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The Pride Need to Tie Barbra Banda to Their HIP

A look at the NWSL’s new High Impact Player classification, and how the Pride might allocate those funds.

Published

7 months ago

on

Image of Barbra Banda taking a shot.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

Is it just me, or has the off-season seemed even longer than usual this year? It feels like forever since any of the Orlando clubs played a match, and while we are getting social media pictures and videos from their respective preseasons, we are still weeks away from the season openers. The off-season just seems to keep going and going.

It reminds me of “Rapper’s Delight,” the 1979 song that is often cited (incorrectly, but that is a story for another time and website) as the first-ever hip hop song. It’s a 14-plus-minute audio experience that also just seems to keep going and going, and it starts off with one of the most well-known lines in contemporary pop music: “I said a hip hop, the hippie, the hippie to the hip, hip hop and you don’t stop.”

The hips that Wonder Mike was rapping about are not the same ones that were in the news recently, as those are not hips but HIPs, as in High Impact Players — the NWSL’s new roster mechanism (introduced in December) that will allow teams to go beyond the salary cap to sign certain players to much higher salaries than previously.

Without belaboring over the details, a simple definition for a HIP is that the player must have met at least one classification from the list below:

As of December 2025, The Equalizer reported there are 102 players around the world who qualify, though that number is fluid because some of the 2024 lists will be replaced by new lists, once they are released. The Pride currently have two players on the roster who are HIP eligible: Barbra Banda and Marta, each of whom qualified under eight of the 13 possible qualifications, though in reality they went eight for 11 since Banda is Zambian and Marta is Brazilian, making neither eligible to play for the United States Women’s National Team (USWNT). Emily Sams was also eligible while a member of the Pride, but she is now a member of Angel City, so she is dead to me.

Just kidding, I will still root for Sams, but only when she is playing for the USWNT. Or if she comes to her senses and asks to return back to a club that actually has won something in the league.

The Washington Spirit signed Trinity Rodman to the NWSL’s first-ever deal using the HIP mechanism last week, making her the highest paid women’s soccer player in the world, earning more than $2 million annually according to reports. Unlike MLS, the NWSL does not release contract details, so we do not know how much more that is than the next-highest-paid players in the league, but we know that she just set the new bar, and deservedly so.

But is it deservedly so? Let’s take a look.

Let me start by saying that Rodman is one of my favorite athletes to watch across all sports. Not among women’s athletes, among all athletes. She plays with speed, power, skill, and joy, and even though she plays for a rival team in the NWSL, I root for her to succeed, because her style of play is one that every athlete should aspire to replicate. It certainly helps that she also plays (and when healthy, starts) for the USWNT, my second favorite soccer team behind the Pride, but even if she was playing elsewhere I am confident I would still be a fan. How could you not, when she makes plays like this and then gets her coach to join the celebration?

That combination of success on the field and likeability is what makes her one of the most marketable athletes in the NWSL as well, and marketability was included in the list of HIP criteria, so I think it is a quick and resounding yes, it is deservedly so that Rodman set the new bar.

But once a bar is set, another player will want to jump over it. Rodman has a tremendous mix of soccer skills and marketability, but NWSL general managers want to win championships more than just the hearts and minds of fans, so they are generally more interested in bringing in the best players than they are the most marketable players. Rodman is a great player and has set that bar very high, but now every GM in the league has a target they can use to try to acquire a new player by pulling a Jerry Maguire and showing them the money.

Rodman might not have many peers in the marketability space, but let’s take a look at a few players on the soccer side. Just for fun we’ll call them Player B and Player M, to see if they match up with her and might want a similar salary. Here are their stats per 90 minutes from the combined 2024 and 2025 seasons with their NWSL ranks included in parentheses:

MetricRodmanPlayer BPlayer M
Goals Contributions0.70 (5)0.83 (3)0.41 (37)
Chances Created2.05 (8)1.42 (32)2.25 (4)
Goals Added +0.24 (4)+0.37 (2)-0.02 (130)
Plus/Minus+1.07 (15)+1.13 (12)+0.62 (46)
FotMob Rating7.58 (4)7.60 (3)7.35 (16)

*data from what’s still available on fbref.com (goal contributions, plus/minus), as well as FotMob (chances created (a.k.a. key passes), FotMob rating) and American Soccer Analysis (goals added).

