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!

Orlando City came home from the team’s second trip to the greater New York area in a bad mood and took it out on D.C. United Saturday night, ripping off four more goals and putting in the team’s best defensive outing of the year so far, despite being backstopped by a goalkeeper in his first MLS start. Javier Otero played well, but the team in front of him ensured he wasn’t called into action too often in what was a dominating performance.

Once again, it was Orlando’s trio of Designated Players leading the way, combining for three goals and three assists, while Homegrown fullback chipped in a goal and an assist and left wing Ivan Angulo picked up a pair of assists of his own. The Lions’ strong performance led to Ojeda and Freeman making Team of the Matchday with Muriel on the bench, while Marco Pasalic’s goal is a candidate for Goal of the Week.

We look back at Orlando City’s impressive win, look back at our predictions, and make our selections for Man of the Match.

The mailbagbox asks about Angulo’s unusual exit from the game, Freeman’s future, 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 has a trip to face Crown Legacy during the midweek, so we touched on that, before diving into our match preview for Saturday night, when the Lions play a late one in Los Angeles against the Galaxy.

Orlando City doesn’t have the most successful history in the state of California, but the defending champion Galaxy have looked vulnerable early in the season. We break down the series history, 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. 470 went down:

0:15 – The Lions dominate D.C. and the offense runs rampant again.

24:23– The mailbagbox is also confused by Ivan Angulo’s failure to leave the field.

44:49 – OCB visits Crown Legacy and the Lions head to LA to face the Galaxy.

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.