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Orlando City Coach’s Show Recap: Heath Talks NYCFC, Previews Philadelphia Union

Published

11 years ago

October 21, 2015

On this week’s Orlando City Coach’s Show with Adrian Heath, the Lions’ head coach discussed Friday night’s win over New York City FC, the new USL and NWSL teams, looks forward to the Philadelphia Union, and other aspects of Orlando City SC.

Orlando City Alumni Association

"I'm very thankful for what those who came before us did."

NYCFC Game

"I thought it was only a matter of time before we were going to score, even when we went one down."

"I know Jason Kreis thought they had an incredible expansion draft. In hindsight I think we proved that we certainly did a better job than them at the beginning of the season."

"It was important that we started quickly and we did."

“The right back, who they switched from the left back wing, could never really come to terms with Carlos Rivas all night. Higuita and Ceren in the middle of the park had too much energy for Lampard and Jacobson.”

"I thought it was an excellent performance. No more than we deserved."

Changing Formation

"The easy thing is to get panicky and go ‘Well, let's change it to 4-4-2 and change the shape of the team and change the system and get another forward on.' But sometimes that actually has an adverse effect and you actually lose the momentum of what you're doing well. I felt that if we had gone to a 4-4-2, the same as them, it would've evened us out a little bit. It would've been two against two in the middle of the park rather than the way that we were playing. We were always getting our spare man on the ball. We were getting the ball out to Rivas. We were getting balls in the box. So I was very reluctant to change it as early as probably people thought."

Cyle Larin's Improvement

"We've worked really, really hard with him. But if the individual himself doesn't want to work hard, doesn't want to take the information on, doesn't want to be immersed with everything that you're trying to do with him, and having the brain to take the information on and then implement it in a game. I've had players where I've spent more time than I've spent with Cyle who the penny doesn't drop. They don't take the information on. They can't put it all together in a game. If you show them on the video they go, ‘Yeah, I should've done this.' But in the heat of the battle and in that split second, that split moment it doesn't register, they can't work it all out quick enough. But Cyle is a smart kid. He's still growing. He's still going to get bigger and stronger. Physically his body is still nowhere near where it should be. He's still very soft. And by that I mean if you look at some of our guys and you take their top off, they're in great physical condition. Cyle's still like a young kid. There's still some puppy fat there and his body's not in good shape. But when all that comes together and, God willing, he stays injury free and keeps listening and learning and working hard, the sky's the limit for the kid."

Favoritism

"We don't have to hide behind the fact that New York and L.A. and that side of the country, they get their fair share of publicity shall we say. And the fact that we have a guy that was on standby for Colombia's national team, which is ranked third in the world, and he doesn't get in the top 24 players under 24 in the MLS, I find that quite strange."

Orlando City B Announcement

"I would love for us all to be called Orlando City. I would love for us all to have the same badge."

"I would love for us all to be under the same umbrella with the same name and same badge."

Orlando Pride

"It's another piece in the development of having a proper football club from top to bottom. And I know it's going to be a huge boost for the game and it'll be another piece we can use in the new stadium when it's built."

Strategy for Making Up Goal Differential

"Firstly we have to try to win the game. And if at one stage it's two or three to nil and you're doing well, I'm sure that we'll be told what the score line is coming in from New York."

Young Team

"If you put our starting 11 up against theirs, we're the youngest in the league by three years."

Recent Run

"Well we've had a good run and I think we need to finish it off. We had a horrible July and August. There's no getting away from it. And it cost us dearly. We've ended up running out of games. But we've played the most minutes of any team in the history of the MLS a man down so that's certainly something that we're going to have to address next year."

Finishing Ahead of NYCFC

"It gives me a lot of satisfaction because if you had seen the day we went into the MLS offices the first day, we came in and nobody looked at us and then they come in to a standing ovation from everybody and I thought, ‘Okay, I wonder where your alliances are from the league.' So it's pretty nice to be seven points ahead of them. Let's hope we can make it ten."

Keeping Players from Internationals

"We can say to Jurgen, ‘Listen, we don't think that Brek is ready for another 90 minutes. We'd prefer to keep him here rather than play him on the Saturday and then you're going to play him on the Wednesday and then he's going to travel to wherever for CONCACAF or whatever it is and then fly back Friday and play for us Saturday.' Ultimately it's down to the coach and if Jurgen says, ‘Tough. We need him. We want him.' There's nothing we can do."

