Connect with us

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. LA Galaxy: Player Grades

Published

9 years ago

on

Well, that was a lot of fun and we should do it again really soon, huh?

Orlando City had no trouble slicing apart the LA Galaxy defense in building a 4-0 lead to give Tally Hall — making his City debut — his first shutout in a purple kit. In fact, the back line and defensive midfield played so well that Hall faced only one shot on target and 10 in total, with most of those coming from far away.

This was a much needed three points for Orlando City, which was starting to get lost in the Eastern Conference standings. In the New England-DC-LA trio of games, the Lions took four of a possible nine points, which isn’t bad against three of the leagues blue bloods.

We’ll have much more to come from tonight’s win, so let’s get to the performances by tonight’s lineup:

Player Grades

G, Tally Hall, 7.5 — It’s hard to judge a keeper who wasn’t tested much, but Hall did what he was supposed to do in his first game with Orlando. He made no errors, stopped LA’s single shot on goal and kept crosses from reaching their targets. One game, one clean sheet.

D, Luke Boden, 7 — Other than a few issues controlling the skilled Stefan Ishizaki, Boden played well again at left back. His crosses are nearly always dangerous and his awareness and team play make him an asset to both the defense and the attack.

D, Sean St. Ledger, 7.5 — He and his central defense partner made the plays they needed to make when called on. They played within themselves. Adrian Heath called them “excellent” in his postgame presser.

D, Seb Hines, 7.5 — See St. Ledger, Sean. In his return from a quad injury, Hines didn’t show any signs of rust. He made perhaps the two biggest plays by the back line with an early tackle and a blocked shot in the first half. Hines had a few games where he was victimized one-on-one but his positioning tonight was sound.

D, Rafael Ramos, 8 — Each game, Rafa seems to have one or two inexplicable defensive lapses, but he generally makes up for them. His cross and movement on the first goal was outstanding and he kept Baggio Husidic occupied and harassed Leonardo.

MF, Darwin Ceren, 9 — Man of the Match for me, and Heath said the same in his presser. Ceren worked hard for 90 minutes and made things difficult for LA’s midfield and attack force throughout the night. He also got forward in attack more than he has in previous games and had a rocket shot tapped over by Jaime Penedo. Nevertheless, he got his first MLS goal later on a hard, low shot that took a deflection.

MF, Cristian Higuita, 8.5 — If Ceren wasn’t MotM, then Higuita may have been. The young Colombian was all over the pitch, making the Galaxy miserable with interceptions and hard-won takeaways. Like Ceren, he got more involved in the attack tonight to go along with his tireless work on defense.

MF, Brek Shea, 8 –– It wasn’t a perfect game for Brek, but he looked much sharper overall. With the exception of a few passes that were a bit off, Shea was dangerous. He showed outstanding vision to head across for his roommate, Eric Avila, on the first goal. He also made great crosses and helped Boden defensively down the left side. His best game to date at midfield for City and earned a deserved first assist in a purple shirt.

MF, Kaká, 8.5 –– After a few rough games, the maestro is back, with a key assist and his fourth goal (second on a PK). This was possibly Kaká’s best game in an Orlando shirt. He looked determined and involved and linked up well with everyone on the pitch. He made Tommy Meyer miserable on the Larin goal and sent the through ball to Ramos that ended in Avila’s goal. He tortured LA players by shielding the ball and keeping possession. On any other night he might have been my MotM, but for the way the defensive midfielders played.

MF, Eric Avila, 7.5 — Avila looked comfortable on the right side for the first time and opened his account with a timely run into the box. He doesn’t get a ton of credit for his work rate and doing the little things well in the midfield that he probably deserves, but he was very good tonight and scored his first MLS goal since 2013.

F, Cyle Larin, 8 — The Canadian international continues to get into dangerous spots and to score goals. Took a lesson from Kaká after over-hitting a long chip attempt and looked up for his teammates more after that, leading to the give-and-go with the Brazilian that resulted in Larin’s fourth goal in as many games (in all competitions). His control and runs are improving and he was strong all game.

Substitutes

D, Amobi Okugo, 5.5 — Came on at 75′ and was steady. He made no major errors but did nothing particularly noteworthy either. A fairly typical display for 15 minutes in defensive midfield against a team that had largely stopped pushing forward due to the lopsided scoreline.

