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Orlando Pride vs. Kansas City Current: Final Score 3-0 as Pride Bounce Back with Win

The Pride take all three points at home against the red-hot Current.

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1 month ago

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Image of Barbra Banda celebrating a goal against Kansas City.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

A strong defensive effort and some moments of attacking quality earned the Orlando Pride all three points in a 3-0 win over the Kansas City Current at Inter&Co Stadium tonight. It was especially fitting that the Pride earned a clean sheet on goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse’s 100th appearance with the club.

The Orlando Pride (6-6-2, 20 points) bounced back from a difficult result in LA in convincing fashion against a tough Kansas City Current (8-6-0, 24 points) team. The match started off fairly even, but Orlando was organized and disciplined in this match and ultimately prevailed with goals from Marta, Barbra Banda and Hannah Anderson.

Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines deployed his typical 4-2-3-1 formation in the team’s return home. The back line in front of Moorhouse was made up of Kerry Abello, Anderson, Zara Chavoshi, and Cori Dyke. Haley McCutcheon and Ally Lemos served as the defensive midfielders, with Angelina, Marta, and Jacquie Ovalle taking up the attacking midfield roles. Solai Washington serving as striker.

“Zara’s been out for majority of the season, and we know her qualities,” Hines said said of his defensive players after the match. “With young players, you have to find out what they’re made of as well, and so she really stepped up into the challenge —Hannah and Zara — because they’ve been patient and been waiting for this opportunity since the start of the year. Hannah is such a threat off set pieces. Talk about Cori. She’s she’s been brilliant as well. Wherever we’ve put her in that back line, she’s been so consistent. We have to consistently have those desired behaviors to not concede, and that gives you the platform to go on and win the game.”

Kansas City came out quickly, testing Moorhouse in the first minute with a cross from Amelia White that Moorhouse got to just ahead of Haley Hopkins.

At the other end, Dyke took Orlando’s first shot from the top of the box in the sixth that looked more like a cross than a shot, and Marisa Jordan saved it with ease.

In the seventh minute, Angelina got the ball wide to the right side to Ovalle, who sent it back to Angelina, who then fired high.

Orlando put together a decent buildup down the left in the ninth minute by Abello and Washington, who centered it for Marta. Marta passed back to Angelina, who fired well wide to the left. Orlando went forward again in the 11th minute, with Marta out wide sending a ball over the 18-yard box that Dyke collected and then worked back out to Angelina. The Brazilian crossed it in to Abello, who headed it off target at the back post.

Izzy Rodriguez stripped Mart of the ball in the 13th just outside the Orlando 18-yard box, allowing Debinha to find Hopkins with a centering pass, but the Current attacker fired wide right. Croix Bethune tried her luck from long distance in the 16th minute, but the effort went straight at Moorhouse.

Orlando had a well-worked buildup through the middle in the 17th minute, with Dyke advancing up the right and sending a ball to Lemos, who found Dyke again for a cross in to Washington — but her shot sailed over the crossbar. Washington and Marta traded passes in the 19th before Washington attempted a right-footed cross into the box that Jordan intercepted easily.

As the teams continued battling back and forth, White worked her way around Abello in the 22nd minute and picked out Debinha with a cross, but her effort went straight at a well-positioned Moorhouse. Bethune found Hopkins in the 23rd, but Lemos cut off her ball through the box, sending it behind for a corner. McCutcheon headed away the ensuing corner, earning Kansas City another corner. Hopkins headed the the entry cross over the bar, handing Orlando a goal kick.

Kansas City nearly broke through three minutes later, on a mistake by the Pride defense on a ball over the top to Debinha. Chavoshi attempted to shepherd the ball out for a goal kick, but she was too far from the end line. Debinha got past her to the ball and sent it in front to Hopkins for the tap-in. But the goal was chalked off for offside on the initial ball. It was a close play.

Rocky Rodriguez’s cross found Bethune in the 30th minute, and the midfielder outjumped Abello, got her head on it, and placed the effort well, but the shot had little pace to it and Moorhouse collected it.

Lemos made a nice driving run in the 33rd minute and fed Washington, whose cross was cut out by Laney Rouse. The loose ball found Angelina before it was eventually cleared following some back-and-forth changes of possession just outside the Current’s box.

