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Lion Links: 4/15/23

Lions travel to Allianz Field, Orlando Pride need first win, USMNT learns Gold Cup group opponents, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy double matchday, Mane Landers! It is another busy weekend for my wife and I, as we yet again have family in town following the move into our new house. Is it a house? Is it a hotel? With all the people coming and going, it sure is starting to feel like one. But heck, we love seeing friends and family so there are no real actual complaints here. The good news is it really gives me ample time to try to create some more Orlando soccer fans when the games are on the television here for them to take in alongside us. Anyway, let’s get to what you came here for, today’s links!

Orlando City Travels to Minnesota United

The Lions are back after sitting out Matchday 7, and this week they are hitting the road to St. Paul, MN, where the Loons await. This is the first time Orlando City has visited Allianz Field since a 1-1 draw in August 2019. Both squads attempt to get back on track after an Orlando loss to Nashville SC and Minnesota loss to the Chicago Fire. Minnesota United started the season with a five-game unbeaten run prior to the loss.

Lions coach Oscar Pareja is also very familiar with both the Loons and their manager, Adrian Heath. The first manager in Orlando City history, Heath spent six years in the City Beautiful before he took over Minnesota in 2017.

“Minnesota is a team that has a structure that we know since we faced them in preseason. I have a good relationship with Adrian as well and I know him from his experiences in the league. But well, we say that every game. They know us, we know him. What we’re looking at is trying to use that knowledge and applying it on the pitch and then trying to get what we need. First, the victory and the most important is that our chemistry and our system can get more mature.”

Orlando Pride Aim For First Victory

The Orlando Pride attempt to get their first win of the season when they welcome Gotham FC tonight. Last week, the team dropped points with a last-gasp loss to Angel City FC. This will be the 20th meeting between NJ/NY Gotham FC and the Pride, with the series currently even at 7-7-5. Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines knows that his young players will have to adjust to the NWSL to grab the elusive first win, but he believes they are ready to step up.

“This is going to take time so it’s a new group of players building relationships over the course of the season,” he said, “and they’re in really high spirits and they know that they can go into games and compete with some of the best players in the world.”

Concacaf Announces 2023 Gold Cup Draw

The U.S. Men’s National Team is on the hunt for its eighth confederation championship as part of Group A in the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup. The other teams in the group include Jamaica and Nicaragua, with a final team that will be determined through the 2023 Gold Cup Prelims. Based on the Gold Cup Prelims draw, the remaining team in Group A could be one of four possibilities: Curaçao, French Guiana, Sint Maarten or St. Kitts & Nevis. The Prelims Round will occur June 16-20 in the United States. The Gold Cup tournament itself will take place June 24-July 16, with the schedule expected to be announced soon.

The USMNT enters the tournament as reigning champion after lifting the 2021 Gold Cup. The Yanks also won the inaugural tournament in 1991 before being crowned regional champions again in 2002, 2005, 2007, 2013, 2017, and 2021. If the United States wins the 2023 competition, it would tie Mexico’s record of eight titles.

Must-Watch Matches of MLS Matchday 8

If you are one to stream multiple screens or watch replays, this might just be your week. Aside from catching Orlando City and Minnesota United, there are plenty of other games to check out around the league.

The Cascadia Cup rivalry between the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders will be a late night match set to kick off at 10:30 p.m. Even though the Timbers are winless and the Sounders are flying high, anything can happen each season when these two teams meet. Another big rivalry, El Trafico, between LAFC and the LA Galaxy, will headline Sunday viewing at 4:30 p.m. LAFC’s Dénis Bouanga has been incredible this season and looks to make his mark against a struggling LA Galaxy.

St. Louis City started its inaugural season with a Cinderella story but has since fallen short. In a cross-conference meeting, FC Cincinnati will take its $10-million dollar man, Brenner, to town and show the club is leading the Supporters’ Shield race at 8:30 p.m.

Free Kicks

  • Congratulations are in order for Orlando City center back Rodrigo Schlegel who welcomed his daughter, Maria Emilia! Will she grow up to be a defender (or break-glass goalkeeper) like her father?
  • Orlando City has released El Pulpo’s sweet pink goalkeeper kit for purchase. I personally love the top, and want one, but I do think it clashes a bit with the purple shorts.
  • The Viking Army, an official supporters group of the New York Red Bulls, will walk out in protest during the club’s match against Houston tonight.
  • New York City FC has selected HOK as the architect and Turner Construction Company as the general contractor to build its soccer-specific stadium set to debut in the 2027 MLS season.
  • A partial stadium ban imposed on Juventus for racist chants directed toward Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku has been suspended.
  • Manchester United’s Lisandro Martinez will miss the rest of the season after fracturing his foot.
  • Ryan Reynolds dropped the best birthday wishes to his Wrexham AFC co-owner, Rob McElhenney.
  • And finally, Zava — I mean, Zlatan — is kicking butt and not just goals in this wild video clip.

