Connect with us

Uncategorized

Six Most Memorable Games in Orlando City History

Published

on

Wednesday night was a historic moment in Orlando City’s history. The “magic of the cup,” as the saying goes, was alive and well, and the Lions advanced to the U.S. Open Cup semiinals for the first time in club history. 

The fans stole the show. The game went viral, not because of the outcome, but because of the fans swarming the other side of the stadium after after the ref indicated the spot kicks would be taken at the net opposite of The Wall. 

After the game, James O’Connor called it “the biggest game in the club’s history.” But was it really? Below is a breakdown of the six most memorable games in Orlando City history. They may not be the “best” games or the “most exciting” necessarily, just the most memorable. Be sure to comment below if you disagree! 


Honorable Mentions: 

2015 vs. Chicago Fire

It took nearly five hours to complete as a monsoon developed over the Citrus Bowl. The entire game was start and stop as the weather would not cooperate, and the match ended in a 1-1 draw. 

2015 U.S. Open Cup vs. Charleston

After a scoreless first half, the teams combined to score eight goals in the second 45 minutes, and 30 minutes of extra time. Carlos Rivas scored a hat trick, all from the penalty spot, but the game went to penalty kicks. It took 10 rounds, but there was eventually a winner. Earl Edwards Jr. saved Taylor Mueller’s shot and then Danny Mwanga converted to send the Lions to the next round

2017 vs. New England

It was the most goals Orlando City scored in MLS history and the club’s biggest margin of victory. This 2017 match in the stadium formerly known as Orlando City Stadium saw five different Lions find the back of the net. 

2018 vs. New York Red Bulls

Seven total goals in a back-and-forth affair saw the Lions get three points in a 4-3 game in Orlando City Stadium. Scott Sutter fired the game winner in off Josué Colmán’s back.

2016 Home Opener vs. Real Salt Lake 

Down 2-0 heading into stoppage time, Cyle Larin and Adrian Winter both scored in the last two minutes to get Orlando City a point and tie the game 2-2.


The Six Most Memorable

6. The Pulse Match

This match is perhaps most memorable not for anything to do with the actual game itself. To be honest, I forgot the result of this game and who it was against and had to look it up. The match ended 2-2 against the San Jose Earthquakes as Shea Salinas’ 94th-minute equalizer ended Orlando’s hope for a win. But it will forever be remembered for what took place during the match:

“The night began with a huge ovation for the first responders and an emotional National Anthem, sung by a crowd that somehow managed to stripe the stadium in rainbow colors with just a few days notice. The Pulse shooting victims’ names were displayed on the giant video screen and advertising boards. And then there was a soccer game.”

The city came together after a terrible tragedy, remembering and honoring the 49 victims, even stopping the game in the 49th minute for a moment of silence. The first responders were recognized on field, the players walked out to the Beatles’ All You Need Is Love, and the fans wore, not the Orlando City purple, but each section a different color of the rainbow. Today, anybody that attends an Orlando City game can witness a memorial, with 49 rainbow color seats with “#OrlandoUnited” on them.

5. The Running of the Wall

Let’s be honest here. This game wasn’t great. Orlando City was poor for the majority of the match and struggled to keep hold of the ball. New York City looked the better team, and the Lions seemed content to defend in their own half and try to spring a counter attack. 

The opening goal was one to remember, but it took over an hour to occur. Nani did well to get down the line after a steal by Sebas Mendez and send in a perfect cross to Chris Mueller. Mueller headed it into the back of the net, the Lions went up 1-0, and then Orlando went back to defending. James O’Connor went more defensive, but his team couldn’t hold the lead, and the Pigeons scored in the sixth minute of stoppage time. 

The match went to extra time, and it was a dull affair. Still a defensive side in the game, Orlando sat back and had no gas left in the tank to create any chances. When the Lions got the ball, they struggled to hold onto it, and the game went to penalties. This was when the game became historic. 

Being a U.S. Open Cup game, the south end was not being used. New York City’s fans were the only people in that side of the stadium, high in the upper deck. The flip of the coin determined the shots would be taken to the south. The Orlando City supporters then did what they do best. When it was clear that the kicks were happening opposite of The Wall, fans sprinted to the other side of the stadium. Security attempted to prevent this — why they tried helping New York is another question — but the fans eventually won and flooded the sections behind the goal.

Orlando got its advantage back, and then Adam Grinwis stepped up. The ‘keeper stood on his head all game and made some miraculous saves, but he will be remembered for the saves he made in the shootout that sent Orlando City to the semifinals for the first time in history. 

