Lion Links: 3/5/20

Good morning, Mane Landers! I hope the morning finds you all well. Let’s go ahead and jump right into the links.

By the Numbers: Orlando v. Colorado

Orlando City’s Evan Weston took a look at the numbers following the home opener and leading up to this weekend’s match against the Colorado Rapids. Colorado is the only team that existed before 2019 that has yet to beat Orlando City. The Lions are 4-0-1 all-time against the Rapids.

As the Lions work to prepare, Santiago Patino shows out with some fun moves.

Claire Emslie Scores for Scotland

The Scotland women’s national team played Ukraine yesterday in the Pinatar Cup. The Scots took the win, defeating Ukraine 3-0. The Orlando Pride’s Claire Emslie put the game away as she scored the team’s third goal in the 78th minute.

SeaWolves Embark on Final Road Trip of the Season

The Orlando SeaWolves will head out to take on the Kansas City Comets and the Milwaukee Wave over the next few days as the MASL regular season begins to wind down..

“Kansas City is a good team and Milwaukee are the defending MASL champions,” Head Coach Tom Traxler said, “These were always going to be hard games for us.”

Upon their return, the SeaWolves will play their remaining four games at home.

MLS Looks for Ways to Shorten Off-season

With the official start of Major League Soccer’s 25th season, it has league executives eyeing improvements for the future by discussing issues with the length of the off-season.

“I think the off-season is too long, and there’s no doubt about it,” Garber said. “We’ve got to figure out a way to try to manage the fact that we continue to evolve our schedule and have not really been able to – even after all these years – settle on something that’s perfect.”

Free Kicks

• Inter Miami is making headlines again, as Monterrey filed a complaint for breaking FIFA rules when David Beckham enticed Rodolfo Pizarro to join Miami.
• The U-20 United States Women’s National Team won big over Canada and is only one win from from qualifying for the U-20 World Cup.

• The Italian government announced yesterday that all sporting events will take place without fans present, due to the coronavirus outbreak.
• Supporters at the Bayer Leverkusen-Union Berlin match sat in total silence during a fan emergency.
• Eric Dier launched into the stands to confront a fan after Tottenham lost on penalties to Norwich City. Jose Mourinho responded to the incident, “I am with the player and I understand the player.”

• Tim Howard is coming out of retirement to play for Memphis 901 FC.
• Former SeaWolves forward Gordy Gurson has been released from the Florida Tropics and posted a farewell. He went on to post multiple tweets sharing his dissatisfaction.

That’ll do it for me today, Mane Landers. Be sure to check back in later today for news on the SheBelieves Cup!