That’s a wrap on today’s links. I hope you all enjoy the matches today. Vamos Orlando!

Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/13/25

Orlando City prepares for the Colorado Rapids, Concacaf W Champions Cup schedule released, USWNT tops FIFA rankings, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Happy Friday! We have some exciting soccer ahead of us over the next few days, starting with the Orlando Pride’s road game against Bay FC tonight at 10 p.m. I’ll be spending most of the weekend working and visiting family for Father’s Day. Let’s go ahead and get this Friday started with today’s links from around the soccer world!

Orlando City Prepares for the Colorado Rapids

The Lions are back in action on Saturday for a road match in high altitude against the Colorado Rapids. Orlando City is coming off a needed break in the schedule after losing two games in a row to close out a busy May. The Rapids have also lost their past two league games and will be without goalkeeper Zack Steffen due to injury. This will be the team’s first match against the Rapids since a 2-0 victory in Orlando back in 2023 and the first in Colorado since a 1-1 draw in 2022. Hopefully the Lions can get back on track with a win to kickstart another strong summer.

Concacaf W Champions Cup Schedule Revealed

The schedule was unveiled for the Concacaf W Champions Cup and we now know where the Pride will be playing this fall. Their campaign will begin at Inter&Co Stadium against Costa Rican club LD Alajuelense on Sept. 2. They’ll then hit the road for their next two matches, playing Chorrillo FC in Panama on Sept. 16 before facing Club America on Sept. 30. The Pride will close out their group play with a home game against Pachuca on Oct. 15. The top two teams from the group will advance to the semifinals, and the winner of the tournament will earn a spot in both the 2027 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup and 2028 FIFA Women’s Club World Cup. It’s going to make for some late-season fixture congestion for the Pride, but that’s the price of success and earning a spot in continental competitions.

USWNT Remains Atop FIFA Rankings

The United States Women’s National Team is still the best team in the world according to the latest FIFA rankings. The U.S. lost points overall in the time since the last rankings in March though, and the gap has narrowed between it and Spain and Germany. Brazil had a decent rise in the rankings, moving up four spots to fourth after beating Japan twice in recent friendlies. With notable international tournaments lined up for this summer, it will be interesting to see how much things shake up when the next rankings come out.

Michael Bradley Named New York Red Bulls II Head Coach

Former USMNT midfielder Michael Bradley was hired as head coach of the MLS NEXT Pro’s New York Red Bulls II. It’s the 37-year-old’s first professional head coaching job after spending time as an assistant coach under his father, Bob Bradley, at Stabaek in Norway. Bradley returns to where he began his professional playing career, as he was drafted by the MetroStars in 2004 at the age of 16.

“I couldn’t be more excited to come back to where my professional playing career began,” says Head Coach Michael Bradley. “This is a dream opportunity as a young coach. I’m looking forward to working everyday with this talented group of players, and I’ll give everything to help them take the next step in their careers. I’m thankful to the club for the opportunity and can’t wait to get started.”

Free Kicks


That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/12/25

Reliving the Orlando Pride’s win, Orlando City B loses on the road, Jhon Solis Wins MLS NEXT Pro Goal of the Matchweek, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B / Mark Thor

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I’ve been enjoying a pretty good week so far and actually made pizza for the first time last night. It was burnt beyond belief in the end, but still edible, which is a huge win in my book. Let’s go ahead and dive right into today’s links!

Sights and Sounds From the Orlando Pride’s Victory

The Orlando Pride beat the Houston Dash 1-0 at home in dramatic fashion and the club has released a video highlighting the action. Substitute Cori Dyke scored the winning goal deep in stoppage time to give the Pride all three points and second place in the league standings. The video includes Dyke being tossed in the air afterwards in celebration, as well as a pretty good pep talk from Marta. Let’s hope the Pride can win a bit more comfortably when they travel across the country to face Bay FC on Friday night.

