A year after cancer diagnosis, Luana scores late goal to help Pride advance to NWSL semifinals
The reigning National Women’s Soccer League champion, Orlando Pride, sealed its 2-0 victory over the Seattle Reign in the first match of the league quarterfinals on Friday with a last-minute penalty kick by Brazilian midfielder Luana, who was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma last April and returned to play in August this year.
“One year ago, I didn’t even know if I would be playing again,” the 32-year-old said in a post-match interview on Prime Video. “And today, I’m here. Nothing is impossible.”
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The penalty was awarded in the seventh minute of added time after Pride teammate and fellow Brazilian Marta sprinted 75 yards with the ball, beating two Reign defenders on her way to goal before midfielder Sam Meza fouled her in the box.
Traditionally, players on teams winning 1-0 head for the corner flag in such scenarios to run down the clock, maintain possession, and force opponents into a disadvantageous position should they win it back. But not Marta.
“Oh, it’s simple,” the 39-year-old said when asked after the game about her decision-making. “I hate to kick the ball to nobody.”
Pulling off such a feat at the end of a quarterfinal allowed Marta to prove what she’s still capable of, in case there was any doubt: “I did this stuff a couple of times — not a couple of times, but many times in my career. So there was nothing that I never did before. And it’s nice to show I still can do that, because I don’t know if people believe or think that I still can do stuff like that.”
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There was another benefit of holding onto the ball: Marta, who typically takes Orlando’s penalties, was able to hand it off to Luana for the chance to score what eventually became her first goal with the Pride.
“I was looking for something for Luana,” Marta said. “Not only in this game but before too, so I had the opportunity to give the ball to her and then let (her) take the penalty.” She described her fellow Brazilian as an amazing penalty taker, and revealed what she said to her as she handed over the ball.
“I just come up to her and told her, ‘Take, and finish this f***ing game.’”
Home team Orlando, the reigning NWSL champions, opened the scoring 20 minutes into the game when forward Haley McCutcheon received a one-touch cross from Julie Doyle near the top of the penalty box and slotted in a one-touch finish past U.S. women’s national team goalkeeper Claudia Dickey. McCutcheon, who scored four goals in the regular season, seems to shift into a second gear during the playoffs, having now scored three times in four postseason games.
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The next 77 minutes saw the Pride largely in control despite Seattle out-possessing and out-shooting them. Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorehouse was called into action on several occasions, including one crucial kick-save in the first half where the visitors nearly leveled the scoreline.
After drawing Seattle 1-1 in their last regular-season game on Nov. 2, the two met again in the same stadium five days later in a battle for a place in the semifinals.
The Pride have struggled to find their footing this year as defending champions, finishing their regular season campaign with 40 points and a No. 4 seed compared to 60 points at the top of the table in 2024. Their fate worsened when star striker Barbra Banda, who was crowned NWSL Championship MVP last year, was injured during a mid-August match, ending her season.
Holding back tears, Marta called out the uselessness of comparing this season to last year’s championship run. “Of course, we don’t do the same that we did last year, but we still have the same players here and the same mentality, and still work so hard and still believe,” she said. “It seems that most of the people outside don’t believe in Pride, but Pride is still the champion and need to have a little bit more respect.”
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Marta went on, “At the same time, I like when I see people talk so much s**t about Pride and then don’t give credit because (it makes) me feel good, make me feel like, ‘Yeah, I want to go and play and prove they are completely wrong’. I think we proved tonight.”
The Pride’s opponent in the semifinals next weekend will be the No. 1-ranked Kansas City Current or eighth-seeded Gotham FC. Those two face off at CPKC Stadium on Sunday at 12:30 p.m. ET in a match that will air on ESPN.
This article originally appeared in The Athletic.
Orlando Pride, Brazil, NWSL, Women’s Soccer
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