The Orlando Pride women’s soccer team will host the Portland Thorns on Saturday, Sept. 19, at 4 p.m. ET at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The NWSL regular-season match will be broadcast on ION. Haley McCutcheon is set to make her 100th regular-season appearance for the Orlando Pride.
McCutcheon would join Marta as the only players in Orlando Pride history to reach 100 regular-season appearances. The milestone is one of the primary storylines for Orlando as it returns home to face Portland. The Pride have won four of their last six home matches against the Thorns, including each of the last three.
Barbra Banda enters with club-record total
Barbra Banda enters the match after scoring both Orlando goals in the Pride’s 2-2 draw against the Kansas City Current on Sept. 11 at CPKC Stadium. Banda has scored a club-record 16 goals this season, surpassing the previous Orlando Pride single-season record of 13 goals set by Marta in 2017 and matched by Banda in 2024. Her two-goal performance against Kansas City was the 10th multi-goal match of her regular-season career.
Banda is one of three players in NWSL history with at least 10 regular-season multi-goal matches, joining Sam Kerr and Megan Rapinoe. The forward’s scoring record gives Orlando a significant offensive storyline entering the matchup. The Pride will look to build on the performance that produced their draw against Kansas City.
Recent home series favors Orlando
Orlando’s current three-match home winning streak against Portland is the second-longest regular-season home winning streak against one opponent in club history. Only the Pride’s active five-match streak against the Houston Dash is longer. The all-competitions series record favors Portland 15-5-2, while Orlando is 4-5-2 at home and 1-10-0 away.
Portland won the most recent meeting 2-1 on Aug. 15 at Providence Park. The Thorns enter the match after a 1-1 draw against the Chicago Stars on Sept. 13 at Providence Park. Maitane Lopez scored for Portland, while Taylor Wood scored for Chicago.
Thomas emphasizes home setting
Interim head coach Yolanda Thomas said the Pride were encouraged by their performance against Kansas City despite not earning three points. She also pointed to the importance of returning to Inter&Co Stadium for the meeting with Portland.
“We are excited to play at home, in front of our fans. We didn’t get the three points in the last game but still walked away feeling like we had a pretty good performance, and we are building on that. We are ready to tackle a really good opponent, and we are ready to play in front of our fans.”
What comes next
After hosting Portland, the Orlando Pride will visit Bay FC on Sunday, Sept. 27. The NWSL regular-season match is scheduled for 5 p.m. ET at PayPal Park in San Jose, California, and will be broadcast on ESPN.
FSB Take
The Portland match gives the Orlando Pride a chance to extend their recent home success against the Thorns while marking McCutcheon’s 100th regular-season appearance. Banda’s club-record 16 goals add another important storyline for Orlando. The match also begins the stretch leading to the Pride’s Sept. 27 visit to Bay FC.
Source: Original report