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Orlando City vs. Sporting Kansas City: Final Score 2-1 as the Lions Extend Unbeaten Streak to Seven Games

Tesho Akindele and Benji Michel scored in the first half and the Lions held on through an intense second-half onslaught by the hosts.

Published

5 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City just keeps doing things it has never done before. A week after beating the Chicago Fire at home for the first time ever, the Lions went into Children’s Mercy Park and claimed their first win there with a 2-1 victory over Sporting Kansas City. Tesho Akindele and Benji Michel scored just a couple of minutes apart in the first half and Orlando (7-2-4, 25 points) held on for dear life through a rough second half, conceding a Johnny Russell goal but ultimately holding off SKC (6-5-2, 20 points).

With the win, Orlando climbed to second in the Eastern Conference standings, winning a tiebreaker over Philadelphia on goals scored and another over Toronto on goal differential. The Lions also extended their unbeaten streak to seven games (5-0-2), setting a new club record in the MLS era.

“I’m very proud of the three points,” Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “I think tonight we beat one of the best teams in the West.”

Pareja’s lineup included some squad rotation in key areas. Pedro Gallese manned the goal as usual, with Kyle Smith, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Ruan slotting in on the back line. Kamal Miller went to the bench, while Antonio Carlos was not in the match day squad at all. Andres Perea and Michel stepped into the midfield with Junior Urso and Sebas Mendez, with Chris Mueller and Mauricio Pereyra on the bench, and Nani took up an attacking position with Akindele, as Daryl Dike got his first breather since the regular season restarted. Dike was in the matchday squad, though.

Sporting Kansas City pushed high up the pitch early and had success turning Orlando over and keeping possession, but without getting any real clear-cut scoring opportunities. The first good chance of the match went to the hosts after Schlegel was booked for a handball when he went down to block a pass on a counter attack and the ball hit his arm. Graham Zusi curled his set piece wide of the left post on the set piece.

Orlando saw almost no possession in the attacking third in the first 20 minutes, but got an opportunity when a through ball found Michel and he was taken down by Matt Besler, setting up a free kick. Nani sent in the set piece to Schlegel, who got under it and headed well over the bar at the near post in the 25th minute.

The Lions started getting more opportunities and more set pieces as the half went on. But it was the counter where Orlando found success. Ruan found himself in space and threaded an excellent through ball for a perfectly timed run by Akindele. Tesho sized up goalkeeper Tim Melia and curled a shot around him and inside the near post to make it 1-0 in the 36th minute.

For Akindele, it was his second league goal of the season. He last scored in a non-MLS is Back knockout stage match back on July 14 against New York City FC during the group stage.

“It’s something that we’ve talked about before the game,” Akindele said about the team attacking SKC’s offside trap. “We have, obviously, a fast lineup out there, especially with me and Benji. We knew that we should be looking for the balls in behind.

“On my goal, I saw Ruan just taking it in. Benji did a good job of making the first run and he kind of brought a defender or two with him. Then I saw the gap open up and Ruan made a great pass. I honestly thought I was offside because I had so much space, but then I just relaxed, waited for the spot to open up, and finished it.”

The dust had barely settled from Akindele’s goal when the Lions struck again in transition. Nani sent a gorgeous ball over the top for Michel to run onto. Besler grabbed him and pulled him back, but Michel fought him off and slotted home past Melia in the 38th minute to double the lead. The strike gave Michel his fourth goal in the last five games.

“Benji is very docile to coach,” Pareja said. “He is growing. He is understanding and interpreting much better the spaces.”

“ I think that [Michel’s] thinking about the game more than he was before,” Akindele said. “Benji is at practice before everyone and he’s working on his own and that’s something nobody sees. He’s hitting the gym. He’s passing the ball. He’s doing a lot of work on his own this year, really trying to improve himself as a player. You know, that’s something that nobody sees, he hasn’t been talking about it but it’s happening and I think everybody’s seen the results that right now.”

