Barbra Banda Extends Single-Season Club Record, but Kansas City Current Rally to Draw Orlando Pride 2-2

For a few minutes on Friday night, Barbra Banda had CPKC Stadium in the palm of her hand. She had scored twice, extended her own club record and put the Orlando Pride 2-0 up on the road against a Kansas City Current side that does not lose at home. Then the Current did what the Current do at home.

Temwa Chawinga and Elizabeth Ball scored three minutes apart, and Kansas City and Orlando finished 2-2 in front of 11,500 fans. Banda struck in the 43rd and 50th minutes, Chawinga answered in the 53rd and Ball tied it in the 56th. Neither side found a winner over the final half hour, and both walked away with a point and a list of what-ifs.

Kansas City Pushes, Banda Punishes

The first 40 minutes were a Kansas City siege. Ball had two cracks from the right side of the six-yard box in the 17th minute, one off target and one saved by Cosette Morché, with a Kayla Sharples effort blocked in between. Vanessa DiBernardo drew a diving stop from Morché in the 29th, and in the 40th Ball was denied again from point-blank range after a corner.

Orlando was not without teeth. Haley McCutcheon's header in the 24th minute forced Lorena into a save, and Hailie Mace tested her from distance in the 37th.

Then, in the 43rd minute, Banda reminded everyone why she is the most dangerous player in the building. Ally Lemos launched a ball upfield, Banda let it bounce once, per the Pride, and hit a right-footed shot from outside the box into the top left corner. Debinha smacked the crossbar for Kansas City in first-half stoppage time and Chawinga headed wide moments later, but Orlando went into the break ahead.

Seven Minutes That Flipped the Script

Banda doubled the lead in the 50th minute. Mace sent her in behind on the left, Banda turned her marker inside out, and her right-footed finish from the left side of the box beat Lorena low into the bottom right corner. According to Orlando, the goal was her 16th of the season, extending her single-season club record, and made her just the fourth player in NWSL history with 16 or more goals in a single season.

Kansas City needed three minutes to respond. Michelle Cooper broke forward on the counter and found Chawinga, who wriggled through a thicket of Orlando defenders and finished from the middle of the box. In the 56th minute, DiBernardo's set piece produced a pinball sequence in the Orlando area: Morché saved from Izzy Rodriguez, then from Sharples, and Ball finally poked the rebound in from very close range.

From 0-2 to 2-2 in six minutes. CPKC Stadium went from murmuring to roaring faster than a TikTok trend goes stale.

Star Turns

Banda finished with three shots, two goals and the kind of highlight reel that makes defenders lose sleep. Orlando's notes add that she joined Sophia Wilson and Megan Rapinoe as the only players with 10 or more multi-goal games for the same club. Mace earned her first goal contribution with the Pride, per the club.

On the other side, Chawinga's goal was her 10th of the season, and the Current say she has now hit double digits in each of her first three NWSL seasons. Cooper, who led Kansas City with five shots, recorded the assist. Ball was everywhere, with four shots, three on target and her first goal of the season.

Morché deserves a medal. She made six saves, several of them from inside the six-yard box. Lorena made four at the other end, including a sharp stop on Hannah Anderson's 87th-minute shot toward the top left corner.

The Turning Point

Chawinga's goal three minutes after Banda's second changed everything. Orlando had a two-goal cushion and a chance to shut the game down. Instead, the Pride conceded on a fast break and then on a set piece in quick succession, and from there Kansas City controlled the ball and the territory. The Current finished with 13 corners to Orlando's eight and 36 crosses to Orlando's 16.

Both teams had chances to steal it. Banda's shot from distance in the 81st minute slid just wide of the right post, and Lorena saved from Angelina and Anderson in the 86th and 87th. Cooper fired wide in the 89th, and Sharples headed wide in the third minute of stoppage time.

Kansas City head coach Chris Armas liked the response. "I'm proud of the team, especially the way we came back and stepped up, 100 minutes deep and we played to win and attack," he said, per the Current.

Stats That Matter

• Shots: Kansas City 24, Orlando 12.
• Shots on goal: Kansas City 8, Orlando 6.
• Saves: Morché 6, Lorena 4.
• Interceptions: Orlando 24, Kansas City 3.
• Corners: Kansas City 13, Orlando 8.

What It Means

Kansas City moves to 11-5-8 with 38 points, which the club's recap put in sixth place, and is unbeaten in three. The Current also say the result extended their league-record home unbeaten streak to 29 regular season matches, and that it was the first time they had come back from two goals down to earn a point since Oct. 15, 2023. Next up is a trip to San Diego on Friday, Sept. 18.

Orlando sits at 9-3-12 with 30 points, 11th according to Kansas City's recap. The Pride stay unbeaten at CPKC Stadium against the Current, per the club, and after a 3-0 home win over Kansas City in July, they finish the season series with four points from six. Portland visits Orlando on Sept. 19.

Closing Take

Interim head coach Yolanda Thomas captured the mood. "It feels disappointing when you're up two-zero and you don't come out with three points, but the fact that we are now feeling disappointed about not getting three points in a game like this is a testament to how far we've come in just a week and a half," she said, per the Pride. Banda was the headliner. Kansas City, as usual at home, refused to leave the stage.

Stats from ESPN's match data. Postgame quotes as reported by OrlandoCitySC.com/Pride and KansasCityCurrent.com.