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Lion Links: 1/25/17

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10 years ago

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Hello, Mane Landers. There are now just 39 days until Orlando City’s 2017 MLS season opener against New York City FC at the brand spankin’ new as-yet-unnamed downtown stadium. The lads in purple are on the pitch daily working hard for Jason Kreis in preparation for the campaign to come. I, for one, cannot wait.

Despite the lack of games for Orlando City and the Orlando Pride, there is plenty going on. Let’s just dive headfirst into today’s Lion Links.

Lions Get Their Defender

Well, now we know the rumors were true. Orlando City signed former USMNT defender Jonathan Spector yesterday, giving the club an experienced veteran anchor for the back line. Spector can help a number of positions, but if he can partner with one of the Lions’ incumbent center backs to nail the middle shut, Orlando City’s playoff prospects will improve dramatically. It would be nice for Joe Bendik not to have to make nearly so many spectacular saves in 2017.

Speaking of rumors about defenders, this one popped up suggesting Orlando City may have had other thoughts about the defense that didn’t quite come to pass.

Pride Switch Goalkeeping Coaches

Tom Sermanni added former Washington Spirit goalkeeper coach Lloyd Yaxley to his staff yesterday, replacing Marcos Machado. Machado, you may recall, was the goalkeeper coach for Orlando City in 2015 before moving over to the Pride last year. There’s no proof he’s going to work for OCB next, but hey, he might as well complete the full set. Machado did a solid job in his time with the Pride, but it certainly won’t hurt to bring in someone with whom Ashlyn Harris is familiar.

Kaylyn Kyle Out?

Staying with the Pride for a moment, it certainly appears that Canadian international midfielder Kaylyn Kyle is on her way out of the City Beautiful. She has been tweeting about big changes coming and the inclusion of a soccer ball makes it seem like those changes involve her career.

Also there’s this, from a respected journalist who covers women’s soccer:

Kyle had a bit of an inconsistent season in 2016 with the Pride, but she was also asked to take on several different roles over the course of the season, including center back. Still, Sermanni seems to be overhauling a roster that just wasn’t good enough after a surprisingly successful start. Let’s see how this plays out and whether we’ve seen the last of Kyle in an Orlando uniform.

Orlando City Academy Stacks Up Well in MLS

Will Parchman over at Top Drawer Soccer ranked the pro academies of all the MLS clubs. Despite not having been around for nearly as long as some, Orlando City’s did well, grading out at No. 9 on his list. His objective:

This list more or less serves as a heat check, a plunging thermometer into each MLS team’s academy system to gauge the vitality of its lifeblood. It should be taken as an objective measure of each academy’s collective coaching acumen, the technical level of its players and its connection to the first team.

Minnesota United is the only club not represented on the list because, as Parchman put it, the team “has yet to fire up its academy.”

Parchman names Pierre Da Silva as the Orlando City pro academy’s best prospect and forward Joe Gallardo as its best current player, and said some nice things overall about the academy:

Orlando City’s academy is loaded with talent, and the captures of U.S. U19 teammates Pierre da Silva and Joe Gallardo, the latter of whom played in the 2015 U17 World Cup, were the stories of 2016. Homegrown talents like Mason Stajduhar prove the club is actively scouring its academy for talent, and recently added academy head David Longwell (formerly of St. Mirren) has said all the right things. We’ll have to wait for an Orlando City academy kid to crack the first team before moving the club further, but Orlando City gets high marks. 

Evidently Parchman is quite high on Da Silva, because over at MLSSoccer.com he also wrote that Pierre is one of five up-and-coming players who deserve playing time in 2017.

Free Kicks

Orlando City Life-President Phil Rawlins was featured in the Orlando Business Journal, discussing the club’s use of technology. The takeaway is a new app should launch “in the next few weeks” and folks in VIP seats will be able to order concessions from their seats…Former Orlando Homegrown defender Tyler Turner is on trial with New England Revolution…Freddy Adu never seems to go away. He is apparently getting a try-out with the Portland Timbers…Seattle Sounders and USMNT star Clint Dempsey has been cleared to practice. If Deuce continues to progress, he might be able to play in the March World Cup qualifiers…Those born on this date include writer Virginia Woolf (1882), legendary sportscaster Ernie Harwell (1918), kicker Lou “The Toe” Groza (1924), Disney film star Dean Jones (1931), blues/jazz/R&B/gospel star Etta James (1938), NASCAR’s Buddy Baker (1941), horror film director Tobe Hooper (1943), hockey’s Chris Chelios (1962), Spain and Barcelona soccer legend Xavi (1980), Alicia Keys (1981), Bayer Leverkusen forward Stefan Kiessling (1984), and Brazilian forward Robinho (1984).

