SkoPurp Soccer Episode 134: Portland Rewind, Spirit Preview, and More

The Pride put up a fight on Saturday in Portland, which was a nice change from some of the team’s recent results, and just moments away from a hard-earned road point, disaster struck. Orlando and Portland exchanged…let’s say fortunate goals in the second half after a scoreless first period, but in the end, the Pride could not avoid snatching defeat from the jaws of a draw.

Your despondent hosts discussed the match, looked back at our score predictions, and begrudgingly made our selections for Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox asked about Anna Moorhouse conceding first goals of players’ careers, where the 2026 Pride’s goal differential will wind up, 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 Sunday’s Pride trip to Washington to face the Spirit. Orlando is looking to avoid a season series sweep, but recent results have been none too promising. While the Spirit haven’t been in their best run of form this season, neither had North Carolina or Portland when the Pride visited those teams, so…let’s just stay positive and see what happens. We discussed the all-time series history, looked at the teams’ relative positions in the table, provided our key matchups, and made our score predictions.

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Here’s how Episode 134 went down:

0:15 – The Pride battled in Portland but ultimately lost on an extremely late golazo.

16:31 – The mailbagbox cites anecdotal evidence that Anna Moorhouse is having a tough year.

27:54 – The Pride head to Washington and things won’t be any easier against the Spirit.