You did not need to be a Bletchley Park-level codebreaker (deep cut for the history buffs) to figure out that Player B is Banda and Player M is Marta. Banda compares quite favorably to Rodman, exceeding her performance in nearly every category, and while Marta lags behind the other two in a few categories (reminder, she played those seasons at 37 and 38 years old and is the oldest player in the league), she surpasses both of them, and the rest of the soccer world, in the categories of heart and, you know, being the greatest of all time. That, however, probably will not translate into the Pride signing her to a HIP deal at this point in her soccer career, even though there is no player in soccer who more perfectly fits the definition of high impact than Marta.

Banda does not have Marta’s global profile or status, but at 25 years old (she will turn 26 in March) she is already a superstar, with high-level achievements already in the Summer Olympics and World Cup for Zambia, a goals-scored-per-90-minutes ranking of fourth in NWSL history (0.62 per 90), and she played a pivotal role in helping the Pride win the NWSL Shield and the NWSL Championship during the 2024 season. The injury she suffered during the 2025 season did not completely derail the Pride’s season, but the offense was not the same without her in the lineup — one of the main reasons that the Pride came up short in their quest to win back-to-back titles.

When she was acquired in 2024, Banda reportedly (again, it would be ideal for the NWSL to actually release this information instead of forcing people to use words like “reportedly”) signed a four-year deal worth up to $2.1 million over the life of the contract, but with Rodman’s deal now worth nearly that amount per year, it is certain that Banda’s agent has already been in discussions with the Pride’s front office about signing her to a brand new contract using the HIP mechanism.

Her current contract runs through the 2027 season, but in recent months the trends have pointed to more players wanting to go to Europe than stay in the NWSL. While that is not exclusively about money, the ability of European teams to offer whatever they want certainly has played a role in enticing players to make a move. With two years left on her contract the Pride are not at risk of losing Banda imminently, but there are few strikers like her in the world (she is one of only 44 women across fbref.com’s database of 16 women’s leagues who have averaged more than 0.60 goals scored per 90 minutes while playing more than 3,000 minutes in the last two seasons), and she is still in the early prime of her career.

I expect the Pride to offer Banda a HIP contract in the upcoming months, as now that Rodman’s deal has been signed, every team has a benchmark in place, and they can negotiate with the agents and players using that deal as a starting point. Banda’s statistical performance and age is similar to Rodman’s, though the Pride will likely offer her a lower amount as she does not have the same commercial profile. There are no hard and fast rules to defining “commercial profile” or “marketability,” so it is more about perception than anything, but I think the Pride will discount something off of Banda’s offer, even though a good argument can be made that Banda delivers more on the field than Rodman.

Hopefully, the Pride’s front office and Banda can come to an agreement on a new contract in the near future, and when they do, it will only be right that we all shout out HIP HIP hooray!

Vamos Pride!

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Orlando Pride vs. Portland Thorns FC: Final Score 2-1 as Pride Fall on Late Goal

The Pride conceded a second-half stoppage time goal to lose their third consecutive game.

Published

9 hours ago

on

August 16, 2026

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Justin Glatt

The Orlando Pride (7-11-2, 23 points) lost their third consecutive game Saturday night, falling 2-1 to Portland Thorns FC (10-6-4, 34 points) at Providence Park in Portland, OR. Deyna Castellanos gave the hosts the lead in the 58th minute before Jacquie Ovalle equalized in the 63rd minute. But a second-half, stoppage-time goal by Caiya Hanks doomed the Pride to another defeat.

