SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast

The Orlando Pride are still off for a couple of weeks, but the soccer rarely stops. We're back to touch on the United States Women's National Team's trip to Brazil to face three Pride players and their Brazilian teammates. It was kind of an ugly pair of games for the USWNT, which struggled to score goals and connect in the final third. The second of those two matches was a wild affair that devolved into a parade of red cards near the end. We touch on the reports out of Zambia on Barbra Banda's injury, which seems to be more promising than expected when she went down with a knock against Bay FC. We'll have to wait to see when she can return, but if she's expected to play in the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, that is a good sign.This week's mailbagbox asked a couple of questions about Banda. 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.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 126 went down:0:15 – The USWNT went to Brazil to play and didn't play as well as we're used to seeing.13:06 - The mailbagbox goes through some interesting twists and turns and then we just ramble for a little bit (who, us?).

The Orlando Pride hosted the Seattle Reign Sunday on the final matchday of the 2025 NWSL regular season. The Reign spoiled things by scoring just three minutes after Orlando’s late goal, preventing the Pride from finishing third. However, the club still managed to snare a top-four position in the final standings. As a result, these same teams will play Friday in the NWSL playoff quarterfinals.We discuss the Decision Day matchup, including the last-minute change Seb Hines had to make at the top of his formation, Orlando’s continuing struggle to score goals, and the decisive plays late in the game. We also looked back at our score predictions and make our selections for Player of the Match.After our Seattle rewind, we dive into our mailbagbox. Our listeners wanted to know about Carson Pickett at striker, which team we don’t want to win the NWSL championship, 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.After our mailbagbox, we discuss the NWSL playoff bracket, which does not include re-seeding after the quarterfinals. As a result, top seed Kansas City, should it win, will face either the No. 4 or No. 5 seed in the semifinals, even if the Nos. 6 and 7 seeds pull off upsets on the other side of the bracket. Is that fair? We think not. We’re not weeping for the Current, but we know we wouldn’t like it if it happened to Orlando.Finally, we chat about Friday’s playoff game. The schedule forces Seattle to choose between flying back and forth across the country before Friday or staying on the road in Orlando. We know the teams just played, but we still have your key matchups and score predictions for 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 108 went down:0:15 – As has been the most common result between the teams, the Pride and Reign split the points. These teams historically haven’t liked picking a winner when they square off. If that happens Friday, it’ll mean a penalty shootout.22:33 – Our mailbagbox has questions about ChatGPT and other stuff.32:32 – Pride and Reign Round 3 has much more on the line than the first two rounds.

For our sanity, we opted not to really talk much about the Orlando Pride's 1-1 Concacaf W Champions Cup draw against Pachuca last week, aside from discussing our opinion of the way squad rotation made things more difficult for both matches rather than more difficult for one and less difficult for the other. However, we were happy to discuss the Pride's wild 3-2 win at Washington on Saturday afternoon. Kerry Abello was hell bent on putting the ball in every net she could find, both teams scored for the other side, and Marta scored the game winner on a slickly approached penalty. It was the third win in four games and perhaps a sign that Orlando is getting better at the right time. Goals are still difficult to come by without help, but wins are wins and we don't care much how they go in.We looked back at our pessimistic score predictions, discussed all the big moments and players (good and bad), and made our selections for Player of the match.This week's mailbagbox asked us to be more specific with our messaging to Abello, wondered which kind of goal contribution Haley Carter wants from Jacquie Ovalle, 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.Orlando is off this week. Several Pride players won't be, as they return to their national teams for the international break. Hopefully everyone comes back fully fit and ready to finish the regular season strong as the club heads toward the playoffs.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 106 went down:0:15 – The Pride got a much-needed road win in Washington to keep some positive momentum going in the league, despite crashing out of continental competition with a disappointing home draw.20:11 - The mailbagbox is seriously invested in fully weaponizing Kerry Abello, and the international break is here to wreck Orlando's momentum. We hate that last bit.

The Orlando Pride concluded a grueling road trip since our last show, with stops in Mexico City and Houston after last week's win at San Diego. The team returns home, where it will play three competitive matches out of the remaining four on the schedule at Inter&Co Stadium, with a trip to Washington sandwiched in there as well.We open this week's show with a brief discussion of a forgettable Concacaf W Champions Cup match at Club America that saw the Pride fall flat in a 2-0 loss, handing the group to the Liga MX Femenil side. We then turned our attention to the NWSL match Friday at Houston, where it appeared the Dash would hold on for a 1-0 win until Simone Charley's storybook finish stole a point back for Orlando near the end of normal time. We break down the draw in Houston, check on our score predictions from last week, and make our selections for Player of the Match. We also touch on the difficulty in the remaining schedule, with a tough home matchup against Pachuca in Champions Cup and three NWSL opponents that are all above the playoff line.This week's mailbagbox was short and sweet, asking us whether all of the Pride players who are going to score goals this year have already done so. 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 previewed the Portland Thorns match coming up Friday in Orlando. The Pride haven't fared well against the Thorns over the years, but the teams are quite evenly matched. Orlando needs three points with a trip to play the Spirit looming. We look at the series history, preview the game, provide our key matchups, and try our best 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 104 went down:0:15 – The Pride stepped on a lot of rakes at Club America, but grinding out a result at Houston at the end of three away games in eight days was a decent enough result.15:08 - The mailbagbox did not overstay its welcome this week.21:19 - The Pride prepare for Portland. Poison tells us that every rose has its thorns, but will the Thorns provide Orlando with a sweet-smelling rose of a result?

The Orlando Pride kept racking up non-wins, and a loss against a lurking North Carolina team could end up a critical one at season's end. That will only be the case if the Pride can keep themselves in the playoff race. To do that, they'll need to start scoring goals again, and they did not do that against the Courage.We discuss yet another tough result in a growing series of them, check on our score predictions from last week, and make our selections for Player of the Match.This week's mailbagbox asked about other teams to root for until the Pride get their act together, the club's poor showing in the form table, Jacquie Ovalle comparables, 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 aheadIf 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 102 went down:0:15 – The Pride's free fall continues with a ninth straight match without a win. Things seem bleak.14:49 - The mailbagbox is looking for other teams to cheer for with Orlando struggling.28:04 - The Pride will try again Friday at San Diego. The Wave are also struggling, so will something give or will this game end in a draw?