Lion Links: 7/29/24

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. It’s been another busy week for me. I’ve been working Chicago Cubs games at Wrigley Field, staying busy at Under Armour, and finishing up stream monitoring for the NISA Independent Cup regional championships. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links. 

Orlando City Wins Leagues Cup Opener

Orlando City cruised past CF Montreal 4-1 in its opening match of the Leagues Cup at Inter&Co Stadium. Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Facundo Torres, Ramiro Enrique, and Martin Ojeda all scored for the Lions, while Josef Martinez scored the lone goal for Montreal. Orlando City’s next match in the Leagues Cup will be on Sunday against San Luis for its final group stage match, while CF Montreal will face San Luis Tuesday night at Stade Saputo.

Orlando Pride Win Shootout Against CF Monterrey

The Orlando Pride bounced back twice to get a 2-2 draw against CF Monterrey Femenil at home in the Summer Cup. Monterrey took a 1-0 lead just before halftime, but Alex Kerr scored an equalizer for the Pride in the second half. The visitors took back the lead before Julie Doyle tied the match at 2-2 late in the second half. The match went to a shootout, and the Pride won 5-4 to claim the extra point. The result means the Pride remain unbeaten across all competitions since the start of this season. Orlando’s next match in the Summer Cup will be on Thursday against Racing Louisville.

OCB Falls to Chattanooga FC

Orlando City B lost 1-0 on the road to Chattanooga FC on Saturday, extending its winless streak to eight matches. Chattanooga FC entered the match on a four-match winless streak but snapped that with Alex McGrath scoring the lone goal in the match. The Young Lions are in 10th place in the MLS NEXT Pro table with 24 points as they try to turn their season around and stay in the hunt for the playoffs. OCB’s next match will be on Saturday on the road against Carolina Core FC.

Barbra Banda Scores Hat Trick in Loss

Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda scored a hat trick for Zambia against Australia in the Olympics. She scored the opener early in the match and then two more in the first half to give Zambia a 4-2 lead at halftime. Australia rallied though, coming back to win 6-5. Zambia will need to win against Germany on Wednesday in order to reach the next round. Banda now leads the Olympics with the most hat tricks.

USWNT Beats Germany in the Summer Olympics

The United States Women’s National Team dominated Germany 4-1 in its second group stage match of the Olympics and has qualified for the quarterfinals. Sophia Smith scored twice, and Mallory Swanson added one as the USWNT took a 3-1 lead into halftime. Lynn Williams added a goal late in the second half to close out the victory for the USWNT and clinch a spot in the next round. The USWNT will face Australia on Wednesday, while Germany will take on Zambia.

Free Kicks

• Japan beat Brazil 2-1 at the Summer Olympics, scoring two late goals in stoppage time. Orlando Pride players Marta, Rafaelle, and Angelina all started in the match, and Brazil will face Spain on Wednesday.
• The United States Men’s Olympic Soccer Team bounced back from losing its opening match to France by winning 4-1 against New Zealand.
• Canada edged past France 2-1 on Sunday, keeping the country’s hopes alive of reaching the quarterfinals after receiving a six-point deduction following an investigation into spying. Head Coach Bev Priestman was suspended for a year as well.
• Barcelona Femeni announced two summer friendlies in August for its preseason tour. On Aug. 27, the Spanish team will take on Bay FC before a matchup against USL Super League side Dallas Trinity on Aug. 30.
• Bordeaux has filed for bankruptcy and dropped its pro team status after the club was recently relegated to the third tier after takeover talks broke down with Fenway Sports Group.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday and I’ll see you next time.