Orlando Pride claims NWSL Shield as regular-season champion
Sunday’s victory over the Washington Spirit ensured the Orlando Pride won the 2024 NWSL Shield. This regular-season award goes to the team who finishes with the best record in the league. It is the equivalent to the MLS Supporters’ Shield, which Inter Miami and Lionel Messi recently claimed for the first time in their history. Likewise, it is the first time the Orlando Pride has finished the season with the best record in the NWSL.
The regular season is not quite complete, though. The Orlando Pride must still play three more games to finish the 26-game regular season. With a 10-point lead in the standings, Orlando no longer has anything concrete to play for. It will host a game in the quarterfinals of the 2024 NWSL Playoffs. The Orlando Pride will host one of the semifinal fixtures if it wins in the quarterfinals.
That said, there is history at stake for Orlando Pride over the next three games. Through 23 games, the Orlando Pride is yet to lose a game. The club’s 57 points come from 17 wins and six draws. No team has ever finished an NWSL regular season with an unbeaten record, and the Orlando Pride is doing so in a season where there are more games than ever before.
The remaining contests will not be overly easy, though. Orlando’s last three regular-season games include trips to the Portland Thorns and Gotham FC. Both clubs are currently inside the playoff picture for the NWSL postseason, and Gotham is the third-best team in the league. Those will be difficult games, but Orlando can call on its wins over both at home as a means for success in the closing games of the season. In the season finale, Orlando faces the Seattle Reign at Inter & Co. Stadium in downtown Orlando.
Can Orlando Pride win both NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship?
Unlike many European leagues, though, the NWSL Shield for the Orlando Pride does not mean success of the highest order in the league. The measurement for success in the NWSL comes from the NWSL Playoffs, and while the Orlando Pride will compete as a home team in the first two rounds, should it advance, these one-off games can be a hurdle.
This is the 11th season the NWSL has handed out the NWSL Shield to the regular-season champion. The NWSL Shield Winner has only won the NWSL Championship twice, with the North Carolina Courage accomplishing the feat in back-to-back years in 2018 and 2019. Each of the last three NWSL Shield winners has struggled in the NWSL Playoffs. Portland, Seattle and Angel City each lost their semifinal game at home, meaning a quick exit from the NWSL Playoffs for each team.
Unlike those teams, the Orlando Pride will be entering the playoffs in the quarterfinals. With three games left, Orlando does not know who it will face in the opening fixture of the playoffs. That will be the eighth seed, which could be any of five teams currently vying for a playoff spot.
PHOTOS: IMAGO