Some gritty midfield work from Abello — who picked up a knock to her wrist on the play — saw her strip the ball from the Current in the 38th minute and advance it to Washington, who worked her way to the end line and passed back to Ovalle. The Mexican international’s shot was right at Jordan. Abello received treatment, left the field briefly, and returned to the match in the 41st minute after the mandatory one-minute wait for receiving attention.

Orlando won a throw-in in the 42nd minute, and Washington worked her way down the left before delivering a cross that Jordan stopped, colliding with Kayla Sharples in the process. Neither was injured in the tangle.

Orlando was able to maintain sustained possession for several minutes and spent that time trying to fashion a shot but never created anything threatening. Kanasas City pounced on a McCutcheon attempted pass, and broke down the pitch through a Bethune ball over the top to Debinha, who had to wait for reinforcements. Lo’Eau Labonta arrived and Debinha fed a ball she popped up which was defended away by McCutcheon but back out to the Current. Kansas City worked it back to Labonta, who then sent the ball over the crossbar. It was the last action of the first half.

Orlando held the lead in possession (51%-49%) and both teams managed six shots. Kansas City led in shots on target (3-1), corner kicks (2-0), and passing accuracy (88%-86%).

Kansas City subbed on the dangerous Temwa Chawinga for Debinha after the break, and the Current started off the second half aggressively. Marta had other plans though and, in the 49th minute, she scored her 50th goal for the Pride from about 30 yards out. Ovalle took the ball down Orlando’s left side, worked her way central, and passed back to Marta. Kansas City applied absolutely no pressure on her, so she blasted a long-range shot past a diving Jordan.

Hines made his first substitution of the game in the 53rd minute, bringing on Hailie Mace for Abello. Orlando earned a corner moments later through Marta, and the Pride doubled their lead on the ensuing set piece. Lemos sent a good cross to the back post and Anderson met it with a header, placing it perfectly past Jordan to make it 2-0.

The Current won a corner of their own in the 59th minute, but Orlando defended it away. It only as far as Chawinga, whose follow-up shot was blocked by Anderson.

Hines turned to his bench again in the 65th minute, sending on Luana for Angelina and Julie Doyle for Ovalle. Bethune worked her way into Orlando’s box in the 67th and fired from close range, but at a tight angle, and sent her effort straight at Moorhouse, who parried it behind for a corner. Moorhouse punched the corner clear, and the danger was eventually cleared over the crossbar for an Orlando goal kick.

Orlando was content to sit back and defend from that point. Bayley Feist made a slow-rolling effort in the 72nd that was easily gathered by Moorhouse, and Mace had a shot of her own in the 73rd that didn’t overly test Jordan. The Current responded in the 74th through Gianna Paul, but Moorhouse collected her effort without much trouble.

Hines made his final change in the 76th minute, bringing on Banda for Marta and Oihane for Washington. Banda’s first involvement came in the 77th, when she fired over the bar, and she got in behind again in the 78th and tried to chip Jordan — but the ball drifted past the far post with no one on hand to finish it off.

The Current had back-to-back chances in the 80th minute. Chawinga’s tepid effort was saved comfortably by Moorhouse, and moments later, Bethune pounced on an ill-advised pass from Anderson, only for Moorhouse to deny her as well. Paul’s cross into the box in the 83rd was collected just as easily.

Banda put the result beyond doubt in the 85th. Mace sent a ball over the top and into acres of space behind the Current’s back line. Jordan came rushing out to beat Banda to it, but she made only glancing contact with the ball on her volley attempt to clear it. The ball squirted behind Jordan. Banda easily beat Jordan to the loose ball and slotted it into an empty net for her 12th goal of the season, making it 3-0.

“We felt our structure and our engagement line was probably better to be a little bit lower to kind of take away the space that she could exploit and not let just one ball beat us.” Hines said of his strategy to deal with Chawinga’s threat. “A little adjustment that we made going into this game was just dropping Haley McCutcheon into the back line and covering those distances and the shifting across, but also trying to be aggressive to still press in the right position.”

The Current continued to press in the 90th minute, with Chawinga carving out her best look of the night, cutting left to right and smashing a hard shot just wide of the right post, handing possession back to Orlando. Moments later, Chawinga headed over the bar on the match’s final scoring chance.

