With no Orlando City match to recap, we turned our attention to the United States Men’s National Team’s performance in the recent international window. We aren’t as angst-ridden about the 3-0 and 4-0 wins over Uzbekistan and Oman, respectively, as many people are, but there is certainly room for improvement and it wasn’t the best two games from Sergino Dest or Christian Pulisic, but the Yanks still got their wins. Tougher tests await and hopefully the squad will be fully fit for the next window.

After that brief check-in with the USMNT — and please forgive our lack of recapping a somewhat meh 1-1 road draw by OCB at New England Revolution II and the Young Lions’ subsequent shootout loss — we welcomed Collin Johnson from Massive Report to the program to give us all of the information on Orlando City’s opponents tomorrow night, the Columbus Crew. Collin did a great job of getting us up to speed on all things Columbus, including how new players like Diego Rossi are fitting into Wilfried Nancy’s system.

Big apologies to our founders for not notifying you in advance of our guest for this show, but it wasn’t confirmed until we were within an hour of recording time, so it came together quite late.

After our chat with Collin, we looked into our mailbagbox, where we were asked to chronologically predict some suggested big evens in a possible MLS future. 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.

We looked ahead to OCB’s big match tonight on the road against Chicago Fire FC II, and, finally, previewed Orlando City vs. Columbus, complete with our key matchups and score predictions.

Here’s how No. 375 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City was off last weekend so we discussed the USMNT’s two matches in the international window.

11:28 – Collin Johnson from Massive Report jumps on and gives us a comprehensive overview of the Columbus Crew.

29:05 – Our mailbagbox, OCB’s impending game at Chicago, and our key matchups and predictions for Saturday’s date with the Crew.

The Orlando Pride had the weekend off, so hopefully that will kill off the bad juju that had infected them the previous two matches. Pretty much every game is a must-win situation from here on out, so we certainly hope that’s the case.

Without a match from this weekend to recap, we turned our attention to Seb Hines. Last year’s interim coach got the full-time gig this season and although we think the season so far has been better than expected, we will wait to submit our final grades on Seb’s season until the last four matches have been played. After all, this is a team that could finish in dead last or make the playoffs. It’s been a crazy season.

The Pride signed two players to new deals through 2024 and then promptly loaned them to teams in Australia’s A-League. We discussed defender Tori Hansen’s signing and loan early in the show, as that news dropped just before we started recording. However, we were caught off guard when the same thing happened with goalkeeper Kaylie Collins, as we were just entering our final segment of the show. Nevertheless, we weighed in on both. We also touched on the Pride’s game at Angel City getting rescheduled.

There was nothing for us to answer in this week’s mailbagbox. 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 looked ahead to the North Carolina Courage on Sunday and provided our key matchups and score predictions for a critical game. The Pride don’t have a good record against the Courage or after the month of August. Hopefully those things will cancel each other out rather than become force multipliers.

Here’s how Episode 23 went down:

0:15 – A look at how Seb Hines has done in navigating his young team through the 2023 NWSL season.

18:53 – Tori Hansen is headed to Melbourne for some competitive matches, and the Pride’s game at Angel City has been rescheduled.

26:29 – The mailbagbox was empty but we’ve still got our key matchups and score predictions for Sunday’s game vs. North Carolina and Kaylie Collins is also headed for the land down under.

The Orlando Pride went to the state of Washington, where they have never won, looking to leap over OL Reign into a playoff position. When Orlando starting goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was sent off in the third minute, we kept watching even though we knew what the likely outcome would be. Still, we hoped and, as always, it’s the hope that kills you.

It’s also the mistakes that kill you, and that’s what happened early in the second half to give OL Reign its only goal in a hard-fought 1-0 Pride loss. Despite being a player down, the Pride players never hung their heads and tried to the end to take something from the game. While the result is a costly one in the playoff race, that spirit might help lead to a better close to the season than we’re used to as Pride fans.

