The Orlando Pride will return to action on Sunday in Houston, and aside from contracts, there isn’t much left to play for. Even though there’s a teeny, tiny statistical chance of making the postseason, it is ludicrously complicated and you’ll have more luck with a lottery ticket.

We open the show with a discussion of the USWNT’s 2-0 loss to Spain (this show was recorded prior to Tuesday night’s 2-2 draw) and how some of the Pride players fared over the weekend in international action.

We then turn our attention to our weekly mailbagbox.

This week’s mailbagbox asked us about goalkeeper superpowers, scheduling approaches, NWSL expansion, 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 look ahead to Sunday’s matinee match with the Houston Dash, and even though meteorologist Dave says the weather won’t be super hot, it was a big gamble scheduling a game in Houston during midday. We look at the series history, check out how hot on Orlando’s tail the Dash are, provide our key matchups, and try to predict the final score.

Here’s how Episode 142 went down:

0:15 – The USWNT, Pride players on national team duty, and our mailbagbox.

21:55 – The Pride head to Houston Sunday for a matinee match against the Dash.

Orlando City came back from a week off (aside from the international players) and had to face a hard-charging Columbus Crew squad that kept the pressure on all night long on Saturday. The Lions struck early, conceded, scored, and conceded again, but the ultimate winning goal came late from the blazing — in both speed and form — Ivan Angulo. The Colombian is in the best form of his OCSC career over the last several weeks and it helped the Lions snap their skid and pick up three critical points over the weekend.

We look back at the key plays, players, and moments in the match, review our score predictions from last week’s show, and make our selections for Man of the Match.

Three Lions were honored on the latest edition of the MLS Team of the Matchday, including two starters. We mention them and the latest signings by Orlando City B to wrap up our first segment.

Our mailbagbox asked us about Ted Lasso, coach rankings for Orlando City, what the Lions must do down the final stretch, 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 looked ahead to Orlando’s two upcoming matches this week. First up is a trip to Toronto on Wednesday, followed by a visit from D.C. United on Saturday. These are important games, as both clubs are chasing the Lions and playoff spots from below the line. A pair of wins would help build some separation between Orlando City and the teams chasing the postseason spots. We discuss Orlando’s history against both teams, check out where the teams are at this stage of the race, provide our key matchups, and do our best to predict the scores.

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. 555 went down:

0:15 – The Lions get a late winner to take down the Crew.

24:55 – The mailbagbox asks us to rank things in sets of four.

37:28 – Toronto and D.C. have given Orlando fits over the years, but with so much on the line, the Lions need a big week to improve their chances of playing postseason soccer.

The Orlando Pride left the pitch after their 2-1 home loss to the San Diego Wave technically still not eliminated in the NWSL playoff race, but with so many thing necessary to make it happen, it might as well be official. The Pride were hardly a threat to the San Diego goal most of Friday night, but they had some excellent chances in the first half that could have turned the game around had Solai Washington and Oihane done a little better with their opportunities.

Instead, a pair of horrible defensive mistakes gifted the visiting Wave a 2-0 lead that wasn’t threatened, despite Barbra Banda doing her part to give Orlando a chance to get something from the game.

We discuss the likely dagger in Orlando’s bid for a third consecutive postseason appearance, look back at our score predictions, and make our choices for Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox asked us about hype music, the possibility of Pride players repping the USWNT, 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 Pride match this weekend, that was just about it for the show, although we briefly discussed Orlando players on international duty, although I mistakenly referred to Angelina when I should have been saying Oihane. My bad. [/Raises hand in apology.]

Here’s how Episode 141 went down:

0:15 – The Pride couldn’t finish their few chances or create more in a home loss to the Wave.

18:47- The mailbagbox is not in touch with the hype music that today’s youth is into.