Barbra Banda scored twice in Kansas City, but the goals looked like answers to different problems. For the first, she let a lofted pass bounce before volleying from distance. For the second, she turned past a defender, carried the ball into the area and finished low at the near post. The same player had found two very different routes to goal.
Those finishes brought the Orlando Pride forward to 16 league goals, still three behind Ashley Sanchez. The North Carolina Courage player leads the 2026 NWSL Golden Boot race with 19, one short of the league’s single-season record. Her latest addition wasn’t a routine finish, either.
Sanchez found the top corner in the 82nd minute against San Diego, pulling a goal back in a game the Courage lost 2-1. It was a striking contribution without a winning ending. The shot belongs in a collection of the season’s standout finishes, even if the result belongs to the Wave.
Behind the leading pair, Sophia Wilson has 12 goals and Evelyn Ijeh has 11. Four players share the next position on 10: Trinity Byars, Temwa Chawinga, Trinity Rodman and Janine Sonis. The top two have separated themselves from the group, though Banda’s brace demonstrates how quickly a scoring gap can shrink.
Neither leader left the September 11–12 matches with a victory. Banda’s double gave Orlando a two-goal advantage that Kansas City erased in a 2-2 draw. Sanchez’s finish reduced North Carolina’s deficit without rescuing a point. Their individual race moved forward while their teams had to settle for less.
A record within reach, a race still open
Sanchez needs one more goal to match the 20 Chawinga scored in 2024. Chawinga followed her record campaign with another Golden Boot in 2025, when she finished on 15. Both Sanchez and Banda have already passed that winning total.
The comparison needs room for the calendar. The NWSL expanded to a 30-match regular season in 2026, giving players more scheduled opportunities to add to their totals. A cumulative record remains a record, but it isn’t the same measurement as scoring rate. Judging efficiency would also require appearances and minutes, rather than the goals column alone.
Chawinga’s contribution against Orlando offers a different reason to look beyond that column. Michelle Cooper’s pass initially caught her back foot near the edge of the penalty area. Chawinga recovered, moved through the defenders and finished in the 53rd minute. A chance that began awkwardly still became her 10th goal of the season.
Banda’s volley and Chawinga’s recovery required different adjustments. One found a shooting opportunity in a bouncing ball; the other needed another touch after an awkward reception. The goals were the end of those decisions, not the whole story.
Banda has already set a new standard at Orlando. Marta’s 2017 season produced 13 goals, a figure Banda equaled in 2024. Now she’s on 16. Orlando’s best individual scoring season can still leave Banda second in the league.
The award makes no distinction between a long-range volley and a finish from a few yards. Nor does it account for whether a goal brings victory or only reduces a deficit. For the Golden Boot, they’re all worth one. The differences belong to the football.
Sanchez has the lead and the nearest view of the record. Banda has the pursuit. But the pleasure of this race isn’t confined to the final order. It’s in seeing how many different ways a player can solve the same problem before another number goes beside her name.
Featured image: Ashley Sanchez playing for the North Carolina Courage against Gotham FC on March 21, 2026. Photo by Hayden Schiff via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Cropped to 16:9.
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