Orlando’s defensive posture for much of the second half flipped the stats firmly in the visitors’ favor. Kansas City led in possession (55%-45%), shots (20-11), shots on target (9-5), corner kicks (4-1), and passing accuracy (88%-83%).

“Really good result. You know, especially after we come from a loss in LA,” Marta said. “It’s been like a tough season this year, ups and down[s], and we need to take a chance, especially when we play home. So, I’m really happy with the result tonight. Some days you wake up and then you just say to yourself, ‘It’s today, you know. Today you’re gonna play your best game.'”

The Pride next face the Boston Legacy at home on Wednesday.

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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

19 hours 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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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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Orlando Pride Sign Norwegian Forward Sanne Lekven

The 25-year-old attacker joins Orlando on a deal through at least 2028 with the Pride badly in need of more goal contributions.

Published

4 days ago

on

August 12, 2026

By

Image of the Orlando Pride's team flag being displayed prior to a match.
Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

The Orlando Pride continue looking for ways to bolster the team’s anemic attack with today’s announcement that the club has signed forward Sanne Lekven. The Norwegian attacker has signed a deal through the 2028 season with a club option for 2029 and will join Orlando once the NWSL has received her P-1 visa and International Transfer Certificate.

“Sanne is a strong, dynamic attacker with the speed to stretch defenses and the work rate to impact the game in multiple phases,” Orlando Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Caitlin Carducci said in a club press release. “At 25 years old, she has already gained valuable experience and is entering an exciting stage of her career. We believe she can make an immediate contribution to our attack, and we’re excited to welcome her to Orlando.”

Lekven is the third player Carducci has added in the past month, joining Zoe Matthews and Gabi Nunes, as the Pride continue searching for answers to an offense that struggles to score goals both with and without Barbra Banda in the lineup. Orlando has scored 23 goals in 19 matches (1.21 goals per game), and Banda has 12 of those.

The Pride’s latest signee arrives after scoring five goals in 10 matches with Norwegian top flight side Aalesunds FK, the Toppserien (which translates to “the top series”). Lekven came up through the Stord Idrettslag youth system, making her senior team debut in 2016 in Norway’s fourth division. She scored 60 goals in 71 appearances from 2016 through 2019, before jumping to the top flight with Idrettslaget Sandviken in 2020. However, she played in only four matches with Sandviken. Signing with Viking FK, Lekven played three years from 2021 through 2024 and scored 33 times in 70 matches. She then moved to Arna-Bjørna for 2025-2026, where she struggled for a team that suffered relegation, scoring just four goals in 34 games. She then landed with Aalesunds.

Although she has not yet featured for Norway’s senior team, Lekven has represented her country at the U-16 and U-17 youth levels.

Lekven will wear jersey No. 22 for the Pride.

What It Means for Orlando

Carducci obviously has seen the team struggling to score goals, and signings like Lekven and Nunes are attempts to address the issue. The Pride have added youth (Matthews), experience (Nunes), and now, a player breaking into her prime in Lekven. Jacquie Ovalle needs more talent around her to unlock her playmaking abilities and Banda needs someone to take some of the heat off of her in the attacking third. While Lekven can’t do that alone, the trio of recent signings may collectively address some of the issues Orlando has had this season.

At the same time, the NWSL is a big step up in degree of difficulty. Lekven will need to adjust to a new league, a new culture, and the usual variables that any foreign-born player experiences when arriving in the United States — more demanding travel, a variety of climates and altitudes, and the speed and physicality of the league.

It is interesting that the club lists her as a forward, as she has played quite a bit of wingback while in Norway, where she’s shown good pace and strength while being adept at dribbling past opponents. One should always beware relying too heavily on highlight videos, but the one below shows good crossing skills as well.

She seems to be well suited to play on either wing, and that’s an area where the Pride could use more help. Ovalle’s pace limits her effectiveness out there, but the Mexican international has shown some promise when playing through the middle, which could be a good spot for her after Marta departs.

Time will tell whether bringing Lekven can produce in this league, and with her signing being for the next couple of years, this is essentially the first new player to whom Carducci has made a significant commitment. Matthews and Nunes are only on deals through the end of this season, with no option years.

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