Kansas City, MO. (Sept. 11, 2026) – Barbra Banda scored a brace as the Orlando Pride (9-11-3, 30 points) drew 2-2 against the Kansas City Current (11-8-5, 38 points) in their visit to CPKC Stadium on Friday night.
The Pride opened the scoring in the 43rd minute against the run of play after Ally Lemos struck a lofted ball up field to Banda who let it bounce once before volleying home a long-range effort.
Banda doubled the Pride’s lead in the 50th minute when Hailie Mace played her through on the left wing before the recent Ballon d’Or nominee spun past her defender to dribble into the box and slot a low, right-footed strike home at the near post. The goal was Banda’s 16th of the season, extending her single-season club record and marking her fourth brace of the year and the ninth of her career.
Kansas City responded just three minutes later as Temwa Chawinga found space on a counterattack to strike a shot through traffic and halve the deficit. Elizabeth Bell then found an equalizer for the Current following a corner kick, getting on the end of a loose ball inside the six-yard box to level the match in the 56th minute.
Scoring Summary:
43' Barbra Banda (Ally Lemos) – ORL 1, KC 0
50' Barbra Banda (Hailie Mace) – ORL 2, KC 0
53' Temwa Chawinga (Michelle Cooper) – ORL 2, KC 1
56' Elizabeth Bell – ORL 2, KC 2
Interim Head Coach Yolanda Thomas:
“It feels disappointing when you’re up two-zero and you don’t come out with three points, but the fact that we are now feeling disappointed about not getting three points in a game like this is a testament to how far we’ve come in just a week and a half. So, still, to go into this atmosphere, given what we’ve been through and to get a point, is still a good thing for us. I’m proud with the effort put forth and the fact that we’ve come out of here with a point.”
Match Notes:
- With the result, Pride remains unbeaten when facing the Current at CPKC Stadium (1-0-2).
- Scoring her 15th and 16th goals of the campaign, Barbra Banda became just the fourth player in NWSL history to record 16 or more goals in a single season.
- With the brace, Banda joins Sophia Wilson and Megan Rapinoe as the only players to record 10+ multi-goal games with the same club.
- Banda’s two-goal performance marked her fourth brace of the 2026 season and the ninth of her NWSL career.
- Hailie Mace’s assist on Banda’s second goal marked her first goal contribution with the Pride and the sixth assist of her NWSL career.
- Ally Lemos’ assist on Banda’s first goal marked her third of the season, tying her with Banda and Jacquie Ovalle for the team lead.
- Marta made her first appearance for the Pride since the club’s July 31 matchup against the North Carolina Courage.
- Haley McCutcheon made her 99th regular-season appearance for the Pride, second-most in club history and trailing only Marta.
- Interim Head Coach Yolanda Thomas made no changes to the starting lineup since the Club’s last match against the Houston Dash.
- Kylie Nadaner (maternity leave), Viviana Villacorta (knee), Rafaelle (Head) and Kerry Abello (hip) missed the match due to injury.
Next Match:
The Pride will now return to Central Florida as they continue to push for a third consecutive NWSL playoffs appearance, hosting the Portland Thorns next Saturday, Sept. 19, at Inter.co Stadium (4 p.m. ET | ION).
