Lion Links: 4/20/16

This past week was the first time that all three of the Orlando City organization’s teams were in action. The Pride, OCB, and OCSC all had games this past week, but not one of them had a satisfying end to the weekend. The Pride and OCB each lost, and City…well, you know what happened there. Hopefully, that will prove to be the exception rather than the rule.

As we wait for another full, and hopefully fulfilling, weekend, let's take a moment to wish OCB's Kyle Callan-McFadden a happy birthday, grab a bag of chips and settle in for some links.

Refs and Replay

Two weeks running, Orlando City had the end of its game impacted by a refereeing decision. The Philadelphia Free Kick and the New England Handball Fiasco were both games that Orlando fans won't soon forget. This now has people calling for instant replay, including, according to the Orlando Sentinel, Peter Walton of PRO. Concerns about replay impacting the flow of the game are legitimate, but as long as it's implemented correctly, I believe that replay can help eliminate some of this controversy.

Bendik For USMNT

I have to say that if there's one player who is surprising me in a positive way this season, it would have to be Joe Bendik. I'm sure I'm not alone. Bendik's performance this year has been solid, and you really can't fault him for any of the goals given up this season. Orlando City keeper coach Stewart Kerr feels the same way, and is willing to take it even a step further. Kerr feels that his performance has been so good, that Bendik should get consideration for the national team.

U.S. U-17 Team Beats Canada – And Then Beats Them Again

The U.S. U-17 men's team took on Canada in two separate games in Ft. Lauderdale, but the results were identical as the U.S. pulled out twin 3-1 victories. Orlando City Academy forward Alejandro Pereira was on the roster, but did not find the score sheet.

Atlanta Getting Ready

Southeastern soccer will get another member next season as Atlanta United FC gets into the act, and if this is any indication, they’re pretty serious. Arthur Blank is the founder of Home Depot (and therefore, the recipient of a sizable percentage of my income), owner of the Atlanta Falcons, and also the owner of Atlanta United FC. He’s running the team out of his house (which I dare say he’s not fixing up as a weekend DIY-er). The article paints an interesting picture about the efforts of building a team from scratch.

Citrus Bowl Security

Next time you go to an Orlando City game, you may want to give yourself a little more time getting into the stadium as MLS is increasing the security standard across the league. You can see the updates here.

That will do it for your links today. You can now call the day productive. Go relax.