SkoPurp Soccer Episode 48: North Carolina Rewind, Listener Mail, Utah Royals Preview, and More

The Orlando Pride got some players back and lost some others, as the revolving door continues. Seb Hines would probably love to have his entire squad available at some point, but so far it’s worked out fine, with the team remaining unbeaten after a scoreless draw at North Carolina. Sometimes the ball doesnt’ go in, sometimes the opposing goalkeeper plays well, and sometimes both of those things happen together. So it was on Saturday, but Orlando kept the door shut on its own end to become the first road team to take any points from the Courage.

We break down the match, discuss the handball call that wasn’t given, look back at our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.

Following our breakdown, we also tell you where you can find your friendly neighborhood SkoPurp hosts downtown from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday prior to Orlando City’s match against Chicago. David Rohe is coming down from Tallahassee and we’ll be getting together (hopefully with you!), as we’d like to thank you in person for your support of this show and our website.

Our mailbagbox this week asked us a lot of questions, and we spent some time discussing the fact that the referee allowed North Carolina to play while Orlando’s goalkeeper was down with an injury. 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 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, the Pride will host the Utah Royals Friday night. The Pride squeaked past the Royals in Utah in the first meeting. Can Orlando return to its winning ways? Find out in our preview, as we give you our key matchups, and score predictions for the game.

Here’s how Episode 48 went down:

0:15 – The Pride have gone two matches without a win, but it’s meaningful to be the first team in six tries to take any points away from a road match in North Carolina.

22:22 – There are a lot of Pride birthdays this week, just like there is a lot of mail in this week’s mailbagbox.

42:03 – The Pride will look to get back on track against the Utah Royals on Friday. Our preview.