Orlando City got a decent road result at the New York Red Bulls, but it felt like a missed opportunity to take all three points. The offense continues to get the job done, but a questionable controversial penalty and a defensive lapse allowed the hosts to get something from the match. The good news is that Duncan McGuire is back in the lineup, and the offense could be even better as he gets stronger and finds his form.

We look back at a hard-fought road draw, check our score predictions to see how we measured up, and make our selections for Man of the Match. We also discuss Gustavo Caraballo’s new Homegrown Player contract.

The mailbagbox asks about Orlando playing a three-man back line late in New Jersey, billboards, former Lion Josue Colman, and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

OCB remained unbeaten with a 2-2 draw at home against Atlanta United 2. Javier Otero got the start, but he could do nothing about either Atlanta goal. However, he stopped a penalty in the postgame shootout, which helped the Young Lions claim an extra point in the standings. We discuss OCB’s second game of the season-opening homestand.

Finally, we looked ahead to Saturday night’s matchup between Orlando City and D.C. United. The Lions may have to rely on Otero as Pedro Gallese figures to be with the Peruvian Men’s National Team over the weekend. Is the Homegrown goalkeeper ready to face the aerial prowess of Christian Benteke? Can the Lions become the first team to hand D.C. a loss in 2025? We break down the tale of the tape, select our key matchups, and make our score predictions.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

Here’s how No. 469 went down:

0:15 – The Lions continue to score goals, but they also continue to concede too many of them.

24:40 – The mailbagbox is teeming with questions this week.

46:18 – OCB remains unbeaten on the young season and we preview the matchup with D.C. United.

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.

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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.

Orlando City couldn’t keep the momentum going from its win over Toronto FC as the Lions opened their road schedule with a 2-1 loss to New York City FC at Yankee Stadium. It was a poor start to each half by Orlando and the continuation of too many individual errors at the back that prevented a result, while the offense generated chances but wasn’t as clinical as in the first couple of matches. At least Robin Jansson returned to the lineup and Luis Muriel found the net.

We look back at the first road loss of the season, check back on our score predictions, and make our selections for Man of the Match.

The mailbagbox has us naming and guessing favorite players, predicting an over/under on how many Lions will play at least five minutes in 2025, and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

OCB opened the season by salvaging the weekend for the organization with a 2-1 win over Columbus Crew 2 at home. Dyson Clapier and Zakaria Taifi were the offensive stars, and Carlos Mercado made several good saves to protect the lead as the Young Lions held on at the end. We look back at the win and look forward to OCB’s meeting with Atlanta on Sunday.

Finally, we looked ahead to Saturday afternoon, as the Lions return to the New York metropolitan area to face the Red Bulls in New Jersey. Orlando City will have to be sharp defensively against a team that leaves small margins with one of the best defenses in MLS. The Lions haven’t scored a lot of goals against New York recently, so fixing the mistakes at the back is more vital than ever. We make our predictions and discuss our key matchups.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

Here’s how No. 468 went down:

0:15 – The Lions did not continue scoring lots of goals but did continue to concede them.

18:37 – The mailbagbox is full this week with both regular questions and requests for blind guesses.

34:42 – OCB opened the season with a victory over Crew 2 and our key matchups and score predictions for Orlando City at the New York Red Bulls.