ORLANDO, Fla. (April 19, 2024) – The Orlando Pride (2-0-3, 9 points) picked up its second win of the season by defeating the San Diego Wave (1-2-1, 4 points) 1-0, Friday night at INTER&Co Stadium. The Pride are now unbeaten in their first five games of the NWSL regular season and are one of three teams in the NWSL to remain unbeaten. The win also marked the second-straight shutout victory for Orlando, also earning a 1-0 win last win in Utah.
Forward Summer Yates scored the game winner with a first half rebound off San Diego goalkeeper Kailen Sheridan. The goal marked Yates’ second goal of the season and the second of her professional career.
The Pride saw two players make their season debuts Friday night. Defender Rafaelle came on as a second-half substitute to make her season debut for Orlando, coming off a preseason injury. The home crowd also welcomed Zambian international player Barbra Banda, who made her NWSL and Pride debut after coming on in the 61st minute. Banda was officially introduced into the squad earlier in the week, arriving after helping her country qualify for the Paris Olympics.
The backline, anchored with Anna Moorhouse between the pipes, held San Diego to just one shot on goal.
Scoring Summary:
26’ Summer Yates – ORL 1, SD 0
The home side scored the match’s only goal after Kerry Abello collected a pass from Angelina on left wing and fired a shot at goal. The Wave goalkeeper made the initial save, but the rebound fell to the foot of Summer Yates who made no mistake on the finish and hammered it into the net.
Head Coach Seb Hines:
“It is a good feeling, shout out to the fans because they were terrific all throughout the game. It is important that we continue to bring more fans to the stadium. You can really hear them out there, they’re the 12th player, even toward the end helping us get over that line. Overall, with the performance I’m really pleased with the players, the work and dedication they put in, everyone playing their role. I felt that we dominated from start to finish. San Diego had a lot of passes around the back but it’s fine for us because it opens the door for us to be lethal in transition. It would have been nice to get a couple more goals, but it wasn’t meant to be. We will continue to work in that area, so we are not just one - nil toward the end of the game.”
Match Notes:
- Summer Yates scored her second goal of the 2024 season and her second goal of her NWSL career. Friday’s goal was the first game winner of her career.
- Coming on in the 61st minute, Barbra Banda made her NWSL and Pride debut.
- Defender Rafaelle made her season debut, coming on in the second half as a substitute.
- The Pride defeated San Diego for the first time ever at INTER&Co Stadium. It also marked the first time the home side has won in the series. Orlando is now 1-1-1 on its home pitch against the Wave.
- The Pride are now unbeaten in their first five games of the season, the second longest winning streak to start the season since 2021.
- Since May of 2023, the Pride have earned 26 points at home in the regular season, tied with the North Carolina Courage for the most of any NWSL team since then.
- Orlando has scored in its last nine games in the NWSL, its longest run of games with a goal in the competition since a run of nine games from October 13, 2019 to June 27, 2021.
- Head Coach Seb Hines made two changes to the Starting XI from last week’s win against the Utah Royals, with Haley McCutcheon and Marta reentering the fold.
Next Match: The Pride will hit the road next week to take on the Washington Spirit at Audi Field. The match will kick off on Friday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. ET and can be seen on NWSL+ or locally on the Bally Sports Sun.