Seb Hines made four changes to the team that fell 3-1 to Racing Louisville FC on Aug. 8. Oihane, Haley McCutcheon, Solai Washington, and Barbra Banda re-entered the lineup, replacing Zara Chavoshi, Angelina, Nicole Payne, and Simone Jackson.

The back line in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was Hailie Mace, Rafaelle, Cori Dyke, and Oihane. Ally Lemos and McCutcheon were the defensive midfielders behind Ovalle, Washington, and Julie Doyle with Banda up top.

This was a game of two halves. The Pride were the better team in the first 45 minutes and the Thorns dominated the second period of play. However, while the Pride were unable to convert on nine first-half shots, some poor goalkeeping and lackadaisical defending allowed Portland to claim all three points.

The Pride had a great opportunity to take the early lead in the third minute when Ovalle played the ball back for Mace and the left back sent a long ball over the top for Banda. The striker got behind the Portland back line and was in on goal but her first touch was a shot wide.

In the fifth minute, Nina Nijstad fouled Ovalle near the Thorns box, giving the Pride a second opportunity. Lemos lifted the ball into the box and Banda outjumped her defenders to redirect it on target. But the header was right into goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold’s arms.

Doyle made a strong run into the Portland third of the field in the 10th minute before finding Ovalle near the top of the box. The midfielder’s first touch was a shot on target, but — similar to the Banda chance — was right at Arnold.

Mace played Washington down the left in the 14th minute and the young attacker found Doyle making a run to the top of the six-yard box. Doyle attempted to redirect the ball on target with her first touch, sending the ball over the crossbar. Doyle had another chance in the 16th minute near the top of the Portland box. The attacker took a long-distance shot that again sailed over the target.

The Thorns finally created their first shot of the game in the 18th minute. Pietra Tordin made a strong run into the Pride third and cut inside to create space between two defenders. The attacker fired from outside the box and Moorhouse felt it was worthy of a dive. However, the ball curved wide of the far post.

Washington played Banda to the top of the Thorns box in the 23rd minute. The striker dribbled across the middle as she attempted to find space for a shot. It looked like she’d have a clear attempt, but Isabella Obaze made a last-ditch slide to deflect the ball wide. The Pride weren’t able to create anything from the ensuing corner kick, ending the attack.

McCutcheon fouled Castellanos in the Pride third of the field in the 29th minute, providing an opportunity for the attacker. Castellanos went for goal and was able to make the ball dip, but it wasn’t quick enough as the shot was over the top of the goal.

Washington forced Arnold into a good save in the 32nd minute. The play began when some quick passing gave Banda possession at the top of the Thorns box. The striker laid the ball off for Lemos, who sent it forward and to the left for Washignton. The attacker brought the ball down nicely and fired on target, but Arnold pushed the ball wide of her near post.

Oihane sent a low cross into the box for Banda in the 37th minute, but the striker got the ball caught in her feet. Four defenders quickly converged, forcing the ball to the top of the box. Both Lemos and Ovalle approached, attempting to shoot from outside of the area. Lemos was the one to take the shot, sending her attempt out of the reach of the diving Arnold but wide of the goal.

While possession was split in the first 45 minutes, the Pride created most of the chances. They ended the first half with more shots (9-2), shots on target (3-0), and corner kicks (6-0). However, a good save by Arnold — and some shots directly at her — kept the game scoreless.

The first chance of the second half was for the Thorns after Doyle fouled M.A. Vignola, earning a yellow card. Castellanos played the set piece to Marie Muller, whose shot from 35 yards out was over the target. Vignola then made a strong run past Washington and Doyle before sending a low cross into the box. Lemos blocked it, but Portland kept possession. Castellanos’ ball into the box found Muller, who took an off-balance shot that Rafaelle blocked. She had a second attempt but couldn’t get much on it, sending the ball wide.

