ORLANDO, Fla. (Nov. 2, 2024) – The Orlando Pride (18-2-6, 60 points) finished a historic 2024 regular season with a 3-2 win over Seattle Reign FC (6-15-5, 23 points) on Saturday night at Inter&Co Stadium. The Pride set NWSL records for most wins in a single season (18) and points in a single season (60), both records previously held by the 2018 North Carolina Courage.
With the win, the Pride also finish the 2024 home season without a loss, going 10-0-3 from the confines of Inter&Co Stadium.
The team will now look to the 2024 NWSL Playoffs, which are set to begin next weekend, with the No. 1 ranked Pride kicking off the postseason with their first-ever home playoff game on Friday, Nov. 8. The historic match, presented by Orlando Health, will air on Prime Video, with kickoff set for 8 p.m. ET. The Pride will play the No. 8 ranked team, which will be determined following the conclusion of this weekend’s matches.
Tickets for the match are available at the link here. With home field advantage secured through the semifinal round, fans can also take advantage of a “We Win, You Win” package, which also includes a ticket to the semifinal should the Pride advance. Packages start as low as $20 and are available here.
Ally Watt put the Pride on top early in the match with her third goal of the season. Summer Yates recorded her second assist of the season on the Watt goal. Seattle tied the match at 1-1, but Kerry Abello put the Pride back in front with her first goal of the season and her second regular season goal of her NWSL career.
Marta scored her ninth goal of the season in the 57th minute, which also served as the game-winner. The tally was the Club’s 46th of the season, setting a new Club record for most goals in a single season. The goal also served as Marta’s 40th career regular season goal and the 12th game-winning goal of her Pride career, extending her team record in the statistic.
After returning from injury earlier this season, Viviana Villacorta made her first start since Aug. 25, 2023. Kylie Strom also made her 74th appearance of her career, putting her in sole possession of fifth most in Pride history.
Scoring Summary:
9’ Ally Watt (Summer Yates) – ORL 1, SEA 0
The Pride took the early 1-0 lead just nine minutes into the match. Midfielder Summer Yates navigated her way through the Seattle defense near midfield before sending a long lead pass behind the back line. Forward Ally Watt caught up with the pass, leaving her one-on-one with the goalkeeper before finishing off the play for her third goal of the season.
10’ Jordyn Huitema (Tziarra King) – ORL 1, SEA 1
The visitors responded quickly with Tziarra King running down the left flank and sending a ball into the box. Jordyn Huitema was able to get her foot on the volley and sneak the ball past Anna Moorhouse to level the match.
26’ Kerry Abello – ORL 2, SEA 1
The Pride regained the lead midway through the first half. Watt once again led the way down the right wing for Orlando before crossing the ball into the box. After multiple deflections off Seattle defenders, the ball landed in front of Kerry Abello who was able to get a toe to the ball and sneak it past the goalkeeper.
57’ Marta – ORL 3, SEA 1
Orlando added to its lead on a long run from Marta. Defender Emily Sams fed Marta near midfield and the Brazilian dribbled forward through the Reign defense into the box, used a stepover and drilled a shot into the back of the net.
85’ Maddie Mercado (Veronica Latsko) – ORL 3, SEA 2
The Reign got one back on a header from second-half substitute Maddie Mercado. After a throw in, Veronica Latsko sent a cross into the Orlando box towards Mercado, who headed in a shot past Moorhouse to cut the lead to 3-2.
Head Coach Seb Hines:
“It was so important that we had a reaction after the last two games. Like you said, it's an incredible season, not only to finish top of the table, but to set new records with 18 wins, 60 points, that was our motivator going into this game. A lot of talk has been these last three games after winning the Shield. ‘What are you playing for?’ We put a big emphasis on finishing with the most points in NWSL history, the most wins in NWSL history, so we can ultimately take that record and make it difficult for anyone else to try and beat it. So, I'm incredibly proud of the players for today's performance and throughout the season, also.”
Match Notes:
- With the win, the Pride broke the NWSL record for most points (60) and most wins (18) in a single season.
- Ally Watt scored her third goal of the season with her first half finish.
- Kerry Abello scored her first goal of the season and her second regular season finish of her NWSL career.
- Marta scored her ninth goal of the season, which is the second most on the team this season. Her nine goals are also tied for fourth in the NWSL for most goals scored.
- Marta extends on two Club records with her goal, scoring the 40th regular season goal and the 12th game-winning goal of her career, both the most in team history.
- Summer Yates earned her second assist on Watt’s first half goal.
- Viviana Villacorta made her first start since Aug. 25, 2023.
- Making the start, Kylie Strom has achieved 74 regular season matches played, which is the fifth most in Pride history.
- Goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse is the first Pride goalkeeper to earn ‘ironwoman’ honors in Club history, an honor given to players that played every minute of the regular season, and the first Pride ironwoman since Ali Krieger in 2017.
- The Pride finished the season with 46 goals, which is a new Club record for most goals scored in a single season.
- For the first time in Club history, the Pride went unbeaten at home in the regular season. They are just the fourth team to do so and the first since 2019.
- Head Coach Seb Hines made four changes to the Starting XI with Watt, Yates, Villacorta and Haley McCutcheon earning the starting spots.
Next Match: The Pride are the No. 1 seed headed into playoffs and welcome the No. 8 seed opponent to Inter&Co Stadium on Friday, Nov. 8. The Pride’s opponent is still undecided based on other results in the final weekend of the regular season. The match is set to kick off at 8 p.m. ET and will be broadcast nationally on Prime Video.
