By Official Florida FC
The best player in the history of women’s soccer produced a moment of magic on Sunday that showed why she earned that moniker a decade ago.
Marta’s 88th minute goal helped the Orlando Pride beat the Kansas City Current 3-2 in the NWSL Semifinals. Orlando advanced to its first NWSL Championship where it will face the Washington Spirit in Kansas City on Saturday evening.
Pride forward Barbara Banda pressured the Current into a turnover at midfield. From there, Marta sprinted toward goal with the ball tethered to her feet. She sat down two Current defenders, fooled the Kansas City keeper and calmly rolled the ball into the net for the Pride’s third.
“It’s great,” Orlando Pride manager Seb Hines said afterward. “[I can] take a deep breath now, but it’s great. You put all the hard work and effort into it, obviously, in the regular season, a 26-game group stage to then get into a three-game tournament. So, we’ve done two of it, and there’s one more to go. Obviously, the spirits are really high right now, and we’re ready to go on Saturday.”
Orlando concluded 2024 unbeaten (12-0-5) across all competitions at Inter&Co. Stadium.
Despite conceding first, Orlando only trailed for eight minutes. It was the type of performance that helped the Pride set a NWSL record for longest unbeaten streak and clinch the NWSL Shield.
Haley McCutcheon equalized in the 41st minute. Entering this postseason, she scored three goals in seven professional seasons. Her equalizer was the second straight match she found the back of the net for the Pride.
Banda’s goal in the 53rd allowed Orlando to take control of the game. It set the stage for Marta to make a statement in downtown Orlando.
