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.