Orlando City, Orlando Pride Facing Similar Issue

Orlando City and the Orlando Pride returned from the FIFA World Cup break heading in different directions. But both teams are missing a striker they can rely on in key moments.

For the Pride, the absence has been impossible to ignore.

Barbra Banda is away on international duty, leading Zambia in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations. In her absence, the Pride have struggled to find the back of the net. They’ve been shut out in four of their last six games, including losses to Angel City FC, Boston Legacy FC, the Utah Royals, and the North Carolina Courage. The most recent loss dropped them out of the playoff positions.

The results have shown more than just a lack of goals. They’ve shown how much Banda impacts the way the Pride play.

Banda’s value goes beyond her ability to finish chances. Her speed, strength, and movement force opposing defenses to adjust. She creates space for teammates, stretches back lines, and gives the Pride a constant attacking threat.

Without her, the Pride have had to find different ways to generate offense. Apart from the 3-0 win over the Kansas City Current on July 10, it’s been a struggle. The only other game in which they’ve scored was a 1-0 victory over Chicago Stars FC on July 24, and it took until the 88th minute and more than 20 shots to finally convert.

The encouraging part for this team is that the answer is already on the roster.

Once Banda returns from international duty, the Pride will regain one of the league’s most feared attacking players. The striker still leads the league in goals with 12, two ahead of Ashley Sanchez. The recent struggles have only highlighted how important she is to the team’s success, and how the team must find a play style that allows other attacking players to be successful — with or without Banda in the lineup.

Orlando City’s situation is different.

The Lions haven’t experienced the same scoring drought as the Pride. They’ve continued to create chances and find goals from different areas of the field. But Saturday night’s 3-2 loss to the New York Red Bulls showed why having a dependable goal scorer can still make the difference.

Orlando City created enough opportunities to change the outcome. The Lions hit the woodwork three times and had late chances to find an equalizer. But they couldn’t find the finishing touch needed to turn those opportunities into goals.

Those are the moments when teams rely on a player who can change a game with one chance. It’s the role Orlando City hopes Daryl Dike can once again provide.

During his first stint with the team, Dike gave the Lions something they’d been searching for — a true target forward who could lead the attack. His physical presence allowed the team to play more directly, hold possession higher up the field, and create more danger inside the box.

Dike’s ability to battle defenders, win aerial duels, and finish chances made him one of Major League Soccer’s most promising young forwards before Orlando City sold him to West Bromwich Albion in January 2021.

Replacing that production has proved to be easier said than done.

The Lions initially attempted to fill that role by signing Ercan Kara in January 2022 as a Designated Player. But the Austrian striker never became the consistent attacking presence the team needed. Orlando City eventually found more promise with Duncan McGuire, selecting the Creighton forward with the sixth overall pick in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft. McGuire quickly showed why the club believed he could be the long-term answer, providing the type of penalty-box presence and finishing ability the team had been searching for.

But his path in Orlando changed.

A proposed move to Blackburn Rovers fell through in January 2024, and later that season McGuire suffered a dislocated right shoulder during the playoffs. After returning, he struggled to regain the same form, and another setback came in May 2025 when he tore the labrum in his left shoulder against Atlanta United.

The injuries changed the trajectory of McGuire’s time with the Lions, and Orlando City moved him to the Houston Dynamo on July 10.

Once again, Orlando City found itself searching for a dependable center forward.

The Lions have still found goals over the past two seasons thanks largely to Martin Ojeda. The attacking midfielder scored 20 goals in 2025 and leads the club again this season with 11, becoming Orlando City’s primary offensive threat.

Ojeda’s recent absence has only made his value more apparent. Orlando City has been without its leading scorer because of a recent thigh injury as he continues his pursuit of club history. Ojeda enters the stretch run with 44 career goals, three shy of Facundo Torres’ club record of 47.

But even with Ojeda producing at an elite level, Orlando City has continued searching for a traditional number nine who can occupy center backs, win aerial battles, and finish chances inside the box. That’s where Dike can make the difference.

Dike is back in Orlando, signing with his original professional club on July 17. The challenge is whether he can return to the player Orlando City fans remember. Injuries have slowed his progress in recent years, but the Lions believe he can once again become the striker who gave the team a different dimension.

That’s where the two Orlando teams differ.

The Pride know exactly what they’re getting back. Banda has already proven she can be the focal point of a championship-caliber attack. Her absence has been temporary, and her return should immediately change the way defenses approach the Pride.

For Orlando City, the answer is less certain. The Lions know what Dike was during his first stint with the team. Now they are waiting to see if he can become that player again.

The circumstances are different, but the lesson is the same. A dependable, go-to striker can transform a team.

The Pride are waiting for theirs to return. Orlando City is hoping its answer has arrived.