Lion Links: 4/23/16

It's a good Saturday morning. The weekend started off right as OCB finally got its first win in history, and luckily there's a whole lot more City soccer this weekend. If you live out of town, which is the only reason this would be useful, you can catch tonight's record-breaking Pride match on the NWSL YouTube.

To pass the time until tonight, though, here are today's links.

OCB Breaks Through

After struggling through the first four matches of the season, OCB finally got its first win on the season. Check out our match recap of OCB's 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. Hopefully the young Lions can keep this run of form going into Monday when they get a rematch with the Harrisburg City Islanders.

Bendik Helps the Kids

MLS WORKS, Allstate, and Univision teamed up to provide funding to Hispanic communities by donating cash to a charity of every team’s choice for their Friday night matches. The program, “Every Save Makes a Difference,” donates money for every save the team’s goalkeeper makes. Joe Bendik’s stellar performance against New York City FC meant a local Orlando academy got a substantial donation.

Ceren's Path to Orlando

If you like feel-good stories about overcoming adversity, Simon Veness has a great one on Darwin Ceren. You may have heard Adrian Heath’s story about how he stumbled across Ceren, but this is his point of view on his move to the United States and what Orlando City’s offer meant to him. Darwin almost didn’t play professional soccer to help provide for his family, but the Lions are certainly glad he got a second chance.

Pride Proving Orlando is the Soccer Capital of the South

If you're looking for more evidence about why support in Orlando is something special, check out this take on the amount of support for the Pride. Orlando has the potential to become the best-supported women's franchise in the United States and it's only a testament to the love for the game in the City Beautiful.

Catley Wins Goal of the Week

Australian defender Steph Catley scored the Pride's first ever goal in their history and it also won goal of the week. Her free kick to take the lead on the defending champion Thorns beat out stiff competition from around the league including a bicycle kick from the Washington Spirit's Joanna Lohman. And if you somehow missed it, you can hear what Steph had to say about that goal on this week's Mane Land PawedCast.

That's all for today's edition of Lion Links. Check back often for all the goings-on this weekend with the Pride, City, and OCB. Hope to see a full bowl tonight for the Pride!