Orlando City B Falls to Carolina Core FC

The Young Lions are returning to Orlando empty handed after a 1-0 loss to Carolina Core FC in North Carolina. A goal by Carolina right before halftime proved to be the difference, as OCB struggled to get much going offensively and couldn’t conjure some of the late magic it’s shown in recent matches. Ultimately, it’s a disappointing result after impressive wins over both Chattanooga FC and Huntsville City FC earlier this month. The Young Lions have a bit of a break to reset before trying to get back on track at home against Toronto FC II on June 25.

Jhon Solis Wins Goal of the Matchweek

OCB midfielder Jhon Solis won MLS NEXT Pro Goal of the Matchweek for his strike in the club’s 3-2 road win over Huntsville on June 6. He curled a free kick towards goal with enough power behind it to beat the keeper and equalize things in the 84th minute. Solis also provided the assist from a corner kick on OCB’s first goal, so hopefully he can continue to make opponents pay in those instances this season.

Getting Ready for the Concacaf Gold Cup

The Concacaf Gold Cup kicks off this weekend and plenty of pressure is on the U.S. after a pair of losses in the friendlies leading into this tournament. The team is without many of its usual starters, and Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino will have to figure things out in a group against Saudi Arabia, Haiti, and Trinidad & Tobago. As for other things to watch out for in this Gold Cup, I’m interested to see how Canada fares in its group and if Miguel Herrera’s Costa Rican team can make some noise against Mexico. Panama’s group could end up as the most enticing though, as it features fellow dark horse Jamaica and a pair of underdogs in Guadeloupe and Guatemala.

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That’s all I have for you this time around. Make sure to stay hydrated out there as we get closer and closer to the unbearable part of summer here in Florida. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/11/25

Orlando City B plays tonight, the Orlando Pride want to enter the break strong, USMNT pounded by Switzerland, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. Hopefully, you decided to put your mental and emotional health first last night and skipped watching the USMNT match. I, unfortunately, did not. I’m going to take Ted Lasso’s advice to be a goldfish and move on. I think a great way to do that is to share today’s links with you, but not before we wish Orlando Pride forward Grace Chanda a happy birthday.

Pride Looking to Enter the Break on a High Note

The Orlando Pride are sitting in second place in the NWSL standings. The club is also sitting second in the SI.com power rankings and the goal.com power rankings. For some reason, All For XI has the team at number three in their power rankings, but nobody is perfect. Now, the Pride are looking to head into the NWSL break on a high note in their upcoming two road games. Next up is Bay FC on Friday night.

OCB Visits Carolina Core Tonight

Orlando City B is in action tonight against Carolina Core FC at Truist Point Stadium in North Carolina. The Young Lions look to continue their recent success following two late winners against Chattanooga and Huntsville City. The midweek matchup should mean that Manuel Goldberg will have everyone available for the match, except those who played for the U-18 USMNT in the 2025 UEFA Friendship Cup. We will have match coverage for you both here and on BlueSky.

USMNT Crumbles vs. Swiss

If you turned off the USMNT versus Switzerland match at halftime (or before), I don’t blame you. The Swiss scored four goals in a devastating first half for the USMNT. I’m not saying it happened because Orlando City’s Alex Freeman did not get the start, but I’m not, not saying it either. Things got nominally better in the second half, considering the U.S. did not give up any more goals, but the 4-0 final score was still very, very bad. It was not what fans were hoping to see in the send-off match heading into the Concacaf Gold Cup.

Club World Cup Struggles

I’m not certain if you know that the FIFA Club World Cup starts this weekend, including matches in Orlando at Inter&Co Stadium and Camping World Stadium in the coming weeks. What I do know is that across the various venues the response can best be described as…meh.

Fans are getting offers of literal free tickets to the Sounders-Botafogo game and TM has reduced prices by about 20% since yesterday.

Jeremiah Oshan (@jeremiah.sounderatheart.com) 2025-06-10T21:50:13.404Z

If you weren’t interested in going because the price was too high, you might want to check again. There are several former MLS players in the competition, including former Orlando City attacker Facundo Torres with Palmerias, though he won’t be playing in Orlando. There are several good matchups, including Manchester City versus Juventus at Camping World Stadium.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City B players Justin Ellis, Colin Guske, and Jackson Platts were members of the U-18 United States Men’s National Team that won the 2025 UEFA Friendship Cup in Nyon, Switzerland on Tuesday. The U.S. and Portugal drew 1-1 in the final before heading to penalties, where the Yanks won 3-2. Unfortunately, Guske had his attempt from the spot saved in the shootout, but his teammates bailed him out.

That will do it for today. Check back as we get you ready for the Orlando City and Orlando Pride matches this weekend. Vamos Orlando!

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