No. 1 seed Orlando Pride and No. 2 seed Washington Spirit advance to NWSL Championship

The GIST: After a weekend of thrilling semis, the 2024 NWSL Championship is set, with the No. 1 seed Orlando Pride set to take on No. 2 seed Washington Spirit at Kansas City’s CPKC Stadium this Saturday. Hold your applause — here’s how it happened.

Spirit advance on penalty shootout following late equalizer: 2023 champs and No. 3 seed NJ/NY Gotham FC took an early second-half lead and nearly ran away with the win, until Spirit midfielder Hal Hershfelt’s noggin evened the score 1–1 in the 93rd minute, forcing extra time.

• Despite playing with only 10 after defender Bruninha was sent off for yellow card accumulation following a foul on Spirit striker Trinity Rodman, Gotham held Washington scoreless in extra time, sending things to a penalty shootout.

• That’s when Spirit goalkeeper Aubrey Kingsbury was downright heroic, saving three consecutive penalties to send Washington to the ’ship for the first time since their 2021 title run. She’s a brick…wall.

Orlando advances to first-ever NWSL title game: In a match featuring two of the league’s strongest forward lines, the Pride emerged victorious, staying undefeated at home this season with yesterday’s 3–2 win over the No. 4 seed Kansas City Current.

• With the game tied 1–1 at halftime, the Pride exploded with two epic goals in the second half: First, striker Barbra Banda nailed a clean strike to give Orlando the lead in the 53rd minute, then forward Marta netted what would ultimately be the game-winner.

• Now, the 38-year-old GOAT will make her first NWSL Championship appearance in her eighth season in the league, facing off against a youthful Spirit squad. Magic.