Lion Links: 2/11/19

Merry Monday morning, Mane Landers! We’re getting so close to the start of the season, I can almost taste it. I have no idea what is coming as we head into the season, but I’m certain that it will be interesting. Hopefully, it will be interesting for the right reasons. Let’s get to the links!

Pride Players Down Under: W-League Final is Set

The Perth Glory are headed to the W-League Final for a third straight year thanks to a 4-2 extra time win over Melbourne Victory. The Orlando Pride’s Christine Nairn had the Victory up 1-0 until the 72nd minute when Sam Kerr scored the first goal of her hat trick and Rachel Hill had an assist and a goal of her own as well. Kerr set a record for the most goals scored in the W-League finals with her performance.

The Glory will be taking on Sydney FC after the Sky Blues defeated the Brisbane Roar, 2-1. Caitlin Foord put the Blues up in the 33rd minute. Then the Orlando Pride’s Alanna Kennedy showed some fancy footwork to set up Sofia Huerta’s goal in the 68th minute to secure the win. The two teams will meet next weekend.

Pride’s Weatherholt Credits W-League for Personal Growth

Dani Weatherholt may have been on the losing side of the W-League semifinal against the Perth Glory, but she’s still pleased with her first season down under. The game is a bit slower down there, allowing her to see the game better. The NWSL is played at a faster pace, so anything that helps Weatherholt understand the game better can only help her once she’s back with the Orlando Pride.

Nagbe Trouble in Atlanta?

Darlington Nagbe has yet to see any minutes with Atlanta United’s first team in their two scrimmages. Head Coach Frank de Boer has said that Nagbe isn’t “match ready.” You can pretend that’s true, but given that Nagbe hasn’t spoken to the media and the Atlanta front office isn’t addressing the situation, there may be something else going on.

Argentinian Women Fighting for Equality

Macarena Sanchez is a 27-year-old Argentinian soccer player. She’s an amateur soccer player, since the women in her country make little to nothing to play the game. Sanchez wants to change that, but it’s an uphill battle. When I say a battle, I mean that she was recently dismissed from UAI Urquiza because of a “soccer-related decision.” Sanchez suspected that it had more to do with her wanting female players to be recognized as professionals and paid accordingly. As such, she has hired legal counsel and has the support of FIFPro, an organization that represents professional soccer players. Things often change slowly, but it’s people like Sanchez that make those changes.

Free Kicks

• Orlando City B is back! One week of training is down with more to come.

• FIFA Vice President and Confederation of African Football President Ahmad Ahmad has called for calm after there were leaked letters pointing to violations relating to financial procedures.
• Manchester United has done much better since Ole Gunnar Solskjær took over, and he has now been named as the full-time manager.

• King eSports has won the third FIFA eClub World Cup in London defeating Dijon FCO. Nicolas “nicolas99FC” Villalba and Donovan “Tekkz” Hunt were the winning team. I have no idea what most of those words mean.
• Sweet footwork leading up to an even sweeter goal from Andrija Novakovich.

• It’s said you can’t trust the refs, but this is ridiculous.

That’s going to do it for today, folks! Keep your heads up and keep checking in for more news from The Mane Land!