SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast

The Orlando Pride stopped their skid with a 3-1 win at Utah, but it was far from a crisp performance, even if they outplayed the Royals in the first half. The second half was about managing things and fighting the effects of the altitude, but there wasn't much to say about it other than it took place and no more goals were scored. Friday's performance was a step in the right direction entering the international break, but more must be done to prepare for tougher games ahead.Barbra Banda scored the first hat trick in club history to lead the way, and the only other true threat to the goal was Ally Watt — off the rebound of a saved Banda shot. The offense still needs some work, and not all defenses will allow Banda the acres of space the Royals provided for the star striker to run into. Still, it was a win by multiple goals on the road, and that's always a good thing.We break down Orlando's win on Friday in Utah, look back at our surprisingly accurate (for one of us) score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match. I know you'll be shocked by our decision on that front.There are a couple more Orlando players on their way to their national teams, as Emily Sams and Kerry Abello were named to the USWNT for the upcoming window. Will Emma Hayes finally give Sams some minutes? Will Abello get a runout for the senior team? We'll see.This week's mailbagbox wants to know about the Pride's chances if Banda and Marta play average soccer, what will happen if and when Rafaelle is fully healthy, our thoughts on Mystery Science Theater 3000, something about furries, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show.Following our mailbagbox segment, we finished! There is no Pride game this weekend, but they'll be back in early June with a home game against the Houston Dash. We'll preview that for you next week.If you'd like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we'd love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.Here's how Episode 88 went down:0:15 – It's Bandamonium as the Bandawagon pulls out of the station following the Zambian's three-goal performance at Utah.18:19 - The mailbagbox has an unorthodox selection for Player of the Match

The Orlando Pride may not be exactly in free fall, but when compared to last season, the team certainly seems to be struggling — at least on the offensive end. The club's 1-0 home loss to Kansas City could have been a productive result if not for a defensive error that handed the league's most dangerous attacker a 1-v-1 against the goalkeeper. Alas, Friday's game wasn't an aberration. The Pride have scored once in the last three matches, and that lone goal was an extremely fortunate one in stoppage time at North Carolina.We break down Orlando's home loss in Friday's NWSL battle for first place, discuss the game's important moments, check on our score predictions from last week, and make our selections for Player of the Match.This week's mailbagbox wants to know about the Pride's attack, which players might provide some solutions if they transfer to Orlando, whether Haley Carter has something up her sleeve, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show.Following our mailbagbox segment, we look ahead to the Pride's road trip to Utah to face the Royals. While Orlando has a good record against Utah, the Royals are coming off a hard-fought, high-scoring draw against Washington, so there are no gimmies in the NWSL. We look back at the series history, check out where the two teams are relative to each other, provide our key matchups, and make our score predictions.If you'd like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we'd love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.Here's how Episode 87 went down:0:15 – The Pride's warning sirens are getting louder after a third consecutive match without a win.13:19 - The mailbagbox has some concerns about the Pride's offense.30:30 – The Pride head to Utah looking to get back on track.

The Orlando Pride continued to struggle to put the ball in the net Saturday at North Carolina, but at least they only allowed the Courage one goal. Prisca Chilufya's improbable header off a corner kick somehow found a spot where the goalkeeper couldn't get to it, allowing Orlando to escape Cary, NC, with a 1-1 draw and a vital road point in a tight NWSL race. But the Pride have just one win in their last four matches, which is a far cry from their form in the first half of 2024. We break down Orlando's road draw, discuss the game's big talking points, check on our score predictions from last week, and make our selections for Player of the Match.This week's mailbagbox wants to know about the Women's Club World Cup and the Harlem Globetrotters of soccer. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show.Following our mailbagbox segment, we look ahead to the Pride's home match against the first-place Kansas City Current Friday night. The Pride and Current have developed one of the league's more organic rivalries over the course of the last year, when both teams were among the league's best. That's the case again this year, but the Current enter the weekend in better form than Orlando and a two-point lead in the standings. We discuss the series history, the tale of the tape, our key matchups, and our score predictions.If you'd like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we'd love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.Here's how Episode 86 went down:0:15 – The Pride slipped out of first place with a last-gasp draw in North Carolina.22:35 - The mailbagbox question factory shipped us a few new ones to test drive.34:16 – The Pride prepare to host Kansas City on Friday night with a lot on the line.

The Orlando Pride have not played well for 2.5 of the last three matches, falling 1-0 on the road at Portland Saturday night. Scoring is an issue, as is breaking out of their own end. The Pride simply aren't creating enough clear-cut scoring chances, and when they do, they're not being clinical with those opportunities. We break down Orlando's second loss of the season — tying last year's total already — discussing some of the game's big moments, looking back at our predictions from last week, and making our selections for Player of the Match.This week's mailbagbox wants to know about NWSL announcers and officials, Pride cohesion, and the season-ending injury list. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show.Following our mailbagbox segment, we look ahead to the Pride's trip to North Carolina to take on the Courage. It's a tough place to get a result and a quality opponent for Orlando, but you have to play everyone in their place at some point. A result against North Carolina might be just what the doctor ordered for the Pride to get back on track and go on a run after falling in two of the last three games. We break down the all-time series, preview the Courage, provide our key matchups in the game, and try to predict the final score.If you'd like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we'd love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.Here's how Episode 85 went down:0:15 – The Pride are not in the best form at the moment, but they're still in first place, so there's that.17:26 - A bunch of questions were found in this week's mailbagbox, so we answered them.35:30 – The Pride head to another difficult place to get results with a trip to North Carolina on the schedule for Saturday. We preview!

The Orlando Pride looked for all the world like they were about to sustain a two-game home losing streak. Down two goals to Angel City — a team the Pride had never beaten at Inter&Co Stadium — and looking hardly in the mood for the first half, the Pride came out of the locker room rejuvenated. Still, it took a while to break through and climb back into the match. Once that happened, Orlando always looked capable of going on and picking up all three points, which is what transpired. It was not only the Pride's first home win over Angel City (and the first win by the home team in the all-time series), but it was also the club's first multi-goal comeback victory.We discuss the game's talking points and big moments, check our score predictions from last week, and make our selections for Player of the Match in the Pride's 3-2 home win over Angel City.This week's mailbagbox wants to know about expected goals, NWSL parity, the Pride's choice of starters, underrated moments in the match, a second division in the women's game in North America, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show.Following our mailbagbox segment, we break down Orlando's upcoming trip to Portland. The Pride have a terrible record at Providence Park (as most teams other than the Thorns do), but can Orlando exact some revenge for the Thorns ruining their unbeaten record late last season? We dive into the series history and the tale of the tape, provide our key matchups for Saturday night, and make our predictions for the final score. We're coming to the realization that we normally predict pretty much the same few scores over and over. Soccer!If you'd like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we'd love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.Here's how Episode 84 went down:0:15 – The Pride looked like they were about to take a second straight loss, but in the second half, they decided to win instead.18:21 - Our listeners must know things. And we're here to help with that need to know in our mailbagbox segment.41:30 – The Pride head to a difficult place to get results with a trip to Portland coming up this weekend.

The Orlando Pride lost a home game, which hasn't happened in a while. If I were wired in any kind of normal way, I'd remember how great that 22-match unbeaten run at home was, rather than the absolute howler that helped put a stop to that streak. But I'm wired like I am, which means obsessing and wondering why an experienced player continues to make the kinds of plays that indicate no learning has been done to prevent furthere such errors. Orlando's 1-0 home loss to the Washington Spirit could have happened in a variety of ways. After all, the Spirit are a top team in the NWSL. They're talented. They're well coached. They're hard to break down and difficult to keep off the board. Yet it was simply Anna Moorhouse's refusal to make a simple pass to the left while under pressure that turned what could have been an unsastisfying-but-hard-fought 0-0 draw into a loss.We look back at another subpar offensive night for the Pride, check our score predictions from last week, and make our selections for Player of the Match.This week's mailbagbox wants us to put the loss into perspective, asks us to opine on whether Adriana's loss is affecting the Pride's scoring, wonders what it'll take for a different goalkeeper to get minutes for Orlando, wants to know where Angelina should be playing, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show.Following our mailbagbox segment, we look ahead to Friday's date with Angel City. The Pride have faced their first adversity of the 2025 season, so it'll be interesting to see if they can bounce back against an opposing team that has yet to lose in Orlando. We look at the series history and the current position of both clubs, provide our key matchups for Friday, and make our predictions for the final score of the match.If you'd like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we'd love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.Here's how Episode 83 went down:0:15 – The Pride lost a home game for the first time in more than a year and a simple timely pass would have allowed the club to avoid dropping all three points.10:27 - Our listeners have all of the questions. We have some of the answers.31:50 – The Pride will look to rebound from their loss to Washington on Friday when Angel City visits.

