Lion Links: 5/16/22

Merry Monday morning, Mane Landers! What a weekend for those who wear purple. A last-minute header by Kyle Smith gave Orlando City a road win against Toronto FC. Add in the Orlando Pride earning a second result in a row, and it’s a great start to the week. Let’s get to the links!

Orlando City Ready for Pride Month

As part of MLS’s Soccer For All Week to celebrate diversity and promote positive social change, new tops were made available and can be purchased. The tops feature many colors in a geometric design and you can check out Orlando City’s below.

For Pride month in June, the league is also making donations to organizations that help support LGBTQ+ athletes.

Sunday MLS Results

Orlando City wasn’t the only MLS club to play this weekend. There were two matches on Sunday. The early match saw Atlanta United play at home and draw 2-2 against the New England Revolution. Thiago Almada started the scoring for Atlanta in the 15th minute, but Adam Buksa scored a brace to give the Revolution the lead with goals in the 30th and 55th minutes. Atlanta’s equalizer came in the 63rd minute on a strike from Luiz Araújo.

The second match of the day saw the Concacaf Champions League champion Seattle Sounders take on former Orlando City gaffer Adrian Heath’s Minnesota United at Lumen Field. The Sounders defeated the visitors 3-1 in their match-up. Minnesota took the lead on a goal from Robin Lod in the 34th minute, but the Sounders evened things up in the 50th minute on a penalty kick. The home team went on to score two more goals, with Cristian Roldan scoring in the 74th minute and Nicolás Lodeiro adding another in stoppage time.

English Premier League Nears Conclusion

It was a wild Sunday in the English Premier League. Manchester City faltered in its race for the league title by drawing 2-2 against West Ham United. The Hammers scored twice before City could get going. City did even the score with a pair of goals in the second half for an important point with Liverpool now four points back with a game in hand heading into the final week.

Down near the bottom of the table, Everton looked to leave relegation behind, but was unable to do so when two red cards doomed the Toffees to a 3-2 loss to Brentford. Everton isn’t safe from relegation in 16th place, but is a point ahead of Leeds United and two ahead of Burnley. Elsewhere, Leicester City pummeled Watford 5-1 with both Jamie Vardy and Harvey Barnes netting two goals a piece.

FIFA Issues a Warning to Hotels in Qatar

With the World Cup coming up at the end of this year, FIFA has issued a warning to the hotels involved with hosting the event. Per Amnesty International, homosexuality is illegal in Qatar and could be punishable with imprisonment. Journalists posing as gay couples tried to book hotels for the World Cup and a few were denied based on that criteria at supposedly FIFA-approved hotels. As such, FIFA has warned all service providers at the World Cup that if they don’t comply with FIFA’s standards then their contracts will be terminated.

Free Kicks

• LionNation app rewards are back. The change takes place today and you need to make sure the app is updated.
• The U.S. Para Women’s National Team drew 1-1 with Japan in its third match of the inaugural 2022 IFCPF World Cup. The U.S. then beat Australia 4-0 and will face Australia again tomorrow for the tournament’s championship match.
• American forward Haji Wright scored a goal in Antalyaspor’s 4-2 win over Kasımpaşa. It was his seventh straight match scoring a goal.
• Over in the Eredivisie, American Richie Ledezma scored his first senior goal for PSV in a 2-1 win over PEC Zwolle.
• Erik ten Hag will quickly shift his focus from leading Ajax to an Eredivisie title to taking over as the manager of Manchester United.
• Barcelona’s women’s team completed a perfect season by winning 30 Primera Division matches after defeating Atletico Madrid 2-1.
• It was confirmed that Luis Suarez will leave Atletico following this season. The 35-year-old bid farewell to the fans after starting in the team’s 1-1 draw at home against Sevilla.
• My hometown team, Tallahassee Soccer Club, came from behind to draw Pensacola FC 1-1 in the National Premier Soccer League. There was even a penalty kick saved by Battle Lions’ goalkeeper Bosco Pery.

That will do it for today. It’s a “light week” for the Lions with only the match with Austin FC on Sunday, but the next round of the Open Cup is right around the corner on May 25. The club’s NWSL and MLS NEXT Pro teams, however, do have a heavy work schedule. The Pride are at North Carolina on Wednesday and return home to host Chicago on Sunday. OCB is in action at Philadelphia tonight and again at home on Saturday as the Young Lions have a busy week. Vamos Orlando!