Jessie Fleming carried the ball into the Pride third in the 58th minute, finding Tordin at the top of the box. McCutcheon defended her well, forcing her to play it wide for Castellanos. The attacker sent the ball towards the far post, lifting it over Moorhouse — who was off her line — to give the Thorns the 1-0 lead. Moorhouse seemed to have a shot at tipping it over at the last minute, but she never attempted a jump, continuing a trend of poor goals conceded by the Pride in 2026.

The Thorns had all the momentum in the game and attempted to use it to double their advantage. Castellanos dribbled into the Pride third of the field in the 60th minute before finding Sophia Wilson to her right. Portland’s leading goal scorer settled the ball and put it on target, but Moorhouse was there to block it away.

The Pride quickly went the other way, looking for an equalizer. McCutcheon played Ovalle over the midfield stripe and continued her run into the Portland box. In the meantime, Ovalle played the ball to Doyle on the right, and the midfielder sent a cross to the top of the six-yard box. McCutcheon got her head on the ball, but put it straight into the ground. It caused little concern for Arnold, who easily fell on the attempt.

Mace intercepted a poor pass in the 62nd minute and found Ovalle entering the Portland third of the field. Ovalle’s pass into the box was touched on by Banda behind Doyle. Banda followed the ball and took possession but lost it to Vignola, who was able to clear the danger.

The Pride regained possession, resulting in the equalizing goal. Lemos played it forward for Banda and the striker shielded her defender, allowing Doyle to take possession. Doyle played it wide for Oihane, who sent a lovely cross to the top of the six-yard box. As Arnold came off her line, the ball bounced off her, a defender, and Ovalle, rolling over the line to even the game at 1-1 in the 63rd minute.

“Jules gave me a great ball. I had a lot of time to think about it,” Oihane said. “I saw Jacquie going in and I just crossed it and it went in. So, that’s a good idea and we need to keep going and doing those things.”

Hines made his first two substitutions of the game in the 65th minute. Angelina and Summer Yates entered the contest, replacing Banda and Doyle.

“We would’ve liked for her to have played the whole game,” Hines said about Banda. “But we have to take the recommendations from the medical staff. It’s incredibly difficult becuase she’s such a high impact for us.”

The Pride head coach made his third change in the 76th minute, replacing Oihane with Chavoshi.

In the 77th minute, Ovalle attempted a back heel pass to Yates that Fleming intercepted. Tordin battled with the Pride defenders, resulting in the ball popping out to Fleming. With time and space to shoot, Fleming sent her shot just wide of a diving Moorhouse and the post.

Tordin won a battle with Mace for the ball in the 86th minute, playing the ball through a falling Rafaelle and into the Pride box. Wilson took possession and had plenty of time and space for a shot as Moorhouse came off her line to cut the angle down. The Pride goalkeeper did well to block the shot with her legs and fall on the rebound to keep the game even.

Hines made his fourth substitution in the 89th minute, replacing Rafaelle with Zoe Matthews.

The fourth official showed eight minutes of stoppage time, giving both teams an opportunity to find a winning goal. In the foruth minute, Vignola fouled Yates near the right sideline in the Portland third of the field. Lemos’ set piece found Matthews just inside the box. The new signing tried to head it on target, but she was unable to get over it, allowing Arnold to make the easy catch.

In the sixth minute of stoppage time, Portland found the winner. The Pride were unable to clear the ball out of their half, allowing Vignola to take possession on the left. The defender played the ball centrally for second-half substitute Hanks, who dribbled to the top of the box before curling the ball around Moorhouse and inside the far post.

Hines made an attacking change in the eighth minute of stoppage time, replacing Mace with Gabi Nunes. It was a Pride debut for Nunes, who joined the team on Aug. 4.

“We would’ve liked to enter (Nunes) in different circumstances,” Hines said. “She hasn’t trained with the team too much since she came in here. We’ve got to make sure we’re doing the right things, taking the recommendations from the medical staff.”

It was a desperate attempt to get something from the game. Unfortunately, the Pride were unable to create any more opportunities and lost a tough one away from home.

