Pride prevail over San Diego to remain unbeaten in NWSL

The Orlando Pride put in their most dominant performance this season for a thrilling home victory on Friday against the San Diego Wave to move into a second-place tie in the NWSL.

A first-half goal for a 1-0 victory was the difference for the Pride (2-0-3, 9 points) as they took down the Wave (1-2-1, 4 points) for their second consecutive win to remain undefeated.

Utilizing an aggressive press, the Pride closed down on San Diego to cause a turnover in the attacking third in the 26th minute. Defender Kerry Abello’s shot was parried away right onto the foot of a waiting Summer Yates, who scored.

Yates has broken into the lineup this season as a key contributor to Orlando’s early success.

“Since preseason, I thought [Yates] was great. She just waited for her opportunity and she’d been doing great,” midfielder Angelina said. “She’s an awesome player. She’s young, but she’s also very experienced in that type of way on the field and it just feels so nice to see her progressing and scoring and just being effective in the game. She deserves it.”

Record-signing forward Barbra Banda made her Pride debut in the 61st minute and wasted no time getting the ball in an attacking position. While she did not score, she showed how much her ability on the ball will help complete their attack.

“We’re all super happy that Barbra is here. I think her speed is going to be lethal in this league,” Yates said. “I know I definitely was trying to find her as much as I could when she came in with her fresh legs and having the speed and pace that she has. She has the ability to get in behind back lines and score lots of goals for us.”

Defender Rafaelle also made her return to the team as a substitute after missing the first four games.

Up next

Pride at Spirit

When: Friday in Washington, D.C., 7:30

TV: Bally Sports Sun/NWSL+