Lion Links
Lion Links: 4/9/21
How’s it going, Mane Landers? I hope you all are hanging in there as we get closer and closer to Orlando City and Orlando Pride soccer. I’m looking forward to games not being so crammed together this year so I can have some breathing room between matches. Last year was a great time to be a Lions supporter, but it was also hectic to say the least. The Lions’ last preseason game will take place today when they take on Minnesota United. But for now, let’s enjoy these links from around the soccer world.
Orlando City Signs Rio Hope-Gund
Defender Rio Hope-Gund is officially a Lion after Orlando signed the 21-year-old to a one-year deal with club options for 2022, 2023, and 2024. Drafted in the first round of the 2021 MLS SuperDraft by the Lions, Hope-Gund played eight games with Georgetown for a fourth and final season this spring before heading to Orlando. Hope-Gund was added to Orlando’s Supplemental Roster and should help fill the void at center back left by the departures of Kamal Miller and Alex De John this off-season.
The NWSL Season Begins Today
Although the Orlando Pride won’t play until tomorrow, the wait is over for the 2021 NWSL Challenge Cup. The reigning champion Houston Dash will get the tournament started tonight at 8:30 p.m. as they host the Chicago Red Stars, with a later match between the Portland Thorns and Kansas City at 10:30 p.m. After not participating in the Challenge Cup last season, the Pride will take on Racing Louisville FC tomorrow at 7 p.m.
It should be an exciting season for the league with plenty of storylines to track all year long. The Portland Thorns are loaded with talent and may topple the North Carolina Courage as the most dominant team in the league. As for the Pride, it will be interesting to see how their deep midfield and lethal attackers can stack up against the rest of the league.
USWNT Prepares for Sweden
Pride forward Alex Morgan is with the United States Women’s National Team in Europe for a pair of friendlies. The first is tomorrow at 1:10 p.m. against Sweden at Friends Arena in Stockholm. It will be the 41st match between the two sides, with the most recent meeting taking place on Nov. 7, 2019 when the USWNT won 3-2 in Columbus, OH. Sweden qualified for the Tokyo Olympics this summer and is currently on an eight-game unbeaten streak. The USWNT’s second friendly will be against France on April 13 as the team continues preparations for the Olympics.
Away Teams Performed Well in Europa League
Manchester United was the biggest winner in the Europa League quarterfinals’ first legs. On the road in Spain, Marcus Rashford scored in the first half and Bruno Fernandes converted a penalty in the 90th minute to give United a pair of away goals in a 2-0 win over Granada. In Amsterdam, AS Roma mounted a comeback in the second half to win 2-1 over Ajax thanks to goals from Lorenzo Pellegrini and Ibañez. Villarreal also won, defeating Dinamo Zagreb 1-0 in Croatia.
The only draw took place at Emirates Stadium as Arsenal and Slavia Prague fought to a 1-1 result. Arsenal’s Nicolas Pépé seemed to score the game-winner in the 86th minute, but Tomáš Holeš scored an equalizer in stoppage time off of a corner kick to give Prague a critical away goal. You can check out the goal below, as well as the exact moment Arsenal Manager Mikel Arteta’s heart breaks.
Jedna z posledních příležitostí, která nakonec změnila celé vyznění zápasu. Tomáš Holeš byl ve správný čas na správném místě a postaral se o klíčový vyrovnávací gól. 👏 Do odvety si tak sešívaní nesou velmi nadějný výsledek. 🔜 pic.twitter.com/L6coAyPx1x
— ČT sport (@sportCT) April 8, 2021
Free Kicks
- Let’s start these free kicks off with a great meme from Orlando midfielder Andrés Perea regarding teammate Daryl Dike.
🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/YanDh62pnk
— Andrés Perea (@andresperea06) April 8, 2021
- In case you didn’t know Pride midfielder Meggie Dougherty Howard is Floridian, this video should make it clear.
.@MeggieDH is out here saving lizards. 🦎😂 pic.twitter.com/EQnigcsSop
— Orlando Pride (@ORLPride) April 8, 2021
- Columbus Crew midfielder Darlington Nagbe has high hopes about his team’s chances in the Concacaf Champions League. The Crew went to Nicaragua and walked away with a 4-0 victory over Real Esteli FC, with Gyasi Zardes scoring a brace in the first half.