The end of the first half consisted of several Sporting KC corners that Orlando defended well, and the Lions took their 2-0 lead into the break. Orlando led in shots (4-3), as well as shots on goal (2-0) and possession (53.6%). SKC racked up a 7-1 edge in corner kicks. Both teams were 86% accurate with their passes.

After the break, the Lions did what they have done far too often this year and came out of the locker room with too little energy and passion. SKC no doubt heard an earful from Peter Vermes at halftime and played like it, owning the ball and not giving it up at all. There were more corners and crosses and the hosts finally made it pay off.

A cross to the back post was played too softly by Kyle Smith, who tried to usher it out rather than attacking it and Russell played right through him, out-muscling the Orlando left back and heading home to make it 2-1.

There was no let-up from the hosts, who seemingly possessed the ball for the entire first 15 minutes of the second period. Orlando couldn’t find the handle and when the Lions did get a touch, they’d immediately turn it right back over.

“I think they were just throwing numbers forward,” Akindele said. “Their center backs did well at winning the long balls that we tried to hit out. So, you know, that’s on me and the forwards. I think we could have done a little bit better job of trying to hold the ball up in the second half. That might have eased some pressure.”

After a shot from Russell fizzed wide in the 60th minute, Pareja brought Pereyra into the match to help get more of the ball but it was merely a band-aid, and the Lions needed reinforcements from Dike and Mueller to calm things down a bit — but only a bit. Orlando did start to get on the ball more but certainly not as much as they would have liked.

Gadi Kinda fired a couple of shots from distance over the bar in the 67th and 70th minutes and Nani did the same at the end of a good-looking counterattacking buildup in the 75th.

A minute later, the hosts appeared to tie up the match when a clearance by Jansson hit Russell and bounced behind the beefy Swede. It was picked up by SKC and was sent into the area where it got lost in traffic and trickled over the line, but the play was ruled offside and it was upheld on video review.

Orlando’s best opportunity at an insurance goal came in the 84th, when Urso knocked a ball out of the air to himself and hit it first time, sending a rocket toward goal. We’ll never know if it would have gone in because it hit Mueller in the stomach. A minute later, Dike got the ball and went 1-v-3 against the Sporting defense, freeing himself up for a shot but he sent his effort over the bar.

Gerso sent a laser on target from outside the area in the 86th but Gallese was there to knock it over the bar.

Defender Winston Reid got the last good look for SKC in stoppage time with a header off a corner kick but he sent his shot wide and the Lions held on to get the win.

Sporting Kansas City finished with more shots (16-8), but Orlando got more on frame (3-2). SKC had a commanding 13-1 advantage in corners and turned the possession around to hold 56.6% of the ball. The hosts passed at an 83% rate but the Lions faded in the second half to just 77%.

“We were very happy with the three points, and the first half, we played very well,” Jansson said. “The second half is completely Sporting so we are a little bit disappointed on the second half, but we came here to get three points and sometimes you need to do it different ways.”

The Lions have one more on the road before returning to Exploria Stadium, with a Sunday night match-up at FC Dallas in Oscar Pareja’s return to his old address. Kickoff is set for 8:30 p.m.

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Orlando City

Orlando City Showing Signs of Adjusting to Eduard Atuesta’s Absence

The Lions have looked much better on offense the last two games, and there’s a couple of reasons why.

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2 days ago

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May 16, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Much has been made of Orlando City’s difficulties in creating chances and scoring goals when Eduard Atuesta has been unavailable due to injury. It’s not hard to understand why either. The Colombian was unavailable for three of Orlando’s four scoreless draws this year, and he only played nine minutes as a substitute in the stalemate against the New York Red Bulls on April 12.

When he was healthy and got the start against Atlanta United two games later, the Lions won 3-0 and he created the most chances of anyone in the game with three. Orlando then promptly reverted to being offensively stunted in the following game against the Chicago Fire, and was only able to manage its fourth scoreless draw of the year, despite playing over a half the game with a man advantage.

