Orlando Pride (8-0-3, 27 points) at San Diego Wave (3-4-3, 12 points)
When: Friday, June 6, 10:00 p.m. ET
Where: Snapdragon Stadium, San Diego, Calif.
As the Pride head West to take on the San Diego Wave, here are six things to watch for on Friday night:
Just Riding the Wave
The Pride enter the match against San Diego riding an eight-game winning streak after defeating the Portland Thorns in their last match. With eight consecutive wins, the Pride became the sole record-holders of the longest win streak in NWSL history. On top of that, the Pride extended their unbeaten streak to 11 games to start the season and 12 dating back to the final game of the 2023 season. The Club has also now scored at least one goal in 15 straight games, dating back to Sept. 17 which is also a Club record.
Wave the White Flag
The Pride are headed to San Diego, a place where they have done nothing but win. The Pride have won both of their previous trips to San Diego on the backs of a 1-0 victory in the two sides inaugural matchup in 2022 at Torero Stadium and a 3-1 victory last season at Snapdragon Stadium. In the two sides' five total matchups, the Pride have just lost one match, holding a 3-1-1 record overall, which includes a Pride win over the Wave earlier this season. Forward Summer Yates scored the lone goal on the night, which served as the game-winner in a match that also saw forward Barbra Banda make her NWSL debut.
A Wave Above the Rest
Forward Barbra Banda continues to take the NWSL by storm, scoring a brace in the Pride’s most recent match against the Portland Thorns. The brace counted as her seventh and eighth goals scored this season, which has put her into a tie with Thorns forward Sophia Smith in the Golden Boot race. The brace is her third so far this campaign, which ties the Club record for most braces in a single season. Her first goal of the match was headed into the back of the net, which is her fourth header scored so far this year, which is more than any single NWSL team has as a collective. With all those accolades, Banda was named NWSL Player of the Month for May.
Different Waves, Same Current
In the Pride’s 11-game unbeaten run to start the season, the Club has fielded a different starting lineup in all 11 of its matches. Eighteen different Pride players have started a match this season with just Anna Moorhouse and Kerry Abello having started in every match so far this campaign. The versatility of the Pride shows, as there are only two field players on the active roster who have not seen the field so far this season.
Across the International Waves
The international break saw five Pride players called in to represent their respective countries. Marta, Adriana and Rafaelle were all called in to represent Brazil in a pair of friendlies against Jamaica. Marta bagged a brace, Rafaelle provided the assist on one of Marta’s finishes and Adriana also found the back of the net in Brazil’s 4-0 win in the first friendly. Ally Lemos represented the U20 USWNT in a couple of friendlies against the U20 Korea Republic. Finally, Evelina Duljan was called in to represent the U23 Swedish team in the Four Nations Tournament.
GOAT Making Waves
If Marta appears in the match it will serve as her 100th regular season appearance, all of which have come with the Pride. She would be the first Pride player in history to reach this accomplishment, as she was the first Pride player to reach 100 appearances across all competitions last season. Marta leads the Club in goals (33), assists (17), games played (99), games started (90) and minutes (8100). She is the only player remaining from the 2017 roster that made the playoffs in the Club’s second season of existence.
Milestone Tracker
- Marta is two assists away from 20 in her NWSL career.
- Marta is one appearance away from 100 regular season appearances, all of which have come with the Pride.
- Julie Doyle is two appearances away from 50 appearances across all competitions, all of which have come while donning the Pride kit.