At full time, the Thorns had slightly more possession (51%-49%) and better passing accuracy (79%-77%). The Pride ended the game with more shots (12-10), shots on target (6-4), and corner kicks (6-0). But poor finishing and two long-distance conversions saw the Pride lose their third-straight game.

“I thought we were terrific in the first half. I thought we came to Providence Park with loads of intent. Put them under pressure. Didn’t create any clear-cut opportunities, but we had a lot of good momentum,” Hines said. “The first-half was terrific, and have to give the players the compliments because they were aggressive, they put Portland under immense pressure. And second half was fairly balanced. Obviously, they created some opportunities. So, disappointed with the first goal. Can we get a little more pressure? it’s a great strike from that distance. And then we get ourselves back in the game and stuff happens. It’s just not going our way with some of the calls, bounce of the ball, those kind of things. I’ve got to say, everyone is absolutely devastated. We put all the hard work into today’s performance and you hate to lose in that manner. You hate to lose, but to lose in that manner that we did is devastating.”

“Obviously, disappointed with the result. But I think we had a good game,” Oihane added. “We just needed to focus on the small details and score on the opportunities that we have.”

The Pride continue their string of poor results since returning from the FIFA World Cup break. They’ve now lost six of their last eight games, seeing them tumble from the top half of the playoff spots to 11th place. The teams around them all have games in hand, including the Houston Dash, who have played two fewer games and are only three points back. That means the Pride could fall even further in the standings.

The Pride will continue this tough road trip when they face the Washington Spirit on Aug 23.

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Orlando Pride vs. Portland Thorns FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Pride head west for the daunting task of facing the Portland Thorns in Oregon.

Published

1 day ago

on

August 15, 2026

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Welcome to your match preview and live thread as the Orlando Pride (7-10-2, 23 points) travel west to take on Portland Thorns FC (9-6-4, 31 points) at Providence Park (8:45 p.m., ION). This is the first of two meetings between the two teams with the return game scheduled for Sept. 19 in Orlando.

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

History

The Pride have struggled historically against the Thorns, with a record of 5-15-2 in 22 games (5-14-2 in league play and 0-1-0 in the playoffs). Orlando is just 1-9-0 in Portland, with the only win coming in 2018.

The most recent meeting between the two teams came on Oct. 10, 2025, in Orlando. In second-half stoppage time, Mallie McKenzie redirected in a Marta corner kick for an own goal, lifting the Pride to a 1-0 win.  The previous game took place May 3 of last year in Oregon. The difference was a nice goal by Reyna Reyes, who made a turn to create space and put her shot past Anna Moorhouse to give the Thorns the 1-0 win.

The first game in 2024 took place May 24 in Orlando. It was the Barbra Banda show as the Pride striker scored two goals 10 minutes apart, giving her team a 2-0 halftime lead. Izzy D’Aquila got one back for the visitors, but it wasn’t enough as the Pride won 2-1.

The Pride secured the NWSL Shield the game before the Oct. 11, 2024 match between these teams, so several starters were given a break. It showed on the field as the Pride lost 2-0, ending a league-record 23-game unbeaten run. Morgan Weaver gave hosts the lead early and Christine Sincalir doubled the advantage in the second half.

The first game between the two teams in 2023 took place March 26 at Providence Park. Weaver opened the scoring early and Sophia Smith doubled the advantage a few minutes later. Hina Sugita made it three, and Michele Vasconcelos wrapped up the scoring as the Thorns won 4-0. On June 11, 2023, in Orlando, Smith gave the visitors the lead, but the Pride took over after that. Adriana scored a brace and Messiah Bright’s strike sealed a 3-1 Pride win. 

The teams met twice in 2022, with the first coming on Sept. 9 at Exploria Stadium. Yazmeen Ryan gave the visitors the lead and Sugita doubled the advantage as the Thorns won 2-0. That was the second meeting of the season after the teams met on June 19 in Portland. In Seb Hines’ second game as interim head coach, the Thorns smashed the Pride, 6-0.

