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PawedCast Episode 295: Toronto Rewind, Pride-Current, OCB, Austin Preview, and More

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Orlando City had a nice bounce-back game in league play on the return trip to Canada. The Lions went to BMO Field and came home with three points for the first time ever. Orlando had never won in that venue but — thanks to Alexandre Pato’s exquisite delivery and Kyle Smith’s well-timed noggin flick — brought home a 1-0 victory. We break down the Toronto away match, give our picks for Man of the Match, discuss which Lions showed up on MLS Team of the Week, and check in on last week’s predictions. We also touched briefly on the midseason MLSPA salary reveal.

The Orlando Pride came home to play the Kansas City Current. For 60 minutes, the Pride played great soccer. However, the Current turned the game around in the final half hour, dominating chances and possession in the final third. It seemed inevitable that Kansas City would score at least one, but the visitors took the lead early in stoppage time. The Pride did well to fight back and Orlando equalized on a late Toni Pressley penalty to earn a come-from-ahead-then-come-from-behind draw at home.

We gave our thoughts on the Pride match as well as OCB’s first game in three weeks. The Young Lions still can’t score goals, falling 1-0 to Philadelphia Union II on the road. OCB is doing a lot of things well — especially goalkeeper Javier Otero — but there seems to be no bite in the attack or enough quality in connecting the lines in the midfield.

This week’s mailbag asked about which soccer leagues we like best, television characters that are easy to dislike, and the biggest surprises and disappointments on Orlando City’s roster at this point in the season. If there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the next show, just ask by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.

And we closed the show by giving our key match-ups and score predictions for Sunday’s trip to play Austin FC for the first time.

Stay safe and enjoy the show!


Here’s how No. 295 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City shut out another opponent on the road, our Man of the Match, and Team of the Week observations.

31:26 – The Pride picked up a point, but it could have been three. But it could have been none. Plus our thoughts on OCB’s match on Monday.

51:28 – The mailbag calls and we answer. Oh, and our picks for the Austin match.

Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 403: Tigres Rewind, Leagues Cup Schedule, Atlanta Preview, and More

Lions bounced from Champions Cup competition, northern rival Atlanta awaits, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The Lions are out of the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup. It was always a tough ask to go into El Volcan and come home with a result. The reality was even tougher, as Orlando City failed to match the hosts’ energy early, conceded twice, and never fully battled back into the match. The Lions lost 4-2 in Mexico and at least the fixtures won’t come quite so fast and furious for a while.

We discuss a difficult night on the road and what went wrong. Not much went right, but the Lions did manage their first two away goals in Mexico, although both of them had to come from the penalty spot. We make our Man of the Match selections and look back at our predictions from the match. Plus, a lot of stuff went wrong for me that night, even deep in the night after the match, so it’s an evening I will want to quickly forget.

This week’s mailbagbox asked us to make a comparison with a key Orlando Pride signing and wanted to know about goal cameras and goal-line technology. We also had a follow-up from a question from our last episode, complete with a recording of the friend of a listener giving us his responses to our musical suggestions. That’s a first. We’ve never had the recording of a friend of a listener on the show before. 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.

Following the mailbagbox, we discussed Orlando City’s group stage schedule in the 2024 Leagues Cup. The Lions got a decent draw for the group and will take on CF Montreal and San Luis in late July/early August, with both games coming at home.

Finally, we turn our attention toward a road match against an Atlanta United side that is scoring in bunches. Can Orlando City batten down the defensive hatches against an attack that features Giorgos Giakoumakis and Thiago Almada? We provide our key matchups and score predictions, but we’ll have to wait until Sunday to find out of the Lions can get a road result in Georgia.

We closed with a five-star rating and review and a quick mention of OCB’s MLS NEXT Pro opener on Saturday, as well as the news that Zakaria Taifi has signed a two-year deal to play with the Young Lions.

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. 403 went down:

0:15 – It was a difficult (and very late) night in Monterrey, and no good came from it. Also, my phone died and my laptop crashed.

27:05 – Our mailbagbox was a lot of fun and features a guest voice of a listener’s friend. Plus, Orlando City’s Leagues Cup group stage opponents.

45:08 — A trip to Atlanta to play on the indoor fake plastic grass looms over the weekend.

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SkoPurp Soccer Episode 34: Orlando Pride Transactions, Racing Louisville Preview, and More

Injuries and signings for the Pride as the season is set to open Saturday in Louisville.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Alex Corrie

The NWSL season is finally upon us, and as such, we are back to our weekly schedule as far as the SkoPurp Soccer podcast is concerned. We’ll be with you throughout the year to cover all of the Pride’s big doings.

To that end, this show starts with where we left off last time. The Pride have suffered a few injuries and made some signings since we last produced an episode, and we take you through them all. We’re of course excited by the addition of Zambian international striker Barbra Banda, who could give the Pride a little more bite in the final third. It’s been a minute since an Orlando player racked up a good number of goals on the season, and Banda is one of those players who can do that.

While the back line has taken a bit of a beating this preseason, we’re hopeful that Rafaelle can return soon and that Carrie Lawrence returns to form. The club signed draft pick Cori Dyke to provide depth at center back, which is vital without Megan Montefusco available in 2024.

Our mailbagbox asked us questions about where to watch the Pride this season, general managers around the league, music that reminds us of movies, Pride rivals, 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 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 took a look at Racing Louisville’s lineup a bit and discussed the Pride’s poor record on the road against the Kentucky-based side. Is this finally the year the Pride break through in Louisville? We provide our key matchups and score predictions.


Here’s how Episode 34 went down:

0:15 – The Pride have been hit by some injuries, especially at center back, but the club has also been making some signings. We break it all down.

14:32 The mailbagbox has multiple questions, but one of them involved us having to do homework.

32:45 – Our first key matchups and score predictions of the 2024 Orlando Pride season!

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PawedCast Episode 402: Minnesota Rewind, a New OCB Head Coach, Tigres Preview, and More

A lousy late loss to the Loons, a look ahead to Tigres, and much more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Be careful what you wish for, especially when that wish is for more offense without also specifying “without sacrificing anything on defense.” Orlando City scored twice and created enough chances to fill a calendar month, but the Lions unfortunately didn’t fill the net on the bulk of those opportunities.

A late mistake defensively and a couple of goalkeeping gaffes combined to create more than Orlando could overcome in a 3-2 home loss to Minnesota United. The Loons paid the Lions back for McGuire’s late winner in St. Paul last year and it could hardly have been a more frustrating result, despite the fact that the offense did everything right except put the ball in the net with the final touch.

We break down the game and why we think it was actually encouraging regardless of the result. We also made our selections for Man of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox requested information about TV shows, expected goals, and music recommendations. 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.

Following the mailbagbox, we discussed OCB’s new head coach, who was formerly an assistant with the Young Lions. Can he maintain the “drunk OCB” of 2023 as we head into 2024? We’ll start to find that out on Saturday as the Young Lions head to Atlanta to open their season.

Finally, we turn our attention toward Tigres. The Lions return to Monterrey in search of a spot in the Concacaf Champions Cup quarterfinals. A win would do it. A draw while scoring at least one goal would do it. A shootout win after a 0-0 draw would do it. But the Lions are going into a difficult place to play and had to hang on for dear life a year ago just to get a scoreless draw. It’ll be tough. We lay out our key matchups for the game and try our luck at predicting the final score.

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. 402 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City found some offense, but should have found much more offense than it did in a dissatisfying late loss to the Loons.

24:36 – Our mailbagbox and OCB’s new head coach.

47:42 — The Lions visit Mexico looking to topple Tigres.

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