Lion Links: 10/16/26

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! Today is the 12-year anniversary of the groundbreaking at Orlando City SC’s soccer-specific stadium that took place in 2014. I was last at the stadium in September to see the Orlando Pride play and am still blown away about just how pretty the purple seats look on a sunny day. Let’s jump right into today’s links!

Justin Ellis Named  MLS NEXT Pro Pathway Player of the Year

Orlando City forward Justin Ellis was selected as the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro Pathway Player of the Year, an award that honors players who have excelled at multiple levels of the league’s development pathway. While part of Orlando City’s academy, Ellis was named 2025 U-19 MLS NEXT MVP after claiming the Golden Boot with 18 goals and was also the top scorer at the 2025 Generation Adidas Cup to help Orlando win the title. He recorded 12 goals and eight assists in 44 appearances with Orlando City B and made his MLS debut on May 14, 2025. As a Homegrown Player for the senior team this season, he’s racked up 10 assists so far and is one of the league’s top young players.

Antoine Griezmann Makes MLS Team of the Matchday Bench

Orlando City star Antoine Griezmann landed on the MLS Team of the Matchday bench after recording a goal and an assist in the team’s 3-3 draw on the road against Toronto FC. That’s back-to-back inclusions on the Team of the Matchday bench for Griezmann, who also had a goal and an assist in the 3-2 win over the Columbus Crew on Saturday. The Frenchman is the first MLS player to record a goal or an assist in 11 of his first 13 games. While a weirdly specific record to break, it’s impressive nonetheless as he builds a case for MLS Newcomer of the Year.

Ally Lemos Selected for NWSL Skills Challenge

Orlando Pride midfielder Ally Lemos was chosen to participate in this year’s NWSL Skills Challenge on Nov. 20 during the league’s NWSL Championship Week next month. There’s a $35,000 prize pool at stake for the players taking part in the event, which will take place at a high school in Virginia at 5:30 p.m. but won’t air on CBS and Paramount+ until 2 p.m. on Nov. 28. Lemos has played in all 27 of the Pride’s games this year, recording three assists and a goal along the way. Hopefully she has a strong showing at the event to give Pride fans something to cheer about after a rough year for the club.

Orlando Submits Bid to Host Women’s World Cup

The Greater Orlando Sports Commission has submitted a bid to host games for the 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup. The proposal includes both Inter.co Stadium and Camping World Stadium. A joint bid led by the U.S. that also includes Mexico, Jamaica, and Costa Rica is uncontested to host the tournament and is expected to be voted on next month. Orlando hosted six FIFA Club World Cup games in 2025 and a bid was also submitted last month for the two aforementioned stadiums to host the 2031 Men’s Rugby World Cup as well. If all goes to plan, that summer could end up being an exciting time for sports fans in the City Beautiful.

Free Kicks

• The Pride are all but mathematically eliminated from playoff contention and it could become official on Saturday if the Denver Summit win against Angel City FC or if the North Carolina Courage win or draw against the San Diego Wave. Of course, the Pride failing to win against the Houston Dash on Sunday will officially end things as well.
• Speaking of the Wave, they signed midfielder Lia Godfrey to a three-year contract extension through 2029. She’s scored six goals and added five assists in 27 appearances for the Wave so far in her rookie season.
• Here’s an insightful dive into the United States Women’s National Team’s struggle to find consistency in the midfield as it prepares for next year’s World Cup.
• Following a pair of losses to Paraguay in friendlies, El Salvador Women’s National Team Head Coach Eric Acuna made contentious comments questioning the players’ commitment. El Salvador is set to face the USWNT next month in the Concacaf W Championship quarterfinals.
• For those of you into weird fun facts, a striker named Justin Seven-Seven scored in the 77th minute for West Brom’s U-21 team in a National League Cup game against Sutton United.
• We’ll end our links with a new contender for worst penalty kick of all time, courtesy of Trayvone Reid in the Concacaf Caribbean Cup. If you hate stutter steps, this may ruin your whole day.

That’s all I have for you this time around. Thanks for reading and have a fantastic Friday!