SkoPurp Soccer Episode 111: Haley Carter’s Departure, Orlando Pride Roster Update, and More

[Note: This episode was recorded Monday night, prior to the Pride signing Hailie Mace on Tuesday.]

The Orlando Pride are coming off back-to-back NWSL semifinal appearances, and much of the credit for that just walked out the door. Haley Carter is leaving her post as the club’s vice president of soccer operations and sporting director to pursue other opportunities. It was not welcome news, as Carter has done well to help install the right kind of culture with the Pride — one that shows the utmost respect for the players and protects them from the kind of things that have given the NWSL a few black eyes over the years. Her legacy is turning Orlando into a place players want to play and turning a perennial doormat into one of the better clubs in the league, both on and off the pitch.

After our discussion about Carter’s departure, we discussed Emily Sams playing for the USWNT in her club’s home stadium and her thoughts on Carter’s departure.

Our mailbagbox basically just wants to dunk on the Washington Spirit for this episode, but at least Washington got to the final game. That said, it probably hurts worse to lose a final than a semifinal, so…yeah. 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.

After our mailbagbox, we went through the Pride’s end-of-season contract status update. Orlando has 23 players under contract for 2026 (24 with Tuesday’s signing of Hailie Mace), and we tell you who is and isn’t on the squad at the moment. There weren’t a ton of surprises, but we will miss Carson Pickett’s golazos and Simone Charley’s fire.

We’re in our off-season schedule now, so we’ll be back at least monthly, and as often as news requires.

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Here’s how Episode 111 went down:

0:15 – Haley Carter built a thing and then let it go, because if you love something, you set it free. Yeah, let’s go with that.

11:53 – Our mailbagbox just wants the Washington Spirit to feel shame.

21:52 – All player contract statuses are accounted for. We wish Ally Watt good luck in Denver (except when she plays Orlando).