- No Lions were named as strong candidates for this year’s MLS Golden Boot according to Greg Seltzer of MLSsoccer.com. Although I agree with Seltzer that Dike’s future in MLS is uncertain, I think the Lions will likely have someone in the mix considering their creative and lethal offense.
- MLS updated its health and safety protocols for the upcoming season, with details provided on continued charter travel, vaccinations, and required mask use.
- Atlanta United signed Argentine center back Alan Franco as a Designated Player, giving Atlanta a strong defender alongside Miles Robinson.
- After its rebrand, NJ/NY Gotham FC unveiled a new jersey with the club’s new colors.
Colossal/Black ‘21 https://t.co/tSxerjKVLM pic.twitter.com/KwoF2wbDWZ
— NJ/NY Gotham FC (@GothamFC) April 8, 2021
- Arsene Wenger stated that FIFA could implement an automated system for offside calls in the 2022 World Cup.
- The San Jose Earthquakes renamed the street outside their stadium to Wondo Way in honor of Chris Wondolowski. It makes me wonder what a street named after an Orlando player would look like. Kaká Court has a nice ring to it.
That will do it for today’s links, folks. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend. Stay safe out there!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 4/26/24
Orlando City gets ready for Toronto FC, Thiago Silva linked with Orlando, Marta announces international retirement, and more.
I don’t know about you, but I sure am glad it’s Friday. It’s been a bit of a brutal week for me, but the weekend is nearly upon us, and I plan on spending it with my family for my dad’s birthday. I’m also hoping to find some time to read the new book that came out this week from my favorite author, Emily Henry. For now though, let’s enjoy these links from around the soccer world!
Orlando City Prepares for Toronto FC
After a shaky start to the season, the Lions are unbeaten in their past four games and can make it five when they host Toronto FC Saturday night. Toronto has lost three of its past four games, but is coming off of a 1-0 win over the New England Revolution. In the time since Oscar Pareja took over as head coach, Orlando City has won six of its seven games against Toronto. It will be the first meeting between the two with John Herdman at the helm of Toronto, so we will see if the trend of recent Orlando dominance continues. It should be a great game and is another opportunity for the Lions to climb up the table.
Thiago Silva Linked With Orlando City
Brazilian defender Thiago Silva’s contract with Chelsea ends this summer and Orlando City was mentioned as one of many reported clubs interested in signing him. Beyond the surface-level facts that Silva is an incredibly talented defender and Orlando City is a popular landing spot for South Americans who want to play in MLS, the move would not make much sense. The club signed David Brekalo this off-season and Rodrigo Schlegel is a solid option off the bench as well. Even if Orlando does want Silva, there will be plenty of competition. Returning to Fluminense is the expected choice, but Silva could stay in Europe or make the move to Saudi Arabia.
Marta Will Retire From National Team After 2024
Orlando Pride star Marta announced that 2024 will be her last year playing for Brazil. You will need a translating tool for more of the details from her interview with CNN, but she spoke on how she’s at peace with her decision to stop playing at the international level once the year is over. She made her international debut in 2002 and has since played in five Olympics for Brazil. Marta may play in her sixth this summer, and there would be global attention to see one of the greatest players ever to lead Brazil one last time. Her contract with the Pride also ends after this season, but only time will tell if this is her final season in Orlando.
Orlando’s Academy Teams Get Results Against New England
With the Generations Adidas Cup behind them, Orlando City’s U-17 and U-15 teams earned some important points against the New England Revolution’s youth squads. The U-15 team dominated New England in a 4-1 result that included a hat trick from Jakob Garcia. The match between the U-17 sides was a closer affair, as they split the points in a 1-1 draw. Orlando’s teams will play again tomorrow, with a pair of home games against Nashville SC.
Free Kicks
- The San Jose Earthquakes officially have a new Designated Player, signing Argentine winger Hernan Lopez to a contract through the 2026 season. The reported $6 million transfer fee would break the club record if accurate.
- D.C. United midfielder Russell Canouse had a successful first surgery last month to help correct an ulcerative colitis diagnosis.
- American midfielder Malik Tillman had a fantastic game for PSV Eindhoven, scoring twice and adding an assist in the team’s 8-0 win over SC Heerenveen.
- Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera announced that he is retiring from international soccer. The 37-year-old has played in the past four World Cups for Uruguay.
- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Jesse Marsch have reportedly been contacted for the coaching vacancy at the Canadian National Team.
- An active bomb from World War II was discovered during renovations of Mainz’s stadium in Germany and it will be deactivated today.
- We will end our links with this pretty entertaining video series featuring Orlando City players and staff competing in Parcheesi. There’s a bracket, trash talk, and an explanation of the rules as well, if you’ve never played before. Here’s a little clip of the most recent game, if you need convincing.
That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 4/25/24
Duncan McGuire is an Olympic frontrunner, Orlando Pride get ready for the Washington Spirit, Colin Guske signs with Orlando City B, and more.
How’s it going, Mane Landers? I hope this work week hasn’t been too stressful for you as we get ready for another weekend packed with Orlando soccer. All of the European soccer this week has been enjoyable as well, as teams fight for silverware and survival. It should be a fun next few days, although most of my match following will be digital. I’m hoping to get out to the stadium for a game or two over the next couple of months as well. But for now, let’s dive into today’s links!
Duncan McGuire Likely to Play in Olympics
Orlando City forward Duncan McGuire was listed as one of the frontrunners to join the U.S. for this year’s Olympics. It won’t be much of a shock if McGuire is in Paris this summer, as he’s been impressive in the time since being drafted sixth overall in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft by the Lions. The 23-year-old has followed up a strong rookie year with three goals and an assist so far this season. It will be interesting to see who McGuire could compete with for minutes in the Olympics, with Ricardo Pepi noted as another possible option up top for the U.S. Overall, it’s nice to see McGuire is doing what’s needed to stay in the contention for Paris. I think that staying in Orlando rather than going to England has definitely helped his case.
Orlando Pride Prepare for the Washington Spirit
The Orlando Pride are riding a five-game unbeaten streak and will take it to the nation’s capital for a difficult road match against the Washington Spirit Friday night. The Pride have won their past two games and will face a Spirit side that has won four of its five games this season. Both teams have been defensively sound, each conceding just four goals, so it may come down to moments of individual brilliance to make the difference. Pride Head Coach Seb Hines spoke about the difficulty of the matchup, Orlando’s grit this season, and the impact Barbra Banda had in her debut last weekend.
Orlando City B Signs Colin Guske
Midfielder Colin Guske, who joined Orlando City’s academy back in 2020, signed an MLS NEXT Pro contract with Orlando City B through this 2024 season. The 17-year-old made his OCB debut in the team’s season opener this year and scored the game-winning goal. He’s carved out a spot in OCB’s midfield this season, starting in four of the team’s five games. Guske has two brothers who have also gone through the club’s academy and played with OCB. A solid year with the Young Lions from Guske could result in a Homegrown Player contract for the senior team.
Columbus Crew SC Wins First Leg Against Monterrey
The Concacaf Champions Cup semifinals are here and the Columbus Crew are the only MLS team still in the tournament. They came up with a big 2-1 home win in the first leg of their matchup against Monterrey. Cucho Hernandez gave the Crew the lead in the first half and 21-year-old Jacen Russell-Rowe scored the winner in the second. An away goal by Monterrey could prove crucial though due to the tiebreakers, and the second leg will take place on May 1. The winner of this matchup will take on either Club America or Pachuca in the final on June 2.
Free Kicks
- Former Lion Dom Dwyer is reportedly headed out west to sign with Oakland Roots SC in the USL Championship.
- Toronto FC traded away $200,000 in 2025 General Allocation Money (GAM) to Atlanta United in exchange for winger Derrick Etienne Jr. The 27-year-old has not received much playing time this season, and Atlanta could earn another $175,000 in GAM if performance-based metrics are met.
- The San Jose Earthquakes have reportedly signed Hernan Lopez from Godoy Cruz. It would give a-needed boost to the team, which has just three points from nine games this season.
- St. Louis City winger Celio Pompeu won MLS Goal of the Matchday for his great strike from outside the box in his team’s 3-3 draw with Sporting Kansas City.
- Carlos Jimenez was fired as the Kansas City Current’s head of medical for reportedly having a relationship with a player that violated the league’s non-fraternization policy.
- Next year’s MLS NEXT season will include eight new teams, and there’s a nice breakdown on what each one brings to the table.
