Lion Links: 3/29/19

What’s up, Mane Landers? It feels like just yesterday I was welcoming you all into March and suddenly there are only a few days left of it. It has been a wild month to say the least and it will be finishing that way as well here in the City Beautiful with two Orlando SeaWolves games, the season opener for Orlando City B tomorrow, and an Orlando City home game against D.C. United on Sunday. But for now, let’s get to the links!

Rowe Relishes Shutout Victory

After conceding six goals in Orlando City’s first three games, the 1-0 win over the New York Red Bulls gave Brian Rowe some breathing room after a tough start to the season. 

“I think getting that first win, getting that shutout, especially on the road, after a less-than-ideal, kind of a little frustrating, start, I think it just puts it a little more at ease, you know?” Rowe said.

Rowe was quick to point out that he wasn’t the sole reason the Lions walked out of Red Bull Arena with a clean sheet, joking that he needed to buy Carlos Ascues a drink after the midfielder’s goal-line clearance. All in all, it looks like the shutout win has eased the nerves and taken some of the pressure off of Rowe, who leads MLS in both saves (17) and shots faced (24).

Nani and Rooney Reuniting for Showdown

One of the biggest story lines heading into Orlando’s match against D.C. United will be the reunion of Nani and Wayne Rooney. Playing as teammates at Manchester United for seven years, the only other time the two have been on opposite sides of the ball was in 2016 for an international friendly. Now, they face off in an MLS match between Eastern Conference opponents and old friends.

Pride Learning From Mistakes

While a 4-0 defeat wasn’t quite what Orlando Pride Head Coach Marc Skinner wanted to see when the Pride took on the North Carolina Courage in a friendly this past weekend, he is ready to take what he learned from the loss and improve. In particular, Skinner and the players looked back over the four goals conceded and at where things went wrong on defense. While the loss was far from ideal, it will give plenty for the Pride to work on in the coming weeks.

Orlando SeaWolves Ready to Move Forward

The SeaWolves squandered two opportunities on the road last weekend to close the gap between themselves and the Kansas City Comets in the Major Arena Soccer League standings. Now the two teams meet at Silver Spurs Arena tonight at 7:35 p.m. ET with the Comets just a win away from clinching a playoff spot and the SeaWolves firmly out of the playoff picture.

Despite losing four of the past five games, Head Coach Tom Traxler looks to finish the final stretch of games strongly with a win tonight before traveling to face the Milwaukee Wave Sunday afternoon. The SeaWolves will then rest next weekend before closing out their inaugural season at home against Utica FC and the Florida Tropics. 

Free Kicks

• Despite a relatively quiet off-season, new data has revealed that the Orlando Pride finished 20th in Twitter engagements. With over 17,000, the Pride had the highest total out of all nine NWSL clubs.

• United States and Borussia Dortmund forward Christian Pulisic will be out for three to four weeks after tearing a muscle in his thigh.
• In the inaugural Concacaf Nations League, the USMNT was drawn into a group with Cuba and neighbor Canada. The games will take place during the fall of this year and we should get our first good look at how the Yanks do competitively by that point.
• The Charleston Battery’s owner is selling the club’s historic stadium as plans are put into motion for a relocation downtown.
• After an impressive showing, Ole Gunnar Solksjaer will become the full-time manager of Manchester United.
• We end our links with eMLS Cup action as the biggest FIFA video game tournament starts tomorrow as part of PAX East. Orlando’s representative, FIFA Abe, was noted as one of the players to keep an eye on and a dark horse for the tournament. He’ll have a tough road ahead, but won’t need to worry about facing Toronto’s Phil Balke, who was suspended recently. Good luck Abe!

That’ll be it from me this morning. Make sure to fill up your gas tank after work today with games across the Central Florida area all weekend long. Vamos Orlando!