One of the quietest off-seasons in club history is over as the Orlando Pride prepare to open their 2026 NWSL season on Sunday. It’s been so quiet, we’ve had our maximum off-season schedule time off over the last couple of months, but we hope you’re still out there and ready for more SkoPurp Soccer talk.

We begin this episode with some rare preseason news, as the Pride actually released some details about their final scrimmage ahead of league play. Orlando posted a 2-1 win over Fort Lauderdale United, and we even know who scored the goals! Additionally, McKinley Crone is back with Orlando after being on loan with last weekend’s host team, so the Pride have plenty of goalkeepers once more.

After the preseason news, we were happy to welcome Orlando Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Caitlin Carducci to the show for the first time. We talked Carducci up about the Pride’s quiet off-season, the vacancy left behind by Emily Sams, the players who have impressed in camp, her approach to a large number of players who will either be out of contract or require a decision on an option year at season’s end, and much more. Big thanks to the Pride’s new GM for taking time out of her busy schedule to put up with our questions.

Our mailbagbox is curious about which players could slip themselves into the team’s top three goal scorers in 2026. 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 Sunday’s match against the Seattle Reign. For Seattle, it will be the club’s third consecutive competitive match against Orlando, but they won’t see the Pride again until Decision Day. We discuss some of the Reign’s key players, the series history, our key matchups, and our score predictions for the season opener.

We’re in our off-season schedule now, so we’ll be back at least monthly, and as often as news requires.

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Here’s how Episode 114 went down:

0:15 – Pride preseason news! We have some! Just in time for the regular season.

8:25 – Caitlin Carducci jumps on with us and spends about 20 minutes answering a variety of questions about the club.

32:00 – Our mailbagbox is short and sweet, and then we jump into our preview of Orlando vs. Seattle.

If last week’s second-half performance against Inter Miami seemed like a low point, it wasn’t. Orlando City was just getting started. After shipping four goals in the second half and blowing a 2-0 lead at home against the Herons, the Lions saw goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau get sent off early and got put on full blast by New York City FC. The 5-0 loss wasn’t even as close as the score indicated, and although the game was ruined early, the response to the circumstances was disappointing.

We mostly complain about a performance that had just about no redeeming qualities, discuss the ripple effect on the club’s goalkeepers, check on our score predictions, and somehow come up with a Man of the Match.

Our mailbagbox asked us to ban something from the game and wanted to know which Lion will fail to play a full 90 before another Lion. 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.

Orlando City B gave us something to smile about at least, as the Young Lions bounced back from an opening day loss to beat Chicago Fire II 2-1 at home Sunday night. Justin Ellis scored the game winner and that will hopefully unlock his offense, which has been a bit stagnant for a minute. It was good to see OCB get the win, but there are concerns with the MLS NEXT Pro side’s center back situation as well.

Finally, we look ahead to the return of Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, as CF Montreal visits Orlando Saturday night. We look at the series history between the sides, provide our key matchups for the game, and make identical score predictions.

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. 520 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City was not good, and the not-good parts were ignited by a Mad Max moment.

17:16 – The mailbagbox is a temporary salve on our wounds.

24:42 – OCB wins its first game of 2026 and the senior Lions brace for Impact (see what I did there?) with Montreal coming to town.

It’s hard to stay positive when losses start stringing together, especially when those losses are coming at home in front of sellout crowds. Orlando City held its first lead of the season, taking a 2-0 advantage into halftime after an excellent opening 45 minutes against rival Inter Miami. However, that didn’t last, and many bad things happened in the second half and sometimes evil triumphs over good, and stuff.

We break down the negatives and the positives of the Lions’ 4-2 home loss to Miami on Sunday, check back on our score predictions, and make our selections for Man of the Match. The young players look like they can play, but consistency is critically lacking right now.

Our mailbagbox asked us to bet on the number of players who will get at least a minute on the back line this season, and we hope it’s not more than last year. 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 we get sidetracked narrating Monday night’s OCB game, as we recorded while it was on, we turn our attention to a Saturday matinee match at Yankee Stadium against New York City FC. We know the venue sucks for soccer and the Lions have historically been poor there, but Orlando City desperately needs to try to at least bring home a point to stop the bleeding.

We look back at the series history, discuss some of the important players for the Pigeons, present our key matchups for the game, and make another futile attempt 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.

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. 519 went down:

0:15 – The Lions held a multi-goal lead…until they didn’t.

28:26 – The mailbagbox is short and sweet and concerned with the back line.

40:38 – Orlando City hits the road for the first time in 2026.