Lion Links: 5/2/24

It’s Thursday, Mane Landers. Of course, the name Thursday comes from Thor’s day, and as such, it isn’t a big leap for us to consider it Thorhallsson’s day. Though I suppose that is a bit of a mouthful, so we’ll just keep things the way they are, but do hold Dagur Dan close to your heart today. Also, let us wish a happy birthday to the Orlando Pride’s Luana. Despite the devastating news that dropped about her health earlier this week, we hope that her spirits are high and we wish her nothing but happiness today. It’s also Dagur Dan Thorhallsson’s birthday today, so we’re celebrating him as well. Let’s get to the links.

The Pride Dominate the Courage

The Orlando Pride defeated the North Carolina Courage 4-1 in a midweek match at Inter&Co Stadium. The Pride did indeed dominate the Courage as much as the score line indicates. It was once again the Barbra Banda show, with the Pride’s newest player contributing a brace and an assist on the night. It is the Pride’s fourth straight victory and the undefeated run continues.

OCSC Celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month

Orlando City and the Orlando Pride are doing their part this May to observe Mental Health Awareness Month. The club is sponsoring and attending events and forums available to the general public, as well as holding club staff workshops around promoting mental health. I have to say my favorite is the therapy dogs visits that will be available to the staff. There’s nothing as good for my personal mental health as the joy and unconditional love a dog can bring. If I didn’t have dogs of my own, I’d be really jealous.

The Billionaires Clubs

Orlando City and Orlando Pride owners, the Wilf family, are not the only billionaire owners in the NWSL. There are more and more owners and ownership groups that fall into that category. The influx of more money is a growth opportunity for the league and potentially for those owners. It’s a bit of a “rising tide lifts all boats” mentality for these owners as they do better when the league as a whole does better. It’s not just the owners who think so. The NWSL was ranked No. 5 on the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2024. I’m just glad the Pride are in the club.

USMNT News

I hate starting off a section with bad news, but Sergino Dest tore his ACL in training with PSV Eindhoven and will miss the Copa America. Dest will require surgery though there is no time frame yet for when he may return. The loss of Dest is a blow to the U.S. defense heading into the competition this coming June. The USMNT plays Bolivia on June 23.

In better news, Tim Weah provided the assist for Juventus on Arkadiusz Milik’s goal against Lazio. Juventus entered the second leg of the Copa Italia semifinal up 2-0, but Lazio drew level before Milik’s goal. Juventus advanced 3-2 on aggregate and will play in the final.

Free Kicks

• Despite Bayern Leverkusen’s 46-match unbeaten run, and winning the Bundesliga title, Roma coach Daniele De Rossi believes his team can defeat the German club in the first leg of the Europa League semifinals on Thursday.
• Borussia Dortmund defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League tie between the two clubs. Dortmund’s Niclas Fullkrug provided the only goal.
• Wrexham AFC owners Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds have bigger plans for their club than previously suspected. The pair want to potentially increase the capacity of their stadium, SToK Racecourse, to 55,000 seats.
• Never pulled the trigger on the Apple TV+ MLS Season Pass? Now, you can get it for the remainder of the season at a 30% discount. Once you get past the Messi ads the coverage is pretty good.
• Former USWNT player Carli Lloyd is pregnant, though it was a long journey to get there. She shares her story of unexplained infertility and multiple rounds of IVF treatments. Congratulations, Carli.

That will do it for today. There’s plenty more soccer to come this weekend with all three teams playing. Check back for more as we get you ready for those matches. Vamos Orlando!