The Orlando Pride made it two wins in a row with a 4-1 home victory over the Chicago Red Stars. More importantly, the Pride got their first-ever NWSL playoff victory in their first-ever home postseason game. Barbra Banda returned to the scoresheet in a big way, netting a brace that could have been four or five goals the way she was creating chances. Orlando had a couple of goals overturned and hit the post twice, saving Chicago from a true playoff beating. It was good to see the offense...

The Orlando Pride returned home over the weekend and returned to their winning ways with a 3-2 victory over the Seattle Reign. Although Barbra Banda still isn't scoring goals, three of her teammates did so, including Marta, who made her mark on the match despite it not being her best outing of the season. The defense is still a bit of a concern, but it did just about enough to get the job done. We look back at the match and our score predictions to see how well we prognosticated the...

The Orlando Pride were off for the women's international break over the weekend, but that doesn't mean there wasn't stuff for us to discuss (and if there's one thing we love to discuss, it's definitely stuff!). Emily Sams saw her first minutes with the United States Women's National Team, and the Yanks unsurprisingly won. Barbra Banda finished 12th in the race for the Ballon d'Or, which seems low, but it's still quite an honor to be considered the 12th-best player in the world. And we looked...

One road loss became two as the Pride turned in a disastrous performance against Gotham FC on Sunday. Seb Hines went back to his starters to get try to regain the team's momentum as the regular season winds down, but unfortunately, things went from bad to worse for the defense, which was substandard and reminiscent of some of the bad Orlando teams from the past. It was not the response Pride fans wanted to see after the team's first loss all season in Portland, but it is what it is. We break...

Just one game after clinching the 2024 NWSL Shield, the Orlando Pride gave some starters a much-needed rest. While lineup changes have not prevented the Pride from getting positive results throughout the season, this time it was different. There were too many new faces in the lineup and the players attached to those faces did not perform well against what had been a struggling Portland Thorns side — but a proud franchise desperate to reach the postseason for its retiring captain. The venue,...

The Orlando Pride have done it! The 2024 NWSL Shield belongs to Orlando after a 2-0 home win over the second-place Washington Spirit that wasn't easy. The Spirit came in with a lot of resolve, and on a rainy night with a slick field, anything could happen. Sometimes it almost did. But, in the end, Barbra Banda earned a penalty, Marta scored it, Anna Moorhouse (and others) made some huge stops, and Adriana's foot provided some breathing room, even though she wasn't credited with a goal. We...

The Orlando Pride returned from their road trip and found out there's no place like home. The team returned to a massive crowd and celebrated with a three-goal performance and a 3-1 win over the visiting Houston Dash, completing a sweep of the season series. Three different players scored for the Pride, and one of them wasn't Barbra Banda, but the Zambian international did pick up an assist. The win put the Pride on the brink of claiming the 2024 NWSL Shield, but there are some big obstacles...

The Orlando Pride visited Bay FC for the first time and ended up getting a season sweep of the expansion side by identical 1-0 scorelines. The match was anything but easy and the Pride's offensive struggles continue since the restart of league play, but Barbra Banda's header was enough to get a road win, opening up a little breathing room in the shield race with five games remaining. Orlando's list of club and league records continues to grow. We broke down the game, checked our score...

The Orlando Pride didn't get the sweep of the Kansas City Current, but they at least kept the visitors from celebrating a win in Orlando. The rematch between two of the top teams in the NWSL was a tightly contested one, but it didn't quite live up to the hype. Still, the Pride managed to continue their unbeaten run and added another point and clean sheet to the growing pile. We tried to hit the game's high points, but we also had a few critiques, although the result is ultimately a good (if...

The Orlando Pride dominated statistically but got just enough offense to win on a Marta wonderstrike from outside the box in a 1-0 road win on Sunday against the Chicago Red Stars. Although the Pride kept Mallory Swanson quiet, Orlando needed a bit more sharpness in front of goal to open the game up. It never happened, but Marta's NWSL Goal of the Week helped Orlando secure three more points on the road. We broke down the game, checked back at our score predictions from last week, and made...

The Orlando Pride came back from the road and there really is no place like home. After the obligatory Central Florida weather delay, the Pride went out and beat defending NWSL champion NJ/NY Gotham FC 2-0 at Inter&Co Stadium. Adriana found her scoring boots and bagged herself a brace, and the Pride kept another clean sheet. We discussed the highlights from the game, checked the result against our score predictions from last week, and made our selections for Player of the Match. Our...

The Orlando Pride returned to league play on Friday and, despite some difficulties, managed to get a second-half goal and a little bit of luck to beat the Houston Dash 1-0. The Pride established a new NWSL record for consecutive games unbeaten (18), along with a few more club single-season records. We break down the match, speak glowingly of Angelina's pass and Summer Yates' goal, check in on our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match. Our mailbagbox this week was...

