Lion Links
Lion Links: 3/14/16
Welcome to Week 3 of the MLS season, Mane Landers. Friday night may have not gone exactly as we wanted, however, the Lions have the opportunity to make amends this Friday night when they take on New York City FC at Yankee Stadium. We will have your game previews and team analysis as we countdown to kickoff, so make sure you keep on coming back. However, since you are already here, why don’t you digest some Lion Links?
MLS Recaps
Orlando City may not have been in action yesterday, but Eastern Conference rivals and the current MLS champs were, so here are some game recaps:
- Our upcoming foes NYCFC tied with Toronto FC 2-2 at Yankee Stadium in the early game.
- MLS Cup champions, the Portland Timbers, lost 2-1 to the San Jose Earthquakes. Quincy Amarikwa might have also scored the goal of the week in this one as the honeymoon period ends for the Timbers.
U.S. Women Continue Dominance
The U.S. continues to dominate women’s soccer at all levels. Yesterday, the U-17 WNT earned a 2-1 victory in the U-17 CONCACAF Championship final against Mexico. The victory sees the U-17 USWNT qualify for the 2016 FIFA U-17 World Cup later this year. Goalkeeper Laurel Ivory won the Golden Glove and captain Ashley Sanchez took home the Golden Ball.
With such dominance in the women's game, can U.S. Soccer maintain this high standard as other women's national teams get better? They are hoping so and that Doug Lemov is the answer.
Mattocks on the Move
Despite starting well and already having a DP up front in Fanendo Adi, the Portland Timbers yesterday traded with Cascadia rival Vancouver Whitecaps for Jamaican international forward Darren Mattocks. The second pick in the 2012 MLS SuperDraft played for Akron University under Caleb Porter (current Timbers head coach) and with current Timbers players, including U.S. international Darlington Nagbe and Zarek Valentin during his time in Ohio.
The Timbers also made a front office move yesterday promoting GM Gavin Wilkinson to team president and will continue to work alongside owner Merritt Paulson to help cultivate the Timbers.
PSG Sets Records
After knocking Chelsea out of the UEFA Champions League this week, Paris Saint-Germain captured the Ligue 1 title this weekend and shattered the record books in the process. Their record-breaking run to the Ligue 1 title and their continued participation in Europe probably makes them the most dominant French league side, but are they the greatest? While we let you decide the answer, there is now no doubt that Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic will be plying his trade elsewhere next season, so make sure you get wishing that he turns up in purple.
That's all for today, Mane Landers and let me leave you with this stirring rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone that occurred at the end of the Borussia Dortmund-Mainz match that saw two fans have heart attacks whilst at the game, with one of those fans unfortunately passing away.