Houston, Texas (Oct. 18, 2026) – The Orlando Pride (11-14-3, 36 points) earned a 2-1 victory over the Houston Dash (8-14-6, 30 points) on Sunday afternoon at Shell Energy Stadium.
Orlando struck first in the 15th minute when Solai Washington earned a penalty inside the Houston area. Luana calmly converted from the spot to give the Pride a 1-0 advantage and score her second career goal for the club across all competitions.
Washington doubled the Pride’s lead in the 31st minute with her first professional goal. Marta received a pass near the center circle, spun away from her marker and sent a perfectly weighted ball into space for Washington. The rookie forward outran her defender and tucked a composed finish inside the far post to make it 2-0.
Houston cut the deficit in half in the 54th minute, as Danielle Colaprico was first to react to a loose ball in the six-yard box following a corner kick.
Scoring Summary:
15’ Luana (Penalty Kick) – ORL 1, HOU 0
31’ Solai Washington (Marta) – ORL 2, HOU 0
54’ Danielle Colaprico – ORL 2, HOU 1
Interim Head Coach Yolanda Thomas:
“Really happy with the three points, so I think that’s the most important thing. We get out of here with a win. We had a really fantastic first half; not a great performance in the second half, but finding a way to win is what matters.”
Orlando Pride Forward Solai Washington:
“Obviously great to get three points on the road. I think there’s some things that we’re still fixing. Like, I think in the second half we could have been more clinical, but it’s good that we go three points and now we’re just going to take the positives and prove that when we start our next game at home.”
Match Notes:
- Solai Washington scored her first professional goal for the Pride. The rookie forward joined the Pride in January after playing collegiately for two seasons with the Florida State Seminoles.
- Luana’s goal marked her first of the 2026 campaign and second of her career with the Pride, with both coming from the penalty spot.
- Marta’s assist on Washington’s goal marked her first of the 2026 campaign and the 20th of her career with the Pride.
- With her assist, Marta became just the fourth player in league history to reach 40 goals and 20 assists with one club.
- The Pride have now scored in each of their last 10 league matches, their longest run of games with a goal since a run of 16 games from September 2023 to June 2024.
- Kerry Abello made her fifth start of the 2026 campaign, last starting in the Pride’s July 25 win over Chicago Stars FC.
- Interim Head Coach Yolanda Thomas made four changes to the starting lineup since the Club’s last match against San Diego Wave FC, inserting Kerry Abello, Luana, Rafaelle and Marta into the starting XI.
- Barbra Banda (excused absence) missed the match.
Next Match:
The Pride will now return to Central Florida for their final home match of the regular season as they host Gotham FC on Sunday, Oct. 25, at Inter.co Stadium (3 p.m. ET | CBS Sports Network).
