Game report: Barbra Banda achieved the first hat trick in Orlando Pride History as Pride defeated Royals 3-1

Sandy, Utah (May 23, 2025) -Orlando Pride (6-3-1, 19 points) Defeated Utah Royals FC (1-7-2, 5 points) on Friday evening in the America First Field 3: 1. The proudly unbeaten series against the Royals since they were restarted last season, and has now reached three games in a row.

Barbra Banda recorded the first hat trick in the history of Orlando Pride and came in the first half of the game. Banda was also only the third player in NWSL history, who grants a hat trick in the first half in the first half, and the first to do this on the street. The sambian international is the first African international to record a hat trick in the NWSL.

The striker now scores 24 goals in all competitions for Orlando, which comes the second most common in club history and the former Pride player Alex Morgan (23). In the 2025 season, she has seven goals that are bound to the golden boot, and her assist this year gives her the upper hand on the tiebreaker. Banda also recorded her second game with playing the 2025 season and her eight in her regular season career, which is the second most common in club history, also Morgan.

Ally Watt and Haley McCutcheon both deserved their first templates of the 2025 campaign to help Banda record their hat trick. McCutchon's assist has been her first since she joined pride in the middle of the 2022 season. Watt received her sixth support in all competitions with the pride, three of which were supported with a banda goal.

6 'Barbra Banda (Ally Watt) – Orl 1, Uta 0
The pride opened the rating with Oihane, who drove the ball down the right wing and found allied watts in space. Watt sent a ball into the box that found Barbra Banda, who was able to redirect the cross with a unique finish to take the early lead.

14 'Brecken Mozingo (Claudia Zornoza) – Orl 1, Uta 1
The Royals replied after Claudia Zornoza Brecken found Mozingo behind the pride. Mozingo was one to one with the pride goalkeeper and was able to carry out the match by pushing the ball into the lower corner of the network.

37 'Barbra Banda – Orl 2, Uta 1
The pride took the lead, with Barbra Banda scored her second goal of the first half. Banda caught a back pass from the Royals defense and was able to cross the backline in Utah. The sambian international then dripped past the goalkeeper and hit the ball into the empty network.

38 'Barbra Banda (Haley McCutcheon) – Orl 3, Uta 1
Just a minute and 37 seconds later, Barbra Banda recorded the first hat trick in Pride history, which expanded the lead of pride. Haley McCutcheon won the ball to her own end, took a few dribble and sent the ball to Banda. Banda made himself at the end, took a few touches to put her in the box, and sent a shot to the nearby post that came to the Royals goalkeeper.

“The priority was to reach three before we go on the international break. I think we played well in our last games, but we didn't really achieve the results. We wanted to make sure that we appeared and the result was achieved. It is great to get away with a nice 3-1 win from this game with three points.”

Next match: Orlando's pride will take an international break before returning to Houston Dash on Saturday, June 7th. The Dash will visit the Inter & Co Stadium with the start for this game for 7 p.m. ET on NWSL+. Fans can pick up tickets for the match here.