Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. San Diego Wave FC: Final Score 2-1 as Pride Snap Nine-Game Winless Streak
The Pride finally tasted victory again, defeating the San Diego Wave FC for their first league win since June 13.
The streak is over. The Orlando Pride (9-8-5, 32 points) have finally won an NWSL game, defeating San Diego Wave FC (8-7-7, 31 points) 2-1 at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego, CA. Jacquie Ovalle scored her first Pride goal in the eighth minute, which was quickly erased by Dudinha two minutes later. But Carson Pickett came off the bench to score in the 54th minute, helping claim all three points for Orlando.
Pride Head Coach Seb Hines made one change to the team that lost 1-0 to the North Carolina Courage on Sept. 19. Marta was out with a back injury, replaced in the lineup by Julie Doyle.
The back line in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was Kerry Abello, Zara Chavoshi, Emily Sams, and Oihane. Haley McCutcheon and Angelina were in the defensive midfield behind Doyle, Ally Lemos, and Ovalle with Ally Watt up top.
Both teams came into this game needing a win, with the Pride winless in nine and the Wave winless in five. It looked like it would be a high-scoring affair with both teams finding the back of the net in the first 10 minutes. However, the game settled down after that. Both teams struggled to create a sustained attack, ending the first half even at 1-1.
The Pride jumped out to their second lead with a goal by the halftime substitute less than 10 minutes after the break. After being at fault for the Wave goal, Moorhouse came up with some huge saves in the second half to help earn all three points for her team.
The Wave created the first attack in the third minute when Trinity Armstrong made a long run into the Pride third of the field and played the ball forward for Hanna Lundkvist. The right back sent a cross to Kimmi Ascanio. The attacker took a shot on goal, but Lemos was there to block it. The hosts had another chance when Chavoshi fouled Adriana Leon in the Pride third of the field. Kenza Dali played the set piece short to Lundkvist, who fired from distance. However, her attempt was wide.
The Pride took immediate advantage of the miss, scoring off the restart. Moorhouse played the goal kick short to Sams, who played it to Oihane on the right. The Spanish defender sent a long ball for Watt on the wing, and the striker found Ovalle making a trailing run to the top of the San Diego box. The Mexican international fired past Wave goalkeeper DiDi Haracic for her first NWSL goal.
The goal was more significant than Ovalle’s first for the Pride. It gave the team its first lead in an NWSL game since June 13 when Barbra Banda scored in the 58th minute of a 1-0 win over Bay FC.
“You could see the relief that it gave the players after scoring the first goal,” Hines said. “It’s something that we’ve always spoken about. You know, getting off to a good start. And I think in previous games we have got off to a good start, but to actually reward ourselves is a fantastic goal. You know, it’s a great ball down the line, Ally makes a great run and a great decision-making moment to find Jacquie in that little pocket of space that we talked about, so she could finish with a left foot.”
Unfortunately, it didn’t take the hosts long to respond. In the 10th minute, Moorhouse received a pass back from Oihane and played it back to the same side. It was a poor pass with little chance of success. Dudinha easily intercepted the ball, and with the Pride goalkeeper off her line, the 20-year-old Brazilian chipped it in from distance to even the game at 1-1.
Lundkvist made a run down the right in the 17th minute before sending a cross into the Pride box. It was blocked by Chavoshi, but went off an unaware Abello and out of play for a corner kick. The set piece went to Watt at the top of the box, but her weak clearance went straight to Makenzy Robbe, who took a long-distance shot. The attempt was always rising and caused little concern for Moorhouse.
Haracic came off her line in the 21st minute to punch an Oihane cross away. Angelina was making a run to the top of the box and met the ball before it hit the ground, volleying it towards goal. Unfortunately, her attempt bounced wide.
Robbe laid the ball off for Dali in the 38th minute and the attacking midfielder sent Leon behind the Pride back line. As the striker entered the box, Chavoshi caught up and had to get the challenge right to prevent a penalty. Fortunately, it was a great tackle by the rookie center back, who even drew a foul.
While the first half started fast, it quickly slowed down. Neither team created a shot in the final 20 minutes of action as the game went into the break even at 1-1.
