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.

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 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.

Orlando City has a new third kit, and it’s a good one. The Lions have already worn it once, and they looked good in it (because it’s a good-looking kit).

The Lions played twice since our last show, including closing out Leagues Cup with a 2-2 draw followed by a 5-3 penalty shootout win against Atletico de San Luis. Orlando City threw away a 2-0 lead late in the second half after two chances to put it away were uncharacteristically misplayed by new Designated Player Antoine Griezmann, who was perhaps a bit too unselfish and definitely was too trusting of his teammates being where he thought they should be. He’ll likely adjust, but it was a rough lead to let slip away, and if we’re being fair, there was no need to send him into what was essentially a meaningless game in terms of Orlando’s chances of advancing through the group.

We also discussed Saturday’s home draw against FC Cincinnati. Both teams left the match thinking it should have been three points instead of one, but that’s how it ended up. The Lions came from behind on Tyrese Spicer’s goal. We look back at our score predictions and make our selections for Man of the Match.

Our mailbagbox asked us about the Lions making the extra pass, where our EPL teams will finish in the table, 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 mention OCB’s latest shutout loss and quickly move on for the sake of our mental health.

Finally, we look ahead to the Chicago Fire and Real Salt Lake on Wednesday and Saturday, respectively. The Lions will have their work cut out for them against both sides on continued short rest. We looked back at the series history against both clubs, provide our key matchups, and make our final score predictions.

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. 547 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City gets a new kit and a pair of draws in the span of a few days.

37:07 – The mailbagbox makes the extra, extra, extra pass.

48:00 – OCB loses again and the senior Lions will host Chicago and Real Salt Lake this week.

We’ve known for quite some time that the Orlando Pride have not been playing well. Ever since the restart after the World Cup break, the Pride have been nearly unwatchable, and with Barbra Banda first injured and then off with Zambia for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, there haven’t even been many goals to celebrate, let alone wins.

Despite knowing that going in, your hosts attended Friday’s Pride match against Racing Louisville — the very first time the two of us have been at a game as a fan at the same time. With one of us living in Tallahassee and the other one of us working the equivalent of about three jobs, including being at Orlando City games to cover those for The Mane Land, it just hadn’t happened yet. That changed Friday, and although we did not enjoy the game much at all, we did enjoy being at the stadium, hanging out, and commiserating about how badly the team was playing (misery loves company). The food and beer were good. The soccer was not.

We look back at the Pride’s latest difficult outing, check our oh-so-close score predictions, and I think we picked a Player of the Match, but honestly we should not have.

We also discussed the additions of Zoe Matthews and Gabi Nunes to the roster.

This week’s mailbagbox was incredibly robust, and it takes up a large chunk of the middle of the show. Our listeners wanted to know about goal of the week, long intros/outros in songs, the Pride’s most urgent need, 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 night’s Pride match in Portland. (Please note that we had not known the full extent of Olivia Moultrie’s injury at the time of recording.) We’re not holding out a lot of hope for a result for Orlando on the road, although the Thorns are in poor form. That’s usually immaterial, as the Pride’s recent trip to North Carolina showed us. We checked on the history of the series, looked at the teams’ relative position in the table, provided our key matchups, and tried to predict the final score.

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 133 went down:

0:15 – The Pride were bad on Friday, but the company, food, and beverages were great.

17:42 – The mailbagbox is bursting at the seams, and it was more fun than watching the game this week.

48:08 – Orlando heads to the Pacific Northwest. We think we know what will happen, but we hope we’re wrong for all the right reasons.