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Lion Links: 5/13/18

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7 years ago

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Happy Sunday, Mane Landers, but more importantly Happy Mother’s Day! I hope that everyone enjoys their Mother’s Day in whatever fashion you most prefer. As for my family, we’ll be having a cookout: burgers, franks, and steaks. I’ve gone overboard in this year’s gift to my mom for the holiday, but I won’t spoil it here in case she’s reading (if you are, hi Mom, love you).

Mothers are the hardest working human beings on the planet, and they don’t get the credit they’re due. Make sure you remind yours that you love and appreciate her. It’s a happy day to celebrate, so do so no matter what. Also, we here at The Mane Land also want to wish a very special birthday to fan favorite and overall beloved teammate Scott Sutter, who turns 32 years young today! Happy birfday, Mr. Sutter. We love you and the positivity that you bring to the squad!

Oh, and the Lions host Atlanta United in Orlando City Stadium.

What a day…we’ll keep this one trimmed to ensure you can get back to enjoying your family and preparing for what’s destined to be a fantastic match. Here’s your Sunday serving of Links, Mane Landers.

Orlando Pride Score Early and Hold Off Portland Thorns, 2-1

In a match that saw the Thorns dominate ball possession and shots, the Pride held on to their early lead and saw the match through, winning three important points in the process and beating the Thorns for the first time ever. Alex Morgan was on target early, scoring in the 11th minute. Christine Nairn followed suit just minutes later, ripping a beauty from distance to grab one of her own (see below) and give the Pride an early 2-0 lead. That score line wouldn’t last long, however, as Portland’s Christine Sinclair netted in the 23rd minute to keep the Thorns in the match. Ultimately, the ladies in purple successfully fended off the late barrage from the Thorns, and rightfully earned the full three points.

Head Coach Jason Kreis Buys Orlando’s Mothers Purple Roses

The Lions’ gaffer made the admirable decision to purchase 1,000 purple roses to be handed out to mothers as they enter Orlando City Stadium for the weekend’s clash against powerhouse rival Atlanta United. The gesture, both generous and heartfelt, shows a side of the Lions’ coach that the supporters don’t often get to see. He stated, “Anybody that’s got a mother or anybody that’s married to a mother, it’s always a special day and it gives us an opportunity to recognize them in a very public forum.” Ultimately, it was a classy move by an ascending celebrity in the city of Orlando. Cheers, Jason, and cheers to all of the Orlando mothers (and any, anywhere, for that matter).

Lions’ Supporters Make Saturday’s Training Session Something Special

With an exciting clash with rival side Atlanta United on the horizon, members of Orlando City’s supporter’s groups, The Ruckus and the Iron Lion Firm, turned out in numbers to cheer on their boys in purple in their final team training session before the match. The atmosphere was something else as 45 supporters showed up to chant the team’s beloved tunes. The move was a nice gesture from the fans that attended, and serves as a reminder of how much the team means to the community. The feeling is mutual as well, as star winger Justin Meram said, “They want a high standard. They express their opinions. I think it’s a great thing that they understand the game and want everyone to succeed and do well.”

Toffees’ Gaffer Sam Allardyce Provides Update on Rooney Transfer Saga

It appears that Everton manager Sam Allardyce isn’t opposed to seeing Wayne Rooney leave the club amid heated interest from MLS side D.C. United. When asked about the potential move, the manager stated,

“If the player wants to go – if any player wants to leave – then I’m comfortable with that. But let’s get this right: Wayne Rooney has not asked to leave and neither has he had a confrontation with me,” Allardyce said. “My understanding of the situation is there seems to have been some negotiation somewhere along the line. I don’t get involved in anything with regards to transfers so all I know is there appears to be interest from DC United. Where that lies and where Wayne lies with it I can’t tell you at the moment. But in terms of clarity of whether Wayne is staying or leaving, I’ll find out a little more later when he comes into training.”

It’s looking increasingly possible that we’ll see the English legend plying his trade in MLS, and I can’t wait to see how the players will stack up around him. Despite his age, Rooney still holds world class potential in his ability and leadership, and could prove to be the foundation of a future title-contender. The move to some pundits, of course, will scream of the cliched “retirement league” mantra that some believe MLS has become, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. The truth is Rooney is still plenty capable as a top class striker for a top European side. Regardless of the critics, I can’t wait to see this one.

