Orlando City is still off for the World Cup break, but OCB is not. We open this week’s show with a little-longer-than-usual look at the Young Lions’ 3-2 comeback win over Carolina Core FC on Sunday. It wasn’t easy, and it certainly wasn’t OCB’s best performance of the year, but the job ultimately got done.

We discuss the lethargic start, the red card/penalty that changed everything, and a second half that wasn’t looking like it would be good enough until it ultimately was.

After our OCB-Carolina Core rewind, we discussed the USMNT’s 2-1 loss to Germany. The Yanks hung around, but this is a team that is supposed to be about more than hanging around. At some point, you must beat a good European team just to be taken seriously, never mind winning a World Cup. But hey, that was quite a goal by Antonee Robinson, wasn’t it?

Our mailbagbox is super full this week, asking us to wager (nothing) on a parlay, select Orlando City preferences, and pick the hardest shooter, among other things. 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 look ahead to Saturday’s OCB match on the road at Huntsville City. The Nashville affiliate poses some challenges, and the teams look to be evenly matched. Can the Young Lions stop bleeding goals while continuing to score them? We’ll see.

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Here’s how No. 537 went down:

0:15 – OCB got three points that might not have been earned against a full-strength squad, and the USMNT continues to have a defense prone to breakage as World Cup matches loom.

25:34 – Our mailbagbox is all over the map…including the greater Seattle area.

49:26 – OCB won but should still try to bounce back from a bit of a lethargic performance for most of its win on Sunday when it travels to Huntsville.

The Orlando Pride hosted Bay FC and made it two straight wins for the first time in 2026. Orlando continued its successful ways against California-based teams with another standout performance by striker Barbra Banda. The Zambian international scored two goals and set up another to lead the Pride to another big three points on the cusp of the World Cup break. Jacquie Ovalle and Zara Chavoshi came off the bench, taking the Pride two steps closer to having a healthy roster.

It wasn’t all good news, however. The game was fun until Banda picked up an injury late in the game and now we wait to see what the severity is. Losing Banda for any length of time is not ideal for a team reliant on her for goals and hovering near the bottom of the playoff places.

We break down the Pride’s 3-1 win at home, look back at our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox asked about Nicole Payne, Tallahassee-based side TLH Reckoning, Orlando Pride players as USWNT starters, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. 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 look ahead to the USWNT heading to Brazil for a pair of friendlies. These games should be good tests for Emma Hayes’ side, and it will be fun to watch Orlando’s Brazilians play for their national team.

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Here’s how Episode 125 went down:

0:15 – Orlando has its first winning streak of the season with a victory over Bay FC.

19:04 – The mailbagbox takes us into the summer break.

32:45 – The USWNT heads to Brazil to face a good team with several Pride players on it.

With Orlando City off until mid-July, we start this week’s show with a brief discussion of the United States Men’s National Team’s friendly win over Senegal on Sunday. Former Lion Alex Freeman continues to impress at the international level, and the U.S. was able to hang with a good African side despite blowing a lead and changing most of the squad at halftime. It may not mean much for the World Cup, but it’s good to see the USMNT playing tough against good sides from around the world. Germany is up next.

We then turned our attention toward OCB’s win over Chattanooga at home on Sunday. The Young Lions threw away their early lead before halftime, but then they sprung to life in the second half and dominated the second half, scoring four unanswered goals to win 5-2. We break down OCB’s win, which sprung the team toward the top of the Eastern Conference table.

Our mailbagbox asked us which OCB players might play well enough to earn first-team minutes after the World Cup break. 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 prepare for OCB’s upcoming match with Carolina Core FC. The Young Lions have a chance to keep things rolling against one of the teams low in the Eastern Conference. We discuss where the teams are relative to one another in the table and which players OCB will need to keep tabs on.

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.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 536 went down:

0:15 – The USMNT picked up an impressive win over Senegal and OCB continues to score goals, hanging five on Chattanooga on Sunday.

17:50 – Our mailbagbox takes an interest in the Young Lions.

26:11 – OCB welcomes Carolina Core to Kissimmee on Sunday. Can the Young Lions keep rolling along?