The teams met earlier in the year during the 2021 season, playing on May 26 in Orlando. The Pride won for only the second time against Portland since the team’s inception — 2-1, with goals from Alex Morgan and Sydney Leroux. The second meeting that year came on July 18 in Portland, and the home team won again. Smith gave the hosts the lead and Marissa Everett doubled the advantage. Marisa Viggiano got one back in second-half stoppage time, but the Thorns won, 2-1. They met a third time on Aug. 14. The Pride took an early lead when Courtney Petersen found Jodie Taylor for the opening goal. But Simone Charley equalized and the teams drew 1-1.

The Pride and Thorns didn’t play in 2020 after the season was canceled due to the global pandemic, and they weren’t in the same group for the NWSL Fall Series. As a result, the most recent meeting prior to 2021 was in 2019.

The teams opened the 2019 season against each other in Orlando, but the Thorns got the better of the clash. The game was decided on either side of halftime as Caitlin Foord scored just before the break and Tobin Heath scored minutes after the restart, lifting Portland to a 2-0 win. They met again in Orlando on May 11 and the Thorns won again. Toni Pressley gave the Pride an early lead, but it was all Portland after that. Dagny Brynjarsdottir equalized, Andressinha gave Portland the lead, and Foord finished it off.

The final meeting between the two in 2019 was a goal fest in Portland and another Thorns win. Hayley Raso gave Portland the lead early in the game and Midge Purce’s goal made it look like it would be a dominant performance by the hosts. But Marta got one back to make it 2-1. Sinclair made it 3-1, followed by a Thorns own goal by Emily Menges. It looked like the Pride would get a rare point through Erin Greening’s 90th-minute goal, but Tyler Lussi scored in second-half injury time, dooming the Pride to another loss in Oregon.

The teams faced each other three times in 2018, which featured the Pride’s lone win in Portland to date. The Thorns won the first game, 2-1 on April 15. But on May 12, goals by Morgan and Christine Nairn gave the Pride a 2-0 lead. Sinclair got one back for the hosts, but the Pride held on for their only result at Providence Park. The third meeting went back to usual, with the Thorns winning 2-0 through Lindsey Horan and Raso.

The teams started the 2017 season against each other in Portland with the Thorns winning 2-0. They met again in the penultimate game of the season in Orlando, ending in a scoreless draw. The most important game between the two teams was the Pride’s first playoff appearance. Unfortunately, it was all Portland, as the Thorns beat the Pride 4-1.

The first meeting of 2016 was the Pride’s first-ever game. Steph Catley gave the expansion Pride a surprising lead, but Brynjarsdottir equalized and Horan won it for Portland. They met again on June 26 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. Two second-half goals by Brynjarsdottir and Horan lifted the Thorns to another 2-1 win.

Overview

The Pride are in the middle of a rough stretch that dates back to end of the FIFA World Cup break. The team has lost five of its last seven games, dropping Orlando to 11th in the NWSL standings and out of the playoff places.

The biggest problem has been in the attack, where the Pride have only scored five goals in seven games and three of those came in a 3-0 victory over the Kansas City Current. However, the team has struggled defensively in the last two games, falling 5-0 to the North Carolina Courage and 3-1 to Racing Louisville FC.

A major reason for the lack of goals is the absence of Banda, who left for international duty at the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. Despite slowly returning from an injury and departing to play for Zambia, her 12 goals still lead the league, one ahead of North Carolina’s Ashley Sanchez.

Louisville appeared to be the right team to end their bad streak as Racing sits in 15th place and the game was in Orlando. But the Pride were outplayed once again and now head to one of the most difficult places to play in the NWSL.

The Thorns are currently fifth in the league table with 31 points and are undefeated at home (5-0-3). Their 32 goals scored ties them with the Coruage for the league lead. They’ve not been quite as good defensively, conceding 28 goals, which ranks 12th in the 16-team league.

The team’s defensive struggles have been on full display over the past two games. After a 5-1 loss to the Utah Royals on Aug. 2, the Thorns defeated Boston Legacy FC 4-3 on Sunday afternoon.