Free Kicks

  • The SIMA Aguilas, a USL PDL team that features several Orlando City academy products, opened their 2018 regular season last night at Montverde Academy and played to a scoreless draw against Weston FC.
  • The fellas over at mlssoccer.com polled a pod of eight of the writers and editors on which match today will be the one they’re looking forward to the most. Spoiler alert: five of the eight picked Orlando City-Atlanta.
  • If you’re looking ahead to next weekend’s opponents, Orlando City plays at Toronto FC. The Reds will be without Giovinco after he was sent off late in last night’s match at New England for hands to the face.

  • San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski is now officially the player with the most goals with a single club in MLS history. Congrats, Wondo.

  • Jose Mourinho’s longtime assistant, Rui Faria, is set to step down from his role with Manchester United in order to spend quality time with his family before pursuing the next step in his professional career. Mourinho stated, “17 years and the kid is now a man. The intelligent student is now a football expert, ready for a successful career as a manager.”
  • Matt Reed over at nbcsports.com did a write-up on who he views as the best and worst valued players in MLS based on their current contract.
  • Congratulations are in order to the 2002 Boys Black Team and their coaches for winning the Greater Central Florida Youth Soccer League Third Division Championship!

  • A report has recently stated that Brazilian superstar Neymar told his teammates that he will not return to PSG following the World Cup in Russia this summer amid interest from several of Europe’s top clubs. I’m not sure what’s going on with this one, all I know is there’s going to be a lot of money moving between some bank accounts.
  • Meanwhile, Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is back on track in terms of his ankle’s health, and he’s expected to be available and selected for the upcoming Champion’s League final against Liverpool.
  • Former Lion and current Whitecap Jose Aja scored his first career MLS goal Friday against the Houston Dynamo.

“Well, that’s about all that’s fit to print,” Mane Landers (that’s something my mom says when she’s ready to get off of the phone with me). Enjoy your family on this wonderful Mother’s Day, and then revel in what will go down as an epic clash between two of the south’s hottest footballing clans. I can’t wait, Mane Landers, it’ll be a good one.

Before I sign off, I’ll leave you with my score prediction: 3-2 Orlando.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/18/25

Scouting Saudi Arabia, Club World Cup summary, MLS midseason superlatives, and more.

Published

22 hours ago

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June 18, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Happy Wednesday, everyone. I’m pretty worn out after doing some traveling for most of the last two weeks, and I’m happy to be back home in Tampa for a bit before heading out on the road again. The soccer world has not paused during my time out on the road, and if anything its only picked up in intensity. That means we have a lot to talk about, but before we get into today’s links, let’s wish Orlando Pride defender Rafaelle a happy birthday.

Scouting Saudi Arabia

The United States Men’s National Team will continue its 2025 Gold Cup campaign on Thursday when it takes on Saudi Arabia in Austin, TX. That means this is a good time to familiarize ourselves with Arabian Falcons. They’re coached by Herve Renard, who deployed the team in a 4-2-3-1 in a 1-0 victory over Haiti in the team’s first game of the tournament. He isn’t married to that formation though, and will use a variety of tactical setups depending on the situation. Across all of them, Saudi Arabia plays with an emphasis on pressing in specific areas and quickly breaking in transition once winning the ball. Like the USMNT, the Saudis are missing a few first-choice players, and the midfield battle should be a particularly interesting area to keep an eye on.

Club World Cup Roundup

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup continued on Wednesday, so let’s take a look at the action. Fluminense and Borussia Dortmund got things started as they battled to a scoreless draw at MetLife Stadium. The Brazilian team had the better of the game overall, but Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel made five saves to preserve a point for his team. The second game of the day was much livelier, as River Plate dispatched Urawa Red Diamonds 3-1 in Seattle. The Argentinians scored after just 12 minutes and never looked back despite Urawa making it a 2-1 game with a 58th-minute penalty. The third match took place at Inter&Co Stadium, and saw Mamelodi Sundowns beat Ulsan HD 1-0. While the scoreline didn’t reflect it, the South African team mostly dominated proceedings and finished with 68% possession and 718 passes to 325 for the South Korean side. However, it was a free-flowing game that offered both sides to take more from the match. Our Michael Citro was there to recap it for you at the link above.

