Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda returned from injury Friday night by scoring her league-leading 12th goal of the season. Banda was injured in the final minutes of a victory on May 29, and her return timeline was unknown. In Friday’s 3-0 win over Kansas City, Banda played her first minutes since the injury, coming in for the final 15 minutes of regulation. She found the back of the net less than 10 minutes later.
For the Kansas City Current, midfielder Vanessa DiBernardo made her return from maternity leave after giving birth to her daughter, Charlie, in January. Her last NWSL appearance was a little over a year ago, on June 20, 2025, in a 1-0 win for the Current over Angel City. She came into the game in the 82nd minute on Friday.
Banda’s goal came off a ball that was blasted in behind by Hailie Mace, and initially, Current goalkeeper Marisa Jordan did well to get to it first. But Jordan whiffed the attempted clearance with Banda coming straight at her. Banda pounced to tally what will likely be the easiest score of her career.
Banda previously missed nearly half of the 2025 season after injuring her hip adductor in August. She returned to the field in March at the start of the 2026 season. Last season, she scored eight goals in 16 appearances before being injured. This season, she has 12 goals in 13 matches.
The mistake that led to Banda’s goal was not the first defensive error that cost Kansas City Friday night. Marta was given tons of time and space well outside the 18-yard box and sent a laser into the far bottom corner for Orlando’s first goal of the night. The goal was Marta’s 50th scored for the Pride across all competitions. Orlando’s second goal was scored by defender Hannah Anderson, unmarked on a corner kick, she was able to redirect the service into the back of the net with her head.
