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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Final Score 0-0 as Lions Open Season with Another Draw

Lions generated some good chances on opening day, but just couldn’t get the last touch quite right.

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4 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City generated better opportunities in a defensive struggle on opening day against Atlanta United, but ultimately had to settle for a 0-0 draw at Exploria Stadium. The Lions drew on opening day for the sixth time in seven years, with the only non-draw coming 2017 when they beat New York City FC in the first game ever at Exploria.

With the draw, Orlando is unbeaten in its last five games against Atlanta United, and is now 2-6-5 (W-L-D) in the all-time series in league play and 2-7-5 in all competitions. Orlando City starts the season 0-0-1 yet again.

“Good match. It was back and forth,” Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “In the second half, I think we had more balance. In the middle we started just creating more numerical superiority and I did like the team. But the game was intense. We found a good team in front of us and we’re going to take the point and start our season this way.”

Pareja did not have Uri Rosell or Robin Jansson (both have the dreaded lower body injury), so Pedro Gallese looked out at a back line of Kyle Smith, Rodrigo Schlegel, Antonio Carlos, and Ruan. Sebas Mendez and Junior Urso played central midfield, with Nani, Chris Mueller, Tesho Akindele, and Alexandre Pato as attacking options.

Graphic by MLSSoccer.com

The first half looked like a typical opening game. There were good passages of play but things broke down when players tried to read the game and thread passes in tighter spaces in the final third. There were fouls on both ends that Jair Marrufo let go, which perhaps prevented some chances as well, as the veteran referee was not in the mood to blow the whistle early in this one.

Orlando got an opportunity 15 minutes in when Urso was sent into the box but he took an extra touch and that allowed the defense to knock the ball away for a corner. Four minutes later, Ruan cut inside and had a shot blocked which would have fallen to Mueller had he not been knocked down. Marrufo wasn’t interested in making a call. Urso fired well over the bar in the 25th minute as the Lions continued to lack sharpness in the final third, and link-up play with Pato too often seemed to be two players looking for something different.

Pato nearly got behind the defense in the 28th minute, but he had his run cut off just outside the box. Again, Marrufo wasn’t interested. Nani got the first shot on goal in the game when the Atlanta defense gave him too much space and his shot was headed inside the right post but Brad Guzan made the save.

Smith conceded a couple of free kicks after a bright start, allowing Atlanta a few set piece opportunities but nothing came of them. An Atlanta shot was deflected wide from the top of the box to set up a corner and the entry ball was headed wide by Marcelino Moreno.

Urso and Mueller each failed to get a header on target from set pieces as the first half wound down and the last good opportunity saw Jake Mulraney cut inside and fire a shot that Gallese saved comfortably on Atlanta’s first shot on target.

Atlanta had more shots (6-5), with each team getting one on target, won more corners (4-2), held more possession (59.1%-40.9%), and passed more accurately (88.5%-84.7%).

“The nerves were kind of there in the first half,” Mueller said. “It was, you know, pretty frantic. It was all over the place.”

Andres Perea came on for Akindele after the halftime break and Orlando looked more fluid in the attack. Atlanta continued to have more of the ball, which was fine with the Lions, who did a good job of keeping everything wide and preventing the visitors from generating much of a threat.

Perea’s first touch nearly opened the scoring. Mueller centered a pass to him and Perea fired but his shot was straight at Guzan, who made the save. Moments later, Ruan zigzagged down the right side and won a corner. Carlos got his head to the cross but hit it straight down and it bounced wide of goal. Perea then tried to pick out Pato in the box in the 51st minute but the Atlanta defense was able to knock it away before it could find the Brazilian.

“In the second half we (were) much more balanced in the middle,” Pareja said. “We need a player who can mix the energy there, who can bring us some legs too. Andres knows how to do it. He has a lot of glue, he has a lot of range, and we needed to stop his number five (Santiago Sosa), who is a key player for them and Andres did that job. So we cut that connection and we started increasing ours, and stretching Pato as the number nine as well. It just gave us some space and more creativity in that part of the field, and that’s that’s why we created the best options in the game.”

