Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. We’re halfway through the week and I hope you’re doing well. Personally, I love Wednesdays, because in my job they are effectively my “Friday,” as my day off is on Thursday. So, as such, I love bringing you the news to start out your midweek morning. Let’s get to the links.

Orlando Pride Nearly Top Power Rankings

The Orlando Pride are at the top of the NWSL standings with 18 points, and are riding a five-match winning streak while staying undefeated so far this season. If you thought that would be enough for the team to top ESPN‘s NWSL power rankings, you’d be wrong. The Pride actually came in at second despite all the factors I listed above, with the Kansas City Current ranked above them. Even more shocking is that the writer admits he doesn’t have much of a reason for not ranking the Pride first. I’m not sure what to do with my hands.

Orlando Soccer Matches Will Celebrate Pride Month

Orlando City and the Orlando Pride will recognize Pride Month during a pair of matches in June at Inter&Co Stadium. The Pride are set to host the Utah Royals on June 21 and the Lions will then host the Chicago Fire on June 22. Both matches will include celebrating Orlando’s LGBTQ+ community and honoring the victims of the Pulse nightclub shooting. There are plenty of additional events throughout Pride Month in the Greater Orlando Area as well. I will be at those matches and I hope to see you there as well.

Orlando City B Hosts New York Red Bulls II Tonight

OCB will try to follow up a result on the road with its first result at home tonight at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee. Forwards Yutaro Tsukada and Shak Mohammed lead the attack for the Young Lions as the club plays only its third home match of the season — and only the second at its actual home field. There’s plenty to look for from OCB as it takes on New York Red Bulls II at 7 p.m. Try to make it to the match if you are able.

U.S. Soccer Doubles Down

The battle between the USWNT and U.S. Soccer over equal pay has been going on for years. Now, U.S. Soccer has reportedly employed Washington D.C. lobbying firms to provide what the organization asserts are “accurate information and factual numbers” to policy makers. Spokespersons for the players’ associations of both the USWNT and USMNT expressed disappointment regarding the move by U.S. Soccer. The issue is front and center as two congresswomen have proposed legislation to block funding for the 2026 World Cup unless equal pay is enacted.

Free Kicks

• Were you wondering how good Barbra Banda has been since arriving in Orlando? Me neither, but here is a cool stat from OptaJack on her shot production.

• Orlando City fans know all too well how good FC Cincinnati’s Luciano Acosta is at scoring goals. Now, the striker is in the process of becoming a naturalized citizen of the U.S. and expressed a desire to play for the USMNT. It would be nice to have him score goals for a team I support.
• Nottingham Forest’s point reduction appeal was rejected by the independent board overseeing the decision. Only three points separate Nottingham from Luton Town and the relegation zone with two matches left this season.
• I know that some Orlando City fans were hoping to see Thiago Silva join the Lions after he left Chelsea, but that rumor never made sense financially, and the defender has chosen to rejoin his old Brazilian club, Fluminense.
• It’s not often that someone follows up an unpopular decision with an even more unpopular explanation for that decision, but that is exactly what MLS Commissioner Don Garber did when explaining that the U.S. Open Cup didn’t offer a competition that “drives value” and that “rises to the level where fans care about it.” I’m sure everyone will now understand the decision. Well done, Commish.

That will do it for today. Check back as we get you ready for the Orlando City and Orlando Pride matches this weekend. Vamos Orlando!

Happy Tuesday, everyone. It was a mixed bag for Orlando’s teams over the weekend, as Orlando City B drew 1-1 with Chattanooga FC and lost the subsequent shootout, Orlando City lost 1-0 to FC Cincinnati, and the Orlando Pride won 1-0 over Racing Louisville. As usual, we have a lot to talk through this morning, so let’s dig into the links.

Barbra Banda Up for Goal of the Week

Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda has been nominated for the NWSL Goal of the Week for her strike in the 77th minute against the North Carolina Courage last Wednesday. Banda controlled the ball off a throw-in, turned, and drove across the box before slotting a low shot past Casey Murphy for the Pride’s fourth and final goal of the game. She scored twice in that game and scored again in Sunday’s win over Racing Louisville. Banda now has four goals in four games — including at least one in each of her three starts since appearing off the bench in her debut — and shows no sign of slowing down. Make sure you go vote for her to win this week’s award!

Americans in Midweek Action

As usual, there are a number of Americans playing games this week, so make sure you mark down any that you want to tune in for. Wednesday has Brandon Vazquez and Monterrey traveling to El Volcan to take on Tigres in the quarterfinals of the Clausura. Moving to Friday, Tanner Tessmann, Gianluca Busio, and Venezia have a chance to gain promotion to Serie A if they beat Spezia and Como loses. On the other side of things, former Lion Nicholas Gioacchini and Como play Cosenza, and will secure automatic promotion as long as they don’t have a worse result than Venezia.

