Orlando Pride (1-0-0) at Gotham FC (0-0-1)
When: Sunday, March 22, 5:00 p.m. ET
Where: Sports Illustrated Stadium, Harrison, N.J.
TV: ESPN2/ESPN+
As the Pride head on the road for the first time in 2025, here are five things to watch for:
The Big Apple
The Pride head to the newly named Sports Illustrated Stadium looking for redemption after dropping last season’s matchup 3-1. The loss served as just the second loss of the season for the Pride and was the first home win for Gotham over Orlando since 2018. Since then, the Pride have earned three wins and two draws in regular season play.
Breaking More Records
Orlando enters the match coming off of a 6-0 victory over Chicago Stars FC in the home opener at Inter&Co Stadium. The six goals equaled the largest margin of victory in a match in NWSL history and were the most goals scored in a season opener. The Pride will look to break a club record by winning their first two matches of a season, which they have never done before. The Pride are also within striking distance of breaking NWSL records for most goals (8) and best goal differential (+7) through the first two matches of a season.
Goals Galore
The Pride were backed by multiple goal scorers in the club’s home opener with Haley McCutcheon, Ally Watt, Julie Doyle and Barbra Banda all finding the back of the net. McCutcheon has now scored in three of the Pride’s last four matches dating back to last season as she got on the scoresheet in the Pride’s semifinal and quarterfinal match of the 2024 Playoffs. For Watt and Doyle, their finishes served as the firsts of the year and Banda recorded her first brace of the season, scoring twice.
Picking up Where She Left Off
Barbra Banda earned a brace in the team’s home opener and also recorded an assist on the Doyle finish, giving her three goal contributions to start the year. Banda has 27 total goal contributions since joining the league in both regular season and playoff play. The 27 goalcontributions are more than any other NWSL player since she made her debut back in April. Banda has at least one goal contribution against 12 of the 13 teams she has faced in her Pride career, only failing to record one against Gotham. Banda has now equaled Marta’s club record for most games with at least one goal and one assist, something the duo has done on four separate occasions.
40/20 Club
The next assist for Marta will give her 20 total assists in NWSL regular season play. Her 20 assists along with 40 goals scored will put her in the exclusive 40 goal and 20 assist club for regular season matches. Marta would be just the sixth player in NWSL history to enter the club.
Milestone Tracker
- Marta is one assist away from 20 in her regular season career.
- Kylie Nadaner is two appearances away from 100 across her NWSL career.
- Summer Yates is two appearances away from 50 across all competitions, all of which have come with the Pride
