The defending NWSL champions are kicking off the 2025 season on a dominant word. The Orlando Delight destroyed the Chicago Stars with a 6-0 win in Friday’s season opener.
It solely took a couple of minutes for the Delight to seek out the again of the web. Haley McCutcheon threaded the ball between the Stars’ protection to get one previous Chicago keeper Alyssa Naeher and take an early 1-0 lead within the seventh minute.
Ahead Ally Watt scored subsequent, hitting an exquisite header off a nook kick within the thirty sixth minute.
A Stars own-goal minutes after the beginning of the second half introduced Orlando’s result in 3-0, with Delight midfielder Julie Doyle rising the lead much more with a objective within the sixty fifth minute. And ultimately, it was none aside from star ahead Barbra Banda to convey it dwelling.
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Banda netted two targets in lower than ten minutes, notching profitable pictures within the eightieth and 87th minutes and doing what she does finest: making opposing defenders pay for his or her errors.
The six-goal margin of victory, for the biggest in NWSL historical past, has been achieved 5 instances earlier than within the league. The latest time was final season, when — you guessed it — the Delight defeated the Utah Royals 6-0.
The Delight , and the Protect by the tip of the 12 months. Though it should not come as a shock {that a} crew that retained most of its finest gamers ought to come out robust this 12 months, the win sends a robust message for the remainder of the league because the season strikes ahead.