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PawedCast Episode 312: Atlanta & Toronto Rewinds, Pride-Louisville, OCB Closes Season, and More

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Orlando City had a pair of split results at home since our last show, with a good performance overall but a severe lack of finishing in a 1-0 loss to Atlanta United during another wet, weather-delayed, midweek match. The Lions could just about have put the Five Stripes’ playoff chances on life support but instead Atlanta is knocking on the door and Orlando has more to do if it wants to both clinch and perhaps challenge for a home postseason match. We break down the loss and select our Man of the Match.

Things went much more to our liking on Saturday with Toronto FC coming to town looking to keep its faint playoff hopes alive. Instead, this time the Lions stuck the dagger in and eliminated the Reds with a 4-0 beatdown at home to go into the international break on a high note. It was Orlando’s biggest regular-season win of the season and biggest ever win over Toronto. We were unanimous again in our Man of the Match selection and it wasn’t Facundo Torres, even though he made the MLS Team of the Week, which can be stupid, for reasons we explain on the show.

The Pride fell out of playoff contention with a third straight loss and second consecutive via shutout despite having some glorious early scoring chances at Louisville. The team gave it a valiant effort under Interim Head Coach Seb Hines but fizzled at the end of the season as the Pride have done in six of their seven seasons of existence. We discuss the road loss to Racing Louisville and prepare for the worst with North Carolina and San Diego Wave FC coming in to try to feast on the scraps this week.

OCB’s season was figuratively over before, but now it is literally over after the Young Lions blew a 1-0 lead late and lost 2-1 at home to Toronto FC II on Decision Day to close out their first MLS Next Pro season. While OCB can’t hurt us anymore, it will be interesting to keep an eye on what happens with the players this off-season and if any Homegrown signings take place. Jack Lynn was shipped off to San Antonio in the USL Championship, where we hope he gets some playing time at the second tier level.

This week’s mailbag asked us to draft basketball teams from the Avengers and Justice League members, wanted us to describe MLS, and gave us the keys to a time machine. 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.

With the Lions off this weekend, there were no key match-ups or predictions for Orlando City this week.

Stay safe and enjoy the show!


Here’s how No. 312 went down:

0:15 – The Lions suffered a loss but then got a win, so it was an even week and the team got a few points closer to the postseason but there is still a lot of work to do in the final three games of the season.

32:08 – The Pride and OCB continued to be bad this week and we are not pleased with this development (or lack of any development).

55:00 – We open the mail and for some reason, I had to pick last in a draft for no apparent reason just days after my birthday. Come on!

Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 351: Colorado Rapids Preview, the Miami Messi Mess, and More

Burgundy Wave’s Matt Pollard joins us to preview the Lions vs. the Rapids, and Inter Miami is apparently going to sign some guy.

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

It’s PawedCast time again, and yes, we went over an hour (by 16-ish minutes), we had a big story to cover and a guest!

Since there was apparently only one news story in the entire world this week, we’ve spent actual minutes of our show discussing the as-yet-unsigned Lionel Messi. What does his addition mean for MLS, for Miami, and for Orlando if and when that signature happens? As with any signing, we’ll have to wait and see, but it will at least solve Inter Miami’s attendance issues. As with most things involving MLS, there are positives and negatives, and we’re here to discuss both.

Matt Pollard has been busy repositioning former SBNation Colorado Rapids blog Burgundy Wave into a Patreon-funded site and he joins us to help us preview Saturday’s opponents from the Western Conference. Big thanks to Matt for giving us the inside scoop.

Our mailbagbox allowed us to steal a player from any rival team, which is kind of a neat idea, and MLS should just let us do it. 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.

Finally, we dove into our key matchups and score predictions for the Colorado Rapids’ visit to Central Florida this weekend.


Here’s how No. 351 went down:

0:15 – Inter Miami plans to sign yet another DP.

31:35 – Matt Pollard joins us to tell us what’s up with the Rapids this season.

52:04 – The mailbagbox and what we think will happen on Saturday vs. Colorado.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 9: Houston Rewind, Gotham & Thorns Previews, and More

A second shutout loss on Saturday was not an optimal result heading into a tough, two-game week.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

The Orlando Pride were shut out for the second straight match when they faced the Dash in Houston on Saturday night and this time it wasn’t a case of wiping the floor with the opponents except for failing to score. This time the Dash were clearly better on the night and the Pride slipped back into some of their poor habits from last year. But hey, rebuilding is a process and the mentality of the team seems to be strong. It will need to be in order to deal with the two matches coming up this week.

We discussed the 2-0 loss to Houston and selected our Player of the Match, which was not easy. We also discussed Kylie Strom being honored with a selection on the NWSL Team of the Month for May.

After that, we looked deep into our mailbagbox and found…nothing. No questions to answer this week, but get yours in for our next show. 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.

Finally, we gave our key matchups and score predictions for a difficult, two-game week. The Pride face Gotham FC tonight at Red Bull Arena in the NWSL Challenge Cup, and we’re expecting a lot of squad rotation. Orlando will then come home to face the Death Star (a.k.a. the Portland Thorns) on Sunday evening at Exploria Stadium.


Here’s how Episode 9 went down:

0:15 – Our breakdown of the loss to the Houston Dash and a monthly NWSL honor for Kylie Strom.

19:37 – The mailbagbox was empty but we’ve got our key matchups and score predictions for both upcoming games this week.

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Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 350: Red Bulls Rewind, OCB at Toronto, and More

A look back at a big road win for the Lions and a horrible road loss for the Young Lions.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

It’s early June, so technically it’s still time to do some spring cleaning. Speaking of which, the Lions got their brooms out and swept the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night in Harrison, NJ. Ivan Angulo, Facundo Torres, Wilder Cartagena, and Robin Jansson starred on a night when Orlando City’s strategy was to stay organized against New York’s chaotic press and wait for opportunities to punish the Red Bulls on the counter. That’s pretty much what the Lions did on Saturday and it resulted in a 3-0 win against a team that hadn’t given up more than two in a match all season.

We broke down Orlando’s win in the Garden State and selected our Man of the Match. We also touched on several Lions who were honored for their performances in that game. Oh, and Mikey Halliday is coming home, which is good, but it’s because the U-20 USMNT lost in the 2023 FIFA U-20 World Cup quarterfinals, which is bad.

After our review of Saturday’s match, we opened up the mailbagbox. Among this week’s topics were Targeted Allocation Money and buying down Designated Players, along with home form vs. road form. 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.

Finally, we discussed a disjointed Orlando City B performance north of the border against Toronto FC II. The Young Lions never seemed in this game and the warning bells were chiming loudly just 17 seconds into the match. It was not a fun night for OCB.


Here’s how No. 350 went down:

0:15 – The Lions didn’t have their sharpest passing night, but they put the ball in the net three times, which is always a welcome sight.

33:42 – OCB had a very bad night in Canada.

42:31 – The mailbagbox beckons and we don’t claim to be experts on the weird player-signing mechanisms in MLS.

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