The Orlando Pride had the weekend off with the exception of a few international players. Emily Sams didn’t play Saturday and we recorded this week’s show before Tuesday’s late night match against Brazil in California. Angelina played for the Brazilians, but it was the Yanks who prevailed in the opener.

This week’s mailbagbox wants to know how quickly the NWSL will expand, whether international officiating was bad in the USWNT-Brazil match, our favorite in-person Pride experience, whether Orlando’s internationals will be available for Saturday’s game, 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.

The Pride go to Seattle on Saturday to face the Reign. Orlando has historically not done well in the Pacific Northwest and the Pride have only one road win in this series. Will the Pride be able to stay focused, play hard, and get a result in the state of Washington? We preview the game, give you our key matchups for Saturday, and make our predictions for the final score. We get to come back next week and talk about it!

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Here’s how Episode 81 went down:

0:15 – Pride players with their national teams and a heaping helping of the mailbagbox.

31:29 – The Pride head northwest to Seattle and we’ve got your preview.

Orlando City overcame an entire missing starting central midfield Saturday when the Lions faced the Philadelphia Union, but it turned out the backups did just fine. Joran Gerbet and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson helped the Lions keep their first clean sheet of 2025, along with the insertion of David Brekalo at left back in kind of a hybrid role. Unfortunately, a good defensive outing was counterbalanced by a dearth of offensive chances. Orlando City created a couple of good ones but couldn’t pay them off in what ultimately turned into a scoreless draw on the road.

We look back at our score predictions, discuss the tactics and the few chances the two sides managed to create, and make our selections for Man of the Match.

The mailbagbox asks about our thoughts on Guiness and dark beers, personnel strategies for 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 was shorthanded when the Young Lions visited Chattanooga FC on Saturday night. Several regulars were in Philly with the first team, and the Young Lions weren’t able to overcome that in a 2-0 road loss — the team’s first of the season.

Orlando City returns home after two weeks away and the New York Red Bulls will be the guests Saturday afternoon. The Lions will complete their season series with the Red Bulls and will need to find their precision in the final third to get a win over a goal-stingy New York side. We provide our key matchups and final 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.

Here’s how No. 472 went down:

0:15 – The Lions got their first shutout and also got shut out for the first time.

17:38– The mailbagbox beckons, and OCB suffers its first defeat.

36:48 – Orlando City returns home to close out the regular-season series against the Red Bulls.

The Orlando Pride made it three wins in three attempts Saturday afternoon on a hot day at Inter&Co Stadium. While the opponents didn’t offer up the usual own goal this week, the Pride needed both a Haley McCutcheon goal and a Marta penalty — taken a second time after hitting the post as Kailen Sheridan left her line early — to get the dub against the San Diego Wave this week. While it wasn’t a crisp performance, it was another win, and you can’t be too unhappy with wins.

We break down the talking points from Orlando’s win over the Wave, check back on our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.

The international break is now upon us, and a couple of Pride players might face each other in this window when the United States Women’s National Team faces Brazil.

This week’s mailbagbox wants to know about Haley McCutcheon’s goal celebration music, players not named Emily Sams suiting up for the USWNT, an interesting hypothetical involving either Kerry Abello or Marta, 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.

With no Orlando Pride match to preview this week, the show ends after the mailbagbox, but it was a lengthy one, at least (both this episode, all things considered, and the mailbagbox segment itself). We’ll be back next week to get you ready for the Pride’s trip to the Pacific Northwest to face the Seattle Reign.

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 80 went down:

0:15 – The Pride played better against San Diego than they did at Gotham, but it still wasn’t as good as Orlando is capable of playing. We’ll gladly take the win, though.

25:46 – The mailbagbox has plenty of questions this week.