Orlando City has probably not looked as fluid and dangerous in a game and still lost as it did on Saturday night when LAFC handed the Lions a 4-2 loss at home. Things didn’t go as planned and that included a chalked off opening goal by Alexandre Pato, a serious-looking injury to Antonio Carlos, some defensive lapses that allowed the visitors to score on their scarce opportunities, and some big saves down the stretch from the opposing goalkeeper. The Lions deserved to take something from the game, but — much like Spaulding Smails on Caddyshack — they’ll get nothing and like it. We break down the game, the goals, and the calls, and give our Man of the Match picks.

The Pride lost both matches since our last show and, while they looked good in one of them, they looked mostly bad in the other. On top of that, they’re dealing with the loss of Marta for the season, the loss of goalkeeper Erin McLeod for at least a month, and a team that is still not threatening opposing goalkeepers enough. We give our thoughts on where the Pride are, how they can best use this international break, and what we are expecting as the regular season approaches.

OCB finished its home stand unbeaten and followed a 2-2 draw against New York City FC II on Sunday with the Young Lions’ first ever postgame shootout victory, snaring an extra point in the standings in MLS NEXT Pro’s experimental system. Jack Lynn again had a direct goal involvement and is getting valuable minutes with the reserve side. He may be needed by the MLS team at some point this season, so it’s good to see him being active in the attack.

The USMNT lost the battle in Costa Rica but won the World Cup qualifying war, by punching a ticket to Qatar this winter. It was an uphill battle with so many key injuries, but the Yanks got to where they need to be and now find themselves in a group that they are capable of getting out of if they play to their potential.

This week’s mailbag was interested in finding a nickname for Ercan Kara and goal celebrations. If there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the next show, just ask by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC.

And we closed the show by giving our key match-ups and score predictions for Saturday’s home match against the Chicago Fire.

Stay safe and enjoy the show!

Here’s how No. 289 went down:

0:15 - Orlando City fell hard at home with a final score that doesn’t tell the full story. But the Lions, like any team, can’t make silly mistakes against a team with as good an attack as LAFC has.

32:20 - It’s hard out here for a Pride fan. A good performance and a bad performance this past week yielded the same ultimate result. Will there be reinforcements coming to bolster the squad? Dare to dream, I say.

53:42 - OCB made it two results out of two matches, the USMNT accomplished its objective, we wade into our mailbag, and our predictions and key match-ups for the Fire on Saturday.

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