Lion Links: 6/12/19

Happy Wednesday, Mane Landers! I’m not typically your patriotic, stars-and-stripe-print-wearing, American, but I was yesterday. I had my U.S. kit on and I was ready to support these women that are set to crush the 2019 Womens’ World Cup. What a show they put on! Not that many people will be talking about anything but the U.S. vs Thailand, but let’s get to the links.

Headed for World Domination

There’s a lot of feelings about the USWNT’s win (can you call it a win?) over Thailand. Here’s the point: These women have been training their entire lives to be a part of the World Cup, and they broke records and did their jobs, so I’m here for celebrating a job well done. With that, the Orlando Pride’s very own Alex Morgan was the highlight of the USWNT’s 13-0 win over Thailand, opening the scoring in the 12th-minute and adding, oh, just four additional goals and three assists. From there the team just set the field on fire.

Historic Win at the #FIFAWWC pic.twitter.com/j4001ZBLlH

— U.S. Soccer WNT (@USWNT) June 11, 2019

By the way, our friends at Breaking T created a shirt to commemorate Morgan’s five-goal World Cup extravaganza and you can order them here. This is what they look like and they’re available in both youth and adult sizes:

Benefiting from a U.S. Open Cup Win

While the women are all out slaughtering goal differentials, our Lions are headed to Memphis as they enter the fourth round of the U.S. Open Cup. Winning the U.S. Open Cup can mean a lot of things for a team — job security, springboard success, and a spot in the Concacaf Champions League. According to MLSSoccer.com, Orlando City is one of five teams that could really benefit from the win. The site stated,

“They could use a taste of success, and how much fun would a cup run through Exploria Stadium be?”

Probably pretty fun, right?

Orlando City B Can’t Be Tamed

The Young Lions are continuing to build momentum as their confidence rises. Midfielder, Serginho has won the Fans’ Choice Goal of the Month for a long-range shot that helped the team beat the Richmond kickers. Additionally, Thiago Souza is USL League One’s Player of the Week. Both Thiago and Rafael also made the Week 11 Team of the Week.

Two players on Team of the Week ✅
Player of the Week ✅

Go on, lads! #NextGenOC pic.twitter.com/9JK3RWT69b

— Orlando City B (@OrlandoCityB) June 11, 2019

SeaWolves Continue Building their Roster

The Orlando SeaWolves have signed defender Irving Tovar, pending visa approval. Tovar started his career in Mexico. In 2016 he won the PSL championship with the Rio Grande Valley Devils. General Manager Chris Kokalis stated:

“Irving is a young defender who will continue to grow as a player with playing time. We look forward to adding him as another piece of the puzzle for 2019-20.”

Adding another one to the back line.

SeaWolves Sign Defender Irving Tovar.

Read: https://t.co/gfstKckzxI pic.twitter.com/eTL3AMy25u

— Orlando SeaWolves (@MCOSeaWolves) June 11, 2019

Rising Stars to Watch

MLS released a list of players to watch for in the upcoming Gold Cup, and Orlando City’s Danilo Acosta has made that list for Honduras. Though he played for the U.S. U-20s, he did not feature during a senior team call-up and has made a FIFA allegiance switch to play for his birth country. Acosta’s energy is a welcome addition to the Honduras team looking to reach its first Gold Cup final.

Free Kicks

• The North Carolina Courage have traded Elizabeth Eddy to Sky Blue FC for McKenzie Meehan.
• Lionel Messi is the highest paid athlete of 2019.
• Tyler Adams has withdrawn from U.S. Gold Cup with a groin injury.
• Is Stu Holden Dying is hair pink?
• Could FC Cincinnati’s Kenny Saief be headed out of MLS already?

That’ll do it for me today, Mane Landers. Be sure to check back later today as we’ll recap OCB vs. Tucson and OCSC at Memphis!