At the beginning of the 2017 NWSL season, Marta was signed to the Orlando Pride to boost its offense, particularly to help Alex Morgan in the final third. Five months later, the Pride bringing in the five-time FIFA World Player of the Year was one of the best moves of the season for a team.

For the regular season, Marta scored 13 goals, making her the second leading goalscorer, and finished with six assists.

In September, Marta continued to impress as the Pride finished the month of the final season unbeaten for the second month in a row, winning two and drawing two games. The Pride clinched their first-ever playoff berth in club history, and Marta was a major part of that milestone, scoring twice and creating 13 chances, which brought her total to 64, leading the league, according to OptaJack (the NWSL's stat tracker). Marta also completed 85.5% of her passes in September, including three games with a passing accuracy over 88%.

Marta scored her 12th goal of the season on September 2 in a 4-2 win over the Boston Breakers. Her 67th-minute strike came on an assist from Chioma Ubogagu and was the eventual game-winning goal. On September 30, in the final game of the regular, the Pride took on the NWSL Shield winners, the North Carolina Courage.

Marta played a one-two with Alex Morgan, which allowed her to get into the box and finish for her 13th goal of the season. Even though Rowland got a touch on the ball, it slipped underneath her to put Orlando up by two. The Pride went on to win 3-2 on an Alanna Kennedy free-kick in the 90th minute, which propelled Orlando to finish as the third best team for the season.

Previous Winners

April - Rose Lavelle

May - Sam Kerr

June - Sam Kerr

July - Megan Rapinoe

August - Alex Morgan

The NWSL Player of the Month is selected each month of the regular season by the NWSL Media Association, a collection of writers that cover the league on a consistent basis.

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