8 straight, Orlando Pride set NWSL record

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Pride set an NWSL record for consecutive wins Friday night at Inter&Co Stadium with a 2-1 win over the Portland Thorns.

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Last week, the Orlando Pride tied the record set by the Seattle Reign in 2014 by beating Seattle 2-3 at Lumen Field.

Friday night, Zambian International Barbra Banda scored two goals to lift the Pride over Portland in front of a crowd of 9,226.

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Banda scored her first goal in the 30-minute, off a blocked Orlando Pride Rafaelle shot that returned to the penalty spot and a waiting Banda who headed the ball past Thorns’ goalkeeper, Shelby Hogan.

Banda’s second goal would come ten minutes later in the 40-minute, after a through pass from Brazilian legend Marta found Banda running between two Thorns’ defenders.

Banda was able to elude the backline and the Thorns’ goalkeeper for an easy tap-in and put Banda in a tie, with Portland’s Sophia Smith, for the NWSL Golden Boot race with eight goals on the season.

The Portland Thorns got a goal back in the 71-minute when Portland’s Izzy D’Aquila found herself open in the box to put it past Pride keeper Anna Moorhouse.

The Orlando Pride fought off a Thorn offensive attack in the second-half to secure the 2-1 win.

“It’s a great feeling. I’ll be honest, it’ll probably be short lived because we have bigger goals we’ve set this season and objectives that we want to reach this season. But of course, it’s a nice feeling. It’s great to do it in front of our fans, our home fans who supported us through the tough times and we’re rewarding them for their support by having this record, setting a record for the NWSL. A lot of the credit has to go to the players and the support staff, because without them we wouldn’t have achieved this today. It’s a great feeling, but we have other things we want to aspire to,” said Head Coach Seb Hines.

The Orlando Pride remain unbeaten on the season and are sitting at the top of the table with 27-points, ahead of second place Washington Spirit who have 24-points.

Orlando has a week off for an international break before heading out of town for two games.

The Pride will head to San Diego to play the Wave on June 7 and then travel to Cary, North Carolina, on June 15 to play the North Carolina Courage.

The Pride will return home on June 21 for Pride in Our City night when they face the Utah Royals.

To celebrate the eight consecutive, record-setting wins, fans can purchase tickets for $8 to see the Pride against the Royals.

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