Lion Links: 2/5/20

Good morning, Mane Landers. I hope this morning finds you all well. Before we jump into today’s links, let’s all take a moment to wish the Orlando Pride’s Marisa Viggiano a happy 23rd birthday!

Lions Win in Mexico

On its last day in Mexico after a full week of workouts and training, Orlando City had a scrimmage match with Mexican club Inter Playa. Although the full lineups weren’t revealed, the Lions did win 2-0 with goals from Nani and Dom Dwyer as the Lions wrapped up their training down in Cancun. The Lions now return to Orlando for five more preseason matches before they take on Real Salt Lake at home on Feb. 29.

The Orlando Pride Waive Haley Kopmeyer

The club waived the veteran goalkeeper after two years spent in Orlando. The 29-year-old had a strong 2018 campaign for the Pride, but struggled to find her form last season when filling in for Ashlyn Harris.

“On behalf of everyone at Orlando Pride, we would like to thank Haley for her contributions throughout her time in Orlando,” Orlando Pride General Manager Erik Ustruck said. “Haley has given seven years of her life to growing women’s soccer and the NWSL. We respect her decision to explore new opportunities and we wish her the best of luck in her next chapter moving forward.”

With Harris away from the club again this summer for the Olympics, it will be interesting to see if Orlando Pride Head Coach Marc Skinner trades for another goalkeeper or rolls with current backup Lainey Burdett.

Zadorsky Scores for Canada

The Canada Women’s National Team played Mexico in the Olympic qualifying tournament yesterday. The 2-0 win was solidified by the Orlando Pride’s Shelina Zadorsky scoring the second goal at the end of the first half.

With the victory, Canada won Group B and is now only one win away from clinching a spot in this summer’s Olympics. Mexico will face the U.S. in the semifinals on Friday and Canada will play Costa Rica.

SeaWolves Add Defender Alex Tozer

The Orlando SeaWolves signed defender Alex Tozer. The former Cedar Rapids Rampage and St. Louis Ambush player will be with the team for the remainder of the season and should give a nice boost to a defense that has struggled all season long.

“Really excited to have a player of Alex’s experience coming in,” Head Coach Tom Traxler said, “He’s a defender, he’s been in the league, everyone knows his last name and all his experience is invaluable, especially to us.”

The SeaWolves will hunt for their second win of the season when they take on the San Diego Sockers at home tomorrow night at 7:35 p.m.

Free Kicks

• Two men threatened to kill Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil.
• 17-year-old American Giovanni Reyna scored a beautiful goal that was also his first for Borussia Dortmund.

• FC Barcelona confirmed Ousmane Dembélé has a tear in his right thigh and will miss the remainder of the season.
• San Jose tops the list of the amount of minutes played by players in 2019 that will be returning for the upcoming season.

That’ll do it for me today, Mane Landers. Have a great rest of the week and stay safe!