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SkoPurp Soccer Episode 70: Kansas City Rewind, Washington Preview, and More

The Pride will play for a title after dispatching Kansas City in a battle royale of an NWSL semifinal.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

[Note: My apologies for the audio, as Dave sounded great and I did not. Unbeknownst to me, everything was running through my external laptop microphone, so I come off a bit echoey.]

The Orlando Pride held steadfast at home, coming back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Kansas City Current 3-2 at Inter&Co Stadium Sunday. The victory pushed the Pride’s magical season into the ultimate game — Saturday night’s NWSL Championship, which is coincidentally taking place in Kansas City. Haley McCutcheon, Barbra Banda, and Marta did the damage on the scoreboard, and the defense held on for dear life during a furious Current rally attempt that was aided by eons of stoppage time and lots of balls in the box.

We break down the NWSL semifinal match, look back at our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.

After our match rewind, we opened up our mailbagbox, and it was a good one. Our mailbagbox this week asked questions about Haley McCutcheon, road tripping to the NWSL final, Sunday’s match referee, the best goal in our stadium’s history, 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 reviewed some of the recent Orlando Pride news (note: this did not include Seb Hines’ award because we recorded Monday night), including the team’s nominees for year-end NWSL awards, Pride players named to the league’s Best XI first and second teams, and another call-up to the USWNT for Emily Sams.

Finally, we previewed the Pride’s matchup with the Spirit on Saturday for all the Kansas City barbecue. We walked through the history of the series, looked at the seasons the two teams have had, selected our key matchups for the match, and tried our best to predict the final score.


Here’s how Episode 70 went down:

0:45 – Orlando booked a spot in the NWSL final by ousting the Kansas City Current in a game that wasn’t easy in the least. In fact, it may still be in stoppage time.

22:44 The mailbagbox has questions about the NWSL semifinal, a road trip to the final, and more.

39:29 – Pride news and notes and our preview and predictions for Orlando’s NWSL Championship match against the Washington Spirit.

Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 471: LA Galaxy Rewind, Philadelphia Preview, and More

The Lions get an improbable win, OCB preps for Chattanooga, and OCSC heads to Philly.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City brought three improbable points home from Los Angeles after a wild finish between the Lions and the Galaxy turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-1 road victory. Another defensive lapse on a possibly offside goal early in the match looked like it might end up being decisive until Eduard Atuesta had his foot stepped on in the box late in the second half. Martin Ojeda dispatched the penalty, and it was game on, with Luis Muriel scoring a crazy winner that John McCarthy failed to handle cleanly. Whatever mojo was working, the Lions will gladly accept the win and move on.

We look back at our score predictions, discuss the critical plays and players in the game, and make our selections for Man of the Match.

The mailbagbox asks about Rafael Santos and Ivan Angulo, whether David Brekalo has a future at left back, whether one of our writers will become a podcast guest, 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.

OCB has a trip to face Chattanooga FC Saturday night, which is a shame, because the Young Lions will start their game just 30 minutes before the MLS side kicks off. We look briefly at the matchup.

Orlando City will head north to wrap up the regular-season series against the Philadelphia Union on Saturday. The Lions will need to continue to tighten up the defense against one of the league’s most dangerous attacks so far in 2025. The Union will be eager to get back on track after suffering a loss to Miami. We look at the history of the series, select our key matchups in the game, and make our 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. 471 went down:

0:15 – The Lions fall behind on a goal that looked offside, but drew a penalty late and then won the game on a crazy free kick blunder.

31:42– The mailbagbox is intrigued by Brekalo at left back.

50:03 – OCB heads to Chattanooga, while the senior squad seeks revenge in Philadelphia.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 79: Gotham FC Rewind, San Diego Wave Preview, and More

The Pride win their first road match of the year and return home to face the Wave.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride apparently won’t win every game as easily as they did the season opener, but a 2-0 road win at NJ/NY Gotham FC is a good result every time. The Pride struggled with turning the ball over and had difficulty creating clear-cut scoring chances, but an own goal and a Marta penalty at opposite ends of the first half turned the tide in Orlando’s favor.

We discuss the key moments in the match, look back to see how we did with our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox wants to know if the salary cap will go away when the next NWSL collective bargaining agreement is reached and whether a Gotham own goal was preventative medicine designed to stop the fatality opponents suffer when Haley McCutcheon scores the first Pride goal. 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, the Pride get set to welcome the San Diego Wave to Inter&Co Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Wave have been a thorn in the Pride’s side when they’ve visited Orlando in the past, while things have been easier for the Pride in San Diego in the brief series history. We look at the two combatants, provide our key matchups, and make our 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 79 went down:

0:15 – The Pride were not the better side in the run of play but still come home with a 2-0 victory. That’s a good sign.

23:19 – The mailbagbox believes the Gotham own goal was a player playing three-dimensional chess instead of checkers.

36:53 – The Wave come to town and have been a tough out at home for the Pride. We preview!

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Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 470: D.C. United Rewind, LA Galaxy Preview, and More

After stopping home for a quick victory over United, the Lions are back on the road for two, starting with the LA Galaxy.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City came home from the team’s second trip to the greater New York area in a bad mood and took it out on D.C. United Saturday night, ripping off four more goals and putting in the team’s best defensive outing of the year so far, despite being backstopped by a goalkeeper in his first MLS start. Javier Otero played well, but the team in front of him ensured he wasn’t called into action too often in what was a dominating performance.

Once again, it was Orlando’s trio of Designated Players leading the way, combining for three goals and three assists, while Homegrown fullback chipped in a goal and an assist and left wing Ivan Angulo picked up a pair of assists of his own. The Lions’ strong performance led to Ojeda and Freeman making Team of the Matchday with Muriel on the bench, while Marco Pasalic’s goal is a candidate for Goal of the Week.

We look back at Orlando City’s impressive win, look back at our predictions, and make our selections for Man of the Match.

The mailbagbox asks about Angulo’s unusual exit from the game, Freeman’s future, 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.

OCB has a trip to face Crown Legacy during the midweek, so we touched on that, before diving into our match preview for Saturday night, when the Lions play a late one in Los Angeles against the Galaxy.

Orlando City doesn’t have the most successful history in the state of California, but the defending champion Galaxy have looked vulnerable early in the season. We break down the series history, select our key matchups, and make our 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. 470 went down:

0:15 – The Lions dominate D.C. and the offense runs rampant again.

24:23– The mailbagbox is also confused by Ivan Angulo’s failure to leave the field.

44:49 – OCB visits Crown Legacy and the Lions head to LA to face the Galaxy.

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