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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Seattle Sounders: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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2 years ago

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For the third consecutive game, Orlando City scored in second-half injury time to claim all three points, in a 3-2 win over the Seattle Sounders. However, this time the Lions came back from a two-goal deficit and it wasn’t Tesho Akindele scoring the winner. It’s the Lions’ fourth straight win, keeping them in fifth in the Eastern Conference.

Let’s take a look at the individual performances in this big win.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 5.5 — Gallese didn’t have a lot to do in this game, only facing three shots on target. He conceded two goals in the game, but came up with a huge one-handed save late in the second half that would’ve given the Sounders the lead. Gallese couldn’t do much about Albert Rusnak’s free kick, which went through the wall and was perfectly placed in the top corner, but he could have done better on Raul Ruidiaz’s near-post effort.

D, Joao Moutinho, 6.5 — Moutinho was the better of the two starting fullbacks in this game. The left back had two tackles and one clearance defensively, but his biggest impact was going forward. He completed 84.2% of his 38 passes, including four key passes, and an assist on Facundo Torres’ goal. Moutinho completed three of his seven crosses and one of his two long balls. Additionally, he took one shot on the rebound of Mauricio Pereyra’s poor penalty but what was a likely goal was blocked at the last second by Seattle’s Jackson Ragen.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 5.5 — Schlegel was good for most of the game. He ended the game with one tackle, two interceptions, and one clearance, but Jordan Morris blew by him on the second Seattle goal. Going forward, Schlegel completed 81.4% of his 43 passes, completed one of his two long balls, and took one off-target shot. His grade would be higher but his poor defending on Morris on the second goal was his biggest contribution.

D, Antonio Carlos, 6 — As expected, Carlos was the better of the two center backs for most of the game. The Brazilian had two tackles and three clearances defensively. He completed 88.9% of his 36 shots and five of his seven long balls. He also took one shot, which was on target. However, Carlos had a role in both Seattle goals. He committed the foul that led to the first goal and was at the near post on the second, although Ruan was the man covering Ruidiaz. Carlos also took an unnecessary yellow card arguing a foul call that went against him.

D, Ruan, 5 — Ruan was at fault for one of the Seattle goals but unlike Carlos, didn’t put up a strong display to overcome that mistake. He didn’t have any defensive statistics in this game. He completed 83.3% of his 24 passes and had two key passes, but he only had one cross attempt and it was incomplete. Ruan was at the near post on Seattle’s second goal but was unable to clear it. It’s fair to say that in a transition situation with three defenders back against two attackers, it’s probably not the best idea to leave the other team’s Designated Player striker 1-v-1 with the Brazilian right back. The inability to clear the ball allowed Rusnak to score the game’s opening goal.

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 6 — Pereyra had a strong game on both sides. Offensively, he completed 94.6% of his 37 passes, including one key pass. He completed two of his four crosses and five of his six long balls. He took two shots and one of those was on target. Defensively, Pereyra had one tackle, one interceptions, and one blocked shot. Pereyra would’ve had a higher score, but he took a very poor penalty in the first half that was at the perfect position and height for Stefan Frei. Had the Lions not scored at the end, it could’ve cost the team two points.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 7 — Araujo has been one of Orlando City’s most consistent players and had another great performance in this game. Defensively, the central midfielder had four tackles and was instrumental when Oscar Pareja brought on Benji Michel for Ruan, going with three defenders. When in possession, he completed 90.2% of his 51 passes, had a key pass, and completed all five of his long balls. He also had one off-target shot but was fantastic in his role.

MF, Niko Gioacchini, 5 — This was Gioacchini’s first start for the senior team and a little rust was showing. Gioacchini’s had an early unlucky touch as he seemed about to break free for a scoring chance but lost the handle on the ball. He completed just 70.6% of his 17 passes, had one key pass, and one off-target shot. His biggest contributions of the game were drawing the penalty that Pereyra sent at the goalkeeper and nearly assisting a goal for Ivan Angulo had Frei not made a terrific save.

