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Orlando City vs. Austin FC: Final Score 2-0 as Lynn and Lodeiro Lead Lions to Victory

Lions get their first win of the season in comfortable fashion despite missing several regular players.

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1 year ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City scored a goal in each half and limited Austin FC to just three shot attempts as the Lions won 2-0 in front of a crowd of 20,985 at Inter&Co Stadium. Jack Lynn and Nico Lodeiro scored the goals to lead the Lions to their first win of the season. Mason Stajduhar only had to make one easy save on a weak effort from distance to keep the clean sheet for Orlando (1-3-1, 4 points) in a comfortable victory over Austin (0-2-3, 3 points).

The win by Orlando was the first for either side in the series, with the Lions now 1-0-1 in two meetings with the Texas-based side. It was a much-needed victory for City, which was rarely threatened in the match by Austin’s attack.

“Today was much complete. We had a good performance,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “We had players getting much closer to their best performance, but we had the result. We scored goals, we had volume, we had the initiative to play the way we are, and we controlled a team that has a lot of speed, especially on the flanks and we’re happy. Congratulations to the footballers and happy to see them enjoy the result.”

Pareja’s 4-4-2 starting lineup reflected the international window the team finds itself in, with Mason Stajduhar starting in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. The midfield was made up of Ivan Angulo, Lodeiro, Kyle Smith, and Martin Ojeda, with Luis Muriel and Lynn — his first start with the senior team in any competition.

The game’s first 15 minutes went by without either side getting a look at goal. Both teams kept spells of possession but a heavy touch or a misplaced pass broke down the attack. Then each team suddenly got a good look at goal.

The first was a volley effort from the crescent above the box for Diego Rubio in the 17th minute. The Austin striker took a ball first time and sent it just wide of the left post.

Orlando then got forward for its first look at the net. Muriel sent Thorhallsson down the right channel and he laid off a pass for Ojeda. The Argentine sent a ball in that was intercepted, but Thorhallsson got to the ball first, then spun and fired a shot. The effort was well over the bar from the right side of the box.

The next half chance came in the 24th minute, when Muriel overcooked either a cross for Lynn or a back-post shot attempt. Thorhallsson won a corner a few minutes later when he nutmegged a defender and was taken down trying to get to the ball. Ojeda played the ball to the Icelandic fullback on the set piece, and he was wide open at the top of the area. But Thorhallsson made an absolute mess of his shot, which sailed high into The Wall behind Brad Stuver’s goal in the 31st minute.

Muriel was taken down 30 yards straight out from goal on Orlando’s next attack, giving the Lions a free kick. Ojeda took a shot from there with a hard drive toward the inside of the right post in the 34th minute. Stuver got over to make the save, but he fumbled the ball. He was saved embarrassment when the ball trickled wide of the post for a corner kick.

Austin’s best opportunity came in the 38th minute, as Orlando got caught in transition on a long diagonal ball. Schlegel got to a centering pass ahead of his opponent, but couldn’t clear it convincingly. Jader Obrian got to the loose ball with tons of room to shoot, but the Austin winger fired off target to the left of goal and high.

A minute later, Lynn should have opened the scoring. A ball placed out front found Lynn at the left post and all he had to do was direct it on frame, but the 2022 SuperDraft pick stabbed his shot wide to the left from point-blank range.

No matter, however, as Lynn made up for the miss in the 42nd minute. Thorhallsson and Lodeiro exchanged passes on the right wing and the Icelandic fired in a perfect ball to the back post. Lynn simply had to guide it on target. He hit his header at Stuver, but from that close in, the Austin keeper could do nothing to keep it out and the Lions broke the deadlock. It was Lynn’s first MLS goal.

“It was amazing,” Lynn said about scoring his first MLS goal. “I’ve been looking forward to that one for a long time, so it felt really good, especially right in front of our crowd. I don’t honestly remember the buildup too much. I just remember the ball kind of recirculating back to Dagur and trying to find an empty pocket of space in the box, and he put it right on my head, so it’s hard to miss that one.”

“(Jack) is a player who patiently has been waiting (for) his opportunity,” Pareja said. “I could say that maybe he should have more games at this point with the way he has performed in the second group and what he has achieved as an individual. He’s very lethal and he has goals. Today, he opened the game. Jack’s discipline and constant effort has paid off and we’re happy.”

