.png)
1 week ago
75 
Photo Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images
During the long wait for Saturday’s National Women’s Soccer League Championship kickoff, Marta sought out Barbra Banda. Marta was Banda’s childhood idol, and now Banda — 14 years her junior — is in the discussion to wear the crown Marta once did as the world’s best player. In the wake of the NWSL’s biggest game of the season, Marta had a message.
“Today I talked to her and said ‘hey’, big players show up in the big games’ Marta told media after Orlando’s Championship victory. “And she did today.”
Banda’s moment came in the 37th minute on a crisp but pleasant evening at CPKC Stadium in Kansas City. The opening half had been cagey, with the Spirit probably carrying whatever momentum was there to be had. Angelina delivered a long ball down the right flank that Banda and Washington’s Esme Morgan had equal rights to. Morgan had the early edge but Banda’s speed won out and she got to the ball as the pair sprinted toward the end line.
Banda spun Morgan, not with a typical crossover move, but by stepping over the ball with her left foot and allowing her right foot — the one closest to the end line — to knock it back to her left. By the time Morgan knew what happened, Banda had unleashed a shot that beat Aubrey Kingsbury near post to make it 1-0. A big play, by a big player, in a big game.
Despite the Spirit’s best efforts, there would be no further scoring. Banda was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Marta, playing in front of her mom for the first time outside Brazil, cradled her first NWSL Championship seven years after first arriving in Orlando.
“Being in Orlando for so long I [have] seen players come and players leave,” Marta, the only player remaining from the 2017 playoff team, said. “We have had ups and downs. Some seasons we [were] okay but not good enough. I always asked myself what I am looking for. Because I always stayed in Orlando. I feel like I don’t want to leave this place without doing something really big. Tonight I had all of the answers.”
Marta may have been the emotional favorite on the night, and Banda the MVP, but it was the Orlando defense that held sway through a second-half onslaught to see out the match. The Spirit held 65.1% of the possession in the second half and completed 59 more passes than Orlando attempted. An early header by Rosemonde Kouassi forced Anna Moorhouse into a reaction save but pretty much everything else was routine.
“It was hard for us to kind of gain control and get that control back,” Emily Sams said after capping her Defender of the Year season with an NWSL Championship. “I was trying to spread the message to everybody that we should try to keep the ball in their half and just make them work for it more. We just didn’t do that very well. So it ended up that we were defending for a lot of the second half.”
Seb Hines, whose elevation to interim coach during the 2022 season is one of several markers on the Pride’s journey to the top of the league, said his side was comfortable despite the intense pressure the Spirit were pouring on.
“If you watched us throughout the year, you would see a team that had to deal with those moments in the last 15 [minutes],” the Coach of the Year said. “Nothing changed in that last 15. You could see the players throwing their bodies on the line, working together, tracking back, trying to stop the service. Getting close and blocking shots. It’s no different to what we’ve done all season long.”
Hines also referenced the Pride’s remarkable run of not conceding a goal in the final 15 minutes of a match until the final game of the regular season. It is a feat even more impressive considering the exorbitant amount of stoppage time around the league this season. The Pride did concede late again in the semifinal against the Current, but neither that one nor the one in the regular season finale against the Reign cost them a result.
“We bend but we don’t break,” Kylie Strom said. “That’s what we do. They’re such a good attacking team. You’re going to have to give up something. They’re going to get chances. How can we make it as difficult as possible. I think we did a really good job of that.
Asked if the Pride were comfortable defending down the stretch, Strom said: “A thousand percent.
“Seb talks about it a lot. Be comfortable not having the ball. Be confident not having the ball. Because we know too with Barbra up top defending, we can quickly turn that into a chance. That’s exactly what happened on the goal too.”
One big goal. A ton of big defending. And one coveted trophy, the first ever for major professional sports in Orlando.
“Incredible moment,” Marta said. “Playing in the championship final, taking this trophy home, and sharing this moment with my mom here. It’s something that in my best dream I didn’t believe would be true. I’m so happy.”
