Lion Links: 6/12/2015

Good Friday morning, Orlando. It’s been a long week, but the light at the end of the tunnel is finally visible. Fight through today, and the weekend will officially be here along with a chance for Orlando City to extend its unbeaten streak to five games.

Now for today's links…

Heath Sparks Unrest in Kansas City with Dwyer Remarks

Orlando City manager Adrian Heath spoke about the club’s desire to bring back beloved striker Dom Dwyer, who solidified himself as a fan favorite when he scored 15 goals in 13 games in 2013 for OCSC while on loan from Sporting Kansas City. Heath managed to rustle some jimmies, though, when he stated that he believed Dwyer wants to return to Orlando, which elicited a response from SKC coach Peter Vermes in the Kansas City Star.

"They're uncalled for," Vermes said, according to the Kansas City Star. "… I think it's unfortunate that it comes out publicly like that, because what it could do — and it hasn't, which is great — but what it could do within a team is disrupt it. And I think that's the unprofessional aspect of it that I don't appreciate."

Vermes went on to say that Dwyer wants to be in KC, but with Dom declining to comment, the world may never truly know where he longs to be. We'll see the old Lion at the Citrus Bowl on Sept. 13, back in his "spiritual home" at last.

City Continuing to be Patient with Carlos Rivas

Carlos Rivas has not taken to life in MLS quite as quickly as his countryman Cristian Higuita, but the young Colombian has finally gotten a good run of training under his belt and is beginning to come into his own. The good news for both OCSC and Rivas is that the club does not have to rush his development.

"The best days of Carlos Rivas are still ahead of him, and we can afford to be patient in how he develops."

Those words from Heath echo the sentiments shared by our own Austin David. Rivas showed off his burst in Saturday night's 3-2 win at Chicago when he set up the game-winning own goal, which was an encouraging sign for what's to come.

Middlesbrough Release OCSC Loanee Hines

Defender Seb Hines was signed on a loan deal from English outfit Middlesbrough in February of this year with an option to extend, and he has now officially been released by his old club following their impending loan deal for Chelsea's Thomáš Kalas.

In his 12 appearances for the Lions this season, Hines hasn’t given OCSC any reason not to keep him on board. Along with Aurélien Collin and Sean St. Ledger, Hines has been one of OCSC’s three primary center backs used in 2015.

Larin Scores on International Duty for Canada

Cyle Larin has been contributing at a high level as a rookie for Orlando, scoring five goals in eight appearances for the Lions. That success seems to be translating for Larin onto the international stage, where he scored his first goal for Canada on March 30 and managed his second on Thursday night in a 2-0 win over Dominica in World Cup qualifying. After getting the Canadians on the board, Larin also drew a foul in the box that led to Russell Teibert’s goal to seal the win.

Orlando City Inspiring Copy Cats After Path to MLS

The opening sentence is about all you need to get drawn in to this piece from the official site of MLS.

Even with only 14 matches under their belt in their expansion MLS season, here's just how successful Orlando City have proven to be: Other clubs want to be the next Orlando City.

Interesting read on the Charlotte Independence, who are using OCSC as a blueprint to try and work their way from USL to MLS one day.

Carmelo Buys NASL Team in Puerto Rico

Apparently Carmelo Anthony is a closet soccer fan. He chose to keep his fandom "among his circle" but has been found out now that he has purchased an NASL side in Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico FC will be the league's 13th team and will begin play in the fall of 2016 at a 12,500-seat stadium about 10 miles from San Juan.

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Enjoy your Friday and the subsequent happy hour drinking this evening, Lions. Also, Copa América started last night, so if you’re looking for more soccer entertainment in addition to MLS and the FIFA Women’s World Cup, this is what you should be watching.