NWSL Orlando Pride

Rapid Reactions: Marta's Magic

Published on September 8, 2024 under National Women's Soccer League (NWSL)
Orlando Pride News Release


1. 20. Straight. Games. Unbeaten. The Orlando Pride continue their unprecedented run and make it six league wins in a row, beating the Chicago Red Stars 1-0 on Sunday night.

2. Special players produce special moments, and Marta is no exception. The 🐐 pulled one of her vintage tricks out of her bag late in the first half, getting the ball at the top of the 18-yard box, executing a quick stepover to create space and firing an absolute screamer into the bottom corner of the goal. It was a much-needed goal for the Pride at the time, and who else but the captain to step up in a big moment.

3. There's just something about late first-half goals for this Pride team. They've now scored 8 in the last 15 minutes of first halves this year, which is the most in the league. Head Coach Seb Hines says it's just a byproduct of the slow build of pressure and chance creation that allows them to eventually find those goals as the half is coming to an end.

4. To put in perspective the defensive performance for the Pride this season: after tonight, the Pride have stopped opposing teams from scoring a first-half goal in 15 of their 19 games. The dominance defensively this team has shown has been unparalleled, now with 10 clean sheets on the year and three in their last three games since coming back from the Olympic break.

5. It was a bit of a struggle for the Pride at points in the game, with players slipping on the field. Seatgeek Stadium had just hosted the Chicago Fire game the night before and the Chicago Fire II game a few hours before the Pride kicked off, so the field was worn down when they took the pitch. Despite that, the team was committed to playing their brand of soccer and were still able to create chances and take three points away from home.

6. It was a solid run for Pride rookie Evelina Duljan, who played the final 30-plus minutes for the Pride. After an impressive performance in the Summer Cup, the 21-year-old has earned herself a spot in the team's rotation and is slowly growing into the speed of NWSL games. While she didn't have any special moments in this game, getting this kind of playing time can be crucial to a young player's growth, and she continues to show that she's making the most out of them.

7. The Pride probably could have had two or three goals at the end of it all, but the Chicago defense came up with three big goalline clearances, all at the expense of Barbra Banda. In other years, that probably would have been a game-deciding moment, but just as we talked about in the game against Houston a few weeks ago, this team is built different.

8. Orlando now returns home on a short turnaround as the team gets ready for a marquee matchup with the Kansas City Current for Eras Night on Friday, Sept. 13, with kickoff set for 8 p.m ET.

Check out the Orlando Pride Statistics

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National Women's Soccer League Stories from September 8, 2024


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