4. The 2013 USL Championship

2013 was an important year in Orlando. It was the year the city met Dom Dwyer. The Englishman was sent to Orlando on loan from Sporting Kansas City, and he blew up the lower division. He scored 15 goals in 13 USL matches before being recalled by SKC. When the Lions made it to the final, Dwyer made the trip south to play in one final game. 

Facing the Charlotte Eagles in the finals, a then-record crowd of 20,886 packed the lower deck of the Citrus Bowl. Charlotte struck first, but then Dwyer scored twice, and the Lions took a 2-1 lead. A minute later, Christian Ramirez tied the game at two as the game went into halftime tied. Ramirez got his brace in the second half, but Dwyer tied it from the penalty spot two minutes later. Tied 3-3 at this point, Orlando finally broke free. Dwyer added a fourth goal, Denis Chin got a brace, and Adama Mbengue scored to give the Lions a 7-4 win and their second USL Championship. 

3. 2017 vs. LA Galaxy

Once again, Larin stole the show. The Lions made history with this win as they became the first team in MLS history to open up a stadium with four straight wins. Will Johnson scored in the ninth minute to bring the Lions to a 1-0 lead. Orlando held that lead for the majority of the match, but LA tied things up in the 83rd minute. Romain Alessandrini made a brilliant cut and then shot from distance. The ball banged off the inside of the post and found its way into the back of the net. 

With things tied 1-1, the Lions once again used a late spark to grab some points. Johnson sent in a corner. Larin was heavily guarded by Jermaine Jones, but the Canadian muscled off Jones and volleyed the cross into the back of the net. The goal gave Orlando City the 2-1 win, and it also made history. With his 35th career goal, Larin became the all-time leading scorer in MLS history for a player under the age of 22. 

2. The 2011 USL Championship

The greatest penalty kick shootout in Orlando City history. Yes, it was better than Wednesday. In its first-ever season, Orlando took the USL by storm. The Lions lost just three games all season and marched into the final against the Harrisburg City Islanders. 

Miguel Gallardo was the 2011 Goalkeeper of the Year but was given a red card early in the second half after taking down Sainey Touray outside the box. Backup ‘keeper Sean Kelley made just his fourth appearance in the year, in the biggest game in the club’s young history. 

Lawrence Olum found the back of the net in the 89th minute, and it looked like Orlando would win in regulation. But J.T. Noone tied the match in the fifth minute of stoppage time and the game went to extra time. Touray headed in the go-ahead goal just five minutes into extra time but Lewis Neal’s penalty kick in the 115th minute sent the game to penalties. 

With the supporters’ section at his back chanting his name, Kelley looked like a seasoned veteran filled with confidence. He saved the first two kicks, and the Lions went up 2-0. Orlando missed the next two, with Harrisburg City converting, and it was back to being tied, 2-2. Touray then shot but sent his attempt wide of the post. Devorn Jorsling walked up for the Lions and powered his kick into the back of the net. 10-man Orlando City won in penalties, and Kelley won MVP of the match. 

1. Inaugural MLS Game

No game will ever match this one for Orlando City. MLS was something that the city had been waiting years for. The anticipation of this match alone could make this list, and the fans did not disappoint come game day. A sellout crowd of 62,510 packed the Citrus Bowl, as the two 2015 expansion teams met. The game itself wasn’t anything special until late in the second half, but the atmosphere and fan support made it something spectacular. Mix Diskerud thought he won the game for New York in the 76th minute, but Kaká’s stoppage time free kick leveled the game at 1-1 and sent the crowd home smiling. 


Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Inaugural MLS Game39
2011 Championship11
2017 vs. LA Galaxy1
2013 Championship 5
The Running of the Wall23
Pulse Match7
Other9

Uncategorized

Reflecting on Eight Years with The Mane Land

A look back over my time with The Mane Land (so far).

Published

on

Nick Leyva, The Mane Land

As of last week, I have been a contributor at The Mane Land for eight years. That’s longer than I’ve ever been at any of my actual jobs in my life. There are literally only a couple of people who have been with the site longer, but I’m still amazed at how long it’s been. This is not to say I’m going anywhere, but rather I wanted to take the opportunity to look back at the past eight years, and look ahead to the future.

Unlike some, I didn’t come to be a supporter of Orlando City until it was announced that the club was joining MLS. At the time, I was contemplating picking a club to follow in MLS, but being in Tallahassee, there were no nearby options at that time. I considered FC Dallas and D.C. United, given the two were geographically closer in proximity to me than any others. Fortunately, it was literally while I was considering my options that the announcement was made regarding Orlando City’s jump to MLS. It was an easy decision.