Ojeda tried to double the lead two minutes after Lynn’s goal, firing a laser from 30 yards out. But the Argentine’s shot went straight into Stuver’s midsection. Neither side mustered any opportunities in the one minute of stoppage time and the Lions took their slim lead into the locker room.

The visitors held the halftime edge in possession (51.6%-48.4%) and passing accuracy (88%-86.7%), while Orlando had more shots (6-2), shots on target (3-0), and corners (2-0).

The Lions came out of the break the much stronger team, pushing the attack toward Stuver’s goal. Thorhallsson sent another outstanding cross through the box in the first minute of the second period, but multiple teammates made the same run and no one held up near the penalty spot. As a result, Austin was able to clear, but only as far as Santos, who took a big windup before firing a shot that the defense blocked. The ball then found its way to Muriel, who sent a shot just wide of the post. Lodeiro missed the right post by inches in the 47th minute.

Ojeda just missed a shot toward the right post in the 54th minute as the Lions kept pushing. IN the 56th minute, the ball ended up on Lodeiro’s foot at the top of the box but his shot hit Ojeda. The latter picked up the ball on the recycled attack and fired a shot that deflected just wide off of Austin defender Brendan Hines-Ike for a corner kick. The Lions were whistled for a foul on the set piece cross.

Two minutes later, the Lions turned Austin over in the visitors’ own end and Angulo smashed a shot on target. Stuver made a good diving save to his right to knock it out for a corner in the 58th minute. Lynn got his head to the ensuing set piece cross, but he couldn’t get any power on it and it was a comfortable save on one hop for Stuver.

Orlando continued to pour forward and Muriel sent a dangerous ball to the back post in the 60th minute, but none of his teammates made that back-post run, where they’d have had a similar situation to what Lynn had on the earlier goal.

Two minutes later, Lodeiro lined up a shot outside the box. Austin blocked the effort but it came off a hand, giving Orlando City a free kick from just outside the area. Lodeiro made the set piece pay off, delivering a lethal shot inside the top left corner of the goal. Stuver just managed to get a hand to the ball, but there was no keeping out a shot of that quality and the Lions led 2-0 in the 64th minute.

“When the goal is that size, Martin or myself, it’s our time,” Lodeiro said.

“I’m happy to see him scoring,” Pareja said. “It’s not just all the work that he does for the team internally in the game, but scoring is great for us.”

Austin sent on some reinforcements in Emiliano Rigoni and Owen Wolff after the goal, trying to chase the match, but aside from the visitors trying to attack down Orlando’s right flank more, not much changed.

Santos blasted a long-range shot in the 70th minute that forced Stuver to fight it off. There was a big rebound on the shot but the Austin keeper was able to dive on the loose ball.

Austin sent on Gyasi Zardes and Hector Jimenez, changing shape to try to pull a goal back, but not much was working for the visitors as the Lions stayed compact in the defensive end.

Orlando only went forward when numbers were advantageous for the rest of the match, keeping organized and behind the ball. This allowed Austin to keep possession but the visitors could only swing the ball from side to side, hardly able to free up enough room for a cross attempt.

A good cross through the box in the 84th minute was palmed away by Stuver but the rebound ended up splitting two attacking Orlando players. It was knocked out to Santos outside the box and the left back drove a shot over the bar. A minute later, Lodeiro got down the left side of the box but his shot was blocked by the defense. The ensuing corner was played short and ended up falling to Schlegel in the box, but the defender’s shot was also blocked.

Austin could manage nothing offensively in the four minutes of stoppage time, but did manage a weak dribbler of a shot on target that Stajduhar picked up. The full-time whistle blew seconds later and the Lions had their first victory of the 2024 regular season.

Austin finished with more possession (57.4%-42.6%) and slightly better passing accuracy (85.5%-85.4%), while the Lions held the final edge in shots (22-3), shots on target (8-1), and corners (6-0).