The Thorns are unsurpingly led in the attack by U.S. international Sophia Wilson. In her return from maternity leave, the striker has scored nine goals. Pietra Tordin leads the team in goal contributions with seven goals and eight assists. The other players with multiple goals for Portland this season are Reilyn Turner and Olivia Moultrie with five goals each.

The recent defensive problems can be attributed to substantial changes to the back line. While Mackenzie Arnold has remained in goal, the back line in front of her has changed each of the last three games.

Regardless of the Thorns’ current form, this will be a tough game for the Pride. They’ve only won once in their history at Providence Park, including the lone playoff meeting against tonight’s opponent.

“It’s always a tough environment to go play. Obviously the fans really get behind the team,” Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said about tonight’s game. “We need to bounce back from two disappointing results. It hasn’t been good enough, and it gives us a week to really prepare for this game and change things around.”

The Pride will play tonight without Kylie Nadaner (maternity leave), Viviana Villacorta (knee), Hannah Anderson (lower leg), Marta (head), and Kerry Abello (thigh). The Thorns will be without Bella Bixby (knee), Julie Dufour (knee), Valerin Loboa (excused absence), Olivia Moultrie (knee), and Reilyn Turner (knee).

Projected Lineups

Orlando Pride (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Anna Moorhouse.

Defenders: Cori Dyke, Rafaelle, Zara Chavoshi, Oihane.

Defensive Midfielders: Ally Lemos, Angelina.

Attacking Midfielders: Jacquie Ovalle, Haley McCutcheon, Solai Washington.

Forward: Julie Doyle.

Portland Thorns FC (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Mackenzie Arnold.

Defenders: M.A. Vignola, Sam Hiatt, Jayden Perry, Reyna Reyes.

Defensive Midfielders: Jessie Fleming, Nina Nijstad.

Attacking Midfielders: Pietra Tordin, Deyna Castellanos, Marie Muller.

Forward: Sophia Wilson.

Referees

REF: Brad Jensen.
AR1: Katarzyna Wasiak.
AR2: Sarah Gaddes.
4TH: Justin St Pierre.
VAR: Danielle Chesky.
AVAR: Seun Yinka-Kehinde.

How to Watch

Match Time: 8:45 p.m.

Venue: Providence Park — Portland, OR.

TV: None.

Streaming: Ion.

Social Media: For live updates and rapid reaction, follow the Orlando Pride’s official Twitter (@ORLPride) or Bluesky (@orlpride.com) feed.

Enjoy the game. Go Pride!

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Orlando Pride

Barbra Banda Continues to Make Offers Scoreboard Can’t Refuse

Barbra Banda’s scoring prowess in 2026 and a comparison of her performance against others in 2026-only competitions.

Published

2 days ago

on

August 14, 2026

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

We do not spend a lot of time writing about mafia movies here at The Mane Land, and I will not in this article either. But I am going to borrow Michael Corleone’s famous line from The Godfather Part III — “just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in” — and paraphrase it to be “just when I thought I was out (of Barbra Banda topics), she pulled me back in.”

Sadly, she pulled me in via a four-goal, one-assist performance for Zambia, not the Pride. It was another reminder of Banda’s all around talent. It’s that talent that the Pride sorely missed while she was playing for her country in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON). Stathead’s database lists out only eight instances in the last 10 years of a women’s player having at least five goal contributions in a single international tournament game, and Banda’s name is now on that list among legends like Sam Kerr and Alex Morgan.

Funnily enough, three of those eight players have ties to Orlando, as former Pride player Emily van Egmond joined Banda and Morgan on that list thanks to her four-goal, four-assist performance against Indonesia (the final score was 18-0, yikes) in the 2021 Women’s Asian Cup.

