KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Barbra Banda scored in the 37th minute and the Orlando Pride beat the Washington Spirit 1-0 on Saturday night to win their first National Women’s Soccer League championship.
Banda dribbled into the right side of the box and made a move past a defender before kicking the ball with her left foot past goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury. Banda earned the championship MVP award and became the first player in the NWSL to score in each round of the playoffs.
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Orlando’s win also gave veteran Brazilian star Marta her first NWSL title.
“I believe that God knows when the right time is for things to happen,” Marta said.
The Pride’s midfielder Angelina was nearly called for a push before passing it to Banda, but the VAR determined the play was fair.
“It feels good to win the championship in the playoffs and I’m proud of this team,” Banda said. “It feels natural to play with Marta because she’s my idol.”
The Spirit (20-7-2) controlled the game and outshot the Pride 25-9, had two more shots on goal and held possession 58% of the time. Rosemonde Kouassi had Washington’s best chance in the 47th minute when she headed a ball from about 10 yards away.
“Sometimes you get great chances and you can score, but today we couldn’t,” Washington coach Jonatan Giráldez said.
Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman, who was dealing with an ongoing back injury, took five shots and played 90 minutes.
Top-seed Orlando (21-6-2) went unbeaten in its first 23 matches, a league record. The Pride beat Kansas City in the semifinals before hoisting the trophy at CPKC Stadium.
Orlando is the first team since 2019 to win the Shield and the title in the same year.
“This means everything, we’ve been through so many times and have been working for this moment,” Orlando Pride coach Seb Hines said.
Washington had won its last five playoff games when trailing at the half, but that streak ended with the loss.
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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer