Orlando Pride capture first NWSL Championship in club history
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The No. 1 Orlando Pride defeated No. 2 Washington Spirit by a 1–0 scoreline on Saturday night at CPKC Stadium to win the 2024 NWSL Championship, the first in team history.
The Pride finish the 2024 season as the NWSL Shield Winners and the 2024 NWSL Champions, the first time since 2019 a team completed the double, and become the first professional sports team from Orlando to win a major league trophy.
The win caps off a storybook season for the Pride, who broke the league record for most points in a season (60), most wins in a season (18) and most clean sheets in a season (13). The Pride also finished the 2024 season unbeaten at home with a record of 10-0-3 during the regular season along with victories at Inter&Co Stadium in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds. The Pride were also riddled in End-Of-Year NWSL Award winners, including Seb Hines as NWSL Coach of the Year, Emily Sams as Defender of the Year and five Best XI winners including Sams, Marta, Barbra Banda, Anna Moorhouse and Kerry Abello.
The Pride were backed by a goal from Barbra Banda, who scored her fourth goal of the NWSL Playoffs, and was named MVP of the playoffs. The four goals are the most scored in an NWSL Playoff in league history, while the team’s eight goals across postseason tie an NWSL record. Angelina provided the assist on the Banda finish, becoming the first international player to record an assist in the NWSL Final.
The Pride earned another clean sheet, their 14th of the season, behind five saves from goalkeeper Moorhouse as well as some stellar performances from the Pride backline in rookie Cori Dyke, Abello, Kylie Strom and Sams.
The 2024 NWSL Champions and its supporters will come together to celebrate the history-marking title on Monday, Nov. 25. To celebrate the championship and to honor the team’s players, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer invites the community to downtown Orlando for a parade and celebration. The parade will head down Orange Avenue, starting at Central Boulevard at 4:30 p.m., and include Orlando Pride players, the Walt Disney World’s Main Street Philharmonic, special guests, and giveaways as it makes its way to Orlando City Hall.
Scoring Summary:
37’ Barbra Banda (Angelina) – ORL 1, WAS 0
After a tightly contested first half, the Pride got the breakthrough shortly before the halftime break when Angelina got control of the ball in the midfield and quickly sprung forward Barbra Banda down the right flank with a lofted through ball. Banda beat her defender to the ball and cut back toward the box, faking the Spirit defender out and firing a left-footed shot low past goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury for the opener.
Match Notes:
- Barbra Banda scored her fourth goal of the NWSL Playoffs, the most by any NWSL player.
- Angelina earned the assist on the Banda finish, her first of the NWSL Playoffs and the third of the year across all competitions. With her assist, Angelina became the first international player to earn an assist in the NWSL final
- With one goal in the Championship match, the Pride brought their NWSL Playoffs goal total to eight, tying the North Carolina Courage in 2019 for the most team goals scored in a single playoff campaign.
- Winning the NWSL Championship, the Pride become the first professional sports team from Orlando to win a major league trophy.
- Head Coach Seb Hines made zero changes to the Starting XI from the team that beat the Kansas City Current in the semifinals.
