PawedCast Episode 262: Columbus Rewind, Pride-Dash, Atlanta Preview, USMNT and More

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Orlando City finally had a good offensive night, scoring three times against the defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew. All of those were needed as an own goal by Antonio Carlos and a quick second goal by Miguel Berry turned a 2-0 deficit into a 2-2 game in the second half. But Junior Urso came to the rescue to provide the final margin. Orlando is now unbeaten in seven straight games and we’re breaking down the match-up and giving you our picks for Man of the Match. Daryl Dike and Junior Urso were obviously strong contenders, having made the MLS Team of the Week.

Add Mason Stajduhar to the list of Lions who have spent time out with injuries this season. Stajduhar’s torn meniscus gave Adam Grinwis his first start since rejoining Orlando City and he made the most of his opportunity, beating the Crew for the second time in purple. The new backup is another familiar face in the form of Greg Ranjitsingh.

The Orlando Pride gave up a horrible early goal to the Houston Dash but managed to fight back for a 1-1 draw at home on Sunday. Orlando must do better than tread water in home matches but at least one point is better than none. Taylor Kornieck soared high to head home the game-tying goal to keep the Pride above the playoff line for the moment, but other teams are lurking close behind and they have games in hand.

The USMNT is raising everyone’s blood pressure so far with two straight draws in World Cup qualifying. We aren’t ready to panic but the margin for error is shrinking. We discuss Gregg Berhalter’s team and how it can get back on track in qualifying.

This week’s mailbag asked about the NWSL championship, the USMNT, other MLS teams’ third strikers, and whether we were in Nashville for Sunday’s qualifier. 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 Orlando City at Atlanta United.

That’s all for this week.

Stay safe and enjoy the show!

Here’s how No. 262 went down:

0:35 – Orlando City got a big night of offense to fend off the Crew and Daryl Dike was a big reason why (literally and figuratively).

22:39 – The Pride needed to take all three points but got only one. That’s better than none, we guess, but the season is winding down and every match is magnified in importance.

45:20 – We answer our listener mail and give our predictions for the Lions at Atlanta.