Lion Links: 10/1/24

Happy Tuesday, everyone. All three of Orlando’s soccer teams have made the playoffs for the first time ever. With Orlando City back in action tomorrow we don’t have any time to rest on our laurels. Before we get into today’s links, let’s all wish a happy birthday to Orlando City B defender Zakaria Taifi.

Lions Earn Weekly Recognition

A pair of Lions were rewarded for their performances in Saturday’s 3-1 win over FC Dallas with starting spots in the latest edition of the MLS Team of the Matchday. Rodrigo Schlegel gets the start on the left side of a back three, while Ramiro Enrique gets the nod as the right midfielder. Enrique nabbed the game’s first goal with an outstanding flicked header from a Rafael Santos cross despite being one of the shortest players on the field, and he also stole the ball and provided the assist for Facundo Torres’s goal. Schlegel scored the game’s second goal with another header from a corner, beating Dallas defenders to send the ball home. Andrew DeSalvo gave Schlegel an 8 out of 10 and Ramiro an 8.5 out of 10 and Man of the Match honors in his player grades, so it’s nice to see them get some more widespread recognition as well. Keep it up, boys!

Angelina Up for Goal of the Week

Continuing the theme of Orlando players being recognized for their performances over the weekend, Angelina’s strike against the Houston Dash has been nominated for NWSL Goal of the Week. With the Pride leading the game in the 51st minute, the ball fell to Angelina on the edge of the area. She took a couple touches to set herself before firing her shot past Jane Campbell and into the net. It’s a worthy contender for NWSL Goal of the Week so make sure you go cast your vote for her!

MLS Stock Watch

With just a handful of games left in the MLS regular season, form matters now more than ever, and that makes this a good time to check in on which way various teams are trending. LAFC won the U.S. Open Cup and then beat FC Cincinnati on the road all in the span of a few days, so it’s definitely going in the right direction. So too are the Seattle Sounders, who are 10-2-2 in their last 14 league games, and Orlando City, which sits in fourth in the Eastern Conference and will need to keep winning in order to stay there. The same can’t be said for the Chicago Fire, Sporting Kansas City, and St. Louis City SC, as all three have been eliminated from postseason contention. The plights of those teams pale in comparison to the San Jose Earthquakes though, as not only are they locked in as the team that will receive the Wooden Spoon, but they’re also in real danger of setting some unfortunate league records in the process.

Americans in Midweek Action

It’s a busy time of year when it comes to the soccer calendar, and that means there are a number of Americans who will be taking part in games during the week. Things kick off in the Champions League today, as Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, and AC Milan face Bayer Leverkusen, while Malik Tillman, Richie Ledezma, Ricardo Pepi, and PSV Eindhoven face Sporting CP. Wednesday features Folarin Balogun and Monaco facing off against Dinamo Zagreb, while Weston McKennie and Juventus will take on Red Bull Leipzig. Things finish on Friday with Joe Scally and Borussia Mönchengladbach in action against Augsburg, and Gianluca Busio’s Venezia traveling to play Hellas Verona.

Free Kicks

• The Orlando Pride rightly remained at the top of ESPN‘s NWSL power rankings.
• Orlando City rose three spots to 10th place in the same outlet’s MLS power rankings.
• Antoine Griezmann has retired from playing for the French national team.
• Ousmane Dembele has been dropped for Paris Saint-Germain’s upcoming Champions League game against Arsenal after an argument with head coach Luis Enrique.

That’s all for me this morning, vamos Orlando!