After 45 minutes of play, the Pride had more possession (56%-44%) and crosses (8-5). San Diego held the advantage in shots (6-4), corner kicks (2-1), and passing accuracy (85%-84%). The only shots on target were the two goals.
Hines made one halftime change, replacing Doyle with Pickett, an inspired substitution.
“We wanted to build up in a three tonight and have some width. Julie started off in that position on the left-hand side, giving us the width. And we had to make a change at halftime and bring Carson on,” Hines said. “And Carson’s very comfortable in that position as almost like a wingback.”
The Wave won a free kick in the 50th minute in their own half, taking it quickly to create a break. It ended up with Lundkvist, who played it off Pickett for a corner kick. Moorhouse came out to punch the ensuing set piece, missing the ball. After briefly bouncing around the six-yard box, it fell to Armstrong, who put her shot over the crossbar.
A giveaway in the back in the 52nd minute created another chance for the hosts. Dudinha created enough space from Oihane on the right to send a cross in. Abello was the first to the ball, but she mishit it out of play, resulting in another San Diego corner kick. Moorhouse got her fist to this set piece, sending it straight to Dudinha. The attacker’s back was to the goal, but she did well to turn Ovalle before sending her shot wide of the far post.
The Pride created their first chance of the second half in the 53rd minute when Oihane sent Ovalle down the right. The playmaker sent a cross to the back post, where McCutcheon was making a run. But the midfielder’s header was from a tight angle and Haracic made the easy catch.
A minute later, the Pride took their second lead of the game. This goal came from a great ball by Oihane, who had Watt and Pickett making runs into the Wave box. The pass was beyond the reach of Watt but landed perfectly for Pickett, whose first touch was a shot past Haracic to retake the lead.
“I mean, Oi, obviously one of our best servers of the ball, her and Jacquie on that side,” Pickett said. “So I just saw that she got it, and I saw Ally make a run, and I was like, you know what? I’m just gonna do everything I can to get there in case Ally doesn’t. And luckily, it fell right to me and (I) just hit a right-footed shot, which was a little bit of a shocker.”
“Carson takes the goal really well,” Hines added. “It’s a great ball from Oi to find her on that weak side. And yeah, scoring it with her right foot, which is something we haven’t seen often. But she takes the goal really well.”
The Pride had a chance to score a third in the 58th minute when Oihane sent a cross too close to Haracic. The goalkeeper fumbled the ball in her own six-yard box, but nobody in purple was close enough, allowing Haracic to jump on it.
Kristen McNabb’s pass to halftime substitute Jordan Fusco in the 60th minute was intercepted by Angelina. She played the ball to Pickett, who tried a quick touch to McCutcheon. It looked like Armstrong would intercept it, but she couldn’t control it, allowing McCutcheon to shoot from the top of the box. Unfortunately, her attempt skipped wide of the left post.
The Wave created an opportunity for an equalizer in the 66th minute when Armstrong sent a good ball forward for Leon, who quickly found Ascanio. The attacker fired before the defenders could react, but it was right into Moorhouse’s arms.
The Pride nearly conceded for a second time in the 74th minute when the hosts had three golden chances. Dudinha played the ball wide for Fusco, who sent the ball to the top of the six-yard box. It was just beyond the reach of Kyra Carusa, finding Lundkvist at the far post. The defender laid it back for Ascanio, who fired with space, but Moorhouse came up with a huge save. The rebound found Lundkvist, who laid it off again — this time for Carusa. However, Chavoshi blocked her shot. Laurina Fazer collected the ball at the top of the box, but her shot was also blocked. This time the rebound fell to Dali, whose shot forced Moorhouse to tip the ball wide of her post.
The first corner kick was knocked out for a second and the ensuing set piece was cleared away to end the threat, with the Pride narrowly keeping their lead.
Dudinha looked to make something happen from the left again in the 80th minute, twisting and turning Oihane before sending a cross into the box. She found Carusa just outside the six-yard box, but the redirection header was too close to Moorhouse.