“It has been a challenge for us to train and have a complete roster, and this week was not an exception,” Pareja said. “We had many players outside for the FIFA date, but we had time to work. With the group that stayed, we had a couple of days when we could do the repetitions and just get back to the principles that make us feel more like us, knowing that we have to glue together these new players and have best chemistries. It helped a lot to have (time to) work this week.”

Orlando City will be back in action at home again next Saturday when the New York Red Bulls visit, fresh off their 4-0 win over Inter Miami earlier today.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions return home looking to bounce back from throwing points away late in Atlanta in the midweek.

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11 hours ago

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May 31, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread and preview for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (7-3-6, 27 points) and the Chicago Fire (5-5-4, 19 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). This is the second and final scheduled meeting between the Eastern Conference rivals in 2025, closing the season series.

Here’s what you need to know about the match.

History

The Lions are 8-5-8 in 21 MLS meetings with the Fire and 8-6-8 in all competitions. Orlando City is 5-2-3 against the Fire at home in the regular season. The teams met 28 days ago, kicking off a busy May against each other at Soldier Field on May 3. Despite Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady getting sent off before halftime for fouling Duncan McGuire and denying him a goal-scoring opportunity, the teams played to a 0-0 draw, as Orlando City simply couldn’t find any precision in front of goal.

These two teams last met in Orlando on June 22, 2024, with the Lions capturing a 4-2 home victory. Facundo Torres scored a brace, with Luis Muriel (from the penalty spot) and Ivan Angulo adding goals to offset a penalty by Maren Haile-Selassie (after a Rodrigo Schlegel handball in the box) and Hugo Cuypers.

The two sides clashed at Soldier Field just a few weeks prior to that on May 29, playing to a 1-1 draw. Torres opened the scoring early with a scrappy goal in traffic, and the Lions should have had a penalty late in the first half when Angulo was clipped while in alone on a goal after rounding the goalkeeper, but the video assistant referee did not overturn the no-call on the field, and referee Malik Badawi did not look at the play himself. The Fire tied the match in the final 20 minutes on a Cuypers goal.

The Lions swept the two-game season series in 2023 by identical 3-1 scorelines. On Aug. 21, Orlando City got goals from Wilder Cartagena, Angulo, and Torres (from the penalty spot) to overcome a 1-0 deficit supplied by Mauricio Pineda, winning 3-1 on the road.

When the teams met in Orlando, the Lions rode a Torres brace to a 3-1 win on July 1. Xherdan Shaqiri pulled a goal back from the penalty spot after a Kyle Smith foul in the box against Brian Gutierrez, but Ramiro Enrique added an insurance goal.

Orlando City claimed a 1-0 victory at Exploria Stadium on April 9, 2022 on Ercan Kara’s first MLS goal. The two sides met at Soldier Field just over a month prior to that match and played, officially, to a 0-0 draw on March 5. The game is another Orlando City match that will live in infamy due to the Professional Referee Organization’s statement after the game that Junior Urso’s goal should not have been overturned upon video review by Ismir Pekmic due to Kara not having clearly and obviously handled the ball in the buildup in any of the available replay angles. Alas…

The teams met in Orlando on Aug. 21, 2021, with a second-half Benji Michel strike lifting the Lions to a 1-0 victory. Tesho Akindele set up the play by forcing a turnover. In that year’s meeting at Soldier Field, the Fire got the better of the Lions to the tune of 3-1 on July 7. Andres Perea scored his first career MLS goal to open the scoring, but a defensive lapse in first-half stoppage allowed Boris Sekulic to equalize just before the break. Chicago rode that momentum, adding goals by Robert Beric and Chinonso Offor.

The Lions were 0-4-4 in the eight meetings before smashing the Fire 4-1 in Orlando on Sept. 19, 2020. Orlando City withstood two Chicago penalties and saw two Fire goals overturned by video review in that rain-soaked match. (Weird things usually happen when Chicago visits Orlando.) The Lions got goals from Chris Mueller, Nani, Urso, and Michel, while Chicago had only a Beric penalty to show for an otherwise good offensive performance.

The last meeting of 2019 was the last time the Fire won on the road in the series. It was a debacle for the Lions, who lost defender Robin Jansson to a back/neck injury early and shipped a handful of goals in a 5-2 home loss in the regular-season finale. Orlando got goals from Akindele and Michel but largely played like a team that couldn’t wait to end its season. Chicago got an own goal from Orlando’s Smith and strikes from CJ Sapong, Aleksandar Katai, and Przemyslaw Frankowski (twice) in the rout.