As I do in many aspects of my life, I immediately started researching my new club, which led me to the content being produced by The Mane Land. There was also an article on the site titled “Join The Mane Land Staff.” I had often over the years internally bemoaned that I rarely used my Bachelor’s degree in English, and the desire to write welled up in me so much that I emailed the staff. 

In response, one of our former editors, Andrew Marcinko, contacted me and said “I think your voice would be a great fit on TML.” He asked me to submit a Fan Post (those went away with our presence on SBN), and then another piece for review. Following that, our founder and managing editor, Michael Citro, emailed me to welcome me to the staff. I had no idea at the time how big a part of my life this blog would become.

I started out writing Monday’s Lions Links — often one of the more difficult days to write — and a feature piece. It’s been many years gone by now, but there was a time when the feature piece was “Pride Pub,” an ongoing series that paired craft beer and good food based on Orlando City’s opponent. I can tell you that the research for that was very enjoyable, and I still use some of the recipes I found to this day.

Eventually, I started contributing more match coverage and analytical pieces. Staff came and went, but I never thought to leave since I was enjoying myself. Sometime after that, I was promoted to senior columnist, for which I’m grateful. I can without reservation say that I’m a better writer thanks to my time with the site, and from working with such excellent staff.

In November of 2016, Michael asked if I wanted to give co-hosting The Mane Land PawedCast a try. My first recording was for Episode 71. We just recorded Episode 354, and with the exception of maybe two or three episodes, I have been on every single one of 283 episodes over the last six plus years. Michael and I have spent a lot of time talking on and off the podcast over the years, and I’m proud of what we have produced and to call him my friend.

We recently added an Orlando Pride-specific podcast called Skopurp: An Orlando Pride PawedCast. For years we wanted to give the Pride the time and attention the club deserves. Now, it is a reality, but one that I ask you to listen to and share. I’ll even put out that although Michael and I are the current hosts, we merely consider ourselves stewards and are hoping to get others to come onboard and eventually take it to the next level.

When I started with The Mane Land, the site had just made the move from a free WordPress site to the SBNation network. It was a big deal, and for many years it was a good partnership. Of course that all came to an end not too long ago, and our blog went the independent route thanks to the incredibly generous support of our readers and listeners. In fact, if you want to be one of those supporting our efforts, please go to our Buy Me A Coffee site to become a member. The move has allowed a flexibility we didn’t have before, but I really want others to have the same sense of joy and accomplishment that I have as a member of our staff. 

At one point we had nearly twice the staff that we do now, and as you know, many hands make light work. The opposite of that is also true. I genuinely believe that there must be others out there with the same passion for Orlando City as I have — with the same desire to have their voice heard, whether through the written word or on a podcast. I promise you there is an opportunity to contribute here with us. Our internal discussions are informative, engaging, and often funny. Please consider joining us, as I did eight years ago. I haven’t regretted it and I know you won’t either.

I want to thank all of those who contributed to The Mane Land over the years. There are many that I am still in touch with, though they are no longer a part of the staff. Of course, the current staff are a pleasure to work with, and I appreciate their dedication to what we are trying to do.

Finally, I want to thank the readers and listeners over the years. From those who regularly comment on our articles, to those that I’ve personally met at matches or even randomly on the street, you are a big reason that we do all of this. You are a big reason why I’ve been doing this for the better part of a decade. it is always a genuine pleasure hearing your thoughts or simply sharing a moment of joy together — U.S. Open Cup final, anyone?

So, thank you. I look forward to many more years of this journey together.

Continue Reading

Orlando City

The Mane Land Announces Membership Program

Maximize your Mane Land experience with our new TML membership program while supporting our independent efforts.

Published

on

Hello, readers of The Mane Land and listeners of our podcasts. Before you start reading this, please note that the most important part of this post is at the end. So, don’t stop until you get to the bottom.

You may recall that when we left SBNation to become independent, we really weren’t sure the best way to go about that. Many of our readers and listeners generously offered to help us make that transition, but we still weren’t sure the best path forward, so we took a poll.

The poll was pretty much split down the middle between those who preferred a one-time, Kickstarter-style campaign (which we did, and those of you who stepped up to help completely blew us away!) and those who favored a Patreon-style, subscription-based membership with extra perks. In fact, the member subscriptions option got a few more votes in our poll.

