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SkoPurp Soccer Episode 39: Utah Royals Rewind, San Diego Wave Preview, and More

The Pride remain unbeaten and finally get their first 2024 win with a home date against San Diego looming.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

OK, so we forgot to talk about the end of the SheBelieves Cup, and we recorded Monday night, so we were done before the news broke about the Orlando Pride waiving Kaylie Collins and Tori Hansen on Tuesday morning. Let’s just say we still had plenty to talk about, because the Pride won their first match of 2024 and stayed unbeaten at 1-0-3.

We discuss the Pride’s trip to Utah and how Orlando came home with all three points, which will hopefully become a springboard to a playoff run. But it’s a long season. For now, we are happy to break down the Pride’s road win and another solid defensive outing. We make our selections for player of the match and check back on our score predictions.

If the Pride’s offense has been a little slow to get started in 2024, well, help is on the way. We discuss Barbra Banda’s arrival in Orlando. Banda took part in her first training session with the Pride on Tuesday and is a player who can make the offense much more dangerous. She’ll also create more room for the likes of Marta, Adriana, Ally Watt, and Julie Doyle, so that can only help those players as well.

Then we dove into our mailbagbox, which asked us about Pride newcomers, goal differential, Marta, Star Wars droid battery technology, and more. 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. We’d also appreciate any ratings 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.

We finished the show with our preview of Orlando hosting the San Diego Wave on Friday night. The Pride have never beaten a California team at home, which is weird, because they have gotten plenty of results out west. Is this the year? The Pride already failed to beat Angel City at home, although a draw isn’t the worst outcome. We took a stab at predicting the score and provided our key matchups.


Here’s how Episode 39 went down:

0:15 – The Pride flew west, played at altitude, and brought home all three precious points from Utah.

22:49 The mailbagbox contained a wide variety of questions to seriously test our expertise. Wait, what expertise?

52:25 – A look ahead to Friday’s matchup against the Wave.

Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 549: Minnesota Rewind, San Diego Preview, OCB, and More

The Lions complete a come-from-behind-from-ahead draw vs. the Loons and will face San Diego for the first time.

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Image of Luis Otavio playing the ball against Minnesota United.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City went to the Land of 10,000 Lakes and somehow found itself up two goals past the hour mark despite only mustering two shot attempts in that time. However, the game normalized as Minnesota United scored three times in a four-minute span and appeared headed to a win that would have been painful for the Lions. Tyrese Spicer had other plans, however, as he scored in stoppage time to snatch a late point for Orlando. We look back at a crazy game against the Loons, reflect on our score predictions, and make our unanimous selections for Man of the Match.

Our mailbagbox asked us new fan questions about rivalries as well as old fan questions about squad rotation during fixture congestion, Orlando City’s insane rate of conceding goals, 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 a surprise victory for an OCB squad that had been floundering and looked completely out of sorts for weeks. The Young Lions may have one more run in them, and they’ll need it as they are below the playoff line with three matches remaining.

Finally, we look ahead to the first-ever meeting between Orlando City and San Diego FC. The blandly named California side has some excellent attacking players and has been a success since entering MLS just two years ago (it feels like longer!). We break down the tale of the tape between the teams, provide our key matchups, and try 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. 549 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City blew a two-goal lead, fell behind late, and then equalized in stoppage time in a crazy game at Minnesota. It’s a draw that should have been a loss that should have been a win.

26:21 – The mailbagbox makes up for last week’s oversight.

48:58 – OCB beats the top team in the conference to snap a five-game losing streak and the senior Lions prepare to face San Diego FC for the first time ever.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp 136: Seb Hines Out, Utah Rewind, Houston Preview, and More

The Pride part ways with Seb Hines after a loss to the Utah Royals and the Houston Dash visit Sunday.

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Image of Barbra Banda and Summer Yates celebrating a goal against Utah.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Pride parted ways with coach Seb Hines after losing their fourth match out of five. The Pride have been terrible since the restart after the World Cup break, but somehow beat the two best teams they played (Kansas City and Washington). There’s no rhyme or reason, except perhaps the best teams bring out the best in what’s left of the Pride’s…err…pride.

We discuss Hines’ departure with Yolanda Thomas taking over as interim manager and what that means, as well as whether the roster was overrated and finally caught up with him. Injuries in 2026 obviously didn’t help things, and what comes next? We’ll all find out together.

This week’s mailbagbox asked about which players not named Banda will score five or more goals in a season at some point in the future, the future of Oihane and Luana, 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 behind and ahead. We discussed the Pride’s home loss to Utah on another night in which the team was badly outplayed. We checked our score predictions and made our selections for player of the match. We also looked ahead to Houston’s visit on Sunday, checked out the series history, gave our key matchups (which are unchanged, because obviously), and provided our final score predictions.

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 Episode 136 went down:

0:15 – The Pride have parted ways with Seb Hines. Was the head coach doomed from the start of the 2026 season?

27:21 – The mailbagbox is always there for us in times of strife.

39:15 – A quick rewind of the Pride’s loss to Utah and a look ahead to the Houston Dash.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 135: Washington Spirit Rewind, Utah Royals Preview, and More

The Pride got a badly needed win in Washington despite being dominated and will need improvement to knock off Utah.

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Image of Cosette Morche during her NWSL debut vs. Washington.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Pride bounced back from a gut punch loss at Portland to swipe all three points on the road from the Washington Spirit. If you saw the game, you’re probably still not sure how the Spirit didn’t at least equalize at some point, given the insane disparity in possession and shots, but no matter how ugly a win is, it’s still a win, and the Pride haven’t had enough of those lately, so savor it. A new face emerged in goal as Anna Moorhouse got a day off and Cosette Morche made her NWSL debut, and although the Spirit (and the woodwork) helped her out quite a bit, as did her teammates by getting in front of shots, she made a gigantic save deep in stoppage time to preserve the victory.

We look back at the Washington match and the tell-tale sign that obviously should have signaled a win (Haley McCutcheon scoring early in a game), check back on our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox asked about the goalkeeping situation, how we feel about our Barbra Banda vs. everyone prediction, player minutes during the rest of the season, Gabi Nunes, 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 Saturday’s home matchup with the Utah Royals. The Pride will have to be sharper to build on the win in Washington and get a second straight result, especially on set piece defending. We check the series history, look at where the teams stand now, provide our key matchups, and make our final score predictions.

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 Episode 135 went down:

0:15 – The Pride got an early blast from McCutcheon and…well, really, what else do you need?

22:58 – The mailbagbox is talking goalkeepers, minutes, and goals.

42:05 – The Utah Royals come to town on Saturday and the Pride need to find a way to get more points.

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