The Orlando Pride returned home over the weekend and returned to their winning ways with a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Reign. Although Barbra Banda still isn’t scoring goals, three of her teammates did so, including Marta, who made her mark on the match despite it not being her best outing of the season. The defense is still a bit of a concern, but it did just about enough to get the job done.

We look back at the match and our score predictions to see how well we prognosticated the proceedings.

Our mailbagbox this week included my belated reaction to “Hot to Go” and asked about the worst rule in soccer, broadcasters who don’t seem to favor the Pride, and whether Orlando’s defense can regain its form. 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 remembered that we hadn’t selected a Player of the Match against Seattle, so we rectified that.

Finally, we previewed the upcoming playoff game against the Chicago Red Stars. The Pride will have to avoid switching off defensively and will have to be clinical on the attacking end in order to advance. Orlando has historically struggled at home against Chicago, but there’s no better time to start changing fortunes.

Here’s how Episode 68 went down:

0:15 – Orlando is back in the win column, finishing the season without a home loss. The Pride will try to keep that streak alive Friday vs. Chicago.

21:19 – Our mailbagbox is asking about horrible soccer rules and all manner of things.

37:21 – Our look ahead to Friday night’s playoff opener against the Red Stars.

Orlando City became offensively challenged just one match after finally scoring more than one goal in a postseason game, attempting very few shots, getting just one on target, avoiding going on the attack at all costs, and scoring after being as close to onside as possible without the flag actually coming up (and on another night, it might not have). The game finished without a goal, so the teams went to penalties, where only Luis Muriel looked the part for the Lions.

We break down the shootout loss at Charlotte, check our score predictions from the last show, and make our selections for Man of the Match.

This episode’s mailbagbox asked us about Orlando’s tentative approach, officiating, our favorite shows from the 1980s, and driving a stick. 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 looked ahead to Orlando City’s Game 3 matchup with Charlotte FC Saturday. Charlotte is still hard to score on, and the Lions still have to try to do it. We tried to predict the final score, too, even though that’s always a crapshoot.

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. 454 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City played poorly and still came within inches of winning in stoppage time before falling apart in penalties.

18:22 – The mailbagbox looks for meaning after a scoreless draw and poor shootout performance.

49:43– The Lions will host…[/checks notes]…Charlotte FC. Again.

The Orlando Pride were off for the women’s international break over the weekend, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t stuff for us to discuss (and if there’s one thing we love to discuss, it’s definitely stuff!). Emily Sams saw her first minutes with the United States Women’s National Team, and the Yanks unsurprisingly won. Barbra Banda finished 12th in the race for the Ballon d’Or, which seems low, but it’s still quite an honor to be considered the 12th-best player in the world. And we looked at the Pride’s Brazilians, who earned a draw and a win against Colombia, with Adriana scoring a goal for her country.

Our mailbagbox this week asked us if we listened to “Hot to Go” and wanted to know about the Pride’s attacking chemistry, a hypothetical Women’s Club World Cup question, 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 looked ahead to Saturday’s matchup against the Seattle Reign. The all-time series hasn’t been kind to Orlando, but it’s been better at home and the Reign were pretty good for most of the history of the series. We give our key matchups and make our score predictions while admitting that hey, we haven’t necessarily had a lot of time to watch Seattle games since the Pride went to Washington back in May.

Here’s how Episode 67 went down:

0:15 – Emily Sams’ USWNT debut, Pride Brazilians in international play, and Barbra Banda’s place on the Ballon d’Or list.

9:16 – Our mailbagbox is full of great questions, as usual.

22:40 – Our look ahead to Saturday’s regular-season finale against Seattle.