Lion Links: 4/24/16

Good morning, Lions fans! It’s already been a pretty happy weekend, as OCB won Friday night and the Orlando Pride won last night. Both teams picked up their first-ever wins in their respective leagues. The Lions will try tonight to make it three wins in three for the club, as they travel to play the New York Red Bulls. While you have to wait until 7:30 pm for that game to start, let’s wish Pride defender Cami Levin a happy birthday and let these links tide you over till then!

Orlando Pride Pick Up First Win, Set NWSL Crowd Record

The Orlando Pride defeated the Houston Dash 3-1 to earn their first win of the season. In addition to making history with their first franchise win, the Pride broke an NWSL record for attendance, pulling in 23,403 fans to the Citrus Bowl. Between Alex Morgan making lots of great plays and Ashlyn Harris showing up as a brick wall, the Orlando Pride kept the action going all the way until the final whistle blew. In case you missed all of the excitement, check out our very own Gavin Ewbank’s match recap.

And the crowd, for its part, held its own in the soccer world on Saturday:

Well done, Orlando.

Orlando City Ready for New York Red Bulls Challenge

The Lions have traveled to New York to take on the Red Bulls in their first away game since losing to the Philadelphia Union. Despite not having Kaká, who is out on an apparent minor injury, the table would suggest that Orlando will have no problem with NYRB. However, Orlando will not underestimate New York’s attacking ability. After last week’s heartbreaking tie against New England, the Lions are looking to come back stronger then ever and put in a powerful performance. Make sure to tune in to FS1 at 7:30 pm to catch all the action, and keep up to date as The Mane Land will bring you lots of game coverage.

Alex Morgan Embracing New Role as Team Leader

While Morgan has been around the professional soccer level since early 2011, breaking onto the scene in the 2012 Olympics, she has never had to hold much of a leadership position. While she has been one of the faces of the program the past few years, Morgan has still been somewhat of a rookie compared to veteran players like Carli Lloyd, Hope Solo, and Abby Wambach. Even in Portland, Morgan allowed players like Christine Sinclair to take charge and she played more of a public figure role. Now as one of the older players on Orlando’s roster, Morgan has taken to more of a leadership position, being awarded the captain’s arm band by Pride Head Coach Tom Sermanni. She seems to be acclimating well to this new role as she scored a goal last night.

Carli Lloyd injured During Pride-Dash Game

During the fourth minute, USWNT and Houston Dash star Carli Lloyd was injured. Though she continued to play on, she eventually pulled up in the 13th minute and was forced off the pitch. While the extent of the injury is still unknown, she will soon undergo an MRI. Clearly, all U.S. soccer fans are holding our collective breaths that she is okay and that she will still be available for this summer’s Olympics in Rio.

That's is for today; I'm too fired up for tonight's game. Go Lions!