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 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.