Lion Links: 4/10/23

Merry Monday morning, Mane Landers. Neither Orlando city nor the Orlando Pride were in action over Easter weekend, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t soccer to watch. The Orlando City youth sides took the field, as did OCB and the USWNT. Last week, I had surgery on my thumb. I won’t get into the details, but I can share that one-handed typing is not very enjoyable. That’s quite enough about my problems, let’s get to the links.

OCB Defeats Inter Miami II

Orlando City B stayed perfect on the MLS NEXT Pro season with a 2-0 victory over Inter Miami II on Sunday at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee. The Young Lions continued to start quickly as Jack Lynn scored on a header in just the fourth minute of play. Favian Loyola doubled the lead after dancing through several defenders and putting the ball inside the left post. Miami looked certain to pull one back on a second-half penalty kick, but Javier Otero came up with a huge stop. The Young Lions improved to 3-0-0 on the season, and sit atop the Eastern Conference table. Be sure to check out Sean Rollins’ recap from the match. He sat in the rain for you.

Orlando City U-15s Fall to Philly in Generation Adidas Semifinals

Orlando City’s U-15 squad made it to the semifinals but was unable to get past the Philadelphia Union, losing 1-0. Nehan Hasan gave Philadelphia the lead early in the second half. The Baby Lions seemingly pulled back the goal, but a handball call ruled it out. Orlando City kept up the pressure all the way till the whistle but was unable to find the equalizer. Still, it was a good tournament for the U-15 squad to make it so far.

USWNT Defeats Ireland, Loses Swanson to Injury

The USWNT earned a 2-0 victory over Ireland in the first of a pair of international friendlies, but it came at a high cost. Mallory Swanson was carted off the field with a torn patella in her left knee. She will undoubtedly be unavailable for the upcoming World Cup.

Before she left with the injury, Swanson was seemingly everywhere but was unable to get a goal. It was actually Emily Fox who put the U.S. ahead in the 37th minute.

Ireland played a defensively sound match and was tough to break down for the usually prolific USWNT attack. In fact, it would take until the 80th minute for the U.S. to get a second goal, this time on a penalty kick taken by Lindsay Horan. The match also saw the return of longtime favorite Julie Ertz to the USWNT roster after a 20-month absence.

The U.S. will play the second match against Ireland tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. at City Park in St. Louis, MO. Forward Alyssa Thompson will replace Swanson on the roster.

USMNT Players Abroad

Brenden Aaronson and Weston McKennie were unable to provide Leeds United the juice needed to hang with Crystal Palace as their side lost in a 5-1 blowout. Aaronson did provide a beautiful corner kick on Patrick Bamford’s goal.

It wasn’t enough as Palace scored five unanswered goals starting in first half stoppage time.

Frank Lampard’s return to Chelsea could be an opportunity for Christian Pulisic to get more playing time. Pulisic only started seven games in the Premier League under previous skipper Graham Potter. Pulisic came off the bench in the 61st minute in Lampard’s first match back in charge. Unfortunately, the American couldn’t erase the one-goal deficit as Chelsea lost to Wolves.

Free Kicks

• Jesse Marsch withdrew from contention for the Leicester City Manager position. The two parties were close to an agreement prior to Marsch deciding against taking the position. Leicester City will re-evaluate other options and Marsch will look for another opportunity.
• Unsurprisingly, Argentina has topped the FIFA International Rankings list once again. After winning the World Cup, it was actually a pair of friendlies against Panama and Curacao that put the South American side over the top.
• Son Heung-min became the first Asian player and 34th overall player to score 100 goals in the Premier League during Tottenham’s 2-1 win over Brighton.

• Liverpool’s two-goal comeback to draw Arsenal 2-2 made things more interesting at the top of the table for the Gunners and Manchester City.
• Inter Miami coach Phil Neville called out Joseph Martinez as the Herons continued to rack up the losses. You just hate to see it, don’t you?
• MLS is investigating an alleged racist remark made by a New York Red Bulls player towards San Jose Earthquakes striker Jeremy Ebobisse. The incident resulted in 21 minutes of stoppage time after the second half. The Red Bulls say they are fully cooperating with the league’s investigation.

That will do it for today. Keep checking back for coverage of Orlando City’s upcoming match against Minnesota United and also the Orlando Pride’s match against NJ/NY Gotham FC.