Lion Links: 5/25/15

Happy Memorial Day everyone. Make sure you thank a veteran today.

Any time you can steal a point on the road, you'll take it. And when you're down to 10 men, that valuable point is all the more welcome.

It wasn’t a perfect Sunday for Orlando City in California, but a 1-1 draw against a surging San Jose Earthquakes squad is another solid result for this team. Let’s take a look back at the weekend that was with your Monday morning Lion Links.

Orlando ties up San Jose 1-1

Congrats to Wondo on #100. Seriously, incredible milestone for an incredible player.

But a 1-1 draw on the road was huge for Orlando City. The Mane Land's got all your post game coverage with…

• A recap of the hard-fought draw at San Jose
• Our player grades from last night
• And look for our five takeaways later this morning

OCSC U-23's fall to FC Miami 3-1

Orlando City’s U-23 academy team dropped their second match of the year on Saturday,a 3-1 home defeat to FC Miami City Champions. Kyle Carr scored the only goal for Orlando City in the 60th minute.

A contingent from the Iron Lion Firm and The Ruckus made their presence felt at the match. The loss drops Orlando City to 0-2 on the season, following a loss to Floridians F.C. on the road to begin the season.

The Lions were doomed by set pieces, as Miami capitalized on a penalty kick in the 35th minute and header off a corner kick in the 40th. Though they trailed 2-0 at halftime, Orlando came out strong following the break and got to within a goal after Carr's 20-yard strike early in the second half.

Pushing for the equalizer, Orlando was unable to prevent FC Miami from scoring the dagger in the 80th minute, as Adam Ghahti was able to slip by his defender and ice the game for Miami.

"We were pushing and pushing, and I thought we created some good opportunities, we just couldn't connect on the final ball," said head coach Darren Powell said.

The Lions are back in action this week on the road against Palm Beach. That Saturday evening contest will be followed by a home game on Thursday, June 4 against Florida Floridians at Seminole Soccer Complex. The game is currently set for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

Louisville City draws 3-3 with St. Louis FC in Crazy Game

On a day when Orlando City played to a methodical 1-1 draw with San Jose, Louisville City FC and St. Louis FC also couldn't find a winner, drawing 3-3. But this game was absolutely nuts. If you're bold enough, you can watch the whole thing here.

St. Louis grabbed the lead not once, but twice in the second half, only to see Louisville City rally and tie things up. Throw in a lengthy weather delay, and you've got yourself a pretty memorable soccer game.

After drawing things even 2-2 in the 75th minute, Louisville City saw St. Louis snag what looked to be the winner four minutes later with a penalty kick. But they weren't done just yet.

Nate Polak scored a late equalizer to give Louisville a precious road point and a huge victory over their Kings Cup rivals. They're back in action on Wednesday, looking for another road win against Indy Eleven. Kickoff is at 7:30.

Quake's Defend Annual Game at Levi's Stadium

Oh, to have the San Jose Earthquakes' problems.

The club's brand new soccer palace, Avaya Stadium, has been met with rave reviews and four consecutive sellouts. So, some fans and pundits are confused as to why San Jose scheduled this weekend's match-up with Orlando City at nearby Levi's Stadium, home of the NFL's San Francisco 49ers.

It’s not exactly a downgrade, as Levi’s Stadium is one of the nicest facilities in the country and will host the Super Bowl next year, but it’s still a curious decision by San Jose. Club president David Kaval defended the move as one that puts the Earthquakes on a bigger stage and allows the club to gain new fans.

"These bigger matches at Levi's Stadium, at Stanford Stadium, they create new Quakes fans — which is something as a growing sport and a growing league we really need to do," Kaval said.

While San Jose didn't sell out the Sunday afternoon match, the 36,224 fans in attendance was still double what Avaya Stadium could have handled.

MLS Can't Come Soon Enough for Steven Gerrard

Well that…could've gone better.

Liverpool's been limping to the finish of the EPL season for a few games now, but in Stevie G's final game in a Liverpool shirt, the club was demolished 6-1 by Stoke City. While Gerrard scored the only goal for Liverpool, it was hardly any consolation, as manager Brendan Rogers offered an apology to supporters for the embarrassing display.

The next time Gerrard takes the field will be in MLS for an LA Galaxy squad that could desperately use a boost. LA is currently sixth in the Western Conference after a 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo this weekend.

That's it for Lion Links today. #ThereWillBeHaters