Atlanta’s first look came in the 57th minute when George Bello jumped into the play and got into the box. Schlegel came over to pressure him and the fullback’s shot went wide.

Mendez nearly got in alone in the box three minutes later but Guzan came off his line to smother the ball first. Two minutes later, Orlando nearly scored. The ball was pinging around with Pato and Mendez in front of goal, and it was the midfielder who ended up trying a spinning shot but he hit it wide. Had Pato been able to get there instead it was likely a goal.

Both teams started substituting between the 60th and 75th minutes, trying to find an edge to take control of the game. Benji Michel came on for Nani on the Orlando side.

The Lions came closest to scoring in the 72nd minute, when a cross from Mueller on the left found Pato in the middle. The Brazilian shot with his first touch and his attempt came off a defender and then hit the outstretched arm of Guzan, who scrambled on top of the rebound as it was rolling toward the goal line.

Pato went down with an injury in the 78th minute on a play without contact. He jumped to avoid what could have been an absolutely devastating tackle at the top of the box and went down after he landed, holding the back of his knee. He was able to walk off under his own power but was forced out of the game, making way for Silvester van der Water’s MLS debut.

“Good game for Alex,” Pareja said of Pato’s debut. “That commitment that he has with his team. He tried to create from that zone where we put him in the first half. I think we could find those spaces and then he is very crafty with the ball and created some chances for us. Second half as well, when we stretched him as a number nine. We had the best of him, put him in front of the goal twice. The doctors will evaluate what happened. We don’t have the diagnosis yet.”

Josef Martinez came on for Atlanta but didn’t do much. He did get onto a set piece but headed it well wide of goal on the last decent look for either side. In the end, the two southeast rivals had to settle for a point apiece.

Each team fired 11 shots and got three on target. Atlanta held more possession (59.7%-40.3%), had more corners (4-3), and was more accurate in passing (88%-82.2%).

“I think it was good to get back out there and try and catch some of our rhythm,” Mueller said. “I think it was obviously difficult conditions, just with the heat and everything. I think that we lacked a little bit of quality moving forward and in our positioning. I think that it would be really helpful for us to look at the film and see the areas where we can improve for next week, but overall it felt nice to get back out there and get some minutes under our legs and we’re definitely looking to build on that moving forward.”

The Lions will head out on the road for their second game, traveling to face Sporting Kansas City next Friday at 8 p.m. ET.

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Orlando City

In Praise of Orlando City’s Game 3 Penalty Kicks

The Lions employed some crafty strategy and flawless execution to win the Game 3 penalty shootout, and it deserves to be recognized.

Published

3 days ago

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November 15, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Depending on who you talk to, penalty kicks aren’t a great way to decide a soccer game. They’re exciting, of course, but not exactly a good measuring stick of which team is more deserving of winning the game. Fortunately for Orlando City fans, the team has excelled at shootouts for the vast majority of its MLS existence. In fact, the Lions hadn’t lost one until this year, when they were bounced from Leagues Cup by Cruz Azul after losing 5-4 in penalties. The team then accomplished another first in Game 2 of the MLS Cup playoffs against Charlotte, when it missed three of four spot kicks, and lost 3-1 in penalties.

With recent history far from being in OCSC’s favor, there was plenty of reason to be pessimistic when the deciding Game 3 went to a shootout, but the Lions breezed right through it, winning by a score of 4-1 and sending Charlotte packing. While there’s only so much strategy you can employ in shootouts, the Lions pulled a couple fast ones that may just have given them a leg up when they needed it most.

Let’s first talk about the shootouts the Orlando has been involved in this year, because even before Game 3, there had been a lot. The Lions’ final two games in Leagues Cup were both decided at the penalty spot, with the good guys emerging victorious against San Luis 5-4, and then losing by that same score to Cruz Azul to exit the tournament. Game 2 against Charlotte was therefore the team’s third shootout of the year, and by that point we were starting to see some familiar faces in the team’s shooting lineup.