The Orlando Pride returned from the break and picked up basically where they left off, playing well enough to beat the Seattle Reign on the road, while not exactly impressing with the performance that earned those three points. All wins in the NWSL are good, and none seem to come easily, but the Pride made things unnecessarily difficult on themselves in the second half with giveaways and inconsistent defending. Anna Moorhouse had to come up huge late in the game to preserve a 1-0 lead that Barbra Banda had supplied just before halftime.We look back at another low-scoring Pride win, check our score predictions from last week's show, and make our selections for Player of the Match.This week's mailbagbox wants to know how the Pride turned around their history of past failures, how smart USWNT Head Coach Emma Hayes is, narratives about the Pride-Spirit series, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show.Following our mailbagbox segment, we look ahead to Saturday's matchup between the Pride and the Spirit. Orlando may have won trophies with consecutive victories over the Spirit, but Washington got the last laugh by winning the postgame penalty shootout to claim the 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup at Inter&Co Stadium. The Pride will have to be sharper than they've been at both ends in recent games to hold off one of the league's top contenders. We provide our key matchups and our score predictions.If you'd like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we'd love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.Here's how Episode 82 went down:0:15 – The Pride pick up just their second road win against Seattle in club history. It was anything but easy.13:24 - Our listeners have many questions and we are always going to have some kind of answers.33:00 – The Pride return home for a pivotal match against the Washington Spirit.

The Orlando Pride had the weekend off with the exception of a few international players. Emily Sams didn't play Saturday and we recorded this week's show before Tuesday's late night match against Brazil in California. Angelina played for the Brazilians, but it was the Yanks who prevailed in the opener.This week's mailbagbox wants to know how quickly the NWSL will expand, whether international officiating was bad in the USWNT-Brazil match, our favorite in-person Pride experience, whether Orlando's internationals will be available for Saturday's game, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show.The Pride go to Seattle on Saturday to face the Reign. Orlando has historically not done well in the Pacific Northwest and the Pride have only one road win in this series. Will the Pride be able to stay focused, play hard, and get a result in the state of Washington? We preview the game, give you our key matchups for Saturday, and make our predictions for the final score. We get to come back next week and talk about it!If you'd like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we'd love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.Here's how Episode 81 went down:0:15 – Pride players with their national teams and a heaping helping of the mailbagbox.31:29 – The Pride head northwest to Seattle and we've got your preview.

The Orlando Pride made it three wins in three attempts Saturday afternoon on a hot day at Inter&Co Stadium. While the opponents didn't offer up the usual own goal this week, the Pride needed both a Haley McCutcheon goal and a Marta penalty — taken a second time after hitting the post as Kailen Sheridan left her line early — to get the dub against the San Diego Wave this week. While it wasn't a crisp performance, it was another win, and you can't be too unhappy with wins. We break down the talking points from Orlando's win over the Wave, check back on our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.The international break is now upon us, and a couple of Pride players might face each other in this window when the United States Women's National Team faces Brazil.This week's mailbagbox wants to know about Haley McCutcheon's goal celebration music, players not named Emily Sams suiting up for the USWNT, an interesting hypothetical involving either Kerry Abello or Marta, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show.With no Orlando Pride match to preview this week, the show ends after the mailbagbox, but it was a lengthy one, at least (both this episode, all things considered, and the mailbagbox segment itself). We'll be back next week to get you ready for the Pride's trip to the Pacific Northwest to face the Seattle Reign.If you'd like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we'd love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.Here's how Episode 80 went down:0:15 – The Pride played better against San Diego than they did at Gotham, but it still wasn't as good as Orlando is capable of playing. We'll gladly take the win, though.25:46 – The mailbagbox has plenty of questions this week.

The Orlando Pride apparently won't win every game as easily as they did the season opener, but a 2-0 road win at NJ/NY Gotham FC is a good result every time. The Pride struggled with turning the ball over and had difficulty creating clear-cut scoring chances, but an own goal and a Marta penalty at opposite ends of the first half turned the tide in Orlando's favor.We discuss the key moments in the match, look back to see how we did with our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.This week's mailbagbox wants to know if the salary cap will go away when the next NWSL collective bargaining agreement is reached and whether a Gotham own goal was preventative medicine designed to stop the fatality opponents suffer when Haley McCutcheon scores the first Pride goal. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show.Finally, the Pride get set to welcome the San Diego Wave to Inter&Co Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Wave have been a thorn in the Pride's side when they've visited Orlando in the past, while things have been easier for the Pride in San Diego in the brief series history. We look at the two combatants, provide our key matchups, and make our score predictions.If you'd like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we'd love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.Here's how Episode 79 went down:0:15 – The Pride were not the better side in the run of play but still come home with a 2-0 victory. That's a good sign.23:19 – The mailbagbox believes the Gotham own goal was a player playing three-dimensional chess instead of checkers.36:53 – The Wave come to town and have been a tough out at home for the Pride. We preview!

The Orlando Pride loved setting all those records last year so much that they decided to add some more in Friday night's 6-0 drubbing of the Chicago Stars. Orlando's six goals and six-goal win tied club marks and set new league records for setting an opponent on fire on opening day. Haley McCutcheon decided she liked being the first Pride player to score a goal in playoff games, so she brought that into the regular season and scored Orlando's fastest goal from the start of a new season just seven minutes in. The Pride seized complete control before halftime, found some breathing room just after the restart, and then unleashed Barbra Banda on an unsuspecting Stars back line which...maybe should have suspected.We looked back at our meager predictions of winning by two and scoff at their naivete as we broke down the match and made our selections for Player of the Match.This week's mailbagbox came with visuals we don't think our listeners can see (so we describe them). It also asks about focusing the early attack through McCutcheon, the Pride's attendance so far, Morgan Gautrat having to face her husband's team this year, and predictions for Banda's goal contributions in 2025. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show.Finally, we looked ahead to the Pride's trip to Gotham FC on Sunday and whether Orlando can exact revenge for one of only two losses in 2024. The Pride will need to break down a good defense and beat a top-notch goalkeeper in addition to holding some excellent attacking players at bay. We break down the history, provide our key matchups, and try to predict the final score.If you'd like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we'd love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.Here's how Episode 78 went down:0:15 – The Pride played the Chicago Stars as if they were punishing them for their terrible rebrand.19:00 – The mailbagbox is feisty this week.39:15 – Our look ahead at the Pride's trip to Gotham with revenge on their minds.

Well, now we know what it's like to watch the Orlando Pride play for a trophy and somehow not win it. Let's not do that again. The Pride and Washington Spirit battled hard in the NWSL Challenge Cup, and a draw was probably the fair result, although an Orlando win would have vastly improved our moods this week. The penalty shootout was fun to watch for about two rounds, and then it wasn't.After checking in on the news that Rafaelle and Grace Chanda were removed from the Season-Ending Injury list (which turned out to be important on Friday), we break down the Pride's game against the Spirit, check back on our score predictions, discuss the key plays, and make our selections for Player of the Match.This week's mailbagbox wants to know how hyped we are about Prisca Chilufya, what we thought of Seb Hines' substitutions on Friday, how we predict the 14 teams in the NWSL to finish in 2025, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show.Finally, we looked ahead to Friday's NWSL season-opening matchup against the Chicago Stars. We don't know what possessed Chicago to drop the "Red" part that made the team's name stand out, but we are definitely here to make fun of that franchise for the decision. What we can't make fun of is the Pride's record — especially at home — against Chicago. However, Orlando did win its last home game against the then-Red Stars, which was kind of an important step in winning the NWSL Championship. We look at the matchup and history of the series, discuss our key matchups, and make our final score predictions.If you'd like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we'd love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.Here's how Episode 77 went down:0:15 – The Pride did not beat the Spirit, nor did they lose. However, the shootout...oh yeah, they lost that thing, big time.15:50 – The mailbagbox comes suspiciously close to assigning us homework.41:20 – Our look ahead at the Chicago Stars and how the Pride might do on Friday.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's match week. The Orlando Pride last played a competitive match in November against the Washington Spirit with a trophy on the line. On Friday, the Pride will play a competitive match against the Washington Spirit with another trophy on the line. Before we discuss the Pride and Spirit tangling for the 2025 NWSL Challenge Cup, we discuss the brand-spanking-new Decennial Kit that the club released since our last show. The design is fantastic, the look is great, and the star and crest are out of this world. There is just one drawback that bothers both of your podcast hosts. It's not a deal breaker, but that one little detail could have made for one of the best kits in the team's history — which is saying something, because the Pride have been killing it.This week's mailbagbox wants to know if we can have a Seb Cam during Orlando Pride matches and asks us to dole out our preferred starting lineup for Friday. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show.Finally, we look ahead to Friday's matchup with the Washington Spirit. What we don't know this early in the week is what the availability report will look like. What we do know is that the Spirit are probably tired of watching Orlando Pride players celebrating trophy wins. Can the Pride do it again? We look at some of the injury factors that could determine which team could get the upper hand, discuss our key matchups, and make our final score predictions. Here's how Episode 76 went down:0:15 – The Pride have some fancy new duds and we want to talk about it.11:46 – The mailbagbox wants to know about preferred lineups and coach cams.30:33 – Key matchups and predictions for the Pride vs. the Spirit in the NWSL Challenge Cup.

