1. As the old adage goes, "records are made to be broken." The Orlando Pride did just that on Friday night as they took down the Portland Thorns for their eighth straight win. With that win streak, the Pride become the sole record-holders of the longest win streak in NWSL history.
2. After drawing their first three games of the season, Orlando have now gotten wins over San Diego, North Carolina, Louisville, Bay FC and now Portland at home, while taking all three points on the road against Utah, Washington and Seattle. It has definitely been an uphill climb for this team over the past few years, but this is a milestone that goes a long way to show the growth of the team.
3. She is inevitable. Barbra Banda scored another two goals in the span of 10 minutes, both in the first half. She is now tied for the NWSL lead in goals scored this season with eight goals in just seven games played.
4. The second goal for Banda was one that showcased her dominance up front. A fantastic outside-the-boot pass from Marta in the midfield helped Barbra get into the box and in on goal. She took the ball, shrugged off Kelli Hubly, dribble around goalkeeper Shelby Hogan and easily passed it into an open net. As play-by-play broadcaster Josh Eastern said on the broadcast, "Who is going to stop her?"
5. It was another tale of two halves for Orlando as they dominated the first half, but had to hold on to the win in the second. As Head Coach Seb Hines said after the game, "two halves are never the same, and 2-0 is very dangerous score line as well." For a team like Portland, which has international talent and is contending for the top of the table, it was almost inevitable the Thorns would get back up after being knocked down in the first half. The Pride were just able to absorb enough punches until the final whistle, outlasting the Thorns in the final round.
7. Now that the record is broken, the Pride will get every team's best game from here on in. Marta said it best when asked about that after the match tonight: "You look behind and then see everybody running after us, so we just need to run faster."
8. The Pride will now get a much-needed week off as they have an international break for many of their players to play for their countries. They'll return back to action in a week's time, as they head back out west to take on the San Diego Wave FC on Friday, June 7 at 10:00 p.m. ET.