We broke down the match, as well as the red card play itself, and made our selections for Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox asked us what the Pride can do to put more people in the stands over the final couple of home games this season and we have some ideas that should be implemented immediately. 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.

The Pride are off this weekend, so it’ll hopefully allow some injuries to heal — especially Adriana’s, as her absence was noticeable in Seattle. Orlando returns to the field Sept. 17 against the North Carolina Courage.

Finally, we discussed what you can do if you want to get involved with this show, if you want to cover the Pride for The Mane Land, or if maybe you just want to support our independent efforts.

Here’s how Episode 22 went down:

0:15 – The game was ruined just three minutes in but the Pride gave it their best on the road in Seattle.

20:20 – Our response to the question in our mailbagbox and a discussion about how you can get involved with this podcast or cover the Pride for The Mane Land.

Orlando City went to TQL Stadium and did something no other visiting team has done this season — defeat mighty FC Cincinnati. In fact, the Lions went 1-0-1 against the assumed Supporters’ Shield winners in 2023, so that might bode well for a potential postseason run. You’ll recall that the Lions are also the only visiting team with an MLS regular-season win at the Philadelphia Union this year.

We broke down a nervy and hard-fought match in southwest Ohio, with the lads in purple coming out on top despite the loss of Duncan McGuire early on due to a shoulder injury. His replacement, Ramiro Enrique, managed to figure prominently in the winning goal.

We checked back out our incorrect score predictions and made our selections for Man of the Match. We were split this time out.

We also broke down the Ercan Kara transfer to Samsunspor. We knew the striker depth would become thinner if the move happened, but we didn’t expect that to matter so quickly.

OCB had a huge match at home on Sunday but things didn’t go well in the first half for the Young Lions and the hole was too deep to dig out of in a wild 6-3 loss to Crown Legacy. The games are dwindling for OCB to clinch a playoff spot and the matches ahead aren’t easy, but a Jack Lynn brace always makes for a more exciting experience when watching the Young Lions

Our mailbagbox asked us about what Orlando City can / will do for more striker depth to see out the season and players who have revived their careers after coming to Orlando City. 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.

Here’s how No. 374 went down:

0:15 – The Lions managed to become the first team to beat FC Cincinnati on its home field despite losing Duncan McGuire early.

30:14 – What the Ercan Kara transfer means moving forward in light of McGuire’s injury, which is hopefully not a longterm thing.

37:22 – OCB-Crown Legacy was another wild MLS NEXT Pro affair and we dipped into our mailbagbox.

Orlando City fell into the proverbial trap. With St. Louis City in the rearview mirror and a trip to league-leading Cincinnati looming this weekend, the match in Charlotte against a team that’s below the playoff line always looked like a trap game, even taking into account the Lions should have been out for revenge against a team that beat them at home in regular-season play and knocked them out of the U.S. Open Cup earlier this year.

Charlotte came out with a great deal of energy and Orlando City struggled to match it. The Lions eventually settled into the game and created some of the game’s best scoring chances, but struggled to finish when they stayed onside. A late penalty seemed to hand all the points to Charlotte again, but a little fortune fell Orlando City’s way when a long-range Martin Ojeda set piece fell kindly after clearing every player on the pitch, allowing the Lions to escape with a hard-fought road point. We’ve got the full game breakdown and our selections for Man of the Match.

Following our recap, we break down the reports of Samsunspor’s interest in Ercan Kara and what that means for Orlando City through the rest of 2023.

Geoff Tebbetts from Cincinnati Soccer Talk joined us to help us prepare for Orlando City’s trip to southwestern Ohio this Saturday to face the Supporters’ Shield leaders, FC Cincinnati. The Lions last saw FCC early in the season when the teams played to a 0-0 draw at Exploria Stadium. Geoff is the host of their Jersey Swap podcast and he did a great job of catching us up on the latest happenings in Cincy.

Our mailbagbox was a bit light for this episode but we can only answer the questions you send us, and you asked us about Ercan Kara and about Folarin Balogun going to Monaco. 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.