There isn’t anything inherently wrong with sending the same (or mostly the same) guys up in a shootout. Conventional wisdom says that you want your best, most reliable guys from the spot taking penalties. However, if the opposing goalkeeper has done his research, and a player tends to favor shooting in a certain direction, it can potentially give the man between the sticks an advantage in making the save. Let’s examine who Orlando City sent to the spot this year in shootouts, starting with the two Leagues Cup games.

Against San Luis, the order went: Nico Lodeiro, Duncan McGuire, Wilder Cartagena, Rafael Santos, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Lodeiro went central, McGuire went to the goalkeeper’s right, Cartagena to his left, Santos to his right, and Thorhallsson to his left. All five penalties were scored, but the keeper got a strong hand to Thorhallsson’s and it only just went in.

Against Cruz Azul, the order was: Robin Jansson, Luis Muriel, McGuire, Facundo Torres, and Thorhallsson. Jansson shot to the goalie’s left and had it saved, Lodeiro and Muriel both went to his right and scored, McGuire and Torres both went to his left and scored, and Thorhallsson went to his left and had it saved.

That brings us to Game 2 against Charlotte. The order was: Lodeiro, Jansson, Muriel, and McGuire. Nico shot to Kristijan Kahlina’s left and had it saved, Jansson went to his right and put his shot over the bar, Muriel also went right and scored, and McGuire went to the goalie’s left and had his shot saved.

Let’s pause for a minute and dig deeper into those Game 2 takers. Lodeiro had already taken two penalties on the year, and scored both. Jansson had taken one and had it saved, Muriel had taken one and scored, and McGuire had taken two and converted both. Interestingly enough, Kahlina also went the right way on Jansson’s shot, although the Swede put the ball over the bar. After taking penalties in the two previous shootouts and the goalies getting strong hands to both, Thorhallsson wasn’t used, but he couldn’t be, because he’d already been subbed off late in the second half. McGuire went to the goalie’s left for the second shootout in a row, with Kahlina guessing correctly and making the save.

In the all-important Game 3, the takers were: Muriel, Kyle Smith, Torres, and Santos. Muriel and Smith both went to Kahlina’s right, while Torres and Santos went to the Croatian’s left, with all four men scoring. It was Muriel’s third time in a shootout for the club, third time going to the goalie’s right, and third time converting. Smith made his first appearance from the spot on the year. It was Torres’ and Santos’ second time taking in a shootout this year and they both went left for the second time. Taking a closer look at each shooter, I really like the selection choices and the order in which they went.

While Kahlina had plenty of tape on Muriel by this point, the Colombian had already beaten him once, and the striker prefers to watch the goalkeeper during his run-up and go whichever way he doesn’t. That makes it especially difficult to save his penalties, and his years of high-level experience means he’s no stranger to high-pressure situations. You could hardly ask for a better first shooter to set the tone for what was to come.

We then got a big old wild card in the form of Smith, who hadn’t taken a penalty kick at all this year. Oscar Pareja could have chosen to use Jansson or Lodeiro, both of whom have taken multiple kicks this year and were still on the field, but he opted to go for someone who Kahlina both hadn’t seen already, and who he likely had very little, if any, tape on. It was a decision that paid off, as Smith positively blasted his kick into the top corner, with Kahlina guessing the wrong way on his dive.

We then got Torres, who would ordinarily be a no-brainer when it comes to taking penalty kicks if not for the fact that he’d just had one saved mere minutes earlier in stoppage time. Still, you want your main man to step up in high-pressure situations, so it wasn’t surprising to see him stepping forward to take one, particularly with the Lions already leading 2-0. He won the mental battle with Kahlina and went in his preferred direction to the left of the goalkeeper, with Kahlina guessing wrong again.

