Lion Links: 3/20/18

Good morning, Mane Landers. Even though Orlando City doesn’t play this week, there’s still plenty to look forward to with the Pride opening their 2018 NWSL season at home on Saturday. Let’s get into today’s Links.

Pride Unveil 2018 Roster

The Orlando Pride have unveiled their team roster for the 2018 NWSL season. The list is mostly as one would expect, with the possible exception of Brazilian midfielder Camila being placed on the 45-day disabled list as she continues to recover from an ACL tear. Additionally, while they are on the opening day roster, Australians Alanna Kennedy and Emily van Egmond will not join the team until after April 20, when the Australian Women’s National Team finishes its qualifiers for the 2019 Women’s World Cup.

The Pride also unveiled their sweet new away kits prior to last night’s Pride in the House event at the stadium and they even managed to punk some of their own staff along the way.

NWSL’s Pride Preview

NWSLsoccer.com has released its Orlando Pride preview ahead of the start of the 2018 season, detailing some of the key roster additions and departures. It also highlights three games to watch, one of which is the April 15 clash with Portland Thorns FC — the team that knocked the Pride out of the playoffs last season. The Pride will kick off their season this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET at Orlando City Stadium against Utah Royals FC.

Pinho and Spector Injury Updates

There has been an update to Stefano Pinho’s status following the injury he suffered against Minnesota United FC:

This timetable puts Pinho’s return at the beginning of April at the very earliest. With Dom Dwyer still sidelined and recovering from injury, the hope will certainly be that Pinho is able to get back to playing sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, to the surprise of no one who watched the game on Saturday, captain Jonathan Spector has a concussion after a clash of heads with Maxime Chanot. Spector is day-to-day and as soon as he is cleared by the club’s medical staff, he’ll rejoin his teammates on the field.

Manneh Added to USMNT Roster

A quick update from one of yesterday’s Links, as Kekuta Manneh has been added to the USMNT roster ahead of the team’s friendly against Paraguay. The 23-year-old midfielder plies his trade for Pachuca of Liga MX, and has previously spent time with the Vancouver Whitecaps and Columbus Crew. His addition now brings the roster to 23 players, a good majority of whom tend to be on the younger side. The USMNT will play Paraguay on March 27 in Cary, NC.

Free Kicks

• Apparently Celtic FC has its own musical?

• Some players in the Hyundai A-League took it upon themselves to fix a broken net in the middle of a match. Three cheers for duct tape.

• Today’s birthdays include Fernando Torres, the late Chester Bennington, and director Spike Lee.

That’s all I’ve got for you today. I hope you all enjoy the remainder of your week. Ciao.