Lion Links: 9/27/18

Happy Thursday, everyone. It’s been a long week, and I’m here to try to make it just a little bit better by bringing you soccer news you can use — or at least that can distract you from work for a little while.

The Lions are off this weekend so we can relax and enjoy a few more stress-free days before the lads in purple head to Dallas. But the soccer world stops for no one and let’s try to keep up with it, shall we?

More Orlando Pride International Call-Ups

Alex Morgan and Ashlyn Harris won’t be the only Pride players trying to reach the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in next month’s Concacaf Championship. Shelina Zadorsky will represent Canada after making the 20-player final roster.

The international duty doesn’t end there. Poliana will represent her native Brazil after being added to the roster for a friendly against England in Nottingham on Oct. 6. Monica, Marta, and Camila were already selected to make the trip.

Orlando City Fan Wins Seminole State Scholarship

Congratulations are in order for Orlando City fan Catherine Salamone, who will be getting some free schooling for a year. A panel of judges picked the nursing student as the winner of an essay contest and you can check out her winning essay here. Her entry was inspired by Yoshimar Yotún’s trip to the World Cup.

Orlando City ECNL Player is a World Class Surfer

It’s not unusual to come across two-sport athletes, but soccer and surfing isn’t a combination you hear about every day. But 13-year-old Zoe Benedetto, who played with Orlando City’s ECNL team last year, plays soccer at the U-16 level with Jupiter United this season and has won a National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) U-12 Explorer girls national title. We wish Zoe good luck in next month’s VISSLA Junior World Championships in California.

Houston Dynamo Win U.S. Open Cup

Mauro Manotas couldn’t score against Orlando City on Saturday night but he bagged a brace in the first 25 minutes last night to lead the Houston Dynamo to a 3-0 win over the Philadelphia Union in the U.S. Open Cup final. The Union have lost in the tournament’s title match three times since 2014.

Fans Behaving Very Badly

Everyone loves their soccer team, but no one should love their soccer team to the point that they’re willing to do awful things to others. Unfortunately, it happens all too often. Two San Jose Earthquakes fans were arrested by U.S. Marshals for assaulting a Portland Timbers fan back in April.

Elsewhere, the Indonesian league has shut down for an investigation into the beating death of a fan by rival supporters.

We all love the beautiful game. Letting something arbitrary like a team being from another place or wearing different colors shouldn’t make us become monsters. It’s still a game where 22 people kick around a ball.

Free Kicks

• Peru’s fans were selected FIFA’s best for 2018. Here are some guys to talk about that.

• The Mexican National Team is the new hot rumor as Tata Martino’s post-Atlanta coaching job.
• To no one’s surprise, Paul Riley of the North Carolina Courage is your NWSL Coach of the Year.
• Sky Blue FC had a tough year but Imani Dorsey won NWSL Rookie of the Year. That’s no surprise if you saw the way she played against Orlando this season.
• Those born on this date include actor Wilford Brimley (1934), The Guess Who and BTO guitarist Randy Bachman (1943), Meat Loaf (1947), baseball legend Mike Schmidt (1949), Men at Work multi-instrumentalist Greg Ham (1953), GLOW actor Marc Maron (1963), Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr (1965), Gwyneth Paltrow (1972), Roma and Italy soccer legend Francesco Totti (1976), Lil Wayne (1982), and Arsenal and Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka (1992).

That’s all my time for today. I leave you with a video I watched about a hundred times yesterday. Yes, it’s a seal slapping a guy in the face with an octopus.