The Orlando Pride won the 2024 NWSL championship with a 1-0 victory over the Washington Spirit at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City on Saturday night.
Barbra Banda’s first-half goal was all the Pride needed to earn the first-ever NWSL title in franchise history. After winning the NWSL Shield in the regular season with an 18-6-2 record, Orlando continued its dominance over the Spirit with a fifth straight win over their opponents dating back to the 2023 season.
Banda, who scored 16 times in 24 regular-season games, put the Pride ahead in the 37th minute with her fourth goal of the postseason. She beat Spirit defender Esme Morgan to a ball sent down the right wing by Angelina and then turned Morgan just inside the Washington box before beating goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury.
There was a VAR check to determine whether Angelina had committed a foul on Leicy Santos in the build up, but the goal stood after it was ruled there was no “clear and obvious” infraction.
Banda’s goal was also a bit of NWSL history as she became the first player to score in all three rounds of the playoffs.
Orlando frustrated Washington in the first half. The teams split the possession battle over the first 45 minutes, but the Spirit had eight shots, yet only one on target.
Washington’s best chance of the opening half came in the final minute when Ashley Hatch’s header off a corner kick hit the post and Tara McKeown was unsuccessful in putting the rebound into the back of the net.
Desperately chasing an equalizer, the Spirit came out quick in the second half with Rosemonde Kouassi getting on the end of a Trinity Rodman cross in the 47th minute, but the header was parried away by Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse, who recorded her 14th clean sheet of the season.
The Spirit kept pressing forward as the clock ticked closer to the 90th minute, but the Pride’s defense, including Moorehouse and her five saves, denied each and every opportunity.
This NWSL title is the culmination of a culture change within the Orlando organization, led by Seb Hines, who joined the club in 2020 before taking over as head coach two years later, and sporting director Haley Carter.
After last making the playoffs in 2017 — their second season in NWSL — the Pride nearly went undefeated during the 2024 regular season and posted the league’s best record.
Once the “butt of many jokes,” the Pride can now call themselves champions.
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