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Lion Links: 6/23/18

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7 years ago

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Happy double match day, everyone! The Lions finally return home and look for revenge against the Montreal Impact tonight at 7:30 p.m. Hopefully the lads in purple can give Bobby Murphy his first MLS victory. Meanwhile, the Pride visit the Maryland SoccerPlex tonight at 7 p.m. to face the Washington Spirit.

But what about the time between now and then? How will you fill it? Well, you can go down and start tailgating soon but before then, let’s get caught up with what’s going on.

O’Neill is O’fficially O’fficial

What we mentioned on Thursday afternoon has become official, as Orlando City has announced the signing of center back Shane O’Neill to a three-and-a-half year-deal with club options. The 24-year-old former Colorado Rapids Homegrown Player should fill a much-needed depth role on Orlando’s back line for some time to come, and could possibly grow into a starting caliber defender down the road after learning from the likes of Jonathan Spector and Lamine Sané.

We are pleased to add Shane to our roster,” Orlando City SC general manager Niki Budalic said. “He is an athletic defender who is competitive and hungry to succeed. Shane’s experience in MLS and Europe in addition to various U.S. national teams will be valuable as we head into the second half of the season.”

Murphy: Players Bought in to Shape Change

The Lions came out in a 3-4-3 on Wednesday against D.C. United and it surprised a lot of fans. But Murphy said his decision to change the shape wasn’t unilateral. The interim gaffer talked to his players in advance to gauge their reaction to the change.

“It’s not something I went into just on my own,” Murphy said. “I think if you’re going to change things, you have to have buy-in. I’m a big believer of buy-in versus compliance. If it was something they weren’t comfortable with or didn’t feel good in, then it’s not something we would have done. The players were happy and I think it’s always important to have a ‘Plan B.’”

For the most part, I thought the change went well. We’ll find out tonight if Murphy sticks with it or tries something else against the Montreal Impact.

Orlando City U-18/19 Team Finishes Group Play

The young Lions completed group stage play at the U.S. Soccer Development Academy playoffs on Friday, defeating BW Gotschee, 1-0, on a goal by A.J. Seals. Orlando City finished the group stage with a 1-1-1 record and four points, finishing behind Real Salt Lake (2-0-1, 7 points) and Baltimore Armour (1-0-2, 5 points). It was a competitive group, with one goal separating RSL and OCSC in the opener. Baltimore Armour drew both MLS sides and beat BW Gotschee, which went 0-3-0 in the round robin. The top three teams could hardly have been more evenly matched but Real Salt Lake will move on to the knockout rounds.

I, for one, appreciate the pun, academy Twitter folks.

The U-16/17 side will face Barca Academy today at 4 p.m. A win for the baby Lions would leapfrog them to the top of Group H and into the knockout rounds. Barca can clinch the group with a draw or better. Elsewhere, the U-15 side beat down Internationals, 5-2.

Former Lion Talks About Career-Ending Injury

Sean St. Ledger, a former Orlando City center back, discussed with The Times the knee injury that cut his career short and what that experience was like for him.

“When I was 18 or 20 the older pros were saying to me, ‘It’s not a long career. You need to plan ahead’,” he says. “So obviously I didn’t listen to that. I thought it would last forever but it went so quick. For the majority of the time you’re having the time of your life, getting paid to do something you’d do for free. I never saw the end coming — not until I went back out to train after surgery and my knee would just swell up.

“It really hit me that I’m really struggling. ‘What if it doesn’t get any better?’ The surgeon told me that that might be it. There was no other surgery that could be done. ‘Wow, what am I going to do now?’ It’s difficult to prepare for that. When you spend your whole life — I started playing for Peterborough at nine — it’s such a difficult transition, it’s not easy to get your head around it. You can’t blame anyone who finds the transition difficult.”

St. Ledger has his coaching B license and is working on getting his A license. So it looks like a career on the sidelines may be in the cards for the ex-Lion.

Montreal Impact Waive Marco Donadel

When the Impact take the field tonight at Orlando City Stadium, a veteran face will be missing. The Quebecois club waived veteran midfielder Marco Donadel on Friday. The Italian has been an integral part of the Impact the past few seasons, but had made only two appearances in 2018 under Remi Garde. The 35-year-old scored three goals and added 10 assists for Montreal in 67 MLS games (61 starts) and produced three assists in eight MLS playoff matches.

Free Kicks

  • The Washington Spirit will be without Mallory Pugh tonight (and possibly without Rose Lavelle), but Orlando Pride gaffer Tom Sermanni says there are no easy games in the NWSL. And he’s right!
  • Don’t forget that tonight is a Pride in Our City match to honor and remember the victims of the Pulse nightclub shootings and to support vital community organizations.
  • USMNT defender Eric Lichaj has signed with Hull City, moving over from another Championship side, Nottingham Forest.
  • Those born on this date include “Bow-Tie Bill” Torrey (1934), the man who was architect of four New York Islanders Stanley Cup teams and helped build the Florida Panthers. Bill died last month and it’s a shame. I spent some time with the Panthers’ front office and Bill was a legend but he treated everyone like they were important. Others born on this day include Academy Award-winner Frances McDormand (1957), writer/filmmaker Joss Whedon (1964), French football legend Zinedine Zidane (1972), former NYCFC coach Patrick Vieira (1976), Jason Mraz (1977), football’s LaDainian Tomlinson (1979), and The Big Bang Theory’s Melissa Rauch (1980).

