Lion Links: 5/22/23

Merry Monday morning, Mane Landers! I’m certain you’re feeling as good about a seven-point weekend as I am. It’s a rare thing when all three teams earn results in one weekend, and for me I had all seven of the teams I follow get results. Now, we get to start the week feeling good heading into next weekend’s matches. Let’s get to the links.

Orlando City’s Motivational Win

Oscar Pareja understands the importance of defeating your rivals, both for the players and the supporters. He is hoping that the Lions’ win over Inter Miami CF will motivate his club to get better and better. Of course, ultimately it is all for the fans like those who made the trip to Ft. Lauderdale. Pareja is also happy that Martin Ojeda scored the goal to give Orlando City the win, and hopefully it will give Ojeda more confidence going forward.

Marta is Back

It had been 588 days since Marta scored a goal for the Orlando Pride. That all changed Saturday night when the superstar put the 23rd-minute penalty kick into the back of the net, giving the Pride the early lead. Marta was out almost all of the 2022 season — and the entire regular season — due to an ACL tear, but she made her way back into the starting lineup and, now, onto the scoresheet. Marta also provided the assist on the game-winner by Kylie Strom on a perfectly placed corner kick. Now the Pride will hope her good form continues.

How USMNT Players Performed Abroad

Folarin Balogun scored his 20th goal in Ligue 1 for Stade Reims’ 2-2 draw with Angers. It’s his 21st goal across all competitions. It is that type of production that has USMNT supporters excited that Balogun made the jump to the U.S. squad, and that has some England supporters taking Gareth Southgate to task.

Elsewhere, Gio Reyna made a brief second-half, stoppage-time appearance in Borussia Dortmund’s 3-0 win over Augsburg. Reyna has struggled to gets starts with the Bundesliga side this season. Alternatively, Weston McKennie got the start for Leeds United in the club’s 3-1 loss to West Ham United. He provided the throw-in assist on the Leeds goal, but it wasn’t enough as the club sits below the relegation line.

Tragedy in El Salvador

There are at least 12 people dead and more than 100 people injured, including minors, following a rush of people at the gates of Cuscatlán in San Salvador. The incident occurred at the semifinal match between Alianza and FAS. There may have been more than 500 extra tickets sold for the match, and authorities are investigating everyone involved, including the teams, the managers, the venue, the ticket office, the league, and the federation.

Free Kicks

• Barcelona Femeni lost for the first time since June 2021. The club fell to Madrid CFF 2-1 on Sunday. Barcelona finished the regular season 28-1-1.
• The U-20 USMNT squad defeated Ecuador 1-0 on a late goal by Jonathan Gomez on Saturday. Now the team will face Fiji this Tuesday.
• FIFA is urging broadcasters to come back to the negotiation table to to avoid a TV blackout of this year’s Women’s World Cup in major European countries.
• The U-20 USWNT is heading out to the Dominican Republic for the Concacaf Championship.

• The Tallahassee Soccer Club remained unbeaten with a 1-0 victory over visiting Southern States SC on Saturday night in the South Gulf Coast division of the NPSL.

That will do it for today. Keep checking back for more coverage of Orlando City, the Orlando Pride, and OCB.