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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Final Score 3-2 as Lions Win Fourth Straight

Dom Dwyer and Chris Mueller scored again.

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6 years ago

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Carlos Romero, The Mane Land

Orlando City kept it rolling. A sellout crowd of 25,527 watched as the Lions climbed into a second-place tie (for the moment) in the Eastern Conference with a 3-2 win at Orlando City Stadium. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer each scored, and Yoshimar Yotun added two assists.

It was the first win in the series for either team, as Orlando City (4-2-1, 13 points) improved to 1-0-3 all time against the Earthquakes (1-3-2, 5 points). The win could have been more lopsided, with Orlando missing out on several good opportunities, and Justin Meram missing a penalty. The Lions led 3-0 in the second half before allowing a pair of goals off set pieces to Florian Jungwirth.

“Another night that I think the fans got their money’s worth. Another night that the coach gets a few more gray hairs,” Head Coach Jason Kreis said after the match. “But really, really pleased. Four wins in a row. Really, really pleased with three wins in a row at home. And I think we’re moving in a very positive direction. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we still have a way to go.”

Kreis stuck with the lineup that finished the Philadelphia game, a 4-2-3-1 with Will Johnson at right back, Cristian Higuita next to Yotun in central midfield, an attacking midfield line of Mueller, Kljestan, and Stefano Pinho, and Dwyer up top.

It took Orlando just over a minute to take the lead. A gorgeous long cross-field pass from Yotun found its way to Mueller, and the rookie shrugged off Shea Salinas, took the ball into the penalty area, and found the corner to make it 1-0. Mueller’s goal was his third in as many games and it was the fastest goal to start a game for Orlando City since the club joined MLS.

“(Yoshi) gets overlooked a lot, I feel like,” Mueller said. “He’s just unbelievable in the middle of the field. The balls that he’s finding me on is just next level, so my hat goes off to him. He had a great performance and it makes it easy when you’ve got guys like that giving you the ball.

“Chris made a fantastic individual effort,” Dwyer said of Mueller’s goal. “He’s coming on leaps and bounds every week so we’re very happy with him right now and very excited.”

Dwyer tried to double the lead 10 minutes later, getting into the box on the end of a long ball from Joe Bendik. Andrew Tarbell made a one-handed stop and it came off the woodwork. The rebound fell perfectly for Pinho but the Brazilian whiffed on the shot and the chance evaporated.

San Jose started seeing more of the possession for about the next 15 minutes and earning a series of corner kicks but the Lions were able to navigate those set-piece opportunities and retain the lead. Dwyer again nearly doubled the lead when he was sent into the box by Kljestan and fired a shot that deflected just inches wide of the far post in the 30th minute. Two minutes later, Pinho turned down a shot opportunity at the top of the box, worked in a bit deeper and got his shot blocked.

But three minutes later, Yotun sent another long ball that resulted in Orlando’s second goal. His ball found Mueller again on the right. The rookie waited until Tarbell committed and fed the ball toward goal, where Kljestan made a sliding effort to tap the ball in, putting the Lions up, 2-0 in the 35th minute. Mueller picked up his first MLS assist on the play.

“I heard (Kljestan),” Mueller said of his unselfish play. “It’s 100% a goal if you pass that ball. Probably could have scored it myself but the chance is slim. If I give that ball to Sacha, it’s a goal every time.”

“The key is Dom is able to bring down the first ball and hold off the center back and then I think he finds Yoshi, who finds Chris,” Kljestan said. “Chris looked up and saw me and I didn’t know if he was going to pass it or not. I think most young guys would take the shot themselves. But he knew if he laid it across in a good pass, it was an easy tap-in. He knows I would do the same for him and, yeah, I probably would have killed him if he would have shot and missed at that point, but unbelievable pass.”

The Quakes nearly pulled that goal right back. Danny Hoesen’s shot smashed off the woodwork a minute later and a second effort on goal was headed away by Amro Tarek. Four minutes later, Bendik made a save on a shot through traffic by Jungwirth. He spilled the save but was able to pounce on the ball before a San Jose player could arrive.

In the final minutes of the first half, the Lions missed out on a few great chances to put the game away. Pinho slipped trying to get onto a cross in front of an open net. Moments later, Yotun went in alone on a defender but tried to make one move too many and lost the ball.

Orlando held just 47% of the first-half possession, with both teams attempting five shots (Orlando had three on target to San Jose’s one). Both teams passed well, with the Lions connecting on 85% and the Quakes on 87%.

Much of the second half was played between the two penalty areas, as Orlando looked to slow play down and take the air out of the ball. Each team squandered some early set pieces after the break.

