Barbra Banda scored in the 37th minute to give the Orlando Pride their first National Women’s Soccer League championship with a 1-0 win over the Washington Spirit on Saturday night.
Banda dribbled to the right side of the penalty area and moved past a defender before kicking the ball onto the ground with her left foot and past the goalkeeper. She became the first player in the NWSL to score in every round of the playoffs.
Pride’s Angelina was almost called for a push before passing it to Banda, but VAR ruled the play was fair.
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The Spirit (20-7-2) controlled the game and outscored the Pride 25-9, had two more shots on goal and retained possession 58% of the time. Rosemonde Kouassi had Washington’s best chance in the 47th minute when she headed a ball from about ten yards out.
Orlando’s victory gave Brazilian star Marta her first NWSL title. Arguably the greatest female soccer player of all time, 38-year-old Marta competed for the Orlando Pride in 2017 but had never reached an NWSL championship match until this year.
“(It’s a) magical moment for me because I’ve been in this club for so long and I’ve been waiting for this moment, you know, so it’s… I’m just enjoying every moment of it,” she told CBS News on Friday. ahead of the game. “…This year will be the best year of my club life.”
Top division Orlando (21-6-2) remained undefeated in its first 23 games, a league record. They defeated the Kansas City Current in the semifinals before lifting the trophy at CPKC Stadium, their home field.
Orlando is the first team since 2019 to win the Shield and the title in the same year.
Washington had won its last five playoff games when trailing at halftime, but that streak was snapped with this loss.