With the Orlando Pride's NWSL Challenge Cup match against the Washington Spirit just over a week away, it's time for us to reconvene and begin preparing for the 2025 season. We've been away for a few weeks, and the main thing we've learned is that the Pride is serious about defense.To that end, we discuss the club re-signing Emily Sams and Cori Dyke to new deals through 2017, touching on the fact that Dyke has now signed her first three professional contracts in less than a calendar year. That's an odd yet delightful factoid. It wasn't just current defenders that the Pride were interested in signing. Spanish international Oihane Hernandez became the newest member of the Pride. Questions abound about where everyone on the back line will find minutes, but it's a great problem for Seb Hines to have. This week's mailbagbox blindsides us with picking co-ed 7-v-7 sides. Hear us struggle in real time. You can't get that kind of audio entertainment just anywhere. We also give a comprehensive overview on the club's international slot situation. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show.Our weekly season schedule is back. We'll be back next week to get you ready for the Pride vs. the Spirit at Inter&Co Stadium with another trophy on the line. We'll also bring you any news that drops between now and then. Welcome back, Pride fans. We made it through the shortest off-season in Orlando history.Here's how Episode 75 went down:0:15 – Orlando Pride news in recent weeks has been all about the defense. 19:07 – The mailbagbox beckons us with a hypothetical for which we were totally unprepared.

One international forward departs and another arrives as the Orlando Pride lost a bigtime player with Adriana's transfer to the Saudi Women's Premier League. While the Brazilian attacker will be missed, the club acted quickly in snapping up Prisca Chilufya from Juarez. The Zambian forward will hopefully fit right into Seb Hines' system as the Pride look to defend their NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship in 2025. Speaking of Hines, we have an exclusive interview with the Pride's head coach in our second segment. The gaffer took time out right after a meeting with his team over at IMG Academy during preseason preparations to talk to us about the team's championship run, how he's spent his off-season, how he plans to motivate his team to repeat, what to expect from some of the players we didn't see (much or at all) last season, and much more. It's always great to talk with Seb, as he's seemingly always in a good mood and positive. Following our interview, we checked in with some of Orlando's other off-season transactions, with a goalkeeper moving to Canada and an Argentine loaned out to her home country. We discuss the moves and dive into the Pride's 2025 preseason roster. After that, it's time for us to check our mailbagbox, which asks us about free agents, sports cliches, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. We're in our off-season schedule, so we're not sure if our next show is a week from now or perhaps early March, but we'll let the news dictate that. For now, we're monitoring things and we'll be back before you know it. Here's how Episode 74 went down: 0:15 – We open the show with our breakdown of Adriana's departure and the arrival of Chilufya. 10:14 – Seb Hines jumps on with us to talk about winning trophies, preparing to defend the team's title, and more. 30:09 - More off-season Pride transactions, the team's preseason roster, and our mailbagbox.

We're in our off-season podcast schedule, which means things can be a bit unpredictable, except that you'll get a new show at least monthly before the season starts back up. We didn't have a ton of news, but circumstances warranted an episode, because we're about to lose one of our favorite people. After we discussed Orlando's signing Monday afternoon of Wake Forest defender Zara Chavoshi, the first rookie signed since the NWSL did away with the draft, we have a special guest. Longtime Orlando City/Orlando Pride Director of Communications Jackie Maynard is leaving the club after nine seasons to take on a new challenge. She's going out a champion, but she's always been one in our book, as she's been one of the best PR people on the MLS or NWSL side for years. She has set up so many of our interviews over the years and listened in on them, so it was only right that we let her take the microphone for herself before she leaves the City Beautiful. Jackie discusses her career in Orlando, how the club and women's soccer have evolved in her time here, some of the crazy, behind-the-scenes stuff she's had to deal with on the road, and much more. Big thanks to Jackie for all her help through the years and our deepest wishes for success in the next step of the journey, which she is not at liberty to discuss publicly just yet as of this writing, but it's a nice gig and we're happy for her. After our chat with Jackie, we dive into our mailbagbox, which asks us what position group we'd most like the Pride to address this off-season and makes us pick an over/under on Orlando goals in 2025. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we discuss the Pride re-signing team captain Marta for two more seasons. As the Brazilian soccer icon prepares for her 39th birthday, she also readies herself for the first season of a new two-year deal with Orlando that will likely see out her illustrious playing career. Marta was remarkable in 2024, helping her team win two trophies, and if she can keep playing at that level, she's welcome here for as long as she likes. Here's how Episode 73 went down: 0:15 – The Pride add their first rookie since the NWSL dropped the draft. Welcome to Orlando, Zara Chavoshi! 8:14 – Jackie Maynard jumps on with us to discuss her nine-year career with Orlando City SC/Orlando Pride and we can't thank her enough for her time on this show and her help throughout the years. 33:47 - We open up the mailbagbox and then discuss Marta's return for two more seasons with Orlando.

Still basking in the glow of an NWSL Championship, we reconvene this week without a match to recap and little news to share. However, there was one development over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, as defender Carrie Lawrence announced her retirement from the game on Black Friday. We discuss what Carrie's retirement means for the Pride. After the brief Pride news portion of the show, we dive straight into our mailbagbox, which is much shorter this week. During this poetic edition of the mailbagbox, we answer questions about whether we can imagine sitting next to one of our regular listeners at an NWSL Championship and if Marta could have an opportunity to right a wrong. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, it's our annual "Stays/Goes" segment, in which we go through the entire Orlando Pride roster, looking at each player's contract situation and trying to determine which players we expect to be in purple again next season (and which ones will move on). Haley Carter and company will want to build on the best season in league history, so there are bound to be a few more departures if the club can lure even more talent to Central Florida. Here's how Episode 72 went down: 0:15 – Carrie Lawrence calls it a career and our mailbagbox is much more manageable this week. 20:11 – Our annual Orlando Pride roster review and projections for 2025.

Wow. As we get ready to enjoy a holiday weekend with our loved ones, the Orlando Pride have given us so much more to be thankful for this year. The Pride went to Kansas City, withstood a furious challenge from the Washington Spirit, played their usual solid defense, and captured a 1-0 win in the 2024 NWSL Championship. If the Kansas City Current and their fans thought the Pride celebrated on their field back in July, they hadn't seen anything yet. We discuss the Pride's win over Washington, the valiant fight the other team showed, the controversy before the game's only goal, some of the remarks the Spirit made in the aftermath, and much more. We checked back on our score predictions and made our selections for Player of the Match. After our match rewind, we opened up our mailbagbox, which was busting at the seams. Much of that came from one extremely enthusiastic listener, but we're not mad about it. We may have to break up a block of questions that big across multiple episodes in the future, but we were in a celebratory mood and answered each one. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we discussed Megan Montefusco and Celia closing their careers as champions, got a quick word from Mark Wilf, the Pride's owner and chairman, and hit the high points of the team's celebration in front of City Hall in downtown Orlando on Monday. This episode is a long one, so buckle up. Listen to it in smaller chunks if it helps. Here's how Episode 71 went down: 0:45 – Orlando didn't play its best (and credit much of that to Washington), but the Pride got their moment of Barbra Banda brilliance and won their first NWSL Championship. 29:39 – The mailbagbox is ridiculously full this week. 1:19:09 – Pride retirements, highlights from the Pride's victory parade and celebration, a word from owner/chairman Mark Wilf, and more.

[Note: My apologies for the audio, as Dave sounded great and I did not. Unbeknownst to me, everything was running through my external laptop microphone, so I come off a bit echoey.] The Orlando Pride held steadfast at home, coming back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Kansas City Current 3-2 at Inter&Co Stadium Sunday. The victory pushed the Pride's magical season into the ultimate game — Saturday night's NWSL Championship, which is coincidentally taking place in Kansas City. Haley McCutcheon, Barbra Banda, and Marta did the damage on the scoreboard, and the defense held on for dear life during a furious Current rally attempt that was aided by eons of stoppage time and lots of balls in the box. We break down the NWSL semifinal match, look back at our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match. After our match rewind, we opened up our mailbagbox, and it was a good one. Our mailbagbox this week asked questions about Haley McCutcheon, road tripping to the NWSL final, Sunday's match referee, the best goal in our stadium's history, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we reviewed some of the recent Orlando Pride news (note: this did not include Seb Hines' award because we recorded Monday night), including the team's nominees for year-end NWSL awards, Pride players named to the league's Best XI first and second teams, and another call-up to the USWNT for Emily Sams. Finally, we previewed the Pride's matchup with the Spirit on Saturday for all the Kansas City barbecue. We walked through the history of the series, looked at the seasons the two teams have had, selected our key matchups for the match, and tried our best to predict the final score. Here's how Episode 70 went down: 0:45 – Orlando booked a spot in the NWSL final by ousting the Kansas City Current in a game that wasn't easy in the least. In fact, it may still be in stoppage time. 22:44 – The mailbagbox has questions about the NWSL semifinal, a road trip to the final, and more. 39:29 – Pride news and notes and our preview and predictions for Orlando's NWSL Championship match against the Washington Spirit.

