Connect with us

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

Published

2 years ago

on

Orlando City looked to be in a good spot when Facundo Torres gave the Lions a 1-0 lead at Red Bull Arena, but New York City FC came back with two late goals to take all three points. The loss keeps the Lions tied at 45 points with the Columbus Crew and Inter Miami for the final two playoff spots with two games remaining.

Let’s take a look at how the Lions performed individually in this loss.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 5.5 — Orlando City has depended on Gallese several times this year to keep them in games. Usually he’s been solid, but Gallese didn’t have his best game today. While not bad, the team’s number one didn’t commit when coming off his line in the 66th minute, resulting in him being stuck in a tight spot. As a result, NYCFC scored the equalizer. Statistically, Gallese conceded two goals and had three saves. He completed 79% of his 19 passes, including five of his nine long balls.

D, Joao Moutinho, 5.5 — Moutinho was much better than Ruan in this game, completing 78.1% of his 41 passes, three of his six crosses, and three of his seven long balls. Defensively, he recorded two tackles, one interception, and one clearance. But in the 81st minute he got sucked up into the midfield, allowing NYCFC to get behind Orlando’s back line. It resulted in the host’s second and game-winning goal.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6 — Schlegel had a good game, recording two tackles, one interception, a blocked shot, and a team-high six clearances. He completed 75.9% of his 29 passes but failed to complete any of his five long balls.

D, Antonio Carlos, 5 — Defensively, Carlos recorded two tackles, one interception, and had five clearances. However, in the 66th minute, Carlos whiffed on an attempted clearance. It allowed NYCFC to get behind the Lions’ back line and left Carlos out of position. Alexander Callens scored right in front of goal because Carlos wasn’t there to defend him. Going forward, Carlos completed 81.4% of his 43 passes and one of his four long balls.

D, Ruan, 4.5 — Ruan had a terrible game at right back. Defensively, he had two tackles and one clearance. He only completed 47.6% of his 21 passes, one of his two long balls, and didn’t attempt any crosses. He got one off-target shot off and was called offside once.

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 6.5 — Pereyra has been in good form recently and had another good game in this one. The midfielder completed 85.4% of his 48 passes and had four key passes. He completed two of his five crosses, seven of his eight long balls, and took one off-target shot. Defensively, Pereyra recorded one tackle and one interception.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6 — After being out with a non-COVID related illness, Araujo rejoined the lineup and was his old self. The midfielder recorded a team-high four tackles and one interception. He completed 85% of his 40 passes and three of his five long balls. Araujo was also credited with an assist on Torres’ early second-half goal after a great long throw-in that found the head of Ercan Kara.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 5.5 — It wasn’t a bad game by Angulo, but he only had 19 touches. The attacking midfielder completed 81.8% of his 11 passes and his only cross attempt was successful. He didn’t have any key passes or shots in the game but did have one tackle.

MF, Junior Urso, 6 — Urso had a good game but it should’ve been better. He completed 87.8% of his 41 passes, though none were key passes. He drew a team-high four fouls and took two off-target shots, which he should’ve done better with. Defensively, Urso recorded one tackle and had one interception.

MF, Facundo Torres, 6.5 (MotM) — Torres had a really good game, completing 88.9% of his 36 passes, including two key passes. His three crosses were incomplete but he completed his only long ball. He took a team-high five shots with one being on target. The biggest impact by Torres was his 47th-minute goal that gave the Lions an early second half lead.

F, Ercan Kara, 6 — Kara didn’t find the target on any of his three shots, but he completed 88.9% of his nine passes, including two key passes. In the 47th minute, he flicked a long Araujo throw-in to Torres behind him, resulting in the Lions’ goal.

Substitutes

F, Benji Michel (67’), 5.5 — Michel came on in the 67th minute for Kara, right after the equalizing goal by NYCFC. He only had six touches and completed both of his passes. In the 86th minute, Moutinho found Michel on NYCFC’s half of the field and it looked like the Lions would have a chance for an equalizer, but he took a heavy touch and ended up committing a foul to end the attack.

F, Tesho Akindele (74’), 5.5 — Akindele came on for Angulo in the 74th minute. He didn’t have a big impact, only recording five touches, but completed all five of his passes, including one key pass. However, the forward didn’t get any shots off.

D, Kyle Smith (74’), 5 — Smith came on with Akindele, replacing Ruan. The defender had seven touches and completed three of his six passes. He attempted one inaccurate long ball and recorded one tackle.