Finishing things off was Santos, who had only taken one penalty on the year and employs an unconventional, stuttering run-up. As he did in the San Luis game, the Brazilian went to the goalkeeper’s right and scored, with his penalty being the only one in which Kahlina dove the correct way. The decision to go with another player who there was little film on, especially one with a run-up that’s difficult to time correctly, again proved to be a decision that paid off.

We’ll never know who OCSC’s fifth taker would have been, as the shootout never got that far. We know it wouldn’t have been McGuire, who was being kept on the sideline after injuring his shoulder. I think it’s telling that Jansson and Lodeiro weren’t in the first four, even though both had already taken multiple shootout penalties on the season, and Thorhallsson was the only other player who had taken more than one kick in a shootout this year, and he had been substituted. My bet is on Cartagena, who had only taken one and scored it.

Regardless of what we don’t know, we can give the deserved amount of praise to what we do know. Namely, that the decision to use a mix of guys who are proven in high-pressure situations and ones who have few, if any, recent penalties on film was a strategy that paid off big time. Pedro Gallese also deserves every flower in the garden for the two saves he made, which absolutely made things easier on the takers. I think it’s interesting that Karol Swiderski took a spot kick for the second game in a row, with Gallese getting the better of him in Game 3 despite the Polish striker going to the Peruvian’s right instead of his left.

It’s also fair to say that the men who stepped up in Game 3 simply took better shots in than in Game 2. Nico’s wasn’t far enough in the corner and was a good height for Kahlina, Jansson put his completely over, and McGuire’s was too central and at a height that favored the goalkeeper. There were no such issues in Game 3, with every shot being well placed.

All in all, you couldn’t have drawn up the Game 3 shootout any better if you tried. Pareja threw a couple curveballs Charlotte’s way, Pedro Gallese made two huge saves, and all of the shooters came up with outstanding efforts. From strategy to execution, the shootout was about as perfect as you can get. Now here’s hoping that’s the last one we have to endure for awhile. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 11/15/24

Barbra Banda speaks about playing alongside Marta, USMNT beats Jamaica, international soccer roundup, and more.

Published

3 days ago

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November 15, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday! I hope the week hasn’t been too rough on you as we gear up for what should be an exciting weekend. There aren’t too many plans lined up for me, but I’m still looking forward to being able to relax a bit over the next few days. Before we dive into today’s links, let’s all wish a happy birthday to our favorite Beefy Swede, Robin Jansson!

Barbra Banda on Playing With Marta

It’s an understatement to say it’s been a fantastic year for the Orlando Pride, and NWSL MVP finalists Barbra Banda and Marta have been major reasons for the team’s success. Marta has been with the Pride since 2017 and is thriving in what may be the twilight of her legendary career. Meanwhile, it’s Banda’s first year with the Pride and she’s taken the league by storm alongside Marta. In an interview with Futbol W, which is co-hosted by former Pride player Ali Krieger, Banda spoke about how motivating it is to play with the greatest women’s soccer player of all time.

Battle of the Rebuilds in NWSL Playoffs

Of the four teams remaining in the NWSL playoffs, only NJ/NY Gotham FC was in the playoffs last year. Not only are this year’s semifinalists a testament to how much things can change each year, but it’s also an interesting showcase of the different ways clubs can build a team capable of winning in this league. The Pride capped off a patient and smart rebuild by signing international players like Banda, while the Current have benefited greatly from adding Temwa Chawinga. After winning the NWSL Championship last year, Gotham added several American stars like Rose Lavelle and Crystal Dunn in free agency to do it again. Meanwhile, the Washington Spirit have leaned on a strong rookie class and other young players to reach this point.

USMNT Beats Jamaica in Nations League

The United States Men’s National Team got its quarterfinal series started with a solid 1-0 win over Jamaica in Kingston. Ricardo Pepi scored the lone foal of the game early on with a nice strike after a silky smooth assist from Christian Pulisic. Matt Turner came up with a great save on a penalty kick in the first half, earning a clean sheet the hard way. It wasn’t exactly a comfortable victory for Mauricio Pochettino and the Yanks, but winning on the road in Concacaf is hardly ever comfortable. The two teams will reconvene in St. Louis on Monday with a spot in the semifinals on the line.

