Lion Links: 9/19/19

Good morning, Mane Landers! Here we are already, Friday eve of a week that can’t end soon enough. Let’s jump to the links.

Orlando City Looking Forward

From here on out, the Lions’ performance alone isn’t all that matters in the race to the playoffs. It heavily relies on how other teams perform moving forward. James O’Connor isn’t interested in the various scenarios.

“We aren’t in a position now to completely control our own destiny. What we need to do now is get a strong performance in Houston and then see what happens after that. It’s making sure our focus is on one particular game. It’s pointless going through the different dynamics of what might happen.”

The article goes on to share in Nani’s thoughts on how the team has to win from the beginning and how it’s not enough just to come back from a huge deficit but to start ahead.

Chris Mueller Reveals Plans

Chris Mueller teased fans with a social media post hinting that something big was coming. Last night he shared his mission for all. He’s partnering with One World Play Project to provide 500 soccer balls to kids around the world to offer life-changing opportunities. Lamine Sané and Cristian Higuita share what having a ball meant to them as a kid as Mueller introduces his mission and how you can help.

City Fined for Confrontation

During the New England Revolution match at home last weekend, things got pretty heated. The disciplinary committee has unsurprisingly come down on OCSC. Nani received a fine for hands to the face/neck violation, the organization and James O’Connor were both fined for violation of the mass confrontation policy, and during that mass confrontation, Dom and Nani were fined for escalating the situation. Remember kids, it’s only wrong if an Orlando player puts his hands on someone’s face/neck.

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PawedCast 178: Revs Recap, Dynamo Preview, Pride & More

Orlando Pride Rookie Earns key Defensive Role

Erin Greening is a self-proclaimed perfectionist and she has earned a major role in the Pride’s defense. She spends time analyzing mistakes until someone like Alanna Kennedy shifts her focus to preparing for the next match. Kennedy said she doesn’t feel like Greening is a rookie anymore at this point in the season.

“Erin is so valuable in this team and she doesn’t even realize it,” Kennedy said. “She has no idea how good she is. She doesn’t make many mistakes, so when she does, they stick with her. Sometimes I have to tell her to just let it go, worry about the next thing.”

USWNT Announces Two Last Matches of 2019

The final matches have been confirmed for the USWNT 2019 schedule. The women will head to Columbus, OH, to face Sweden on Nov. 7. Then the team will head to Jacksonville to take on Costa Rica on Nov. 10. The USWNT is currently on a 14 game winning streak. Visa card holders have the opportunity to buy tickets to the matches through a pre-sale event.

Free Kicks

• Nani features in EA Sports FIFA Team of the Week — the first for FIFA 20.
• Orlando SeaWolves season tickets are now on sale:

• Exploria Stadium gets a makeover for the Cure Bowl:

• Orlando City B’s Juliano Chade is up for USL League One’s Save of the Week.
• New Jersey Youth Soccer players were inspired by Carli Lloyd.
• Cristiano Ronaldo is looking for a woman who helped him when he was young.
• MLS files response in the NASL antitrust case.
• A really interesting feature on Abby Wambach.
• Mike Petke’s lawsuit against Real Salt Lake explained.

That’s going to do it for me today, Mane Landers. Have a great Thursday and Friday and before you know it the Lions will be battling in Houston.