
Episode #137
SkoPurp No. 137: Houston Rewind and Current Preview
For one night (at least) the Orlando Pride resembled the 2024 team. The Pride played with energy, grit, and purpose in a 3-1 win over the visiting Houston Dash in a weather-delayed Sunday night tilt over Labor Day weekend, with interim head coach Yolanda Thomas getting a victory in her first match in charge. It was far from a perfect performance, but just playing with the spirit the team displayed on Sunday would keep this team in most games and give it a chance to win. Barbra Banda was a major factor in all three Orlando goals, forcing an own goal, scoring a penalty, and setting up Haley McCutcheon's impressive strike. Cosette Morche came up with a few huge saves on the other end to preserve the lead. We break down the match as fully re-energized spectators and podcasters after seeing that performance, look back at our score predictions, and make our picks for Player of the Match. This week's mailbagbox asked about coaches, points necessary for Thomas to get the full-time job offer, a women's U.S. Open Cup, 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 looked ahead to Friday's visit to Kansas City as the Pride play the return fixture against the Current. Prior to Houston, the Current were the last team Orlando had scored multiple goals against. If the Pride can play with the fire they showed against the Dash, they could be a threat to be the first visiting team to win in CPKC Stadium in 2026. 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 137 went down: 0:15 – The Pride win their first game under Yolanda Thomas and play like they have something to prove, which...they do. 21:56 - The mailbagbox advises against putting any one person over the club. 43:52 - The second meeting with Kansas City is Friday, and the Pride will hope to play as well as they did in the first meeting.