San Jose got its best opportunity to pull within 2-1 when Hoesen spun inside of Tarek in the 67th minute but fired his shot over the crossbar. It was an expensive miss, as the Lions extended the lead to 3-0 just two minutes later.

Second-half substitute Meram split the defense with a pass for Dwyer, who took a touch to round Tarbell and fire his 100th professional goal into the empty net. It was Dom’s fifth goal in his four games played this season, extending his scoring streak.

“It was a fantastic pass. Justin’s a threat whether it’s scoring goals or setting up goals,” Dwyer said of the play that sent him through. “Once he can get this monkey off his back and get that first one, i think the floodgates will open for him. I think he’s a very, very talented player and there’s a lot more to come from him.”

Yotun unleashed Mueller again in the 74th minute and the rookie got into the box, but his cross was cut out by the defense. Shortly after that, San Jose found a way into the game.

A corner kick found Chris Wondolowski, who headed on goal. Bendik got a hand to it to push it off the goal frame, but it bounced perfectly for Jungwirth to finish, putting the Earthquakes on the board in the 78th minute.

The Lions kept coming, however. Johnson got forward from his right back spot and smashed a shot that Tarbell fought off in the 79th minute to keep his team in the match. Three minutes later, Kljestan sent his set piece attempt over the crossbar.

It looked like City would put the game away when Dwyer was taken down in the box by Anibal Godoy, earning a penalty. Meram was given the opportunity to score his first goal as a Lion and stepped up to the spot. He took a very short approach and fired, but he left his shot too close to Tarbell, who got a hand on it to keep it out in the 86th minute.

The Earthquakes, to their credit, kept pressing and eventually got another Jungwirth goal off a corner — this time on a header from Magnus Eriksson’s service in stoppage time.

“For me, defending dead-ball situations is a matter of commitment, organization and focus,” Kreis said. “And I would say to give up the number of dead ball goals we have this year, we’re extremely disappointed with that. But it’s not just the coaches. I just walked out of the locker room and we have some people in there that are very, very disappointed not to have obtained all of our objectives tonight. Clearly a shutout at home is one of the objectives that we’ve had and haven’t accomplished yet.”

That was as close as the Quakes could get, and after more than four minutes of injury time, the final whistle blew on Orlando’s fourth straight victory and third consecutive win at home.

Orlando finished with 51% of the possession and both teams fired 11 shots (Orlando with six on target to San Jose’s three). The Lions passed at an 84.4% clip to San Jose’s 85.5%.

“We were a little bit disappointed to concede,” Dwyer said. “It wasn’t quite the complete performance, but we got the job done. We got all three points.”

The Lions will be back in action next Sunday as they face the Rapids in Colorado at 4 p.m. ET.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/21/24

Two Lions recognized, Pride player up for weekly honors, United States releases training camp roster, and more.

Published

9 hours ago

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May 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Tuesday, everyone! It was a damn good weekend for Orlando’s teams, as Orlando City beat San Jose 1-0, and the Orlando Pride took down the Seattle Reign 3-2, which meant that the two teams picked up all six points on offer, and out on the west coast, no less! We’ve got plenty of news to talk over today, so let’s jump straight into the links.

Lions Included in Team of the Matchday

A pair of Lions have been rewarded for their efforts in Saturday’s win with a place in the latest edition of the MLS Team of the Matchday. Wilder Cartagena was given a spot in the starting XI as a center back after yet another commanding performance in a three-man back line for Orlando City. The Peruvian was superb and finished with five tackles, four clearances, and two interceptions, as OCSC kept a second clean sheet in a row. Jack Lynn was given a spot on the bench, after grabbing a late winner in an extended substitute appearance. Lynn entered the fray for an injured Duncan McGuire in the 16th minute, and was the difference maker as he latched onto a scuffed Martin Ojeda shot to win the game for Orlando in the 89th minute.

Pride Player up for Weekly Honors

Emily Sams’ strike against the Seattle Reign has been nominated for the NWSL Goal of the Week. On a night that had plenty of goals, Sams opened the scoring in the ninth minute. The ball found its way to her at the top of the box, and the defender didn’t even bother taking a touch as she hit the ball first time and curled it past the despairing dive of Laurel Ivory. Sams isn’t exactly a prolific goal scorer, so that makes the sweetly hit goal that much better. Be sure you go and drop a vote for her to win!

