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Lion Links: 6/19/16

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9 years ago

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Welcome back to the Church of Lion. Did you dim your phones if you're at that real church thing? Okay, good.

Let's be serious for a moment. In the week since tragedy struck so close to home, we've seen our city band together like no other. It's been amazing the outpouring of support with blood donations, monetary donations, and just wonderful moments of love. With that, let's get to the soccer news.

Orlando City Draws. Again.

In a hard-fought game, stoppage time once again gave and took from Orlando City. Julio Baptista struck in the 91st minute to give the Lions a 2-1 lead, sending the stadium into a frenzy. Unfortunately, San Jose equalized at the last second (or beyond, depending how you look at it) to get out of Camping World Stadium with a 2-2 draw.

Orlando controlled the tempo for most of the first half and even for long bursts in the second. The problem came in moments of weakness, when the defense sort of looked lifeless, even if it was just for a few moments. In the end, those lapses in concentration cost us three big points at home. Here's content to consume from last night's game:

Don't forget to check back later today for Austin David's five takeaways at 10 a.m. and Nick Leyva's photo gallery from the match at noon. Also, Orlando City B is back in action tonight in Melbourne. Jeff Milby has your match preview and how to watch at 4 p.m.

The Tribute at the 49th Minute

Around Camping World Stadium, you saw signs saying "Hate Won't Break Us Apart" and "Not Afraid." In addition to those signs, at the 49th minute, the game was stopped and the crowd joined in a moment of silence. With that and the crowd performing the National Anthem before the game, those who were in the stadium were a part of some powerful moments that meant more than just a soccer match.

Spirit Hand Pride Third Straight Shutout Loss

Looking to snap a two-game skid, the Pride traveled to Washington to take on the Spirit. They didn't fare too well, losing 2-0. The Spirit registered goals from Banini and Ordega. Like the City game, during the 49th minute, fans at the Maryland SoccerPlex stood and clapped in honor of the victims. Well done Washington fans, well done. You can read about the match in Logan Oliver's recap, here.

Michael Bradley's Captain Armband

Looks like Michael Bradley’s rainbow captain’s armband for the game against Ecuador was his idea. With a little help from the Seattle Reign and the Seattle Sounders, the materials were rounded up and we had a special moment with the U.S. National team. The team took a $1000 fine for it, but no one seemed to care about such things. Hey, some important people gave Bradley some props for that. Even Hillary Clinton reached out to Bradley to tell him it was a job well done.

USMNT Files Protest for Jones' Red and Wood's Yellow

U.S. Soccer filed protests to overturn the cards given to Bobby Wood and Jermaine Jones. Due to a red card for Jones and an accumulation of yellow cards for Wood, both players will be unavailable for their semifinal game against Argentina unless the appeal is successful. It seems Jones’ red card probably won’t be overturned (and even if it is, it could be changed to a yellow, in which case he’d still be suspended for card accumulation), but hey, we can dream, right?

Free Kicks

In the Copa America quarterfinals, Argentina put it to Venezuela but nothing compared to what Chile did to Mexico. Argentina will play the U.S. in the semifinals, while Chile will battle Colombia…Brek Shea showed his support for the Pulse victims with some pretty awesome artwork dedicated to Orlando…It’s been a bad week for Ronaldo. After spouting off against Iceland, he missed a PK in a 0-0 draw with Austria…Not good Jim, not good… And finally the mascots got in on the action this weekend. Here’s the team pic for all the Orlando area mascots. Kingston, you scare me.

Well guys, that's it for now. Take care this week and see you next Sunday! And readjust your phones before you go back outside. That sun is bright.

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