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Lion Links: 4/14/17

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8 years ago

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What's up, Mane Landers? It's amazing to think that we are now approaching week seven of this fantastic MLS season. Tomorrow, the Lions will look to continue their early season momentum with a match at home against the LA Galaxy. In the buildup to that game we've had a great week of news, so sit back and enjoy today's Lion Links.

Deakin Waived

Orlando City released midfielder Danny Deakin yesterday afternoon, which was a surprising move for its timing. Deakin, who may be re-signed to a USL contract, frees up an international roster slot with his departure. This could be a sign that another move is percolating for Jason Kreis and Niki Budalic. The Lions continue to add useful pieces and with the recent rash of injuries, another one wouldn’t be unwelcome.

Joe Bendik Recognized for Great Performances

Having a good goalkeeper is kind of like having a cup of coffee in the morning. You don't really appreciate it until you don't have it anymore. Personally, I think Joe Bendik doesn't get enough praise for what he does for Orlando City but he does seem to be receiving more and more of it. His goalkeeper coach, Tim Mulqueen, says Joe is good because he wants to be good.

“I think what comes across with Joe most is that he is a student of the game, and therefore his decision-making process is very good,” Mulqueen said. “He is very knowledgeable of his responsibilities within the team and he maintains great focus.

“He is obviously an excellent shot-stopper. We have seen it time and time again. I’d say he is one of the best right now, and his leadership of the group is tremendous.”

Orlando Pride are Excited for the Upcoming Season

For the Pride, last year was a bit of a mess. In the off-season, Head Coach Tom Sermanni has done a pretty good job of putting together a team that can really compete in 2017. Even though preseason games are often criticized, the team certainly looks much better just based off of those games. This weekend, the team will take to the pitch for its first league game of the season away against the Portland Thorns. Early on, the players seem to be extremely optimistic with the consensus being that they just want to win. It was a recurring theme throughout yesterday’s team Media Day event.

Orlando City Stadium Proving Beneficial for Parramore

Our new stadium has brought with it some rave reviews from around the league. While being a big part of sports culture, a stadium also gets a little bit of a bad reputation sometimes with regards to its impact on the surrounding community. A lot of times the traffic and noise is a hassle for locals, along with other problems. Luckily, it seems that the Parramore neighborhood has seen mostly positive changes since the arrival of the new stadium.

That sentiment continues through other major points throughout the neighborhood. At local barbershop institution J Henry’s, the mood veers from jubilant to cautious. It’s been a tough couple of years for owner J. Henry, who saw his business hit hard while the huge construction project ripped up much of his Church Street frontage.

But with foot traffic flowing again, he is seeing more money pouring into the neighborhood, especially on game days. “I have been the owner here since 1994 and it has been a time of great uncertainty,” Henry said on recent afternoon. “The good part is that we are now getting exposure and support, and people who didn’t come to this neighborhood in the past are now visiting, and they bring a very diverse group with them, the people who support soccer. I never imagined this would happen.”

NWSL to Broadcast Games on Go90

A big problem for American soccer in general is the lack of coverage. With the NWSL's new deal with go90, anyone in the United States can now watch every single game of the season. The deal means that 98 NWSL matches will air on go90 while there’ll be a weekly televised match on Lifetime. Tune in to Lifetime this Saturday at 3 p.m. to see the Pride in action in the network’s first ever national Game of the Week. Former U.S. Women's National Team star Julie Foudy will be co-hosting both the pregame and halftime show.

USWNT to Host Another SheBelieves Cup-Type Tournament

Last month, the U.S. hosted the second edition of the SheBelieves Cup, a tournament for the elite international women's teams. Even though they were on home soil, the Yanks actually didn't do so well, finishing last out of the four teams in the competition. Either the tournament was a big hit or they want a shot at redemption because the U.S. will be hosting the same type of tournament, this time from July 27 to Aug. 3. — a period that falls within a FIFA international window, minimizing its impact on the NWSL season. The July 29-30 weekend has no NWSL games scheduled due the international window, during which many players will be playing in the 2017 Women’s Euro.

Visiting the U.S. for the tourney are the national teams of Brazil, Australia, and Japan. The games will be of interest to Orlando Pride fans, due to the large percentage of the team that also plays on three of those four national teams. Tom Sermanni doesn’t have any Japanese players on his squad but there are plenty of American, Brazilian, and Aussie internationals wearing purple these days.

That wraps up today's Lion Links. Tomorrow should be really exciting as we get to see both Orlando City and the Pride play. Let's all hope for two wins tomorrow, and another tonight when OCB visits New York Red Bulls II.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/18/25

Scouting Saudi Arabia, Club World Cup summary, MLS midseason superlatives, and more.

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16 hours ago

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June 18, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Happy Wednesday, everyone. I’m pretty worn out after doing some traveling for most of the last two weeks, and I’m happy to be back home in Tampa for a bit before heading out on the road again. The soccer world has not paused during my time out on the road, and if anything its only picked up in intensity. That means we have a lot to talk about, but before we get into today’s links, let’s wish Orlando Pride defender Rafaelle a happy birthday.

