Lion Links: 9/16/25

Good morning, everyone. It was a busy weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, as Orlando City, the Orlando Pride, and Orlando City B all battled to 1-1 draws. The action will come thick and fast this week, as the Pride have a match today against Chorrillo FC in the Concacaf W Champions Cup before playing again on Friday against the North Carolina Courage, while Orlando City takes on Nashville SC on Saturday, and Orlando City B plays Huntsville City on Sunday. That means we’ve got a lot to talk about today, so let’s get to it.

Alex Freeman Earns Weekly Plaudits

Alex Freeman played an important role in Orlando City’s comeback draw with D.C. United on Saturday, and he’s been rewarded for his efforts with a place in the MLS Team of the Matchday. The fullback scored on a brave header in the second half to level the score at one apiece, and very nearly scored the winning goal as the game was drawing to a close. Outside of scoring his fifth goal of the season, he took four shots, provided two key passes, passed with 86.7% accuracy, and logged an interception and two tackles. Those numbers meant that he was justifiably the Man of the Match in Andrew DeSalvo’s Player Grades piece, but it’s nice to see him getting some wider recognition as well.

Previewing Chorrillo FC

The Orlando Pride return to Concacaf W Champions Cup action tonight when the team plays its first competitive match outside the United States against Chorrillo FC. The Pride’s opponents play in Panama’s Liga de Fútbol Femenino and were actually one of the founding members when the league began play in 2017. They’ve won five league titles but have struggled in W Champions Cup action so far, losing 6-0 to Pachuca and 9-0 to Club America. Chorrillo is the second Panamanian team to play in the tournament, following Santa Fe FC making its debut last year.

International Soccer in Orlando

The United States Women’s National Team has announced that it will play a friendly against Italy on Friday, Nov. 28 at Inter&Co Stadium. This will be the USWNT’s ninth time playing at Inter&Co Stadium, and the first in over two years, with the team’s last game coming in a 2-0 win against Canada in February 2023. Italy was a semifinalist in this summer’s UEFA Women’s Euros, and was only eliminated courtesy of a spirited late comeback by eventual champion England. It will be the USWNT’s first match against Italy in 15 years, and the Yanks’ first match since a July 2 victory over Canada.

Caleb Porter Out in New England

The New England Revolution have announced that the club has parted ways with head coach Caleb Porter. Pablo Moreira will serve as the team’s interim head coach until the end of the season. Porter was appointed in December of 2023 to replace Bruce Arena but was unable to replicate the success that he enjoyed at previous jobs. He won MLS Cup in 2015 with the Portland Timbers, and again in 2020 with the Columbus Crew, but the Revs struggled with him at the helm. The Revs finished 14th out of 15 teams in the East during the 2024 season and are currently 11th and 10 points out of the final play-in place, which is currently held by the Chicago Fire. With four games remaining in New England’s season, including a Decision Day home game against Chicago, the Revs could technically still sneak into the postseason, but the Fire’s game in hand will make that extremely difficult.

UEFA Champions League Talking Points

The UEFA Champions League makes its return today when the league phase kicks off, and there are plenty of storylines to keep an eye on. Chief among them is whether or not Paris Saint-Germain can build on winning its first-ever UCL trophy last year, although the team it eliminated in the semifinals last season, Arsenal, is still waiting to summit the mountain for the very first time. No team from Italy has won the tournament since Inter Milan did it back in 2010, but an Antonio Conte-coached Napoli team that won Serie A last year and added Kevin de Bruyne during the summer is trying to change that. Barcelona will try to hoist the big trophy for the first time in nearly a decade, while coaches like Xabi Alonso, Arne Slot, and Vincent Kompany will all try to win it for the first time ever as coaches.

Free Kicks

• Jacqueline Ovalle has been nominated for the Concacaf Women’s Player of the Year.
• Take a peek at the Orlando Pride’s training session ahead of today’s Concacaf W Champions Cup match against Chorrillo FC.

• Orlando City dropped one place to no. 11 in ESPN.com’s MLS power rankings.
• The Pride also dropped one spot to no. 5 in the same site’s NWSL power rankings.
• Two former Orlando City legends met in a charity game as Nani’s Portugal side beat Kaká’s World XI 4-1. Neither former Lion found the net, with Nani playing 41 minutes and Kaká going 61.
• There are a lot of American players who will be playing games during the working week, so get everything marked down on your calendar.
• The match between the Seattle Reign and Racing Louisville that was abandoned due to health concerns for Savannah DeMelo will be played behind closed doors.

That’s all I have for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!