlock, Nerilia Mondesir.

Forwards: Mia Fishel.

Bench: Evan O’Steen, Neeko Purcell, Ryanne Brown, Sofia Cedeno, Maddie Mercado, Angharad James-Turner, Emeri Adames, Brittany Ratcliffe.

Referees

REF: Alexandra Billeter.
AR1: Zach McWhorter.
AR2: Matthew Rodman.
4TH: Benjamin Meyer.
VAR: Jaclyn Metz.
AVAR: Melissa Beck.

How to Watch

Match Time: 4 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV: None.

Streaming: Victory+.

Social Media: For live updates and rapid reaction, follow @themaneland.bsky.social on Bluesky and the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter feed (@ORLPride).

Enjoy the game. Go Pride!

When it comes to soccer jerseys, I can perhaps be unfairly critical. I like what I like, and in a time when new jerseys cost at least $100 if not closer to $150, I have to be seriously impressed by something in order to shell out that much money. While I’ve liked most of the jerseys that Orlando City and the Orlando Pride have put out over the years, I’ve never liked one enough to spend my own money to buy one, although I did receive a Heart and Sol jersey as a birthday present several years ago. The one exception has been the Sea Cow prematch top that the club put out in 2023, which I bought instantly and would have happily forked over one of my kidneys to acquire (as any sane person would).

I might very well be adding a new jersey to the closet soon though, because the Orlando Pride absolutely knocked it out of the park with the Unity Kit that they released on Thursday. I’m now going to shut up for a second and let you feast your eyes on this beauty.

That is just fantastic, and let’s talk about why. First of all, the base color is light purple, and while that isn’t traditionally in the Pride’s color palette as they favor a more royal purple shared by Orlando City, it is still purple. It’s also a light enough base color for the team to be able to use it as an away jersey without simply making the background color white. While I wouldn’t necessarily have an issue with a white base, that’s pretty common with away jerseys and the light purple is a good way to do something different while still providing a good contrast between it and an opponent’s dark home jersey.

If you were missing the Pride’s more traditional color of purple, fear not! The decision to use it on the collar and sleeves is a great one, as it gives the jersey a really nice splash of contrast in a shirt that could otherwise risk being washed out by all of the pastel tones that are present. The same color is also present in the badge, name, numbers, sponsors, and jock tag, and pops very well because its used so sparingly.

When viewed from a distance, the collars and sleeves provide a good outline for the kit, while the eye gets a general sense of intermingled pastel tones as the ribbons blend into each other well, and while no one color is definable, it isn’t an assault on the eyes either.

Closer up though, the ribbons are far more vibrant and detailed, and you notice that rather than simply being uniform colors for each one, they’re actually made up of several different colors that blend together and intertwine, and the effect is pulled off really well. For me, its a shirt that be appreciated both further away, and right in front of your face, and that isn’t always the easiest thing to do.

Suffice it to say, I’m a huge fan of how this thing looks. A lot of thought was clearly put into the design, and it was executed well. I want to talk about more than just the way it looks though.

We’re 10 years on from the mass shooting at Pulse nightclub that took the lives of 49 people, and the Pride and overarching ownership have a new way of honoring the victims and remembering a period of time that was so difficult for the city. The rainbow seats at Inter&Co Stadium have served the same purpose since the ground was opened back in 2017, but the Pride will be using the new jersey to honor both the victims and the way in which the city came together after the tragedy, while also putting their money where their mouth is.

The team’s decision to donate $20,000 from sales of the jersey to The Center Orlando and its Orlando United Resiliency Services (OURS) program is a very good touch on what was already a well-thought out kit. The program’s purpose is to provide advocacy, education, and support for the Orlando area’s LGBTQ+ community, and as someone who believes sports teams should be active and positive pillars in the community where they play, I couldn’t be happier to see this. It’s a decision that the team was under no obligation to make, but in choosing to go the extra mile, it proved that the club is more than just empty words and gestures when it comes to issues that hit close to home.

In short, the Unity Kit checks all the boxes for me, including ones I didn’t even know I had. It looks great from a distance, has thoughtful and well-executed details when seen up close, and represents something important while also actively honoring and helping to provide resources for a marginalized community. To everyone who was involved with the concept and execution of this jersey, I salute you. Consider it a job very well done.