The NWSL regular season is set to return and the Orlando Pride will get their internationals back. Unfortunately, that won't include the recently acquired Grace Chanda, who sustained a ruptured quadriceps tendon during the Olympics while representing Zambia and she is out for the season, postponing her Pride debut. But there is some good news. The club acquired defender Carson Pickett, who makes her return to Orlando to bolster a back line that has played well in front of goalkeeper Anna...

The Pride were off this weekend, but that doesn't mean there wasn't news out of the club. Orlando signed Head Coach Seb Hines to a new contract through the 2026 NWSL season with an option year for 2027. That's great news after the turnaround the club has experienced under Hines' stewardship. We discuss Hines' beginnings with the club, his rise to success, and what the deal means moving forward. We also discuss the many smiles of Seb Hines, which are numerous and each has its own purpose Our...

Big shout-out to WJ Dog Treats (wjdogtreats.com) for sponsoring the mailbagbox segment of SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast. WJ Dog Treats is a small, family-run company of Orlando City fans who are committed to producing healthy, high-quality dog treats with just five ingredients, including their own home-made peanut butter. Give them a try. If you use the code SkoPurp at checkout, you’ll get a dollar off a bag of treats for your pooch! The Pride finished out their Summer Cup with...

We want to give a big shout-out to WJ Dog Treats (wjdogtreats.com) for sponsoring the mailbagbox segment of SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast. WJ Dog Treats is a small, family-run company of Orlando soccer fans who are committed to producing healthy, high-quality dog treats with just five ingredients, including their own home-made peanut butter. Give them a try. If you use the code SkoPurp at checkout, you’ll get a dollar off a bag of treats for your pooch! The Pride faced...

The Pride (minus several starters) went to North Carolina and — much like the first time they went there — they came home with a point. The 1-1 draw wasn't a terrible result, but it would have been a lot better if Orlando had managed to win the extra point that was just sitting there, waiting for them, in the ensuing penalty shootout. We discuss the team's Summer Cup opener with two home games remaining against Monterrey and Racing Louisville. We may not have made score predictions, but we...

We open this week's show with a discussion of the Orlando Pride signing two young players to new contracts through the 2025 season with option years for 2026. Rookie Cori Dyke and second-year pro Summer Yates have earned new deals and the Pride didn't want to waste time getting them to stick around for a bit longer. We discuss both players' accomplishments in 2024, and of course we recorded the night before Orlando signed Viviana Villacorta to a similar new deal. Haley Carter is doing all of...

If people were skeptical about the Orlando Pride before Saturday night, they are probably believers now. The Pride went into a sold-out CPKC Stadium in Kansas City, struck first, withstood the answer from the hosts, lost a player to a second yellow card, and then outplayed the Current the rest of the way to take over the top spot in the NWSL. The Pride beat Kansas City in its own fortress with one player tied behind their backs after Carrie Lawrence's sending off late in the first half. What...

It's our 50th episode! When we embarked on our Orlando Pride-centric podcast, we didn't know if there would be an audience, but we have found one and it continues to grow. Thanks, as always, for your support. The Orlando Pride went to Los Angeles to play their third road game in four matches and did what they've done most of the season — they won. The Pride shut out their third consecutive opponent and earned their seventh clean sheet of the season in a 3-0 win over Angel City and its cast...

The Orlando Pride did some heavy editing to the club record book on Friday when the Utah Royals visited. In front of nearly 10,000 fans, the Pride put the visitors to the sword, beating Utah 6-0 at Inter&Co Stadium. Led by braces from Barbra Banda and Marta, the Pride set several new team marks, including most goals, biggest margin of victory, largest shutout win, and most-attended home game that wasn't a home opener. Banda set a new record for braces in a season and equaled a club best...

The Orlando Pride got some players back and lost some others, as the revolving door continues. Seb Hines would probably love to have his entire squad available at some point, but so far it's worked out fine, with the team remaining unbeaten after a scoreless draw at North Carolina. Sometimes the ball doesnt' go in, sometimes the opposing goalkeeper plays well, and sometimes both of those things happen together. So it was on Saturday, but Orlando kept the door shut on its own end to become the...

The Orlando Pride played without Adriana and Rafaelle and got only a half out of Marta and Barbra Banda, but still managed to bring home a hard-fought road point after a 1-1 draw against the Wave in San Diego. The Pride remain unbeaten in Southern California and on the 2024 season thanks to an acrobatic goal from Julie Doyle. We break down the match, check back on our score predictions (one of us nailed it), and made our selections for Player of the Match. Banda and Emily Sams made the NWSL...

The Orlando Pride were off this week, but that doesn't mean there wasn't something significant to discuss. The club announced the signing of Zambian international attacking midfielder Grace Chanda last week, and we break down the signing, what it means for the Pride, and (perhaps more importantly) what it might mean for star striker Barbra Banda. Could she be even more effective with her Zambia teammate playing alongside her? We'll see! Speaking of Pride internationals, Brazil's first match...