Lion Links: 10/8/20

Happy Thursday, Lionesses and Lions. As always, I hope you overcame your hump day with ease. Both Orlando City and Orlando City B had matches away from home yesterday, but unfortunately, neither side took the three points back home.

Along with the two matches also came a good deal of news as well, so with that let’s get right into the links.

Orlando City Extends Unbeaten Run to 10

Orlando City extended its unbeaten run to 10 matches after playing out to a scoreless draw to southern rivals Atlanta United. The Lions were the better side on the night, forcing Brad Guzan to make six saves compared to the fill-in, Brian Rowe’s three. City was never quite able to break the deadlock, hitting the woodwork twice as well. While a bragging rights-earning win is what was desired for the Orlando City faithful, it was nice to see the side secure its second clean sheet in the last three games, given the team’s defensive resilience on the night. Oscar Pareja’s men have conceded just one goal in the previous three fixtures.

• Michael Citro has your match recap.
• The view from the other side comes from Dirty South Soccer.

And check back later today for five takeaways by Marcus Mitchell and our player grades and Man of the Match from Dave Rohe.

Orlando City B Falls Short to Richmond

The poor form of Orlando City B persisted with a 2-1 loss to Richmond. The Young Lions have just one win from 12 played this season and the second placed side, Richmond, capitalized on the poor form. OCB was outplayed from the jump and fell behind 2-0 before having to play the final 22 minutes a player down. The Young Lions were at least able to score a goal through Wilfredo Rivera, ending a drought of more than 500 minutes, and goalkeeper Austin Aviza stopped one of the two penalties he faced. The next match for OCB comes at home to Chattanooga Red Wolves SC on Saturday afternoon.

USWNT Returns to Action for First Time in Seven Months

The USWNT is returning to action after seven months away. There will be no competitive matches for the side, however, the team will train together from Oct 18-28 in a training ground outside of Denver in a bubble of sorts.

The U.S. team and staff will operate inside a controlled environment at a Denver-area hotel. Everyone entering the controlled environment will undergo multiple COVID-19 tests before traveling, and then will be tested upon arrival, and then every two days during camp. There will be no full team training until the results of all arrival tests are confirmed.

Colorado Rapids Postpone Third Consecutive Match Because of Positive COVID Test

The Colorado Rapids have postponed their third consecutive match because of a positive COVID-19 case. The previous two postponed matches have already been rescheduled and now, the recently delayed fixture to LAFC is set to have details decided at a later date. Rapids players and staff who tested positive will be self-isolating and even players at the club who tested negative will also self-quarantine.

Free Kicks

• Nani is teaming up with the legend, Pele, to help raise funds to help those affected by COVID. The charity is based around the Brazilian’s birthday, however, Nani has already announced that he will be donating a signed journey to help raise money for those in need.

• Pedro Gallese was classified as one of the top signings of the 2020 MLS season with Antonio Carlos also receiving a notable mention by Andrew Wiebe.
• Former Orlando City player Conor Donovan was named the defensive player of the year for North Carolina FC. The 24-year-old was registered as a Lion from 2015-2017 and has now since moved on and found consistent game time in the USL Championship. It’s great to see a former Orlando player succeeding even if it is away from the club. Once a Lion, always a Lion.

• While the USWNT will not play any competitive matches upon its return, the men’s side is reportedly looking to schedule a pair of friendlies with one set to be against Wales.

That’ll do, pig. That is all for this Thursday’s links. As always, have a good rest of your week and I’ll catch you on the flip side.