The Orlando Pride set an NWSL record for consecutive wins Friday night at Inter&Co Stadium with a 2-1 victory over the Portland Thorns.
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Last week, the Orlando Pride tied the record set by the Seattle Reign in 2014 by beating Seattle 2-3 at Lumen Field.
Friday night, Zambian international Barbra Banda scored two goals to lift the Pride over Portland in front of a crowd of 9,226.
Banda scored his first goal in the 30th minute after a blocked shot from Orlando Pride Rafaelle returned to the penalty spot and a waiting Banda headed the ball past Thorns goalkeeper Shelby Hogan.
Banda’s second goal would come ten minutes later in the 40th minute after a pass from Brazilian legend Marta found Banda running between two Thorns defenders.
Banda was able to evade the Thorns’ defense and goalkeeper for an easy finish and tied Banda with Portland’s Sophia Smith for the NWSL Golden Boot race with eight goals on the season.
The Portland Thorns scored in the 71st minute when Portland’s Izzy D’Aquila found herself open in the box to go past Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse.
The Orlando Pride fought off a Thorn offensive attack in the second half to secure a 2-1 victory.
“It’s a great feeling. I’ll be honest, it’s probably going to be short-lived because we have bigger goals that we’ve set this season and goals that we want to achieve this season. But of course it’s a nice feeling. It’s great to do this in front of our fans, our home fans who have supported us through difficult times and we are rewarding them for their support by having this record, setting a record for the NWSL. A lot of the credit goes to the players and support staff, because without them we wouldn’t have achieved this today. It feels great, but we have other things we want to aspire to,” said coach Seb Hines.
Orlando Pride remain undefeated this season and are at the top of the table with 27 points, ahead of second-placed Washington Spirit, who have 24 points.
Orlando has a week off for an international break before heading out of town for two games.
The Pride will travel to San Diego to play the Wave on June 7th and then travel to Cary, North Carolina on June 15th to play the North Carolina Courage.
The Pride will return home on June 21st for Pride in Our City night when they will face the Utah Royals.
To celebrate the record eight consecutive wins, fans can buy tickets for $8 to see Pride vs. Royalty.
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