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PawedCast Episode 256: Philly & NYCFC Rewinds, Pride-Reign, Skinner Out, Atlanta Preview, and More

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Orlando City snapped a three-game winless skid on Thursday at home against the Philadelphia Union and then went right back to not winning on Sunday at New York City FC. A triumphant night against a good Eastern Conference opponent left everyone feeling good but those vibes evaporated quickly with an utter beatdown in the Bronx. A lot of that was the lineup that took the field Sunday due to rotation, injuries, and international absences but not all of it can be adequately explained. We broke down both games and selected our Man of the Match for each.

The Orlando Pride had a tumultuous week with the resignation of Marc Skinner as head coach and his departure, followed by a 2-0 loss to OL Reign at home — the team’s fifth non-win in a row — under the also-departing Carl Green. The Pride finally named Becky Burleigh as the interim coach to see out the 2021 season with the team in free fall from first to seventh in the league in just five matches.

Both U.S. national teams were in action this past week. The women bounced back from their Olympic loss to Sweden by destroying New Zealand and then playing a frustratingly conservative 0-0 draw against Australia to get through the group. Alex Morgan scored twice — once in each game — but only one of them counted. The high-powered offense of the Netherlands awaits on Friday morning.

Meanwhile, the men survived a tussle with Jamaica in the Gold Cup quarterfinals and will now face invited nation Qatar in the semifinals. The USMNT hasn’t played its best in this tournament yet but has done enough to survive and advance. Let’s hope Gregg Berhalter gets this young team going and perhaps set up yet another showdown against rival Mexico (or rival Canada).

Plus, Florida Cup is finally underway.

This week’s mailbag wants to know about Orlando City’s fullbacks, the future of Ali Krieger, and more. If there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the next show, just ask by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.

We close the show with our key match-ups and score predictions for Atlanta United on Friday night.

That’s all for this week.

Stay safe and enjoy the show!


Here’s how No. 256 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City had a mixed bag in its two matches. We enjoyed talking about the first one but not so much the second.

37:00 – The Orlando Pride continue to play their worst soccer of the season, although this week it was understandable. Plus, the USWNT and USMNT are doing enough at the moment, but only just.

1:02:45 – Our mailbag, and prediction time for Orlando City against Atlanta.

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SkoPurp Soccer Episode 71: Washington Spirit Rewind, Tons of Listener Mail, NWSL Championship Celebration, and More

The Pride won the whole damn thing and then celebrated a lot in Kansas City (again) and Orlando.

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Michael Citro, The Mane Land

Wow. As we get ready to enjoy a holiday weekend with our loved ones, the Orlando Pride have given us so much more to be thankful for this year. The Pride went to Kansas City, withstood a furious challenge from the Washington Spirit, played their usual solid defense, and captured a 1-0 win in the 2024 NWSL Championship. If the Kansas City Current and their fans thought the Pride celebrated on their field back in July, they hadn’t seen anything yet.

We discuss the Pride’s win over Washington, the valiant fight the other team showed, the controversy before the game’s only goal, some of the remarks the Spirit made in the aftermath, and much more. We checked back on our score predictions and made our selections for Player of the Match.

After our match rewind, we opened up our mailbagbox, which was busting at the seams. Much of that came from one extremely enthusiastic listener, but we’re not mad about it. We may have to break up a block of questions that big across multiple episodes in the future, but we were in a celebratory mood and answered each one. 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 Megan Montefusco and Celia closing their careers as champions, got a quick word from Mark Wilf, the Pride’s owner and chairman, and hit the high points of the team’s celebration in front of City Hall in downtown Orlando on Monday.

This episode is a long one, so buckle up. Listen to it in smaller chunks if it helps.


Here’s how Episode 71 went down:

0:45 – Orlando didn’t play its best (and credit much of that to Washington), but the Pride got their moment of Barbra Banda brilliance and won their first NWSL Championship.

29:39 The mailbagbox is ridiculously full this week.

1:19:09 – Pride retirements, highlights from the Pride’s victory parade and celebration, a word from owner/chairman Mark Wilf, and more.

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PawedCast Episode 457: Atlanta Rewind, Red Bulls Preview, and More

The Lions dismiss one of their southeastern rivals from the playoffs and get set to host the New York Red Bulls.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City has finally reached a conference final. The Lions struggled offensively against Atlanta United’s defensive setup, but they managed to score one goal without conceding, and that’s good enough for a 1-0 win over their rivals to the north. It was easily Orlando’s most meaningful win in the rivalry to date — not that there have been many — and should spice up the series a bit moving forward. We look back at what was not the best game from a spectator’s perspective, but finished in a way that Orlando City fans can at least be happy about, as it results in the Lions facing the New York Red Bulls in the conference final on Saturday.

We looked back at our score predictions, which Dave got exactly right, and made our selections for Man of the Match. In a defensive battle, we both went with defenders.

This week’s mailbagbox, asks us whether soccer teams will adopt a revolutionary new substitution pattern, how much possession the New York Red Bulls will have on Saturday, 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 we finished answering the mail we looked ahead to the Lions’ upcoming battle with the New York Red Bulls, presenting the series history, looking at the players to watch, and making our picks for the game’s key matchups, before finally trying to predict the final score.

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. 457 went down:

0:15 – It wasn’t a pretty game to watch, but the outcome was beautiful as Orlando City ousted Atlanta United in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

18:54 – Our mailbagbox consists of questions that are easy to answer and ones that are not as easy.

40:15 – Orlando’s reward for beating a team it failed to beat in the regular season was a conference final matchup with another team it failed to beat in the regular season.

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SkoPurp Soccer Episode 70: Kansas City Rewind, Washington Preview, and More

The Pride will play for a title after dispatching Kansas City in a battle royale of an NWSL semifinal.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

[Note: My apologies for the audio, as Dave sounded great and I did not. Unbeknownst to me, everything was running through my external laptop microphone, so I come off a bit echoey.]

The Orlando Pride held steadfast at home, coming back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Kansas City Current 3-2 at Inter&Co Stadium Sunday. The victory pushed the Pride’s magical season into the ultimate game — Saturday night’s NWSL Championship, which is coincidentally taking place in Kansas City. Haley McCutcheon, Barbra Banda, and Marta did the damage on the scoreboard, and the defense held on for dear life during a furious Current rally attempt that was aided by eons of stoppage time and lots of balls in the box.

We break down the NWSL semifinal match, look back at our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.

After our match rewind, we opened up our mailbagbox, and it was a good one. Our mailbagbox this week asked questions about Haley McCutcheon, road tripping to the NWSL final, Sunday’s match referee, the best goal in our stadium’s history, 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 reviewed some of the recent Orlando Pride news (note: this did not include Seb Hines’ award because we recorded Monday night), including the team’s nominees for year-end NWSL awards, Pride players named to the league’s Best XI first and second teams, and another call-up to the USWNT for Emily Sams.

Finally, we previewed the Pride’s matchup with the Spirit on Saturday for all the Kansas City barbecue. We walked through the history of the series, looked at the seasons the two teams have had, selected our key matchups for the match, and tried our best to predict the final score.


Here’s how Episode 70 went down:

0:45 – Orlando booked a spot in the NWSL final by ousting the Kansas City Current in a game that wasn’t easy in the least. In fact, it may still be in stoppage time.

22:44 The mailbagbox has questions about the NWSL semifinal, a road trip to the final, and more.

39:29 – Pride news and notes and our preview and predictions for Orlando’s NWSL Championship match against the Washington Spirit.

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