SkoPurp No. 140: Bay FC Rewind and Wave Preview

<p>The Orlando Pride remained perfect on the road against Bay FC with a 3-1 win on Sunday. Deuces were wild, as Haley McCutcheon, who wears jersey No. 2, scored in the second minute of both halves, and her two goals in California gave the midfielder her second brace of both the 2026 NWSL season and her career. Barbra Banda figured heavily in pulling defenders out of position on two of the three Orlando goals and assisted on Jacquie Ovalle&#39;s right-footed thunderbolt in stoppage time to put the game away. But make no mistake, it&#39;s not as if the Pride played well, turning the ball over often and conceding 28 shot attempts to the hosts.</p><p>We break down a road win that may have been more exhausting to watch than to play in (although I wouldn&#39;t bet on it), check back on our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.</p><p>This week&#39;s mailbagbox asked us about Haley McCutcheon, where to most strongly place the blame for the Pride&#39;s disappointing season, and more. Remember, you can ask us <em>anything </em>by hitting us up on Twitter at either <a href="https://twitter.com/TheManeLand">@TheManeLand</a> or <a href="https://twitter.com/SkoPurpSoccer">@SkoPurpSoccer</a> and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/themaneland.bsky.social">hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky</a>. Or you can <a href="https://themaneland.com/skopurp-soccer-an-orlando-pride-pawedcast/">visit our show page</a>, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We&#39;d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we&#39;ll find them easily and read them on the show.</p><p>Finally, we looked ahead to Friday, when Orlando will host San Diego Wave FC, looking to both complete a season sweep and to keep its faint playoff hopes alive. We look at the series history, provide our key matchups for the contest, and make our predictions for the final score.</p><p>Here’s how Episode 140 went down:</p><p><strong>0:15 –</strong> The Pride improved to 2-1-1 under Yolanda Thomas, but a lot of good Cosette Morche saves were required to get that second win.</p><p><strong>20:00- </strong>The mailbagbox asks us to play the blame game.</p><p><strong>33:36 - </strong>The Pride continue to face California-based competition, but Friday&#39;s opponent is much higher in the table than Sunday&#39;s was.</p>