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Lion Links: 1/17/18

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Greetings, Mane Landers! Happy Wednesday as usual. I usually give you some fun opening about where I’m writing from or about me drinking, but I’m actually home in Orlando, sober, and altogether just on the resolution track. Otherwise known as boring. But, there is so much awesome news, don’t let me being responsible distract you.

City Announces Preseason Schedule…But You Can’t See It

Orlando City has announced its MLS preseason schedule and it has five scrimmages prior to opening day against D.C. United:

  • Saturday, Feb. 3 — Preseason scrimmage vs. Jacksonville University at Southern Oak Stadium, 12 p.m. ET.
  • Saturday, Feb. 10 — Preseason scrimmage vs. Minnesota United FC at Sylvan Lake Park, Time TBD.
  • Wednesday, Feb. 14 — Preseason scrimmage vs. Philadelphia Union at Sylvan Lake Park, Time TBD.
  • Saturday, Feb. 17 — Preseason scrimmage vs. Real Salt Lake at Sylvan Lake Park, Time TBD.
  • Saturday, Feb. 24 — Preseason scrimmage vs. Chicago Fire at Orlando City Stadium, 11:30 a.m. ET.

Unfortunately for all of us, we’re not going to get to see any of it. We’re not sure if this is being driven by the executive level or by Head Coach Jason Kreis, but it’s a bummer that we won’t get to see the new pieces and how they’ll fit prior to the season. Some may not have always loved heading down to ESPN WWOS, but at least we got to see our team.

Stay tuned with us as we hope to give you as much information during preseason as we can!

Pride Learn Their New Season Format

The NWSL has announced its new season format, and here are the highlights:

  • Preseason begins Feb. 19.
  • 24 matches; 12 home/12 away.
  • March 24/25 will be opening weekend.
  • Championship will be played Sept. 22, location TBD.

This is a change from the past but I don’t believe it’s a bad move, as I think getting the championship in before full swing MLB and MLS playoffs is the right decision for gaining as much exposure as possible.

However, if you’re reading Links today and thinking, “Oh man, I’m so behind on hearing this news because it released yesterday,” well, don’t beat yourself up to much. That’s because we knew this news the same time as the players. That’s right, The players didn’t know any of this!

Excited for the upcoming season but VERY disappointed that we as players have to find this out on Twitter. That has been our single request of the league. Please have the courtesy to send us this information before it goes public. https://t.co/5KPYPMxN5M

— NWSL Players Assoc (@NWSL_PA) January 16, 2018

I’m not sure how the NWSL releases a schedule format without informing its players first, but it just continues to show the disconnect between the league and the players. It sends the message that there’s no collaboration or respect being shown by the league for its Players’ Association. But that’s not a surprise, it’s not just the league throwing shade towards the women.

Orlando City Announces Kickoff To Soccer Month

The organization has put out a slew of events to get us all jacked up for the MLS and NWSL seasons. Take a look at the calendar of events:

  • Soccer Ball | Friday, Feb. 23, 7 p.m.
  • Purple Pride 5K | Saturday, Feb. 24, 8 a.m. race start.
  • Kids vs. Pros | Tuesday, Feb. 27, 7:30 p.m.
  • Scarf the City | Tuesday, Feb. 27.
  • (TML Staff Favorite) Orlando City Pub Crawl | Friday, March 2, 5:30 p.m. – 10:30 p.m.
  • Winning Women in Purple: Networking Event | TBA.
  • Pride in the House | TBA.

Josué Colmán’s First Official Day as a Lion is All Smiles

You should already know by now that we have a new No. 10. And on Monday he got to see a little piece of what it means to be a Lion.

The kid couldn’t stop smiling on his first day at the stadium. 😁 #VamosOrlando

📖 https://t.co/r2qADWEEgE pic.twitter.com/oRwXW2vj6s

— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) January 16, 2018

ICYMI: The Lions have a new No. 🔟 in town. #VamosOrlando

Read 📰 https://t.co/66LPDe53hl pic.twitter.com/ol0Mhc8ohb

— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) January 16, 2018

And the fans look just as happy on Twitter.

MLS Gets 14% of USSF Presidential Vote, NWSL Percentage Equal with USL

You are reading this correctly. We have two professional top-flight leagues in the NWSL and MLS. But the latter means more in the upcoming player election, controlling nine of 16 seats on the Pro Council that overall accounts for 25.8% of the election.

“But,” you say, “the NWSL should at least have the second-highest number of votes? Surely the NWSL gets five, USL and NASL get one apiece.” Nope. The NWSL shares the same three votes the USL holds and the NASL gets the remaining vote. As you can imagine, the NASL isn’t quite happy with it recently being named D-III, and now only having one vote.