McNabb sent a nice ball into the box in the 87th minute for Carusa. Unfortunately for the hosts, it was a little bit behind the attacker, who couldn’t get much on her header. As a result, Moorhouse made an easy save.
Lundkvist and Dali played a give-and-go in the second minute of stoppage time, almost creating a chance. Dali sent a dangerous ball into the box with Carusa making a run. But it was just a bit too far in front of the attacker, allowing Moorhouse to collect.
In the third minute of stoppage time, late substitute Quincy McMahon sent a ball into the six-yard box that should’ve been an easy stop, but Moorhouse tipped it right in front of her goal. Fortunately, nobody in white was there, and the Pride were able to clear away the game’s last chance.
At full time, possession was even, but the hosts finished with the edge in shots (16-9), shots on target (6-2), crosses (20-19), and passing accuracy (84%-81%). The Pride only led in corner kicks (7-6) and, most importantly, goals scored.
“Really hard-fought win. The players were terrific tonight,” Hines said. “We played some really good stuff as well. You know, we emphasized switching the point of attack to create opportunities to score. And I thought we implemented the game plan really well. Any time we’ve got a foundation by scoring the first goal gives us an opportunity to go on and win the game. And we showed a bit of resilience after the goal that we conceded. But a lot of players stepped up today, and I’m really proud of them because it’s a win that we’ve been really wanting for a long time. So, yeah, it’s a group effort, really pleased, and we’ll move on to the next one.”
“I think it was long overdue” Pickett added. “Obviously, it’s been a while since we won and gotten a good result, so I think it kind of gave us that momentum moving forward. Last five games, hopefully we get five wins.”
The win is the first for the Pride in the league since June 13. Coincidentally, that win over Bay FC also came on the West Coast. Tonight’s victory ended a nine-game winless run in NWSL action and was the club’s first since the summer break. Orlando improved to 3-0-1 in road games at San Diego.
“We’ve been dying for three points for so long,” Hines said. “And again, we’ve had some really good results, and it’s come down to fine margins. Even tonight, San Diego clear one off the line and would have given us a bit more breathing space. But listen, I can’t say enough good things about the team. They’ve stuck to the plan, they’ve trusted the process. They’re all together in the sense of wanting to get the three points.”
“It means everything,” Pickett added. “We have worked day in, day out. We’ve never turned on each other. We’ve stayed strong, and we have done everything we possibly can to try and get results, and it hasn’t fallen our way. I feel like we’ve been a bit unlucky. So, yeah, it was a big sigh of relief when we won. The final whistle blew, I think everyone’s just like, okay, let’s go. We’re going to finish this strong.”
The Pride moved from seventh to fourth in the crowded NWSL standings, putting them in a much better position than two hours earlier. They’re not safe yet, since they’re only four points ahead of the final playoff spot and several teams now have a game in hand. However, they’re only two points behind NJ/NY Gotham FC for third and they still have everything to play for.
The team will stay on the road as they travel south of the border to face Club America in the Concacaf W Champions Cup Tuesday. Then they’ll head to Houston, TX, where they’ll take on the Dash in their next league game Friday night.
Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs Angel City FC: Final Score 2-1 as McCutcheon’s Brace Lifts Pride to Win
Three goals in the last 15 minutes thrilled the crowd in Orlando as the Pride picked up their first home win of the season and ended Angel City’s perfect start.
The Orlando Pride shut down March NWSL Player of the Month Svendis Jonsdottir and got a brace from Haley McCutcheon in a 2-1 win over Angel City in front of 8,040 fans at Inter&Co Stadium tonight. Orlando (2-1-2, 8 points) picked up its first home win of the season, extended its unbeaten run to four games (2-0-2), and snapped the perfect start to the season for Angel City (3-1-0, 9 points)
“If we have a good defensive structure, that makes us have more possibilities of winning games, of having more chances in the front,” midfielder Angelina said after the match. “We’re going to be confident on the back and gaining the ball high up the field. The last few games, we’ve done a good job of that — lowering the chances of the opponent to just hit the target.”
The Pride came out the aggressors in the first half but it wasn’t enough to put anything on the scoreboard. The second half was heading toward a scoreless draw until the last six minutes of normal time, when the teams engaged in a mad scramble to see who could put the decisive winning goal in after trading opening goals in an eight-minute span.