United States Releases Pre-Copa Roster

The United States Men’s National Team has announced its 27-player roster that will take part in a pre-Copa America training camp. The final tournament roster needs to have at least 23 players and a maximum of 26, so Gregg Berhalter won’t need to make a ton of cuts if he doesn’t want to. The roster features Josh Sargent making his return to a training camp for the first time since the 2022 World Cup, as well as Cameron-Carter Vickers, Luca de la Torre, and Sean Johnson making their first appearances in 2024. LAFC youngster Timmy Tillman is the least experienced player in the mix with just one appearance to his name, while Christian Pulisic’s 66 appearances leads the team. The USMNT will play Colombia and Brazil in tune-up friendlies on June 8 and June 12, with the latter match taking place in Orlando at Camping World Stadium.

MLS Stock Watch

With another MLS matchday in the close, we can reflect on which teams are on the rise, and which ones seem to be headed in the wrong direction. FC Cincinnati has now won six straight games, and is hot on Inter Miami’s heels at the top of the Eastern Conference table. New York City FC has now won three in a row after beating the New York Red Bulls 2-1 in the Hudson River Derby, a result which saw the Pigeons leapfrog NYRB into third place in the East. At the other end of things, the Chicago Fire have lost four straight and only scored two goals in their last seven matches, while CF Montreal got hammered 5-1 by Toronto FC and has matched Chicago with a fourth-straight loss.

European Transfer Rumor Roundup

Several European club seasons may have ended, but that just means that the off-season transfer rumor mill is starting to kick into gear. Premier League champion Manchester City has reportedly agreed to personal terms with West Ham midfielder Lucas Paqueta, but is still negotiating with the Hammers about a sale price. Runners-up Arsenal wants to bolster its team to get over the line and win the title next year and is said to have Alexander Isak, Brian Brobbey, and Viktor Gyokeres on a short list of strikers, although the Gunners expect to face competition from Chelsea for Gyokeres. Despite chatter concerning a possible move away during the summer, Mohamed Salah has said he will “fight like hell” to win trophies with Liverpool next season. Finally, Bayern Munich is said to have had internal talks about appointing Vincent Kompany as the club’s next manager, and the board has even reached out to the Belgian directly to discuss his current situation.

Free Kicks

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

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Five Takeaways

What did we learn from Orlando City beating the Earthquakes on the West Coast?

Published

1 day ago

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May 20, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City wrapped up three matches in eight days with a trip out west on short rest for a late night matchup against the San Jose Earthquakes. Playing level throughout much of the match, it appeared as though both teams would split the points until the Cardiac Cats found some late magic. What follows are my immediate takeaways from an unexpected, yet satisfying, three points.

3-5-2 For the Win

The 3-5-2 lineup returned once again and proved to be quite a versatile team shape for the Lions. Against San Jose, the Lions were without captain Robin Jansson due to injury and defensive midfielder Cesar Araujo was suspended due to yellow card accumulation. Dagur Dan Thorhallsson returned to the starting lineup and slotted in as a wingback in the formation. Wilder Cartagena excelled once again as a center back, and Felipe did well filling in for Araujo in the midfield. The shape has allowed the coaching staff to more easily fill gaps with different players as needed, and I think we may see it as the default formation for the foreseeable future.

Duncan McGuire Injured Early On

Jack Lynn was substituted on in the 15th minute for an injured Duncan McGuire, who landed awkwardly on his right arm after being sandwiched between two Quakes players in an aerial duel. It was an early exit for McGuire, who tried to stop his fall by sticking out his forearm. Given the injuries the team has dealt with over the last several matches, one can only hope this does not lead to a prolonged absence for Orlando’s leading scorer.

Ivan Angulo Defies Tired Legs

No one would have faulted the Lions for sitting back as the match neared its end given that this was their third match in eight days, and second on the road during that stretch. It makes the effort Ivan Angulo gave to help create the winning goal even more impressive. After running up and down the field all game, Angulo chased down a clearance after a San Jose corner kick and beat defenders down the length of the field on a lung-busting run. The fitness staff and trainers deserve some credit for ensuring that the Lions had their legs under them that late into a match considering the travel and schedule congestion of the week.

Jack Lynn After Dark

Jack Lynn, who was selected in the first round of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft, found the back of the net for the second time this season. In what was likely an unexpected 75 minutes of game action for him, Lynn scored late to give Orlando all three points. The goal was a combination of being in the right place at the right time, as Martin Ojeda mishit his shot after the cross from Angulo, and impressive body control from Lynn, who contorted his body to redirect the ball into the back of the net. It was an impressive finish for Lynn, who had another great chance to put the game away that was saved just minutes prior to his goal. Lynn ultimately would not be denied and made sure the Orlando City fans back on the East Coast woke up to good news.

