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Orlando Pride vs. Chicago Stars FC: Final Score 1-0 as Julie Doyle Wins It Late for Pride

The Pride wasted scoring chances all night, but Orlando found one at the end to edge Chicago.

Published

3 weeks ago

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Image of Solai Washington playing against Chicago.
Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

The Pride rained shots on the Chicago Stars’ defense throughout the first half, but Orlando was wasteful with its chances, firing straight at the goalkeeper, missing the target, or just not being sharp enough from the penalty spot. But second-half sub Julie Doyle found one moment of precision, blasting the Pride (7-8-2, 23 points) to a 1-0 win over Chicago Stars FC (4-12-0, 12 points) at home to snap a two-match losing streak.

The Pride took 20 shots in the first half, with eight on target. Unfortunately, that target seemed to be Stars goalkeeper Katie Atkinson. With Barbra Banda out on international duty with Zambia for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, Orlando struggled to finish in and around the penalty area. Marta even failed to put away a penalty kick opportunity. Thanks to Doyle’s strike in the 88th minute, it saved the club the embarrassment of suffering its third consecutive shutout.

“We left it late, but the most important thing is that we got the the goal that we needed and the three points,” Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines said after the match. “Phenomenal performance from start to finish. I’ve been in these games where you are relentless and you keep pushing and keep pushing, and you know you get hurt in one moment, and so I was so pleased with the players that they were able to get it to the final whistle and and score the goal.”

Hines deployed his typical 4-2-3-1 formation with goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse behind a back line made up of Oihane, Zara Chavoshi, Cori Dyke, and Kerry Abello. Ally Lemos and Haley McCutcheon served as the defensive midfielders, with Solai Washington, Jacquie Ovalle, and Angelina taking up the attacking midfield roles and Marta up top.

The first action of the night came in the fourth minute from Chicago’s Jameese Joseph, who sent a hard shot in from the left, but it was a tight angle, making it easy for Moorhouse to save.

In the sixth minute, the Pride responded with Washington sending in a cross that Katie Atkinson popped up high for a McCutcheon header that the Stars keeper collected easily. Two minutes later, Oihane worked her way down the right to the end line and sent in a low cross for McCutcheon. Her redirected shot hit the bottom of the cross bar, bounced nearly over the goal line and out, and Chicago cleared it away.

Lemos sent in a lofted ball into the box for Washington from about 24 yards out in the 10th minute, but the forward popped her header high over the crossbar. Oihane sent in another cross in the 12th minute that Chicago deflected away. It fell to Angelina, who mishit her touch and sent it right at Atkinson. Washington followed up a minute later, working her way into the box and trying to link up with Ovalle, but she redirected her shot wide for a Chicago goal kick.

Marta interceptred a bad pass by Manaka Hayashi in the 15th minute and charged toward goal. Once again the shot offered no trouble for Atkinson.

Working up the middle in the 24th minute, Washington sent the ball out wide for Ovalle, who managed a couple of nice quick cuts at the top of the box to shake off two defenders. The Mexican international freed herself for a shot and fired, but the effort had no power to it and was again right at Atkinson.

Washington worked a ball into the box in the 25th minute for Marta, who was lurking, but she was surrounded and her shot was blocked. A minute later, Abello carried the ball down the left side, working with Washington, who fed it to McCutcheon at the top of the box. However, her shot was blocked as well.

After the hydration break, the match restarted with the Pride playing a short corner in the 33rd that Chicago defended. Orlando recycled the attack, with Lemos firing, but again Atkinson fended off the ball, sending it out for another corner. The following corner was again taken short and carried in from the right by Oihane, who fired into the outside netting.

Angelina fired another good opportunity right at Atkinson in the 35th minute for an easy save. A minute later, Lemos stole the ball and worked it out wide for Washington, who sent in a nice, low cross, but it went through the Chicago defense, just in front of McCutcheon and just behind Ovalle.

Soon after, Marta fed a ball out wide for Oihane who fired in a cross that Sam Staab stabbed away, but Orlando collected it and Oihane sent it back in. Aaliyah Farmer cleared the ball, but it landed just in front of Angelina, who fired, yet again hitting it right at Atkinson.

After the play, the referee indicated the need for a video review and after going to the monitor he awarded the Pride a penalty. Farmer had commited a foul on McCutcheon in the box, kicking through her leg to try to get to the ball. Marta stepped up in the 43rd minute to take the spot kick. She tried to use her final few steps to force Atkinson to pick a side, but the Chicago goalkeeper didn’t move. The Brazilian sent a poor ball with little pace toward the left post, but too central and at a perfect height for Atkinson to save. Marta fired over the bar after the ensuing corner.