Scouting Saudi Arabia

The United States Men’s National Team will continue its 2025 Gold Cup campaign on Thursday when it takes on Saudi Arabia in Austin, TX. That means this is a good time to familiarize ourselves with Arabian Falcons. They’re coached by Herve Renard, who deployed the team in a 4-2-3-1 in a 1-0 victory over Haiti in the team’s first game of the tournament. He isn’t married to that formation though, and will use a variety of tactical setups depending on the situation. Across all of them, Saudi Arabia plays with an emphasis on pressing in specific areas and quickly breaking in transition once winning the ball. Like the USMNT, the Saudis are missing a few first-choice players, and the midfield battle should be a particularly interesting area to keep an eye on.

Club World Cup Roundup

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup continued on Wednesday, so let’s take a look at the action. Fluminense and Borussia Dortmund got things started as they battled to a scoreless draw at MetLife Stadium. The Brazilian team had the better of the game overall, but Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel made five saves to preserve a point for his team. The second game of the day was much livelier, as River Plate dispatched Urawa Red Diamonds 3-1 in Seattle. The Argentinians scored after just 12 minutes and never looked back despite Urawa making it a 2-1 game with a 58th-minute penalty. The third match took place at Inter&Co Stadium, and saw Mamelodi Sundowns beat Ulsan HD 1-0. While the scoreline didn’t reflect it, the South African team mostly dominated proceedings and finished with 68% possession and 718 passes to 325 for the South Korean side. However, it was a free-flowing game that offered both sides to take more from the match. Our Michael Citro was there to recap it for you at the link above.

Midseason MLS Superlatives

As much as it seems like the 2025 Major League Soccer season just started, we’re actually just past the halfway point of the campaign, and that means it’s a good time to look at some league superlatives. In a category that will be music to the ears of Orlando City fans, Bradley Wright-Phillips named fullback the most overlooked position and specifically took some time to praise Alex Freeman. BWP previously coached against Freeman with New York Red Bulls II when Alex was still with Orlando City B, so it’s interesting to hear his input from that additional aspect. It’s no surprise that the Vancouver Whitecaps got a lot of love, as they were named biggest surprise, and Jesper Sorensen was named best coach.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

Transfer season is in full swing, so here are some of the big rumors currently flying around. Manchester United is reportedly interesting in signing Callum Hudson-Odoi from Nottingham Forest, but the Red Devils face competition from Roma and Napoli. Arsenal might hit a snag in searching for a striker, as the Gunners are balking at paying the asking prices for either Benjamin Sesko or Viktor Gyokeres, because they consider those numbers to be too high. Three different teams from the Saudi Pro League have reportedly shown interest in signing Son Heung-Min from Tottenham Hotspur, as he only has 12 months left on his current contract.

Free Kicks

  • Get a peek at the Orlando Pride putting in work on the training ground.

And that’s it for me today. Have a great rest of your week. Vamos, Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/17/25

Orlando City and Orlando Pride players on Team of the Week, USMNT Gold Cup continues, and more.

Published

2 days ago

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June 17, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wedn…er…Tuesday, Mane Landers. That’s right, I’m here a day early and not a moment too late. Orlando is knee deep in soccer, thanks to the FIFA Club World Cup on top of our favorite Orlando City and Orlando Pride clubs. We will have coverage of the matches taking place in the City Beautiful. Before we get started today, join us in wishing a happy 25th birthday to Orlando Pride midfielder Summer Yates. Now, let’s get to the links.

Schlegel Honored

Rodrigo Schlegel had a pretty good match against the Colorado Rapids. Despite not being named Man of the Match in our Player Grades, he did make the MLS Team of the Week bench. Meanwhile, Orlando held steady at the ninth spot in ESPN’s MLS Power Rankings, while dropping two spots from seventh to ninth in SI.com’s Power Rankings despite winning on the road. It just shows how very accurate and scientific power rankings are, doesn’t it?

Quadruple Honors for the Pride

The Orlando Pride saw Schlegel’s TotW Bench honor and said we can do better. Barbra Banda, Cori Dyke, Emily Sams, and Anna Moorhouse all made the NWSL Team of the Week from the Attacking Third. Congratulations to the Pride for covering a third of the Attacking Third’s selections.

Moorhouse is also up for Player of the Week and Save of the Week. As of this morning, she is not leading either category so you know what to do.

The USMNT Gold Cup Journey Continues

The Concacaf Gold Cup group stage is underway, with the USMNT securing a 5-0 victory over Trinidad & Tobago Sunday evening. I’m always for beating Trinidad & Tobago, but more talented teams and tougher matches lie ahead. Next up for the USMNT is Saudi Arabia. I know what you’re thinking, and you’re correct. Saudi Arabia isn’t a Concacaf nation, but the team is the invitee for this Gold Cup. The match is Thursday night at 9:15 p.m. at Q2 Stadium in Austin, TX. The U.S. will most likely need a win to secure the top spot in the group.