That’s all the time I have, folks. Stay tuned for more Orlando City news. We expect the club’s full preseason schedule to be released any day now…maybe today!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/19/26

Orlando City match day, Colin Guske reportedly being loaned to RSL, Banda is an MVP candidate, and more.

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10 hours ago

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August 19, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. Orlando City plays in a midweek match that thankfully isn’t a Leagues Cup match. There are those who will say they’re sad the Lions are out of Don Garber’s cash grab competition, but I’m not one of them. The U.S. Open Cup and the MLS regular season provide plenty of fixtures for now. The schedule congestion is real, as we can see this week. Let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Match Day

Orlando City hosts Robert Lewandowski and the Chicago Fire tonight in an Eastern Conference clash. Defending against Lewandowski and Philip Zinckernagel will be a tough task for the Lions’ defense. Orlando City will need its offense to keep pace with the Fire if the Lions are going to take any points from the match. It will be interesting to see both Antoine Griezmann and Lewandowski on the pitch at the same time. Here is your official match guide from the club. Our match preview will drop later this morning at 11 a.m. You can also listen to our thoughts on the match on The Mane Land PawedCast.

Go West, Young Guske

It appears that Orlando City is loaning midfielder/defender Colin Guske to Real Salt Lake, according to Tom Bogert. This is not entirely surprising given how crowded Orlando City’s defensive midfield is with Joran Gerbet and Wilder Cartagena healthy and Luis Otavio rounding into form, not to mention Eduard Atuesta and Braian Ojeda once they return. It’s a good opportunity for Guske to get some minutes, given he’s a bit down on the depth chart with the senior team — far enough down to see more minutes recently at center back with the first team than in the midfield.

MVP Candidate Banda

Despite being away for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and not scoring in her first game back, Barbra Banda maintains her slim lead in the Golden Boot competition and is still a League MVP candidate. If she hopes to win either of those accolades, she will need to resume scoring. The upcoming match against the Washington Spirit this Sunday is the perfect opportunity to extend that lead.

U.S. National Team News

USMNT defender Mark McKenzie is reportedly returning to the Philadelphia Union and will occupy a Designated Player spot. Real Salt Lake’s 19-year-old forward Zavier Gozo has been signed by Premier League club Crystal Palace. Of course, there are other USMNT players already playing in Europe, and some are making a quick return to form following the World Cup. USWNT players are also experiencing ups and downs in the NWSL.

Free Kicks

  • Former Lion Nicholas Gioacchini is headed to CE Sabadell FC of the Segunda División in Spain.

That will do it for today. You can follow The Mane Land on Bluesky for match updates and we will also have a recap of the match. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/18/26

Americans in midweek action, WAFCON takeaways, senior FIFA official fired, and more.

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1 day ago

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August 18, 2026

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Image of Barbra Banda holding off a Washington Spirit defender.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Good morning, everyone. It wasn’t a great weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, as the three outfits combined to take just one point from the nine on offer. Fortunately, Orlando City gets an immediate opportunity to bounce back against the Chicago Fire Wednesday night, before all three teams are back in action over the weekend. We’ve got plenty to talk about today, so let’s have a look at the links.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans playing games during the working week, so get some of the highlights marked down on your calendar. Things get started later today when Tanner Tessmann and Lyon face Fenerbahce in UEFA Champions League qualifying. Wednesday features Johnny Cardoso and Atletico Madrid kicking off their La Liga season against Malaga, before Folarin Balogun and Monaco face Gornik Zabrze in UEFA Conference League qualification play. The week then wraps up on Friday when Haji Wright and Coventry City open the Premier League season against Arsenal.

Takeaways from WAFCON

WAFCON 2026 is officially in the books, so what did we learn from this year’s tournament? For one thing, expanding from 12 teams to 16 was largely successful, as Cameroon won the trophy after getting into the tournament on the strength of its world ranking after being eliminated during qualifying. We also saw a competitive tournament that had some upsets, with first-time participants Malawi making a run all the way to the final, and Zambia failing to get out of the group stage despite racking up six points. That said, attendance was non-existent for matches not involving host Morocco, and the video review process wasn’t exactly speedy for the most part. Still, it was mostly a great tournament and a great showcase for African women’s soccer.

