Lion Links: 2/1/20

Welcome to February, Mane Landers. One month of 2020 is already in the books and the MLS season is right around the corner. In fact, Orlando City plays its first game of the season later this month on Feb. 29. I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty excited to see these new Lions in action. Now, let’s get to the links!

Orlando City Ready for Preseason Match

After a week training in Mexico, Head Coach Oscar Pareja and his Lions will take on the Columbus Crew today in a closed-door exhbition. It will be the Lions’ first showdown against an MLS club this preseason and a good chance for Pareja to see how the team is shaping up with less than a month before the season opener. Midfielder Uri Rosell weighed in on the intensity of the training up until this point and how the team is preparing for the 2020 season.

USWNT Cruise to Win Over Panama

With four goals in less than 25 minutes, the United States Women’s National Team put its foot on the gas early and didn’t come off it in a big 8-0 victory against Panama. Lindsey Horan scored first in the third minute, again in the 18th, and completed her hat trick in the 81st to cap off the win. Lynn Williams, Rose Lavelle, Christen Press, Jessica McDonald, and Tobin Heath all scored as well. The Orlando Pride’s Ashlyn Harris, Ali Krieger, and Emily Sonnett held things down on defense, all starting and playing 90 minutes.

USMNT Gears Up For Friendly

In its first match of 2020, the United States Men’s National Team takes on Costa Rica this afternoon at 4 p.m. Although the official lineup isn’t out yet, USMNT Head Coach Gregg Berhalter already named a couple of starters for the match. In goal, Sean Johnson gets the nod over Bill Hamid and Matt Turner and 19-year-old Jesus Ferreira will start after his FIFA eligibility waiver was approved earlier this week. Other players are eager to make their mark on the team as well. Defender Aaron Long could become a strong leader for the team, midfielder Jackson Yueill has a chance to improve further in Berhalter’s system, and 19-year-old Brendan Aaronson is ready to make his presence known.

Americans Abroad

USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie got his first start since Dec. 15 for Schalke 04 and played nearly all 90 minutes in a scoreless draw against Jurgen Klinsmann’s Hertha Berlin. It was nice to see him back in the swing of things after his injury in 2019 that forced him off the field on a stretcher. In today’s Bundesliga action, Tyler Adams and RB Leipzig face off against Fabian Johnson and Borussia Monchengladbach. Josh Sargent, Timothy Chandler, Alfredo Morales, and Giovanni Reyna could all play today as well.

In other news, it looks like Antonee Robinson’s big move to AC Milan is off and center back Cameron Carter-Vickers was loaned from Tottenham to Luton Town.

Free Kicks

• Check out some of the highlights from Orlando’s training.

• Crew captain Wil Trapp was traded to Inter Miami CF for a nice bundle of allocation money. In a more under-the-radar move, Miami also added winger Lewis Morgan from Celtic to its growing roster.
• Atlanta United shipped Hector Villalba to Club Libertud, saying farewell to its first Designated Player.
• Here’s a great feature looking into the reasons behind why players switch between MLS and Liga MX.
• If you synced the MLS schedule to your calendar, you may be subjected to some advertisements.

That’s going to be it for today, folks. I hope you all have an awesome Saturday and rest of your weekend!