The Orlando Pride had the weekend off for the international break, but that's the team as a whole. Nine players from the roster were away with their national teams as we recorded this week's episode, and we talked a bit about the first match from each player's perspective to kick off the show.

Afterwards, we dove straight into this week's mailbagbox, which provided a clarification from last week, asked about McKinley Crone getting some starts, 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 discussed the Pride's game Saturday against the Houston Dash. The Houston-based club has been better away from home than in its own stadium this season, and Orlando can't be complacent, because the NWSL is unforgiving. So, the returning internationals have to recover as quickly as possible and get ready to face a Dash side that has been problematic over the years. We discuss the all-time series, the tale of the tape, our key matchups for the game, and our score predictions.

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 89 went down:

0:15 – A look at the Pride players on international duty and then straight into the mailbagbox!

20:57 - The Houston Dash visit this weekend and they are better on the road than at home this season. We preview!