There certainly seemed to be plenty of evidence pointing towards Atuesta being the missing cog in Orlando City’s offense. While he only has two assists in eight games, he does a ton of work in linking the defense to the attack and is great at finding attacking players in dangerous areas, as evidenced by his 17 key passes. In the 0-0 draws with the Philadelphia Union, CF Montreal, and the Fire, Orlando just didn’t look right without him, although the Red Bulls game was a much better performance that was ultimately derailed by Rodrigo Schlegel’s sending off.

While he hasn’t played in either of Orlando’s last two league matches, a 3-3 draw against the New England Revolution, and a 3-1 win against Charlotte FC, the offense clearly hasn’t had any problem creating chances. If anything, the Lions should have scored more goals if not for a couple instances of less-than-crisp finishing in each match.

So, why the sudden change?

Well for one thing, the Designated Players are firing on all cylinders again. Martin Ojeda scored a hat trick against New England, and he and Luis Muriel scored Orlando’s first two goals against Charlotte. Ojeda didn’t start either of the two games against Atlanta and Chicago because he was dealing with a minor injury, but now that it’s in the rearview mirror, he’s been a man possessed. Muriel probably should have had at least one goal of his own against the Revs but seemed oddly reluctant to shoot, although he still completed three dribbles and delivered three key passes. The Charlotte game was then his turn to come out of the gate swinging, as he narrowly had a goal ruled out for offside just two minutes in, before hammering a venomous shot from distance just six minutes later that gave Kristijan Kahlina all sorts of trouble and opened the scoring.

It isn’t just getting contributions from the big guns though, because we need to acknowledge the play of rookie Joran Gerbet in these last two games. He’s the man who’s been asked to fill in for Atuesta next to Cesar Araujo, and he’s getting more and more comfortable in that role. Against the Revs he had an interception, a key pass and an assist, and completed a long ball and a through ball while recording a passing accuracy of 86.5%. Against Charlotte, he recorded an interception, three clearances, a completed dribble, and two successful long balls, and he had an outstanding passing accuracy of 98%. They weren’t all simply backwards or sideways passes either. There were plenty of times when he progressed the ball upfield to an attacking player and helped keep the Lions moving forward, and that’s exactly what you want out of the guy playing that position.

He still has a way to go before reaching Atuesta’s level, but that’s to be expected for a guy that’s playing the first professional season of his career. What’s most important is that he’s getting more comfortable, contributing, and proving that he can be a legitimate option to rotate into the starting XI when Atuesta is unavailable or when fixture congestion dictates changes to the lineup.

It’s worth mentioning the caveat that the last two games haven’t been against the strongest opposition the league has to offer. The Revs were on a four-game winning streak before playing Orlando, but three of those four wins were against weak or shaky teams in Atlanta, Toronto FC, and Charlotte, while the fourth team (NYCFC) has been difficult to get a read on. I’m not saying the Revs are a paper tiger, but it’s tough to know how good they really are despite a good run of recent form. Then you have Charlotte, which was above the playoff line but also on a three-game losing streak coming into the match that has now been convincingly extended to four.

At the end of the day, you can only beat who’s in front of you, but I’d encourage us all to not get too carried away until we see the same results against sterner opposition. For better or worse, that’s exactly what we’ll get in the Lions’ next three matches, which will be against a capable, albeit flawed, Inter Miami side on the road, at home in the U.S. Open Cup against a Nashville SC team that’s fourth in the East, and at home against the Portland Timbers, who are currently fourth in the West.

Ultimately, we can only judge this team on what we’ve seen from it, and over the last two games we’ve seen a side that’s had no trouble creating chances. Despite the continued absence of the important Atuesta, the Lions are adjusting thanks to contributions from their heavy hitters and the improving play of the rookie Gerbet. Only time will tell if those improvements are sustainable, but for now its a hell of a lot of fun to enjoy.

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Lion Links: 5/16/25

Orlando City players make MLS Team of the Matchday, Luis Muriel focused, Orlando Pride plays tonight, and more.

