SkoPurp No. 143: Houston Rewind and Gotham Preview
The Orlando Pride returned to league play after the international break, but they had to do so without Barbra Banda due to travel restrictions. While the lack of Banda's attacking threat has crippled the team at times this season, Solai Washington stepped up and factored in both Pride goals in a 2-1 road win over the Houston Dash on Sunday afternoon. Washington drew a penalty that led to Luana's spot kick goal and later scored her first professional goal. While she was clearly the Pride's best attacker on the day (and, spoiler alert, our Player of the Match selection), she could have had three or four goals with the opportunities she created.
We look back on a dominant first half that led to a road win for Orlando, checked on our score predictions from last week, and name Washington our Player of the Match.
This week's mailbagbox asked us about Pride goalkeeper options, Kerry Abello, Washington's development, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand (https://twitter.com/TheManeLand) or @SkoPurpSoccer (https://twitter.com/SkoPurpSoccer) and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/themaneland.bsky.social). Or you can visit our show page (https://themaneland.com/skopurp-soccer-an-orlando-pride-pawedcast/), 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 look ahead to Sunday's afternoon home finale against NJ/NY Gotham FC. The Pride are officially playing out the string, but that doesn't mean players aren't trying to earn new contracts or that Yolanda Thomas doesn't want to win one last home match for the fans in 2026. We look back at the series history, check out where the teams are at this point in the season, provide our key matchups, and try our hand once again at score predictions.
Here’s how Episode 143 went down:
0:15 – The Pride completed their season sweep of the Houston Dash.
24:48 - Our mailbagbox is full of speculative questions.
36:36 - Gotham is looking to clinch the NWSL Shield on Orlando's grounds. The Pride must try to prevent that and try to play spoiler.
14 Oct 2026
SkoPurp No. 142: International Pride and Houston Preview
The Orlando Pride will return to action on Sunday in Houston, and aside from contracts, there isn't much left to play for. Even though there's a teeny, tiny statistical chance of making the postseason, it is ludicrously complicated and you'll have more luck with a lottery ticket.
We open the show with a discussion of the USWNT's 2-0 loss to Spain (this show was recorded prior to Tuesday night's 2-2 draw) and how some of the Pride players fared over the weekend in international action.
We then turn our attention to our weekly mailbagbox.
This week's mailbagbox asked us about goalkeeper superpowers, scheduling approaches, NWSL expansion, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand (https://twitter.com/TheManeLand) or @SkoPurpSoccer (https://twitter.com/SkoPurpSoccer) and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/themaneland.bsky.social). Or you can visit our show page (https://themaneland.com/skopurp-soccer-an-orlando-pride-pawedcast/), 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 look ahead to Sunday's matinee match with the Houston Dash, and even though meteorologist Dave says the weather won't be super hot, it was a big gamble scheduling a game in Houston during midday. We look at the series history, check out how hot on Orlando's tail the Dash are, provide our key matchups, and try to predict the final score.
Here’s how Episode 142 went down:
0:15 – The USWNT, Pride players on national team duty, and our mailbagbox.
21:55 - The Pride head to Houston Sunday for a matinee match against the Dash.
7 Oct 2026
SkoPurp No. 141: San Diego Rewind and Mailbagbox
The Orlando Pride left the pitch after their 2-1 home loss to the San Diego Wave technically still not eliminated in the NWSL playoff race, but with so many thing necessary to make it happen, it might as well be official. The Pride were hardly a threat to the San Diego goal most of Friday night, but they had some excellent chances in the first half that could have turned the game around had Solai Washington and Oihane done a little better with their opportunities.
Instead, a pair of horrible defensive mistakes gifted the visiting Wave a 2-0 lead that wasn't threatened, despite Barbra Banda doing her part to give Orlando a chance to get something from the game.
We discuss the likely dagger in Orlando's bid for a third consecutive postseason appearance, look back at our score predictions, and make our choices for Player of the Match.
This week's mailbagbox asked us about hype music, the possibility of Pride players repping the USWNT, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand (https://twitter.com/TheManeLand) or @SkoPurpSoccer (https://twitter.com/SkoPurpSoccer) and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky (https://bsky.app/profile/themaneland.bsky.social). Or you can visit our show page (https://themaneland.com/skopurp-soccer-an-orlando-pride-pawedcast/), 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.
With no Pride match this weekend, that was just about it for the show, although we briefly discussed Orlando players on international duty, although I mistakenly referred to Angelina when I should have been saying Oihane. My bad. [/Raises hand in apology.]
Here’s how Episode 141 went down:
0:15 – The Pride couldn't finish their few chances or create more in a home loss to the Wave.
18:47- The mailbagbox is not in touch with the hype music that today's youth is into.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
29,512
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
18 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
18 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 65 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
72
Social presence
0
YouTube
72
Engagement
71
Contact SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast
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