The folks who took part in our GoFundMe fundraiser were fantastic and are now immortalized on this very site on the “Our Founders” page. But we had always planned to give folks the option to choose whichever method of support they preferred and we tried to communicate that throughout the process. It took a little longer than expected to get up and running, but our membership subscription program is now in place! (You may notice the fancy new banner ad about it on the home page, echoed below.)

Supporting TML helps build a better TML for you to enjoy, so you’re really subscribing to your own Orlando soccer fandom.

Part of that delay was thinking up something that didn’t encroach on the benefits we gave our Founders. Those folks helped us get started and deserve the exclusivity of the perks they got. The other part of the delay is that there just aren’t enough hours in the day. (However, for you guys, I’m willing to be cloned.)

We have utilized the popular Buy Me a Coffee platform to run this program. You can find the basics here. The Mane Land premium membership program includes three tiers of membership, as well as the option to click on the “Support” tab for those who just want to help us out whenever, without joining the program or adding any recurring “appointment-based” payments to their budgets. We love that feature of Buy Me a Coffee (or “Buy Us a Beer” in our case…you drink what you like).

For those who do choose to become members, we hope we have provided value and we are planning to add benefits along the way, in addition to providing special giveaways, events, etc. (more on that below). We have also provided subscription options — with monthly or annual memberships. The annual cost essentially gives you 12 months for the price of 10.


Current Benefits

The current membership benefits depend on which level of support you choose — Homegrown Player, TAM Player, or Designated Player level. Each level includes all benefits from the lower tiers, with additional benefits for each higher level.

Homegrown Player: This is a basic set-it-and-forget-it level of support for The Mane Land, providing a way for our readers and podcast listeners to contribute to the success of TML‘s independence goals. We want to compensate our current volunteers, replace lost income of those who previously received small stipends from being part of the SBNation network, add photographers, attract new writers, and expand our coverage. Additionally, each Homegrown Player Level member will be recognized in a Lion Links column, which is still typically our most widely read post of each day and one of the top daily links columns among soccer sites. Homegrown Player Level members will also be included in any future prize drawings we have or events we host and may be subject to future benefits as they are added.

TAM Player: In addition to Homegrown Player benefits, TAM Players will receive a new weekly e-newsletter in their inbox (unless you opt out…some people hate email). These will be informal missives from myself, other TML writers, or a combination, discussing what’s on our mind regarding Orlando City, the Pride, OCB, or soccer in general. Think of it as an extra post from our site that may cover multiple topics. Additionally, you’ll get a 10% discount from our web shop items that we control (presently, that means everything except our listed MLS Shop items). We will definitely have more benefits coming for this level soon and will look for opportunities to include additional benefits as they become available.

Designated Player: This limited availability level of support includes all perks from the Homegrown and TAM levels, but it goes beyond. Your discount at our webshop (for items we control) will be 15% off. Additionally, we’ll send you Zoom links to watch us “make the doughnuts” whenever we record the podcast. This includes when we interview guests. You’ll see how the sausage is made behind the scenes and everything that we say, some of which will end up on the cutting room floor before the final podcast is sent out. This includes both The Mane Land PawedCast and SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast. And after two months of membership you can commission a bonus episode of either podcast simply by letting us know what topic you want us to cover. Think of this as an extended Ask Us Anything. We’ll do a whole show about your topic and you can even join us to discuss it if you wish.

The DP Level will certainly have additional benefits tacked on as we move forward. It is currently limited to 40 members but could be expanded slightly depending on demand and our Zoom attendance.


Future Benefits / Benefits Under Consideration

While we won’t be able to schedule these due to the random nature of items falling into our hands, there will be periodic prize giveaways in drawings that include all of our members, regardless of level. The catch is that you get one entry per level of support, meaning Homegrown Player Level members will get one entry per prize drawing, TAM Player Level members will get two entries per drawing, and Designated Player Level members get three entries for prize drawings. Some of the kinds of items we have come across in the past include match tickets, trinkets, posters, scarves, and so on.

We are planning to add a message board to our website, well…soon-ish is the word that comes to mind. The plan for the message board is to build our community and further the discussion about the club. As part of this, we’re planning an exclusive, members-only area of that message board that TAM and DP members can access. This will be a place our staff can share informational nuggets we can’t necessarily write stories about for various reasons and interact with our members on a daily basis.

Other things in the works include meet-and-greets/watch parties where you can chat with TML staff members and catch a road match with a bunch of like-minded Orlando City/Pride fans while we all cheer on the team together. There may also be other informal outings with one or more members of the staff, organized fantasy leagues, random Zoom calls for Q&A sessions, and perhaps even some organized group outings for Orlando City / Pride matches, national team games, etc.