The Orlando Pride made it two wins in a row with a 4-1 home victory over the Chicago Red Stars. More importantly, the Pride got their first-ever NWSL playoff victory in their first-ever home postseason game. Barbra Banda returned to the scoresheet in a big way, netting a brace that could have been four or five goals the way she was creating chances. Orlando had a couple of goals overturned and hit the post twice, saving Chicago from a true playoff beating. It was good to see the offense back, but the defense also did well, not allowing a first-half shot and only giving up a goal on one of the sillier mistakes of the season. We break down the match, look back at our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match. After our match rewind, we welcome Orlando Pride forward Ally Watt to the show. Ally was generous with her time and spoke about the Pride's season, the Chicago game, the closeness the players feel for one another, the upcoming clash with Kansas City, and much more. Big thanks to Ally for her time. Our mailbagbox this week included some jubilation as well as questions about Bingo cards, Haley McCutcheon, Ally Watt as a starter, Summer Yates, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we previewed the upcoming NWSL semifinal match against the Kansas City Current. The Pride will have to try to slow down Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga, while respecting the Current midfield and looking for a way to break through a defense that has become stingy over the last two months of the season. We provide our key matchups and try to predict the final score. Here's how Episode 69 went down: 0:15 – Orlando picked up its first postseason win by destroying the Chicago Red Stars. It was only 4-1 but could have been so much more lopsided. 15:53 – Ally Watt jumps on the call to talk about the playoffs and the Orlando Pride in the playoffs. 41:17 – Our mailbagbox has comments as well as questions, and we take a look ahead to Sunday's playoff semifinal showdown against the Current.

The Orlando Pride returned home over the weekend and returned to their winning ways with a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Reign. Although Barbra Banda still isn't scoring goals, three of her teammates did so, including Marta, who made her mark on the match despite it not being her best outing of the season. The defense is still a bit of a concern, but it did just about enough to get the job done. We look back at the match and our score predictions to see how well we prognosticated the proceedings. Our mailbagbox this week included my belated reaction to "Hot to Go" and asked about the worst rule in soccer, broadcasters who don't seem to favor the Pride, and whether Orlando's defense can regain its form. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we remembered that we hadn't selected a Player of the Match against Seattle, so we rectified that. Finally, we previewed the upcoming playoff game against the Chicago Red Stars. The Pride will have to avoid switching off defensively and will have to be clinical on the attacking end in order to advance. Orlando has historically struggled at home against Chicago, but there's no better time to start changing fortunes. Here's how Episode 68 went down: 0:15 – Orlando is back in the win column, finishing the season without a home loss. The Pride will try to keep that streak alive Friday vs. Chicago. 21:19 – Our mailbagbox is asking about horrible soccer rules and all manner of things. 37:21 – Our look ahead to Friday night's playoff opener against the Red Stars.

The Orlando Pride were off for the women's international break over the weekend, but that doesn't mean there wasn't stuff for us to discuss (and if there's one thing we love to discuss, it's definitely stuff!). Emily Sams saw her first minutes with the United States Women's National Team, and the Yanks unsurprisingly won. Barbra Banda finished 12th in the race for the Ballon d'Or, which seems low, but it's still quite an honor to be considered the 12th-best player in the world. And we looked at the Pride's Brazilians, who earned a draw and a win against Colombia, with Adriana scoring a goal for her country. Our mailbagbox this week asked us if we listened to "Hot to Go" and wanted to know about the Pride's attacking chemistry, a hypothetical Women's Club World Cup question, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we looked ahead to Saturday's matchup against the Seattle Reign. The all-time series hasn't been kind to Orlando, but it's been better at home and the Reign were pretty good for most of the history of the series. We give our key matchups and make our score predictions while admitting that hey, we haven't necessarily had a lot of time to watch Seattle games since the Pride went to Washington back in May. Here's how Episode 67 went down: 0:15 – Emily Sams' USWNT debut, Pride Brazilians in international play, and Barbra Banda's place on the Ballon d'Or list. 9:16 – Our mailbagbox is full of great questions, as usual. 22:40 – Our look ahead to Saturday's regular-season finale against Seattle.

One road loss became two as the Pride turned in a disastrous performance against Gotham FC on Sunday. Seb Hines went back to his starters to get try to regain the team's momentum as the regular season winds down, but unfortunately, things went from bad to worse for the defense, which was substandard and reminiscent of some of the bad Orlando teams from the past. It was not the response Pride fans wanted to see after the team's first loss all season in Portland, but it is what it is. We break down the Pride's second straight loss. I don't even remember if we checked our score predictions from last week, because the weekend destroyed us, but we did make our selections for Player of the Match. Our mailbagbox this week asked us if Rafaelle will be healthy this season and if she'll get to start if she is. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we spent some time discussing recent Orlando Pride news, including Emily Sams getting a call-up to the United States Women's National Team, the Pride and Summer Yates exercising the midfielder's option year for 2026, and the date of Orlando's first-ever home playoff game. I misspoke about what day of the week it was, but I realized it and gave the right day, so please stop yelling at me. Or at least stop yelling at me about that. Here's how Episode 66 went down: 0:15 – The Pride have not yet regained their mojo. 15:10 – Our mailbagbox wants to know about Rafaelle. 23:17 – Miscellaneous Orlando Pride news to take us into the international break.

Just one game after clinching the 2024 NWSL Shield, the Orlando Pride gave some starters a much-needed rest. While lineup changes have not prevented the Pride from getting positive results throughout the season, this time it was different. There were too many new faces in the lineup and the players attached to those faces did not perform well against what had been a struggling Portland Thorns side — but a proud franchise desperate to reach the postseason for its retiring captain. The venue, the surface, the crowd, the circumstances, and the rotation were too much for Orlando to overcome in their totality. Even the insertion of key starters in the second half couldn't turn the tide in a 2-0 road loss. Still, one loss may teach the team more than all the wins and draws that came before it. That will be the hope of Seb Hines as his team approaches the postseason as the league's top seed. For the first time all season, we look back on a Pride loss. We also check our score predictions from last week, and make our selections for Player of the Match. Our mailbagbox this week asked us about electrical stuff, songs, which teams will make the playoffs, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we spent some time digesting the (awful) name of the new NWSL franchise in Boston. We also discussed some Pride international call-ups. Finally, we looked ahead to the Pride's matchup Sunday at Gotham FC. Last years champs have a defense like Orlando's as well as a good offense and Gotham will be seeking revenge for its recent loss at Inter&Co Stadium. We give the two teams' tale of the tape, select our key matchups, and make our score predictions. Here's how Episode 65 went down: 0:15 – The Pride went west and rested some starters. Things went...poorly. 23:51 – Our mailbagbox is both soccer-related and random. Plus, a bad team name and more Pride news. 51:45 – The Pride look to get back on track against Gotham FC on the road.

The Orlando Pride have done it! The 2024 NWSL Shield belongs to Orlando after a 2-0 home win over the second-place Washington Spirit that wasn't easy. The Spirit came in with a lot of resolve, and on a rainy night with a slick field, anything could happen. Sometimes it almost did. But, in the end, Barbra Banda earned a penalty, Marta scored it, Anna Moorhouse (and others) made some huge stops, and Adriana's foot provided some breathing room, even though she wasn't credited with a goal. We broke down the game, checked our score predictions from last week, and made our selections for Player of the Match. David Rohe provided some insight from his trip down from Tallahassee to see the game, as well. Our mailbagbox this week asked us about longitude and latitude, cheating cheaters who cheat, and when the Pride most tested our loyalty. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we looked ahead to Orlando's trip out west to play the Portland Thorns. With Hurricane Milton threatening Florida, the team had to go spend some extra days in the Pacific Northwest, so the Pride will be battling hotel legs, a new time zone, a letdown after winning the shield...oh, and also the Portland Thorns, who the Pride have only beaten once on the road. Ever. We discuss the Thorns' season to date, the series history, our key matchups for Friday night, and our final score predictions. Here's how Episode 64 went down: 0:15 – The Pride took care of the league's second-place team and claimed the Shield without putting us through any unnecessary drama over the last few games of the season. 19:21 – Our mailbagbox gets scientific this week. We learned to always trust Jimmy Buffett songs. 39:22 – The Pride have a lot going against them on this trip to Portland. Can they keep the positive results going?