UEFA Champions League Preview

The UEFA Champions League continues this week with the second legs of the two semifinal matchups. In this afternoon’s game, Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique has said that even Kylian Mbappe will have to work hard defensively if his team is going to progress to the final. Borussia Dortmund leads that tie 1-0, and will need to rely on a defense that has kept five clean sheets in this year’s tournament. However, the German club has a concerning record away from home, where it has lost nine of its last 11 games. In tomorrow’s game between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, this season’s La Liga winner will hope its finishing prowess continues from the first leg, when it turned two chances into two goals.

European Transfer Rumor Roundup

With European seasons drawing to a close, the transfer rumor mill is starting to heat up, which means there are several items worth discussing today. First, Manchester United will reportedly face competition to sign Crystal Palace star Michael Olise. Chelsea and PSG are said to also be interested in signing the Frenchman, who was instrumental in his side’s 4-0 drubbing of the Red Devils yesterday. Staying in the Premier League, Virgil van Dijk has said he intends to be part of the transition following Jurgen Klopp’s departure from Liverpool, confirming that he does not intend to leave in the summer. Elsewhere, Bayern Munich is said to have agreed to personal terms with AC Milan’s Theo Hernandez. David Moyes has confirmed he will leave West Ham at the end of the season, with reports suggesting that the Hammers have reached an agreement with Julen Lopetegui to be the team’s new manager.

Free Kicks

• Orlando City held steady at 20th in ESPN’s MLS power rankings.
• Bruno Fernandes missed a club match due to injury for the first time in his career, as he did not play in Manchester United’s loss to Crystal Palace.
• Speaking of that match, the Premier League outfitted the referee with a camera for the first time in that game, with the footage to be released at a later date.
• Angel City FC will enter a team in The Soccer Tournament this summer.
• Will Ferrell has bought a stake in Leeds United.

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

Orlando City dropped yet another match at home, this time to FC Cincinnati. Despite the 1-0 loss, a couple of red card, and the all-too-familiar lack of finishing, the Lions played pretty well. Orlando City continues to give up early goals and to not be able to find the back of the net. However, the Lions do create opportunities and are usually in the match despite recent results.

Here’s how I saw the individual performances for the Lions in this injury-riddled and heartbreaking loss.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6 — Gallese didn’t have much chance on the goal and otherwise had a decent night, making the saves on Cincinnati’s other two shots on goal. There were some scary moments when he found himself outside of the box on occasion, but he acquitted himself well. Apart from his goalkeeping, Gallese completed 70.6% of his 17 passes, including four of his nine long balls.

D, Rafael Santos, 6 — Santos was active in his time on the field. He had 44 touches, completing 75.9% of his 29 passes, including one of his two long balls. Santos completed one of his five crosses, and made a key pass. He took one shot but it was not on target as it was blocked. Defensively, Santos recorded two tackles and one interception. He made an extremely good recovery run to stop the counter attack in the 49th minute but dislocated his right shoulder in the process. That ended his night as he came off for Nico Lodeiro in the 51st minute.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 4 — Schlegel had a short night due to a red card in the 23rd minute on a foul committed in the 20th minute. Originally, the referee ruled it a fair challenge, but after looking again, Ismail Elfath gave the red card for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity, which was fair. He misplayed the pass that allowed Yuya Kubo to steal it at full speed and go one-on-one with Gallese, leading to the foul. He may have kept Acosta onside on the Cincinnati goal and was also beaten by Acosta in the box. He only had 14 touches in the game and completed all of his 13 passes, including both long ball attempts. Schlegel did not record a defensive stat.

D, Robin Jansson, 6 — Jansson was mostly his usual good self this game. There was some fun to watch gamesmanship with Matt Miazga during Orlando City’s early corner kick attempts. He tied Cesar Araujo with a team-high 61 touches and completed 80% of his team-high 50 passes, including three of nine long balls. Defensively, he matched Dagur Dan Thorhallsson’s team-leading four tackles, while also adding an interception, a clearance, and a yellow card. He did get caught flat-footed on the goal by Acosta, but he wasn’t the only one.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 6.5 — Thorhallsson once again got the start at right back and had a really good night up until he had to leave the match with a concussion in first-half stoppage time. He picked up the knock when he blocked the free kick Schlegel allowed in the 24th minute with his noggin. Thorhallsson was good at being in the right place at the right time to keep Cincinnati from going forward on his side of the pitch. He recorded 23 touches, completing 69.2% of his 13 passes, but didn’t connect on either his one attempted long ball or his one attempted cross. Defensively, he made four tackles, and blocked one shot. It’s a shame that he had to go off.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6 — Araujo had a solid performance against FC Cincinnati, recording 61 touches. He completed 87.2% of his 39 passes, including three of his five long balls, and took two shots. Defensively, he added two tackles, and an interception. Araujo was his usual frustrating self for the opposition, drawing nine fouls. His free kick attempt — which he earned — went into the wall, but he did recover it as well. His second shot was well taken but deflected wide.

