ORLANDO, Fla. (Aug. 29, 2026) – Orlando Pride (8-12-2, 26 points) were defeated by the Utah Royals (12-7-3, 39 points) by a 2-1 scoreline on Saturday night at Inter.co Stadium.
The Pride took the early lead right before halftime, with Summer Yates playing a beautifully weighted ball between two defenders. Barbra Banda was able to get on the end of it, dribble around the keeper and calmly pass the ball into the back of the net. The goal was her 13th of the campaign, which ties her single-season best and the Club's single-season record. Yates recorded her second assist of the year on the play.
Utah then scored two second-half goals to take the lead, with Cloe Lacasse and Paige Cronin finding the back of the net in the 50th and 69th minutes, respectively. Orlando continued to try and create chances to level the match but wasn't able to find the equalizer.
Scoring Summary:
44’ Barbra Banda (Summer Yates) – ORL 1, UTA 0
50’ Cloe Lacasse (Kiana Palacios) – ORL 1, UTA 1
69’ Paige Cronin (Cloe Lacasse) – UTA 2, ORL 1
Head Coach Seb Hines:
“The first half, we were all right. We created some good opportunities and took the lead. Going into the second half, we felt we needed to put a little more pressure on the ball and not allow Utah to gain too much territory. We were half a step off, and they were able to carve us open and get that goal. I'm disappointed to sit here and say there's another defeat at home in front of our fans. Our fans are terrific and really supportive, rain or shine. They always turn up, and we need to get the results they deserve. We need to turn it around here at home.”
Orlando Pride Forward Summer Yates:
“I thought it was a tough one, obviously. We never want to lose at home. But I thought we came out and executed the game plan in the first half, and obviously, letting two goals in when we had a lead is just not what we expect at home. Not our best performance, but we're hoping to learn from it.”
Orlando Pride Midfielder Ally Lemos:
“Utah's a great team. They have a lot of great pieces, so for us, it's just about staying fully switched on throughout all 90 minutes. Not really taking any time to buffer. I think we just weren't really ready for the energy they brought, and we need to do better. That's on us, but the fight we brought after we got scored on was great. It's just a tough result.”
Match Notes:
- Barbra Banda scored her 13th goal of the regular season, equaling her single-regular-season career high. She is just one goal away from the breaking the Club record for most goals scored in a regular season previously set by Marta in 2017 and equaled by Banda in 2024.
- Summer Yates earned her second assist of the 2026 campaign on Banda’s first-half finish.
- Checking in as a second-half substitute, Gabi Nunes made her home debut for the Pride.
- Head Coach Seb Hines made one change to the starting lineup since the Club’s last match against the Washington Spirit, with Summer Yates entering the starting XI.
- Kylie Nadaner (maternity leave), Viviana Villacorta (knee), Kerry Abello (thigh), Julie Doyle (knee), Solai Washington (head), Zoe Matthews (head) and Marta (excused absence) missed the match.
Next Match:
The Pride will remain in the City Beautiful as they close out their two-game homestand against the Houston Dash on Sunday, Sept. 6, at Inter.co Stadium (7 p.m. ET | Roku Channel).