That’s all I’ve got for you today, folks. Get yourself a device to watch the Pride match on while you’re at the stadium cheering on the Lions tonight! We’ll have full coverage of both matches, though due to the nature of them both occurring at the same time, it’ll be…well…interesting.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/17/25

Oscar Pareja signs new contract with Orlando City, Orlando Pride prepare for the Washington Spirit, Orlando’s youth teams win, and more.

Published

20 hours ago

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April 17, 2025

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I can’t believe we’re already into the back half of April and Easter is right around the corner. There’s plenty of soccer to enjoy between now and then and we also have the draw for the U.S. Open Cup’s round of 32 this morning at 9:15. MLS teams are finally joining the fray, so we’ll see where the chips fall for Orlando City. Let’s get to the links!

Oscar Pareja Signs New Contract

Orlando City and Head Coach Oscar Pareja have agreed to a new three-year contract that will keep him in the City Beautiful through 2028. Pareja was hired as Orlando’s fourth head coach in its MLS era back in December of 2019 and he’s led the Lions to the playoffs in all five seasons he’s been at the helm.  Under Pareja, the Lions won the U.S. Open Cup in 2022, set club records in points and wins in 2023, and reached the Eastern Conference final for the first time last year. This year was the final one on the contract he signed in December of 2023, so it’s nice to know Pareja will be sticking around in the future.

Orlando Pride Prepare for the Washington Spirit

The Orlando Pride will look to make it five wins in a row when they host the Washington Spirit on Saturday in another rematch of last year’s final. While this is the first match between Orlando and Washington this season, the two clashed in the NWSL Challenge Cup on March 7 and the Spirit lifted the trophy after a penalty shootout. Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines spoke on how the team has grown since that game and has benefitted from depth and consistency carried over from last year.

Orlando City Youth Teams Win in Bradenton

Orlando City’s U-18 team won in the Generation Adidas Cup’s round of 16, beating St. Louis City 1-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. The Young Lions remain unbeaten in that age group and will take on a Real Salt Lake team that also won its group and just beat Toronto FC in a penalty shootout following a scoreless draw.

Orlando’s U-16 squad didn’t qualify for the Championship bracket, but still advanced in the Premier bracket. After a 1-1 draw with Toronto, Orlando prevailed in the ensuing penalty shootout and will play Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.

UEFA Champions League Semifinals Are Set

The quarterfinals for this year’s UEFA Champions League are over and only four teams remain in the tournament. Arsenal secured its spot in the semifinals after an impressive 2-1 road win against Real Madrid that included two assists from Mikel Merino. The Spanish club couldn’t muster its usual magic in the tournament and forward Kylian Mbappe exited in the second half due to injury. In Italy, Inter Milan held on for a 2-2 draw against Bayern to advance on aggregate, with defender Benjamin Pavard scoring a crucial goal for Inter against his old team. The semifinals will take place at the end of the month and will feature Arsenal taking on Paris Saint-Germain and Inter going up against Barcelona.

Free Kicks

  • Our thoughts go out to the friends and family of former FC Cincinnati player Aaron Boupendza, who died after falling from the 11th floor of a building in China.
  • The Chicago Fire are reportedly strongly interested in signing star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne on a free transfer. If any Western Conference teams could join the hunt for him, that would be great.

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 4/16/25

Orlando Pride on top, OCB falls to Inter Miami II, USMNT eyes Gold Cup, and more.

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2 days ago

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April 16, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. I know I’ve said it before, but I love that I can always find soccer to watch. Whether it’s UEFA Champions League or the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, or anything in between, I love it. I’m willing to bet you love it too. Speaking of love, we want to wish a very happy birthday to Orlando City Designated Player Luis Muriel. Let’s get to the links.

All the Rankings

With the win over the Seattle Reign, the Orlando Pride stayed perfect on the season. It was enough for the Pride to remain on top of the standings and also at the top of numerous power rankings. All for XI kept the Pride at No. 1 with a shoutout to Anna Moorhouse, SI.com did the same, while noting Summer Yates’ injury, and Goal.com completed the sweep. The Pride also landed at No. 8 in Opta’s global power rankings for women’s clubs. Strangely, the Kansas City Current were two spots above on that particular list.

OCB Falls to Inter Miami II

Orlando City B traveled to IMG Academy to take on Inter Miami II Tuesday night. The Young Lions went down early on the road, but were able to equalize thanks to a goal from Tahir Reid-Brown. Unfortunately, Inter Miami scored two more goals before a penalty in second-half stoppage time gave OCB a slight lifeline. It was not enough as the team fell 3-2 to their in-state foes.