Pride Head Coach Seb Hines rolled out the same lineup as Sunday in the scoreless draw against NJ/NY Gotham FC. This was the first time this season the Pride were able to put together a grouping that had played together in a match in 2026.
Anna Moorhouse started in goal behind a back line of Cori Dyke, Hailie Mace, Rafaelle, and Oihane. Ally Lemos and Angelina lined up in the defensive midfield behind an attacking midfield line of Jacquie Ovalle, Haley McCutcheon, and Solai Washington. Barbra Banda started up top looking to add to her total of three goals.
“Chemistry is always helpful” McCutcheon said. “It helps to be able to get that communication and trust that people are going to do their jobs.”
Both teams traded empty possessions for the first 10 minutes of the game until Angelina turned Banda loose on a long ball for the first shot of the game. The Zambian got behind the back line but did not make good contact on her shot, sending it at Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson. McCutcheon got on the end of an Ovalle cross but headed it over the bar one minute later. There was a scramble off a free kick that Lemos fired off a defender and, on the rebound, Banda put it well wide in the 13th minute.
Angel City had its first significant offensive chance when Rafaelle fouled Jonsdottir in the 20th minute, leading to a free kick from 30 yards out. However, Kennedy Fuller sent it into the defense.
Savy King was booked holding back Ovalle in the 21st minute, giving the Pride a 30-yard free kick, but Angelina sent it straight into the wall. It was into the head of Maiara Niehues, who needed a couple of minutes after to recover.
Shortly after that, Dyke was fooled on a dummy by Gisele Thompson that turned Fuller loose into the box. However, Rafaelle blocked Fuller’s attempt on goal. Banda won a corner kick in the 30th and Ovalle sent the ball across the goal mouth to Rafaelle, who put the header on goal, but Anderson made a big save, deflecting it out for another corner. Angelina took the next corner, which Rafaelle put into the net but the Pride center back was called for a push on the play, nullifying the goal.
The Pride left Jonsdottir alone at the top of the 18 in the 35th minute, but she shot the ball well high. In the 41st, McCutcheon fouled Thompson on the right side, leaving a 25-yard free kick, which Fuller sent long and it turned into nothing.
Banda worked herself free outside the left corner of the box in the 45th minute, but she wasn’t able to get anything on the attempt to Anderson. The two teams closed out the half without any significant action and headed into the locker room scoreless.
Even though Angel City dominated possession in the first half (66%-34%), the Pride were certainly the more dangerous team. The Pride attempted more shots (9-3), with seven of those from inside the box but couldn’t score on any. Banda continued to prove to be her dangerous self with four shots (two of them forcing a save) and had support from her teammates, yet nothing ended up on the scoreboard. On the other side of the matchup of league-leading forwards, Orlando limited Jonsdottir’s touches in dangerous areas.
After a long kickoff out of bounds by Angel City to open the half, McCutcheon put Banda through on goal, but she was on the right from a difficult angle, and her shot was straight at Anderson. Oihane won a corner a minute later, but Ovalle sent it too long and over the goal line. In the 49th minute, Ovalle crossed the ball to McCutcheon, but she couldn’t put it on frame, sending it well wide.
Lemos sent a dangerous pass forward in the 52nd minute to Banda, who put it across the goal mouth and McCutcheon put it into the goal, but the flag came up immediately as the ball went in, as the Pride midfielder was a step offside. Washington was held by Thompson on the left side of the box at the 55-minute mark, leading to an Orlando free kick. Angelina sent a hard cross to Banda in the box on the set piece, and it deflected out to Dyke, who saw her shot easily blocked, igniting the Angel City counter.
Jonsdottir picked up the loose ball and sprinted down the field, muscling her way past Ovalle and then nutmegging Mace before turning a shot loose that went wide of the right post. It was a disastrous play for the Pride, as Ovalle remained down for a while after grabbing her hamstring. She was carried off the field by trainers and replaced by Summer Yates.
In the 60th minute, Oihane and Jonsdottir banged heads, leading to a long free kick by Angel City, which turned into a harmless header over the end line.
