Lion Links: 4/13/19

Hello, all you fine Mane Landers! Another week’s done and dusted, which also means we’ve arrived at another Orlando City match day. There’s actually a ton of soccer going on in the Orlando community this weekend so make sure you get out there and support the Lions, Orlando City B, the Orlando Pride, and the Orlando SeaWolves. But before we get to all of that, let’s get to the links.

Lindley Loaned Out as Lions Head West

The Lions are currently in Utah to take on Real Salt Lake tonight at 9 p.m. ET. Ben Miller of The Mane Land chatted with Lucas Muller of the RSL Soapbox blog to provide this week’s Intelligence Report and check back later today for our match preview.

In other OCSC news, USL Championship side Memphis 901 FC announced the loan of midfielder Cameron Lindley from the Lions.

There’s no information out yet about the specific details of the loan, such as the duration or if Orlando City has the right to recall the midfielder at any time. Tim Mulqueen, 901 FC head coach and former Orlando City goalkeeping coach, seems excited to land Lindley though.

“I’ve known Cameron for a while now,” 901 FC head coach Tim Mulqueen said. “He has very special qualities in his passing and does a great job of linking our defenders with our midfielders.

“We’re going to rely on him during the match to build and sustain attacks.”

Orlando Pride Reveal New Home Kit

The Orlando Pride hosted the “Pride in the Park” event at Lake Eola on Friday night, where the 2019 home jersey — the Eola Reflection Kit — was revealed.

Meanwhile, Pride star Marta is ready for the first match of the 2019 National Women’s Soccer League season on Sunday. Head Coach Marc Skinner and defender Ali Krieger, fresh off her 99th cap with the United States Women’s National Team, appeared on FOX35’s Good Day Orlando morning show yesterday to discuss the match. Lastly, Top Drawer Soccer published a list of NWSL rookies to watch this season, and the Pride’s newly signed Supplemental forward Caitlin Farrell made the cut.

Orlando SeaWolves Salute Heroes in Tough Loss

The inaugural season for the Major Arena Soccer League’s Orlando SeaWolves wraps up tonight when they take on rival Florida Tropics at Silver Spurs Arena in Kissimmee. Last night, the team hosted Utica City FC for a Salute to Heroes night that ended in a 7-6 loss for the SeaWolves. Orlando was down 4-1 at halftime and had a determined comeback that came up just short. It was the SeaWolves’ sixth straight loss but hopefully they can finish their season on a high note against the Florida Tropics tonight.

American Soccer News and Updates

There were quite a few updates about various national and international soccer tournaments. First, it was announced that former U.S. Men’s National Team star Landon Donovan would join his former National Team Head Coach Bruce Arena as studio analysts for FOX Sports’ coverage of the Concacaf Gold Cup.

Elsewhere, the USWNT reminded us that the “Send Off Series” of three final friendlies before the 2019 Women’s World Cup begins in just under a month. The squad will face South Africa on May 12, then Tom Sermanni’s New Zealand on May 16, and Mexico on May 26.

Free Kicks

• Speaking of the USWNT, team veteran Heather O’Reilly took to Twitter to make it known that the 2019 NWSL season will be her last as a professional player.

• In some bad news for Tottenham Hotspur fans, Harry Kane is “continuing assessment” for the ankle injury he sustained in Champions League play this past week.
• The Generation Adidas Cup will be streamed exclusively on Twitch.

That’s all there is to it this morning. Now, go enjoy your Saturday and support Orlando City at your local watch parties tonight. Go City!