MF, Wilder Cartagena, 6.5 — Cartagena was almost the hero of the match. His shot in the fifth minute off of Martin Ojeda’s corner kick went off the crossbar, and his rocket of a shot in the 67th minute went in, but was waved off because Facundo Torres was offside. He tracked back to try to prevent Acosta’s goal in the first minute, but the Cincinnati star did well to cut back inside when Cartagena committed to blocking the shot or cross. Otherwise, Cartagena had a pretty good match. He had the fourth most touches with 54. He matched Araujo, completing 87.2% of his 39 passes, including six of his nine long balls. He also had two key passes and the aforementioned shot. Defensively, he added one tackle, two clearances, and one interception. He also earned one yellow card.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 7 (MotM) — Angulo was active in the match, roaming where he was needed, hounding Cincinnati defensively, and being an integral part of the attack. He had 60 touches and completed 82.4% of his 34 passes, including two key passes. He completed one of his three cross attempts, had three dribbles and drew four fouls. His lone shot was on target but it was blocked by the defense after he rounded the keeper. Defensively, he made three tackles. He made the necessary switch to a more defensive posture after Schlegel’s red card, but was still a good attacking threat from the left wingback position.

MF, Facundo Torres, 5.5 — Torres wasn’t as much of a factor as he needs to be for Orlando City. He recorded 51 touches while completing 75.9% of his 29 passes. He did not connect on any of his five crosses, nor his three long balls. He had one dribble and one tackle. He made way for Luis Muriel in the 70th minute.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 6 — Ojeda was sacrificed for defense in the 27th minute after Schlegel’s departure. He only had 13 touches in his limited minutes but completed 83.3% of his six passes, including a successful long ball. Despite the limited minutes, Ojeda completed two of his five crosses and contributed a key pass.

F, Duncan McGuire, 6 — McGuire continues to show that despite all the botched trade shenanigans before the season, he wants to prove he’s a team player and a quality striker. He touched the ball 25 times and completed 77.8% of his 18 passes. Unfortunately, his one shot was not on target. Defensively, he made a clearance, and while he was the outlet player when the team went down to 10 men, he still came back to help on defense.

Substitutes

D, David Brekalo (28’), 6 — Brekalo came on in the 28th minute for Ojeda, but he really came on to replace Schlegel. He had 33 touches and completed 80.8% of his 26 passes, though he did not complete either of his two long balls. Defensively, he had one interception, one clearance, and one blocked shot. He had one decent run into the attack, although ultimately it came to nothing.

D, Michael Halliday (45’+ 4), 5.5 — Initially, it looked like Oscar Pareja would bring on Kyle Smith for the injured Thorhallsson, but instead it was Halliday. The youngster hasn’t had many minutes this season and defensively the rust showed. Halliday recorded 33 touches, completing 80% of his 15 passes, including both of his long balls. He attempted a cross but it didn’t connect. He also had a shot on goal, but it was deflected. Defensively, he had one tackle, one interception, and committed two fouls. One of those resulted in a yellow card for his foul on Kevin Kelsey. He put himself in dangerous positions repeatedly but simply couldn’t finish the play.

MF, Nico Lodeiro (52’), 6 — When Santos went off injured, Pareja brought on Lodeiro to bolster the midfield and, hopefully, the attack. He touched the ball 26 times and completed 78.6% of his 14 passes and his only long ball. The veteran also connected on two of his four crosses, and his late header nearly leveled the match, but keeper Roman Celentano got a paw on it to keep it out. Defensively, Lodeiro contributed a tackle.

F, Luis Muriel (70’), 5.5 — Muriel came on for Torres, playing under McGuire as Orlando City pushed for the equalizer. He only managed 12 touches and completed 44.4% of his nine passes, with one unsuccessful long ball attempt. He did have one dribble and drew a foul in a dangerous area but didn’t take any shots in the match.

That’s how I saw the performances for Orlando City in its 1-0 loss to FC Cincinnati Saturday night. Let us know how you saw the game and vote for your Man of the Match below.