Angelina received a yellow card in the 62nd minute 40 yards, out but Kennedy Fuller wasn’t able to connect with anyone on the set piece. Banda picked up a booking of her own in the 65th trying to swim past Sarah Gorden.
Both teams brought on a sub in the 66th minute, with Marta taking Washington’s place and Taylor Suarez subbing in for Nealy Martin.
Shortly after the restart, Oihane worked her way into the box and King knocked the ball out for a corner in the 70th minute. Marta had her first significant contribution with the corner delivery, which sent the ball pinging around, leading to an open shot at the penalty spot by Angelina, who was wide open but put it over the bar, wasting a golden opportunity to open the scoring.
Jonsdottir floated a ball from deep left that almost caught Moorhouse off her line, but she scrambled back and just got a hand to it. It came off yet another deep throw-in, where Angel City interestingly has Jonsdottir take, even though she’s clearly the team’s most dangerous attacker.
Oihane went down injured in the 75th minute, leading to an eventual substitution with Hannah Anderson replacing her. It was deemed a concussion substitution due to the previous contact, sparing Orlando a sub.
At this stage of the game, Orlando was getting sloppy with its passing and struggling to keep possession, and all the attacking pressure started to come from Angel City. However, it was the Pride that broke the scoreless deadlock.
Banda worked in from the left side and put the ball across the goal mouth where it bounced around and ended up in front of McCutcheon, who put one in that counted. It was a team effort as Lemos, Rafaelle, Marta, and Hannah Anderson all moved the ball around and kept Angel City from escaping with it. McCutcheon’s 84th-minute strike was reviewed for a possible offside, but the replay was inconclusive and the goal stood.
“We brought in Marta, put her at the 9, and shifted Barbra wide,” Hines said about his late-game tactics, which led to the goal. “Get her directness dribbling at people, receiving the ball facing forward, taking players on. A great cross into a dangerous area with her left foot. We discussed as a staff that it’s a great idea to put her more on that left side to receive it and get away from players like Gorden and Emily (Sams).”
Dyke picked up a booking in the 89th minute for a tough challenge that the referee let play on and came back to give her the caution. Angel City then subbed Evelyn Shores on for King and Prisca Chilufya for Fuller.
Rafaelle was given a yellow card for a handball near the left sideline in the first minute of added time, leading to a free kick from next to the sideline. Shores put the kick in front of the goal, which Tiernan passed out to the top of the box. Thompson then blasted the ball off the underside of the crossbar and just over the goal line to even the score up. It was Angel City’s only shot on target, tying the game in the second minute of stoppage time.
Angel City stayed on the front foot after the goal, looking for a late winner. But again, it was Orlando that went the other way and found the back of the net.
The Pride won a corner on a drive into the box. Marta put the corner on the far post, where Hannah Anderson kept it alive, knocking it back in front. The ball pinged off a couple of bodies before falling to McCutcheon again, who poked it home in the eighth minute of stoppage time.
There were 10 minutes of stoppage time originally added, but the game went 14 minutes beyond the 90th. However, the Pride were able to see out one final scramble in front of goal, in which Moorhouse came off her line but was beaten to the ball by former Pride striker Chilufya. Angel City could not work through the traffic in front, and Orlando held on for the win.
At full time, Angel City held the advantage in possession (63%-37%) and passing accuracy (83%-77%), but the Pride had more shots (17-15), shots on target (6-1), and corner kicks (5-3).
It was a big win for Orlando, which finally sent the supporters at Inter&Co Stadium home happy. The Pride continue to play standout defense, limiting Angel City to one shot on target and only a few threatening looks at goal for a team that entered with a top-tier attack.
The Pride are off for three weeks for the international break before traveling to Kentucky to take on Racing Louisville on April 24. Orlando has never won at Louisville.
Orlando Pride
Orlando Pride vs. Angel City FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Pride return home looking to keep up their positive momentum after a strong road trip.
Welcome to your preview and match thread as the Orlando Pride (1-1-2, 5 points) welcome league-leading Angel City FC (3-0-0, 9 points). This is the first of two meetings between these two teams this year, with the return game in California scheduled for July 3.
