PawedCast Episode 311: Sacramento & Philly Rewinds, Pride-Thorns, OCB, Atlanta & Toronto Previews, and More

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Orlando City went and did the thing, winning the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Lions claimed a trophy with a resounding (but difficult) 3-0 victory over Sacramento Republic FC thanks in large part to the efforts of Facundo Torres and Benji Michel in the final 15 minutes plus stoppage time. Most of The Mane Land staff was on hand to see this historic event and we’re all still basking in the glow of a championship and the prospect of Orlando playing in the Concacaf Champions League.

However, this is Central Florida and a little rain is going to fall, obviously. In this case it was allegations of spying lodged before the game by Sacramento. We’ll have to keep an eye on what transpires from the investigation but at this point we’re not expecting anything major to come from it and we hope that is the case.

With the good and the bad comes the ugly, and this past week it was the treatment of Taylor Twellman on social media for the high crime of breaking unwelcome news. Others reported it without much more detail without the vitriol. Having just had a phone conversation with Twellman about Orlando City earlier in the day, he complimented our city and fans just a few hours before that news broke. He reiterated that online but with the unfortunate timing of it being right after his news-breaking tweet and it was met with some true ugliness. That was unfortunate.

The Lions went to Philly and took a worse beating than we expected but not a surprising one, all things considered. We’ll take the trade-off since it was always going to be a difficult fixture. Orlando City will turn its attention toward a vital two-game homestand now.

The Pride lost their second straight match — this one at home against the Portland Thorns. Seb Hines’ team has no margin for error in the playoff chase and must get a result in Louisville to realistically stay in the fight.

OCB played like a team that had just been eliminated from playoff contention with a 6-1 beating at Philadelphia Union II. Honestly, the less said about the Young Lions’ match on Sunday, the better.

This week’s mailbag asked whether college sports are best enjoyed at home or in person. 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.

Finally, we gave our key match-ups and predictions for Orlando City’s upcoming home matches against Atlanta United and Toronto FC.

Stay safe and enjoy the show!

Here’s how No. 311 went down:

0:15 – The Lions got a shiny trinket for the trophy case but the buildup wasn’t without drama and we address all of it.

48:07 – Orlando City got whacked by a team that’s been whacking everyone, the Pride seem to be back to their pre-unbeaten-streak form, and OCB was awful on Sunday.

1:16:53 – We open the mail and look ahead to Atlanta and Toronto.