SkoPurp No. 3: Courage & Current Rewinds and Wave Preview

The Orlando Pride played two matches since our last show, and that gave the team twice as many opportunities to hurt us. I'm sorry to say that the Pride took full advantage of those opportunities, losing their grasp on a win in the 99th minute in their first NWSL Challenge Cup game of 2023 and then getting blanked on the road by the league's only other winless team. We're here to talk you through the 1-1 draw against the North Carolina Courage that had some positives — the play of Carly Nelson in goal and Emily Madril at right back, for example. We also make our picks for Player of the Match. After that, we tackle a disappointing 2-0 loss in Kansas City in which the Pride actually seemed to be more in control of the game than the hosts for big chunks of the match. It's that darn lack of finishing chances that ultimately has done in Orlando so far this season (aside from the opener at Portland). However, there are signs of life with the Pride and hopefully Seb Hines can build on those. We also selected our Player of the Match from the regular-season away game on Saturday. The Professional Referees Organization came out and said the review that ultimately led to a penalty that allowed Gotham FC to break a 0-0 deadlock in the 100th minute and beat the Pride 2-0 should not have been reversed. It did not meet the organization's standard for a clear and obvious error and the call on the field should have stood. Well, that isn't helpful in any meaningful way, but OK. We have thoughts on how PRO can better hold itself accountable. They might not be realistic ones, but they just might work. There was nothing in the mailbagbox this week so get your questions in next week by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and asking us anything. Be sure to use the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. Finally, we gave our key match-ups and score predictions for the Pride’s match this Saturday night at San Diego Wave FC. Here’s how the show went down: 0:15 – The Pride got a draw at the death instead of a win in the Challenge Cup and another loss in the league. Please make it stop. 22:46 – PRO admits that PRO gonna PRO. 33:42 – Predictions for a trip to face the San Diego Wave.