Orlando City was seconds away from a road win on March 9, 2019 before Sapong’s free header in the 95th minute leveled things in a 1-1 draw in Chicago. Dom Dwyer scored Orlando’s goal.

In 2018, the Fire swept the season series. Orlando fell 2-1 at home on May 26, 2018, with Alan Gordon’s wondergoal breaking a 1-1 deadlock. The return leg in Chicago that September was an abysmal performance by Orlando in a 4-0 Fire victory.

Chicago went 1-0-1 in 2017, with the teams playing to a 0-0 draw on June 4, 2017, with the Lions reduced to nine men. The previous 2017 meeting was the Fire’s 4-0 beatdown of Orlando on June 24 of that year. David Accam figured in all four goals, with a hat trick and an assist on Nemanja Nikolić’s goal.

The teams split the points in 2016, drawing both meetings. Cyle Larin and Accam traded goals in a 1-1 draw in Orlando on March 11. The Fire again came from behind to draw, 2-2 in the return leg that August.

The teams met once in Orlando in 2015, with the Lions and Fire battling to a 1-1 draw. You may recall that five-hour, weather-delayed affair with Eric Gehrig’s own-goal canceling out an Accam strike. The other three meetings came in Chicago, with City winning 3-2 and 1-0 in MLS matches and falling 3-1 in U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal action.

Overview

The Lions are coming off a brutal 3-2 come-from-ahead loss at Atlanta United on Wednesday. City led 2-1 with less than a quarter of an hour to play on goals by Cesar Araujo and Enrique, when the former lost his cool and put his hand on the neck of Mateusz Klich, who had shoved him down from behind after the whistle. Araujo was immediately sent off and Klich, who should already have been on a yellow card earlier in the match, was cautioned. Atlanta used the man advantage to turn the game around, snapping the Lions’ 12-game unbeaten run.

Orlando City is 5-1-2 at home in 2025, and will need to play tonight’s match without Araujo, as well as without Oscar Pareja, who was sent off after Atlanta tied the game for leaving his penalty area. The club appealed his red card but the appeal was denied, so the head coach will not be on the touchline for tonight’s match.

Chicago has lost its last two matches in the regular season, and the Fire are playing their fourth of five consecutive matches on the road in all competitions. The last match was a 3-1 loss to New York City FC at Yankee Stadium, with the Fire seeing two men sent off, although only one of them — Gutierrez — will miss tonight’s match after Dje D’Avilla’s appeal for his second yellow card was upheld and the suspension overturned. Chicago brings a respectable 4-4-0 road record into the proceedings tonight.

Beating Chicago means trying to contain Cuypers, who paces the Fire with eight goals to go along with two assists. Midfielders Jonathan Bamba and Philip Zinckernagel both looked dynamic in the first meeting before Bamba was sacrificed for the backup goalkeeper after Brady’s red card. Zinckernagel has five goals and four assists on the season, with Bamba chipping in two goals and six assists. Orlando City will need to maintain its recent defensive form — at least when playing with 11 men — to return to the win column and close out the month strong.

“We know that Chicago Fire’s attack is very dangerous. [Hugo] Cuypers is near the top of the league in scoring, [Jonathan] Bamba is really fast, and [Philip] Zinckernagel is good on the ball,” said Orlando City Assistant Coach Diego Torres ahead of the match. “They have more players who can play the number 10 or in the midfield. Other teams have found the focus defensively when Chicago has the ball, and that’s the same for us. Their movement and tactics are very interesting, and we worked with the players to let them know that these are their tactics. Gregg [Berhalter] is a good coach in this situation [with the ball], but he’s also prepared without the ball. Their defending has a good shape and creates good ball recovery. Chicago is dangerous and playing very well without the ball in this moment. We have to be creative to score more goals than Chicago. If we have a clean sheet again, it will be even better.”

Torres will coach the team in Pareja’s absence.

