SkoPurp Soccer Episode 30: Pride Protected from Expansion Draft, Off-Season Roster Status Updates, and More

We’re back for our November monthly episode and so far it’s been a quiet off-season for the Orlando Pride. However, business should be picking up soon and just within the last week there has been plenty of news to chew on.

The Pride made a couple of trades to stay safe during the upcoming NWSL Expansion Draft. We break down what Orlando sent to Bay FC and the Utah Royals, including draft picks and one regular player from the lineup, and it looks like the club is compiling Allocation Money again, which can only be a good thing. The club sent a clear message that management and the coaching staff are confident in the way the roster is shaping up and they don’t want to see anyone plucked away, only to develop for a new team. It will be interesting to see how that pays off.

We had some good questions in our mailbagbox, aksing about the prospects of the Pride’s free agents returning for 2024 as well as the likelihood of whether Orlando will be going after one particular well-known free agent. Remember, 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 discussed the Pride’s end-of-season roster announcements to let you know which players are seemingly gone, which have had their options picked up, and more. The club has recently done a good job of locking up players across multiple years, so there was not as much to get done this off-season, but it will be interesting to see which free agend

Here’s how Episode 30 went down:

0:15 – The Orlando Pride won’t have any players plucked from their roster in this year’s NWSL Expansion Draft. Here’s why.

9:30 – Mailbagbox time! We answer our listeners’ questions.

19:45 – A look at the Pride’s off-season roster decisions and pending free agents.