All of this said, a president presides over all of U.S. Soccer. They’re not cutting into percentages (per se). This is just another example of the women’s side being marginalized and it’s not a good look for U.S. Soccer as they could use some good PR.

Bombshell Trade Involves Two USWNT Players and the NWSL RotY

Crystal Dunn is headed back stateside. In a shocking move that no one saw coming — as Dunn was reportedly happy on the second-place Chelsea Ladies squad — the North Carolina Courage acquired the rights to Dunn and she’s expected to join them for preseason. While her contract was only until 2018, this still remains a surprise as Dunn had very high praise for the FA Women’s Super League.

The 2017 Shield winners and NWSL finalists didn’t get her for nothing, though. USWNT defender Taylor Smith and 2017 NWSL Rookie of the Year Ashley Hatch go over to the Washington Spirit for Dunn and an additional international spot.

This is a big coup for the NWSL, as the league has been seeing national team players consistently leaving for overseas ventures, i.e. Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd, Dunn, and, most recently, Morgan Brian. Anytime the league can get back one of its stars, it’s a plus.

I would have to think this has more to do with her rights being moved since Washington hasn’t had a great track record lately of holding onto talent, but it’s still a great move for the NWSL. And Washington is now able to put two quality players next to starlet Mallory Pugh. Also, under the radar of this, they traded for the third overall selection in this week’s NWSL Draft.

However, for us Pride fans, this does mean that the Courage attack gets that much stronger. Hatch and Smith will be losses, that’s without a doubt, but gaining a player like Dunn to combine with Sam Mewis and Lynn Williams in the attack is something no defense wants to see.

CEO Leitão Answers a Fan’s Question

So let’s triple down on Alex Leitão’s response to this fan’s questions and say we can’t wait to see it!

We know the draft is upcoming this week, but this is an encouraging sign as Niki Budalic and Kreis continue to reshape this roster — and, spoiler alert, Budalic is our special guest on the latest episode of the PawedCast, which drops this afternoon. As usual, TML was on top of this with a piece about City’s need for central defenders just yesterday.

And shout out to the social media team and Leitão for the banter. Much appreciated.

Budalic Gives Us Insights on What It Means to be a GM

Niki sits down and gives us business nerds a bit of insight into the role of GM. All in all, after this most recent month of off-season, I’d take a listen to the man who’s been very active — and will continue to be — leading up to the 2018 season.

There are a lot of moving pieces in acquiring a new Lion.

GM Niki Budalic breaks the process all down with @KenzieThirkill. #VamosOrlando pic.twitter.com/PuO6euGujC

— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) January 16, 2018

Orlando City’s SoccerCast Has a New Cast

If you followed Orlando City’s SoccerCast, then there’s some news for you: They’ve got a new team this season! Mackenzie Thirkill, Ryan Martinez, and Rick T. are now your hosts. And in their first cast of the season, you’ll hear from Sacha Kljestan and Tom Sermanni. Enjoy!

New Season, New Hosts, New Episode: “A Tale of Two Mustaches”. Get it while it’s hot https://t.co/Oie8otCQG7 #myfirstTweet pic.twitter.com/nWEKxsWD8v

— OC SoccerCast (@OCSoccerCast) January 16, 2018

Free Kicks

I leave you with news that one of the greatest players to ever touch a ball is officially hanging up his boots. Ronaldinho is finally done, folks. While he hasn’t played for two years, he officially announced his retirement yesterday.

Ronaldinho has officially retired from professional football 😢

Thank you for the memories, @10Ronaldinho pic.twitter.com/qcaNKmIukH

— Goal (@goal) January 16, 2018

.@AleMorenoESPN: “Not only was [Ronaldinho] special on the field, he was also special off the field.” pic.twitter.com/zkUTtbUnA4

— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) January 17, 2018

Thank you, Ronaldinho, for so many amazing memories and best of luck in the future!

That’s it! Until next week, stay with us as we cover the upcoming MLS and NWSL drafts this week!

Lion Links

Lion Links: 12/20/24

Orlando City’s 2025 MLS season schedule announced, MLS mock drafts, MLS clubs making moves, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! I finally have everything squared away after a week of hustling and bustling, meaning I can thankfully avoid the stores this weekend and just relax before next week’s chaos. I’m still trying to nail down what I’ll be cooking as my contribution for my family’s holiday dinner, but it should be fun trialing some options over the next few days. For now though, let’s dive right into today’s links from around the soccer world!

