Podcasts
PawedCast Episode 458: New York Red Bulls Rewind and Listener Mail
The Lions are out of the playoffs one game shy of the promised land.

Orlando City’s 2024 season is over. It was a weird one, with the Lions underachieving until July before becoming one of the league’s best teams. The dominos seemed to fall into place for a run to MLS Cup, with the top three seeds being eliminated and a defense that allowed almost nothing the last few games, but the only shot on target across two matches ultimately was one too many. It was a great defensive postseason for the Lions, although the team still has to learn to score goals when the games matter most.
We looked back at the match, checked in on our score predictions, and made our selections for Man of the Match.
This week’s mailbagbox asked about New York’s tactics, and it also had a whole lot of trivia questions for us. We did pretty well overall, I think, but trivia isn’t out forte. Still, it was a lot of fun to try to figure things out with logic, sometimes successfully and often less so. 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.
That is a wrap on the “normal” season schedule for the PawedCast, but we’ll be back next week to weigh in on any OCSC news and take our annual stays/goes walk through the roster. After next week, we’ll be playing it by ear, but you’ll get at least one show a month in the off-season (Who are we kidding? It’ll probably be more than that.) Keep sending us your questions and we look forward to maybe getting a little more rest for the next few weeks.
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. 458 went down:
0:15 – We hates John Tolkin forever! Also, hey…cover the back post, you guys.
18:54 – Our mailbagbox asks us about kicking the ball out of play and tests our knowledge of the 2024 Lions and MLS as a whole. Spoiler: We knew more about the Lions.
Podcasts
SkoPurp Soccer Episode 85: Portland Rewind, North Carolina Preview, and More
The Pride equal last year’s loss total with another bad night in Portland, while the Courage wait in North Carolina.

The Orlando Pride have not played well for 2.5 of the last three matches, falling 1-0 on the road at Portland Saturday night. Scoring is an issue, as is breaking out of their own end. The Pride simply aren’t creating enough clear-cut scoring chances, and when they do, they’re not being clinical with those opportunities.
We break down Orlando’s second loss of the season — tying last year’s total already — discussing some of the game’s big moments, looking back at our predictions from last week, and making our selections for Player of the Match.
This week’s mailbagbox wants to know about NWSL announcers and officials, Pride cohesion, and the season-ending injury list. 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.
Following our mailbagbox segment, we look ahead to the Pride’s trip to North Carolina to take on the Courage. It’s a tough place to get a result and a quality opponent for Orlando, but you have to play everyone in their place at some point. A result against North Carolina might be just what the doctor ordered for the Pride to get back on track and go on a run after falling in two of the last three games. We break down the all-time series, preview the Courage, provide our key matchups in the game, and try to predict the final score.
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 85 went down:
0:15 – The Pride are not in the best form at the moment, but they’re still in first place, so there’s that.
17:26 – A bunch of questions were found in this week’s mailbagbox, so we answered them.
35:30 – The Pride head to another difficult place to get results with a trip to North Carolina on the schedule for Saturday. We preview!
Podcasts
PawedCast Episode 476: Chicago Rewind, OCB at Fire II, Tampa Bay Rowdies Preview, and More
The Lions are stuck with another 0-0 draw, OCB gets drilled in Chicago, and Orlando heads to Tampa Bay.

Orlando City may have found its scoring boots against Atlanta, but the Lions put those away, wrapped them in mothballs, and stuck them in the attic before heading to Soldier Field to play the Chicago Fire. The result was another 0-0 draw, but it was a lack of lethality that plagued Orlando on Saturday night on the road, despite being up a man for more than half the match. Martin Ojeda and Marco Pasalic each hit the woodwork in the second half, but the Lions got no closer, as they refused to put shots on target — where they might create problems for a young goalkeeper who had to step in when Chris Brady was sent off late in the first half.
The Lions put only two shots on target all night in a wasteful effort in Chicago, and the draw felt a bit like a loss, but the upshot is they still ran their unbeaten streak to eight games (3-0-5). We looked back at our score predictions, discussed all the key moments, and made our picks for Man of the Match (honestly, there was no contest for that honor on Saturday, as Pedro Gallese was magnificent). Gallese’s effort earned him a spot on the Team of the Matchday this week.
The mailbagbox asks about what we collect, what’s up with music today, what we might see Wednesday in the U.S. Open Cup, 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’s leaky defense over the previous two games was nothing compared to Friday night in Chicago, when Fire FC II pounded the Young Lions 5-1. Shak Mohammed scored first, but missed a penalty just before halftime that could have made a big difference. Chicago rode its momentum into the second half instead and simply beat the brakes off OCB. The Young Lions will have to live with that at least until hosting Inter Miami II on May 17.
Finally, we looked ahead to Orlando City’s trip to Tampa Bay Wednesday for the latest iteration of the I-4 Derby. The Lions last met the Rowdies in their first match of the 2022 U.S. Open Cup and now will open the 2025 run against their in-state rivals. The good news is that the 2022 team ended up playing six games in the competition and winning a nice, shiny trophy at the end. We provide our key matchups and score predictions for the midweek USOC match.
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. 476 went down:
0:15 – The Lions kept a fifth straight clean sheet, but also failed to score for the fourth time in five outings. That’s not optimal.
23:38– The mailbagbox is a welcome salve on our souls after another scoreless draw.
42:10 – OCB got pounded again, and the Lions head to Tampa Bay to renew the I-4 Derby rivalry.
Podcasts
SkoPurp Soccer Episode 84: Angel City Rewind, Portland Preview, and More
The Pride came from behind to beat Angel City and will head northwest to Portland.

The Orlando Pride looked for all the world like they were about to sustain a two-game home losing streak. Down two goals to Angel City — a team the Pride had never beaten at Inter&Co Stadium — and looking hardly in the mood for the first half, the Pride came out of the locker room rejuvenated. Still, it took a while to break through and climb back into the match. Once that happened, Orlando always looked capable of going on and picking up all three points, which is what transpired. It was not only the Pride’s first home win over Angel City (and the first win by the home team in the all-time series), but it was also the club’s first multi-goal comeback victory.
We discuss the game’s talking points and big moments, check our score predictions from last week, and make our selections for Player of the Match in the Pride’s 3-2 home win over Angel City.
This week’s mailbagbox wants to know about expected goals, NWSL parity, the Pride’s choice of starters, underrated moments in the match, a second division in the women’s game in North America, 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.
Following our mailbagbox segment, we break down Orlando’s upcoming trip to Portland. The Pride have a terrible record at Providence Park (as most teams other than the Thorns do), but can Orlando exact some revenge for the Thorns ruining their unbeaten record late last season? We dive into the series history and the tale of the tape, provide our key matchups for Saturday night, and make our predictions for the final score. We’re coming to the realization that we normally predict pretty much the same few scores over and over. Soccer!
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 84 went down:
0:15 – The Pride looked like they were about to take a second straight loss, but in the second half, they decided to win instead.
18:21 – Our listeners must know things. And we’re here to help with that need to know in our mailbagbox segment.
41:30 – The Pride head to a difficult place to get results with a trip to Portland coming up this weekend.
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