Lion Links: 9/19/22

Merry Monday morning, Mane Landers! It was quite an exciting weekend. with Orlando City defeating Toronto FC 4-0 on Saturday night in a huge home win. Unfortunately, Orlando City B wasn’t able to copy the first team’s results. That being said, let’s get to the links.

Orlando City B Loses Season Finale

OCB can’t hurt us anymore this year. The Young Lions lost their final match 2-1 to Toronto FC II on Sunday afternoon. Moises Tablante gave the Young Lions a second-half lead, but the visitors scored two late goals to earn all three points and secure a spot in the postseason. OCB was already eliminated from the playoffs heading into this match. This was not a great season for OCB, but results can’t always be measured in wins and losses for a developmental squad. Of course, goals and wins don’t hurt, so hopefully OCB can get more of those next season.

Orlando City Issued Minor Fine After Investigation

Remember when Orlando City won the U.S. Open Cup? That was a great day. Of course there was the whole investigation by U.S. Soccer regarding Orlando City allegedly spying on a Sacramento Republic FC training session. The Sacramento complaint was that there was an Orlando City staffer present at the USL side’s training session at a public park and they refused to leave when asked. According to ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle, the disciplinary panel was unable to prove that any spying took place and Orlando City was fined for the incident.

The panel found that while the staffer was indeed present at the practice, it was unable to prove that any spying or information gathering took place, or that the individual had been instructed by Orlando’s coaching staff to observe training. The staffer insisted he was there to meet a friend who was coaching on a nearby field. Still, the panel found that the staffer’s presence at the training session amounted to “actions contrary to the good of the game,” a source told ESPN, and a nominal fine was issued.

Carlisle’s sources said that the fine was in the “low four figures,” which would seem to indicate that there wasn’t a lot to the complaint in the eyes of the U.S. Soccer Federation and could perhaps have been avoided entirely if the staffer had simply left when asked.

Orlando Pride Allows Pets for Next Match

In what might be the greatest day ever, or the messiest day ever, the Orlando Pride have designated the upcoming match on Wednesday to be their “Woof” match. That means that pets are welcome at Exploria Stadium, assuming that the pet has met the requirements. This has the potential to go badly, especially if fans don’t honestly meet the requirements, but it also has the opportunity to be a great event as the NWSL season winds down. I hope it’s a fun time for everyone who attends.

USMNT Defenders Replace Injured Center Backs

Defenders Mark McKenzie and Erik Palmer-Brown were added to the USMNT roster for the September training camp and a pair of friendlies in Europe. Both Cameron Carter-Vickers and Chris Richards are sidelined with injuries. This depth at the center back position partially comes from Gregg Berhalter’s tendency to utilize many different players throughout the qualifying process. The U.S. will face Japan on Friday and then take on Saudi Arabia on Sept. 27.

Free Kicks

• Ethan Nwaneri became the youngest person to play in the Premier League. The striker was 15 years, five months and 23 days old when he entered the match against Brentford. Arsenal won the match, 3-0.
• D.C. United’s Taxiarchis Fountas allegedly used a racial slur towards Inter Miami’s Damion Lowe. Fountas was immediately subbed off, but the incident is under investigation and such behavior should not be tolerated by the league, or frankly anyone.
• Oh, yeah. There was plenty of European football this weekend as well and you can check out some of the results and interesting tidbits here.

That will do it for today. Please enjoy your week, and keep checking back for more info on all things soccer in the City Beautiful.