Using Orlando City B

“The younger ones who are not playing and some of the first team guys, like this year Bryan Rochez has played nowhere near enough football. There were occasions where he could’ve gone and played for the USL team if they’re playing on a Sunday or playing on Tuesday when we’re not playing until the following Saturday. And that’s going to the beauty, for them to get some minutes.”

Use of USL Team from MLS Perspective

"It will enable us to give some of the younger guys games. That's basically it. They will have to be on the MLS roster to be able to go backwards and forwards. The players that will be on the USL roster will be USL players."

"The one thing it does for those young guys, for a lot of the ones we bring in, we will see them nearly every day. They have an opportunity to impress us and try to work their way onto the full team roster. But it will be players on the first team roster that will be able to go up and down, not just from the second team."

Last Game Approach

"It's the last game of the season. It's their last home game of the season. It's the last chance for some of them to make an impression on them. There's a lot of change going on in Philly at the moment. Obviously their GM left and there's questions about the coach. It's going to be a bit more difficult than people think but we're just going to go in there with the confidence that we gained from five wins on the bounce. We've got too much at stake to coast through this game. I want to win this game badly."

Brek Shea

"Brek's looking so good at this moment in time in training. It looks like he's suddenly peaking just as the season's ending after his injury. But he's looked really good at training."

Message to Team

"Every time that we put that shirt on, we have to go out to win. And that's no different. We represent the club. We represent the city. We represent our supporters who never let us down. We've got an awful lot of obligations out there and I think we've got too much at stake. We want to finish with one of the best records ever in expansion. We want to get the most wins ever in the first year."

Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 144: Gotham Rewind, Seattle Preview, and More

The Pride finished their home schedule with a loss to Gotham and hope to finish their road schedule with a win in Seattle.

Published

2 days ago

October 28, 2026

Michael Citro

Image of Solai Washington running onto a ball behind the Gotham defense.

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride tried to send their fans home happy in their regular-season home finale, but despite an impressive overall performance against the league leaders, the Pride wasted numerous chances in front of goal and paid for two big mistakes at the back in what ultimately ended as a 2-1 loss in a season filled with far too many defeats. Solai Washington did so many things well, but despite a month’s worth of chances, she could only muster one goal. Still, it was a promising outing albeit in a developing story that won’t continue much longer this year.

We discuss the key plays, players, and moments, look back at our score predictions from last week, and select our Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox asked us about Marta, the reasons for the Pride’s struggles in 2026, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

Finally, we look ahead to Sunday’s season finale at the Seattle Reign. The Pride opened their 2026 season with a home loss to the Reign but would like to close it with a road win over Seattle to enter the off-season on a positive note. It won’t be easy, as the Reign are clinging to the last playoff spot and trying to catch rival Portland as multiple teams are trying to catch them. We look at Orlando’s attempt to play spoiler, check back on the series history, compare the teams’ positions in the table, provide our key matchups, and more.

Here’s how Episode 144 went down:

0:15 – The Pride finished their home schedule with a good performance but another poor result against the league’s top team.

20:07 – Our mailbagbox has questions about the GOAT.

38:26 – Seattle was the first 2026 opponent and will be the last 2026 opponent. We preview for the last time this season.

Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 140: Bay FC Rewind, San Diego Preview, and More

The Pride keep their playoff hopes alive by eliminating Bay FC but things get tougher with San Diego visiting Friday.

Published

1 month ago

September 30, 2026

Michael Citro

Image of Jacquie Ovalle dribbling toward the Bay FC defense.

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Justin Glatt

The Orlando Pride remained perfect on the road against Bay FC with a 3-1 win on Sunday. Deuces were wild, as Haley McCutcheon, who wears jersey No. 2, scored in the second minute of both halves, and her two goals in California gave the midfielder her second brace of both the 2026 NWSL season and her career. Barbra Banda figured heavily in pulling defenders out of position on two of the three Orlando goals and assisted on Jacquie Ovalle’s right-footed thunderbolt in stoppage time to put the game away. But make no mistake, it’s not as if the Pride played well, turning the ball over often and conceding 28 shot attempts to the hosts.

We break down a road win that may have been more exhausting to watch than to play in (although I wouldn’t bet on it), check back on our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox asked us about Haley McCutcheon, where to most strongly place the blame for the Pride’s disappointing season, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

Finally, we looked ahead to Friday, when Orlando will host San Diego Wave FC, looking to both complete a season sweep and to keep its faint playoff hopes alive. We look at the series history, provide our key matchups for the contest, and make our predictions for the final score.