Midseason MLS Superlatives

As much as it seems like the 2025 Major League Soccer season just started, we’re actually just past the halfway point of the campaign, and that means it’s a good time to look at some league superlatives. In a category that will be music to the ears of Orlando City fans, Bradley Wright-Phillips named fullback the most overlooked position and specifically took some time to praise Alex Freeman. BWP previously coached against Freeman with New York Red Bulls II when Alex was still with Orlando City B, so it’s interesting to hear his input from that additional aspect. It’s no surprise that the Vancouver Whitecaps got a lot of love, as they were named biggest surprise, and Jesper Sorensen was named best coach.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

Transfer season is in full swing, so here are some of the big rumors currently flying around. Manchester United is reportedly interesting in signing Callum Hudson-Odoi from Nottingham Forest, but the Red Devils face competition from Roma and Napoli. Arsenal might hit a snag in searching for a striker, as the Gunners are balking at paying the asking prices for either Benjamin Sesko or Viktor Gyokeres, because they consider those numbers to be too high. Three different teams from the Saudi Pro League have reportedly shown interest in signing Son Heung-Min from Tottenham Hotspur, as he only has 12 months left on his current contract.

Free Kicks

  • Get a peek at the Orlando Pride putting in work on the training ground.

And that’s it for me today. Have a great rest of your week. Vamos, Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/17/25

Orlando City and Orlando Pride players on Team of the Week, USMNT Gold Cup continues, and more.

Published

2 days ago

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June 17, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wedn…er…Tuesday, Mane Landers. That’s right, I’m here a day early and not a moment too late. Orlando is knee deep in soccer, thanks to the FIFA Club World Cup on top of our favorite Orlando City and Orlando Pride clubs. We will have coverage of the matches taking place in the City Beautiful. Before we get started today, join us in wishing a happy 25th birthday to Orlando Pride midfielder Summer Yates. Now, let’s get to the links.

Schlegel Honored

Rodrigo Schlegel had a pretty good match against the Colorado Rapids. Despite not being named Man of the Match in our Player Grades, he did make the MLS Team of the Week bench. Meanwhile, Orlando held steady at the ninth spot in ESPN’s MLS Power Rankings, while dropping two spots from seventh to ninth in SI.com’s Power Rankings despite winning on the road. It just shows how very accurate and scientific power rankings are, doesn’t it?

Quadruple Honors for the Pride

The Orlando Pride saw Schlegel’s TotW Bench honor and said we can do better. Barbra Banda, Cori Dyke, Emily Sams, and Anna Moorhouse all made the NWSL Team of the Week from the Attacking Third. Congratulations to the Pride for covering a third of the Attacking Third’s selections.

Moorhouse is also up for Player of the Week and Save of the Week. As of this morning, she is not leading either category so you know what to do.

The USMNT Gold Cup Journey Continues

The Concacaf Gold Cup group stage is underway, with the USMNT securing a 5-0 victory over Trinidad & Tobago Sunday evening. I’m always for beating Trinidad & Tobago, but more talented teams and tougher matches lie ahead. Next up for the USMNT is Saudi Arabia. I know what you’re thinking, and you’re correct. Saudi Arabia isn’t a Concacaf nation, but the team is the invitee for this Gold Cup. The match is Thursday night at 9:15 p.m. at Q2 Stadium in Austin, TX. The U.S. will most likely need a win to secure the top spot in the group.

FIFA Club World Cup Results

The Club World Cup, which will visit Orlando’s Inter&Co Stadium later today (we’ll be on hand with the coverage, naturally), continued early this week with Bayern Munich obliterating Auckland City 10-0, PSG defeating Atletico Madrid 4-0, Botafogo beating the Seattle Sounders 2-1, and Facundo Torres and Palmeiras drawing Porto 0-0 on Sunday. In the Monday slate, Chelsea defeated LAFC 2-0, and Boca Juniors and Benfica drew 2-2. Overshadowing all of this is the poor attendance, despite FIFA spending millions to boost said attendance.

Free Kicks

  • One might think that a club sitting second in the official standings on a three-match winning streak would have matching ranks in all the various power rankings. However, one would be wrong, because although the Pride are in the second spot in the SI.com Power Rankings, the club sits at third in the ESPN.com Power Rankings. Do I need to say anything?
  • You don’t often see Barcelona get passed over for an MLS club, but that is exactly what happened despite Barcelona calling FIFA to get a spot in the Club World Cup. That MLS club was LAFC, and it had to earn its way in by beating Club America.
  • Liverpool has set a date for the medical for Florian Wirtz following the record transfer.
  • Congratulations to Orlando City’s Alex Freeman on his performance in his first cap for the USMNT in a competitive match.

