SEATTLE, Was. (May 19, 2024) – The Orlando Pride (7-0-3, 24 points) tied a National Women’s Soccer League record Sunday in Seattle, earning its seventh-straight win, a tally held by their opponent from the 2014 season. Behind a brace from Barbra Banda and a first career goal from Emily Sams, the Pride defeated Seattle Reign FC (2-7-1, 7 points) 3-2 on the road, also extending the team’s unbeaten start to 10 straight to open the 2024 campaign.
The Pride will have the opportunity to claim the league’s win-streak record on Friday night, hosting perennial powerhouse Portland Thorns FC at INTER&Co Stadium in a 7 p.m. ET kickoff. The Thorns will enter the match also on a win-streak, having earned victories in their last six.
Orlando opened the scoring with Sams scoring the first goal of the match, the first professional goal of the defender’s career. Banda made it a 2-0 game in the 18th minute, but the home side rallied to bring it level early into the second half. Banda then completed the brace with the game winning goal serving as her sixth goal since debuting with the Pride just five games ago.
Sunday’s win also marked the Pride’s first-ever victory on the road against the Reign.
Scoring Summary:
9’ Emily Sams – ORL 1, SEA 0
The Pride opened the scoring in the first 10 minutes of the match after the ball rolled out of the top of the box and found the left foot of Emily Sams. Sams wrapped her foot around the ball and sent the shot into the back of the net, past a diving Laurel Ivory.
18’ Barbra Banda (Adriana) – ORL 2, SEA 0
The Pride doubled their lead nine minutes later after Adriana was played down the right side of the field. The Brazilian international took it to the end line and sent in a cross to the back post that found the head of Barbra Banda for the easy finish.
45+5’ Angharad James-Turner (Ji So Yun) – ORL 2, SEA 1
The home side added one back just before the halftime whistle, after Angharad James-Turner slid into a pass at the top of the box. James-Turner’s effort deflected off the back of Pride defender Kylie Strom, directly into the upper corner of the net.
48’ Bethany Balcer (Jess Fishlock) – ORL 2, SEA 2
The Reign leveled the match shortly after halftime with Jess Fishlock sending a ball in behind the Pride backline. Balcer was able to get on the end of the pass and get a shot off that Anna Moorhouse got a hand to, but it wasn’t enough as the ball went into the back of the net.
58’ Barbra Banda – ORL 3, SEA 2
The Pride regained the lead on a corner kick sent in from Marta. The ball pinged around in front of the net, eventually falling to Banda who struck it with her right foot, firing the ball into the net on a volley.
Head Coach Seb Hines:
“I think most importantly, the win and a win away from home, as well. It’s something we talked about last year, picking up more points away from home. I thought the first 43 minutes of the game we were really good. I thought we played some terrific football, played some good lines, caused Seattle a lot of problems. And to concede so late on in the first half is something that we need to reflect and review moving forward. The second half, it was a grind. It was great determination, getting through that adversity, as well, [after] conceding so early in the second half to come back and get that third goal was really important for us. We just continued that momentum. It’s now seven wins on the run, which is really nice. It’s pleasing to see that everything has started to come together but we have a lot of room to continue to improve.”
Match Notes:
- The Pride tied the NWSL record for consecutive wins, extending their streak to seven games, tying a record set by the Reign in the 2014 season.
- Sunday’s victory marked the Pride’s first-ever win against Seattle on the road.
- Emily Sams recorded her first career NWSL goal, scoring the opening goal of the match. The shot was also her first career shot on goal.
- Barbra Banda scored her fifth and sixth goals of the season, playing in her sixth game of the year. Her five single-season goals are tied for the fourth most in a single campaign by a Pride player.
- Banda’s brace is her second brace of the year so far, with the first coming against the North Carolina Courage back on May 1.
- Adriana earned her first assist of the 2024 campaign on the Banda finish.
- Sams’ goal is the first goal scored from outside of the box this season for the Pride.
- Head Coach Seb Hines made two changes to his starting XI from the Club’s last matchup against Bay FC with Marta and Ally Lemos entering the starting lineup.
Next Match: The Pride will return home and welcome the Portland Thorns to INTER&Co Stadium on Friday, May 24. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET with the match available nationally on NWSL+ and locally on Bally Sports Florida.