OCB has a tall task ahead on Sunday and the Young Lions will probably have to face Crown Legacy without the likes of Jack Lynn, Abdi Salim, and potentially Thomas Williams. That’s not ideal.

Finally, we discussed Saturday’s matchup between Orlando City and FC Cincinnati. We’ve got our key matchups and score predictions for you.

Here’s how No. 373 went down:

0:15 – The Lions struggled in the attack but scratched back to earn a point in Charlotte.

35:54 – We welcome Geoff from Cincinnati Soccer Talk to preview the Lions’ trip to face the Supporters’ Shield leaders.

54:06 – A look in the mailbagbox, OCB to face Crown Legacy without some key players, and our key matchups and score predictions for the Lions’ trip to Cincinnati.

Just when we were getting used to the Orlando Pride winning regular-season games, they lost one. What can we say? We’re not allowed to have nice things. You can’t win them all, anyway, and the Pride played quite well in most phases of the game on Friday night. The inability to finish chances was frustrating for all involved but the failure to deal with corner kicks on the defensive end was even worse.

The Pride dropped a 2-1 home decision, falling to the San Diego Wave for the first time in the all-time series (2-1-1). Orlando did a nice job keeping Alex Morgan quiet, but switching off on those set pieces cost the team a chance to leapfrog the Wave into the playoff positions. We break down the game and make our selections for Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox was empty (we think…Twitter was acting up) and we did a little housekeeping. Hopefully you get through the storm OK and send in your questions for next week’s show. 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.

The road ahead for the Pride is a difficult one with five matches to play. We discussed the remaining schedule, the NWSL standings, and how the Pride could finish anywhere from about second to 12th in the league. It’s been a crazy year around the NWSL, with lots of parity.

Finally, we looked ahead to the Pride’s second consecutive opportunity to beat the team in front of them in order to vault into a postseason spot. Can Orlando get its first road win in the series against the Reign? If so, it would be one of the biggest wins in club history. We tell you our key matchups for the game and make our final score predictions.

Here’s how Episode 21 went down:

0:15 – The Pride struggled to finish chances and defend corner kicks. That was a bad combination.

21:55 – A walk through the standings and schedule and our key matchups and predictions for a trip to Washington to face OL Reign.

Orlando City had one of its toughest tests of the season and passed with flying colors. The Lions held the high-powered St. Louis City offense to a single goal and even that one wasn’t originally awarded. The defense did a good job of cutting off the visitors’ transition chances, and Orlando got a brace from streaky winger Facundo Torres, including a winner from the penalty spot early in stoppage time. Only a blatant red card foul prevented what could have been a third goal in the dying moments of the lengthy additional time.

It’s a win that should build some confidence for the Lions, which is good, because they’re about to go on the road to face two teams they haven’t beaten this year — both on short rest. We broke down the win over St. Louis City and selected our unanimous Man of the Match.

Our mailbagbox was interested in our thoughts on what would happen if national teams played in their domestic leagues and how Nicholas Gioacchini left Orlando. 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.

After the mailbagbox, we broke down a pivotal win by OCB over Columbus Crew 2 on Sunday night in Kissimmee. The Young Lions struck first, forced a Crew player to take a second yellow card, and then cruised to an easy win over a difficult opponent. Considering what’s still left on OCB’s schedule, that was an important victory in the team’s MLS NEXT Pro playoff push.

Finally, we discussed Wednesday night’s matchup between Orlando City and Charlotte FC. The Lions will hope the third time is the charm after suffering a home MLS loss and a road U.S. Open Cup defeat to Charlotte in a pair of hard-fought games. We’ve got our score predictions and key matchups for you.

Here’s how No. 372 went down:

0:15 – The Lions enjoyed a big win over Western Conference-leading St. Louis City and we have your talking points from the match.

27:18 – We answer our listeners’ mailbagbox questions and break down OCB vs. Columbus Crew 2.

46:30 – Our key matchups and score predictions for the Lions’ trip to Charlotte.