MF, Junior Urso, 5.5 — After arguably his best performance of the season, Urso saw a bit of a drop-off in this one. He completed 82.4% of his 34 passes and completed four of his six long balls. He didn’t get any shots off but did play Gioacchini into the box that resulted in the first penalty. Defensively, Urso had one tackle and two interceptions. It wasn’t one of Urso’s more impactful games, but it wasn’t a bad performance either.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 6 — Angulo was in the starting lineup for the first time in this game and had another strong performance. He completed 88.2% of his 17 passes, had one incomplete cross, and completed his only long ball. He took two shots in the game, both of which were on target and chipped in two tackles on defense. While he wasn’t as good as the game against New York City FC Sunday night, he’s been better than Jake Mulraney and Gioacchini and has probably cemented his spot in the starting lineup for the upcoming games.

F, Tesho Akindele, 5.5 — After scoring game-winning goals in the two most recent games, Akindele earned himself a spot in the starting lineup against Seattle. In 63 minutes, the forward completed 53.3% of his 15 passes, completed one long ball, won four aerials, and took two off-target shots, one of which was blocked by a defender from point-blank range in his last action before being subbed off.

Substitutes

MF, Facundo Torres (46’), 7 (MotM) — After starting 14 of the last 15 games, Torres was given a rest for the first half against Seattle. However, Pareja said after the game that he wanted the star midfielder’s left-footed option in the second half, and he came on at halftime for Gioacchini. He made an immediate impact, scoring Orlando City’s first goal in the 53rd minute and assisting the winning goal in injury time. He completed 90% of his 20 passes with two key passes, one of his two crosses, and his one long ball. He had two shots in the game, with one going in.

F, Ercan Kara (64’), 6 — Similar to Torres, Kara came on in the second half and made an immediate impact. The striker replaced Akindele with Orlando City down a goal. In the 68th minute, he stepped up for the team’s second penalty of the night after a handball in the box. Unlike the first, Kara put his attempt into the corner, evening the game at 2-2. In addition to the goal, Kara completed one of his three passes and took two other shots, but both were officially recorded as off target — although one was a header that Frei made an excellent save to keep out, so there’s no telling what the official scorer saw on that play. The actual off-target shot was a header that missed by about a foot or less on a good corner kick cross from Torres. He was brought on to bring the Lions back even and did his job.

MF, Benji Michel (64’), 5.5 — Pareja made an aggressive move by bringing Michel on for Ruan in the 64th minute. He played in the midfield in this game, spending most of his time out wide in a bit of a wingback role to start before moving to the attacking midfield when Kyle Smith came on. He completed eight of his 10 passes, had one incomplete cross, and one incomplete long ball. He took one shot, which was on target, but didn’t make a big impact on the game.

D, Kyle Smith (76’), 7 — Smith came on for Pereyra in the 76th minute as the Lions went back to a traditional back four. It looked as though he wouldn’t have a big impact, but he did late. In the 89th minute, he nearly assisted the winner on a fantastic ball that landed on the head of Andres Perea, but Frei made a great save. A minute into injury time, Smith scored the game-winning goal. It took a deflection off Ragen’s body, but Smith was awarded the goal due to the original effort being judged on target, lifting the Lions to a 3-2 win. In the end, Smith completed all five of his passes, his lone cross, both of his long balls, and scored on his only shot. Can’t do much better than that.

MF, Andres Perea (76’), 6 — Perea came on in the 76th minute with Smith, replacing Angulo. He completed four of his five passes and nearly scored the winner in the 89th minute. Perea attacked the ball, beating the defenders to the ball on Smith’s cross but hit his shot right at Frei.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in this game. Let us know how you saw it and vote on the Man of the Match below.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Facundo Torres55
Cesar Araujo3
Kyle Smith9
Joao Moutinho2
Mauricio Pereyra0
Other (let us know in the comments)0

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Orlando City

Orlando City at CF Montreal: Three Keys to Victory

What does Orlando City need to do on the road against CF Montreal to take home all three points ?

Published

6 hours ago

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April 18, 2024

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City opened the season against CF Montreal, playing to a 0-0 draw at Inter&Co Stadium back in February. Now, the Lions head to the Great White North to play the pesky Canadian club again. There’s no Concacaf Champions Cup competition to worry about this time, so hopefully Orlando City can get a victory.

