Lion Links: 4/9/18

Merry Monday morning, Mane Landers! It was quite a Sunday for soccer as the USWNT took on Mexico, and Orlando City hosted the Portland Timbers later in the day. Needless to say, it was a great afternoon for club and country if you’re a Lions and U.S. National Team supporter. No need to delay, let’s get to the links!

Orlando City Rallies Late to Beat Portland 3-2

In what’s become a bad (or good?) habit, the Cardiac Cats completed a monumental comeback against the Portland Timbers on a beautiful Sunday afternoon. Chris Mueller opened his account, Sacha Kljestan converted a penalty, and Dom Dwyer scored the final goal to complete the comeback and give Orlando its second straight victory.

• Michael Citro has your match recap.
• Sean Rollins has your player grades and Man of the Match.
• Stumptown Footy has your view from the other side.

Make sure to check back later today for Ethan Smith’s five takeaways and Carlos Romero’s photo gallery from yesterday’s big win.

USWNT Defeats Mexico Again

The U.S. played the second of two friendlies against Mexico on Sunday, and defeated El Tri, 6-2. The game had a ton of high points, including Carli Lloyd getting her 100th goal, Megan Rapinoe logging four assists and a goal, and Alex Morgan scoring her second brace in a week. After going down 2-1, the U.S. went on a scoring binge for a 4-2 halftime lead, and finished with two more goals in the second half.

Is Liga MX Better Than MLS?

Former Mexico boss Miguel Herrera believes that Liga MX is a better league than MLS, despite Toronto FC beating America 3-1 in the first leg of the Concacaf Champions League semifinal on Tuesday. Herrera skated the line between acknowledging the things MLS is doing to grow its league, and almost accusing the league of underhanded tactics in securing players like Zlatan Ibrahimović. He feels that Liga MX should be pursuing European players, as MLS is an inferior product in his eyes.

Miami’s Business Leaders Believe MLS Club Will Succeed

It seems that David Beckham isn’t the only one who thinks that his MLS team can be successful. A whole bunch of Miami’s power people feel that having the club in Miami is both a testament to the city, and a great opportunity. Just because there is already an NFL team, an NBA team, a major football university, and not to mention a slew of cultural options for entertainment, some people feel the city can support the team. I guess we’ll find out eventually.

Free Kicks

• Turns out Christian Pulisic is pretty good at this soccer thing. Check out this beauty of a goal.

• The sites for the 2018 Concacaf Women’s Championship have officially been set. The winning locales are Cary, NC, Edinburg, TX, and Frisco, TX.
• Evidently Zlatan Ibrahimovic had a difficult childhood. He seems to be doing pretty good nowadays, so good for him.
• Famous birthdays for today include: actor Kristen Stewart (28), Hugh Heffner (1926-2017), actor Dennis Quaid (64), actor Mark Pellegrino (53), actor Jay Baruchel (36), and actor Cynthia Nixon (52).