Generation Adidas Cup Matchups

Orlando City Academy’s U-18 squad won Group J in the Generation Adidas Cup. Now the team will face St. Louis City SC 2 in the Round of 16. If you haven’t had a chance to check out the younger generations of players in Orlando City’s system, here is your opportunity.

U.S. Eyes Gold Cup

We’re about two months out from the start of the Concacaf Gold Cup and it feels like a must-win for the USMNT given recent results. Winning an eighth Gold Cup title will not come easily. Naturally, all eyes fall on Christian Pulisic to lead the squad, though not everyone thinks he should be the pick for captain. Tyler Adams is looking for more belief from his teammates heading into the competition.

Free Kicks

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

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Lion Links: 4/15/25

Pride players nominated for weekly awards, Americans in midweek action, UEFA Champions League preview, and more.

Published

3 days ago

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April 15, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It was a solid weekend for the two Orlando teams in action, as Orlando City played to a hard-fought scoreless draw against the New York Red Bulls, while the Orlando Pride knocked off the Seattle Reign 1-0 on the road. We have plenty of things to talk through today, so let’s dive right in.

Orlando Pride Players Up for Weekly Awards

A pair of Orlando Pride players have been nominated for weekly awards due to their efforts in the team’s 1-0 win over the Seattle Reign on Saturday. We start with Anna Moorhouse, who was actually nominated for two awards, as she is up for both the NWSL Save of the Week and Player of the Week! Moorhouse stonewalled Reign winger Maddie Dahlien in the 81st minute during a 1-v-1 situation to preserve the Pride’s slender 1-0 lead on the road.

She also racked up five saves on the night, kept a clean sheet, and was hugely instrumental in the Pride winning a fourth straight game to start off the 2025 season.

Summer Yates, meanwhile, has been nominated for the Assist of the Week for her pinpoint pass to Barbra Banda for the game’s winning goal. In the 41st minute, she hit a stepover, glided past Madison Curry on the left side of the box, and played a great cross to Banda in the six-yard box, who made no mistake with the finish.

Make sure you go vote for our nominees!

Americans in Midweek Action

There are lots of American players taking part in games during the working week, so let’s check in on what we have to look forward to. Gio Reyna and Borussia Dortmund have the unenviable task of trying to overturn a 4-0 first-leg deficit against Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League today. Chris Richards, Matt Turner, and Crystal Palace travel to Newcastle United in the Premier League on Wednesday. Thursday has Tanner Tessman and Lyon on the road against Manchester United in the Europa League, while Johnny Cardoso and Real Betis hit the road to take on Jagiellonia Białystok in the Conference League. Things wrap up with some American vs. American violence on Friday when former Lion Daryl Dike and West Bromwich Albion travel to play Haji Wright and Coventry City in the EFL Championship.

UEFA Champions League Preview

The UEFA Champions League returns this week, with the second leg quarterfinal matches set to take place today and tomorrow. Aston Villa will need to actually come out and attack Paris Saint-Germain in Birmingham today, as the Premier League side comes into the match facing a 3-1 aggregate deficit. Borussia Dortmund has a mountain the size of Everest to climb to overturn a 4-0 deficit against a Barcelona team that looked absolutely lethal on the counterattack last week. Real Madrid also finds itself in a big 3-0 hole against Arsenal, and Los Blancos need to look much more dangerous going forward if they want to have a chance against a Gunners team that will surely look to defend and protect what they earned in the first leg. Bayern Munich is in the best position of the teams that trail after the first leg, as Inter Milan’s aggregate lead is only 2-1. That means Bayern can be fairly flexible approaching the second leg, although the Germans will need to do a much better job at finishing chances than they did last week.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

With the end of most European seasons creeping closer and closer, the transfer rumor mill is starting to spin with increasing intensity, so let’s take a look at some of today’s notable stories. We start with Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike, who has 19 goals in all competitions this season and could fetch a price in the range of 100 million euros if he is sold this summer. Manchester United is reportedly interested in signing former Arsenal goalkeeper Aaron Ramsdale, who is likely to leave Southampton this summer after the Saints were relegated this year. Speaking of Manchester United, Red Devils striker Rasmus Hojlund is said to be attracting interest from both Juventus and Inter Milan, and he could be on the move this summer.

Free Kicks

  • Barbra Banda and Marta received their trophies for making the 2024 FIFPRO World XI.
  • Orlando City’s U-18 team enjoyed a successful campaign in group play at the Generation Adidas Cup, earning a spot in the Championship Bracket.
  • The Orlando Pride rightly remained the no.1 team in ESPN.com’s NWSL power rankings.
  • Despite dominating the New York Red Bulls while playing most of the second half with 10 men, Orlando City somehow dropped a place below those same Red Bulls in ESPN.com’s MLS power rankings.
  • Chelsea spent the most on agent fees out of all Premier League clubs for a second consecutive year, as they dished out a whopping  £60 million to agents for transfers.

That does it for me this morning. Vamos Orlando!

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