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Lion Links: 7/30/18

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8 years ago

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Merry Monday morning, Mane Landers! It was a busy Sunday with both Orlando City and the USWNT in action. Before we get into all of that, we need to wish a very happy 28th birthday to Dom Dwyer. Yes, Orlando City lost, but it’s not all bad, read on to find out why!

Orlando City Drops Another Road Match

Playing its fifth game in only 16 days and only three days removed from the loss to New York City FC, Orlando City traveled all the way across the country to take on Zlatan Ibrahimović and the LA Galaxy. It was a wild one in La La Land as Orlando City lost its eighth straight road match, 4-3. It’s never easy to accept any loss, but the Lions did play well, especially considering they’re still a makeshift side with key injured players. Having three goals on the scoreboard is better than four shots onto the woodwork.

Don’t forget to check back later today when the Bearded Guy hands out player grades and the man of the match and Sean Rollins will have your five takeaways from last night’s defeat.

USWNT Scores Late to Draw With the Matildas

In its second game of the 2018 Tournament of Nations, the United States Women’s National Team took on the last nation to which it lost. The USWNT got a late goal to draw with Australia. The Matildas got on the board first when Chloe Logarzo put home a shot just inside the right post in the 22nd minute on an assist by former Orlando Pride player Lisa De Vanna. Australia frustrated the U.S. until the very end and would have won if not for a stoppage-time goal by Lindsey Horan, who got her head on the end of a corner kick to draw the match for the U.S. The Tournament of Nations continues Thursday, with Australia vs. Japan at 5:45 p.m. ET, and the USWNT vs. Brazil at 8:30 p.m.

Brazil beat Japan in the early game with Marta scoring first for her nation to open the scoring. Read more in our match recap linked above.

O’Connor Gives Details on Transfer Window Plans

While James O’Connor focuses on Orlando City’s regular season with his one game at a time philosophy, he’s still giving some thought to the needs of his squad during the transfer window. O’Connor has said that he wants players that are working hard and giving maximum effort on the team. There’s been interest in some of Orlando City’s players, including Justin Meram who hasn’t been on the field for the Lions since the 4-1 loss to LAFC on July 7. O’Connor also has some ideas of the positions of need and potential players to meet those needs. Regardless, the depth of this injury-plagued team needs to be addressed.

Get to Know Orlando City’s Goalkeeper Coach

The life of a coach is never easy, and that’s the case with Orlando City’s new goalkeeping coach, Thabane Sutu. Jordan Culver of ProSoccerUSA.com caught up with Sutu, who is living and working in Central Florida without his family. His daughter didn’t want to leave school in the middle of the year — who can blame her? — and so he’s toughing it out without his loved ones for now.

Sutu’s wife, Motselisi, and 15-year-old daughter, Ayanda, are still in Kentucky. Sutu said Ayanda didn’t want to leave her school, and he wasn’t going to force her to do so.

“It’s kind of strange not to see them around,” Sutu said. “Making adjustments and stuff like that, we should be fine.”

“Anything,” he said. “It’s FaceTiming, it’s texting, that kind of stuff. All of the rituals that we do, getting my kid up, that kind of stuff. All the things that you’ve got to have in a household.”

Get to know Sutu better in the linked story.

Free Kicks

  • Ali Krieger makes a difference on the field for the Orlando Pride, and also makes a difference for the community with her AKFC events.

  • USWNT player Morgan Brian has had quite a career even as young as she is. Having dealt with injuries, a stint with Lyon, and finally returning to NWSL and the USWNT, it’s been quite a trip. The 25-year-old finally seems to be hitting her stride during the Tournament of Nations.
  • FC Cincinnati is making some moves prior to its arrival in MLS in 2019. It appears the team will be bringing in Fatai Alashe, currently with the San Jose Earthquakes and Fanendo Adi of the Portland Timbers.

That’s going to do it for this edition of Lion Links. Keep checking back for all the Orlando City, Pride, and national team news you can handle.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 9/9/26

Orlando City plays Atlanta, Griezmann gets fined, Banda a Ballon d’Or contender, and more.

Published

16 hours ago

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September 9, 2026

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Image of Antoine Griezmann taking a set piece against Monterrey in Leagues Cup action.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. It’s also match day for Orlando City. The fixture congestion is back for the next couple of weeks which means plenty of opportunity to watch the Lions in action. I’m looking forward to seeing Martin Ojeda fully integrate back into the offense with Antione Griezmann. We will have more match prep later today, but for now, let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Heads to Atlanta

Orlando City is headed north to take on Atlanta United tonight. Both teams have been playing better of late, but this is still an opportunity for the Lions to get all three points from a rival on the road. Atlanta has struggled to score goals this season, and Orlando City’s offensive weapons are many, and the team is rising up the MLS power rankings, thanks to the win over San Diego FC. It’s a double match week, so it will be interesting to see how Atlanta rotates players based on availability.

