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Lion Links: 7/9/21

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5 years ago

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How’s it going, Mane Landers? July hasn’t been too kind to Orlando City or the Orlando Pride, but hopefully that starts turning around as the month rolls on. There’s plenty of soccer to look forward to throughout the month at least. Before we jump into today’s links, let’s all wish a happy 20th birthday to Orlando City Homegrown Player Jordan Bender, who is on loan with the Charlotte Independence.

Orlando Pride Sign Jodie Tyler

With Alex Morgan gone for the Olympics, the Pride have signed English forward Jodie Taylor to a deal that will keep her in Orlando through the 2021 season. The Pride acquired Taylor’s rights before the season in a trade that sent defender Carson Pickett to the North Carolina Courage. Taylor spent the 2020-2021 season in Europe, scoring once in six appearances for an Olympique Lyonnais squad loaded with talent. This isn’t Taylor’s first rodeo in the National Women’s Soccer League though, as she scored 14 goals in 47 matches with the club now known as OL Reign and had stints with the Washington Spirit and Portland Thorns.

The Pride have relied heavily on Morgan and Sydney Leroux on offense so far this season. The pair have scored eight of the team’s 12 goals this year and Taylor should take some of the pressure off of Leroux while Morgan is away.

The Pride Host Racing Louisville FC Tonight

Orlando will aim to bounce back when it takes on Racing Louisville at 7 p.m. tonight in Exploria Stadium. The Pride are coming off of their first shutout loss of the season, falling 2-0 at home to the Courage and relinquishing the top spot in the NWSL standings. They can reclaim that spot tonight with a win against a Louisville side that also lost last weekend. Although Louisville has lost four of its eight games this season, all have come at the hands of the impressive Courage and Thorns. This isn’t the first meeting between Orlando and Louisville in 2021, as the two sides fought to a 2-2 draw in the NWSL Challenge Cup’s group stage. Tonight’s match could end up being a battle between two of the league’s best goalkeepers, as Louisville’s Michelle Betos leads the NWSL with 48 saves while the Pride’s Ashlyn Harris secured yet another NWSL Save of the Week after denying a penalty — her third such stop this season.

Amy Turner Details Her Decision to Join the Pride

Pride defender Amy Turner made her NWSL debut in the team’s recent loss to the Courage. Although she only played a few minutes late in the match, it was a big moment for Turner as the entirety of her career was spent in England. After playing with various clubs as women’s soccer grew in England, Turner joined Manchester United for its inaugural season in 2018 and helped her team earn promotion and then a league title the following year. But she was urged to make a change by Americans Tobin Heath and Christen Press, who both joined United for the 2020-21 season.

“They used to say to me that I was probably the most recognizable player on the team for someone that they knew playing in the NWSL with the way I defend and the way I play, which was not something I’d really thought about too much before,” Turner said. “They reassured me that, in their opinion, it was a good decision for me and hopefully a good move in my career.”

Fellow Englishwoman Jade Moore has helped Turner settle in in Orlando, easing the transition between countries. As a center back, Turner’s addition should bring some organization to the back line and perhaps allow Ali Krieger to move to her preferred position at right back.

Getting Set for the Concacaf Gold Cup

The Gold Cup starts tomorrow and although the United States Men’s National Team and Mexico are expected to go far, there are plenty of teams that could potentially shake things up. The tournament opens with a match between El Salvador and Curacao at 5 p.m., with former Lion Darwin Ceren possibly in action for El Salvador. Later tomorrow night, at 10 p.m., Mexico’s campaign will start against Trinidad and Tobago. Unlike the USMNT, Mexico’s squad will be at nearly full strength for the tournament and is expected to easily top its group.

The USMNT is in a group with Canada, Haiti, and Martinique. Although the U.S. shouldn’t have much trouble claiming one of the top two spots, Canada’s and Haiti’s offenses should lead to some excitement in the group. On Sunday, Canada will take on Martinique at 6:30 p.m. and the USMNT plays Haiti at 8:30 p.m. The group match between the USMNT and Canada on July 18 could also give us an intriguing match-up between Orlando City forward Daryl Dike and former Lion Cyle Larin.

Exploria Stadium will host the majority of matches for the group that includes Costa Rica, Jamaica, Suriname, and Guadeloupe. The final group will feature guest nation Qatar along with Honduras, Panama, and Grenada.

Free Kicks

  • Alex Morgan wasn’t able to bring her daughter to Tokyo with her while playing in the Olympics.

  • Brazilian forward Gabriel Martinelli, who plays for Arsenal at the club level, named Marta as the player he most wants to meet while at the Olympics.

