Lion Links
Lion Links: 9/16/15
Welcome to Wednesday, gang. It’s already been a busy week for Orlando City and we’ve got you covered with all the news around the club.
Let's get right to the links.
Larin, Rivas, Higuita, Ramos on Preliminary '24 under 24' Roster
Cyle Larin, Carlos Rivas, Rafael Ramos and Cristian Higuita were each named to the preliminary "24 under 24" roster on MLSSoccer.com.
Larin is a virtual lock to make the final roster, and is on the fast track to being MLS Rookie of the Year, despite the fact that he has been stuck on 11 goals for some time now, unable to break the record. Higuita is a little bit more of an uncertainty, because he is often overlooked in the midfield for a struggling Orlando City. But one could argue that Higuita has been even better than Cyle Larin this season. Rivas is an emerging talent but he has been inconsistent and has had trouble at times getting playing time. He's the least likely of the three to make the final roster.
Here are the rest of the candidates:
- Alejandro Zendejas, FC Dallas
- Erik Palmer-Brown, Sporting KC
- Justen Glad, Real Salt Lake
- Eric Ayuk Mbu, Philadelphia Union
- Angelino, New York City FC
- Bradford Jamieson IV, LA Galaxy
- Anatole Abang, New York Red Bulls
- Deybi Flores, Vancouver Whitecaps
- Kianz Froese, Vancouver Whitecaps
- Tommy Thompson, San Jose Earthquakes
- Kellyn Acosta, FC Dallas
- Matt Miazga, New York Red Bulls
- Cristian Roldan, Seattle Sounders
- Marky Delgado, Toronto FC
- Jordan Allen, Real Salt Lake
- Cyle Larin, Orlando City SC
- Diego Fagundez, New England Revolution
- Sam Adekugbe, Vancouver Whitecaps
- Rafael Ramos, Orlando City SC
- Shay Facey, New York City FC
- Zach Pfeffer, Philadelphia Union
- Kekuta Manneh, Vancouver Whitecaps
- Alvas Powell, Portland Timbers
- Carlos Rivas, Orlando City SC
- Dillon Serna, Colorado Rapids
- Cristian Higuita, Orlando City SC
- Jay Chapman, Toronto FC
- Luis Gil, Real Salt Lake
- Fatai Alashe, San Jose Earthquakes
- Jose Villarreal, LA Galaxy
- Amadou Dia, Sporting KC
- Khiry Shelton, New York City FC
- Matt Polster, Chicago Fire
- Juan Ramírez, Colorado Rapids
- Walker Zimmerman, FC Dallas
- Lucas Melano, Portland Timbers
- A.J. Cochran, Houston Dynamo
- Sean Davis, New York Red Bulls
- Víctor Cabrera, Montreal Impact
- Erick Torres, Houston Dynamo
- Wil Trapp, Columbus Crew SC
- Eric Miller, Montreal Impact
- Russell Teibert, Vancouver Whitecaps
- Brian Sylvestre, Philadelphia Union
- Juan Agudelo, New England Revolution
- Olmes García, Real Salt Lake
- Kemar Lawrence, New York Red Bulls
- Sebastian Lletget, LA Galaxy
- Jack McInerney, Columbus Crew SC
- Eriq Zavaleta, Toronto FC
- Elías Vásquez, Real Salt Lake
- Fabián Castillo, FC Dallas
- Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC
- Alexander López, Houston Dynamo
- Cristian Techera, Vancouver Whitecaps
- Donny Toia, Montreal Impact
- Richie Marquez, Philadelphia Union
- Maxim Tissot, Montreal Impact
- Fernando Aristeguieta, Philadelphia Union
- Andrew Farrell, New England Revolution
- Tesho Akindele, FC Dallas
- Cedrick Mabwati, Columbus Crew SC
- Moises Hernandez, FC Dallas
- Victor Ulloa, FC Dallas
- Joao Plata, Real Salt Lake
- Perry Kitchen, D.C. United
- Kwadwo Poku, New York City FC
- Patrick Mullins, New York City FC
- Jared Watts, Colorado Rapids
- Octavio Rivero, Vancouver Whitecaps
- Nicolás Mezquida, Vancouver Whitecaps
- Matías Laba, Vancouver Whitecaps
- Kelyn Rowe, New EnglandRevolution
- Lucas Pittinari, Colorado Rapids
- Harry Shipp, Chicago Fire
The rankings will be released Sept. 22, so keep an eye out to see if any Lions make the cut.