Grizi Gets Fined

The MLS Disciplinary Committee has fined Orlando City’s Antoine Griezmann an undisclosed amount for violating the League’s policy regarding throwing/kicking an object toward fans in the match against San Diego FC. Here is the “incident” in case you missed it during the match.

If the fine was more than a dollar, it was too much. That’s not true, a dollar is also too much.

Pride in the News

The Orlando Pride made history in the 3-1 win over the Houston Dash. The victory made Yolanda Thomas the first Black woman in a head coach’s role in NWSL history, and only the fourth female coach to win their first-ever NWSL match in charge. It also comes as no surprise that Barbra Banda is a nominee for the Women’s Ballon d’Or.

Pochettino’s Big Plans

Mauricio Pochettino wants to make the USMNT one of the “most powerful” international teams in the world. That is a pretty ambitious goal, though I like the high aspirations. Pochettino is now in charge of the procedural and developmental sides of the game. He will have some time to experiment before the next World Cup, including utilizing more MLS homegrowns.

Free Kicks

  • Marco Pasalic has been called up to the Croatian National Team for the UEFA Nations League matches later this month and in the first part of October. Croatia will be playing Czechia, England, and Spain.
  • Ivan Angulo will be sporting a new look at the match tonight. Hopefully it helps him score goals on his breakaway opportunities.

That will do it for today. You can follow The Mane Land on Bluesky for live match updates and we will also have a recap of the match tonight and more coverage tomorrow. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 9/8/26

Antoine Griezmann earns recognition, lessons from MLS matchday 24, Americans in midweek action, and more.

Published

2 days ago

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September 8, 2026

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Image of Antoine Griezmann playing the ball.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Good morning, everyone! I hope you all had a great Labor Day weekend — the same way Orlando’s soccer teams most certainly did. All three teams picked up victories over the weekend: Orlando City B got the party started on Friday with a 4-1 win over Inter Miami CF II; Orlando City knocked off San Diego FC 1-0 on Saturday; and the Orlando Pride made it a full nine points from nine with a 3-1 win over the Houston Dash on Sunday. OCSC has a midweek game against Atlanta United Wednesday night, before all three teams are back in action over the weekend. We’ve got lots to talk about today, so let’s get into the links.

Antoine Griezmann Earns Recognition

Antoine Griezmann scored the all-important goal in Orlando City’s 1-0 win over San Diego FC on Saturday, and his performance has been rewarded with a bench place in the MLS Team of the Matchday. The goal was his fifth of the season and he now has eight goal contributions in eight league appearances with the Lions. His arrival has coincided with OCSC slowly climbing up the table into the playoff places, and the good guys will need more defensive performances like the one we saw on Saturday if they’re going to hang onto a playoff spot and potentially make some noise in the postseason.

Lessons from Matchday 24

Major League Soccer’s 24th matchday is now in the books, and there were plenty of things to be learned from the weekend’s action. Up in Canada, Josh Sargent bagged a hat trick and is starting to look more and more like the player he was at Norwich City. Toronto FC is now unbeaten in its last six games. Strikers were certainly at the forefront this weekend, as Petar Musa bagged a brace for FC Dallas in the team’s 4-3 win over Sporting Kansas City, and Breel Embolo scored a penalty kick on his Atlanta United debut to salvage a point with Inter Miami on the road. Finally, while its been an uneven year for the LA Galaxy, they knocked off the New England Revolution 2-1 at home and are now just one point outside the Western Conference playoff places.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans who will be playing games during the working week, and the UEFA Champions League is firmly back in the crosshairs. Things get going on Tuesday when Alex Freeman and Villarreal start their UCL campaign on the road against Borussia Dortmund. Wednesday sees Johnny Cardoso and Atletico Madrid play Liverpool on the road in UCL play, while Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, and Celtic play St. Johnstone during Scottish Premier League play. Things then wrap up on Friday when Gianluca Busio and Venezia play Fiorentina in Serie A action.

