The Orlando Pride will finally be back in action this weekend after a lengthy midseason stop for international tournaments. We are also back after a couple of weeks off as the club was quiet for the bulk of July.

We open this show by discussing how several of the Pride players spent the "break." Six of those players all spent a lot of time with their national teams in Europe, South America, and Africa. We discuss Anna Moorhouse's team winning the Women's Euros, Zambia's run — featuring Barbra Banda, Prisca Chilufya, and Grace Chanda — in the Women's Africa Cup of Nations, and Marta and Angelina representing Brazil in the Copa America Femenina. We'll also discuss which players won't be back in time for Orlando's match Sunday against the Royals.

This week's mailbagbox asked about Orlando's openness to an Adriana return, national team kits, whether the Pride could beat up Spain in a (soccer) fight, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, 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 previewed the Pride's upcoming second match of the season against the Utah Royals. Sunday's visitors may be statistically the worst team in the NWSL, but that doesn't mean Utah lacks players who can do some damage. We break down the all-time series, provide our key matchups for the game, and predict the final score of the match.

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Here’s how Episode 94 went down:

0:15 – The Pride sign a couple of players, pick up the options on a couple of others, and loan a handful out.

9:13 - The mailbagbox is ready for some Orlando Pride soccer.

25:59 - The Utah Royals are coming to town. No, not the old Utah Royals. The new ones!

The Orlando Pride don't play another game for a few more weeks, but that doesn't mean stuff isn't happening with the club. Haley Carter has been busy, and we discuss the club picking up the 2026 option year for a couple of players and signing some other players to new contracts. It was a tidy run of business for Orlando.

Additionally, the club sent a whopping five players out on loan for the rest of the 2025 season. These were not Pride players who were getting minutes, so it can only help them, but it kind of feels like we'll never see some of them in Pride purple again.

This week's mailbagbox has a lot of questions. In fact, it has double-digit questions, and that was just from one of our listeners! Is it bragging to say we were up to the challenge? Well, we were, so it doesn't matter if it's bragging. At any rate, it wasn't just one person asking questions, but it was one person asking a lot of them. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, 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 discussed Orlando's three Zambians in their Women's Africa Cup of Nations match against Morocco. Barbra Banda had a great start to the international break, while hopefully Prisca Chilufya and Grace Chanda are gaining much-needed confidence and improving their form ahead of their return to NWSL play in early August.

If you'd like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we'd love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how Episode 93 went down:

0:15 – The Pride sign a couple of players, pick up the options on a couple of others, and loan a handful out.

17:45 - The mailbagbox is celebrating the summer break with volume, volume, volume!

48:11 - Pride players get back to international play in WAFCON.

The Orlando Pride still haven't won in Kentucky. The Pride went to Racing Louisville on Friday and struggled offensively, while giving up an easy, uncontested opening goal on a set piece and conceding a senseless penalty kick off a routine throw-in. It was a poor performance from the defending champions and another worrying sign of a team that has taken steps backward after last year's magical season.

We checked our score predictions from last week, broke down the key moments in the the game, and tried to figure out who to select for Player of the Match.

This week's mailbagbox wanted to know about Simone Jackson, whether reinforcements should be expected (and when), and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, 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, without a match until August, we discussed Pride players who have been recalled recently by their national teams or youth national teams. It's going to be a long wait to erase the frustration of the last match of June, but in the meantime, we'll be keeping an eye on the club's international players.

If you'd like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we'd love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how Episode 92 went down:

0:15 – The Pride did not look good on the road at Louisville. Our thoughts.

17:53 - The mailbagbox is a bright spot after a dark weekend.

35:53 - Pride players who will be representing their countries this summer.