Racheal Banda Dominates NWSL Best XI for May

ORLANDO, Fla. — Racheal Banda is turning consistency into a spectacle.

The Orlando Pride striker has been named to the NWSL Best XI of the Month for May, presented by Prime, the league announced Friday. It’s her third straight selection to start the 2026 season, a run that underlines not just form, but dominance.

Eight different clubs place players in May’s Best XI, but the spotlight keeps swinging back to Orlando’s No. 9. Banda leads the NWSL Golden Boot race with 11 goals in 12 games this year, a strike rate that has turned every Pride match into a running tally of her records.

May Highlights

May was the month she truly caught fire.

• Six goals.
• One assist.
• Two game-winners.

All in a single calendar stretch that forced voters’ hands.

The pressure told early. On May 2, Banda hit her first brace of the month against the Washington Spirit, setting the tone for what was to come. Then came the ruthless, single-goal edge that separates stars from scorers. On May 8, at Inter&Co Stadium, she delivered the only goal in a 1-0 win over the North Carolina Courage, a classic center-forward’s contribution: three points, no margin for error.

She saved her most emphatic statement for the end of the month. On May 29, again on home turf, Banda struck twice in a 3-1 win over Bay FC, her second brace of May and another game-winning performance in front of the Orlando crowd. When the Pride needed a finisher, she supplied a flourish.

The numbers are starting to carry historical weight. Banda now sits second on the Pride’s all-time scoring chart, with 36 goals in 54 matches across all competitions. That’s not just productivity; that’s a legacy being built at pace.

For now, the league pauses for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, a rare lull in a season where Banda has barely stopped to breathe between goals. The Pride return on Friday, July 3, traveling west to face Angel City FC at BMO Stadium, with kickoff set for 10 p.m. ET on Prime Video.

By then, the question won’t be whether Banda can keep this up.

It will be how much further she can pull away from everyone else.