Here’s everything you need to know about tonight’s game.
History
Angel City was one of the NWSL’s two expansion teams entering the league in 2022. As a result, the Pride have only played tonight’s opponents eight times. The Pride are 4-2-2 in those games, all in NWSL regular-season play. While the Pride have a 3-1-0 record against Angel City in Los Angeles, they’re only 1-1-2 at home.
The most recent matchup between these two teams took place on Aug. 21, 2025 in Los Angeles. The hosts dominated possession and the number of chances as the game appeared to be heading to a scoreless draw. But Alyssa Thompson converted in the 86th minute as Angel City took all three points.
The first game last year between the two teams occurred on April 25 in Orlando. The visitors got off to a great start with first-half goals by Riley Tiernan and Katie Zelem. But the Pride took over in the second half. Marta got one back midway through the second period, and Barbra Banda equalized four minutes later. An own goal by M.A. Vignola in the third minute of stoppage time gave the Pride a 3-2 win.
The first of two meetings in 2024 took place on March 22 in Orlando. Former Pride attacker Claire Emslie gave the visitors the lead from the penalty spot, and it looked as though the Pride would drop their first game of the season. But Marta volleyed home an equalizer from an Angelina corner kick late, pulling out a 1-1 draw. On June 30, 2024 in Los Angeles, Adriana gave the Pride the lead early and scored a second goal six minutes later. Banda netted a goal of her own six minutes into stoppage time, leading the Pride to a dominating 3-0 win.
The first meeting of the 2023 season took place April 2 in Orlando. Emily Sams took down Thompson in the first half, giving the visitors a penalty. Emslie stepped up and converted to give her team a 1-0 lead. Messiah Bright responded just after halftime to make it 1-1, and the game appeared to be heading for a draw. But Katie Johnson scored the winner in the 10th minute of second-half injury time. On Oct. 2, 2023 in Los Angeles, an Adriana volley beat Angel City goalkeeper Angelina Anderson to her near post for the only goal as the Pride won a crucial late-season game.
The first-ever game between the teams took place on May 8, 2022 in Los Angeles. In the third minute, Gunny Jonsdottir’s cross was tipped by Angel City goalkeeper DiDi Haracic, but it went right to Sydney Leroux. The Pride striker fired right at Morgan Reid standing in front of goal. The ball bounced off the defender and went in to give the Pride an early lead. The hosts controlled the final hour, but the Pride held on for 87 minutes to claim their first win of the season.
The teams met again on Aug. 7 in Orlando. Former Pride defender Ali Riley opened the scoring with a wonderful strike from the left side. The Pride responded in the second half through Julie Doyle, three minutes after she entered the game, to even it at 1-1. The visitors took another lead when Cari Roccaro beat Viviana Villacorta to a corner kick, putting it past Erin McLeod. The Pride equalized for a second time in the 90th minute when Doyle and Paige Nielsen raced for a Thais Reiss cross, with the defender reaching it first. But Nielsen’s attempted clearance went into her own net, allowing the Pride to claim a 2-2 draw and extend their unbeaten run to five games.
Overview
The Pride return home tonight after a two-game road trip in which they claimed four points. They had a dominant performance in Chicago on March 25, defeating the Stars 3-0. Banda, Jacquie Ovalle, and Hannah Anderson scored in the first half and the Pride held onto that lead in the second 45 minutes to claim their first win of the season.
It was a quick turnaround as they played defending champion NJ/NY Gotham FC Sunday night in New Jersey. The hosts dominated possession in the game, but the Pride were able to keep the opposition from creating too many opportunities, pulling out a scoreless draw.
Sunday night’s draw saw Banda’s three-game goal streak come to an end. However, after conceding three goals in the first two games, the Pride recorded their second consecutive clean sheet, something Head Coach Seb Hines is very happy with.
Another positive was that Rafaelle played all 90 minutes. The Brazilian has had constant injury issues since joining the Pride in 2023, which seemed to return when she was listed as questionable for the game in Chicago. The center back came on in the second half of that game and started against Gotham, providing a solid performance.
