Banda the difference as Orlando Pride crowned NWSL champs

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Orlando Pride won the 2024 NWSL Championship on Saturday, defeating the Washington Spirit 1-0 thanks to a first-half goal from forward Barbra Banda.

The victory capped off a historic season for a Pride franchise that was once the doormat of the NWSL.

Orlando started this season unbeaten through 23 games -- a league record -- and became the first team since 2019 to win the NWSL Shield for best regular-season record and the championship in the same season.

Here are the big talking points from CPKC Stadium.

Banda leaves her mark again

Banda capped off her historic first season in the NWSL with a goal in the final, her fourth tally of the postseason -- a new record.

Banda had 13 goals in the regular season and, after a cold scoring stretch this fall, came alive again in the postseason. Banda scored in all three rounds of the playoffs, a first since the NWSL expanded to a three-round postseason in 2021.

Spirit center backs Esme Morgan and Tara McKeown got too tight to Banda a couple of times in the first half, and it cost Washington in the 37th minute, when Banda spun McKeown around midfield and then beat Morgan on the dribble to score.

Like Golden Boot and MVP winner Temwa Chawinga of the Kansas City Current, Banda has felt inevitable this season. Play her too tight as a defender, and she'll spin you, as she did on that goal and her goal in the semifinal against Kansas City last week. Drop off and you risk being flat-footed as Banda runs at you (and she is faster than just about every defender in this league).

She's one of the best players in the world, and she rose to the occasion in Orlando's biggest game in history. Banda was named the game's MVP.

Marta gets her moment

Pride forward Marta said all week that this game was the most important of her career. It was an unexpected statement for a six-time world player of the year who has played in a World Cup final and three Olympic gold-medal matches, but, with her mom in the United States for the first time to watch the match -- and having endured so many awful seasons with Orlando -- Marta won her first NWSL Championship and first domestic U.S. title since 2011.

She wowed the crowd with the occasional tricky pass and had an opportunity to open the scoring 14 minutes into the match.

Marta's moment looked like it would come around the hour mark when she sprinted forward to join Banda in a counterattack. The Brazil star was wide open in the middle of the field, but Banda appeared to not see her and never played a pass.

Still, the 38-year-old was a focal point for Orlando during the run of play and in the huddle. After Banda's goal, there was a long delay as the Pride huddled inside Washington's half, with captain Marta in the middle delivering an impassioned speech.

Marta said this week that she wants to play another two years. This was her best shot to win an NWSL Championship, and she earned it.

Spirit struggle to find their feet

Washington is a team that loves to win the ball high up the field and make its opponents pay in transition, but the Spirit had few such opportunities on Saturday.

Forward Trinity Rodman never found the space on the flank that she desired, despite forcing Orlando full-back Kerry Abello into a yellow card in the first half, and Washington's midfield struggled to take control of the game against a compact Pride defense. A first-half yellow card to Spirit holding midfielder Hal Hershfelt didn't help Washington in trying to set the tone.

Washington had individual moments of brilliance at times from forward Rosemonde Kouassi, but the Pride did an incredible job shutting off supply to the midfield and shutting down the forward line of Rodman, Kouassi and Ashley Hatch.

Orlando's defense, led by NWSL Defender of the Year Emily Sams, was phenomenal all season, giving up a league-low 20 goals in the regular season. Sams and her teammates stepped in front of almost every shot on Saturday, and Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse came up with a big save on Kouassi early in the second half.

For all of the Spirit's success, they struggled to come from behind this season. Washington fell to 1-1-5 (W-D-L) when trailing at halftime this season, and the lone win was against last-place Houston back in April.