The reigning champion Orlando Pride opened the National Women’s Soccer League season on Friday night with a 6-0 home field rout over the Chicago Stars.
Barbra Banda scored a pair of goals for the Pride, who tied the club record for most goals in a match.
In the other match on the league’s opening night, the Washington Spirit held off the Houston Dash 2-1.
It took just seven minutes for Haley McCutcheon to open scoring for the Pride, with a left-footed shot that got past Chicago keeper Alyssa Naeher. In the 36th minute, Ally Watt doubled Orlando’s lead with a glancing near post header from Marta’s corner kick.
Hannah Anderson added a goal 90 seconds after the restart, before substitute Julia Doyle coolly finished from the center of the Chicago box in the 65th.
Banda, Orlando’s top scorer in 2024 with 17 goals scored in the 80th and 87th minutes. Her second was the goal of the night: She ripped a shot from 25 yards out that went up and over Naeher.
The only sour note was Doyle departing with an injury in the 74th minute, just 11 minutes after she had entered the match.
It was the largest margin of defeat in Stars history, and just the second time that the team has conceded six goals in one match. Chicago was without marquee player Mal Swanson, out for personal reasons. But defender Sam Staab made her return from a ruptured Achilles that had kept her sidelined since July.
Before the match, the Florida club honored last year’s Shield and Championship-winning team by hanging two banners at Inter & Co Stadium.
Spirit holds on
Last season’s NWSL runners-up opened the new season with a win on the road.
Makenna Morris poked home a rebound from close range in the 16th minute after Dash goalkeeper Jane Campbell made an impressive save on Ashley Hatch’s header.
Chloe Ricketts’ shot hit the crossbar and appeared to come down over the line. Hatch followed up the shot off the bar and tapped in the rebound in the 33rd.
Houston responded in the second half. Avery Patterson wafted a cross to the back post for Ryan Gareis to head toward the goal, with Maggie Graham getting the final touch to make it 2-1.
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