[Note: My apologies for the audio, as Dave sounded great and I did not. Unbeknownst to me, everything was running through my external laptop microphone, so I come off a bit echoey.]

The Orlando Pride held steadfast at home, coming back from a 1-0 deficit to defeat the Kansas City Current 3-2 at Inter&Co Stadium Sunday. The victory pushed the Pride’s magical season into the ultimate game — Saturday night’s NWSL Championship, which is coincidentally taking place in Kansas City. Haley McCutcheon, Barbra Banda, and Marta did the damage on the scoreboard, and the defense held on for dear life during a furious Current rally attempt that was aided by eons of stoppage time and lots of balls in the box.

We break down the NWSL semifinal match, look back at our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.

After our match rewind, we opened up our mailbagbox, and it was a good one. Our mailbagbox this week asked questions about Haley McCutcheon, road tripping to the NWSL final, Sunday’s match referee, the best goal in our stadium’s history, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. 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 the mailbagbox, we reviewed some of the recent Orlando Pride news (note: this did not include Seb Hines’ award because we recorded Monday night), including the team’s nominees for year-end NWSL awards, Pride players named to the league’s Best XI first and second teams, and another call-up to the USWNT for Emily Sams.

Finally, we previewed the Pride’s matchup with the Spirit on Saturday for all the Kansas City barbecue. We walked through the history of the series, looked at the seasons the two teams have had, selected our key matchups for the match, and tried our best to predict the final score.

Here’s how Episode 70 went down:

0:45 – Orlando booked a spot in the NWSL final by ousting the Kansas City Current in a game that wasn’t easy in the least. In fact, it may still be in stoppage time.

22:44 – The mailbagbox has questions about the NWSL semifinal, a road trip to the final, and more.

39:29 – Pride news and notes and our preview and predictions for Orlando’s NWSL Championship match against the Washington Spirit.

[Note: My apologies for the audio, as Dave sounded great and I did not. Unbeknownst to me, everything was running through my external laptop microphone, so I come off a bit echoey. Longtime listeners may find that nostalgiac, taking them back to the first few seasons of the show, but to me it’s no fun, and I apologize for the audio quality.]

Orlando City comes out of the international break with its most troublesome rival standing between the Lions and a spot in the Eastern Conference final. The Lions will host Atlanta United Sunday in the most meaningful matchup between the clubs to date, having been swept in the season series and only having four victories all-time in the series.

Nevertheless, Orlando City must play the team that is on the schedule next, and it’s sure to be a feisty battle.

Without a game to recap, we jump right into this week’s mailbagbox, which asks us a difficult question about our playoff preference and offers up another walkout song possibility we didn’t come up with last week. 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 we finished going through our mail, we dove into the matchup with Atlanta United, giving the series history, the tale of the tape, and our key matchups and predictions for the match. It was a shorter show than usual, but if the Lions get through to the conference final, you’re sure to get a longer one next week.

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. 456 went down:

0:45 – It’s a rarity as we open with the mailbagbox!

14:58 – Atlanta United stands in the way and there could hardly be a more difficult opponent (historically speaking) for the Lions to face. Nevertheless, they must do so, and they must find a way to win in order to host the conference final.

The Orlando Pride made it two wins in a row with a 4-1 home victory over the Chicago Red Stars. More importantly, the Pride got their first-ever NWSL playoff victory in their first-ever home postseason game. Barbra Banda returned to the scoresheet in a big way, netting a brace that could have been four or five goals the way she was creating chances. Orlando had a couple of goals overturned and hit the post twice, saving Chicago from a true playoff beating.

It was good to see the offense back, but the defense also did well, not allowing a first-half shot and only giving up a goal on one of the sillier mistakes of the season. We break down the match, look back at our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.

After our match rewind, we welcome Orlando Pride forward Ally Watt to the show. Ally was generous with her time and spoke about the Pride’s season, the Chicago game, the closeness the players feel for one another, the upcoming clash with Kansas City, and much more. Big thanks to Ally for her time.

Our mailbagbox this week included some jubilation as well as questions about Bingo cards, Haley McCutcheon, Ally Watt as a starter, Summer Yates, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. 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 the mailbagbox, we previewed the upcoming NWSL semifinal match against the Kansas City Current. The Pride will have to try to slow down Golden Boot winner Temwa Chawinga, while respecting the Current midfield and looking for a way to break through a defense that has become stingy over the last two months of the season. We provide our key matchups and try to predict the final score.

Here’s how Episode 69 went down:

0:15 – Orlando picked up its first postseason win by destroying the Chicago Red Stars. It was only 4-1 but could have been so much more lopsided.

15:53 – Ally Watt jumps on the call to talk about the playoffs and the Orlando Pride in the playoffs.

41:17 – Our mailbagbox has comments as well as questions, and we take a look ahead to Sunday’s playoff semifinal showdown against the Current.