While the Pride are pleased with their performances away from home, they need to play better at home. The team has now played four games with new players like Hailie Mace and Hannah Anderson, so they’ll be expecting better results than the first two games, although they dominated those matches and created lots of scoring chances.
That will be difficult tonight as the Pride welcome the league-leading Angel City. The California-based team had an eventful off-season, losing Thompson to Chelsea FC and Riley and Christen Press to retirement. Meanwhile, they added Ary Borges and former Pride center back Emily Sams.
Angel CIty has been terrific offensively this season, scoring multiple goals in all three games. However, tonight’s visitors have only played Chicago, Bay FC, and the Houston Dash, three of the worst teams in the league. Additionally, two of those three games were at home and the other was in California.
Tonight will be a much harder challenge. The Pride are widely expected to be a team challenging for at least a top four spot. They’re a stronger team offensively and defensively than the teams Angel City have played this year.
Angel City is led in the attack by Sveindis Jonsdottir, who has three goals in her first three games of the season. She’s the only player on the team with multiple goals. Tiernan, Gisele Thompson, Evelyn Shores, Maiara Niehues, Kennedy Fuller, and Ary Borges each have scored one goal. Jonsdottir and Fuller lead the team in assists with two each.
Defensively, Angel City has a solid center back pairing of Sams and Savy King, who returns after missing most of last season after suffering a cardiac issue on the field. They’ll line up in front of Anderson, who returns as the starting goalkeeper.
“I think with Angel City, they’re a team that’s got a lot of good momentum right now,” Hines said ahead of the match. “Obviously, sitting top of the table. Three wins after three games. They’ll come with the expectation that they’ll go four for four, and we want to stop that of course. We want to get off to a good start as well, being back at home in front of our own fans. We’ve had a good road trip as well, four points in two games. So, to finish this part of the season with a win at home is where our minds are at right now.”
The Pride are still without Kerry Abello (hip), Zara Chavoshi (lower leg), Cosette Morche (ankle), Kylie Nadaner (maternity leave), and Viviana Villacorta (knee). Angel City will be without Karsyn Cherry (thigh), Emslie (maternity leave), Jun Endo (knee), Leroux (excused absence), Rajanah Reed (ankle), and Hina Sugita (knee).
Official Lineups
Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.
Defenders: Cori Dyke, Rafaelle, Hailie Mace, Oihane.
Defensive Midfielders: Ally Lemos, Angelina.
Midfielders: Jacquie Ovalle, Haley McCutcheon, Solai Washington.
Forward: Barbra Banda.
Bench: Cara Martin, Hannah Anderson, Reagan Raabe, Luana, Summer Yates, Seven Castain, Marta, Julie Doyle, Simone Jackson.
Angel City FC (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper: Angelina Anderson.
Defenders: Savy King, Sarah Gorden, Emily Sams, Gisele Thompson.
Defensive Midfielders: Ary Borges, Nealy Martin.
Midfielders: Riley Tiernan, Maiara Niehues, Kennedy Fuller.
Forward: Sveindis Jonsdottir.
Bench: Hannah Seabert, Faith Nguyen, Sophia Mattice, Evelyn Shores, Carina Lageyre, Taylor Suarez, Casey Phair, Prisca Chilufya.
Referees
REF: Jeremy Scheer.
AR1: Kendall McCardell.
AR2: Race Williams.
4TH: Stefan Perri.
VAR: Elijio Arreguin.
AVAR: Karen Coulson.
How to Watch
Match Time: 8 p.m.
Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.
TV: None.
Streaming: Prime Video.
Social Media: For live updates and rapid reaction, follow @themaneland.bsky.social on Bluesky and the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter (@ORLPride) or Bluesky (@orlpride.com) feed.
Enjoy the game. Go Pride!
Orlando Pride
The Pride’s Offense Often Relies on Bank of Banda for a Bailout
A look at how Banda-dependent the Pride’s offense has been this season, and how that compares to prior seasons and the rest of the NWSL.