Do the Crocodile with the Lions
Orlando City seems to have a new goal celebration, and it's named after an animal not called a lion. Instead, it's a crocodile.
We’re not sure what this is, but we like it. #CityGIFs pic.twitter.com/m3eo1kDy26
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) September 14, 2015
I'll be honest, it looks more like my niece trying to crawl across the carpet when she was a newborn than it does a crocodile. But "the crocodile" sounds way cooler than "the baby crawl."
Apparently, it was all Higuita's idea.
From the Orlando Sentinel's Alicia Del Gallo:
Two days before the game, Higuita saw a crocodile on TV, and it popped in his head when he scored a goal in practice Saturday. Higuita did The Crocodile in celebration and Brek Shea jumped in on the fun, Higuita said.
Do your thing, guys. Do your thing. But this is Florida, so maybe it should be called the Alligator?
Shea Left Off Preliminary USMNT Roster
Here is the provisional USMNT roster.
Goalkeepers (4) – Brad Guzan (Aston Villa/England); Bill Hamid (D.C. United/USA); Tim Howard (Everton/England); Nick Rimando (Real Salt Lake/USA)
Defenders (12) – Ventura Alvarado (Club America/Mexico); DaMarcus Beasley (Houston Dynamo/USA); Matt Besler (Sporting Kansas City/USA); John Brooks (Hertha Berlin/Germany); Geoff Cameron (Stoke City/England); Brad Evans (Seattle Sounders FC/USA); Greg Garza (Atlas/Mexico); Omar Gonzalez (LA Galaxy/USA); Michael Orozco (Club Tijuana/Mexico); Tim Ream (Fulham/England); Jonathan Spector (Birmingham City/England); DeAndre Yedlin (Sunderland/England)
Midfielders (12) – Kyle Beckerman (Real Salt Lake/USA); Alejandro Bedoya (Nantes/France); Michael Bradley (Toronto FC/Canada); Joe Corona (Veracruz/Mexico); Mix Diskerud (New York City FC/USA); Fabian Johnson (Borussia Mönchengladbach/Germany); Jermaine Jones (New England Revolution/USA); Alfredo Morales (FC Ingolstadt/Germany); Lee Nguyen (New England Revolution/USA); Danny Williams (Reading/England); Gyasi Zardes (LA Galaxy/USA); Graham Zusi (Sporting Kansas City/USA)
Forwards (7) – Jozy Altidore (Toronto FC/Canada); Clint Dempsey (Seattle Sounders FC/USA); Alan Gordon (LA Galaxy/USA); Aron Johannsson (Werder Bremen/Germany); Jordan Morris (Stanford University/USA); Chris Wondolowski (San Jose Earthquakes/USA); Bobby Wood (Union Berlin/Germany)
Prices Dropping for USWNT Friendly
With Australia dropping out of the friendly matches against the USWNT on its victory tour, secondary ticket prices have plummeted, most likely due to the inferior opponent that replaced Australia: Haiti.
Which would you rather have for the USWNT’s match at the Citrus Bowl: cheap tickets, or a good opponent in Brazil.
It’s unlikely we will get both, but a boy can dream I guess.
Dwyer a Trendsetter for English Soccer Players
After Sporting KC and former Lion Dom Dwyer was released by Norwich City, he started a journey to America that has become a trend for fellow English players.
It’s truly a great idea for English players to go play in college in America for free, rather than toiling around in England where they are more likely to be forgotten about. It is also a terrific way to boost the quality of play in MLS. The league would be smart to make that a point of emphasis.
That’s all for the links, gang. Have a good Wednesday.