Orlando City won its third straight game and its sixth in the last seven, doing its part to try to lock down home field for the best-of-three, first-round playoff series. However, since Nashville could not take points from New York City FC on Sunday, the Lions will have to try to clinch the fourth spot on Decision Day against rival Atlanta. Ramiro Enrique had a big night in southwest Ohio, as did Cincy native Kyle Smith and left wing Ivan Angulo, and it was good to see Orlando City beat a contender on the road as the playoffs approach. FC Cincinnati is a team Orlando could see again in the postseason if the men in purple can keep getting results.

We broke down the Lions’ road victory, looked back at our score predictions from last week, and made our selections for Man of the Match (which were unanimous).

This episode’s mailbagbox proposed a donation for the site based on how well we answered a trivia question. Let’s just say we didn’t get the top prize. We also answered a spooky season-themed question. 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 discussed OCB’s Sunday afternoon matchup with FC Cincinnati 2. The scoreline was the same one the senior teams finished with, but this time Orlando was not on the good side of it. It wasn’t a good outing by the Young Lions, who gave up two early goals and could never find their footing, even though they were better in the second half. As a result, OCB will travel to Chicago Fire II in the playoffs rather than hosting a team of its choosing.

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Here’s how No. 450 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City took care of business Saturday night but Nashville offered no help against NYCFC.

19:47 – The mailbagbox offers us money for answering a trivia question in three tries. That’s new.

39:52– The Young Lions also played at Cincinnati but it was a poor performance and as a result they missed out on a postseason home game.

The Orlando Pride have done it! The 2024 NWSL Shield belongs to Orlando after a 2-0 home win over the second-place Washington Spirit that wasn’t easy. The Spirit came in with a lot of resolve, and on a rainy night with a slick field, anything could happen. Sometimes it almost did. But, in the end, Barbra Banda earned a penalty, Marta scored it, Anna Moorhouse (and others) made some huge stops, and Adriana’s foot provided some breathing room, even though she wasn’t credited with a goal.

We broke down the game, checked our score predictions from last week, and made our selections for Player of the Match. David Rohe provided some insight from his trip down from Tallahassee to see the game, as well.

Our mailbagbox this week asked us about longitude and latitude, cheating cheaters who cheat, and when the Pride most tested our loyalty. 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 looked ahead to Orlando’s trip out west to play the Portland Thorns. With Hurricane Milton threatening Florida, the team had to go spend some extra days in the Pacific Northwest, so the Pride will be battling hotel legs, a new time zone, a letdown after winning the shield…oh, and also the Portland Thorns, who the Pride have only beaten once on the road. Ever. We discuss the Thorns’ season to date, the series history, our key matchups for Friday night, and our final score predictions.

Here’s how Episode 64 went down:

0:15 – The Pride took care of the league’s second-place team and claimed the Shield without putting us through any unnecessary drama over the last few games of the season.

19:21 – Our mailbagbox gets scientific this week. We learned to always trust Jimmy Buffett songs.

39:22 – The Pride have a lot going against them on this trip to Portland. Can they keep the positive results going?

Orlando City made it two straight wins by completing a season sweep of the Philadelphia Union Wednesday night. The Lions continue to get impressive performances from Luis Muriel, who completely changed the game after coming on at the break. Muriel is red hot and is putting his teammates in position to score rather than doing it himself.

We broke down the win over the Union, looked back at our score predictions from our last show, and made our selections for Man of the Match.

This episode’s mailbagbox asked us about possible new lineups and TV theme songs. 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 reminded everyone that OCB finishes the regular season on the road Sunday and the Young Lions would select their playoff opponents in the first round if they manage to finish where they’re currently sitting. The top three finishers in each conference pick their first-round opponent and whoever is left from the bottom four will play the fourth-place team. It’s a big match Sunday and we could see a few senior Lions make an appearance.

Finally, we looked ahead to Orlando City’s road game against FC Cincinnati on Saturday. The Lions will need to deal with a team trying to turn around recent results as the postseason approaches. Cincy has some bright stars that the Lions will need to extinguish with solid defense and Orlando won’t have Duncan McGuire, who will serve a suspension for yellow card accumulation. We provide our key matchups and 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.

Here’s how No. 449 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City wasted some opportunities against the Union but still got the job done, thanks in large part to Luis Muriel giving his teammates layups.

24:52 – The mailbagbox has visuals that our listeners can’t see, but we can describe them.

40:50– The Young Lions play for the right to pick their playoff opponent and the senior Lions have a key matchup at FC Cincinnati.