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Orlando City Coach’s Show Recap: Adrian Heath Reviews Toronto FC Loss and Looks Ahead to Friendly

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11 years ago

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Tuesday night’s Orlando City Coach’s Show with Adrian Heath featured discussion about Sunday night’s 2-0 loss against Toronto FC. It was the club’s second consecutive loss, following a 3-0 defeat at Columbus a week prior.

Toronto FC Game

Sunday night’s poor performance was surprising to Heath, who expected more out of his team. “I didn’t see the performance coming,” Heath said. He went on to say that, despite losses to D.C. United and the Vancouver Whitecaps, the Lions have controlled each home game. But he never felt that his team was in control of this match.

Overall, Heath says that Sunday's performance was the worst performance of the season. "The supporters have been incredible," Heath said of the unwavering support from the fans, and that the team wanted to bring those fans their first three home points this season.

After a good week of training, Heath felt confident coming into the game. The team spoke about how Toronto would be looking to catch them on the break but it didn't sink in. "We didn't really listen to what we spoke about before the game," Heath said.

"At the end of the day, we didn't play well." Heath says that in the middle of the park, "two or three players probably had their worst game of the season." Three games earlier, D.C. United employed the same strategy, but the team was able to overcome it by moving the ball quickly through the midfield.

Going into the game, the Lions knew Toronto would fill the middle of the field, leaving space on the wing for Tyler Turner and Brek Shea. Despite this, the Lions failed to get the ball to them in space. “We put those areas on the magnetic board” in the dressing room. Heath summarized by saying his team “played into their strength.”

Overall, Heath said of the performance, "We made poor choices all evening." Heath says the team tried to force play through the middle, playing into their strengths. Brek Shea had 25 to 30 yards to work with, but they never got the ball to him.

Heath was disappointed that they got caught on quick restarts multiple times during the game, stating that on the break they could have gotten two or three more. Despite talking about that at halftime, the team still wasn't prepared for it.

However, with that game over and several important games upcoming Heath says that "we have to put that to bed and move on and move forward."

Frustration Level

Heath says it's been frustrating losing games, but that you can't hold onto them. You have to take what's given to you and move on. "I want to look forward to what is in front of us."

Carlos Rivas

When asked about the young Colombian forward/winger Carlos Rivas, Heath said it's been a tough start as the 20-year-old has had a stop-start season thus far. Due to several injuries, his season hasn't really started yet. Heath still is happy to have the player and thinks he can still give the team an explosive impact when healthy. "The fact that we nicked him before some big clubs in Europe speaks of what we were trying to do."

Young Players

Rivas is just one of many young players in the team this season and Heath talked about the tough transition for young players adjusting to the professional game. It's a lot to take for young kids to move away from home where you don't know anyone and don't know the language. As for the club's first round draft pick Cyle Larin, "the difference between a 22-year-old college players and MLS is night and day."

Loans to Louisville

One of the options Orlando City has is to send players on loan to Louisville City FC, the club's USL affiliate. The plan was originally to send players to Louisville but injuries have nullified that option. When the show's host and Orlando City radio color commentator Tom Traxler jokingly asked Heath if they were close to putting in former Lion and current assistant coach Ian Fuller when the team had only three subs in Montreal, Heath replied "we were never that close."

Martin Paterson

A player that's been sorely missed is 27-year-old striker Martin Paterson. The Northern Ireland international was originally going to be the starter, giving the other young strikers an opportunity to grow into the position, but injuries have delayed his arrival. Heath said he's been very frustrated and that Pato has had "little niggling injuries" rather than larger ones, keeping him out for several months. "It's always been enough to keep him away."

Of Paterson's on-field potential, Heath is excited at the prospect of adding the veteran to the lineup. Heath mentioned seeing him play internationally against Russia where he was the best player on the field. "We've got to be patient and wait," Heath says about Paterson's injury woes. "We certainly need him."

Corners

A major problem for Orlando City this season has been corners. Historically, the Lions have been quite successful converting corners, but that's changed in their inaugural MLS season. Heath says sometimes it's the delivery that's the problem and sometimes it's the runs in the box, but it's the worst it's been in his five years in Orlando, labeling it "pretty disappointing."

Much of that disappointment comes from the fact that Kaká is often the deliverer of the corners, which are usually well taken. But when he puts in a good ball, "we're invariably in the wrong position." On Friday, the team worked for 20-30 minutes specifically on where each player should be, but when the game came around, they weren't in the right positions.

Bringing the Players Back

Despite the recent struggles, Heath is pleased with where the team currently sits. He says that everyone needs to remember that "we're still an expansion team," but still in a playoff position. It's not easy bringing in 23 new players, and Heath says that in three months' time, if they're still having the same problems, then people can complain.

Even though Sunday’s performance was bad, Heath says that the word to describe the season thus far is “satisfactory.” “Sunday was bad. How many more have been bad?” Heath reiterates that it’s important to move on from the disappointment because the next three or four games are very important, with the next three league games coming against some of the league’s top teams in New England Revolution, D.C. United, and LA Galaxy.

