🔬 The Debrief on Friday's NWSL action | OneFootball

The NWSL fixtures are flying by and there was another hefty slate of games Friday evening. Let’s dig into what happened around the league.

What happened?

Orlando extended their lead at the top of the league having been level with Washington coming into the night. A Barbra Banda brace saw the Pride ease past a red-hot Portland Thorns side.

The Sprit moved into second place thanks to three first half goals in a win over strugglers Seattle.

Houston thumped North Carolina to close in on the top-eight. North Carolina dominated the possession and tempo of the game, but the Dash’s counter-attack was seemingly all too much to deal with.

In the final match of the night, Gotham cruised past Bay FC to win their fifth game of the campaign. Two goals in two minutes from Ella Stevens stunned the hosts.

Moment of the night

Player of the night

There can only be one choice and its Barbra Banda. The Pride forward has quickly made herself one of the deadliest scorers in front of goal in NWSL.

Stat of the night

Scoring in droves!

What this means

Orlando’s win is their eighth in a row and they remain unbeaten and top of the division through the first 11 games. Meanwhile, the Thorns were on a hot-streak of their own coming into the night but the loss does little to dent their charge as they remain comfortably in the playoff spots.

Washington, like Orlando came into the evening with momentum to preserve, and they did just that. Adrián González’s side now sit just three points behind the Pride, but their second place spot is in jeopardy when Kansas City play this weekend.

Houston was leaking goals coming into the night, but a clean sheet and emphatic victory against the Courage sees them move level with eighth place San Diego and win their first game at home in 356 days.

And finally, Gotham’s win saw them jump into fifth for now, while another loss for upstarts Bay FC means they will head into the weekend in 12th.

What comes next

The final games of this NWSL matchday will come on Saturday as Chicago hosts Racing Louisville, while KC Current will travel to Utah to take on the Royals.