Orlando City’s 2025 MLS Schedule Announced

MLS revealed the schedule for the 2025 season and Orlando City’s first game of the season will be at home against the Philadelphia Union on Feb. 22. Orlando has yet to start a season on the road since joining the league back in 2015. The Lions aren’t scheduled to play against expansion club San Diego FC this year, but they will play their first road game against St. Louis City on June 25. While a majority of Orlando’s games will be on Saturdays, they do have a pair of games on Sundays against Inter Miami, including a rivalry week showdown on May 18. Decision Day will be on Oct. 18, with the Lions on the road to take on Toronto FC to close out the regular season.

Predicting the 2025 MLS SuperDraft

The MLS SuperDraft is set to take place today and Top Drawer Soccer did a mock draft to predict how the first two rounds will go. Orlando City currently has the 27th pick in the first round and Top Drawer Soccer has them selecting defensive midfielder Jackson Castro out of Creighton. The pick makes enough sense to me, as Orlando lost some depth in its midfield following the 2024 season and Castro was Duncan McGuire’s teammate on a strong Creighton team a couple of years ago. The Lions were also predicted to take West Virginia winger Sergio Ors Navarro and Kentucky forward Logan Dorsey in the second round.

Travis Clark of MLSsoccer.com also did a mock draft of the first round, with Orlando taking Cornell winger Alioune Ka. Interestingly enough, both mock drafts have NCAA leading scorer Emil Jaaskelainen going in the first round after Orlando’s pick. I’m pretty excited to see how it all shakes out today and learn which players will become the latest Lions on the team.

MLS Transfer News Roundup

The off-season is bringing plenty of change across the league as teams continue wheeling and dealing in preparation for the 2025 season. The New England Revolution made a splash by trading away up to $3.25 million in General Allocation Money (GAM) to Miami in exchange for attacker Leonardo Campana. The 24-year-old should give a needed boost to a New England team that only scored 37 goals this season. As for Miami, it now has an MLS-trade record fee of $2.5 million in guaranteed GAM and an open Designated Player spot at its disposal.

The LA Galaxy traded away 2024 MLS Cup MVP Gastón Brugman and a conditional $100,000 in GAM to Nashville SC in exchange for midfielder Sean Davis. Brugman will help Nashville fill the gap left by Anibal Godoy, who joined San Diego FC as a free agent. FC Dallas also added a free agent, signing defender Lalas Abubakar to a two-year deal.

GAM Amounts Revealed for Each MLS Club

MLS pulled back the curtain a bit and unveiled the amount of General Allocation Money that each team had as of Dec. 10. Orlando City’s total comes in at $3,990,312, which is a pretty hefty amount that can be used to improve the team. Atlanta United’s $6,503,478 is the most in the league, while the Houston Dynamo are at the other end of the spectrum with just $2,063,538. The Campana trade helps put these amounts into perspective, but there are many uses for GAM and it’s interesting to see where each club stands. It’s also just nice to get some transparency from the league about this and hopefully that trend continues in 2025.

Free Kicks

  • The National Independent Soccer Association will reportedly no longer be sanctioned by the United States Soccer Foundation next year, which would leave MLS NEXT Pro and USL League One as the third-division leagues in the U.S.
  • Tottenham beat Manchester United 4-3 to claim the final semifinal spot in the EFL Cup, with Son Heung-Min scoring directly from a corner kick. Tottenham will face off against Liverpool in the next round, with Newcastle and Arsenal squaring off in the other semifinal.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I wish you all a relaxing weekend and a very happy holidays!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 12/19/24

Preparing for the MLS SuperDraft, New York Red Bulls sign Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, Tim Weah injured, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B / Mark Thor

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I’ve knocked out all of my shopping except for one gift I’m still trying to procure. I have a lead on it though and high hopes that I can get a literal bow on it before traveling to visit my family next week. For now though, let’s dive into today’s links from around the soccer world!

Getting Ready for the MLS SuperDraft

The 2025 MLS SuperDraft will take place on Friday and the league released the list of 477 eligible players clubs can choose from. This year’s Generation Adidas class includes Cornell forward Alex Harris, North Carolina left back Tate Johnson, Wisconsin forward Dean Boltz, and UC Santa Barbara defensive midfielder Manu Duah. Those players likely won’t be on the board by the time Orlando City’s 27th overall pick rolls around, but the team has proven in the past it isn’t afraid to make a trade for a top prospect.

