Lion Links: 3/13/22

Happy Sunday, Mane Landers. Hopefully you’re not too groggy from turning your clocks ahead. At least you don’t have to touch them again until November. Grab your favorite caffeinated beverage and dive into today’s news from around the soccer world.

Lions Suffer First Loss of 2022

Despite dominating possession, passing accuracy, corners, shots, and shots on target, Orlando City somehow managed to lose at home to FC Cincinnati. Junior Urso pulled back a first-half goal by Brandon Vazquez but the Cincinnati forward scored again in the second half and this time the Lions didn’t have a response in a 2-1 loss to a team that had previously not scored a goal on the season. Cincy had lost 14 consecutive games dating back to last September and prior to Saturday night had won just once in the last 27 times the team took the pitch. It won’t be easy to bounce back from the loss with a trip to the LA Galaxy looming and a visit to Portland the week after. Michael Citro has your match recap, while later today you can check out our five takeaways from the game and our player grades and Man of the Match.

U.S. Beats Mexico to Win Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship

The Under-20 U.S. Women’s National Team beat Mexico 2-0 in the championship game of the Concacaf Women’s U-20 Championship in the Dominican Republic on Saturday. The win delivered a record seventh Concacaf title for the U.S. in this age group. Forward Michelle Cooper scored in the third minute and midfielder Talia DellaPeruta converted a penalty kick at the end of the first half. Cooper earned the tournament’s Golden Boot and Golden Ball as the competition’s top scorer and top player, respectively. Both teams had already secured spots in the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup with their semifinal victories. You can check out the highlights below.

Saturday’s MLS Results

After unveiling its itsy-bitsy MLS Cup 2021 champions banner at its snowy home opener, New York City FC crushed CF Montréal 4-1 behind a Magno Talles assist and goal. The Columbus Crew are now unbeaten through their first three matches of the season after defeating Toronto FC 2-1. Already down 1-0, Brek Shea’s first-half red card crushed Inter Miami’s comeback chances and LAFC added another for a 2-0 win at a soggy and windy DRV PNK Stadium. Inter Miami’s Phil Neville challenged his lone Designated Player Gonzalo Higuaín after the game, saying “for us to be successful, he has to perform.”

The Seattle Sounders overcame the LA Galaxy 3-2 to win their first game of the campaign. Darwin Quintero scored twice to lead the Houston Dynamo past the Vancouver Whitecaps, 2-1. The Chicago Fire beat D.C. United 2-0 to hand Ezra Hendrickson his first win as manager. Real Salt Lake scored three late second-half goals to overcome a 2-0 deficit and defeat the New England Revolution 3-2. The Revolution’s Carles Gil didn’t enjoy himself in the snow.

The Philadelphia Union gave Jim Curtin his 100th career regular-season win and remained unbeaten by shutting out the San Jose Earthquakes 2-0. Club-record signing Alan Velasco scored in his debut to give FC Dallas a 2-0 win over Nashville SC.

The late matches featured Colorado vs. Sporting Kansas City and Portland against Austin.

Ronaldo’s Hat Trick Makes History

After missing his team’s 4-1 loss to Manchester City last week, Cristiano Ronaldo bagged a hat trick to propel Manchester United to a 3-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday. His three goals give him 807, which now makes him the all-time leading goal scorer in men’s football history combined for club and country. Although this record is contested and unofficial, FIFA estimates that Austro-Czech Josef Bican netted 805 goals during a career that lasted from 1931 to 1955.

Free Kicks

• The Premier League disqualified Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich as a director at the club.
• Bayern Munich and Hoffenheim drew 1-1 on Saturday after three Bayern goals were ruled offside. Hoffenheim dropped to fifth place in the German Bundesliga after Freiburg’s 3-2 win over Wolfsburg.
• AC Milan shut out Empoli 1-0 to stay on top of the Italian Serie A table.
• The Daily Mail reported that Manchester City has struck a deal to sign Borussia Dortmund striker Erling Haaland.

Thanks for joining us today, Mane Landers. Shake off last night’s loss and get ready for the LA Galaxy next weekend.