The Orlando Pride returned from their road trip and found out there's no place like home. The team returned to a massive crowd and celebrated with a three-goal performance and a 3-1 win over the visiting Houston Dash, completing a sweep of the season series. Three different players scored for the Pride, and one of them wasn't Barbra Banda, but the Zambian international did pick up an assist. The win put the Pride on the brink of claiming the 2024 NWSL Shield, but there are some big obstacles still in the way. We broke down the game, checked our score predictions from last week, and made our selections for Player of the Match. Our mailbagbox this week asked us about hockey rules in soccer, mascots for the Pride, Viviana Villacorta, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we looked ahead to Orlando's home match Sunday against the second-place Washington Spirit. The Pride would claim their first trophy with a win and lock up home field in the playoffs (until the final). We discuss the Spirit in detail, preview the game, and provide our key matchups and score predictions. Here's how Episode 63 went down: 0:15 – The Pride put a crooked number on the scoreboard and got another win, although Barbra Banda still isn't back to scoring regularly. 19:52 – Our mailbagbox asks us for answers and provides answers for others' questions. 36:20 – The Pride get ready for a massive match against the Spirit. Our preview.

The Orlando Pride visited Bay FC for the first time and ended up getting a season sweep of the expansion side by identical 1-0 scorelines. The match was anything but easy and the Pride's offensive struggles continue since the restart of league play, but Barbra Banda's header was enough to get a road win, opening up a little breathing room in the shield race with five games remaining. Orlando's list of club and league records continues to grow. We broke down the game, checked our score predictions from last week, and made our selections for Player of the Match. Our mailbagbox this week asked us about songs to enjoy the 2024 Pride by and Evelina Duljan. We also got a fun fact from one of our listeners about that Kerry Abello Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we discussed the U-20 USWNT winning the third-place match after failing to score in a tightly played semifinal at the FIFA U-20 World Cup. Ally Lemos brings home a medal after a solid run in the competition. Finally, we look ahead to Orlando's home match Saturday against the Houston Dash. It won't be easy to score goals, as it never is against the Dash, but the Pride will look to try to continue setting the pace in the NWSL. We previewed the game and provided our key matchups and score predictions. Here's how Episode 62 went down: 0:15 – The Pride is still struggling to score goals but got enough to get past Bay FC on the road. 15:12 – Our mailbagbox asks us for playlist ideas and the U-20 USWNT picked up a medal. 26:18 – The Pride get ready for a rematch with the Houston Dash.

The Orlando Pride didn't get the sweep of the Kansas City Current, but they at least kept the visitors from celebrating a win in Orlando. The rematch between two of the top teams in the NWSL was a tightly contested one, but it didn't quite live up to the hype. Still, the Pride managed to continue their unbeaten run and added another point and clean sheet to the growing pile. We tried to hit the game's high points, but we also had a few critiques, although the result is ultimately a good (if unsatisfying) one. We checked our score predictions from last week and made our selections for Player of the Match. Our mailbagbox this week asked us about Marta, Cori Dyke, Pride attendance, and much more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we discussed the U-20 USWNT's improbable late rally against Germany to force extra time and penalties. The Pride's Ally Lemos got things going with a great assist and the Yanks advanced to today's semifinal. Finally, we look ahead to Orlando's road contest against a stubborn Bay FC side that has been playing much better of late. The Pride will look to get the offense going against a team that has been stingy in recent weeks. We'll have to wait to see who prevails. We provided our key matchups and score predictions. Here's how Episode 61 went down: 0:15 – The Pride didn't score as the offense continues to sputter, but at least they didn't concede in the rematch with the Current. 19:13 – Our mailbagbox seemingly grows every week. 43:45 – Ally Lemos started an amazing U-20 USWNT comeback and our preview for the Pride at Bay FC.

The Orlando Pride dominated statistically but got just enough offense to win on a Marta wonderstrike from outside the box in a 1-0 road win on Sunday against the Chicago Red Stars. Although the Pride kept Mallory Swanson quiet, Orlando needed a bit more sharpness in front of goal to open the game up. It never happened, but Marta's NWSL Goal of the Week helped Orlando secure three more points on the road. We broke down the game, checked back at our score predictions from last week, and made our selections for Player of the Match. Our mailbagbox this week had concerns about whether Orlando should stay undefeated in the regular season, whether stoppage time is an issue, whether the soccer gods have an axe to grind with Barbra Banda, and whether Evelina Duljan should play more minutes with Banda. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we discussed Amanda Allen's loan to Lexington, McKinley Crone's new contract through 2026, and Banda's recent scoring drought. Finally, we look ahead to Orlando's home match Friday against the Kansas City Current. The visitors will be looking for revenge from the first meeting and their perceived slights when Pride players were happy about the result in that match. We also provided our key matchups and score predictions for the game. Here's how Episode 60 went down: 0:15 – The Pride kept rolling with another clean sheet and a win at Chicago. 12:59 – Our mailbagbox is chock full, as is our Orlando Pride news segment. 39:50 – Our preview of the rematch against the Kansas City Current, who totally won't celebrate like crazy if they win after playing more than half the match a player down on the road. Honest.

The Orlando Pride came back from the road and there really is no place like home. After the obligatory Central Florida weather delay, the Pride went out and beat defending NWSL champion NJ/NY Gotham FC 2-0 at Inter&Co Stadium. Adriana found her scoring boots and bagged herself a brace, and the Pride kept another clean sheet. We discussed the highlights from the game, checked the result against our score predictions from last week, and made our selections for Player of the Match. Our mailbagbox this week had concerns about Haley Carter's role with her new title, wondered if referees are more lenient with the Pride's opponents, asked which midfielders and formation might be used in Chicago, and questioned what the final score really was on Sunday. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we dove into some of the recent Orlando Pride news, including Carter's new contract, Alex Kerr being waived, and the U-20 USWNT not using Ally Lemos in its 1-0 opening loss to Spain. We're not saying the U.S. lost to Spain because Lemos didn't play, but no one can prove the Yanks wouldn't have won if she had. Finally, we look ahead to Orlando's trip to face the Red Stars in Chicago. The Pride usually do better against the Red Stars on the road than at home, which is weird, but hopefully that trend continues. We also provide our key matchups and score predictions for this weekend's game. Here's how Episode 59 went down: 13:55 – The Pride got two goals from Adriana and a big W. 14:54 – Our mailbagbox has anxiety issues, and some bits of Orlando Pride news. 33:18 – Our preview of Orlando's trip to play the Chicago Red Stars.

The Orlando Pride returned to league play on Friday and, despite some difficulties, managed to get a second-half goal and a little bit of luck to beat the Houston Dash 1-0. The Pride established a new NWSL record for consecutive games unbeaten (18), along with a few more club single-season records. We break down the match, speak glowingly of Angelina's pass and Summer Yates' goal, check in on our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match. Our mailbagbox this week was helpful to someone who asked a question last week. In addition, we were asked about which team was the Pride's biggest NWSL Shield threat and whether we should be concerned about the defensive performance in Houston. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we look ahead to NJ/NY Gotham FC's visit to Inter&Co Stadium on Sunday. We check the tale of the tape and past history and provide our key matchups and score predictions for the heavyweight battle to come this weekend. Here's how Episode 58 went down: 0:15 – It wasn't easy, but the Orlando Pride finally beat the Dash in Houston for the first time in years. 14:54 – Our mailbagbox revisits old requests and makes new ones. 27:55 – Gotham is playing well, so the Pride have to be sharp on Sunday.

The NWSL regular season is set to return and the Orlando Pride will get their internationals back. Unfortunately, that won't include the recently acquired Grace Chanda, who sustained a ruptured quadriceps tendon during the Olympics while representing Zambia and she is out for the season, postponing her Pride debut. But there is some good news. The club acquired defender Carson Pickett, who makes her return to Orlando to bolster a back line that has played well in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse this season, regardless of who has played where along that back four. Pickett brings experience, talent, and a grittier side to her game with her return to the Pride and we can't wait to see how she fits in with the group. We also touched on Ally Lemos and Amanda Allen getting honored with a call-up to represent their countries (the U.S. and Canada, respectively) in the upcoming U-20 Women's World Cup. Our congratulations go out to both players. Pride rookie Cori Dyke joins us as our special guest as we put her through the paces of our unique style of exclusive interview. We learned a lot about her arrival in Orlando, her thoughts on earning her first pro contract and then a second deal as well. Heck, we even asked her about her college teammate Kerry Abello's commercial. Yeah, that one! Our mailbagbox asked us about Orlando's attendance, books about soccer, some remarks from Sam Mewis about the USWNT's attackers, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we get to our preview of Friday's road match at the Houston Dash. The Dash don't score a lot of goals but they can also be downright stingy at times when it comes to conceding them. We provide our key matchups and score predictions for Friday. Here's how Episode 57 went down: 0:15 – Grace Chanda's injury, Carson Pickett's arrival, and two Pride players will represent their countries at the U-20 World Cup. 11:10 – Cori Dyke jumps on the pod with us to discuss her rookie year, the Summer Cup, and more. 30:40 – Our mailbagbox segment and a look ahead to Friday's match at Houston.