The Lions will be without Araujo (suspension), Nico Rodriguez (thigh), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee), while Gustavo Caraballo (lower leg) and Duncan McGuire (upper extremity) are listed as questionable.

In addition to Gutierrez, Chicago will be without Sam Rogers (torso), David Poreba (lower body), and Carlos Terán (lower body). Additionally, former Lion Chris Mueller has been away from the team for non-injury reasons following the birth of his second child. Chase Gasper (lower body) and Mauricio Pineda (lower body) are questionable.

Match Content

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Alex Freeman.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Joran Gerbet, Eduard Atuesta, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Luis Muriel.

Bench: Javier Otero, Rafael Santos, Zakaria Taifi, Kyle Smith, Thomas Williams, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Gustavo Caraballo, Shak Mohammed, Ramiro Enrique.

Chicago Fire (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Chris Brady.

Defenders: Andrew Gutman, Jack Elliott, Christopher Cupps, Jonathan Dean.

Midfielders: Mauricio Pineda, Rominigue Kouame, Sergio Oregel.

Forwards: Jonathan Bamba, Hugo Cuypers, Philip Zinckernagel.

Bench: Jeff Gal, Omar Gonzalez, Kellyn Acosta, Maren Haile-Selassie, Leonardo Barroso, Sam Williams, Dje D’Avilla, Tom Barlow, Omari Glasgow.

Referees

Ref: Ricardo Fierro.
AR1: Ian McKay.
AR2: Ben Pilgrim.
4th: Joshua Encarnacion.
VAR: Shawn Tehini.
AVAR: Craig Lowry.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the game. Go City!

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Opinion

Predicting Orlando City’s June Results

It’s time to take a glimpse into the future and predict how Orlando City will fare during the month of June.

Published

1 day ago

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May 30, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

We’re almost to the end of what’s been an extremely packed month of May for Orlando City. After the conclusion of Saturday’s match against the Chicago Fire, the Lions will have played nine matches in the span of 28 days. OCSC has basically played a match every three days, which is an absurd pace. Other than two recent blemishes, Orlando has mostly handled it exceedingly well though, and June presents a much lighter schedule for our brave heroes.

The Lions play just three games next month and will have two weeks off between Saturday’s match against the Fire and their next game. Without any further ado, I will now attempt to peer into the crystal ball and predict the results of Orlando’s three games in June.

Saturday, June 14 — at Colorado Rapids

Orlando will return to action after a two-week layoff by hopping on the purple plane and flying west to take on Colorado. The Rapids are currently eighth in a crowded Western conference table with 22 points, and they are 10 points off the Vancouver Whitecaps at the top of the table. They’ve put together a pretty even season so far with a record of 6-6-4 (W-L-D). The biggest problem for Colorado has been scoring goals, as the Rapids only have 18 goals in 16 games and have been held scoreless five times in the league. They have this week off, and won’t return to action until June 7, when they host Austin FC. I give Orlando City the edge in this match, and hopefully that extra rest will help the good guys hang tough at altitude. The Lions have been defensively sound recently — when they’ve had all 11 men on the field — while also still being able to put the ball in the back of the net several times a game. Shutting down Djordje Mihailovic is going to be key, but I like Orlando’s chances given its recent form and the fact that the Lions will be well rested.

Prediction: Orlando City 3-1 Colorado Rapids.

Wednesday, June 25 — at St. Louis City

I refuse to capitalize every letter in “City” in St. Louis City’s name, because frankly I think it’s a ridiculous stylistic choice. The team also hasn’t been very good this year, so it doesn’t deserve me catering to it in that manner. St. Louis is currently 2-8-5 and only truly woeful campaigns by CF Montreal and the LA Galaxy are saving it from leading the Wooden Spoon race with 11 points. It makes Colorado look like an offensive juggernaut, as it’s only scored 11 goals in 15 games. St. Louis isn’t bad defensively, as it’s only conceded 20 goals, but it’s always going to be a struggle when you average scoring just 0.73 goals a game. Its form was enough to get Head Coach Olof Mellberg fired, and he lasted just over six months on the job. The club hasn’t won since a March 15 match against the Galaxy and has a tricky upcoming slate, with a home match against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, an away game against the Portland Timbers on June 8, and a home match against the Galaxy on June 14. With a week and a half between the Colorado match and this one, I once again like Orlando City in this game. Unless St. Louis can find its shooting boots, I don’t see it offering much threat against a rested Orlando defense that has come on strong since a shaky start to the year.

