ORLANDO, Fla. (Oct. 2, 2026) – The Orlando Pride (10-14-3, 33 points) fell 2-1 to San Diego Wave FC (16-8-3, 51 points) on Friday night at Inter.co Stadium.
The visitors opened the scoring early through Lia Godfrey, who received the ball on the left side of the box before cutting centrally and slotting a right-footed strike into the back of the net to put her side ahead in the fourth minute.
San Diego doubled its advantage in the 22nd minute after capitalizing on a defensive turnover in Orlando's box. Pride goalkeeper Cosette Morché made an initial double save before the rebound fell to Lia Corley, who tapped it in from close range to make it 2-0.
The Pride reduced the deficit shortly atter the halftime break when Barbra Banda was fouled inside the box. Banda stepped up to the spot and calmly buried her attempt into the lower right corner to net her team-leading 17th goal of the season, extending her own club record for goals scored in a single campaign. It also moved the Zambian international into a tie for the fourth-highest single-season goals tally in NWSL history and marked her first career goal against the Wave.
Scoring Summary:
4' Lia Godfrey – SD 1, ORL 0
22' Gia Corley – SD 2, ORL 0
52' Barbra Banda (Penalty Kick) – SD 2, ORL 1
Interim Head Coach Yolanda Thomas:
"Tough result for where we are. We gift them a goal early on and then we're kind of having to dig ourselves out, but I think there were some moments early in the game where we didn't really control the momentum, or we weren't given the opportunity to control the momentum. Really proud of the effort, the heart, the commitment to go get ourselves back in the game. Unfortunately, didn't get us all the way back."
Orlando Pride Forward Summer Yates:
"It seems like we either have really good or really bad starts. For us, a big focus is our 'Big Five Moments,' and that's just taking care of business in the first five minutes. We wanted to press them from the very beginning. I don't know if it's just a lack of focus, but that's obviously not what we want. We want to score, take the lead and defend our house."
Match Notes:
- Barbra Banda’s converted penalty marked her 17th goal of the 2026 season, which is tied for the fourth-highest tally in a single campaign in NWSL history. It also marked just the fifth time in league history that a player has scored at least 17 goals in a single season.
- Banda's 21 goal contributions this season (17g/4a) are tied for fifth-most in a single NWSL season.
- Interim head coach Yolanda Thomas made three changes to the starting lineup since the Club’s last match against Bay FC, with Ally Lemos, Hannah Anderson and Jacquie Ovalle entering the starting XI.
- Kylie Nadaner (maternity leave) missed the match.
Next Match:
The Pride will now see a pause in action for the upcoming international window before returning to play on Sunday, Oct. 18, when they travel to face the Houston Dash at Shell Energy Stadium (1 p.m. ET | CBS Sports).