The Pride were off this weekend, but that doesn't mean there wasn't news out of the club. Orlando signed Head Coach Seb Hines to a new contract through the 2026 NWSL season with an option year for 2027. That's great news after the turnaround the club has experienced under Hines' stewardship. We discuss Hines' beginnings with the club, his rise to success, and what the deal means moving forward. We also discuss the many smiles of Seb Hines, which are numerous and each has its own purpose Our mailbagbox asked us how long we think some of the Pride's brightest stars will hang around. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we discuss Kerry Abello's great month of July, taking a brief side trip to again enjoy the weirdness of her Orlando Health commercial. Finally, we discuss the 2024 Olympic gold medal match between the United States and Brazil, which featured four Pride players on the pitch and another who got a gold medal. We are ultimately happy the team we support won the gold, but we can't help but feel a bit sad for Marta not winning the championship. What was with Brazil not starting her, anyway? Here's how Episode 56 went down: 0:15 – The Pride extended Seb Hines' stay in Orlando with a new contract. 15:58 – The mailbagbox is worried good players will leave the Pride. 26:28 – Kerry Abello wins monthly NWSL accolades and several Orlando players win Olympic medals.

Big shout-out to WJ Dog Treats (wjdogtreats.com) for sponsoring the mailbagbox segment of SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast. WJ Dog Treats is a small, family-run company of Orlando City fans who are committed to producing healthy, high-quality dog treats with just five ingredients, including their own home-made peanut butter. Give them a try. If you use the code SkoPurp at checkout, you'll get a dollar off a bag of treats for your pooch! The Pride finished out their Summer Cup with a third consecutive draw — this time against Racing Louisville at home. The teams finished with one goal apiece and despite the Pride leading the ensuing penalty shootout early, they faltered at the end and the visitors took home the extra point. In the end, both teams were eliminated from advancing. While it wasn't the kind of tournament the Pride wanted to have, their young players got competitive experience and kept the team's unbeaten run going. We break down the match and make our selections for the Pride's Player of the Match. Our mailbagbox asked us about international players in the Olympics that we'd like to see sign with the Pride. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we look at the Pride players in the Olympics, but keep in mind we recorded Monday night before the semifinals were played on Tuesday. We'll have plenty to talk about next week, even though we thought we might not have a show with the Pride off until later in the month. Here's how Episode 55 went down: 0:15 – The Pride squared off against Racing Louisville and neither side won. 18:30 – The mailbagbox has us scouting players across the world. 29:16 – Pride players still in the Olympics, Marta's suspension, and more.

We want to give a big shout-out to WJ Dog Treats (wjdogtreats.com) for sponsoring the mailbagbox segment of SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast. WJ Dog Treats is a small, family-run company of Orlando soccer fans who are committed to producing healthy, high-quality dog treats with just five ingredients, including their own home-made peanut butter. Give them a try. If you use the code SkoPurp at checkout, you'll get a dollar off a bag of treats for your pooch! The Pride faced international competition for the first time ever, and things didn't start out so good but in the end, Orlando got yet another result. We start this week's show with a discussion of the Pride's 2-2 home draw against CF Monterrey, including a rude visit from an old friend, and the shootout that followed. Remember, the Summer Cup matches go directly to shootouts after draws so that one team can earn an extra point. In this case, it was Orlando. Again, we didn't dare make any score predictions, but we did made our selections for the Pride's Player of the Match. Our mailbagbox clarified a question from a recent episode and asked what might have been a facetious question about Saturday's referee (or maybe it was serious...either way, we treated it as if it was serious). Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we discussed the latest results for the Pride players in the Olympics. Will an injury lead to Emily Sams getting her first senior cap? Can Orlando's Brazilians bounce back from a difficult loss? Will Barbra Banda stop scoring hat tricks if it means her team will win? The Pride will have a weird, Thursday match against Racing Louisville as they wrap up group play in the Summer Cup. Orlando needs to get a win in this competition, and Thursday is as good a time as any, but it won't be easy, as games against Racing rarely are. Here's how Episode 54 went down: 0:15 – The Pride faced Liga MX Femenil competition for the first time ever and it took penalties to separate the sides. 14:56 – The mailbagbox clarifies itself and then asks another question. 25:09 – Pride players in the Olympics and a look ahead to Racing Louisville.

The Pride (minus several starters) went to North Carolina and — much like the first time they went there — they came home with a point. The 1-1 draw wasn't a terrible result, but it would have been a lot better if Orlando had managed to win the extra point that was just sitting there, waiting for them, in the ensuing penalty shootout. We discuss the team's Summer Cup opener with two home games remaining against Monterrey and Racing Louisville. We may not have made score predictions, but we did give our thoughts (unanimously) on the Pride's Player of the Match. Our mailbagbox asked about Bri Martinez, Olympic rosters, defenders making the monthly Best XI, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we discussed the Pride players in the Olympics and what their schedule looks like this week. There will be a lot of reasons to watch this Olympic tournament for Pride fans. The Pride return home for a Saturday night meeting with Monterrey — the team's first competitive match against an international opponent. This is great for the game, and we are excited to learn all about Monterrey this weekend. Here's how Episode 53 went down: 0:15 – The Pride went to the Courage and were outplayed but still managed a late goal to tie it before throwing away a penalty shootout lead. 12:47 – The mailbagbox asks us to reveal what we know. 27:55 – The Olympic schedule for the Pride's internationals this week and a brief discussion of how little we know about Monterrey.

We open this week's show with a discussion of the Orlando Pride signing two young players to new contracts through the 2025 season with option years for 2026. Rookie Cori Dyke and second-year pro Summer Yates have earned new deals and the Pride didn't want to waste time getting them to stick around for a bit longer. We discuss both players' accomplishments in 2024, and of course we recorded the night before Orlando signed Viviana Villacorta to a similar new deal. Haley Carter is doing all of the business! Our mailbagbox asked about the NWSL Best XI for the month of June, Marta's highlights, National Team Replacement Players, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. The Pride now head to North Carolina to face a difficult Courage side in the NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup, and we have no idea what to expect. Will Seb Hines play his best available lineup with more than half of his starters unavailable? Will he give opportunities to young players to see how they respond to getting competitive minutes? Will it be a combination? There are a lot of variables and we're not even tempted to try to figure out how to identify the key matchups or predict the score. Here's how Episode 52 went down: 0:15 – The Pride signed Cori Dyke and Summer Yates to new deals and we love seeing the club invest in its young players. 15:52 – The mailbagbox is interested in June's NWSL Best XI and other topics. 38:35 – It's hard to predict Orlando's Summer Cup opener at North Carolina due to a number of missing Orlando starters on international duty.

If people were skeptical about the Orlando Pride before Saturday night, they are probably believers now. The Pride went into a sold-out CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, struck first, withstood the answer from the hosts, lost a player to a second yellow card, and then outplayed the Current the rest of the way to take over the top spot in the NWSL. The Pride beat Kansas City in its own fortress with one player tied behind their backs after Carrie Lawrence's sending off late in the first half. What we learned from the rest of the game is that Orlando is a team that can deal with adversity. We break down a tense match that lifted Orlando into first place at the Olympic break, check back on our score predictions, and select our pick for Player of the Match. We also discuss the unlikely talking point of celebration and what constitutes too much of it. If you can't go crazy after a match like that, there's no such thing as a regular-season game you can celebrate. Salt? Salt. Our mailbagbox was chock full after Orlando's win in Kansas City, including queries about fouls, celebrations, that Kerry Abello commercial, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. The Pride are off this weekend and won't have another league match for weeks, but the Summer Cup competition between the NWSL and Liga MX Femenil teams ramps up toward the end of the month. We look forward to seeing what those lineups look like and whether Orlando can ride its momentum through the Summer Cup and out the other side while some of the team's stars are playing in the Olympics in France. Here's how Episode 51 went down: 0:15 – The Pride only had 10 players for more than half the game but still finished with twice as many goals as the mighty Current. That was cool. 33:24 – The mailbagbox is busting at the seams this week after Orlando won the battle of the last two undefeated teams in the NWSL.