FIFA Club World Cup Results

The Club World Cup, which will visit Orlando’s Inter&Co Stadium later today (we’ll be on hand with the coverage, naturally), continued early this week with Bayern Munich obliterating Auckland City 10-0, PSG defeating Atletico Madrid 4-0, Botafogo beating the Seattle Sounders 2-1, and Facundo Torres and Palmeiras drawing Porto 0-0 on Sunday. In the Monday slate, Chelsea defeated LAFC 2-0, and Boca Juniors and Benfica drew 2-2. Overshadowing all of this is the poor attendance, despite FIFA spending millions to boost said attendance.

Free Kicks

  • One might think that a club sitting second in the official standings on a three-match winning streak would have matching ranks in all the various power rankings. However, one would be wrong, because although the Pride are in the second spot in the SI.com Power Rankings, the club sits at third in the ESPN.com Power Rankings. Do I need to say anything?
  • You don’t often see Barcelona get passed over for an MLS club, but that is exactly what happened despite Barcelona calling FIFA to get a spot in the Club World Cup. That MLS club was LAFC, and it had to earn its way in by beating Club America.
  • Liverpool has set a date for the medical for Florian Wirtz following the record transfer.
  • Congratulations to Orlando City’s Alex Freeman on his performance in his first cap for the USMNT in a competitive match.

Stacked the stat sheet 📈– 10 duels won (led team)– 3 tackles won (led team)– 54 passes completed– 95% passing accuracy– 90 minutes played– 2 clearances– 2 fouls drawn– Clean sheet ✅

— Orlando City SC (@orlandocitysc.com) 2025-06-16T23:03:59.932Z

That will do it for today. Check back as we get you ready for the matches this week. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/16/25

Lions and Pride win, USMNT beats Trinidad & Tobago in Gold Cup opener, FIFA Club World Cup weekend recap, and more.

Published

3 days ago

on

June 16, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you and belated happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there. The Lions and the Pride both won while OCB was off this weekend. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Blank Colorado Rapids on the Road

Orlando City defeated the Colorado Rapids 1-0 Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Martin Ojeda scored the lone goal for the Lions in the first half to snap their two-match winless streak. Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese made two saves and earned his eighth clean sheet of the season. With the win, Orlando moved up to fifth in the Eastern Conference standings with 30 points. Orlando City will be off this weekend but will be return to action June 25 on the road at St. Louis City.

Banda’s Goal Lifts Pride Over Bay FC

The Orlando Pride defeated Bay FC 1-0 Friday at PayPal Park in San Jose, CA. After a scoreless first half, Barbra Banda scored the only goal in the match — her eighth goal of the season — and the Pride held on for the win. It’s the team’s third straight 1-0 victory over Bay FC, and the Pride also claimed their fifth clean sheet of the season. Orlando has won three matches in a row and remains second in the NWSL table with 25 points. The Pride will be on the road to take on Racing Louisville Friday.

USMNT Dominates Trinidad & Tobago in Gold Cup Opener

The U.S. Men’s National Team beat Trinidad & Tobago 5-0 Sunday in the opening match of the Concacaf Gold Cup at PayPal Park. Orlando City defender Alex Freeman started the match and played 90 minutes. Malik Tillman scored twice, and Patrick Agyemang added one to give the USMNT a 3-0 lead before halftime. In the second half, Brenden Aaronson and Haji Wright each added a goal to extend the USMNT’s lead to 5-0. With the win, the Yanks snapped a four-match winless streak. The USMNT will take on Saudi Arabia Thursday night at Q2 Stadium in Austin, TX.

FIFA Club World Cup Weekend Recap

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup kicked off on Saturday, with Inter Miami and Al Ahly playing to a scoreless draw in the opening match of the group stage. Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari made eight saves, including a penalty kick saved in the 43rd minute against Trezeguet of Al Ahly as the teams split the points. On Sunday, Jamal Musiala scored a hat trick as Bayern Munich crushed Auckland City 10-0, Paris Saint-Germain routed Atletico Madrid 4-0, and Palmeiras and FC Porto ended in a scoreless draw. The Seattle Sounders battled Botafogo in the late match. Today’s matchups feature Chelsea taking on LAFC, Boca Juniors facing Benfica, and Flamengo taking on Esperance Sportive de Tunis.

Tampa Bay Sun Wins USL Super League Championship

The Tampa Bay Sun defeated Fort Lauderdale United 1-0 after extra time to win the inaugural USL Super League championship on Saturday at Riverfront Stadium in Tampa. Former Pride players Jordyn Listro and Erika Tymrak were part of the squad’s stellar run to its first championship title in the inaugural season of the USL Super League. After no goals came from either side during the 90 minutes of play, the match went to extra time, and Cecilie Floe scored the winning goal for the Sun. Sydny Nasello was named the 2025 USL Super League Final MVP.

Free Kicks

  • Check out this video on Orlando City’s social media pages featuring some players giving their dads a surprise phone call on Father’s Day.
  • PayPal Park will host the 2025 NWSL Championship match on Nov. 22.

From the home of legends to the stage of champions 🏆The 2025 NWSL Championship presented by Google Pixel is coming to the Bay Area and PayPal Park.

— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 2025-06-13T12:14:48.657Z

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

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