Lion Links: 9/10/17

Hopefully you are safe, secure, and are rationing those amazing hurricane snacks and drinks. The Lions earned you half price pizza from Papa John’s last night, if you can find an open Papa John’s.

We here at The Mane Land would like to wish Orlando Pride Forward Chioma Ubogagu a hearty congratulations on another successful revolution around the big ball of fusion (happy happy birthday, Chi!). Here are some links to keep you occupied while we weather this storm.

Lions Sweep United with Only Nine Men

Given the run of form both Orlando City and D.C. United were experiencing, it seemed unlikely that the Lions could pick up an ultra-rare road win at a place they’d never won before, but that’s exactly what they did. Orlando grabbed an early 2-0 lead and then white-knuckled it through a second half that saw Cristian Higuita injured, his replacement — Servando Carrasco — sent off, and then Seb Hines also shown a red card. Nine men? Ten minutes of stoppage time to help the hosts? No problem. Jason Kreis’ team didn’t play the best soccer of the season, but it got the job done.

• Gavin Ewbank was at RFK Stadium and has your match recap.
• I doled out the player grades and Man of the Match.
• The view from the other side comes from our friends at Black and Red United.

And Guilherme Torres will have his five takeaways from the game later this morning.

Who Let the Dogs In?

When Orlando City travels to play Philadelphia Union on Oct. 22, not only will the Lions have to deal with the hostile home crowd (if they show up), but there will be some four-legged fans in attendance as well. With the purchase of a special ticket, fans can bring their dogs with them to the match, get a commemorative scarf, and a doggie bag on the way out.

Garber in The Big Peach

MLS Commissioner Don Garber is expected to be in attendance when the Lions face off with Atlanta United on Sept. 16 for what could be a record-breaking attendance figure for an MLS match. This will be the second home match for Atlanta in the new Mercedes Benz Stadium, which has garnered some rather hilarious nicknames in its short existence.

Speaking of Mercedes Benz Stadium

Bids are in to host the 2018, ‘19, and ‘20 MLS All-Star Game. Atlanta’s brand new $1.5 billion home is under consideration for a future All-Star match. Along with Orlando, Washington D.C., Los Angeles, and Minnesota, Atlanta is awaiting the award of the 2018, and possibly the 2019 game towards the end of the year.

Former Lion Settling In

Luis Gil, dealt in an 11th-hour trade to the Colorado Rapids for Dillon Powers, may be working his way onto the Rapids’ roster for the 2018 season. Gil has played in four of the five matches since the trade. Coaches, assistant coaches, and players have all had very positive things to say of Gil and his play since his arrival, and his form could be leading toward a roster spot in 2018.

Free Kicks

• In a bit of an interesting ‘Yesterday in History’ note, yesterday was the anniversary of Abby Wambach’s debut for the USWNT, which took place on Sept. 9 2001.
• On the other side for the U.S. national teams, USMNT defender Geoff Cameron picked up an injury in Saturday’s Stoke City match against Manchester United and may be in jeopardy of missing the next qualifier, which takes place in Orlando.

• If you are reading this, you may be one of the lucky ones — not because you get the distinct pleasure of reading my Lion Links, but because that means you have not lost power and internet connections. Stay safe!

That’s it for today, folks. Hunker down, stay safe, and remember that it will sometimes get calm right before all hell breaks loose. Be careful out there, Mane Landers, and we will see you on the other side of this thing.