It's our 50th episode! When we embarked on our Orlando Pride-centric podcast, we didn't know if there would be an audience, but we have found one and it continues to grow. Thanks, as always, for your support. The Orlando Pride went to Los Angeles to play their third road game in four matches and did what they've done most of the season — they won. The Pride shut out their third consecutive opponent and earned their seventh clean sheet of the season in a 3-0 win over Angel City and its cast of thousands of former Orlando players. Adriana exploded for two goals in six minutes and Barbra Banda capped the game with her 11th of the season, pulling within two of the club's single-season record. We break down the big win, check back on our score predictions (Dave was very close!), and make our selections for Player of the Match. Our mailbagbox was light this week, but asked us about our favorite Pride jersey so far and what themes we'd like to see in future kits. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. We also discussed the new contract Bri Martinez signed after a good start to the 2024 season. Martinez is now locked down through 2025 and won't need to be re-signed in the off-season. It's good to build depth, and Martinez has shown an ability to provide minutes when starters are out or when Seb Hines wants to move some pieces around. Finally, the Pride will head to Kansas City for a massive match Saturday against the Current. The Kansas City club has kept pace with the Pride's incredible start — while maintaining the tiebreaker — all season. The Current have the league's best offense, while the Pride have the NWSL's stingiest defense. Which will prevail? We provide our key matchups and score predictions for what should be a regular-season match that feels like a playoff game. Here's how Episode 50 went down: 0:15 – The Pride won 3-0 but could have had more goals with a little more precision in front of net. 14:44 – The mailbagbox is all about Orlando Pride soccer jerseys, and a Pride defender gets a new deal. 24:22 – The match of the year (so far) is coming. Hopefully, regardless of who wins (or if it's a draw), it will live up to the hype.

The Orlando Pride did some heavy editing to the club record book on Friday when the Utah Royals visited. In front of nearly 10,000 fans, the Pride put the visitors to the sword, beating Utah 6-0 at Inter&Co Stadium. Led by braces from Barbra Banda and Marta, the Pride set several new team marks, including most goals, biggest margin of victory, largest shutout win, and most-attended home game that wasn't a home opener. Banda set a new record for braces in a season and equaled a club best with four goal contributions in a match. It was a joy to behold. We break down the match, check our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match. Our mailbagbox this week had questions about the international slot limit, the Olympics impacting player availability, and much more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. Finally, the Pride head west to face Angel City on the Road Sunday. The teams played to a draw in Orlando early in the season, but a lot has changed since that matchup. Can Orlando continue its winning ways in Los Angeles? We've got our key matchups for the match and our final score predictions. Here's how Episode 49 went down: 0:15 – The Pride take the Utah Royals to the woodshed and it could have been worse than the 6-0 final result. 20:29 – The mailbagbox beckons and one listener assigned us homework that we didn't do. 39:37 – The Pride get ready to head west to California to take on several ex-Pride players. Our preview.

The Orlando Pride got some players back and lost some others, as the revolving door continues. Seb Hines would probably love to have his entire squad available at some point, but so far it's worked out fine, with the team remaining unbeaten after a scoreless draw at North Carolina. Sometimes the ball doesnt' go in, sometimes the opposing goalkeeper plays well, and sometimes both of those things happen together. So it was on Saturday, but Orlando kept the door shut on its own end to become the first road team to take any points from the Courage. We break down the match, discuss the handball call that wasn't given, look back at our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match. Following our breakdown, we also tell you where you can find your friendly neighborhood SkoPurp hosts downtown from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday prior to Orlando City's match against Chicago. David Rohe is coming down from Tallahassee and we'll be getting together (hopefully with you!), as we'd like to thank you in person for your support of this show and our website. Our mailbagbox this week asked us a lot of questions, and we spent some time discussing the fact that the referee allowed North Carolina to play while Orlando's goalkeeper was down with an injury. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. Finally, the Pride will host the Utah Royals Friday night. The Pride squeaked past the Royals in Utah in the first meeting. Can Orlando return to its winning ways? Find out in our preview, as we give you our key matchups, and score predictions for the game. Here's how Episode 48 went down: 0:15 – The Pride have gone two matches without a win, but it's meaningful to be the first team in six tries to take any points away from a road match in North Carolina. 22:22 – There are a lot of Pride birthdays this week, just like there is a lot of mail in this week's mailbagbox. 42:03 – The Pride will look to get back on track against the Utah Royals on Friday.

The Orlando Pride played without Adriana and Rafaelle and got only a half out of Marta and Barbra Banda, but still managed to bring home a hard-fought road point after a 1-1 draw against the Wave in San Diego. The Pride remain unbeaten in Southern California and on the 2024 season thanks to an acrobatic goal from Julie Doyle. We break down the match, check back on our score predictions (one of us nailed it), and made our selections for Player of the Match. Banda and Emily Sams made the NWSL Team of the Month for May, and the Pride's Zambian striker was also the league's Player of the Month. Both are well-deserved honors for Banda, and it's nice to see Sams recognized for her outstanding efforts. Our mailbagbox this week asked us about the Pride's unsung hero, Sophia Smith's silly sending off, Anna Moorhouse's performance Friday night, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. Finally, the Pride will visit the North Carolina Courage on Saturday. The Pride blasted the Courage the first time the teams met, but North Carolina has a perfect home record in 2024, so Orlando will have to be better than it was in San Diego. We hit you with our preview, key matchups, and score predictions for this week's game. Here's how Episode 47 went down: 0:15 – The Pride didn't win for the first time in a while, but still got a good road result. Plus, some Orlando players gained league recognition. 17:34 – The mailbagbox gives us a chance to provide much-needed answers to our listeners' most penetrating questions. 35:58 – The Pride head to North Carolina to take on the Courage.

The Orlando Pride were off this week, but that doesn't mean there wasn't something significant to discuss. The club announced the signing of Zambian international attacking midfielder Grace Chanda last week, and we break down the signing, what it means for the Pride, and (perhaps more importantly) what it might mean for star striker Barbra Banda. Could she be even more effective with her Zambia teammate playing alongside her? We'll see! Speaking of Pride internationals, Brazil's first match of the international window was a showcase for Orlando players Marta, Adriana, and Rafaelle. All were factors in a win over Jamaica, and it's great that they're finding form that they could bring back to Orlando with them. Pride rookie Ally Lemos started for the U-20 USWNT over the weekend but things didn't go quite as well against South Korea as they did for the senior team. Our mailbagbox this week asked us about the quality of the NWSL and the rules surrounding international players. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. The Pride's home game against the Kansas City Current in September had a change in game times and streaming platform, and it will now be on Prime Video at 8 p.m. on Sept. 13. Finally, the Pride head to San Diego to face the Wave late Friday night. We're staying up for it, and we know you are too. The Wave have a talented squad and, despite their slow start, Seb Hines' club has to be on point to keep things rolling. We present our key matchups in the contest and our final score predictions. Here's how Episode 46 went down: 0:15 – The Pride add an attacking piece that could make Barbra Banda even better. 14:02 – The mailbagbox is light, but we answer with the usual gusto. 24:35 – A schedule change and our preview of Friday's match at San Diego.

The Orlando Pride got a signature win Friday night in the club's 2-1 home win over the Portland Thorns. While Sophia Smith's absence was a blow to the visitors, the Thorns have plenty of talent, and it's not like the Pride aren't dealing with some key absences. The end result was an NWSL-record eighth win on the bounce. The Pride have now gone 11 games this season without a loss, and with four of the next five on the road, it's time to find out if Orlando can get through a crucial part of the schedule unscathed. We break down the win over Portland, check back on our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match. Beating the Thorns isn't something that the Pride have done often, so it feels like this year's team has found a new level of confidence that we haven't seen in the team's history — even in the playoff year of 2017. We had a brief side discussion of Barbra Banda, who has a chance to completely rewrite the Orlando Pride record book (and possibly the league's) if she can keep up her torrid form (or even improve upon it). Our mailbagbox this week asked us about scorers beyond Banda, our favorite non-goal-scoring moment of the win over the Thorns, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. Without a game this weekend, we held off on our next Pride preview. Enjoy the show and thanks for listening. Here's how Episode 45 went down: 0:15 – The Pride denied the Thorns a seventh win in a row while picking up a new league record of their own. 16:29 – The mailbagbox is always fun after a win, and this episode was a perfect example of that.

The Orlando Pride appeared to be headed to an absolute beatdown of the Seattle Reign on the road Sunday, but a third goal was (correctly) overturned, and a Seattle goal late in first-half stoppage time gave the hosts a lifeline. The Reign tied the game eventually, but the Pride have Barbra Banda. Sometimes that's the only difference you need. Orlando won in Seattle for the first time and tied a league record with its seventh consecutive win. We break down the Pride's road victory, check in on our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match. Great stuff from Seb Hines and company. Our mailbagbox this week was quite stuffed. Our listeners asked us about that foul on Banda, theme nights for Pride matches, the lines on the field, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we dove into the game of the season so far, as the Portland Thorns visit the Pride Friday night in what is the league's first-ever battle between two teams on winning streaks of four or more matches. The Pride will need to be at their best both offensively and defensively to get a result against the surging Thorns. We provide our key matchups and score predictions for a match that Orlando could probably win and still somehow not rise to the top of the ESPN power rankings. Here's how Episode 44 went down: 0:15 – The Pride got into an unexpected shootout in Seattle but came out on top. Reign, you've been Banda'd! 20:13 – The mailbagbox is starting to grow nicely. 35:16 – A massive battle awaits Friday with the arrival of the Thorns in Orlando.