What does Orlando City need to do to follow up the D.C. United victory with another win?

Just Say No

Outscoring your opponents while giving up two goals is all well and good, but outscoring your opponents while also keeping a clean sheet is much better. Orlando City has given up 13 goals over seven matches. It’s actually worse than that considering that the club has two clean sheets meaning those 13 goals came in just five matches. The Lions need to do better at not conceding goals.

Of course, one of those clean sheets came against Montreal to start the season, and the entire defense is seemingly healthy and ready to go. Our old foe Josef Martinez is always a threat and Matias Coccaro has three goals for Montreal so far this season. Stopping them is crucial. If Orlando City can maintain the same defensive discipline it showed in the previous match against Montreal, it will make earning points on the road much easier.

Designated Player Goals

Orlando City has scored seven goals so far this season. Duncan McGuire leads the team with three goals, thanks to his goal last week. Do you know who hasn’t scored yet? If you said any of Orlando City’s Designated Players, you would be correct. I’m not going to ring any emergency bells just yet, but it’d be a lot cooler if Luis Muriel, Martin Ojeda, or Facundo Torres scored a goal this week.

I think they are all close to breaking out. Torres has scored this year, just not in the MLS regular season. Muriel has been getting closer each match, and is still contributing in other ways. The same can be said of Ojeda. My point is that the goals are coming. Perhaps a trip to another country is exactly what they need to get off the mark.

The Battle on the Wings

Orlando City will be playing against former Lion Ruan. He lines up on the right for Montreal and will be a challenge for either Rafael Santos or Kyle Smith, depending on who gets the start. Of course, if Ivan Angulo is playing in his usual role on the left side of Orlando City’s attack, there could be some interesting races between the two speedy players.

I think that the other side of the field is where the match might be won or lost. Since Orlando City fell out of the Concacaf Champions Cup, the team has been on a more regular schedule. That has allowed Dagur Dan Thorhallsson to regain his form in the right fullback position for the Lions. He scored a goal last week, has an assist on the season, four crosses, and 10 key passes. He is an integral part of Orlando City’s attack and if he can win the battles against Raheem Edwards and Joaquin Sosa on the right side of Montreal’s lineup, he could have another big night.

That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/18/24

Barbra Banda’s opportunity in Orlando, Omar Gonzalez’s mental health struggles, UEFA Champions League quarterfinals finish, and more.

Published

9 hours ago

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April 18, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I hope this week has been treating you well as we gear up for another weekend packed with Orlando soccer. It’s been a fairly busy week for me as I juggle work with keeping an eye on my cat. He’s a bit of a menace, but at least in a cute way. I’ll spare you my rambling on how great he is, and instead give you today’s links from around the soccer world.

Opportunity Knocks for Barbra Banda

Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda landed in the City Beautiful and spoke on how her first week with the team has been going. While there’s plenty of buzz surrounding the Pride on how Banda should improve the team’s offense, playing in the NWSL will also help the 24-year-old further develop her game.

“I think the league is quite good. I’ve been following it from way back,” she said. “I think it’s a very interesting league, very strong. All the teams are very physical, fast. So I think it’s good for myself to improve.”

Now that she’s with the Pride, soccer fans around the world will now have better access to watch one of the best forwards in women’s soccer. Banda also talked about the warm welcome she received at the airport and you can check out more of her reaction to that and some of her first few days in Orlando in the video below.

Portland Thorns Head Coach Reassigned

Mike Norris is no longer the head coach of the Portland Thorns after the club made him a technical director instead. The Thorns have never had a worse start to an NWSL season, losing three of their four games this year and still searching for their first win. Rob Gale will serve as the team’s interim head coach while the club does a global search for a replacement. I’m a bit surprised that Norris wasn’t given a few more weeks to turn things around, considering Portland is just a win away from being back in the thick of things. We’ll see if the Thorns will get that win with Gale at the helm when they take on the struggling Houston Dash Saturday.

