For our sanity, we opted not to really talk much about the Orlando Pride's 1-1 Concacaf W Champions Cup draw against Pachuca last week, aside from discussing our opinion of the way squad rotation made things more difficult for both matches rather than more difficult for one and less difficult for the other.

However, we were happy to discuss the Pride's wild 3-2 win at Washington on Saturday afternoon. Kerry Abello was hell bent on putting the ball in every net she could find, both teams scored for the other side, and Marta scored the game winner on a slickly approached penalty. It was the third win in four games and perhaps a sign that Orlando is getting better at the right time. Goals are still difficult to come by without help, but wins are wins and we don't care much how they go in.

We looked back at our pessimistic score predictions, discussed all the big moments and players (good and bad), and made our selections for Player of the match.

This week's mailbagbox asked us to be more specific with our messaging to Abello, wondered which kind of goal contribution Haley Carter wants from Jacquie Ovalle, 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.

Orlando is off this week. Several Pride players won't be, as they return to their national teams for the international break. Hopefully everyone comes back fully fit and ready to finish the regular season strong as the club heads toward the playoffs.

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Here’s how Episode 106 went down:

0:15 – The Pride got a much-needed road win in Washington to keep some positive momentum going in the league, despite crashing out of continental competition with a disappointing home draw.

20:11 - The mailbagbox is seriously invested in fully weaponizing Kerry Abello, and the international break is here to wreck Orlando's momentum. We hate that last bit.