By OkayGoal 
Photo courtesy of Angel City FC
The National Women’s Soccer League’s Sunday debut on new streaming partner Victory+ was full of action as seven goals were scored across just two games. Barbra Banda and Savy King made long-awaited returns from injury while Angel City rolled over the Chicago Stars and the Seattle Reign beat the Pride 2-1 in Orlando. Technically off the pitch, Laura Harvey’s cooler got an upgrade and a long weather delay hit Orlando.
Laura Harvey’s custom cooler
Seattle Reign head coach Laura Harvey is probably best known for two things: being the winningest coach in NWSL regular-season history and for sitting on coolers during games. Harvey’s fondness for coolers helped inspire Reign matches against the Wave being called some variety of the ‘Cooler Clash’ when Casey Stoney, another cooler-sitter, was the head coach in San Diego.
The connection deepened Sunday as Harvey debuted a specially Reign-branded Yeti (a league sponsor) cooler featuring a silhouette of her sitting on a cooler wearing a crown on its side for her sideline sit downs.
Harvey explained postgame that assistant athletic trainer Kyla Alvarenga told her this week she wanted to do something to make her cooler unique. Alvarenga asked for Harvey’s input but the head coach told her she didn’t want to know and to pick what she thought was best. Harvey didn’t know it was going to be done for this week, so when she walked out there and saw it at the start of the game she was just smiling because, as she said, “it’s just little things that are just hilarious to me, how obsessed people are with me sitting on a cooler is one of them.” Her next request is for one of Yeti’s padded cooler seats.
Seattle’s veteran goal production
The Seattle Reign knew they needed to score more goals this season. They created a good number of chances last year but did not put enough away. As such, they started the season off in an ideal manner, scoring two on the road in Orlando.
Reign midfielder Jess Fishlock started off 2026 by scoring Seattle’s first goal of the season. The 24th-minute goal, and her connections with other attackers on different occasions, showcased just how ageless her attacking prowess is.
With the other two Reign originals retired, Lauren Barnes and Megan Rapinoe, and having herself retired from international duty with Wales, Fishlock signed on for at least one more season with her NWSL club. Despite being the second-oldest player in the league, now 39 years old, the Welsh Dragon, as fans affectionately call her, was tied for the team-high in goals last season with six and is looking ready to score more as she has shifted higher up the pitch over her career.
Seattle added another veteran goalscorer in the offseason via free agency who made an immediate impact. Brittany Ratcliffe was subbed on in the 78th minute and got on the scoresheet just five minutes later to score the game-winner in her Reign debut.
Banda is back, and so is Orlando weather
Barbra Banda was a key piece of the Orlando Pride team that won both the NWSL Shield and Championship in 2024. In 2025, she played 16 games and scored eight goals before being placed on the season-ending injury list in August.
She made her triumphant return from injury Sunday with a classic Banda goal, using her speed to get in-behind the defense and perfectly placing her shot right past the Reign goalkeeper. Banda quickly proved she is still as dangerous as ever and will make another run at a Golden Boot.
Weather-related delays continue to affect games in Orlando, as the Reign versus Pride match was suspended at halftime due to lightning in the area. For some reason, it consistently happens when the Reign are visiting Orlando.
The two teams went to their respective locker rooms for halftime around 5 pm local time. The game finally restarted at 7:45 pm local time.
Angel City put up four goals on Chicago
Chicago did not get off to a strong start if they were hoping to turn things around from last year’s abysmal finish in last place, having let in a league-worst 54 goals, as Angel City scored four in their season opener.
Kennedy Fuller opened the scoring in the first half, assisted by Los Angeles debutant Ary Borges. Eight minutes into the second half, Fuller would assist Evelyn Shores. Another 13 minutes later and Borges registered a goal for herself, giving her a goal and assist in her Angel City debut. Maiara Niehues added the team’s fourth four minutes later, assisted by Sveindís Jónsdóttir.
Savy King returns
Angel City defender Savy King returned to NWSL regular season play Sunday night. She had made a preseason appearance but this was her first action in the league in 10 months. It was a heartwarming moment, not only because her incident on the pitch last year was terrifying, but also because she’s a talented young player who elevates Angel City the moment she steps on the field.