MF, Jake Mulraney (85’), N/A — Mulraney came on in the 85th minute for Araujo and was virtually non-existent. The midfielder only had one touch and he lost possession with it. That was the only statistic for the substitute.

That’s how I saw the individual performances for the Lions in this disappointing loss. Let us know how you saw the game and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match below.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Facundo Torres14
Mauricio Pereyra2
Cesar Araujo0
Ercan Kara1
Rodrigo Schlegel0
Other (Tell us in the comments below)1

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City Signs Defender Thomas Williams Through 2026

Orlando City signs Homegrown center back Thomas Williams to a new contract through 2026 with a club option for 2027.

Published

1 hour ago

on

January 22, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City B / Mark Thor

Orlando City announced this morning that the club has signed defender Thomas Williams through the 2026 season with a club option for 2027. The Homegrown Player has been with the first team since 2021 and will continue for at least two more years.

“Thomas is someone whose future we’re still very excited about and we’re happy to get him locked in with us for a couple more years,” Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi said in a club press release. “He’s shown a lot of growth these last few seasons, continuing to get game action with Orlando City B and proving the importance of our development pathway, and we’re looking forward to having him with us for the foreseeable future.”

The Titusville native joined the Orlando City Academy in 2015 and made his professional debut for the club on Aug. 7, 2020 against New England Revolution II. He played in 13 games that year with 10 starts and recorded 844 minutes. His play on the Young Lions’ back line earned him a first-team contract on June 15, 2021, at just 16 years old, making him the youngest player in club history to sign a Homegrown contract.

The 20-year-old center back made his MLS debut on April 16, 2022 in a 2-0 win over the Columbus Crew in Ohio. He made five appearances with three starts in all competitions that season, recording 271 minutes. To date, those are the only appearances he’s made with the first team.

Since joining OCB in 2021, Williams has made 69 appearances with 61 starts and recorded 5,132 minutes. He’s been booked 19 times and sent off twice, both times after receiving second yellow cards.

What It Means for Orlando City

Williams is the fourth natural center back for Orlando City on the current squad behind Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Rodrigo Schlegel. He played well early in his OCB and MLS career, but has struggled recently. Last year, he played exclusively with the second team, partnering with Nabi Kibunguchy.

While Williams hasn’t made much of an impact on the first team so far, he’s only 20 years old and still has plenty of time to develop. Extending his contact shows that the club still has faith that he can turn into a key player for the MLS side.

It’s unlikely that Williams will see any time with the first team in 2025 (barring injuries and/or suspensions), considering that he’s also been behind versatile defender Kyle Smith at the center back position. He’ll likely spend the upcoming season with OCB, continuing to develop and earn his spot with the first team. As a Homegrown Player, there isn’t much risk in signing Williams to a new contract, especially if the club’s technical staff thinks he can develop into a quality defender.

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/22/25

Orlando City transfer rumors, Orlando Pride preseason begins, USMNT at Inter&Co, and more.

Published

5 hours ago

on

January 22, 2025

By

Dan MacDonald, The ManeLand

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. Up here in Tallahassee, I’m waking up to snow/sleet, closed schools, closed government offices, and potentially icy roads. Many people will get an extra day off of work, however, I still get to go to work. I’m sure you can imagine how happy I am about that. Enough of my winter grumbling. Let’s get to the links but not until after we wish Orlando City fullback Michael Halliday a happy 22nd birthday.

Orlando City Reportedly Targeting Croatian International

While I can no longer say that Orlando City hasn’t signed any new players, the club is still moving at its traditionally slow speed as compared to other MLS clubs. We had the signing of Nicolas Rodriguez last week. Now, we have Tom Bogert report of yet another winger prospect for the club in Croatian Marco Pasalic from HNK Rijeka, though it is not a done deal. Hopefully the other targets Bogert mentions are of the striker variety.

https://twitter.com/tombogert/status/1881755961125449765?s=46&t=pMoq7Wulqfb35D7C8ydroA

Pride Preseason Begins

The 2024 NWSL champions are back to defend their title. The Orlando Pride returned to training on Tuesday. The club hasn’t needed to add many pieces, though some of the players already here, like Simone Charley and Grace Chanda, haven’t actually played any minutes for the Pride yet. Most of the chemistry is in place for Seb Hines, but reinforcing those bonds will be the challenge as the Pride look to repeat.