The Most Important Part of This Post

Remember at the top of this post, when I said the most important part is at the bottom? Well, that seems like a long time ago, now, so it’s OK if you’ve already forgotten.

The most important part of our membership program is you. We want your feedback so we can make this program something that interests and excites you. We want to know what you like and dislike about this program. We want to know if there are some things we didn’t think of that interest you. If you like what we’re offering, tell us! If you hate what we’re offering, we want to know what you’d prefer instead or in addition. If you want to go drinking with Dave, we can probably arrange that, but it’ll be a unique tier and we’ll have to figure out the cost of that.

No idea is too crazy to suggest, even if it’s too insane for us to actually offer. Let us know what you want from your subscription and we’ll see if that’s something we can do. We’ll make it easy for you by putting the form right here below this post, which is now concluded.

Continue Reading

Uncategorized

Welcome Home!

Published

on

Where do I even start? When we were told in January that SBNation was pulling its support of The Mane Land and other MLS and NHL blogs — and many podcasts — I was devastated. The site had become my new baby in September of 2014 and after eight and a half years, I wasn’t ready to let it go.

I was in a pickle. I couldn’t afford to lose the monthly stipend I had been getting from SBNation to manage the site and provide a steady stream of content. It wasn’t that it was a huge monthly sum, but it mostly covered my car payment. That car was purchased when my salary was higher. The pandemic hit my day job like it did to many, and after a four-month layoff, I got my old job back but not at the same rate. So, imagine taking a pay decrease at work and then, on top of that, losing the amount you spend per month on your car payment. There was simply no way to launch The Mane Land independently, I thought, because I simply couldn’t cover the startup costs. Even with some generous offers from the staff to pitch in, there simply wasn’t a way.

Once we took the news public, there was an outpouring of support on social media. We appreciated both the pledges to help out that we got from the community and the signal boosting that the national media gave blogs like ours. Those national folks rely on local reporting for background.

Encouraged by this outpouring of public support, I met with the TML staff and we threw some ideas around. We polled our Twitter followers to see how our community would prefer to show their support. We got pretty close to a 50/50 split between those who wanted to provide a one-time donation via a Kickstarter or GoFundMe crowdsourcing effort, and those who would prefer some sort of premium subscription add-on service like Patreon or Buy Me a Coffee.

We didn’t get a lot of responses to that poll, but we decided as a group that since the results were so similar, we would offer both and let the public choose one path, the other, or even both. (Stay tuned for news soon-ish on the premium subscription level, but rest assured, everything you’ve been getting for free at TML will remain free!)

I was, admittedly, skeptical that we could raise enough startup money to create a private business, pay for hosting a new site and two podcasts (having long wanted to give the Orlando Pride their own unique show), registering a domain, paying for some design work and consulting, and any unexpected expenses that might come up. However, I thought we’d at least give it a try.

Then the amazing Orlando City, Orlando Pride, and TML community got involved. You guys pushed us past our bare minimum goal in just four and a half hours when our fundraiser went live on March 1. We reset our goal and you met that by midnight. We reset our goal again, to the dream total we discussed on our initial staff Zoom chat and you met that by that first weekend.

Stunned. Humbled. Amazed. Touched. All of these words apply to how that made us feel, but they don’t quite cover it. I think we all felt an enormous responsibility, as well. We felt a mandate to provide you the best site and the best coverage we can.

We got everything we needed to run the site for two years, even if we don’t earn a penny after our launch — and we plan to try, via advertising, a Patreon (or similar) program, an online shop, affiliate links, and anything else we can think of. But we decided to leave the GoFundMe open through the end of March, just in case there were folks who wanted to contribute but needed to wait for payday, or if more people wanted to become founding members of this new site.

Now, here we are. You guys did this. We’re here because of you. And this site isn’t quite what it will become. I’m still learning my way around WordPress, after being away from it for years. There’s more to build, and some of the things you’re seeing on this site now will be improved in the future. We’ll continue to tweak it, add things, and upgrade as we go.

For now, I just want to welcome you to your new online home. On behalf of our entire staff, I thank our founding members, who are now immortalized on this site in our founders section. If you weren’t able to contribute to our transition from SBNation’s network to an autonomous and independent, new version of The Mane Land, you can thank the folks on our founders page, because without them, we wouldn’t be here. And if you still want to help out, we’ve got more things on the way.

Vamos.

Michael Citro
Managing Editor

Continue Reading

Trending