After beating Lionel Messi and Inter Miami on Sunday, what did the Lions do for an encore? Well, they got knocked out of the U.S. Open Cup by a heavily rotated Nashville SC team that not only didn’t start its star players; they weren’t even available off the bench. No Hany Mukhtar. No Sam Surridge. No Joe Willis. No Daniel Lovitz. No problem. There were multiple visibly tired Lions in Wednesday’s match at Inter&Co Stadium, but it truly showed up on the defensive end, where mistakes allowed Nashville to erase a 1-0 deficit and take a 2-1 lead before the break. Orlando fought back to pull level, but then what seemed like a sure handball call against Nashville wasn’t made, and the visitors scored the winner a few minutes later.

We broke down a frustrating home knockout loss, looked back at our predictions, and selected our Man of the Match. We also discussed Alex Freeman’s USMNT call-up for June’s camp.

The mailbagbox asked about Leagues Cup, theme park rides, how the Lions can refresh their legs, 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.

Following the mailbagbox segment, we discussed OCB’s match against Atlanta United 2, which was supposed to take place in Atlanta tonight at 7:30. That game has moved to Osceola County Stadium on Sunday at 7 p.m., but since the venue changed to OCB’s home field, the match will be played behind closed doors. We preview the Young Lions and the…2-1/2 Stripes?

Finally, we previewed Orlando City’s home match against the Portland Timbers. The Lions and Timbers don’t always play, but when they do, it’s generally entertaining. We discussed the series history, provided our key matchups, and made our predictions for the final score as both teams look to bounce back from tough U.S. Open Cup exits.

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Here’s how No. 481 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City looked tired and played tired, departing the U.S. Open Cup with the feeling that a potential chance to win was ignored by the match official.

32:00– The mailbagbox is a salve on our Open Cup wounds, and OCB’s game against Atlanta changes location and moves to Sunday.

1:01:15 – The Lions will host the Portland Timbers in a matchup of two teams that have played a lot of soccer this month.

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.

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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.

At least for one night, Orlando City solved the Lionel Messi problem. The Lions went into the Herons’ home stadium and left with three points by way of a 3-0 road victory. City was content to let Miami have the ball, stay organized, and look for opportunities to hit the Herons on the break. Orlando did that on two of the team’s three goals and the other came off a set piece from another such opportunity. The Lions played a great road game and rookie Joran Gerbet helped keep Messi…well, if not exactly quiet, at least off the scoreboard.

We broke down the talking points from the match, looked back at our predictions for the game, and made our selections for Man of the Match. We also discussed the Lions who made Team of the Matchday and a certain fullback who is on the USMNT’s preliminary Gold Cup roster.

The mailbagbox asked about MLS All-Stars, players who whine to officials, music to watch soccer by, back pass rules, 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.

Following the mailbagbox segment, we looked back at Justin Ellis’ big night in leading OCB to the same 3-0 scoreline that the senior team won by. The Young Lions catapulted the Inter Miami II monkey off their backs with Ellis scoring the third goal from the spot after setting up goals by Gustavo Caraballo and Shak Mohammed.

Finally, we previewed Orlando City’s home U.S. Open Cup game against Nashville on Wednesday night. We broke down the tale of where the teams are relative to each other, discussed Nashville’s form, provided our key matchups, and made our final 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. 480 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City kept scoring and defended one of the best attacks in the league with professionalism and concentration for more than 90 minutes.

26:38– The mailbagbox questions keep us thinking, and we looked back at OCB’s win over Inter Miami II. The Young Lions have Atlanta United 2 on the road Friday.

1:01:55 – The Lions will host Nashville in U.S. Open Cup action on Wednesday, with a trip to the quarterfinals waiting for the winner.