Zambia was eliminated after the group stage in this summer’s WAFCON, but in those three games Banda scored five goals, added one assist, and drew a penalty that was converted by one of her teammates. She has missed three Pride games while away, during which Orlando as a full team scored…two goals. For all intents and purposes, Banda contributed to seven goals in three games for Zambia, and the Pride have scored a total of five goals in their last seven games. As anyone who follows the Pride is well aware, Banda is the straw that stirs the drink here in Orlando.

Even after missing those games in July, Banda remains the NWSL’s leading goal scorer with 12, and even though Zambia was eliminated in the group stage, she is still the WAFCON’s leading goal scorer with five. That is a combined 17 goals scored for Banda, and with one assist in each competition, she has a total of 19 goal contributions thus far in 2026.

I looked at every top women’s competition that has taken place exclusively in 2026, and Banda’s 17 goals ranks third overall. Among Opta’s top ranked women’s leagues, many play fall-to-spring and are therefore excluded, but I included games from all of the following competitions (Opta’s global league rank is included in parentheses for the domestic leagues):

  • Africa Cup of Nations (international tournament)
  • Asian Cup (international tournament)
  • UEFA World Cup Qualifying (international torunament)
  • UEFA Champions League (club tournament)
  • USA: National Womens Soccer League (1)
  • Sweden: Damallsvenskan (8)
  • Brazil: Feminino A1 (9)
  • Mexico: Liga MX Femenil (13)
  • Norway: Toppserien (14)
  • Canada: Northern Super League (15)

There certainly are more domestic leagues that play spring-to-fall seasons, but the resources put towards tracking women’s soccer statistics remain far behind the men for sites that track player stats, so with help from fbref.com, FotMob, and Sofascore I pulled together as many as I could find that took place exclusively in 2026.

As mentioned earlier, Banda’s total of 17 goals ranks third overall, trailing only Diana Ordóñez from Tigres (25) and Eugénie Le Sommer (19) from Toluca, both from Liga MX Femenil in Mexico. Sadly, assist data was not available anywhere for that league, so for both of those women and everyone else from that league their goals scored are also their total goal contributions.

Banda’s 17 goals were scored in more than 300 fewer minutes than those other two players, however, so while Ordóñez still beats her on goals scored per 90 minutes, Le Sommer does not.

An obvious issue with ranking raw totals of any metric in soccer is that players rarely play the same number of games and minutes, and this is especially true with how I set this analysis up by blending tournaments with domestic leagues. Therefore, the fairest way to compare is standardizing goals (on the x-axis) and goal contributions (on the y-axis) on per-90-minute basis, which leads to the chart below for players with at least four goal contributions across all of the listed competitions:

A graph showing players' goals (on the x-axis) and goal contributions (on the y-axis) on per-90-minute basis.

Four Pride players made the list, three you are likely familiar with (Banda, Haley McCutcheon, and Jacquie Ovalle) with and one (Sanne Lekven) who the Pride just acquired on Wednesday. Lekven’s stats are from her time with Aalesunds FK in Norway’s Toppsieren, where she was off to a good start with five goals in only 759 minutes, for a goals-per-90-minutes value of 0.59, which is 71st among those on the chart above.

Banda’s goals per 90 of 1.11 ranks tied for 11th, and her goal contributions per 90 of 1.24 ranks 27th, but many of those ahead of her racked up their stats in lesser competitions (the two outliers on the chart — Kiko Seiki and Riko Ueki — both play for Japan and won their three group stage games in the Asian Cup by a combined score of 22-0). Banda ranks in fourth place in both metrics in the NWSL (Opta’s top-ranked league among all domestic women’s leagues), and hopefully hits the ground running at that same high level when she returns to action.

Perhaps she can match her four goals in a game for Zambia with a similar game for Orlando. I support this idea.

The Pride are desperate for offense, and hopefully the combination of Banda’s return and the recent acquisitions of Lekven and Gabi Nunes can turn the season around. Banda is undoubtedly a boss, and we will see shortly if she and her consiglieri can whack a few teams in the final portion of the season and leave them swimming with the non-playoff fishes.

Vamos Orlando!

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