Lion Links
Lion Links: 6/5/21
Happy Saturday, everyone. There’s no Orlando City match this weekend, but there’s still some soccer to enjoy. The Orlando Pride will be in action on the road tomorrow afternoon at Washington, the USMNT take on Mexico tomorrow night for a trophy, and there are all kinds of matches you can stream — World Cup qualifiers, international friendlies, Brazilian Serie A, and more.
Meanwhile, let’s see what’s happening in the news of the day.
Orlando City Has Fifth-Best Odds at Winning the East
According to the most up-to-date odds from BetMGM, Orlando City has the fifth-best shot at winning the Eastern Conference. The odds-on favorite to win the conference is New England, which is no surprise given the Revs’ hot start. Orlando City is off to a good start too, but the oddsmakers prefer the Philadelphia Union, Columbus Crew, and New York City FC over the Lions. Oh well.
Pride Sign Fourth-Round Pick Kaylie Collins
With backup goalkeeper Erin McLeod off on international duty with Canada — fresh off a win over North Carolina and an NWSL Save of the Week Award — the Pride filled the spot by signing USC goalkeeper Kaylie Collins. The Pride selected Collins in the fourth round (No. 34 overall) in January’s draft. Collins led her team to an NCAA tournament appearance and had another standout college season. She’ll be available for selection for Sunday’s match, but the Pride still have Ashlyn Harris and Brittany Wilson.
Orlando Pride at Washington Spirit Storylines
Alex Morgan’s search for a fifth goal in five games, the 2021 NWSL season’s first rematch for Orlando, and the Pride’s bid to make it five straight without a loss are among the storylines for Sunday when the Pride visit the Spirit. It’s been a great opening to the season and now the Pride face a tough test against the second-place Spirit on the road. The teams played to a draw in the first game of the season and it will be interesting to see which coach makes the best adjustments for Round 2.
Williams Gets Five Games Tacked onto Suspension
LA Galaxy defender Derrick Williams’ horror tackle on Andy Polo of Portland extended his suspension five more matches to a total of six. Polo is out for the rest of the 2021 season with a ruptured left quadriceps and a torn meniscus. So, just to review: costing a player a season and potentially ending their career is roughly four games worse than a light push to a referee in the minds of the MLS Disciplinary Committee.
Free Kicks
- Perhaps some good signs here for the Lions:
Uri Rosell and Pato are both back to working on the sidelines, signaling some positive steps in their recovery processes.
— Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) June 4, 2021
- More good news: Ted Lasso merchandise and a new season are coming soon. Believe, my Diamond Dogs.
- Two Orlando City SC MLS NEXT players have been added to Norwich University’s 2021 recruiting class. Best of luck to Kameron Jorgenson and Nicolas Lanza in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference!
- Despite the team being relegated, Tim Ream is staying with Fulham after agreeing to a new deal.
- Speaking of staying, Thomas Tuchel signed an extension to remain the boss at Chelsea.
- Reports are swirling that Brazil’s players may boycott the Copa America, which was just moved to their own country, with COVID-19 cases still sky high there. This statement didn’t douse the flames of any rumors:
Copa America was moved to Brazil after previously encountering protesting/COVID issues in two previous host nations, Colombia & Argentina.
Brazilian manager Tite with a statement on reports that Brazilian players could boycott the tournament in their home country pic.twitter.com/CyDMOdmAJR
— International Champions Cup (@IntChampionsCup) June 4, 2021
That’s all my time this morning. Enjoy your weekend and get ready to support the Pride tomorrow.