Lion Links: 11/20/17

Merry Monday morning, Mane Landers! It’s a full swing into the off-season as we head towards Turkey Day. It seems like Sundays are often a little light on the soccer news this time of the year, but we’ll still do our best to bring it to you. Of course, the MLS playoffs continue tomorrow night, but in the meantime let’s hit the Links!

But before we do, we want to wish Orlando Pride goalkeeper Aubrey Bledsoe a happy 26th birthday. Aubrey did a great job this season filling in for injured captain Ashlyn Harris. Check back with us later as we present our year-end rating of Aubrey’s performance, and, in case you missed it, here’s what we had to say about Ashlyn’s 2017 campaign.

Anthony Pulis Headed to St. Louis?

Let’s be very clear, this is just one tweet (or at least all that we could find as of this writing), and we have not found any corroborating sources, but it’s from a very trustworthy soccer writer in Steven Goff from The Washington Post. It seems that Orlando City B Head Coach Anthony Pulis might be tapped for the head coach position with USL side Saint Louis FC. We would be incredibly sad to see Pulis, a former Lions player in the USL, leave Orlando.

U.S. Open Cup Results

U.S. Open Cup play continued this weekend when South Florida FC took on Red Force FC. The Miami squad beat the Pembroke Pines squad, 2-1 in stoppage time. Red Force FC now moves on to the fourth round. There’s plenty more Open Cup action coming up in 2018, as well.

Puerto Rico Hurricane Relief

We’re all familiar with the relief funds raised during Orlando City’s match against the Puerto Rican national team. That isn’t the only effort those in MLS are doing. Toronto FC’s Jason Hernandez has family in Naranjito, a mountainous region 30 minutes outside of San Juan. His grandmother was in need of medical treatments that required a generator. Hernandez turned to MLS and eventually social media to facilitate getting his grandmother the generator, and has since continued to advocate for relief efforts including campaigns like the Puerto Rico Hurricane Maria Relief Fund and Somos Una Voz. We at The Mane Land, fully support the ongoing efforts to help the U.S. citizens dealing with the devastation in Puerto Rico.

Club Bus Attacked in Colombia

The match between Atletico Junior and Deportivo Pasto was postponed and changed to an indoor match on Sunday morning, following an attack on the Deportivo Pasto bus. The attack was just stones and not something more destructive, but there were still three injured on the way to the match. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured.

Steve Bruce to Miami?

It would seem that David Beckham has Aston Villa skipper Steve Bruce in his sights to be the first manager for his as of yet undetermined MLS squad in Miami. It might be putting the cart before the horse just a bit, but I suppose any semblance of progress for Beckham is a step in the right direction.

Free Kicks

• Orlando Pride’s Monica is playing for Atletico Madrid women’s team, and the club is doing quite well, going top of the table after a win over Real Betis.

• Shaq Moore is the first American to suit up for Levante UD in La Liga. Congrats to Shaq.

• Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford evidently looks up to and emulates USMNT stalwart Tim Howard. Not surprising given that Howard was between the sticks when Rashford was a young lad.
• Famous birthdays for this day include former vice president Joe Biden (74), Supergirl actor Jeremy Jordan (32), Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D. actress Ming-Na Wen (53…woah, no way), Community actor Joel McHale (45), gymnast Dominique Dawes (40), Joe Walsh (69), Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney (47), Robert F. Kennedy (1925-1968), and Richard Dawson (1932-2012).

That’ll get you started on your Links for this week. Don’t forget to check back despite Thanksgiving because we at The Mane Land don’t let holidays keep us from bringing you all the best soccer stuff.