Here’s how Episode 140 went down:

0:15 – The Pride improved to 2-1-1 under Yolanda Thomas, but a lot of good Cosette Morche saves were required to get that second win.

20:00- The mailbagbox asks us to play the blame game.

33:36 – The Pride continue to face California-based competition, but Friday’s opponent is much higher in the table than Sunday’s was.

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Orlando City restarts its 2026 MLS campaign late tonight out west at San Jose.

Published

3 months ago

July 22, 2026

Michael Citro

Image of Braian Ojeda taking a shot in a friendly against FC Dallas.

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread for a late night midweek matchup tonight between Orlando City (4-9-2, 14 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-2, 32 points) at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams in 2026 and the first time the teams have met since 2024.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s match.

History

Orlando City is 3-1-3 in the previous seven MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions got their only away win in the series in the last meeting and enter tonight 1-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The teams last met on May 18, 2024, with Jack Lynn coming off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Lynn’s strike in the 89th minute broke the scoreless deadlock and lifted the Lions to a 1-0 victory.

The teams met in Orlando most recently way back on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.

Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.

The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.

The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.

In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.

The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.

Overview

The teams meet tonight to get their post-World Cup portion of the season started. Orlando City has been terrible on the road all season long, keeping only one MLS opponent under two goals all year away from home and allowing five goals twice (at New York City FC and Nashville) and six goals twice (at LAFC and in the team’s most recent match away at FC Cincinnati just before the break).

Orlando City is a putrid 1-6-1 on the road this season, and now the Lions must face the Western Conference co-leaders tonight before coming home to face Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at home on Saturday. They’ll have to play at least tonight’s game without Martin Ojeda, who is out with a thigh injury sustained some time between his first-half goal a week ago in a friendly against FC Dallas and the time the availability report dropped on Tuesday.

But it isn’t all bad news for the Lions, who should have both Antoine Griezmann and Dike in the lineup. Griezmann was the club’s highly prized and widely publicized summer Designated Player signing, while Dike’s return to Orlando came together more recently, following his departure from West Bromwich Albion. They’ll help the club’s offense, but the attack hasn’t been the issue in 2026 — it’s been the historically porous defense, which is on pace to shatter the MLS record for goals conceded.

Meanwhile, San Jose is one of the first half of the season’s biggest surprises, as the Quakes have been outstanding in 2026. Scoring 34 goals while conceding just 15, San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (tied for third), goals conceded (third), and goal differential (+19, third).

The Earthquakes are 4-2-1 at home and are coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland in their last game prior to the World Cup break. San Jose boasts Golden Boot challenger Preston Judd, who leads the Quakes with 11 goals, adding two assists in his 15 appearances. Ousseni Bouda has chipped in five goals and three assists. Niko Tsakiris leads the team with seven assists to go along with his two goals, but he’s still recovering from a lower body injury and is not available tonight. However, the arrival of Timo Werner (four goals and five assists in just seven games) has truly elevated Bruce Arena’s Quakes, and he’ll need to be one of the main focal points for the Orlando defense.

To have any shot at taking something from this game, the Lions will need to play better road defense than they have all season. Orlando can score goals, but with Ojeda out, Griezmann will need to adapt quickly, and someone other than the team’s leading scorer will need to find the net.

The Lions will play without Ojeda (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty). In addition, Marco Pasalic may or may not have returned to the team after the World Cup. He was not in training Monday, although interim head coach Martin Perelman said he expected the Croatian back soon. The Earthquakes will be without Nonso Adimabua (lower body), former Lion Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body), DeJuan Jones (lower body), and Tsakiris (you guessed it, lower body…come on, San Jose).

Match Content

Our most recent PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for tonight’s match.

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer

San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn.

Defenders: Jamar Ricketts, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic.

Defensive Midfielders: Beau Lerouox, Ronaldo Vieira.

Attacking Midfielders: Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez, Ousseni Bouda.

Forwards: Preston Judd.

Bench: Jonathan Gonzalez, Dave Romney, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan, Jack Jasinski, Ian Harkes, Francesco Montali, Max Floriani, Darius Johnson.

Referees

REF: Elijio Arreguin.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Timothy Ford.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!