The Orlando Pride returned to league play after the international break, but they had to do so without Barbra Banda due to travel restrictions. While the lack of Banda’s attacking threat has crippled the team at times this season, Solai Washington stepped up and factored in both Pride goals in a 2-1 road win over the Houston Dash on Sunday afternoon. Washington drew a penalty that led to Luana’s spot kick goal and later scored her first professional goal. While she was clearly the Pride’s best attacker on the day (and, spoiler alert, our Player of the Match selection), she could have had three or four goals with the opportunities she created.

We look back on a dominant first half that led to a road win for Orlando, checked on our score predictions from last week, and name Washington our Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox asked us about Pride goalkeeper options, Kerry Abello, Washington’s development, 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.

Finally, we look ahead to Sunday’s afternoon home finale against NJ/NY Gotham FC. The Pride are officially playing out the string, but that doesn’t mean players aren’t trying to earn new contracts or that Yolanda Thomas doesn’t want to win one last home match for the fans in 2026. We look back at the series history, check out where the teams are at this point in the season, provide our key matchups, and try our hand once again at score predictions.

Here’s how Episode 143 went down:

0:15 – The Pride completed their season sweep of the Houston Dash.

24:48 – Our mailbagbox is full of speculative questions.

36:36 – Gotham is looking to clinch the NWSL Shield on Orlando’s grounds. The Pride must try to prevent that and try to play spoiler.

Orlando City closed out a busy stretch of three games in eight days with a wild 3-3 road draw at Toronto FC and a dominant 4-1 win over D.C. United, building on last week’s win over Columbus. While dropping two points at the end of the Toronto game stings a bit, the creativity and flair of Saturday’s win makes it easier to move on.

We break down the come-from-behind, come-from-behind, come-from-ahead draw at BMO field, as well as the fluid, beautiful team buildups at home against D.C., discuss the key plays, players, and moments, and look back at our score predictions. We also present our choices for Man of the Match for both games and discuss more accolades for the Lions.

Our mailbagbox asked us to do the impossible. 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 critical penultimate home game of the regular season as New York City FC visits the purple palace on Saturday. The Lions need to keep the train rolling with every point precious in the playoff fight. Orlando has opponents much higher up the table the rest of the way (with two of those on the road), and there are no guarantees in this game, so it’s a crucial game. We looked at the series history and the current situations of the clubs, provided our key matchups, and tried to predict the final score.

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. 556 went down:

0:15 – The Lions picked up four of six points but were oh so close to taking all six.

35:45 – The mailbagbox seems to think we’re capable of anything. We are not.

41:47 – An important battle against New York City FC looms on Saturday.

The Orlando Pride will return to action on Sunday in Houston, and aside from contracts, there isn’t much left to play for. Even though there’s a teeny, tiny statistical chance of making the postseason, it is ludicrously complicated and you’ll have more luck with a lottery ticket.

We open the show with a discussion of the USWNT’s 2-0 loss to Spain (this show was recorded prior to Tuesday night’s 2-2 draw) and how some of the Pride players fared over the weekend in international action.

We then turn our attention to our weekly mailbagbox.

This week’s mailbagbox asked us about goalkeeper superpowers, scheduling approaches, NWSL expansion, 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.

Finally, we look ahead to Sunday’s matinee match with the Houston Dash, and even though meteorologist Dave says the weather won’t be super hot, it was a big gamble scheduling a game in Houston during midday. We look at the series history, check out how hot on Orlando’s tail the Dash are, provide our key matchups, and try to predict the final score.

Here’s how Episode 142 went down:

0:15 – The USWNT, Pride players on national team duty, and our mailbagbox.

21:55 – The Pride head to Houston Sunday for a matinee match against the Dash.