USMNT at Inter&Co Tonight

Hopefully you have tickets to the USMNT friendly match versus Costa Rica at Inter&Co Stadium tonight. The match starts at 7 p.m. and there are television and streaming options if you’re not going in person. Despite the squad having 14 players with three or fewer caps, Mauricio Pochettino does not consider this an “alternative” squad, nor does he want the players to think of themselves like that.

Girma Reportedly Nearing Completion of Chelsea Move

USWNT defender Naomi Girma is reportedly headed to Chelsea FC Women for a record $1.1 million transfer fee. That is a very big chunk of change for San Diego FC to use to try to replace one of the best defenders in the world. The deal is not complete as of Tuesday evening, but according to the original report from The Athletic, it is close to being done. Girma would be the first women’s soccer player to earn a transfer fee of over $1 million.

MLS Transfer Updates

Other MLS clubs keep on putting pen to paper when it comes to new players. The Chicago Fire are bringing in Jonathan Bamba on a Designated Player deal from La Liga side Celta de Vigo. The Luca de la Torre loan from Spain’s RC Celta de Vigo to San Diego FC is also official.

https://twitter.com/sandiegofc/status/1881741042904350864

Cucho Hernandez evidently wants to stay with the Columbus Crew, though he is still waiting on a new offer.

https://twitter.com/tombogert/status/1881786193693823104

Free Kicks

https://twitter.com/weareangelcity/status/1881749040863588770?s=12&t=_WZBNG4ILAyRLdwBeB4mpQ
  • Keep your eyes peeled later today for the NWSL schedule drop.
https://twitter.com/nwsl/status/1881749035218042954?s=46&t=pN-YJp3s7ZQlCXqnTAgSfw

That will do it for today. Stay warm out there, my friends. Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/21/25

Orlando Pride release preseason camp roster, scouting Costa Rica, women’s soccer transfer grades, and more.

Published

1 day ago

on

January 21, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Good morning, everyone! If you had yesterday off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, then I hope you enjoyed some restful time off. If not, then I hope you got your week started off on a good and productive note. There’s a lot going on around here this week as the United States Men’s National Team is in town, and Orlando City will play its first preseason match on Saturday. That means we have plenty to discuss, so let’s dig into today’s links.

Orlando Pride Drop Preseason Roster

Monday might have been a holiday but the Orlando Pride were busy, as they announced the roster for their upcoming preseason camp. Almost all of the usual suspects from the 2024 season are back, as the Pride return 98% of the player-minutes from last season and every single scorer. Mariana Larroquette is on the list although she’s currently on loan in Argentina, and Amanda Allen is likewise included after her loan at Lexington Sporting Club was terminated due to a torn labrum. The biggest intrigue comes from the trio of non-roster invitees: goalkeeper DeAira Jackson, midfielder Aryssa Mahrt, and forward Simone Jackson.

Scouting Costa Rica

The USMNT takes on Costa Rica on Wednesday at Inter&Co Stadium to wrap up the team’s annual January camp. Like the U.S., Costa Rica is bringing a roster devoid of the majority of its important players. Costa Rica also has a new manager at the helm in Miguel Herrera, who will take charge of the team for the very first time on Wednesday. Herrera typically lines his teams up in a 5-3-2 where the wingbacks take on a very important role and the team looks to hit on the counter while staying compact at the back. This will be the last time we see the USMNT in action until the Concacaf Nations League semifinals in early March.

Women’s Soccer January Transfer Grades

January has been a busy time for transfers in the women’s soccer world, so which teams have done the best business? Well, the Orlando Pride received an A grade for signing Marta to a new two-year deal, retaining a player who helped the team win its first ever trophies. Liverpool got an A for signing Julia Bartel on loan from Chelsea. Leicester City made an interesting call by transferring goalkeeper Lize Kop to Tottenham despite just being a point above the relegation zone. The Foxes get a C for the move, while Spurs get a B+ for adding a capable netminder.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans taking part in some very important games over the course of this week. Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, and Juventus face Club Brugge today in the UEFA Champions League, while Ricardo Pepi, Richy Ledezma, Esmir Bajraktarević, Malik Tillman and PSV Eindhoven take on Crvena Zvezda in the same competition. Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, and AC Milan will play Girona in the UCL on Wednesday, while Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, and Celtic take on Young Boys. On Friday, John Tolkin could make his Bundesliga debut when his new team, Holstein Kiel, travels to face Wolfsburg.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando Pride players reported for their preseason physicals on Monday.
  • Meanwhile, Orlando City took on the dreaded beep test during Monday’s training session.

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

Continue Reading

Trending