Lion Links: 2/19/25

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers! Orlando City continues to see more departures than arrivals to the roster with the season opener looming this weekend. Sure would be cool if the Lions added an experienced MLS striker this week. Alas, I feel it’s not in the cards. I’m sure it’ll be fine.

In better news, it’s Marta’s 39th birthday! Happy nirthday to the captain from all of us here at The Mane Land. Let’s get to the links.

Lions Say Goodbye to Halliday, Lodeiro

Both Michael Halliday and Nico Lodeiro have departed Orlando City. Halliday was traded to the Houston Dynamo for a first-round pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft. With Dagur Dan Thorhallsson starting at right back and Alex Freeman moving into the number two spot behind him, it made sense for Halliday to try to get minutes elsewhere.

Nico Lodeiro mutually agreed to terminate his contract with the club. Lodeiro’s departure will free up $800,000 salary for the club and allow Lodeiro to pursue more playing time at another club. According to Tom Bogert, that club may also be the Houston Dynamo. Given Lodeiro’s role off the bench for Orlando City, this is a move that makes sense for both the player and the club.

Cartagena Out for the Season

While the news was expected, Orlando City officially placed Wilder Cartagena on the Season-Ending Injury list. The midfielder suffered the injury in the preseason match against Atletico Mineiro. The surgery on his left Achilles tendon was successful, but he will still be out for the remainder of the season. Fortunately, the Lions brought in Eduard Atuesta to shore up the midfield. While Orlando City may even be better with Atuesta on the pitch, losing Cartagena still hurts the team depth.

Orlando City in the Top 10?

The off-season was not as long as usual, thanks to Orlando City’s run to the Eastern Conference final. Despite the shorter time frame, I had forgotten how useless, dumb, and yet fun power rankings can be. I’d warn you against spoilers, but these rankings mean absolutely nothing — especially before a match has been played — so I’ll just tell you that the Lions came in at number nine. However, I won’t spoil why they made the top 10, nor which Ft. Lauderdale based club is in the top spot.

SheBelieves Cup Starts Thursday

The USWNT plays its first match of the 2025 SheBelieves Cup Thursday at 8 p.m. The match will take place at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston. Unless you plan on traveling to Texas, you’ll have to watch it on TV or streaming. The Orlando Pride’s Emily Sams is on the squad and will hopefully see some minutes for Emma Hayes.

Free Kicks

• The Philadelphia Union signed striker Bruno Damiani from Uruguayan club Nacional. At least one team playing at Inter&Co Stadium this weekend signed a striker.
• Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah are out of the UEFA Champions League thanks to AC Milan’s 2-1 aggregate loss to Feyenoord.
• In the “I can’t relate to that level of money but I still feel sorry for the guy” category, LAFC striker Olivier Giroud had approximately $500,000 worth of jewelry stolen when his Los Angeles home was burglarized.
• U.S. Soccer has reached an agreement with Westwood One Sports for the network to serve as their new domestic English-language audio partner. 

• In the “isn’t that mildly interesting” category, Pete Mangione will appear for FC Cincinnati.

• When Chase Adams scored 10 goals in the U-17 USMNT’s 22-0 victory over the U.S. Virgin Islands in the 2025 Concacaf U-17 qualifiers, he broke Erling Haaland’s international goal-scoring record. That’s just icing on the top of the 22-goal cake.

That will do it for today. Check back everyday as we get you ready for the season opener on Saturday. Vamos Orlando!