Here’s a nice position-by-position breakdown of some of the best players available on Friday. I personally think Orlando could use some depth at center back, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the team rolls the dice on a center forward given its track record. Unfortunately, we’ll have to follow along with each pick on the league’s website rather than a stream.

MLS Transfer Roundup

After falling in the MLS Cup final earlier this month, the New York Red Bulls have added some firepower by signing Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting as a Designated Player. The 35-year-old heads to MLS after playing for Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain, Stoke City, and Schalke 04 over the past 10 years. The Red Bulls now have a fairly dangerous trio of Designated Players in Choupo-Moting, Emil Forsberg, and Dante Vanzeir.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference, the New England Revolution added midfielder Jackson Yueill as a free agent. The 27-year-old signed a three-year contract that includes options for 2028 and 2029. D.C. United traded away $150,000 in General Allocation Money to Nashville SC in exchange for defender Lukas MacNaughton. FC Dallas signed midfielder Ramiro Benetti, who has spent the past two seasons with Cruzeiro Esporte Clube in Brazil. Veteran defender Nick Lima has returned to the San Jose Earthquakes, signing a two-year contract with the club.

Keeping Up With the Americans Abroad

The injuries continue to rack up for the Americans, as Tim Weah will miss some time after sustaining a thigh injury earlier this week in Juventus’ win over Cagliari. In better news for Americans plying their trade abroad, forward Ricardo Pepi scored twice in PSV Eindhoven’s 8-0 win against Koninklijke HFC in the KNVB Cup. Manchester United, Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool are all reportedly interested in left back Antonee Robinson, who turned some heads with a pair of assists on Sunday.

EFL Cup Semifinals Nearly Set

The EFL Cup semifinals are setting up to be a heavyweight affair, with Liverpool, Arsenal, and Newcastle all advancing from the quarterfinals. The day belonged to Gabriel Jesus, who scored his first hat trick for Arsenal in a 3-2 win over Crystal Palace. Liverpool extended its unbeaten streak to 20 games across all competitions after a 2-1 win over Southampton, while Newcastle United beat Brentford thanks to a brace from Sandro Tonali. The final semifinalist will come from today’s match between Manchester United and Tottenham, with the draw taking place afterwards.

Free Kicks

  • The NWSL Shield and Championship trophy paid a visit to WFTV’s studios, and it’s still a bit surreal that the Orlando Pride secured both pieces of silverware this season.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 12/18/24

Another report on the Facundo Torres transfer, Marta wins her own award, Becky Sauerbrunn retires, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. For those that celebrate Christmas, we’re only a week out, so I hope you’ve gotten your shopping done. If not, no judgement from me, just encouragement. I know you can do it! I think we can all do with a little more encouragement these days. For now, let’s get to the links.

Torres Deal Done?

WESH is reporting that the Facundo Torres to Palmeiras deal is done. As of this writing, there has been no confirmation from either club, but it is reasonable to think where there’s this much smoke, there’s fire. Torres may have scored his last goal in purple, and will leave as the club’s all-time leader in that category after three seasons. According to the report, Torres signed a five-year deal with the Brazilian club. We will provide updates as information becomes available.

Marta Wins Marta Award

In the most appropriate award selection in history, Marta has won the inaugural FIFA award for the best goal in women’s soccer, aptly named The FIFA Marta Award.

The award winning goal came in Brazil’s international friendly against Jamaica in June, as the Brazilian made a nice move to clear a defender and then sent in a long-range shot. Check it out.

Marta received the award at FIFA’s “The Best” Award ceremony in Doha, Qatar.

USWNT Legend Becky Sauerbrunn Retires

Former USWNT captain Becky Sauerbrunn is retiring from professional soccer. The legendary defender has played in the NWSL in every year of it’s existence. She retires having won three championships, one NWSL Shield, multiple Women’s World Cups, and Olympic medals. Sauerbrunn is definitively one of the best to ever wear a U.S. jersey.

NWSL, MLS NEXT Pro Expand

The NWSL is entering into exclusive negotiations with a Denver-area group regarding the league’s next expansion franchise. Denver was picked above both Cincinnati and Cleveland. The expansion fee is in the $105-$120 million range.

MLS NEXT Pro is also adding another new team. Until a new name, logo, and brand are settled on, the team will be called West Michigan Soccer. The team will be the sixth independent club in MLS NEXT Pro. Orlando City B won’t have the opportunity to play the new team until 2027.

Free Kicks

  • Torres’ goal against Nashville made it into a compilation of volleyed goals from the MLS Twitter account.

That will do it for today. Keep checking in as our Orlando City and Orlando Pride Season in Review pieces continue. Vamos Orlando!

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