We’ve got Robin Jansson on this week’s show! The Beefy Swede himself took time away from out-muscling opposing attackers to chat with us about many topics, including facing Lionel Messi and the Inter Miami circus, his partnership with Antonio Carlos (and Rodrigo Schlegel), what he enjoys about Orlando, the possibility of cutting down on yellow cards by yelling at match officials in Swedish instead of English, and much more.

Big thanks to Robin for his time, and we hope you enjoy the interview as much as we did.

Our mailbagbox was surprisingly empty, even though we recorded on Dave’s birthday and, as you know, Dave loves the mailbagbox. 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.

Finally, we discussed Saturday night’s matchup between Orlando City and St. Louis City. The two teams will be meeting for the first time and a familiar face is leading the expansion side in goal scoring. We give you our key matchups and score predictions for Saturday.

Here’s how No. 371 went down:

0:15 – Our show intro goes a little sideways because it was Dave’s birthday

5:26 – Robin Jansson stops by to talk to us about the season so far.

25:51 – A quick (but futile) look in our mailbagbox, plus our key matchups and score predictions for the Lions vs. the best in the West.

The Orlando Pride offense came to life with the return of Marta and Adriana from international duty, as well as the additions of Mariana Larroquette and Rafaelle. Sure, Rafaelle is a center back, but that didn’t stop her from scoring her first goal in a Pride uniform on Sunday. Both the new Brazilian and Larroquette scored on their Pride debuts, needing only 19 and four minutes, respectively, to open their Orlando accounts. Oh, and rookie striker Messiah Bright scored a brace, with Mikayla Cluff adding a fifth goal late in the game. We break down the Pride’s utter destruction of the Chicago Red Stars on Sunday, discuss the lineup changes, and make our selections for Player of the Match.

Erika Tymrak joined us this week and answered our questions, as well as one submitted by one of our founding members. Big thanks to Erika for her time. It’s always nice to get the players’ perspectives on the season, whether things are going well or…less than well.

This week’s mailbagbox asked about our favorite goal out of the Pride’s barrage of five on Sunday. We chose unanimously and we hope that we get to have more questions like this after huge scoring explosions as the season winds down. 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.

Finally, we looked ahead to a huge meeting against the San Diego Wave on Friday. We’ve got our score predictions and key matchups for a game that has big playoff implications. This will be the Pride’s most pressure-packed game of the season and it will be interesting to see how this young team handles it.

Here’s how Episode 20 went down:

0:15 – The Pride absolutely destroyed the Red Stars. More of that, please.

26:36 — Erika Tymrak joins us to discuss the season so far and the road ahead.

40:53 – We visit the mailbagbox and we’ve got predictions and key matchups for the Pride vs. San Diego on Friday.

Orlando City returned to regular-season play on Sunday night and ran into a stingy Chicago Fire defense that kept the Lions stymied for the first half. The second half was a different story, even though it started out on the wrong foot. The Lions fell behind just moments after the restart but were resilient enough to come back against the Fire on the road, ending a string of three consecutive Chicago shutout wins in MLS play and winning 3-1 at Soldier Field. It’s the first time Orlando City has won on that ground, and we’re excited to break down a rather entertaining game with a lot of drama.

We welcomed Junior Urso back to the field for Orlando City and also welcomed Michael Halliday back to the field for the first time in quite a while. Plus, justice for Wilder Cartagena!

After our breakdown of the game, we handed out our Man of the Match selections.

Our mailbagbox asked about our EPL predictions and Marvel superheroes as soccer players. 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.

With the return of the MLS regular season, we are back to our twice-a-week format, so be sure to get your questions in for our next recording on Thursday night. As always, thanks for listening.

Here’s how No. 370 went down:

0:15 – The Lions looked lively to start the match but the first half was scoreless only due to a mistake by Chicago’s striker.

16:12 – Orlando City needed a slap in the face early in the second half to wake up, but once the Lions did that, it was glorious.

35:09 – A brief look ahead to the next Orlando City and OCB matches and our mailbagbox.