Kevin Lamour Leaves Position as FIFA Executive

Kevin Lamour has been fired from his position as FIFA’s chief operating officer just several weeks after strongly condemning Gianni Infantino’s plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors. Lamour said that FIFA’s leadership had been “deceived” when it came to the plan and that losing his job over his opposition to it would be worth it since he would at least be able to sleep well at night. Before his two years at FIFA, Lamour had previously worked alongside Infantino when the two men were at UEFA. FIFA confirmed his departure with a brief statement on Monday afternoon.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

Most summer transfer windows will be closing soon, but we’ve still got plenty of rumors to discuss. We begin with a piece close to home, as Breel Embolo has reportedly rejected the personal terms offered to him by Atlanta United and is said to be negotiating with Ipswich Town. Speaking of the Premier League, Manchester City is reportedly still in pursuit of a deal for Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez despite missing the Blues’ stated deadline of Aug. 14 to get a deal done. Moving to Spain, Real Madrid is reportedly interested in signing Martin Zubimendi from Arsenal and has already had contact with his representatives. Finally, Inter Milan is said to be interested in signing Liverpool’s Curtis Jones.

Free Kicks

That’s all I’ve got for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/17/26

Lions draw FC Cincinnati, Pride and OCB lose, Americans abroad, and more.

Published

2 days ago

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August 17, 2026

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Image of Orlando City's starters pose for a pregame photo wearing their Archive Collection third kits.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’m back to covering high school sports again for the fall season, with golf, soccer, and football this week. Our beloved Lions, Pride, and OCB were all in action over the weekend. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Draw FC Cincinnati at Home

Orlando City drew FC Cincinnati 1-1 on Saturday at Inter.co Stadium. The Lions trailed 1-0 at halftime, but Tyrese Spicer’s early goal in the second half was enough for Orlando to secure a point at home. Orlando City hasn’t won in its last three matches across all competitions and will need to pick up wins down the stretch, with the club sitting outside the MLS playoff spots in the Eastern Conference standings with 21 points. Before the match, Orlando City announced it had signed OCB midfielder Issah Haruna to a short-term contract. Haruna was on the bench but did not play against FC Cincinnati. The Lions have a quick turnaround, with two home matches this week. Orlando City will face the Chicago Fire on Wednesday and Real Salt Lake on Saturday.

Pride’s Winless Run Continues with Loss at Portland Thorns

The Orlando Pride fell 2-1 to the Portland Thorns at Providence Park on Saturday. After a scoreless first half, Portland struck first to take a 1-0 lead in the second half. Jacquie Ovalle scored the equalizer for Orlando, but in stoppage time, Caiya Hanks scored a late winner for Portland. Orlando has lost three consecutive matches. The Pride will be on the road for their next match on Sunday against the Washington Spirit.

OCB Falls at Chicago Fire II

Orlando City B fell 2-0 to Chicago Fire II at SeatGeek Stadium on Saturday. Robert Turdean scored the opening goal for Chicago in the first half, and the Fire took a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Damyan Villanueva added the insurance goal for Chicago, which won its third in four matches. The Young Lions have lost four consecutive matches. OCB will be on the road to take on Atlanta United 2 on Saturday.

Americans Abroad

Let’s catch up on Americans in action abroad in Europe. Sebastian Berhalter and Max Arfsten were both in action for Middlesbrough in a 2-1 win against Lincoln City on Saturday in the EFL Championship. Ricardo Pepi scored, and Sergino Dest notched an assist for PSV Eindhoven in a 2-1 win over Excelsior in the Eredivisie. Gianluca Busio played a full 90 minutes for Venezia as his side defeated Modena 3-2 in the Round of 64 in the Coppa Italia. Austin Trusty scored for Celtic, and Cameron Carter-Vickers was also in action in a 4-0 win against Dundee United, as the Scottish Premiership leaders advanced to the quarterfinals in the Scottish League Cup. On Sunday, former Lion Alex Freeman came off the bench late in the second half for Villarreal in a 2-2 draw against Racing Santander in La Liga.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando Pride forward Seven Castain, who is on loan at Dallas Trinity, scored her first goal for the club in a 1-1 draw against the Tampa Bay Sun on Saturday in the USL Super League.
  • Former Lion Cyle Larin scored for Southampton, but his side fell 2-1 to Watford on Sunday in the EFL Championship.
  • Atlanta United is reportedly close to signing forward Breel Embolo from Stade Rennes for an $18 million transfer fee.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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