Lion Links: 1/13/20

Good morning and happy Monday, Mane Landers! I hope you all had a great weekend. While there were no MLS games, I’m sure many of you were watching some NFL action. As a huge Raiders fan, I was bitterly disappointed that Houston couldn't pull off the upset over Kansas City. I guess I’ll be rooting for the Titans now!

We are now just three days away from the NWSL draft and the Orlando Pride have several picks this year. Marc Skinner said many times last season that he wished he could have built from the draft so this is his chance to do just that.

Pride Players Named to W-League Team of the Week

It was an excellent weekend for Orlando Pride players abroad. Carson Pickett, Emily van Egmond, and Claire Emslie were all named to the Team of the Week down in Australia. Pickett was one of the standouts as she helped Brisbane Roar to a resounding 4-0 win over the previously undefeated Western Sydney Wanderers.

Van Egmond scored from 30 yards out in Melbourne City’s 4-0 win. Emslie “delivered her breakout Westfield W-League performance,” by earning two penalties, converting one, and letting another player convert the other, and she was named Player of the Match.

Orlando SeaWolves Fall to the Florida Tropics

The Tropics beat Orlando 10-3 in Lakeland and the SeaWolves are now 1-7 on the season. The SeaWolves struggled early as the Tropics used three straight goals to open up the scoring to 4-1. Orlando tried to come back but was unable to and lost its second game in three days. The team will hope to bounce back with another meeting on the road against the Tropics on Jan. 19.

Getting to Know the USMNT’s New General Manager

If you have ever followed U.S. soccer then odds are you know who Brian McBride is. If you don’t, then go check out this short biography from MLSsoccer.com’s Charles Boehm. He breaks down McBride’s career from his NCAA days to the World Cup to working as a “part-time pundit.” My favorite memory of his was during the 2006 World Cup when he took an elbow from Italy’s Daniele De Rossi and was left with blood gushing down his face. The forward got his face wrapped up and went right back onto the field.

Speaking of the USMNT, Christian Pulisic is “living the dream” in the Premier League as Chelsea works towards a top four spot, and Champions League qualification. Also, youngster Josh Sargent was in the news as he returned from injury and netted a brace in just 45 minutes. He now has two goals and two assists in 11 appearances.

MLS Collective Bargaining

The Collective Bargaining Agreement’s negotiations are ongoing and our friends over at Sounder at Heart have a nice series updating everyone on where things stand. This installment details the compensation aspect of the negations and there are three more parts of the series later on so check back for them. There are clear roadblocks, but hopefully the two sides can work things out during the negotiations.

Free Kicks

• Orlando City’s annual Pub Crawl is scheduled for Feb. 15 and is sure to a great time yet again.

• What are the best rivalries in women’s soccer?
• Sergio Aguero became the English Premier League’s non-Englishman goal leader after a hat trick in Manchester City’s rout of Aston Villa.
• Reign FC is getting a new coach in Frenchman Farid Benstiti. He previously coached at Olympique Lyonnais, and the OL group owns 89.5% of the Reign.
• Here are the 10 most valuable soccer players in the world:

That’s going to do it for today, folks. I hope you all have a great start to your work week and a nice Monday.