November 9, 2024 – National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL)
Orlando Pride News Release
ORLANDO, Fla. – The No. 1 Orlando Pride defeated No. 8 Chicago Red Stars by a 4-1 scoreline on Friday night at Inter&Co Stadium. The win is the Pride’s first-ever NWSL playoff victory as the team will move onto the semifinal round which will also be hosted at Inter&Co Stadium.
The Pride will now look ahead to the semifinal match that will be next weekend on either Saturday, Nov. 16 at 12 p.m. ET or Sunday at 3 p.m. ET at Inter&Co Stadium. That match, presented by Heart of Florida United Way, Inter&Co and Publix, will be played against the winner of the Kansas City Current and the North Carolina Courage quarterfinal. Tickets for the semifinal match next weekend are available here.
Haley McCutcheon opened the scoring for the Pride in the first half, which was her first goal of the season. It was also her first goal since April of the 2023 season, both of which were headers. The goal also served as the Pride’s first-ever home playoff goal in Club history.
The Pride were also backed by a brace from Barbra Banda on the night. The brace served as her 14th and 15th goals of the season across all competitions and was the first-ever brace in the NWSL Quarterfinals.
Marta ended the Pride scoring with a finish from the penalty spot. The penalty was given via video review after Barbra Banda was taken down in the box, her fourth penalty earned in all competitions this season, all of which have resulted in goals. For Marta, it was her 10th goal of the 2024 season across all competitions and her first NWSL playoff goal.
Scoring Summary:
26′ Haley McCutcheon (Ally Watt) – ORL 1, CHI 0
The Pride struck first on a corner kick with Summer Yates driving the line and centering the ball into the box. After the ball was pinged around, Ally Watt got a foot to it which then found the head of Haley McCutcheon who made no mistake with the finish.
39′ Barbra Banda (Emily Sams) – ORL 2, CHI 0
The Pride added another in the first half as defender Emily Sams one-timed a loose ball into space for Barbra Banda as she sprinted past the Chicago backline. Banda went one-on-one with goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher and calmly slotted the ball to the lower-right corner to extend the Orlando lead.
45+6′ Barbra Banda (Ally Watt) – ORL 3, CHI 0
With just one minute of first-half stoppage time left, the Pride added a third to further increase their lead of the Red Stars. Ally Watt controlled the ball in Orlando’s defensive half and…