- Despite Sergino Dest’s recent injury, PSV Eindhoven’s Peter Bosz spoke on how he’d like the right back to stay with the team after his loan from Barcelona expires.
- Everton came up with a 2-0 win at home against rival Liverpool. Most attention will be on how this dents Liverpool’s title aspirations, but Everton deserves praise for putting more distance between itself and the relegation zone with this win during a difficult season that included point deductions.
- Atalanta beat Fiorentina 4-1 to book its spot in the Italian Cup final against Juventus. That final will take place on May 15 and should be a pretty good match.
- Xavi will reportedly stay on board as Barcelona’s manager for another season after all.
That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 4/24/24
Orlando City and Orlando Pride power rankings, USMNT player news, USWNT will host Costa Rica, and more.
Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. It’s that time of the week for some tasty links. Two seven-point weekends for Orlando’s soccer teams is nothing to sneeze at, unlike the pollen that coats my hometown of Tallahassee. It’s the time of the year that I make my money back with the unlimited car wash next to my work. Enough with my weather-related car issues, let’s get to the links.
Lions Move Up (and Down) in Power Rankings
There’s nothing that shows the value of “power rankings” better than when you can compare two different ranking lists for the same week for any given club. We all know Orlando City is undefeated in its last four matches thanks to the late heroics of Ivan Angulo to draw CF Montreal over the weekend. But, did you know that was both good and bad?
In ESPN‘s MLS power rankings, Orlando City dropped a spot from 16th to 17th despite “treading water” with a point on the road in Montreal. Meanwhile, the Lions roared ahead three spots from 21st to 18th in MLSsoccer.com’s power rankings. So, do you like that Orlando is 17th in the ESPN piece despite the drop? Or do you prefer the positivity of a three-spot jump to 18th in the MLSSoccer.com rankings?
Orlando Pride Rise in Power Rankings
Forget everything I wrote up there regarding power rankings — at least as far as the Orlando Pride are concerned. After starting the season with three draws, the Pride now have two wins in a row. As such, ESPN moved the Pride up three spots from eighth to fifth in its NWSL power rankings. Their move up the list is entirely deserved and the writer was correct in their assessment. Of course, I’m kidding but it’s still nice to see the Pride get recognized for their results. Now, we just need the Pride to continue the winning streak.
Keeping Up With USMNT Players Abroad
As we shared yesterday, Sergino Dest will likely miss this summer’s Copa America thanks to a knee injury suffered during PSV Eindhoven training. That means the USMNT has a right back situation to address and there are quite a few well known candidates to step in for Dest.
Meanwhile, Weston McKennie has reportedly rejected Juventus’ latest extension offer. I can understand his decision given it doesn’t include any additional salary. McKennie has been very good for Juve, with 10 assists on the season. He’s not the only American making a difference, as Tim Weah provided the assist on Arkadiusz Milik’s goal to send Juventus to the Coppa Italia final.
USWNT Olympic Send-Off Match
The United States Women’s National Team will play a match against Costa Rica at Audi Field on July 16. It will be the final match for the USWNT prior to the Olympics that start nine days later against Zambia. New coach Emma Hayes will join the team on June 1, which isn’t a ton of time before the Olympics start, but she has been a part of the process for months.
Free Kicks
- Former Pride players Erika Tymrak and Jordyn Listro have signed with Tampa Bay Sun FC of the new USL Super League, a Division 1-sanctioned women’s soccer league. More soccer in the U.S. is a good thing, so good luck to Tymrak and Listro.
- The New England Revolution have acquired veteran defender Xavier Arreaga from the Seattle Sounders for a 2025 international roster slot, and up to $75,000 in General Allocation Money depending on performance.
- Inter Miami’s Jordi Alba will be out for several weeks due to a hamstring injury. Fortunately, he is expected to be back in time for the match against Orlando City on May 15. Where did I put the sarcasm font?
- In an odd occurrence, a Californian team has been chastised. Four players on the LA Galaxy were found to be in violation of the mass confrontation policy in their match against the San Jose Earthquakes over the weekend.
- The unending Inter Miami signings continued, with the club signing Paraguayan midfielder Matías Rojas.
That will do it for today. Check back as we get you ready for the Pride’s match against the Washington Spirit this Friday, and Orlando City’s match against Toronto FC on Saturday. Vamos Orlando!
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