Keeping Up With International Soccer

The U.S. obviously isn’t the only nation taking part in the international break, with teams all around the world in action. Paraguay arguably had the biggest win of the day, beating Argentina 2-1 in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying. Venezuela also had a decent result, drawing 1-1 against Brazil in a match that included a missed penalty by Vinicius Junior.

In 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying, Nigeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Uganda, and Gabon all booked their tickets to next year’s tournament after the latest round of matches. Saudi Arabia and Australia battled to a scoreless draw in AFC World Cup qualifying, while South Korea moved closer to qualifying after a 3-1 win over Kuwait that featured Son Heung-min’s 50th international goal. There weren’t too many surprises in the UEFA Nations League, with England cruising past Greece and Italy beating Belgium. France was held to a scoreless draw against Israel but still qualified for the quarterfinals.

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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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Lion Links

Lion Links: 11/14/24

MLS playoff predictions, Barbra Banda and Marta earn recognition, USMNT takes on Jamaica tonight, and more.

Published

4 days ago

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November 14, 2024

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I’ve been a bit under the weather this week, but it’s at least meant I’ve been able to spend more time with my cat and get some reading done when not hacking up a lung. But enough about that, let’s dive into today’s links from around the soccer world!

MLS Conference Semifinal Predictions

Former Orlando City captain Sacha Kljestan weighed in on which of the remaining eight teams will prevail in the MLS playoffs. He predicts that Atlanta United can lean on its counterattacking and Brad Guzan’s goalkeeping to beat Orlando City when the two rivals face off in Orlando on Nov. 24. A key thing to watch heading into the match is if Head Coach Oscar Pareja switches things up up top given Ramiro Enrique’s slump.

Kljestan predicts a tight match between New York City FC and the New York Red Bulls, but has NYCFC moving on. He also has both the LA Galaxy and LAFC advancing in the Western Conference, which would set up a playoff edition of El Trafico.

Pride Players Make ESPN’s Top 50

ESPN unveiled its annual list of the top 50 women’s soccer players and a pair of Orlando Pride players made the list. Forward Barbra Banda is ranked third on the list for crushing it in her first year in the NWSL, scoring 13 goals to help the Pride win the NWSL Shield. Marta, who has not been listed in the past two years, ranked 26th for turning back the clock at 38 years old and creating 46 chances for Orlando this season. Barcelona’s Aitana Bonmati tops the list, with Naomi Girma in second, Caroline Graham Hansen in fourth, and Sophia Smith rounding out the top five. There are many voters for this year’s list from around the world, including Vice President of Soccer Operations and Sporting Director Haley Carter.

Steven Moreira Named Defender of the Year

The Columbus Crew’s Steven Moreira was named 2024 MLS Defender of the Year after a strong season. He made 27 appearances for the Crew this season and was a key part of his team’s success in the Concacaf Champions Cup and Leagues Cup this year. Moreira also helped out offensively with two goals and four assists and was an All-Star this year. The 30-year-old beat out Inter Miami’s Jordi Alba and Seattle Sounders center back Jackson Ragen for the award.

USMNT Takes On Jamaica Tonight

The United States Men’s National Team will play its first competitive match under Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino tonight when it takes on Jamaica in Kingston in the Concacaf Nations League. Although the U.S. may be favored in this series, playing on the road in Concacaf is always tough and Jamaica tends to keep things close against the Yanks. Tonight’s match is the first of the two-leg quarterfinals, with the two nations facing off again in St. Louis on Monday. Hopefully Pochettino can get the team firing on all cylinders as it continues to prepare for the 2026 World Cup.

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  • In a rollercoaster of a match, the U.S. Men’s Deaf National Team fell in a penalty shootout to Brazil in the Deaf Pan American Games. The U.S. took the lead in extra time, but Brazil battled back to tie it, winning from the spot to reach the final.

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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