The Orlando Pride will have a chance to cap off their historic 2024 season with the ultimate prize, advancing to the NWSL Championship game with a strong 3-2 win over the Kansas City Current on Sunday.
Although the Current went up early, Orlando pushed back for a dominant second half to move on to their first NWSL final in team history. Although the Pride’s defense shone in the second half, a stunning, vintage goal from Pride captain Marta ended up being the difference in this game.
Orlando will now travel to Kansas City to face off against the Washington Spirit in the Championship. The Spirit defeated NJ/NY Gotham FC in penalties on Saturday to secure that spot in the final.
The game was set up as a battle between two of the best forwards in the league: Current forward Temwa Chawinga has racked up 21 goal so far this season, while Pride forward Barbra Banda is second with 15 goals. Both players were key in the teams’ quarterfinal wins, with Banda scoring a brace and Chawinga scoring the game-winning goal.
But that battle was almost threatened early on: In the first half, Chawinga was fouled by Pride midfielder Angelina, and stayed down for a while before eventually getting back into the game. Angelina was given a yellow card for the contact.
Shortly after, the Current had their first real chance of the game, and took advantage. Kansas City forward Debinha tapped the ball into the goal in the 33rd minute off a brilliant cross from Michelle Cooper to take an early 1-0 lead.
But it didn’t take long for Orlando to equalize: In the 41st minute, Ally Watt showed off some footwork to get the ball into the middle of the box, where Haley McCutcheon was waiting and ready to get the ball into the net.
The second half got off to a good start for the Pride. In the 53rd minute, Banda hit a perfect strike to give Orlando the go-ahead goal.
Orlando sealed the win in the best way possible: a stunning run from Pride captain and women’s soccer legend Marta. The 38-year-old forward beat three defenders and the keeper to get the goal in vintage Marta fashion.
Marta’s goal was a cherry on top, not only giving Orlando a 3-1 lead but resulting in an absolutely electric reaction from the captain.
The final minutes — including a whopping 19 minutes of stoppage time — saw an increasingly desperate Kansas City trying to cut the deficit and keep postseason hopes alive. A late Orlando handball in the box gave the Current a slim chance to close the gap, with Vanessa DiBernardo nailing the penalty in the 13th minute of stoppage time to bring things to 3-2.
But it wasn’t enough. Even as stoppage time stretched on — and the crowd began chanting at the referee to “blow the whistle” — the Pride came away with the win and the chance to chase their first-ever NWSL Championship.
With Chawinga leading the way, Kansas City has had the strongest offense in the NWSL this season, leading the league with 57 goals across the regular season. But Orlando has one of the best defenses, allowing only 20 goals — tied with Gotham FC for lowest in the league — this season.
That dichotomy was on display on Sunday, especially in the second half, and in the end the Pride’s defense won out. Other than Debinha’s goal, the Current struggled to get past the Orlando back line; Kansas City couldn’t get as many quality chances as it would like, getting only __ shots on target out of __ total shots.
Chawinga, who is one of the fastest players in the league, continued to move around the Pride defenders with ease throughout the game, but couldn’t quite get the finish due to some very good defending from Orlando.
Orlando and Washington will now face off on Saturday in primetime in what is sure to be another thrilling playoff matchup.