That’s going to be it for today, folks. I hope you all have a great Friday and enjoy all of the soccer this weekend. Go Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/26/26

Martin Ojeda up for weekly award, lessons from MLS matchday 15, Phil Neville out in Portland, and more.

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13 hours ago

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May 26, 2026

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Image of Martin Ojeda celebrating a goal against New England.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

It was another mixed bag for Orlando’s soccer teams over the weekend, as two out of the three sides came away with victories, only for Orlando City to lose in resounding fashion. Fortunately, we can put what’s been a torturous MLS season so far behind us for the time being, as the league is now on break for roughly two months. The big thing currently on the horizon is today’s World Cup roster reveal for the United States Men’s National Team, when we’ll see if the leak reported over the weekend was accurate or not. Then, it’ll be games on Friday and Sunday for the Orlando Pride and Orlando City B, respectively, with a USMNT friendly against Senegal thrown in on Sunday for good measure. Clearly there’s a lot to talk about today, so let’s attack those links.

Martin Ojeda Up for Weekly Honors

Martin Ojeda has been nominated for MLS Goal of the Matchday. Orlando City’s no. 10 has his second goal of Saturday’s match up for consideration, and it was a doozy. The Lions had a free kick on the edge of the box just a couple minutes into the second half, and Tincho stepped up and smashed a shot over the wall and into the top corner of Roman Celentano’s net. The strike leveled the game at 2-2, and although OCSC went on to concede a whopping four second-half goals to slump to a 6-2 defeat, we still have to celebrate the few bright spots to be found. Make sure you go vote for Martin’s strike.

Lessons from Matchday 15

Matchday 15 is now in the books for Major League Soccer, and the league now goes on sabbatical until the World Cup concludes. As for what we learned from the weekend’s action, for starters, it was the last time we’ll see Wilfried Zaha in a Charlotte FC uniform. The forward’s loan expires on June 30, and while his time in MLS certainly can’t be called a failure, it’s also understandable that neither side wanted to extend his stay, as things never seemed to fully click between the two parties. Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference, Jorge Ruvalcaba is starting to find a groove for the New York Red Bulls, and he’s helped the team to sit fifth in the East heading into the break. Finally, both Nashville SC and the Vancouver Whitecaps flashed some impressive depth as they picked up shorthanded wins over tough opposition.

Phil Neville Out in Portland

The Portland Timbers announced Monday afternoon that they have parted ways with head coach Phil Neville. Portland sits 13th in the Western Conference heading into the World Cup break, and Saturday’s 3-1 home loss to the San Jose Earthquakes was seemingly the straw that broke the camel’s back. Neville was in charge of Portland for two full seasons, and while the Timbers made the playoffs in each of them, they failed to advance out of the first round on both occasions. Portland is now on a three-game losing streak and will immediately begin its search for a new head coach, with no interim having been named. As for Neville, it brings an end to his second stint with an MLS team after he coached Inter Miami for two-and-a-half seasons.

Iran Moves Tournament Base to Mexico

Iran has officially moved its World Cup base of operations to Mexico. The Iranian federation announced news of the move on Saturday, with FIFA confirming the switch on Monday when it also confirmed the base camp locations for each of the tournament’s 48 teams. Iran will be based in Tijuana after previously choosing to stay in Tucson, AZ before the United States and Israel launched the Operation Epic Fury attacks. Mexico’s president Claudia Sheinbaum said Monday that she has “no issue” hosting the team and was told by a FIFA representative that the U.S. was reluctant for the Iranian team to spend time outside of games on American soil.

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

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Lion Links: 5/25/26

Lions fall to FC Cincinnati, Pride and OCB win, USMNT World Cup roster leaked, and more.

Published

2 days ago

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May 25, 2026

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Image of Martin Ojeda fighting for the ball against LAFC.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Memorial Day, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been busy at work over the holiday weekend, covering high school lacrosse playoff games. The Lions, Pride, and OCB were all in action over the weekend, and the World Cup is less than three weeks away. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get into the links.

Lions Suffer Heavy Defeat at FC Cincinnati

Orlando City fell 6-2 to FC Cincinnati at TQL Stadium Saturday in another embarrassing road display. Martin Ojeda scored the opener for the Lions in the first half before Cincinnati scored twice to take a 2-1 lead into halftime. Ojeda equalized for Orlando early in the second half. However, it was all Cincinnati from that point as Evander scored his second goal of the match and added three assists as Orlando suffered a heavy defeat on the road for the fourth time this season. The loss snapped the Lions’ three-match unbeaten streak. Orlando City will be off until late July due to the MLS World Cup break. The Lions’ next match will be on the road against the San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park on July 22.

