Lion Links: 5/21/16

Happy Saturday, Mane Landers. I'm sure you're all still elated from the Pride's performance last night and are gearing up for today's tailgates and the Impact coming into town. Hopefully you didn't have too many weekend chores to do, because we all know that they probably aren't getting done today. Especially not with a set of Lion Links to keep you preoccupied! And if you like women's soccer and the Pride, boy are you in for a treat.

Pride Win at Houston

The Pride got their first victory away from home last night against the Houston Dash thanks to Kristen Edmonds' stellar late winner and are sitting pretty on 12 points this early in the season. Hopefully, the Lions can follow suit tonight and get a win in front of the home crowd at Camping World Stadium.

If you're looking for more information on the win, you can check out Lindsay Harrison's match recap here.

Meg Van Dyk will also have her player grades today, so be sure to check those out.

Alex Morgan Does it Again

Sticking with the Pride, captain and resident superstar Alex Morgan won the NWSL Goal of the Week title for Week 5 against Western New York. She was rewarded for her volley that chipped Flash goalkeeper Sabrina D'Angelo. If there was an Assist of the Week award, you can bet it would have gone to Kristen Edmonds. You can check out the replay below:

Josee Belanger Discusses Orlando and NWSL

The Pride's Canadian fullback recently wrote a piece for Le Journal de Montreal (Google Translate or a moderate understanding of French is recommended). She discusses playing at Camping World Stadium, the home support, and their undefeated record in Orlando. She also talks about her reasoning behind coming to the NWSL after professional stints in Canada and Sweden. Her ultimate goal is to improve for the Rio Olympics this summer, so hopefully playing time in a league filled with international talent will help her achieve that.

Special Graduation Ceremony

Portland Thorns rookie and USWNT player Emily Sonnett missed her graduation from the University of Virginia because, well, she's a professional athlete. So the Thorns took it upon themselves and held their own ceremony for Sonnett, complete with a commencement speech from Meghan Klingenberg. It's a really cool gesture from the Thorns and, personally, I wish my commencement had been that short.

NWSL Quarter-Season Report

FourFourTwo's Chad Murphy broke down the advanced statistics for the NWSL season thus far and graded the teams' performances. It's based off of expected goals and table placement and Murphy explains what expected goals are much better than I could. He considers the Pride as "overachieving," and as an expansion franchise that's in line for a playoff position, it's fair to say that they have surprised. The player breakdown is a little more interesting, although it's based on shot quality so the defenders are understandably low. If you like statistics and metrics, this article is for you.

That’s all for Lion Links this morning, but you can prepare for tonight’s match with Austin Siegel’s Match Preview or even this week’s Story Stream for all the info you could possibly need. Plus, be sure to check back in for our Intelligence Report on Montreal Impact and our How to Watch article later on today.