MF, Carlos Rivas, N/A — Entered at 78′ and didn’t make much impact. With a big lead, Rivas was never going to be asked to do much other than keep the ball when possible and make lonely runs so his teammates could look for a potential long ball.

F, Martin Paterson, N/A — Making his debut in the 83rd minute, Paterson showed his veteran presence by trying to set up teammates rather than take bad-angle shots. But it’s hard to judge a guy who played seven minutes in a 4-0 game, so we’ll skip a grade this time out.

* * *

If Orlando City can duplicate tonight’s performance going forward, there are a lot of good results in the team’s future. For now, the club must find a way to put back-to-back wins together. Be sure to vote for your Man of the Match in the poll below.

The Lions get a week to rest but have a cross-country trip coming up for Sunday’s 7 p.m. game at the San Jose Earthquakes.

Polling Closed

Player Votes
Darwin Ceren 141
Kaká 96
Cristian Higuita 20
Brek Shea 7
Cyle Larin 15
Rafael Ramos 7
Other (Specify in the comment section) 4
Related Topics:
Continue Reading

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.

Published

1 hour ago

on

April 25, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

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.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/24/24

Orlando City and Orlando Pride power rankings, USMNT player news, USWNT will host Costa Rica, and more.

Published

1 day ago

on

April 24, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

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

  • 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?

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!

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/23/24

Ivan Angulo makes Team of the Matchday bench, Americans in action, Sergino Dest to miss Copa America, and more.

Published

2 days ago

on

April 23, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It was an excellent weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, as the three sides took seven of the nine points on offer. There’s no rest for the wicked this week as the Orlando Pride travel to play the Washington Spirit on Friday, Orlando City hosts Toronto FC on Saturday, and Orlando City B finishes things up at home against Toronto FC II on Sunday. Let’s take a look at today’s links.

Ivan Angulo Earns Recognition

Ivan Angulo has been named to the bench of the latest edition of the MLS Team of the Matchday. The Colombian got the start on Saturday up in Montreal, and had a good game, going the distance and completing 82% of his passes and putting one of his two shots on target. That shot was an important one, as it gave the Lions a late equalizer and helped them salvage a valuable point on the road. Sean Rollins gave him a grade of 6 in his player grades from the match, a rating that likely would have been higher had Martin Ojeda’s pass been accurate enough to allow Angulo to grab a possible winner just a few minutes after he equalized. Here’s hoping he keeps up the good work!

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans taking part in big games this week, and the good people over at Stars and Stripes FC have you covered with the whole rundown. First up, Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, and Juventus will try to advance to the Coppa Italia final this afternoon, as they enter the second leg of the semifinal against Lazio with a 2-0 lead on aggregate. Tomorrow sees Monaco and Folarin Balogun meet Lille in Ligue 1 action, while Chris Richards and Crystal Palace host Newcastle United in the Premier League. Things wrap up on Friday in Serie B when Gianluca Busio, Tanner Tessman, and third-place Venezia face Cremonese as they try to overtake Como and finish in one of Serie B’s two guaranteed promotion places.

Sergino Dest Sidelined Long Term

Following up on a story from yesterday’s Lion Links, The Athletic is reporting that the knee injury suffered by Sergino Dest will keep him out of Copa America, and sideline him for the rest of the year. That would be a big blow for the United States Men’s National Team, as Dest has been the nailed-on starter at right back since winning a place in the team during the qualifying cycle for the 2022 World Cup. The Yanks aren’t without options at the position, as Joe Scally could step in for Dest, or Gregg Berhalter could try deploying Weah there, but neither of the two possesses Dest’s level of offensive threat.

Inter Milan Wins Serie A

Inter Milan dispatched rival AC Milan 2-1 guaranteed that Inter will win its 20th Serie A title in club history. Fikayo Tomori’s goal in the 80th minute was the closest Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah’s club could get to leveling the score, and Inter is now a whopping 17 points clear of AC Milan with five games left to play. Inter has been imperious on its way to a 20th Scudetto, scoring the most goals in the league while also conceding the fewest and losing only once this season.

Free Kicks

  • The Orlando Pride and Orlando City hosted a clean-up effort in honor of Earth Day on Monday.

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

Continue Reading

Trending