Lion Links: 5/10/21

Merry Monday morning, Mane Landers! You might wonder why I’m in a good mood after Orlando City gave up another lead against New York City FC. Well, the Lions have yet to lose this season, and that’s nothing to scoff at. I’m fine with one win and three draws to start the season. That’s not to say I don’t want a few wins in a row from Orlando, but it’s hard to argue with winning a point. Let’s get to the links.

Orlando Pride Players Celebrate Mother’s Day

If you are a mother, I hope that you had a great Mother’s Day. If you are lucky enough to still have your mother, I hope you got to talk or spend time with her. Pride players Sydney Leroux, Alex Morgan, Ashlyn Harris, and Ali Krieger are not only professional athletes but mothers as well. They have all worked hard to become great role models not only for girls across the U.S., but other parents as well. Leroux took to Instagram to share a great photo of the Pride’s soccer moms.

MLS Wraps Up Fourth Week

We all know how Orlando’s match ended, but it wasn’t the only game this weekend. In the best possible result for Orlando to stay near the top of the Eastern Conference, Atlanta United and Inter Miami CF fought to a 1-1 draw. Josef Martinez was able to score for the first time since his injury in the match. The Columbus Crew defeated D.C. United 3-1 for the defending champion’s first win of the season.

Out west, the Seattle Sounders earned a 2-1 win against their Cascadia rivals, the Portland Timbers. Raul Ruidiaz and Fredy Montero scored the goals for the Sounders. Former Orlando City gaffer Adrian Heath is once again in the hot seat, but this time with Minnesota United FC after the Colorado Rapids came back to defeat the Loons 3-2 and hand them their fourth loss this season. Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez scored a goal and assisted on another to give the LA Galaxy a 2-1 win over LAFC in the first El Trafico of the season.

Americans Abroad this Weekend

Daryl Dike wasn’t able to score in Barnsley FC’s 2-2 draw with Norwich City. With the result, Barnsley will face Swansea City in the English Football League promotion playoff on May 17. Dike wasn’t the only American in action this weekend as DeAndre Yedlin started for Galatasaray and helped the Turkish club defeat Cyle Larin’s Besiktas by a score of 3-1. Giovanni Reyna’s Borussia Dortmund defeated RB Leipzig 3-2, and Christian Pulisic played all 90 minutes in Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Manchester City.

U.S. Futsal Team Reaches World Cup

The U.S. Futsal National Team qualified for the FIFA Futsal World Cup after finishing as runner-ups in the Concacaf Futsal Championship. This is the first time the U.S. has made the Futsal World Cup since 2008. The U.S. joins Costa Rica, Panama, and Guatemala as the Concacaf representatives for the World Cup next year in Lithuania. The Yanks will meet Guatemala in the semifinals Saturday at 8 p.m.

Free Kicks

• Chelsea won the Women’s Super League title after defeating Reading, 5-0. The Blues have now won the title in back-to-back years.
• Columbus Crew SC will reportedly rebrand to just Columbus SC. As much as I like the club trying to emulate Orlando City SC, I think that the “Crew” was a great name and it will be missed. Oh, and there’s this image that was rumored to be the team’s new logo (on the left).

• Here’s something I love to see though. Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin decided to invest in the Washington Spirit. Well done, sir.

That will do it for today, folks. Go Orlando!