Kundananji Banda Dominates NWSL with May Masterclass

ORLANDO, Fla. — The numbers are starting to look ridiculous now.

Kundananji Banda has been named to the NWSL Best XI of the Month for May, presented by Prime, the league confirmed on Friday. It is her third straight Best XI nod of the 2026 season, a clean sweep so far, and a marker of a striker operating at full throttle.

Eight different clubs place players in May’s Top 11, but the spotlight keeps swinging back to Orlando. To Banda. To a Zambian forward turning consistent excellence into routine.

Golden Boot pace, ruthless efficiency

Banda leads the NWSL Golden Boot race with 11 goals in 12 games in 2026, a strike rate that would make even the league’s most seasoned scorers blink. May was her most ruthless month yet: six goals, one assist, and a steady drumbeat of decisive moments.

Two of those goals decided matches on their own. At Inter&Co Stadium on May 8, Banda delivered the only goal in a tight 1-0 win over the North Carolina Courage, a classic center-forward performance where one chance, taken cleanly, made all the difference. On May 29, she did it again, this time inside a fuller attacking display, driving a 3-1 victory over Bay FC with another game-winner in front of the home crowd.

The pressure on visiting defenses built week by week. The finishing stayed cold.

Braces, milestones and a climbing legacy

Banda didn’t just score. She scored in bunches.

She produced two braces in May, the first coming against the Washington Spirit on May 2. The second arrived in that same 3-1 win over Bay FC on May 29, a performance that underlined why coaches now game-plan around her first and adjust to everyone else second.

Across all competitions, Banda has 36 goals in 54 matches for the Pride. That total already puts her second on the club’s all-time scoring list. She is closing in on history at a pace that demands attention, reshaping the statistical landscape of Orlando’s attack while the season is still in its early chapters.

This is not a hot streak anymore. It is a body of work.

Pride pause, then a West Coast test

The league now steps aside for the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup, a rare midseason silence for a player in this kind of form. For Orlando, it is a chance to reset; for opponents, a brief reprieve from the task of containing Banda’s movement in the box.

The Pride return 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.

By then, the Golden Boot race will resume. The question is simple: who, if anyone, can slow Kundananji Banda when it does?