Lion Links: 10/9/16

Happy Sunday, Mane Landers. Hopefully you’ve all got power and the debris in your area from Hurricane Matthew is gone by now. We’ve still got a couple of writers waiting for their electricity to be restored but that will hopefully happen some time today.

We’re back to work tomorrow, which is no fun, but it’s also a countdown to the next Orlando City match one week from today, when the Lions travel to Philadelphia to take on the Union in the final road game of the 2016 MLS campaign. In between, the USMNT is back in action Tuesday.

While we wait for more soccer, let’s check out what’s been going on.

Nocerino Rides Out Hurricane; Wants to Return in 2017

Training resumed for the Lions at Sylvan Lake Park on Saturday and the Orlando Sentinel’s Alicia DelGallo spent some time talking to Italian midfielder Antonio Nocerino, who seemed deeply moved by those who were most affected by Hurricane Matthew.

"I cry for people affected by the hurricane in Daytona and Jacksonville and all the counties on the coast," Nocerino said in broken English. "It was a little panic for me, for my family, for country, because we recognized that it was very, very dangerous. I looked at Daytona, I looked at Jacksonville and it was a disaster. Nature, it's crazy. It's not possible to defend a hurricane. You hope, you pray . . . but nature is incredible.”

The Italian also said he wants to be back with Orlando City next year with some heartfelt comments. Check out the link above for the full story.

Orlando City U-16s Getting it Done in GA Cup

Just because the senior team was off this weekend, it doesn’t mean the Lions weren’t in action. The Orlando City U-16 team took part in 2016-17 Generation Adidas Cup qualifying at Talen Energy Stadium in Philadelphia over the weekend. The Lions are off to a great start, winning 2-1 over D.C. United on Saturday and then putting New York City FC on full blast yesterday, winning 5-2. Jose Aldaco and Andres Ojeda scored twice each against NYCFC, and Ale Pereira also found the net.

All in all, it was a nice weekend for the academy’s U-16 team. The tournament resumes President’s Day weekend with Orlando City sitting on six points and a +4 goal differential after two matches in the East Region.

Molino Not Satisfied After Hat Trick Performance

Orlando City and Trinidad & Tobago star Kevin Molino netted his second career international hat trick on Wednesday night against the Dominican Republic, but he says he and his teammates can both be better.

“Overall we can be better as a team and as for my performance I think I can always get better. Scoring three goals was one part, but at times I felt I give away the ball too much and defensively I have to continue working harder. I think it’s good and most important that in this stage of the game for us  is to win, and I know we are looking forward to the next game and hopefully we continue doing the same thing”

Molino and his countrymen will play at Martinique on Tuesday.

USMNT Roster Changes for New Zealand

Jurgen Klinsmann has made some roster moves ahead of the USMNT’s friendly against New Zealand Tuesday at 8 p.m. at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. After a 2-0 win over Cuba on Friday, the Yanks are looking to sweep the international break with a victory over the Kiwis, but the team will have a bit of a different look than the one that went to Havana. Kellyn Acosta, Juan Agudelo, Matt Besler, Terrence Boyd, Bill Hamid, Michael Orozco, and Tim Parker have been added, while Klinsy has sent home John Brooks, Geoff Cameron, Timmy Chandler, Ethan Horvath, Fabian Johnson, Jordan Morris, Christian Pulisic, Chris Wondolowski, and Bobby Wood. Click the link above for the full roster for Tuesday’s match.

That’s all I’ve got for your Sunday morning. Enjoy what’s left of your weekend.