The Orlando Pride still haven’t won in Kentucky. The Pride went to Racing Louisville on Friday and struggled offensively, while giving up an easy, uncontested opening goal on a set piece and conceding a senseless penalty kick off a routine throw-in. It was a poor performance from the defending champions and another worrying sign of a team that has taken steps backward after last year’s magical season.

We checked our score predictions from last week, broke down the key moments in the the game, and tried to figure out who to select for Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox wanted to know about Simone Jackson, whether reinforcements should be expected (and when), 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, without a match until August, we discussed Pride players who have been recalled recently by their national teams or youth national teams. It’s going to be a long wait to erase the frustration of the last match of June, but in the meantime, we’ll be keeping an eye on the club’s international players.

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 92 went down:

0:15 – The Pride did not look good on the road at Louisville. Our thoughts.

17:53 – The mailbagbox is a bright spot after a dark weekend.

35:53 – Pride players who will be representing their countries this summer.

Orlando City was off for the past week, but not all Lions were without games to play. We start this show with a look at Alex Freeman’s group stage performance with the United States Men’s National Team in the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. It’s been a good performance for the young fullback, although not everything has gone smoothly, and the team’s tactics and formation aren’t really taking advantage of Freeman’s considerable buildup and attacking skills.

We then briefly touched on the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup, which came to Orlando for the first time last week with two matches at Inter&Co Stadium. There are more matches to come in the City Beautiful, with some marquee matchups at Camping World Stadium today and Thursday, as well as a couple of knockout games on the horizon. It’s been an interesting couple of games in Orlando and I touch on some of the things that stood out to me.

The mailbagbox asked about this week’s starters and whether Martin Ojeda could see time with Argentina’s national team. 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.

Following the mailbagbox segment, we have a preview of OCB’s home game Wednesday against Toronto FC II at Osceola County Stadium. The Young Lions are coming off a poor performance, but they will be hungry to get back in the win column against a young Reds side below them in the table.

Finally, we looked ahead to Orlando City’s first trip to St. Louis City. The midweek matchup will be a good test for the Lions, who will be without Freeman and the suspended Rodrigo Schlegel off the back line. The reshuffled defense will have to contend with Joao Klauss, who is coming off a recent hat trick performance. We provide our key matchups and our final 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. 486 went down:

0:15 – Alex Freeman keeps starting for the United States in the Gold Cup, and the FIFA Club World Cup shifts from one Orlando venue to another this week.

16:20– The questions never stop, but there aren’t that many of them this time.

24:41 – OCB and Orlando City previews!

The Orlando Pride remained unbeaten in the state of California, but it wasn’t easy. Barbra Banda snapped a scoreless tie early in the second half and the Pride held on against a barrage of Bay FC attacks down the stretch to claim another road win. Anna Moorhouse played well to keep the clean sheet in Orlando’s second consecutive 1-0 win and third victory in a row.

We looked back at the key moments and players, checked our score predictions from our last show, and made our selections for Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox wanted to know about the Pride’s ideal formation, the Tampa Bay Sun winning the USL title, the recent addition of Simone Jackson, Moorhouse’s performance, 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 previewed the Pride’s trip to face Racing Louisville on Friday in Kentucky, starting with the evenly played series history, Orlando’s struggles on the road against Louisville, and the relative position of the two teams in the table. We provided our key matchups and made 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 91 went down:

0:15 – A look back at a wild finish that prevented a meh 0-0 draw against Houston.

24:17 – The mailbagbox is chock full of questions.

39:48 – Our preview of the Pride’s trip to Lynn Family Stadium to face Racing Louisville.