Barbra Banda scored a pair of breakaway goals in the first half and the Orlando Pride earned a 4-1 victory over the visiting Chicago Red Stars in the first NWSL quarterfinal match.
Marta and Haley McCutcheon also scored goals for the Pride, the top seed in the playoffs who finished the regular season with an 18-2-6 record and an NWSL-record 60 points. The 18 regular-season wins were the most in league history.
Anna Moorhouse made two saves for Orlando, which was playing in its first ever home playoff game. The Pride advance to a semifinal match against either the fourth-seeded Kansas City Current or the fifth-seeded North Carolina Courage.
Jameese Joseph scored a goal and Alyssa Naeher made five saves for the Red Stars, who lost four of their last five matches in the regular season to end up with the No. 8 seed. Chicago finished with 28 fewer points than Orlando in the regular season.
McCutcheon gave the Pride a 1-0 lead in the 26th minute on a header in traffic from short range after Ally Watt and Angelina were unsuccessful on shot attempts from inside the penalty area.
Orlando began to separate itself in the 39th minute when Banda was set free on a breakaway after a long pass through the midfield from Emily Sams and scored past Naeher.
Banda again broke free on a breakaway in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage time, taking a long pass from Watt to again score past an approaching Naeher for a 3-0 lead. Banda’s two goals came after she scored 13 in the regular season, the league’s second-best total.
Banda was unable to secure a hat trick in the 50th minute when she put a move on Naeher only to see her wide-open left-footed shot rebound off the left post.
Marta’s first career playoff goal came from the penalty spot in the 56th minute. Banda earned the spot kick when the Red Star’s Hannah Anderson tugged on the back of her jersey. Marta had nine regular-season goals.
Joseph got Chicago on the scoreboard in the 60th minute, when Moorhouse mishandled the ball in front of her own goal to give away the score.
–Field Level Media
