Lion Links 3/29/23

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I hope you all are having a good week as we all get ready for another weekend filled with Orlando soccer. It’s been a busy past few days for me, but I’m looking forward to checking out a place not too far from me in Tampa that serves booze-infused ice cream. Is margarita ice cream a crime against nature? I plan on finding out for myself. But for now, let’s dive into today’s links from around the soccer world.

Orlando City Prepares for Nashville SC

After winning on the road against the Philadelphia Union this past weekend, Orlando City hosts Nashville SC this Saturday at Exploria Stadium. Martin Ojeda has scored in Orlando’s past two games and has 20 shots this season, the most in the league alongside Sporting Kansas City’s Erik Thommy. Center back Robin Jansson could make his 125th appearance across all competitions for Orlando City and spoke on how the team is getting ready to go up against Nashville’s offense.

“We know that [Hany Mukhtar] is a great soccer player and we need to be ready and aware of of the way Nashville is attacking and playing. We know them because we played them a lot in the last couple of years. It’s going to be an interesting game, we’re going to go out there and play our way and focus on our game first. Then we have to be aware of their strengths.”

– Orlando City center back Robin Jansson

Orlando City’s Theme Nights for 2023 Season

To celebrate April Fool’s Day, Saturday’s match with Nashville will be Sea Cows Night. It is one of seven themed nights scheduled to take place over the course of this Orlando City season. For Sea Cows Night, players will wear Sea Cows warm-up tops and there will be limited-edition merchandise available as well. Orlando’s match against the Colorado Rapids on June 10 will be Love Unites, which will recognize the seven-year remembrance of the victims of the Pulse shooting. Fan Appreciation Night will take place on Oct. 7, with the club dedicating Decision Day to its supporters.

Orlando Pride Acquire an International Roster Spot

The Orlando Pride traded away $70,000 in Allocation Money to Angel City FC in exchange for a 2023 international roster spot. Orlando Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Haley Carter spoke on the PawedCast earlier this month about exciting things ahead for the Pride during the summer transfer window. This trade comes at an interesting time with the season underway and could be part of the Pride’s plans during that window.

Scarf the City is Underway Today

For those of you in the City Beautiful, be on the lookout today for Orlando Pride scarves. Over 1,000 are hidden around Central Florida as part of Scarf the City, a scavenger hunt of sorts where scarves are located at iconic locations and local areas to find. Fans who find a scarf can share it on social media for a ticket deal for the Pride’s home opener this Sunday against Angel City. As part of the event, Pride players Ally Watt, Mikayla Cluff, Emily Madril, and Summer Yates will be at local Publix locations this evening to give out scarves and sign autographs.

USWNT Roster Announced for April Friendlies

Head Coach Vlatko Andonovski called up 26 players for the United States Women’s National Team’s friendlies next month against Ireland. The roster includes Julie Ertz, who has not played for the USWNT since the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. It will be interesting to see how much she features across the team’s two matches. Sophia Smith, Kelley O’Hara, and Casey Krueger are a few other players returning to the team for these friendlies. The USWNT will take on Ireland in Austin on April 8 and then again on April 11 in St. Louis. These are the last USWNT matches before Andonovski names the roster for this summer’s World Cup.

Free Kicks

• Pedro Gallese started in goal and had a save in Peru’s scoreless draw with Morocco in Madrid. Wilder Cartagena started against Germany, but didn’t appear in this one.
• Mason Stajduhar’s save against Alejandro Bedoya was highlighted as one of the top saves from this past weekend.

• Orlando City jumped up five spots to eighth in the MLS power rankings after its 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Union.
• Facundo Torres started and played for 60 minutes in Uruguay’s 2-1 win against South Korea.
• Orlando City B placed sixth in the MLS NEXT Pro’s first top 10 rankings of the season. There were some stream issues in the team’s 3-1 win over Philadelphia Union II, but now you can check out Jack Lynn’s first goal of the year.

• American midfielder Tyler Adams has undergone surgery for his hamstring injury and will be out for Leeds United for an extended period of time.
• Scotland beat Spain 2-0 in Glasgow thanks to a brace from Scott McTominay. It was the first time Spain has lost a Euro qualifier since 2014 and this was the first time Scotland has won against Spain since 1984.
• Kevin De Bruyne had two assists within the first 10 minutes and then added a goal of his own in the second half to lead Belgium to a 3-2 win over Germany.

That’s all I have for you today. Have a wonderful Wednesday and rest of your week!