Lion Links

Lion Links: 10/25/16

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8 years ago

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It's Tuesday, Mane Landers, and after a two-game win streak to end the season, the purple-clad lads have done us proud and made it easier to face the end of the season without a playoff run coming to Orlando once again. We'll have you covered for all your soccer news and everything Orlando this off-season, so come back every day and make sure to get your fix of the beautiful game.

Orlando City Gets Some TOTW Nods

After a barren spell, Orlando City returns to the MLS Team of the Week after a strong team performance against playoff-bound D.C. United. Both Trinidad and Tobago international midfielder Kevin Molino and Brazilian talisman Kaká find themselves in the team after a performance that saw them total two goals and two assists between them. Molino also found himself on the bench for Goal.com’s Team of the Week as Orlando’s lone representative, while Kaká found himself on the losing end of the Goal of the Week (abbreviated) voting, losing to David Villa. You could also make a strong case for Cristian Higuita’s inclusion after his goal and assist but he was left off.

Postseason Objectives for the Lions

Despite Orlando City's performance on Sunday, the postseason hasn't been an objective for the last two weeks and that means the club and its players are already looking towards next season and have been playing freely. While Head Coach Jason Kreis is very encouraged by Sunday's win, he is taking a cautious approach to make sure that we can see that type of performance in 2017, and the Lions' captain is confident for success in 2017.

MLS Continues to Grow

With the regular season ending on Sunday, MLS has once again broken its own regular season attendance record for the third year running. Sunday also saw the record broken for most MLS fans in a single day. Orlando City and its fans were an important part of this record-breaking effort, with Orlando ranking second in league attendance behind the Seattle Sounders, and it puts MLS in sixth place among soccer leagues around the world.

Orlando Pride Fan Forum

Orlando Pride Head Coach Tom Sermanni will be downtown on Thursday for an Orlando Pride Fan Forum where fans will have a chance to ask questions and find out what to expect this off-season for the NWSL side. Also, fans will be able to gain some insight as to how he will seek to shape next season's roster in light of the recent NWSL waiver wire, and what else is in store for the Pride's second season. So, head on down and support the NWSL in Orlando.

Ballon d'Or Shortlist Revealed

There is no more prestigious individual soccer award that the Ballon d'Or, and yesterday saw the release of the 30-man shortlist for this year's prize. Even though this year's awards are no longer sponsored by FIFA, the prize is still just as valued and the list, as always, is populated with all the usual suspects, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, and Manuel Neuer. Only three of the 30 listed are not vying for the UEFA Champions League this season.

Free Kicks

  • Then watch the greatest defending ever from non-league Crawley Town:

That's all from me today, folks, and after Sunday's winning end to the season, I will leave you with the imitable Jim Mora in anticipation of this off-season's playoff talk for 2017:

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