Community Involvement

One of the positives this season is the continuation of the club's commitment to serving the community. "We probably do more than anyone in the league" Heath says. Most of the players are doing 70 to 80 hours of community service.

Dennis Chin

A question via Twitter from someone identifying themselves as "DC" asked about former Lion and cult hero Dennis Chin. "Chinny was fantastic for us in USL," Heath says of the original Lion. He said the coaches spoke with him while he was in Orlando but that he had reached the level of what he was willing to give to get better. "I love Dennis to bits," Heath says, "same with Rob Valentino and Miguel Gallardo. They were exceptional for this club."

Players Pressing Too Hard For a Home Win

Having yet to win at home or score a goal from open play, Heath was asked if the players were pressing too hard to provide for the home support. "Sometimes," Heath admits. He said last week is an example of that, and it's something they've spoken about. Sometimes they just need to be more patient.

Frustration of Older Players in Young Squad

Heath was asked if some of the older players get frustrated with the younger players who are still developing. "You sometimes get that." But Heath says that you have to have a mixture of both veterans and young players or you'll be rebuilding again in two years.

The plan is that everyone moves up. The club would like to have a squad that can remain around for a while but, while some players will leave, it's important to have players already around to take those vacant positions.

Timing of Runs

When issue brought up during the show was the frequent offside calls against striker Cyle Larin. While Heath said Larin does appear offside too often, "sometimes being offside some of the time isn't a bad thing to make defenders think you always offside." As an example, Heath uses former AC Milan and Italy striker Filippo Inzaghi, who former Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson once described as "born offside." But that's not what Cyle is attempting to do.

Everton 1984 FA Cup Song

In a lighter moment, a fan played Everton FC's 1984 FA Cup song featuring Heath, which has recently been spreading around Orlando City fans. Heath was willing to sing part of the song before mentioning proudly that the song reached number four in the charts in the UK.

Playing a Friendly Now

On whether playing a friendly at this moment in time was a good idea, Heath said it’s actually a good time. Some guys need some rest, such as Brek Shea, who has been juggling both club and international duty. It’s also a good opportunity to get some players who haven’t played much an opportunity to get on the field. Heath mentioned Conor Donovan, Tommy Redding, Tyler Turner, Harrison Heath, and Estrela as players fans can expect to see Saturday night against Ponte Preta.

Current Expectations of Players

When asked of his expectations of his players, having played eight games now, Heath said that those expectations haven't changed. Heath still has no doubt his team can make the playoffs, which has always been the aim. Heath says his side was better than Vancouver, which leads the west, better than D.C. which leads the east, and that the team is right on track, currently sitting in a playoff spot. They just need to bring in some players to get them over the line.

Stadium

On Tuesday afternoon, news broke that the Florida House of Representatives adjourned three days early without balancing the budget, which would give the club the $30 million sales tax rebate needed to finish the new $115 million stadium in downtown Orlando. While Orlando City’s Vice President of Communications Lenny Santiago said they were very disappointed in the House’s decision, the club is not giving up. They left important issues on the table which still need to be resolved, and the club will make sure the $30 million, which has already been added to the budget for the specific purpose of the stadium, is one of those issues.

The club is currently working on the next steps toward making sure they get the money they were promised a year ago. The state needs to have a balanced budget before July, so they will call a special session in June to do so. Santiago made it clear that the club would be returning to Tallahassee in June to push their agenda.

Why Water Turf?

Many fans have wondered why the Citrus Bowl turf is watered pregame as it doesn't grow. Heath said the watering of the turf makes the ball move quicker on the ground. That's something that helps a team like Orlando City which always attempts to play the ball on the ground.

Ponte Preta Friendly

This week's Coach's Show wrapped up with a discussion about the Ponte Preta friendly coming up this Saturday night. The friendly will be included as part of the season ticket package. It will be considered one of the three "bonus games," which are in addition to the 17 regular season games. Heath said it's exciting to have a team coming in that has "lots of history and lots of tradition." He said the fact that they play in the top league in Brazil means they are a quality opponent.

While this isn't a particularly important game for him, Heath said this will be the most important game of the season for several players that have lacked playing time. While some players such as Kaká and Aurélien Collin are out of town, this is a chance for several younger players to prove they deserve minutes in league games. Tickets for that game are still available.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Orlando City restarts its 2026 MLS campaign late tonight out west at San Jose.

Published

2 weeks ago

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July 22, 2026

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Image of Braian Ojeda taking a shot in a friendly against FC Dallas.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread for a late night midweek matchup tonight between Orlando City (4-9-2, 14 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-2, 32 points) at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams in 2026 and the first time the teams have met since 2024.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s match.

History

Orlando City is 3-1-3 in the previous seven MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions got their only away win in the series in the last meeting and enter tonight 1-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The teams last met on May 18, 2024, with Jack Lynn coming off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Lynn’s strike in the 89th minute broke the scoreless deadlock and lifted the Lions to a 1-0 victory.

The teams met in Orlando most recently way back on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.

Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.

The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.

The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.

In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.

The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.