Prediction: Orlando City 2-0 St. Louis City.

Saturday, June 28 — vs. FC Cincinnati

OCSC wraps up June by returning home to play one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference on short rest. It isn’t ideal, but it isn’t the worst thing in the world either. Cincy has been good this year, compiling a record of 9-4-3 and 30 points to sit second in the East. New signings Evander and Kevin Denkey have been as good as you would expect, as Evander has seven goals and five assists in 14 appearances, and Denkey has nine goals in 15 games. As a team, Cincinnati has scored 24 goals and conceded 22, so it’s been a balanced campaign to this point. It’ll be coming to the end of a stretch of three straight road games, as Cincy will be away to the New England Revolution on June 14 and then at CF Montreal on June 25, so it’ll also be traveling on short rest. That said, aside from the Philadelphia Union, Cincy is the toughest team the Lions will have faced in MLS play, and stopping both Evander and Denkey is far from an easy task. This reeks of a draw that has a couple of goals for each team, so that’s what I’ll be going with.

Prediction: Orlando City 2-2 FC Cincinnati.

There you have it. I’ve scrutinized the tea leaves and you now know what the path ahead holds for the Lions. Be sure to check back in at the end of June so you can marvel at how stunningly accurate my forecast was. Until then, feel free to either disagree or tell me how crystal clear my visions are down in the comments. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/30/25

Orlando City players called up, Orlando Pride sign Simone Jackson, USWNT gets ready to play China, and more.

Published

2 days ago

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May 30, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Friday! It’s been a bit of a brutal week, but we’ve made it through. Our reward is an exciting weekend of soccer to enjoy to close out the month. I’ll be spending most of the weekend working, but it should still be a nice next few days. Let’s dive right into today’s links from around the soccer world.

Lions Called Up For International Duty

Orlando City goalkeeper Pedro Gallese was predictably called up for Peru’s CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers. Peru is ninth in the standings and will take on Colombia June 6 before hosting Ecuador on June 10.

Defender David Brekalo was called up by Slovenian for a pair of friendlies against Luxembourg and Bosnia and Herzegovina. These matches will help prepare Slovenia for World Cup qualifying this fall against Sweden, Switzerland, and Kosovo.

A few Young Lions are also heading to Europe for the UEFA Friendship Cup in Switzerland. The U.S. will represent Concacaf at the U-18 tournament, and OCB players Justin Ellis, Colin Guske, and Jackson Platts were called up for it.

Orlando Pride Sign Simone Jackson

The Orlando Pride signed forward Simone Jackson to a contract through the 2028 season. Jackson played at the University of Southern California for four years, recording 22 goals and 13 assists in 75 games, and trained with the Pride during the preseason. Internationally, she’s represented the U.S. at various youth levels and scored a goal in the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. The 22-year-old gives Orlando some helpful depth up front and can develop her game learning from some of the best attackers in the sport as well.

USWNT Prepares For Friendly Against China

The United States Women’s National Team will take on China Saturday at Allianz Field in St. Paul, MN in the first of two friendlies during this international window. Orlando Pride defenders Emily Sams and Kerry Abello were both called up to join a young roster as the team builds a foundation before the 2027 Women’s World Cup. Goalkeeper will continue to be a position to watch, as opportunity knocks for Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Mandy McGlynn, and Claudia Dickey to stake a claim as the team’s starter. Following this match, the USWNT will take on Jamaica in St. Louis on Tuesday before a pair of friendlies against Ireland later in June.

Denver’s NWSL Team Hires First General Manager

Denver’s NWSL team hired Curt Johnson to serve as the club’s first general manager. He will have the opportunity to build the team’s roster and staff from the ground up before the team takes the field as an expansion side in 2026. Johnson left the North Carolina Courage in December and was the chief soccer officer when the club dominated the league in 2018 and 2019. It looks like a solid hire in my opinion and I’m interested to see what kind of team he puts together in Denver.

Free Kicks

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

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