Lion Links: 9/23/21

Good morning, everybody! No midweek for Orlando City (finally) plus the Pride have had their international break, so it’s been a relatively quiet news week. With that being said, we’ve got plenty to get into this morning.

But first, let’s all celebrate The Mane Land’s seventh anniversary covering Orlando City. Our blog got its start seven years ago today as a free WordPress outlet and joined SBN a couple months later.

Orlando Pride Enjoy International Break

Julia Poe of The Orlando Sentinel wrote about the three Orlando Pride players who went on international duty this past week. Alex Morgan scored a hat trick against Paraguay for the United States Women’s National Team, Marta scored a great goal with Brazil, and Gunny Jónsdóttir captained Iceland against the Netherlands in World Cup qualifiers. Coach Becky Burleigh also added some interesting notes about how the team has trained without three of its key contributors.

“It’s just opportunity for other people to play in those positions when we’re training,” Burleigh said. “That’s not a bad thing for us at all.”

Andres Perea To Feature on Orlando City Instagram Live

Orlando City midfielder Andres Perea will be on the club’s Instagram live this afternoon, answering questions with Miguel Gallardo. Perea has featured in 20 games for the Lions this season, scoring two goals. His most recent outing was one to forget, getting sent off against Montreal.

Midweek MLS Results

Orlando wasn’t on the schedule, but a hat trick of Eastern Conference clashes were last night. The top three teams in the conference were all in action, but did no favors for fourth-place Orlando in the standings. Third-place New York City FC drew 1-1 with the New York Red Bulls in a derby clash. Nashville SC obliterated a defeated Inter Miami in Ft. Lauderdale 5-1, in a game that also saw Miami’s captain sent off. Supporters Shield runaways the New England Revolution nearly dropped points to the Chicago Fire, but MVP frontrunner Carles Gil found the game-winning goal in the 90th minute.

Seattle Loses Leagues Cup Final 3-2; MLS to Vegas?

The Seattle Sounders lost 3-2 to Club León of Liga MX in the Leagues Cup final at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Cristian Roldan opened the scoring for Seattle early in the second half but León found its equalizer in the 61st minute, courtesy of Ángel Mena. Then disaster struck late for Seattle when former Lion Shane O’Neill committed a foul in the box, gifting a penalty and the lead to León. León added a third goal in the 85th minute for insurance. The Sounders got a second in stoppage time from Will Bruin to give themselves a sliver of hope, but it was too late to matter. MLS still cannot break through in continental competitions.

Perhaps more notable than the game itself were commissioner Don Garber’s comments at halftime.

While there’s no official statement or a huge expansion bid in Las Vegas, comments like these heavily suggest that the 30th MLS franchise, originally supposed to be in Sacramento, is going to eventually be in Vegas.

Free Kicks

• USMNT midfielder Weston McKennie is rumored in a potential swap deal with Arsenal.
• Kansas City’s NWSL side will play its home games at Sporting Kansas City’s Children’s Mercy Park starting in 2022.
• FIFA is investigating alleged homophobic slurs from Honduras during its loss to the USMNT earlier this month

• LA Galaxy GM Dennis De Kloese is being linked with several jobs in Mexico.
• Colombian superstar James Rodriguez is off to Qatar after a year at Everton.
• Wayne Rooney’s Derby County was given a massive points reduction due to financial issues, putting the team at -2 points through eight games.

That’s all for today, thank you all for reading, have a wonderful Thursday.