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2 days ago

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May 16, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Happy Friday! I’ve had a pretty good week so far and am looking forward to three straight days of Orlando soccer. The Orlando Pride will get us started tonight and then we have Orlando City B on Saturday before Orlando City plays on Sunday. It should be a fun next few days, and hopefully one filled with celebrations too. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Lions Make MLS Team of the Matchday

There’s plenty of purple in the latest MLS Team of the Matchday following Orlando City’s 3-1 win over Charlotte FC. Martin Ojeda and David Brekalo were both selected, while Oscar Pareja was chosen as the top coach from the midweek slate. Ojeda’s strike in the first half is also up for Goal of the Matchday as his strong run of form continues. The only outfield player on this Team of the Matchday that didn’t score is Brekalo, who had two assists, so it’s nice to see him receive deserved recognition for an excellent performance that included a great setup on Orlando’s third goal. Pareja has the Lions on an 11-game unbeaten streak across all competitions and is managing things well so far during this busy May.

Luis Muriel Staying Focused in Sophomore Season

With five goals so far this season, Orlando City forward Luis Muriel has already mirrored his scoring total from all of last season. Staying mentally prepared has been key for the 34-year-old in his second year with Orlando, and he spoke about what’s changed for him after not quite reaching expectations in his first year.

“Coming to a league like this isn’t easy. A lot of times from the outside, you aren’t able to measure up or really see what the league is. Sometimes you can underestimate things, thinking it’s easy,” Muriel said. “That leads you to take things on in a different way, the work, the matches.

“When you go into ‘MLS Mode’ you realize how good the league is, how competitive it is, how demanding the league is to be able to do things well. That’s when things start to flow, to go well. I think that’s the difference between this year and last.”

He’s finding his footing in the league now and was a force to be reckoned with against Charlotte on Wednesday. Muriel is aware that the Lions will need him to be at his best when they travel to take on Inter Miami on Sunday for an important rivalry clash.

Diving Into Justin Ellis’s Ascent

Victor Olorunfemi of Top Drawer Soccer gave a great profile on Orlando City B forward Justin Ellis and his growth with the club. Ellis, who just celebrated his 18th birthday on Wednesday with his MLS debut, is having a great year after a solid season with OCB last year. The high school senior was the top scorer at this year’s Generation Adidas Cup with six goals to help Orlando’s U-18 team win the tournament. He can create chances just as well as he can convert them and is quick to give credit to the coaches and staff that have helped him develop. The U.S. youth pool is deep, but Ellis could be a name to keep an eye out for ahead of the U-20 World Cup in September.

Orlando Pride Match Headlines NWSL Weekend

The Orlando Pride’s match tonight against the Kansas City Current is the premier matchup this week in the NWSL. While I wouldn’t call it a rivalry just yet, these two teams had great games last year. The Current are still out for revenge after Orlando beat them while shorthanded last summer and won again in the NWSL playoffs in Orlando before winning the NWSL Championship in Kansas City. First place in the league is on the line and it should be a thrilling match featuring the league’s top two defenses and attacking threats like Barbra Banda, Temwa Chawinga, Marta, and Debinha.

NWSL Contenders and Underperformers

We’re about a third of the way into the NWSL season and ESPN‘s Jeff Kassouf dove into how each team is meeting its expectations so far. Despite their stumbles in recent weeks, the Pride are near the top of the table and have plenty of time to get things firing on all cylinders. Two of the California teams are enjoying surprising success so far, with the San Diego Wave up in fourth while Angel City FC is in fifth and could become a real contender once Alexander Straus takes over as head coach. NJ/NY Gotham FC and the North Carolina Courage are sleeping giants of sorts, so it will be interesting to see when they start climbing up the table.

Free Kicks

  • You’ll need a paid subscription for the full details, but Orlando City right back Alex Freeman continues to impress this season. Freeman is finding success in a way different from his father Antonio Freeman, who led the NFL in receiving yards for the Green Bay Packers in 1998.
  • This year’s MLS pre-match jerseys to celebrate Pride month are out and they’re a vibrant and funky design.

