Unbeaten Orlando Pride clinch 1st NWSL Shield

The Orlando Pride clinched their first National Women's Soccer League Shield at home on Sunday with a 2-0 win over the second-place Washington Spirit at Inter&Co Stadium.

Pride playmaker and captain Marta scored from the penalty spot in the 56th minute before Orlando midfielder Adriana saw her shot deflected for a Spirit own goal in the 73rd minute.

The Pride remain unbeaten through 23 games. No team has ever finished an NWSL season unbeaten. The Shield is the first trophy of any kind for the Pride.

"It means so much," an emotional Marta said on stage with the Shield in her hands. "We worked so hard from the beginning and -- wow. I waited so long for this moment. This team deserves [it] because we showed we can do [it] from the first game this season, then we keep doing [it], and I hope we're gonna go for more."

Washington played Sunday's match without several stars, including United States international forward Trinity Rodman and French forward Ouleye Sarr, the team's co-leading scorers with eight goals each. Starting defender Casey Krueger and midfielder Leicy Santos also missed the match because of injuries.

Orlando is just the fifth franchise to win the NWSL Shield, which is awarded annually to the team that finishes No. 1 in the regular-season standings. San Diego Wave FC won the Shield last year.

The Portland Thorns, Seattle Reign and the Western New York Flash/ North Carolina Courage franchise, which relocated to North Carolina in 2017, accounted for the previous 10 Shields.

"What we've accomplished, to have Marta score the game winner, you can't write it," Orlando defender Kylie Strom said. "Like, it's written in the stars for us. We just have so much belief, and everything just seems to be going our way. So, one thing down, and we still, we still have that championship on our mind."

NWSL commissioner Jessica Berman was in attendance in Orlando, Florida, to present Pride players and staff with the newly redesigned trophy.

Orlando has three games remaining, beginning with a road tilt against the Portland Thorns on Friday, followed by a trip to face reigning champion  NJ/NY Gotham FC on Oct. 20 and a home game against Seattle Reign FC.

The Pride only made the playoffs once in seven prior seasons in the NWSL. Their lone previous playoff appearance came in 2017, Marta's first season.

Marta is a six-time world player of the year who has won numerous trophies throughout her two-plus decades at the highest level. On Sunday, she was emotional about winning the Shield.

"I've been here for eight years, so I try to find out why I still love to be here, to play for this team, to represent the community in Orlando," Marta said after the match. "Tonight, I had the answers, you know? I think when you believe about something, and then you know you can do that, and you just put me in your mind, like, 'I'm not gonna give up.' And then I did that. I stayed here because I want to make history with this team. And then we did tonight, and then we go for more."

Orlando's history has mostly been defined by futility. The Pride finished in the bottom three of the standings in five of the seven seasons before this campaign. That includes a last-place finish in 2019 in which they conceded 53 goals in 24 games, still tied for the league's single-season record.

Orlando was also the only team not to participate in the 2020 NWSL Challenge Cup, the competition that replaced the regular season when the league shut down for the COVID-19 pandemic that year, because of uncertainty around positive COVID-19 test results after several players went to social establishments in Orlando right before that tournament.

"People wrote us off," head coach Seb Hines said after the match. "People didn't want to come to the club. People had no hope with this club."

Hines' answer was cut off by a group of Pride players entering the press conference room to bring him the Shield -- and a beer before forward Ally Watt asked Hines questions.

"They've got to enjoy this moment," he said when he picked up with answer reporters' questions again.

Hines played for Orlando City SC, which shares ownership with the Pride, until 2017 before retiring and joining the Pride's staff as an assistant coach through three different head coach regimes. Hines assumed the role of interim coach in late 2022, when the foundation of the current Pride team was laid.

Orlando missed the playoffs last year by losing out on a three-team tiebreaker for the final two berths.

Hines became the first full-time Black head coach in NWSL history when the interim tag was removed from his position ahead of the 2023 season. On Sunday, he became the first Black head coach to win an NWSL trophy.

"It means a lot," Hines said. "I think when I stepped into this role, you know, you always have doubters. You have people that always say, you know, you may not be ready, but you know, hopefully now I can be a person who was given an opportunity to be successful with the backing of the ownership and the backing of, [general manager] Hayley Carter coming in as well.

"You can see that with great support staff, that you can be successful, you can achieve something. And you know, that's really important to me, that you have good people around you. Hopefully I can be an advocate for many more black head coaches around the world."

Five NWSL teams, including the Spirit, have clinched playoff berths with three weeks remaining in the regular season. The top eight teams make the playoffs, an expansion from six last year. Orlando will host a playoff game for the first time in early November when the Pride welcome the No. 8 seed in the quarterfinal round.

"I can tell you guys, I don't think you're gonna have [this] again, with this team or another team," Marta said about the team's ongoing unbeaten run. "I'm sorry, but it's so special, and the way that we did it was incredible."