Lion Links: 9/7/17

September has been off to an interesting start thus far. The Pride and OCB are within striking distance of playoff berths on one hand, and on the other hand, the MLS Lions can’t buy a goal if they tried, the USMNT is in a bit of a pickle, and Hurricane Irma is about to pay us a hefty visit. So let’s all hunker down together, and take a look at today’s edition of Lion Links.

Will Johnson Arrested

In some very unfortunate news, the abysmal season of Orlando City Soccer Club may have gone from bad to worse, as midfielder Will Johnson has been arrested on allegations of domestic violence. As we get more information for you, we will be sure to keep you all updated.

Hurricane Irma Forces Pride and OCB Into Doubleheader

As we’re sure you’ve heard, currently a category five storm, Hurricane Irma has her eyes set on Florida, and that is causing some rescheduling in the world of Florida sports. The Orlando Pride match against Seattle Reign FC has been rescheduled from Saturday Sept. 9, to tonight at 8 p.m. In turn, the Orlando City B match against the Richmond Kickers has been moved up to 4:30 p.m. tonight. So, now you get a doubleheader tonight. Details on tickets can be found here, but it seems like a great opportunity to catch both teams’ fight for the playoffs this evening at Orlando City Stadium.

Four Pride Players Make NWSL Team of the Month

August was very good to the Orlando Pride. The club went unbeaten in five matches and climbed above the playoff line behind some outstanding play by the entire team. Four of the squad’s players were recognized for their play on the NWSL Team of the Month. Excelling in August was widespread across the entire Pride team, but the league honored defenders Steph Catley and Ali Krieger, midfielder Marta, and striker Alex Morgan. Well done! See some of their best moments in this short video:

Pride x4⃣ in the @NWSL Team of the Month. 😏 pic.twitter.com/VEJT43jzNw

— Orlando Pride (@ORLPride) September 6, 2017

Young OCB Stars Ready to Break into First Team

There has been a lot of talk recently, that maybe the solution to Orlando City’s problems, may be an injection of our own youth, and it is hard to argue with that. Orlando City B has been on a ridiculous run of form in the United Soccer League and some of the young Lions’ star players could have a lot to offer the senior team. Personally, Hadji Barry and Richie Laryea are the two names that intrigue me the most, and I think are most deserving of a start to see how they handle a full 90 minutes with the first team squad. With the season for City seemingly lost, I agree it is time to give the youngsters a run out.

Bruce Arena ‘Pleased’ with ‘Huge’ Point USMNT Earned at Honduras

As you probably know the U.S. Men’s National Team has just finished up this round of qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. And it has left a lot to be desired to say the least. A loss at home to Costa Rica and a late draw in Honduras is far from what was needed for the United States, and the squad now sits fourth in the qualifying Hexagonal, one point behind Panama. Head Coach Bruce Arena speaks in this article about how huge of a point this is for the USA, and that the Yanks currently have everything to play for. This definitely makes the next qualifier against Panama at Orlando City Stadium incredibly crucial to the United States’ qualifying efforts. Ticket information can be found here.

Hurricane Irma Preparations

We want to take a small moment to remind you all that time for preparing for Hurricane Irma is running out. Thankfully, awesome companies like Ten 10 Brewing have been trying to help get people filtered drinking water. Please make sure we take precautions and try and help out our fellow man as we prepare for this storm, whether it hits us or not.

Free Kicks

• PSG caught peeing in the pool? The president of La Liga had some interesting words to describe how he feels about clubs like PSG and Manchester City and also about how they work around Financial Fair Play. Check out more on his accusations of ‘Financial Doping’ here.
• Wow that’s a lot of money. According to Arsene Wenger, Arsenal may have missed out on a total of $183 million, by not selling Alexis Sanchez. With that amount of money on the table, they probably should’ve just sold him, considering, ya know, he doesn’t even want to be there anymore.
• EA Sports has started to unveil their top players in FIFA 18. So far 100-61 have been revealed and has featured some interesting ratings. 60-41 should be released at some point today as well. Do you think there will be any new players up closer to the top?

That’s all for today! Check back in tomorrow for a fresh batch of Lion Links, and hopefully more news about Orlando City that is a little less disheartening! And be sure to check back later today for coverage of the Orlando City B and Orlando Pride doubleheader.