The Orlando Pride remained perfect on the road against Bay FC with a 3-1 win on Sunday. Deuces were wild, as Haley McCutcheon, who wears jersey No. 2, scored in the second minute of both halves, and her two goals in California gave the midfielder her second brace of both the 2026 NWSL season and her career. Barbra Banda figured heavily in pulling defenders out of position on two of the three Orlando goals and assisted on Jacquie Ovalle’s right-footed thunderbolt in stoppage time to put the game away. But make no mistake, it’s not as if the Pride played well, turning the ball over often and conceding 28 shot attempts to the hosts.

We break down a road win that may have been more exhausting to watch than to play in (although I wouldn’t bet on it), check back on our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox asked us about Haley McCutcheon, where to most strongly place the blame for the Pride’s disappointing season, 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 looked ahead to Friday, when Orlando will host San Diego Wave FC, looking to both complete a season sweep and to keep its faint playoff hopes alive. We look at the series history, provide our key matchups for the contest, and make our predictions for the final score.

Here’s how Episode 140 went down:

0:15 – The Pride improved to 2-1-1 under Yolanda Thomas, but a lot of good Cosette Morche saves were required to get that second win.

20:00- The mailbagbox asks us to play the blame game.

33:36 – The Pride continue to face California-based competition, but Friday’s opponent is much higher in the table than Sunday’s was.

Orlando City has a losing streak and the goal differential is starting to pile up the wrong direction again after another 4-2 loss on the road. The Lions were second best to the Union all night after a pair of early controversial calls went to the hosts. This isn’t the first time there have been some decisions go against Orlando in the City of Brotherly Love, and the Professional Referee Organization might not issue an apology after the fact this time.

We look back at the loss to the Union and the continuing story of a defense that just can’t seem to lock things down, check on our score predictions, and I think we forgot to make our selections for Man of the Match. I’m going Ivan Angulo, but we can discuss it on next week’s show.

Our mailbagbox asked us about Lions as chess players, which players were missed the most on Saturday, and more. 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 discuss OCB sending Pedro Leao to a team in the United Arab Emirates. Without an Orlando City game this weekend, we also discuss the USMNT’s 4-1 win in Orlando with Justin Ellis scoring the quickest debut goal in the program’s history.

Finally, we look ahead to the Lions’ match in Philadelphia on Saturday. The Union are the hottest team in the Eastern Conference since the restart, but the match is complicated by the international break, which will take players away from both sides. There will be no Cavan Sullivan vs. Justin Ellis matchup as both teens will be with the USMNT in Orlando to face Wilder Cartagena and Peru. We look at the series history against Philly, discuss where the teams sit relative to one another in the table, provide our key matchups, and try our best 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. 553 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City continued its slide and its bad habit of shipping buckets of goals at Philadelphia on Saturday.

18:48 – The mailbagbox declares a checkmate.

31:24 – OCB sends Pedro Leao to the UAE and Orlando has a badly needed week off. Well, most of the Lions. We discuss Justin Ellis’ USMNT debut.

The Orlando Pride lost at home to the Portland Thorns. That may seem like an understatement and a lame way to open this post, and it is. The Pride weren’t up to the task of taking on the Thorns Saturday afternoon, with a porous defense and a wasteful attack. Ally Lemos had a nice goal and that was just about all the positives for a Pride team that struggled to create chances for Barbra Banda.

We break down a home loss that all but sealed a season outside the playoff places for Orlando, check back to see what our predictions were, and make our picks for Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox asked how much of the back line needs to be replaced, why Yolanda Thomas made the lineup changes she did, 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 looked forward to Sunday, when Orlando will head west to face Bay FC on the road. The Pride must get maximum points down the stretch and hope for help. The entirety of the 2026 season so far suggest that’s not likely. We look at the series history and the two teams’ relative positions in the table, provide our key matchups, and make our predictions for the final score.

Here’s how Episode 139 went down:

0:15 – The Pride’s modest unbeaten run under Yolanda Thomas came crashing to a halt.

15:07- The mailbagbox wonders what in the world was that on Saturday.

34:37 – The Pride head to California to try to rebound against Bay FC.