Mauricio Pochettino Speaks on Young Talent

Speaking of American players, USMNT Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino has urged caution when it comes to the hype surrounding young Yanks like Cavan Sullivan and Julian Hall. The United States Men’s National Team will play four friendlies in the upcoming international window, and with the roster set to be announced on Sept. 17, there’s plenty of people calling for young talent like Sullivan, Hall, and Justin Ellis to get some looks with the senior squad. While the USMNT coach said he’s happy about the young talent in the player pool, he also urged people to not get carried away, and said,

“We need to be careful because when you are young, of course you need to be confident, you need to have the trust in yourself, and believe that you can perform and you can do well. But the thing is it’s a limit. The balance is the most important. And one of our responsibilities is to protect this guy because sometime if you play well and you are 17, 16 or 18 and you play well and people started to know to talk about that you are Messi or you are a big star in the world because you do some few good things. If after you are confused and you don’t manage well, that can be dangerous for your career.”

Free Kicks

That’s all I’ve got for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 9/7/26

All of Orlando’s soccer teams win, former Lion Chris Mueller retires, and more.

Published

3 days ago

on

September 7, 2026

By

Image of Bernardo Rhein playing against San Diego FC.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers, and happy Labor Day! I hope you’re all having a good holiday weekend. I’ve been busy at work covering golf, soccer, and football. Our beloved Lions, Pride, and OCB were all in action and picked up wins over the weekend. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Shut Out San Diego FC

Orlando City defeated San Diego FC 1-0 on Saturday at Inter.co Stadium. Antoine Griezmann scored the only goal of the match in the first half for the Lions. Goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau made two saves in the match just days after his father passed away as Orlando held on to preserve the clean sheet. The club held a moment of silence for Crepeau’s father before kickoff, and the players wore black armbands. Orlando City will be on the road to face Atlanta United on Wednesday, followed by a home match on Saturday against Toronto FC.

Orlando Pride Defeat Houston Dash

The Orlando Pride defeated the Houston Dash 3-1 on Sunday at Inter.co Stadium in the first match under interim head coach Yolanda Thomas. After weather delayed kickoff by about 90 minutes, Barbra Banda forced an own goal on Houston defender Leah Klenke to give the Pride the lead. Banda converted from the spot on a penalty Summer Yates won to double Orlando’s lead just before halftime. In the second half, Banda set up Haley McCutcheon’s goal to give the Pride a 3-0 lead. Houston pulled one back, but Orlando took the three points. The Pride will be on the road for their next match on Friday against the Kansas City Current.

OCB Beats Inter Miami II

Orlando City B defeated Inter Miami II 4-1 on Friday at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale. Issah Haruna scored the opener for OCB in the first half before Miami equalized. Harvey Sarajian and Gustavo Caraballo scored to give the Young Lions a 3-1 lead going into halftime. In the second half, Ignacio Gomez buried his penalty kick for OCB to seal back-to-back wins. The Young Lions will be home for their next match against Toronto FC II on Sunday at Osceola County Stadium.

Former Lion Chris Mueller Retires

Former Lion and Chicago Fire winger Chris Mueller announced his retirement from professional soccer on Friday. Mueller began his pro soccer career with Orlando City when the club selected him as the sixth overall pick in the 2018 MLS SuperDraft. He scored 22 goals and recorded 20 assists in 126 matches for the Lions and spent four seasons with the club. Mueller’s best season came in 2020, when he scored 10 goals and added seven assists, and he played a key role in leading Orlando to its first MLS Cup playoff appearance. He left Orlando after the 2022 season to play for Scottish Premiership side Hibernian FC before joining the Fire. Mueller was diagnosed with pericarditis in 2025, which limited his minutes as he missed the entire 2025 season and played five matches for Chicago in 2026. We at The Mane Land wish Mueller all the best in his retirement.

Free Kicks

  • U.S. Soccer featured Orlando City on its website, recapping the Lions’ run to the semifinals of the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Orlando City will take on the Columbus Crew on Sept. 16.
  • Orlando Pride forward Seven Castain, who is on loan at Dallas Trinity, scored her second goal of the fall season in the USL Super League.
  • Telstar goalkeeper Ronald Koeman Jr, who is the son of Netherlands legend Ronald Koeman, scored twice from the spot to help his club salvage a 2-2 draw against Cambuur in the Eredivisie on Sunday.
  • Former Leicester City forward Jamie Vardy has reached an agreement to join Burnley in the EFL Championship for the remainder of the season.
  • Gio Reyna scored his first goal since joining RC Strasbourg in the summer in a 6-2 win against Troyes in Ligue 1 on Sunday.
  • The U.S. Women’s U-20 National Team fell 2-1 to Italy on Sunday in its opening match in the 2026 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland. That result was Italy’s first-ever win in the competition, while the U.S. will look to bounce back against Japan on Wednesday.

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

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