Lion Links: 5/1/16

Good Morning, Lions fans! Welcome back to Sunday's edition of Lion Links. Last night saw a draw for Orlando City and today the excitement continues as both the Orlando Pride and Orlando City B play. Sit back and fill your need for all things Orlando City with today's links.

After last night's game, Orlando City returns home with one point after tying the New England Revolution in Foxborough. The team seemed to come alive late in the game, but unfortunately it wasn't enough to edge out the Revolution. The score line ended 2-2 with goals from Kevin Molino and Carlos Rivas. Miss the game? Check out the recap here.

Pride Ready to Take on Chicago Red Stars

The Orlando Pride have traveled to the “Windy City,” following their win against the Houston Dash last weekend. Looking to continue that momentum, the Pride are seeking to improve a little bit and become more of a cohesive unit. The Red Stars are entering the game after a 1-0 win over the Western New York Flash, but are 1-1-0 in league play after they lost their opener to the Houston Dash. The game kicks off at 6:00 p.m. E.T. and can be streamed live on the NWSL official Youtube channel. The Pride return to Orlando on May 8 for a match up against West Coast power house, Seattle Reign.

TonI Pressley Out With Injury

Toni Pressley will miss tonight's match-up against Chicago after a reported abductor strain. Preslsey has yet to see any playing time with the Pride, and it seems as if her debut will have to wait until at least next week.

Orlando City B Back Home for Match Against FC Montreal

After being on the road for the past two games, Orlando City B has returned to Melbourne to take on the Canadian side, FC Montreal. This will be the first of three matches for the team this week as FC Cincinnati travels to Melbourne on May 4 and Bethlehem Steel FC follows on May 7. Head Coach Anthony Pulis had this to say about the game and the week ahead (quote from the linked story):

"It's a start of a busy period for us, we play Sunday, Wednesday and Saturday. A real emphasis is going to be on the recovery protocols for the guys to make sure they are well prepared, that they have recovered quickly and are ready to go for what's going to be a tough period. It's one that we are looking forward to. Three home games in a week. We had a two-week road trip, which was positive. For one and a half game I thought we played well, better than what we have been, so hopefully now we can take some good steps forward this week and have some good performances."

Orlando City B Goalkeeper Heading to Louisville City FC

Orlando City has sent Homegrown signing and U.S. youth international goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar on a short-term loan to Louisville City FC. The fourth ranked U.S. Soccer prospect trained with Orlando City’s academies and recently signed a Homegrown deal with the MLS side. At the beginning of the season, he was loaned down to OCB for the full season, but as of now, has not made an appearance for the USL side. Stajduhar will be available to play tonight for Louisville’s match in Pennsylvania.

Orlando Pride Making Waves in National Women's Soccer League

Last week’s record breaking match set a precedent for the rest of the NWSL, but this high isn’t enough to carry the rest of the league. Jeff Plush, commissioner of the National Women’s Soccer League, still sees a lot of work ahead for the rest of the league to catch up the success of Orlando and Portland.

"Seeing what transpired in Orlando gives us a lot excitement, but also a lot of ambition. There's so much more that we can achieve if we do it in unison," Plush told the Guardian. "It means there's a lot more to achieve together. This isn't the time to feel like we've arrived -€” it's the time to re-double our efforts," explained Plush.

So where does the NWSL go from here? The goal, to build off of the momentum created by cities like Orlando, Portland, and Oregon to attract bigger audiences and add more teams. Hopefully, the league can reach its potential.

That's it for today, stay tuned in as The Mane Land will be covering both matches tonight.