Lion Links: 11/25/19

Merry Monday morning, Mane Landers! Here we are at the beginning of the Thanksgiving week and I hope you enjoyed your weekend. My wife and I were able to take my step-daughter to see the FSU women’s soccer team defeat USF 2-1 in the third round of the NCAA tournament. Needless to say, we had a great time.

Unfortunately, since I’m in car sales I get to work all the way up to and right after the holiday. For those of you lucky enough to have the week off, just know that I’m jealous. For those working like me, have courage brothers and sisters, have courage. But for now, let’s get to the links!

2019 MLS End-of-Year Waiver Draft

Orlando City will have the third selection in the 2019 MLS End-of-Year Waiver Draft which starts today at 3 p.m. Orlando City players available for selection include Carlos Ascues, Adam Grinwis, Cam Lindley, Greg Ranjitsingh, and Lamine Sané. Whether or not Orlando City will have a coach in place before the draft begins is anyone’s guess. If only there was some news on the coaching front.

Orlando City and Other MLS Coaching News

No, Orlando City didn’t announce Óscar Pareja as the next head coach. However, Pareja may have coached his last game for Xolos of Tijuana, as the team failed to make the playoffs in Liga MX. As first reported by The Mane Land, Pareja is the target for the Orlando City front office and more reports are surfacing that he was offered a multi-year contract and a heavy pay day to join Orlando. Of course, the Lions are not the only MLS team looking for a new skipper and anything can happen during the off-season

Rivalry Rotation

As Orlando City supporters are all too aware, Don Garber and MLS did their best to create a rivalry between Atlanta United and Orlando City. Unfortunately, Orlando City did not do its part competitively and while there’s certainly some banter and a little ill will between the supporters of each club, it never really developed into the type of rivalry that anyone wanted. Now, Nashville SC could become the rival of Garber’s personal favorite southern team. Frankly, I hope it happens as a rivalry should happen organically. Geography can play a part, but let’s see what happens on the pitch to garner a rival for our Lions.

U.S. Falls in Beach World Cup to Japan

The U.S. Men’s Beach Soccer Team lost 4-3 to Japan at the Beach Soccer World Cup in Paraguay. Alessandro Canale scored a brace for the Yanks and U.S. goalkeeper Chris Toth scored the other. Unfortunately, Japan was able to score one more, leaving the U.S. with no points in the group and eliminated from the tournament. The Yanks still have one game left however and will take on tournament host Paraguay tonight at 7 p.m.

Free Kicks

• The Orlando Pride’s own Emily van Egmond scored a late penalty to give her W-League side Melbourne City a 2-1 win over Pride teammate Camila and Canberra United despite the Brazilian’s close efforts to score.
• The University of Central Florida men’s soccer team went into overtime and came out victorious in a 2-1 win over Missouri State. The win means the team advances to the organization’s first Sweet 16, where the Knights will face off against the SMU Mustangs.
• As I mentioned above, FSU advanced to the Elite 8 in the NCAA tournament and will face the UCLA Bruins this Friday in Tallahassee.
• Professional soccer players in Holland plan to stand still for the first minute of their upcoming matches in protest against racism. Well done, lads.
• A goalkeeper scored from his own box in Liga MX. Seriously, it’s amazing and he’ll probably frame the stat sheet.

That’s it for today, hopefully you all have a strong start to your week. It is sure to be a busy one.