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.

Orlando City had its winning streak snapped, but the Lions are unbeaten in five after a hard-fought 1-1 draw at home against New York City FC. Ramiro Enrique kept his goal-scoring streak alive, which is vital with Duncan McGuire in France being an Olympian and all.

We break down a defensive battle that took the Lions a while to figure out, look back at our score predictions, and make our selections for Man of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox asks about the rules of the game, squad rotation for Leagues Cup, Ivan Angulo’s season, 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.

After the mailbagbox, we discussed OCB’s road draw at New York Red Bulls II (by the same 1-1 score) and another postgame penalty shootout loss. We also looked at the U.S. Olympic schedule coming up this week for Duncan McGuire and the U-23 USMNT.

Finally, we looked ahead to Saturday’s Leagues Cup opener for Orlando City. CF Montreal comes to town Friday night and there’s no telling what might happen in terms of lineups used, tactical approaches, etc. We do our best to look ahead.

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. 435 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City loses a winning streak but continues an unbeaten run.

19:53 – The mailbagbox has some good (and difficult) queries this week.

35:46 – OCB notches a 1-1 draw of its own, the U.S. Olympic schedule is about to begin, and we preview CF Montreal in the Leagues Cup.

Orlando City kept several streaks going Wednesday night as the Lions beat Nashville SC 3-0 on the road. It was the team’s fourth consecutive win, the third straight road victory, the seventh game in a row in which the team scored multiple goals (a club record), and the fourth consecutive shutout victory against Nashville. That’s a lot of streaking! Ramiro Enrique even kept up his goal-scoring streak, running it to three matches with an absolute banger.

We spent some time breaking down the Lions’ latest win in Music City (that’s three straight wins there and five consecutive results in Tennessee in the regular season). We discussed the critical plays and players, looked back at our score predictions, and made our selections for Man of the Match (we were split this week).

There was player news to discuss as well, with Dagur Dan Thorhallsson signing a new contract to extend his stay in the City Beautiful. This was a good move by Orlando City, and we talked about why.

This week’s mailbagbox asks about liquids and international clubs coming to the U.S. to play. 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.

After the mailbagbox, we shared some breaking news — well…it was breaking at the time we discussed it — as Benji Michel was reportedly headed to Real Salt Lake per Tom Bogert. It’ll be good to have Benji stateside again.

Finally, we looked ahead to Saturday’s rematch between the Lions and New York City FC. The Pigeons have been a bit of a pain over the years, especially on their baseball diamond, but Orlando City has home history on its side on this one. With NYCFC’s road record and Orlando’s home record both being poor, it’s anyone’s guess how this will go. In fact, it’s our guess, because we included our key matchups and score predictions with our preview.

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. 434 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City kept the shutout magic going against the team from Tennessee.

20:30 – The mailbagbox has some good (and difficult) queries this week.

30:50 – Breaking Benji Michel news and our key matchups and predictions for a home rematch against the Pigeons.