Making History On the Road

Orlando City and the San Jose Earthquakes do not exactly have a storied rivalry however, anytime the club can achieve a first in team history it should be mentioned. Last evening’s victory marked Orlando City’s first ever road victory against the Earthquakes. Heading into this match, I thought the Lions would opt for a heavily rotated lineup on the road, as the Lions were facing a club at the bottom of the Western Conference table on short rest. Instead, the club turned in a classic performance under Pareja, staying defensively sound to keep the game close and get a result on the road. The Lions were able to get the win on a counter attack and the result secured seven points from their last three matches.

Those are the things that stood out most to me from the 1-0 victory against the Earthquakes, let us know in the comments below what stood out to you. As always, vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/20/24

Lions and Pride win, MLS weekend recap, Manchester City wins Premier League title, and more.

Published

1 day ago

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May 20, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers. I hope all is well with you down in Florida. It was another good weekend for our teams, as Orlando City and the Pride both won their respective matches. I’ve been busy covering high school playoff action with soccer, volleyball, lacrosse, and softball. There is plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Pull Out Late Win on the Road

Orlando City pulled out a late 1-0 win on the road against the San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park on Saturday. Jack Lynn came off the bench and scored the lone goal in this match for Orlando to grab the three points. Duncan McGuire started the match but had to be substituted out early in the first half due to injury and was replaced by Lynn. The Lions are on a three-match unbeaten streak after a scoreless draw at home against Inter Miami on Wednesday. Orlando City moves up to 10th in the Eastern Conference with 16 points. The Lions return to action on Saturday to face the Columbus Crew at Inter&Co Stadium.

Orlando Pride Win Against Seattle Reign FC

The Orlando Pride won their seventh straight match after a 3-2 win against the Seattle Reign at Lumen Field on Sunday. There were plenty of goals in this one, with Barbra Banda lifting the Pride to their first ever win in Washington against the Reign. Orlando remains undefeated in league play after 10 matches and the Pride sit atop the NWSL table with 24 points. The Pride return home for a Friday night matchup against the Portland Thorns at Inter&Co Stadium.

MLS Weekend Recap

It was another busy weekend in MLS, with four rivalry matches taking place. Let’s start with the Hudson River Derby, as New York City FC edged past the New York Red Bulls 2-1. Real Salt Lake got a thrilling 5-3 win against the Colorado Rapids in the Rocky Mountain Cup. In Canada, Toronto FC cruised past CF Montreal with a 5-1 victory. The Houston Dynamo and FC Dallas battled to a 1-1 draw down in Texas. FC Cincinnati defeated St. Louis City SC 3-1, while the Columbus Crew beat the Chicago Fire 3-1 as well.

The Philadelphia Union shut out the New England Revolution 3-0 to snap its six-match winless streak. Austin FC won 3-2 over Sporting Kansas City, Minnesota United handed the Portland Timbers a 2-1 defeat, and Inter Miami got a late goal from Leonardo Campana for a 1-0 win over D.C. United.

Manchester City Wins English Premier League

Manchester City defeated West Ham 3-1 to win a historic fourth consecutive Premier League title on Sunday with 91 points on the final day of the season. Phil Foden scored twice in this match as Manchester City became the first club to win four straight Premier League trophies. Arsenal defeated Everton 2-1 but ended up short of the title, finishing second with 89 points. Liverpool won in Jurgen Klopp’s final match as manager, beating Wolves 2-0 to finish third. Aston Villa finished fourth despite a 5-0 loss to Crystal Palace, Tottenham finished fifth, and Chelsea finished sixth in the table. Luton Town lost 4-2 at home to Fulham to finish 18th, officially joining Burnley and Sheffield United in being relegated to the EFL Championship next season. 

Free Kicks

  • Former Pride Head Coach Marc Skinner has agreed to a one-year contract extension with Manchester United, with an option for another year. Manchester United won its first major trophy earlier this month, winning the Women’s FA Cup.
  • Former USMNT player Jonathan Bornstein has agreed to play for NPSL side Tallahassee SC in their summer season. He made his debut on Saturday as the Battle Lions won their opener 2-0 against the Miami Dutch Lions FC.
  • According to Tom Bogert, new MLS expansion side San Diego FC is reportedly closer to sealing a move to sign Chucky Lozano over from PSV Eindhoven.
  • Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi announced he will leave the club after its Premier League season ended in a 2-0 loss to Manchester United on Sunday. 
  • Bayer Leverkusen completed its Bundesliga season unbeaten with a 2-1 win over FC Augsburg. The club also made history as the first team in the history of the Bundesliga to complete a full season without a loss. 

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday and I’ll see you next time.

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