Payne’s Goal Lifts Pride over San Diego Wave

The Orlando Pride defeated the San Diego Wave 1-0 at Snapdragon Stadium Sunday and snapped their two-match losing streak. Nicole Payne scored the lone goal in the match for Orlando, which moved above the Seattle Reign on goal difference to eighth in the NWSL table with 14 points. The Pride will return home Friday to take on Bay FC at Inter&Co Stadium.

OCB Beats Inter Miami II

Orlando City B defeated Inter Miami II 4-1 at Osceola County Stadium on Sunday. The Young Lions got off to a flying start in the first half as Ignacio Gomez scored the opening goal. Bernardo Rhein added another, and OCB got an own goal by Miami defender Daniel Sumalla to take a 3-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Zakaria Taifi scored for OCB and Miami pulled one back, but the Young Lions had the match wrapped up by then. OCB will take on Chattanooga FC Sunday at Osceola County Stadium.

USMNT World Cup Roster Leaked

According to Jeff Rueter and Pablo Maurer at The Guardian, the full 26-man U.S. Men’s National Team roster for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was leaked over the weekend, just days before the official announcement. Former Lion Alex Freeman, Christian Pulisic, Tyler Adams, and Tim Weah were notable mentions, while other players reportedly making the cut include Alejandro Zendejas, Gio Reyna, Sebastian Berhalter, Brenden Aaronson, Mark Mackenzie, and goalkeeper Matt Turner. Diego Luna, Tanner Tessmann, and Aidan Morris were left out of the squad. The U.S. Soccer Federation will officially announce the USMNT roster Tuesday, while the final deadline to submit the roster to FIFA for the World Cup is June 1.

Free Kicks

  • Wilfried Zaha will reportedly depart from Charlotte FC this summer when his loan deal expires.
  • Josef Martinez will reportedly become a free agent after reaching an agreement to part ways with Liga MX side Tijuana.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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Lion Links: 5/22/26

Orlando City prepares for FC Cincinnati, Angelina receives an additional suspension, Orlando City B signs Albright Chikamso, and more.

Published

5 days ago

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May 22, 2026

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Image of Angelina launching a long pass.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! There’s a smorgasbord of Orlando soccer waiting for us this weekend and I’m looking forward to it. Along with enjoying the games, I plan on spending the weekend tearing my way through the rest of Kristen Perrin’s murder mystery series after devouring “How to Solve Your Own Murder.” I highly recommend it if you’re a fan of whodunits. Now, let’s get to the links!

Orlando City Prepares for FC Cincinnati

The Lions are back in action on Saturday with a road match against FC Cincinnati in the last match for both clubs before the World Cup break. Orlando enters this match with plenty of momentum after beating Atlanta United 4-1 in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals, but the team has struggled playing away this year and Cincinnati is a tough opponent. Both offenses are flying high as of late, and the only team in the league that has conceded more goals this season than Cincinnati is Orlando, so a high-scoring affair might be in the cards for us before the break.

Angelina Suspended for an Additional Game

The NWSL Disciplinary Committee handed Orlando Pride midfielder Angelina an additional one-game suspension for a violation of “Major Game Misconduct.” Angelina received a red card following video review in Orlando’s 3-1 loss to the Denver Summit after she pulled Delanie Sheehan’s hair. The Pride will now be without her for both Sunday’s game against the San Diego Wave and the game on May 29 against Bay FC, meaning she won’t be available for selection until after the summer break.

Orlando City B Signs Albright Chikamso

Defender Albright Chikamso has signed an MLS NEXT Pro contract with Orlando City B that will last through 2028. The academy product has made four appearances with OCB already and scored in his first start with the team on Oct. 10 of last year. It’s nice to see the club’s youth program continue to develop players so that they can move up the pipeline. Hopefully Chikamso can continue to impress with the Young Lions this season.

Chris Richards Injury Update Before World Cup

American defender Chris Richards tore ligaments in his ankle according to Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner, who confirmed that he won’t be available for the team’s season finale on Sunday. There’s notably still a chance that he plays in the UEFA Conference League final on Wednesday. However, the World Cup is only a few weeks away and United States Men’s National Team Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino will announce the team’s roster on Monday. Richards has been a critical part of the U.S. defense under Pochettino and we wish him a speedy and smooth recovery.

Free Kicks

  • MLS players will wear personalized jerseys this weekend in recognition of the upcoming World Cup, with an auction to follow.

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

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