Lion Links: 3/22/16

Today sees the Orlando Pride take on the University of Florida in Gainesville in more preseason action in preparation for opening day at Portland Thorns, and to get your day started off right, here is your daily dose of Lion Links.

International Lions

This week sees Orlando City take a bye week in observance of FIFA international break. This will allow the club to have its stars not miss league games and help it stay competitive through the season. With that in mind, yesterday saw Kevin Molino, Darwin Cerén and Cyle Larin leave the City Beautiful to join up with their international teammates in advance of this week’s 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. We wish the lads all the best and hope that they return home injury free, even though some look like they are already having too much fun for a Monday.

MLS Team of the Week

There is no doubt that it took a monumental effort to hold on for our 1-0 victory over New York City FC on Friday, and yesterday some Lions got recognized for their efforts. Cristian Higuita was named to the MLS Team of the Week for his maestro performance in defensive midfield, and goalkeeper Joe Bendik garnered a place on the subs’ bench after making five saves in his shutout performance. Higuita was also recognized in Goal.com’s team of the week with a place on the bench, while Rafael Ramos was given a starting role for his performance.

Mascot Mania

In honor on March Madness, MLS decided to do a mascot bracket this year and, after the play-in round of 15, our very own Kingston has moved into the knockout rounds. The final bracket will be released on Thursday, March 24, so stay tuned and vote early and often to make sure that Kingston beats out Timber Joey ahead of our clash against the Portland Timbers on April 4 at the Citrus Bowl.

Gerrard out of the Galaxy?

Even though the season has just started, the future of LA Galaxy midfielder Steven Gerrard is already up in the air. Now that may not be much of a surprise since his playing contract is up at the end of the season with MLS, but what happens next? In recent days he has said that he would love to potentially continue his career with the Galaxy or elsewhere and he doesn’t know if it will be as player or as a coach. However, regardless of whatever happens, he knows that he would certainly like to team up once again with another ex-Liverpool player, Jamie Carragher.

And with that, we end Tuesday's Lion Links with the reminder that even though Orlando City may not be in action this week, we still have plenty of content for you to get your fix and we leave you with this golazo from the weekend: