Orlando Pride have secured their 2024 NWSL Shield with top of-the-table victory and secured first place.

Orlando Pride Claim 2024 NWSL Shield Victories with Top of Table Win Orlando Pride are now officially NWSL Shield champions after beating Washington Spirit 2-0 on Sunday to secure top place. Pride Football Club of Orlando became only the sixth team ever to claim this accolade with three matches still left to go in 2024 season, earning as many possible points with their five matches remaining and rainy evening conditions not diminishing them in any way. Heavy rain may have deterred some fans, particularly as Florida braces for another hurricane season. Both teams created quality opportunities early on during this contest. Frequent stoppages due to fouls prevented either side from opening up a lead in the game. Rosemonde Kouassi from Spirit offered up one of the more exciting passages during her opening half performance with an outstanding shot from distance. Orlando City FC’s Anna Moorhouse made an outstretching save to deflect a ball out of bounds for a corner kick, prompting Barbra Banda and Marta to launch an incredible counterattack through expert maneuvering in Washington Spirit players. The duo charged forward, carving their way past every Washington Spirit player that stood between them and goal. Unfortunately, play ran into difficulties after too many touches led to late passes and offside calls, along with other key moments making up an eventful final 20 minutes of this half. Still, the league’s two best teams remained scoreless at halftime of this tense contest between themselves. When play resumed after halftime had completed, however, things seemed almost exactly the same as they had been during the first period – it seemed similar even down to Orlando scoring its inaugural silverware trophy of 2018. Rain continued to fall throughout the match and several challenging tackles added tension to an already charged atmosphere. That tense atmosphere reached a crescendo when Washington defender Tara McKeown accidentally upended Banda inside Washington penalty box in the 54th minute, sparking further incidents between teams that continued throughout. McKeown received a yellow card, prompting Marta to step forward for the penalty kick and convert with ease; scoring her eighth goal this season! With an advantage secured, the Pride continued their attack. Just under 15 minutes later, Adriana doubled their advantage after picking the ball off Heather Stainbrook and taking a shot from outside of the box that initially appeared to go well wide. However, after further review it appeared as though Adriana’s attempt would go wide as well. But after McKeown deflected it sharply and it passed Aubrey Kingsbury unchallenged in goal, Orlando seemed all but certain to capture their second consecutive NWSL Shield title. Pride kept their composure throughout, defending resolutely and controlling the game with ease. Unfortunately, matters took an untimely turn when Spirit midfielder Andi Sullivan collided with Summer Yates of Pride resulting in serious physical contact between both teams. Orlando Pride eventually secured their win 2-0 by carrying off Sullivan for extra time, then saw out their 2-0 triumph with ease. For anyone new to the NWSL, Orlando Pride’s success this season has been truly astounding since they debuted as an NWSL team only three years prior – never making playoffs before this year’s success! What this group of players have accomplished under Seb Hines and his staff is nothing short of extraordinary, with Marta visibly emotional during NWSL Shield ceremony. Orlando Pride star Jantel LaVigne capped a banner season by taking home their inaugural trophy a year after joining. What is next for them? With three games left before playoffs begin in March 2019, their season remains unfinished. Obtention of the NWSL Shield was always our main aim, yet an undefeated season would mark an extraordinary achievement. As pressure builds up from each passing game, Orlando will find it increasingly challenging. And this pressure only gets greater as each opponent continues. Portland Thorns (Friday, Oct 11), NJ/NY Gotham FC (Sunday Oct 20), Seattle Reign FC (Saturday Nov 2) are just some of their opponents on which Orlando could face challenges during regular season playoffs and playoffs (NWSL Shield win equals top seed in Playoffs and nothing will look better next to its shield than taking home an NWSL Championship trophy!) Related articles on Her Football Hub include: