Kundananji Banda Dominates NWSL with May Masterclass
The list came out on Wednesday. No surprise at the top.
Kundananji Banda, Orlando Pride’s relentless spearhead and the league’s most ruthless finisher this season, has been named to the NWSL Best XI of the Month for May — her third straight selection to open the 2026 campaign.
Three months. Three Best XIs. Same name, same menace in front of goal.
The latest honor, chosen by the NWSL Media Association and the league’s on-air broadcast talent, again underlines what anyone watching Orlando already knows: Banda is shaping this season in her own image. Eight different clubs are represented in May’s Top 11, but the spotlight keeps drifting back to the Zambian striker in purple.
She has earned it.
Golden Boot pace, golden month
Banda sits atop the NWSL Golden Boot race with 11 goals in 12 games this year, a strike rate that has turned Orlando’s attack into one of the league’s most feared. May was the month her numbers exploded.
- Six goals.
- One assist.
- Two match-winners.
All in the space of a few weeks.
The pressure told early. On May 2, against the Washington Spirit, Banda tore through the back line for her first brace of the month, a performance that set the tone for what was to follow. Defenders knew what was coming; they still could not stop it.
Then came the decisive moments at Inter&Co Stadium.
On May 8, in a tight, tense contest with the North Carolina Courage, Banda delivered the only goal in a 1-0 home win, the kind of razor-thin margin that separates contenders from the pack. Later in the month, on May 29, she did it again — and then some — striking twice in a 3-1 victory over Bay FC, her second brace of May and another game-winner on home turf.
Every time the Pride needed a breakthrough, Banda stepped into the frame.
Chasing club history
The numbers are already historic.
With 36 goals in 54 matches across all competitions, Banda now sits second on the Pride’s all-time scoring list. She has climbed that ladder at speed, turning chances into goals and goals into points with a consistency that few in the league can match.
This is not just a hot streak. It is a body of work, growing by the week.
Her May output did more than secure another place in the Best XI. It tightened her grip on the Golden Boot race and pushed her closer to the top of Orlando’s record books, where only one name remains ahead of her.
That gap is shrinking.
World Cup pause, then a fresh test in LA
For now, the league pauses for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, a rare midseason stillness in an otherwise relentless calendar. Orlando will wait, regroup, and then hand the ball back to their in-form No. 9.
The Pride return to action on Friday, July 3, when they travel west to face Angel City FC at BMO Stadium. Kickoff is set for 10 p.m. ET on Prime Video, a prime-time stage for the league’s most prolific scorer to pick up where she left off.
Three straight Best XIs. Golden Boot lead. Club records in sight.
When the whistle blows in Los Angeles, all eyes will turn to the same question: who stops Kundananji Banda now?