Omar Gonzalez Shares His Mental Health Journey

American defender Omar Gonzalez discussed the difficulties he’s had over the course of his year and the toll it has had on his mental health. His own goal in the USMNT’s loss to Trinidad & Tobago that cost the team its chance to qualify for the 2018 World Cup would be rough for any player to overcome, but Gonzalez stated that head injuries made a stressful few years of his life much more difficult. Gonzalez admitted that he had daily suicidal thoughts until he reached out for needed help while with Toronto FC. Things have since improved and he’s currently with his hometown team, FC Dallas. I think it’s helpful for players like Gonzalez to be open about the mental health problems athletes face. Hopefully this lets other athletes know they aren’t alone in these struggles and encourages them to reach out for help if needed.

UEFA Champions League Semifinals Are Set

Only four teams are still standing in the UEFA Champions League after the quarterfinals wrapped up with plenty of dramatic soccer. The matchup between Real Madrid and Manchester City lived up to expectations with a penalty shootout following a 1-1 draw in England. Real Madrid prevailed and ended City’s run, with Andriy Lunin making two saves in the shootout. In the other quarterfinal, Bayern Munich advanced after beating Arsenal 1-0, thanks to Joshua Kimmich’s head.

It all sets up for a thrilling pair of semifinals and potential storylines for the final. Will Bayern and Borussia Dortmund reach the final for a rivalry match for the ages? Can Kylian Mbappe finally give Paris Saint-Germain a Champions League title, and will it be at the expense of Real Madrid? If the semifinals are anything like the quarterfinals, it will be great soccer to enjoy.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City Director of Equipment Operations Charles Raycroft received some deserved recognition after reaching an impressive milestone in his career.
  • Romario, who was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 1994 after helping Brazil win a World Cup, has registered himself as a player for America Football Club. The 58-year-old has been the president of the club since 2009 and now has the chance to play alongside his son Romarinho.

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

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/17/24

Orlando City rises in power rankings, Orlando Pride waive two players, Champions League results, and more.

Published

1 day ago

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April 17, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. Time to start your day with some tasty links. It’s shaping up to be an exciting weekend with Orlando City, the Orlando Pride, and Orlando City B all playing. Last week, Orlando’s teams ended up with seven out of nine possible points. Here’s hoping we see nine out of nine this weekend. Let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Moving On Up

Starting the season 0-3-1 is a good way to be in the cellar of the utterly meaningless MLSsoccer.com power rankings. Orlando City is now starting to climb up the rankings thanks to three straight results. The Lions moved up four spots to 21st after the 3-2 victory over DC United. It was Duncan McGuire’s goal that secured the win, and his performance off the bench was a talking point for this week as well.

Farewell Kaylie Collins and Tori Hansen

The Orlando Pride announced that goalkeeper Kaylie Collins and defender Tori Hansen were waived on Tuesday. Both players were on loan in Australia’s A-League Women ,with Collins at Western Sydney Wanderers FC and Hansen with Melbourne Victory FC. Collins and Hansen were both NWSL draft picks for the Pride, though neither saw significant minutes with the club.

Barbra Banda Begins Training

Barbra Banda participated in her first training with the Pride Tuesday. It’s uncertain how much playing time she may get this week, but it’s possible she makes her first appearance against the San Diego Wave this Friday. Please remember that it sometimes takes new players time to get used to a new club, a new city, and a new league. Of course, I’m still hoping she comes on and scores a brace against the Wave.

Wild Matches in Champions League Quarterfinals

Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund both overcame deficits in the first leg to advance to the UEFA Champions League semifinals. PSG dropped four goals on Barcelona to win 6-4 on aggregate. Barcelona scored first, but made things hard on itself when Ronald Araújo was sent off.

Borussia Dortmund also scored four goals, defeating Atletico Madrid 5-4 on aggregate. Dortmund gave up an own goal, but battled back to take the lead in the match and then the lead in the tie thanks to goals scored in the 71st and 74th minutes. It was a wild, fun match to watch. Dortmund and PSG will meet in the semifinals.

Free Kicks

  • MLS will now start implementing the new rules for off-field treatments, timed substitutions, and in-stadium VAR announcements. The idea is to maximize effective match time.
  • The International Football Association Board (IFAB) will test new time limit rules during the 2024-2025 season for how long keepers can hold the ball with potential consequences including giving the opposing team a corner or a throw-in.
  • Finally, our thoughts are with the friends and family following the passing of Joel McKell.

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

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