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SkoPurp Soccer Episode 130: Boston & Utah Rewinds, Chicago Preview, and More

The Pride are spiraling and have no offensive answers after two 1-0 losses with Chicago visiting Friday.

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Image of Orlando Pride's starting XI prior to their 1-0 loss at Utah.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Justin Glatt

A week ago, we got to talk about how the Orlando Pride bounced back from their worst performance in a long time in their 2-0 road loss at Angel City to beat the Kansas City Current 3-0 in one of their best games of the year. The worm turns quickly, as the Pride followed up an impressive win with two listless performances just a few days apart, losing both by 1-0 final scores. Getting swept by expansion Boston was particularly galling, but the loss away to the Utah Royals over the weekend was nearly as maddening.

We treated them as one long, bad performance, discussing the games, looking back at our stupidly optimistic score predictions, and somehow coming up with selections for Player of the Match in a pair of outings that hardly seemed worthy of picking one.

We also discussed Barbra Banda’s selection to the Zambian Women’s National Team ahead of their run in this year’s Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, as well as Giles Barnes’ departure from his assistant coaching position with Orlando to take over at Al Qadsiah in Saudi Arabia.

This week’s mailbagbox asked whether the Pride will have more games played without Banda while she’s away at WAFCON than team goals scored in that time, whether we can generate any mojo for the club to acquire Emma Sears, 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.

Finally, we looked ahead to Friday’s matchup with the Chicago Stars. The Pride will be at home, but over the years, being at home against Chicago has not been a recipe for success. We look back at the series history, give our unanimous key matchup to the game, and try to predict the final score. We are not as optimistic as last week. Do with that information what you will.

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 130 went down:

0:15 – The Pride played in two matches and that’s about all that can be said in a positive (or even neutral) light about them.

27:06 – The mailbagbox asks us an easy question and also wants us to get metaphysical.

35:36 – A look ahead to the Chicago Stars, a team seemingly there to be beaten, but then again, can the Pride even score?

Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 549: Minnesota Rewind, San Diego Preview, OCB, and More

The Lions complete a come-from-behind-from-ahead draw vs. the Loons and will face San Diego for the first time.

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Image of Luis Otavio playing the ball against Minnesota United.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City went to the Land of 10,000 Lakes and somehow found itself up two goals past the hour mark despite only mustering two shot attempts in that time. However, the game normalized as Minnesota United scored three times in a four-minute span and appeared headed to a win that would have been painful for the Lions. Tyrese Spicer had other plans, however, as he scored in stoppage time to snatch a late point for Orlando. We look back at a crazy game against the Loons, reflect on our score predictions, and make our unanimous selections for Man of the Match.

Our mailbagbox asked us new fan questions about rivalries as well as old fan questions about squad rotation during fixture congestion, Orlando City’s insane rate of conceding goals, 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.

After the mailbagbox, we discuss a surprise victory for an OCB squad that had been floundering and looked completely out of sorts for weeks. The Young Lions may have one more run in them, and they’ll need it as they are below the playoff line with three matches remaining.

Finally, we look ahead to the first-ever meeting between Orlando City and San Diego FC. The blandly named California side has some excellent attacking players and has been a success since entering MLS just two years ago (it feels like longer!). We break down the tale of the tape between the teams, provide our key matchups, and try to predict the final score.

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. 549 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City blew a two-goal lead, fell behind late, and then equalized in stoppage time in a crazy game at Minnesota. It’s a draw that should have been a loss that should have been a win.

26:21 – The mailbagbox makes up for last week’s oversight.

48:58 – OCB beats the top team in the conference to snap a five-game losing streak and the senior Lions prepare to face San Diego FC for the first time ever.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp 136: Seb Hines Out, Utah Rewind, Houston Preview, and More

The Pride part ways with Seb Hines after a loss to the Utah Royals and the Houston Dash visit Sunday.

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Image of Barbra Banda and Summer Yates celebrating a goal against Utah.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Pride parted ways with coach Seb Hines after losing their fourth match out of five. The Pride have been terrible since the restart after the World Cup break, but somehow beat the two best teams they played (Kansas City and Washington). There’s no rhyme or reason, except perhaps the best teams bring out the best in what’s left of the Pride’s…err…pride.

We discuss Hines’ departure with Yolanda Thomas taking over as interim manager and what that means, as well as whether the roster was overrated and finally caught up with him. Injuries in 2026 obviously didn’t help things, and what comes next? We’ll all find out together.

This week’s mailbagbox asked about which players not named Banda will score five or more goals in a season at some point in the future, the future of Oihane and Luana, 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.

Finally, we looked behind and ahead. We discussed the Pride’s home loss to Utah on another night in which the team was badly outplayed. We checked our score predictions and made our selections for player of the match. We also looked ahead to Houston’s visit on Sunday, checked out the series history, gave our key matchups (which are unchanged, because obviously), and provided our final 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 136 went down:

0:15 – The Pride have parted ways with Seb Hines. Was the head coach doomed from the start of the 2026 season?

27:21 – The mailbagbox is always there for us in times of strife.

39:15 – A quick rewind of the Pride’s loss to Utah and a look ahead to the Houston Dash.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 135: Washington Spirit Rewind, Utah Royals Preview, and More

The Pride got a badly needed win in Washington despite being dominated and will need improvement to knock off Utah.

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Image of Cosette Morche during her NWSL debut vs. Washington.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Pride bounced back from a gut punch loss at Portland to swipe all three points on the road from the Washington Spirit. If you saw the game, you’re probably still not sure how the Spirit didn’t at least equalize at some point, given the insane disparity in possession and shots, but no matter how ugly a win is, it’s still a win, and the Pride haven’t had enough of those lately, so savor it. A new face emerged in goal as Anna Moorhouse got a day off and Cosette Morche made her NWSL debut, and although the Spirit (and the woodwork) helped her out quite a bit, as did her teammates by getting in front of shots, she made a gigantic save deep in stoppage time to preserve the victory.

We look back at the Washington match and the tell-tale sign that obviously should have signaled a win (Haley McCutcheon scoring early in a game), check back on our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox asked about the goalkeeping situation, how we feel about our Barbra Banda vs. everyone prediction, player minutes during the rest of the season, Gabi Nunes, 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.

Finally, we looked ahead to Saturday’s home matchup with the Utah Royals. The Pride will have to be sharper to build on the win in Washington and get a second straight result, especially on set piece defending. We check the series history, look at where the teams stand now, provide our key matchups, and make our final 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 135 went down:

0:15 – The Pride got an early blast from McCutcheon and…well, really, what else do you need?

22:58 – The mailbagbox is talking goalkeepers, minutes, and goals.

42:05 – The Utah Royals come to town on Saturday and the Pride need to find a way to get more points.

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