It feels like Orlando City’s season has been going on for months and the Orlando Pride’s season just started. But all of a sudden, the Pride are already four games into the new season, with their fifth match — the same number of games as Orlando City has played — coming on Friday night. The Pride are off to a better start than the Lions, both in the standings and in how they have looked on the field, and the basis behind their better start is brought to you by the letter B, and Barbra Banda.
While the Pride are off to a better start than Orlando City, they are not off to a bodacious beginning (all right, all right, enough with the “b”words), as they have only earned five points from their four games played and are currently seventh in the league standings. With league leaders Angel City coming to Inter&Co Stadium on Friday night it is possible that by the end of the weekend Orlando will drop out of the playoff spots, but even if they do, they will probably not be too worried, as the Pride had a difficult schedule in their opening five games and Marta has only been on the field for a total of 18 minutes through the first four.
The Brazilian superstar’s absence has deprived the Pride of the opportunity to roll out an offense with Banda, Marta, and Jacquie Ovalle all on the field together for the first time, but with Marta working her way back to fitness, that is going to happen soon. It may not happen against Angel City, but with a long break between that game and the next game against Racing Louisville on April 24, it seems likely that soon we will finally see the attacking group that Pride fans have been excited about ever since the acquisition of Ovalle last August.
La Maga (the magician) joined the Pride right after Banda’s season-ending injury last summer, and she looks much more comfortable this season than she did during the closing months of the 2025 season. She scored her first goal of the season last week against Chicago and she has two assists as well, which ties her for the team lead in goal contributions with Banda, who picked up right where she left off and is leading the team — and the league — in goals scored with three.
The Pride have only scored five goals on the season for an average of 1.25 goals per game, and Banda’s three gives her 60% of their goals scored. Four games is a small sample size, only 13% of the season, so Banda’s high share of the goals scored is not a huge concern this early in the year. What is a bit of a concern, however, is Orlando’s reliance on the Zambian for so much of its offensive threat.
The scatterplot below is from the past three NWSL seasons and shows the 246 players who took at least 12 shots during each season (I chose 12 shots because of a limitation in Microsoft Excel that does not allow more than 255 dots on a scatterplot; if you were wondering, 826 players have taken at least one shot during any of the last three seasons). Most of the dots are from 2024 and 2025, but there are four players in 2026, Banda included, who have already taken at least 12 shots this season. I put a purple circle around Banda’s 2024, 2025 and 2026 seasons.
There is no official measure for “reliance,” but the location of Banda’s three pairings for the percentage of goals scored (excluding opposition own goals) and the percentage of shots taken show just how much the Pride rely on her to generate offense, how much more that is than many teams, and how they rely on their top attackers. It is strongly unlikely that Banda’s percentages in 2026 will stay as high as they have been through four games, especially when Marta is back to full health, but by looking at 2024 and 2025, it is unlikely that she is going to see a drastic reduction either.
Banda will miss a few games later this summer when she goes to Morocco to represent Zambia during the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON), but she also missed nearly half of the 2025 season and still ended up as Orlando’s leading scorer and shot taker by wide margins (twice as many goals scored and shots taken as her next closest teammates).
Seb Hines and the Pride’s coaching staff would probably prefer a more balanced set of numbers long before her departure, as it is harder to defend multiple threats than one, but in the end, they will not care who scores as long as the Pride score enough goals to win games. The early dependency on Banda is not yet majorly alarming, especially considering that she is one of the best strikers in the world. I am somewhat concerned about her share of both shots taken and goals scored though and am hoping to see some other players step up their offensive contributions as the season progresses.
Friday night will be a big test for Orlando against Angel City and its NWSL-leading (only two goals allowed through three games) defense. Stopping Banda will be the clear priority, but that is a lot easier said than done. Solai Washington has looked good during the last few games and Ovalle is playing well also, and Marta will likely play for as many minutes as the training staff clears her for. Hopefully, between those three, Angelina, Ally Lemos, Haley McCutcheon, and any defenders who creep up into the attacking third of the field, they can either draw enough attention that Banda can get free, or use the open space that exists because of the gravity around the Zambian international to their advantage and put some shots into the back of the net.
Either way, the offense will need to deliver against Angel City, whether they are using Plan A or Plan B(anda).
Vamos Pride!
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