SkoPurp Soccer Episode 57: Cori Dyke Interview, Orlando Pride News, Houston Dash Preview, and More

The NWSL regular season is set to return and the Orlando Pride will get their internationals back. Unfortunately, that won’t include the recently acquired Grace Chanda, who sustained a ruptured quadriceps tendon during the Olympics while representing Zambia and she is out for the season, postponing her Pride debut.

But there is some good news. The club acquired defender Carson Pickett, who makes her return to Orlando to bolster a back line that has played well in front of goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse this season, regardless of who has played where along that back four. Pickett brings experience, talent, and a grittier side to her game with her return to the Pride and we can’t wait to see how she fits in with the group.

We also touched on Ally Lemos and Amanda Allen getting honored with a call-up to represent their countries (the U.S. and Canada, respectively) in the upcoming U-20 Women’s World Cup. Our congratulations go out to both players.

Pride rookie Cori Dyke joins us as our special guest as we put her through the paces of our unique style of exclusive interview. We learned a lot about her arrival in Orlando, her thoughts on earning her first pro contract and then a second deal as well. Heck, we even asked her about her college teammate Kerry Abello’s commercial. Yeah, that one!

Our mailbagbox asked us about Orlando’s attendance, books about soccer, some remarks from Sam Mewis about the USWNT’s attackers, 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 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.

After the mailbagbox, we get to our preview of Friday’s road match at the Houston Dash. The Dash don’t score a lot of goals but they can also be downright stingy at times when it comes to conceding them. We provide our key matchups and score predictions for Friday.

Here’s how Episode 57 went down:

0:15 – Grace Chanda’s injury, Carson Pickett’s arrival, and two Pride players will represent their countries at the U-20 World Cup.

11:10 – Cori Dyke jumps on the pod with us to discuss her rookie year, the Summer Cup, and more.

30:40 – Our mailbagbox segment and a look ahead to Friday’s match at Houston.