A minute later Chicago charged down the pitch and nearly broke through off of a long ball that Pinto almost got onto, but Dyke did well to clear it. Chicago earned a corner after another attacking attempt. The ensuing ball was sent in high and Farmer almost got her head to it, but it bounced harmlessly to Moorhouse.

Washingon responded and made a solo run down the left side in the second minute of stoppage time and took a shot from a wide angle but it was another effort straight at Atkinson, who saved the shot.

In the sixth added minute, Marta sent a ball over the top to Washington, who worked her way to the edge of the six-yard-box to get a shot off, but again it was from a wide angle and right at Atkinson.

The Pride led in all categories at the half: possession (57%-43%), shots (20-2), shots on target (8-1), passing accuracy (86%-82%), and corner kicks (5-1).

“Haley [McCutcheon] said something at halftime. It was like, we can either use all of those missed chances as a time to get down on ourselves and put our heads down, or we can use it as confidence that we are on this team and we’re dominating and we’re so close,” Chavoshi said. “That’s kind of a pattern we’ve been facing all year is we’re so close, and so, believing in each other, and at halftime instead of getting on each other, it was like, ‘let’s take a deep breath because we’re doing all the right things.'” 

The second half did not see as much of a relentless attack by the Pride, who didn’t connect as well. When Orlando was able to get forward, a wayward pass or a loose touch would usually spoil the play.

The Pride started the second half well, with a Washington cross that Chicago’s defense cut out, a wide shot from distance by Angelina, and a Marta shot over the crossbar.

Chicago had more success finding space and connections through the midfield and up the wings in the second half, with Leila Ouahabit trying a long-distance attempt in the 51st minute that went high and out of play.

Perhaps Orlando’s best chance to score came accidentally in the 58th minute. McCutcheon sent in a cross that deflected off Hayashi’s head and flew toward goal. Atkinson did well to get a hand on it, pushing it toward her own goal on the flailing attempt and fortunate to see it crash off the crossbar.

Hines made three substitutions in the 61st minute, sending on Nicole Payne for Washington, Rafaelle for Abello, and Hailie Mace in for Oihane. Rather than providing energy to Orlando, however, it was Chicago that began to grow in confidence following the substitutions and managed a few shots in the 64th, 66th, and 70th mintues, with Joseph hitting the crossbar on the second of those three efforts.

Doyle subbed on for Marta in the 71st minute, and the captain was not happy about it. However, it turned out to be the right move by Hines.

In the 74th minute, Julia Grosso broke loose and got a weak shot off that Moorhouse saved easily.

Mace and Angelina tried shots over the next few minutes but neither troubled Atkinson’s goal.

Orlando finally put a shot on target without hitting it right at Atkinson in the 88th minute. McCutcheon sent the ball out wide to Dyke on the left, and the defender led a charging Doyle, who broke toward goal. The substitute blasted a swerving shot under the crossbar and in to make it 1-0. It was Doyle’s first goal of the season.

“It’s always so fun to score the winning goal and to celebrate with your teammates that have been literally putting their bodies on the line for 90 minutes,” Doyle said. “It was just a moment that I’ll cherish.”

“I was so pleased with Julie [Doyle] because she got that well-deserved goal and she’s been working so hard for that moment, so she deserves all her flowers for the game,” Hines said. 

Chicago threatened a few times down the stretch, working the ball into good spots but without any end product, mirroring Orlando’s first-half play.

The referee finally blew for full time in the 98th minute, with the Pride walking away with all three points.

The match ended with Orlando still leading in all categories: possession (54%-46%), shots (28-10), shots on target (10-2), passing accuracy (85%-83%), and corner kicks (8-1).

“Some of the football that we played in the first half was probably some of the best we’ve played,” Hines said. “So, going into halftime, there was full belief. You think like you’re in a boxing match and you’re just punching away, and you’re just waiting for that knockout punch. We left it to the 88th minute, but it wasn’t due to a lack of effort. We just kept going and going, and their keeper played well and made some really good saves.”

“I mean, it’s so frustrating,” Doyle said about all of the chances on which Orlando failed to capitalize. “That’s soccer though, right? It happens at every single level. (It’s about) Just not giving up, and Seb [Hines] told us at halftime to take responsibility. So, when I got in there, I took responsibility.” 

The Pride will try to build on tonight’s win when they visit the North Carolina Courage a week from tonight.

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Orlando Pride

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

18 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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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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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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