Stacked the stat sheet 📈– 10 duels won (led team)– 3 tackles won (led team)– 54 passes completed– 95% passing accuracy– 90 minutes played– 2 clearances– 2 fouls drawn– Clean sheet ✅

— Orlando City SC (@orlandocitysc.com) 2025-06-16T23:03:59.932Z

That will do it for today. Check back as we get you ready for the matches this week. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/16/25

Lions and Pride win, USMNT beats Trinidad & Tobago in Gold Cup opener, FIFA Club World Cup weekend recap, and more.

Published

3 days ago

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June 16, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you and belated happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there. The Lions and the Pride both won while OCB was off this weekend. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Blank Colorado Rapids on the Road

Orlando City defeated the Colorado Rapids 1-0 Saturday at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Martin Ojeda scored the lone goal for the Lions in the first half to snap their two-match winless streak. Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese made two saves and earned his eighth clean sheet of the season. With the win, Orlando moved up to fifth in the Eastern Conference standings with 30 points. Orlando City will be off this weekend but will be return to action June 25 on the road at St. Louis City.

Banda’s Goal Lifts Pride Over Bay FC

The Orlando Pride defeated Bay FC 1-0 Friday at PayPal Park in San Jose, CA. After a scoreless first half, Barbra Banda scored the only goal in the match — her eighth goal of the season — and the Pride held on for the win. It’s the team’s third straight 1-0 victory over Bay FC, and the Pride also claimed their fifth clean sheet of the season. Orlando has won three matches in a row and remains second in the NWSL table with 25 points. The Pride will be on the road to take on Racing Louisville Friday.

USMNT Dominates Trinidad & Tobago in Gold Cup Opener

The U.S. Men’s National Team beat Trinidad & Tobago 5-0 Sunday in the opening match of the Concacaf Gold Cup at PayPal Park. Orlando City defender Alex Freeman started the match and played 90 minutes. Malik Tillman scored twice, and Patrick Agyemang added one to give the USMNT a 3-0 lead before halftime. In the second half, Brenden Aaronson and Haji Wright each added a goal to extend the USMNT’s lead to 5-0. With the win, the Yanks snapped a four-match winless streak. The USMNT will take on Saudi Arabia Thursday night at Q2 Stadium in Austin, TX.

FIFA Club World Cup Weekend Recap

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup kicked off on Saturday, with Inter Miami and Al Ahly playing to a scoreless draw in the opening match of the group stage. Miami goalkeeper Oscar Ustari made eight saves, including a penalty kick saved in the 43rd minute against Trezeguet of Al Ahly as the teams split the points. On Sunday, Jamal Musiala scored a hat trick as Bayern Munich crushed Auckland City 10-0, Paris Saint-Germain routed Atletico Madrid 4-0, and Palmeiras and FC Porto ended in a scoreless draw. The Seattle Sounders battled Botafogo in the late match. Today’s matchups feature Chelsea taking on LAFC, Boca Juniors facing Benfica, and Flamengo taking on Esperance Sportive de Tunis.

Tampa Bay Sun Wins USL Super League Championship

The Tampa Bay Sun defeated Fort Lauderdale United 1-0 after extra time to win the inaugural USL Super League championship on Saturday at Riverfront Stadium in Tampa. Former Pride players Jordyn Listro and Erika Tymrak were part of the squad’s stellar run to its first championship title in the inaugural season of the USL Super League. After no goals came from either side during the 90 minutes of play, the match went to extra time, and Cecilie Floe scored the winning goal for the Sun. Sydny Nasello was named the 2025 USL Super League Final MVP.

Free Kicks

  • Check out this video on Orlando City’s social media pages featuring some players giving their dads a surprise phone call on Father’s Day.
  • PayPal Park will host the 2025 NWSL Championship match on Nov. 22.

From the home of legends to the stage of champions 🏆The 2025 NWSL Championship presented by Google Pixel is coming to the Bay Area and PayPal Park.

— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 2025-06-13T12:14:48.657Z

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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