KANSAS CITY, Mo. — The Orlando Pride won the 2024 NWSL Championship with a 1-0 win over the Washington Spirit on Saturday thanks to a first-half goal from forward Barbra Banda.
The win capped a historic season for the Pride franchise, once a cornerstone of the NWSL.
Orlando started this season undefeated through a league-record 23 games, becoming the first team since 2019 to win the NWSL Shield in a season that matched its best regular season record.
The main talking points at CPKC Stadium are:
Vanda leaves a mark again
Banda capped off his historic first season in the NWSL with the final goal, his fourth goal of the postseason and a new record.
Banda scored 13 goals in the regular season and bounced back in the postseason after a poor scoring performance this fall. Banda has scored in all three rounds of the playoffs, the first time since the NWSL expanded to a three-round postseason in 2021.
Spirit centre-backs Esme Morgan and Tara McKeown were too tight for Banda on a few occasions in the first half, and in the 37th minute Banda turned McKeown around midfield and then beat Morgan on the dribble to score.
Like Golden Boot and MVP winner Temwa Chawinga of the Kansas City Current, Banda felt it was inevitable this season. Play her too tight as a defender and she’ll spin you like she did on that goal and goal last week in the semifinal win over Kansas City. When you come down, you run the risk of being caught defenseless as Banda lunges at you (and she’s faster than almost every defender in this league).
She’s one of the best players in the world, and she was there in the biggest game in Orlando’s history. Banda was named the game’s MVP.
Marta gets her moment
Pride forward Marta said all week that this was the most important game of her career. It was an unexpected comment for the player who won the World Player of the Year award for the sixth time, having played in a World Cup final and three Olympic gold medals, but watching the game for the first time with his mother in the United States. And after enduring so many terrible seasons in Orlando, Marta won her first NWSL championship and first U.S. national title since 2011.
She sometimes wowed the crowd with her tricky passes and opened the scoring just 14 minutes into the game.
It seemed like the moment would come around the hour mark when Marta sprinted to join Banda’s counterattack. The Brazilian star was wide open in the middle of the field but Banda appeared to not see her and did not pass.
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The Orlando Pride celebrate their first NWSL Championship.
As the final whistle blew, Orlando Pride players celebrated wildly after defeating the Washington Spirit 1-0.
Nonetheless, the 38-year-old was a mainstay for Orlando during the game and during the huddle. After Banda’s goal, there was a long delay as the Pride huddled in the Washington half and captain Marta in the center delivered an impassioned speech.
Marta said this week that she would like to play for two more years. This was her best chance to win the NWSL Championship and she earned it.
A soul’s struggle to find its feet.
Washington is a team that likes to win the ball up the field and make opponents pay in transition, but the Spirit had few of those opportunities on Saturday.
Forward Trinity Rodman couldn’t find the space on the wing she wanted despite yellow-carding Orlando fullback Kerry Abello in the first half, and the Washington midfielder struggled to take control of the game against a tight Pride defense. A first-half yellow card for Spirit holding midfielder Hal Hershfelt didn’t help set the tone for Washington.
Washington occasionally had individual moments of standout from forward Rosemonde Kouassi, but the Pride did a remarkable job of cutting off the supply to the midfield and blocking the forward line of Rodman, Kouassi and Ashley Hatch.
Orlando’s defense, led by NWSL Defender of the Year Emily Sams, has been phenomenal all season, giving up a league-low 20 goals in the regular season. Sams and her teammates attempted nearly every shot on Saturday, with Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse making a great save on Kouassi early in the second half.
For all of the Spirit’s success, they have struggled to keep up this season. Washington won against last-place Houston in April after falling behind 1-1-5 (WDL) at halftime this season.