The Orlando Pride squeaked past expansion side Bay FC with a 1-0 win at home on Saturday, but the scoreline was more than a bit flattering to the visitors, who got a big performance from their goalkeeper to keep the score from getting completely out of hand. The Pride dominated and should probably have done better from their plethora of scoring chances. Still, when you keep a clean sheet, one goal equals three points, and that's what Orlando really wanted. We break down another Orlando Pride win — this one makes six in a row — checking in on our score predictions in the process. We also made our selections for Player of the Match. Our mailbagbox this week asked us about the Pride's shape, the timing of Seb Hines' substitutions, a women's "War on I-4," and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we finished the show with our previews and our score predictions for the Pride's upcoming trip across the continent to face Seattle Reign FC. The Pride have never won in the state of Washington, but they've done a lot of things already this season that they've never previously done, so who knows? Here's how Episode 43 went down: 0:15 – The Pride ran into a hot goalkeeper but still managed to capture all three points against Bay FC. 14:18 – The mailbagbox puts us to the test, as it always does. 44:13 – A trip to Seattle has yet to yield a victory. Is this the year? It might be, but our predictions will tell you what we think about that subject.

The Orlando Pride keep winning. We aren't used to that, but we're here for it. Barbra Banda has brought her lethal finishing to the City Beautiful and her fourth goal in three games was just enough for the Pride to squeak past previously undefeated Racing Louisville, 1-0. We check in on our score predictions, discuss the game in detail, and make our selections for Player of the Match. Our mailbagbox this week wants us to visit Tampa for some women's soccer. It also includes questions about the tackiness level of a hat, the sustainability of Orlando's offense, lineup changes when players get healthy, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. After the mailbagbox, we suddenly remembered we forgot to talk about the North Carolina match. So, we checked in on our predictions, discussed the 4-1 win, and made our Player of the Match selections. Better late than never! We finished the show with our previews and our score predictions for the Pride's upcoming, first-ever meeting with expansion side Bay FC. The newcomers have been leaking goals, but also scoring them. Orlando will need to avoid a letdown to stay undefeated on Saturday at home. Here's how Episode 42 went down: 0:15 – The Pride weren't at their best Sunday against Racing Louisville, but they still managed to grind out their fifth straight win. We discuss! 15:18 – The mailbagbox contains both questions and offers to host your faithful hosts. 39:26 – We forgetful rubes remembered there was another game since our last podcast and dive into Orlando's win over the Courage, and we close with a Bay FC preview and predictions.

The Orlando Pride continued their winning ways on Friday, but that news has been overshadowed by Brazilian midfielder Luana's diagnosis of Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Luana will miss the rest of the season undergoing treatment and we wish her all the luck, love, and positive vibes we can possibly send. We know she's a battler, so we believe she will overcome this illness and return stronger than ever. We broke down Orlando's win at Washington, including Barbra Banda's huge night in her first start, as well as Anna Moorhouse's unnecessary adventures in goal. It's great that the Pride are winning, but something must be done to stop these massive mistakes by Moorhouse, who has now made three critical errors in her last 11 NWSL matches. We checked in on our score predictions and made our selections for Player of the Match, which was always going to be a no-brainer. Our mailbagbox this week asked us about the name of this podcast, the Pride's goalkeeping situation, why a one-goal lead late fills one of our listeners with dread, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. We finished the show with our previews for the Pride's two matches in the coming days against the North Carolina Courage and Racing Louisville. We looked into their statistical accomplishments to date, provided our key matchups for the game, and gave our score predictions. Here's how Episode 41 went down: 0:15 – Luana needs our support. Plus, the Pride continued their successful run against the Spirit, but the end was much more nervy than it should have been. 30:35 – The mailbagbox is so full and we love it. 51:03 – Previewing the Courage and Racing Louisville, both of which will visit Inter&Co Stadium within the next week.

The Orlando Pride suddenly find themselves on a winning streak to go with their unbeaten streak to start the season. Orlando dispatched the San Diego Wave 1-0 in a game that should not have finished that close, as the Pride dominated long stretches of the match, but largely wasted a 20-4 advantage in shots. We break down the match, check on our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match. Barbra Banda made her long-awaited Pride debut against the Wave. She didn't score, but she had her chances, and she showed how adept she is at getting into dangerous areas. Banda should be a great addition to Orlando's roster. Our mailbagbox this week asked us about Brianna Martinez, former Pride players who might make good coaches, NWSL expansion, the biggest challenges on Orlando's schedule, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. We finished the show with our preview of Orlando visiting the Washington Spirit on Friday night. The Pride swept the regular-season series last year but didn't fare as well in the Challenge Cup. Can Orlando keep things rolling in the regular season against a talented Washington squad? We provide our key matchups for the game and our score predictions. Here's how Episode 40 went down: 0:15 – The Pride finally got their first home win over a California team. We discuss. 18:15 – The mailbagbox has many questions. 37:37 – Previewing the Spirit ahead of the Pride's trip to Washington.

OK, so we forgot to talk about the end of the SheBelieves Cup, and we recorded Monday night, so we were done before the news broke about the Orlando Pride waiving Kaylie Collins and Tori Hansen on Tuesday morning. Let's just say we still had plenty to talk about, because the Pride won their first match of 2024 and stayed unbeaten at 1-0-3. We discuss the Pride's trip to Utah and how Orlando came home with all three points, which will hopefully become a springboard to a playoff run. But it's a long season. For now, we are happy to break down the Pride's road win and another solid defensive outing. We make our selections for player of the match and check back on our score predictions. If the Pride's offense has been a little slow to get started in 2024, well, help is on the way. We discuss Barbra Banda's arrival in Orlando. Banda took part in her first training session with the Pride on Tuesday and is a player who can make the offense much more dangerous. She'll also create more room for the likes of Marta, Adriana, Ally Watt, and Julie Doyle, so that can only help those players as well. The we dove into our mailbagbox, which asked us about Pride newcomers, goal differential, Marta, Star Wars droid battery technology, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. We finished the show with our preview of Orlando hosting the San Diego Wave on Friday night. The Pride have never beaten a California team at home, which is weird, because they have gotten plenty of results out west. Is this the year? The Pride already failed to beat Angel City at home, although a draw isn't the worst outcome. We took a stab at predicting the score and provided our key matchups. Here's how Episode 39 went down: 0:15 – The Pride flew west, played at altitude, and brought home all three precious points from Utah. 22:49 – The mailbagbox contained a wide variety of questions to seriously test our expertise. Wait, what expertise? 52:25 – A look ahead to Friday's matchup against the Wave.

The Orlando Pride had the weekend off with the international window upon us, so there's no new match for us to recap this week. Instead, we turned our attention (to start the show, anyway) on the SheBelieves Cup semifinals. Both matches on Saturday were compelling, with the U.S. falling behind in the first minute but rallying against a stubborn Japanese side to win, 2-1. It wasn't pretty, and it wasn't easy, but it put the Yanks in the final and that's what matters. Brazil also played but none of the three Pride Brazilians started and only two of them — Marta and Angelina — got on the pitch late. Unfortunately for Marta, she did not score her penalty and Brazil fell in a shootout after a 1-1 draw against Canada. Brazil was the better side during the 90 minutes but wasted a lot of chances and eventually conceded the equalizer before succumbing on spot kicks. [Note: Yes, we know the final and third-place match were played Tuesday night (don't @ us). We recorded this show on Monday night. We'll touch on the the final day of the SheBelieves Cup on our next episode.] After our SheBelieves Cup discussion, we dove into our mailbagbox, which weighed in on Orlando Pride attendance and start times, as well as the WSL incursion into Florida and what it means for the Pride (if anything). Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We'd also appreciate any ratings reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we'll find them easily and read them on the show. We finished the show with our preview of Orlando at the Utah Royals. The Pride have to go play at altitude and there are no easy games in the NWSL. Still, this is one that Orlando can win. We provided our key matchups for this battle and try our luck at predicting the final score of the game. Here's how Episode 38 went down: 0:15 – The SheBelieves Cup semifinals got underway and included some Pride players (a little). 20:02 – The mailbagbox contained comments as well as questions. 32:03 – A look ahead to Friday's trip to Utah to play the Royals.