PawedCast Episode 288: Portland Rewind, Pride-Courage, OCB, USMNT World Cup Qualifying, LAFC Preview, and More

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Orlando City was so close to making it back-to-back wins out west, but a foolish foul in the box allowed the Portland Timbers to fire up Timber Joey’s saw and equalize in an eventual 1-1 draw. The Lions still did well to gain four of six points on two of the longest road trips they have in MLS. We break down the draw, discuss Mauricio Pereyra’s injury, and select our Man of the Match.

We’re then joined by Jonathan Reimer, host of the Shoulder 2 Shoulder Podcast covering LAFC. Jonathan was kind enough to tell us what we can expect from Steve Cherundolo’s Black & Gold when they visit Exploria Stadium this Saturday. Seems like LAFC still has a lot of great attacking players but now also has a good defense, which will make for a difficult task for the Lions on Saturday. Big thanks to Jonathan for helping us out.

The Orlando Pride suffered their first loss of the 2022 NWSL Challenge Cup and it was a controversial one. The Pride were thoroughly dominated by the Courage in North Carolina, but that still seemed like a harsh handball call on Gunny Jonsdottir that allowed the hosts to score their only goal of the match. Amanda Cromwell’s team is doing well to limit opposition goals but the Pride are giving up chances and the ball a bit too frequently. Marta’s injury won’t help the team going forward, especially since it seems to be offensively challenged at the moment.

OCB kicked off its season on Saturday and despite a sloppy start, the Young Lions prevailed on a brace by Orlando City first-round pick Jack Lynn. It was good to see the rookie score his first pro goals. The reserve side has some work to do but getting that first win of the season early could give the Young Lions some confidence.

The USMNT had a huge week and that culminated in a stomping of Panama at Exploria Stadium Sunday night. Christian Pulisic scored a hat trick and most of the Yanks played well. It was a fantastic atmosphere and the fans that packed the house deserved that kind of performance — one the team desperately needed entering the final qualifying match day (today!).

This week’s mailbag was interested in the awful font used by MLS NEXT Pro, Moon Knight, the Orlando Pride’s captaincy, 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.

And we closed the show by giving our key match-ups and score predictions for Saturday’s home match against LAFC.

Stay safe and enjoy the show!

Here’s how No. 288 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City took four of six points from the West Coast but it could have been more. We’re focusing on the positives, but still, it could have been more.

24:33 – Jonathan Reimer knows a thing or two about LAFC and he’s here to tell us about all the terrifying attackers the team has.

47:46 – The Pride lost (and lost Marta), OCB won, the USMNT is on the cusp of World Cup qualification, we dig through the mailbag, and we make some predictions for Saturday.