Love lifts us up 💜The new 2025 Pride Pre-Match Jerseys are here!🛒 orlsoccer.co/fbpri

— Orlando City SC (@orlandocitysc.com) 2025-05-15T18:56:08.764Z
  • Esther Gonzalez leads the NWSL with seven goals this season and has agreed to a contract extension with Gotham FC that will last through 2027.
  • FIFA representatives, including FA Chair Debbie Hewitt and UEFA President Alexander Ceferin, walked out of FIFA’s annual congress in protest of FIFA President Gianni Infantino arriving three hours late. Infantino has spent this week in the Middle East visiting leaders in Saudi Arabia and Qatar with Donald Trump.
  • FC Barcelona officially won this year’s La Liga title after a 2-0 win over Espanyol. Phenom Lamine Yamal scored a sensational goal in the match, which is fitting considering how crucial he was to Barcelona winning the league this year.
  • Predictable names like Luis Enrique and Antonio Conte are on the list of top European coaches this year, but this article also shines a light on coaches who navigated tough waters in small boats. Alexander Blessin has St. Pauli on the verge of survival in the Bundesliga and Filippo Inzaghi improved Pisa by 30 points in Serie B to secure promotion.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Inter Miami: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to secure a victory in Sunday’s edition of Tropic Thunder?

Published

3 days ago

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May 15, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City / Mark Thor

The first Tropic Thunder match of the season is here. As I recently said on The Mane Land PawedCast, I am both looking forward to and dreading this match. I think that is an appropriate feeling. Orlando City is in the midst of a congested May schedule, but every match matters.

Inter Miami tops my list of hated teams at this point. As such, I very much want the Lions to win and for Florida to be purple. What does Orlando City need to do to earn all three points on the road against their in-state rivals?

Pocket Messi

Orlando City must keep Lionel Messi from having too big of an impact on the match. There are plenty of other players that the defense will need to worry about, and I’ll get to them. What I’m looking for is a frustrated Messi — Messi that feels he should be getting calls on the lightest of touches but is not.

The pair of players that I’m expecting to keep an eye on Messi are Cesar Araujo and Rodrigo Schlegel. The lion’s share of that burden will fall to Araujo. I want him to be hounding Messi every time he gets the ball. If Messi is able to get past Araujo, I want Schlegel to be right in his face. We’re all sick of MLS and Apple TV putting his smug mug in our faces at every opportunity. It’s time for two of Orlando’s defenders to take the shine off of Messi.

Deal with the Rest

Assuming Araujo can limit Messi, Orlando City still has to deal with Miami’s talented attacking players not named Messi. Miami and Orlando entered Wednesday night’s game with the same number of goals scored (21) and allowed (15) this season, although the Herons conceded more at San Jose (3) than the Lions (1) did at home against Charlotte. Each scored three times on Wednesday. However, the memory of the last time the Lions faced Miami at Chase Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale is a 5-0 loss. That isn’t something we want to see again.

Theoretically, no match is more important than another, although an argument could be made that Tropic Thunder is no mere match. I fully expect a starting back line of Alex Freeman, Schlegel, Robin Jansson, and David Brekalo in front of Pedro Gallese to stop Miami’s attack. A clean sheet is the objective.

Alex vs. Alba

As you can tell, this is a very defensive heavy Three Keys, but given what happened in this fixture last year, I don’t think it’s out of line. Alex Freeman has been good this season. He has secured the starting spot at right back and seems unlikely to give it back. One of the things he is good at is getting into the attack with Marco Pasalic. That isn’t what I’m looking for from him this weekend.

Miami’s Jordi Alba is a dangerous player that Freeman will be expected to help contain. Alba has five assists, seven successful crosses, and 13 key passes so far this season. If Freeman is still getting up the pitch to assist in the attack, he will need to make sure he isn’t allowing Alba free rein to get behind him and serve as a provider in Orlando’s half of the field.

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

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