The Orlando Pride don’t play another game for a few more weeks, but that doesn’t mean stuff isn’t happening with the club. Haley Carter has been busy, and we discuss the club picking up the 2026 option year for a couple of players and signing some other players to new contracts. It was a tidy run of business for Orlando.

Additionally, the club sent a whopping five players out on loan for the rest of the 2025 season. These were not Pride players who were getting minutes, so it can only help them, but it kind of feels like we’ll never see some of them in Pride purple again.

This week’s mailbagbox has a lot of questions. In fact, it has double-digit questions, and that was just from one of our listeners! Is it bragging to say we were up to the challenge? Well, we were, so it doesn’t matter if it’s bragging. At any rate, it wasn’t just one person asking questions, but it was one person asking a lot of them. 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, we discussed Orlando’s three Zambians in their Women’s Africa Cup of Nations match against Morocco. Barbra Banda had a great start to the international break, while hopefully Prisca Chilufya and Grace Chanda are gaining much-needed confidence and improving their form ahead of their return to NWSL play in early August.

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Here’s how Episode 93 went down:

0:15 – The Pride sign a couple of players, pick up the options on a couple of others, and loan a handful out.

17:45 – The mailbagbox is celebrating the summer break with volume, volume, volume!

48:11 – Pride players get back to international play in WAFCON.

Orlando City looked bereft of offensive ideas despite a lot of possession for the first hour in Charlotte Saturday night, but after going down two goals, the switch flipped and the Lions roared back to claim a road point, coming close to snagging all three. It was good to see the team not quit, but it wasn’t so great to see the team struggle for 60 minutes.

We checked our score predictions — one of us nailed it! — broke down the key moments and players from the game, and split our selections for Man of the Match. We also discuss Ramiro Enrique being honored with a spot on the MLS Team of the Matchday bench.

The mailbagbox asks us about hamburger toppings, Alex Freeman, Orlando City trivia, 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.

Following the mailbagbox segment, discuss Alex Freeman’s Gold Cup final performance with the USMNT, which academy players are headed to the MLS NEXT All-Star Game, and OCB’s comeback draw at Crown Legacy. Justin Ellis helped the Young Lions claim a point and Carlos Mercado led the Young Lions to a second in the ensuing shootout.

Finally, we looked ahead to Orlando City’s home game coming up Saturday against CF Montreal. Saturday’s visitors have been poor all season but managed a draw in the first meeting. Plus, the Lions will be without a couple of key cogs on the defensive end. We look at the series history, the tale of the tape, our key matchups, and our score predictions for the 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.

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 No. 489 went down:

0:15 – The Lions finally got going, but only in time to claim a single point in Charlotte.

23:56– The mailbagbox brings forth another slew of important questions for us to answer, and we rap about Alex Freeman and some future OCSC stars.

39:44 – OCB takes two points out of North Carolina, and the Lions get set to host Montreal.

Orlando City’s offensive consistency continues to be inconsistent. Days after scoring four goals that could have been eight, the Lions scored one that should have been at least two. The team has also shipped multiple goals in consecutive games, although that set piece howler on Saturday can hardly be blamed on the defense as a whole.

We checked our score predictions, broke down the key moments and players from the game, and made our selections for Man of the Match.

The mailbagbox wanted us to predict Oscar Pareja’s comfort level with his roster and how many guys on an MLS roster should be relied upon for significant minutes. 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.

Following the mailbagbox segment, we touched on OCB’s Monday matinee at Philadelphia, which had not yet been played at the time of our recording (we recorded Sunday afternoon because of some scheduling issues). We also discussed Alex Freeman’s selection to the MLS All-Star Team.

Finally, we looked ahead to Orlando City’s matchup on the road at Charlotte. The Lions will have to play well against a difficult conference opponent to get back in the win column. City doesn’t have a great record against the other teams above the playoff line, so maybe a game against the 10th-place team is what the club needs to get three points to erase the memory of that Cincinnati loss. We provide our key matchups, look at where the teams are in the table, and made our score predictions for the 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.

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 No. 488 went down:

0:15 – The Lions fell at home in a winnable game, and what’s up with these bad goals at home?

22:41– The mailbagbox is small but mighty.

32:59 – OCB hadn’t played yet when we talked about their game Monday afternoon at Philly. Plus, Alex Freeman is an MLS All-Star and the senior side heads to North Carolina.