Overview

The teams meet tonight to get their post-World Cup portion of the season started. Orlando City has been terrible on the road all season long, keeping only one MLS opponent under two goals all year away from home and allowing five goals twice (at New York City FC and Nashville) and six goals twice (at LAFC and in the team’s most recent match away at FC Cincinnati just before the break).

Orlando City is a putrid 1-6-1 on the road this season, and now the Lions must face the Western Conference co-leaders tonight before coming home to face Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at home on Saturday. They’ll have to play at least tonight’s game without Martin Ojeda, who is out with a thigh injury sustained some time between his first-half goal a week ago in a friendly against FC Dallas and the time the availability report dropped on Tuesday.

But it isn’t all bad news for the Lions, who should have both Antoine Griezmann and Dike in the lineup. Griezmann was the club’s highly prized and widely publicized summer Designated Player signing, while Dike’s return to Orlando came together more recently, following his departure from West Bromwich Albion. They’ll help the club’s offense, but the attack hasn’t been the issue in 2026 — it’s been the historically porous defense, which is on pace to shatter the MLS record for goals conceded.

Meanwhile, San Jose is one of the first half of the season’s biggest surprises, as the Quakes have been outstanding in 2026. Scoring 34 goals while conceding just 15, San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (tied for third), goals conceded (third), and goal differential (+19, third).

The Earthquakes are 4-2-1 at home and are coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland in their last game prior to the World Cup break. San Jose boasts Golden Boot challenger Preston Judd, who leads the Quakes with 11 goals, adding two assists in his 15 appearances. Ousseni Bouda has chipped in five goals and three assists. Niko Tsakiris leads the team with seven assists to go along with his two goals, but he’s still recovering from a lower body injury and is not available tonight. However, the arrival of Timo Werner (four goals and five assists in just seven games) has truly elevated Bruce Arena’s Quakes, and he’ll need to be one of the main focal points for the Orlando defense.

To have any shot at taking something from this game, the Lions will need to play better road defense than they have all season. Orlando can score goals, but with Ojeda out, Griezmann will need to adapt quickly, and someone other than the team’s leading scorer will need to find the net.

The Lions will play without Ojeda (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty). In addition, Marco Pasalic may or may not have returned to the team after the World Cup. He was not in training Monday, although interim head coach Martin Perelman said he expected the Croatian back soon. The Earthquakes will be without Nonso Adimabua (lower body), former Lion Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body), DeJuan Jones (lower body), and Tsakiris (you guessed it, lower body…come on, San Jose).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer

San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn.

Defenders: Jamar Ricketts, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic.

Defensive Midfielders: Beau Lerouox, Ronaldo Vieira.

Attacking Midfielders: Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez, Ousseni Bouda.

Forwards: Preston Judd.

Bench: Jonathan Gonzalez, Dave Romney, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan, Jack Jasinski, Ian Harkes, Francesco Montali, Max Floriani, Darius Johnson.

Referees

REF: Elijio Arreguin.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Timothy Ford.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 542: Tampa Bay Friendly, McGuire Traded, OCB Beats Cincinnati, and More

Lions maul the Rowdies in friendly action, OCB wins on the road, and it’s transfer season.

Published

3 weeks ago

on

July 14, 2026

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Image of Antoine Griezmann and Ivan Angulo celebrating a goal in a friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City welcomed I-4 Derby rival Tampa Bay to Inter&Co Stadium for a friendly match on Wednesday and then proceeded to bludgeon the Rowdies with a couple of hammers named Antoine Griezmann and Justin Ellis. The two attackers combined for a goal and four assists in a 6-0 beatdown of the team from the Gulf Coast, with five different Lions scoring and Griffin Dorsey forcing an own goal. We discuss Griezmann’s first minutes with Orlando City, what the team showed in its formation, and how good Justin Ellis’ vision is.

Oh, and it’s also transfer season now. Duncan McGuire is on his way out and Marco Pasalic reportedly will follow soon, while a new left back may be headed from Spain to Orlando.

Following all of that, we discuss Maxime Crepeau being added to the MLS All-Star Team and the announcement that he’ll participate in the 2026 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge.

Our mailbagbox asked us about which World Cup semifinalist players we’d want to join Orlando this season (if we could only pick one), and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

After the mailbagbox, we dive into OCB’s 2-1 road win at FC Cincinnati 2. It wasn’t the prettiest game by the Young Lions, but they managed to do enough to earn three points on the road, where they’ll stay to face Chattanooga on Saturday. We briefly preview that game.

Finally, Orlando City will be in Dallas Wednesday for the second of two friendlies leading up to the restart of the MLS season. It’s unlikely we’ll get a lot of details about that one, but we’ll see what happens. Maybe the FC Dallas folks will help us out.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 542 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City crushed the Rowdies, the transfer season is in full swing, plus: hey now, Crepeau’s an all-star.

28:50 – The mailbagbox is always good for a hypothetical scenario.

36:54 – The Young Lions slipped past Cincy and head to Chattanooga, while the senior Lions head to Dallas.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 119: International Break, USWNT, Louisville Preview, and More

The Pride return from a long international break looking to get their first-ever road win against Racing Louisville.

Published

3 months ago

on

April 22, 2026

By

Image of Haley McCutcheon scoring the opening goal in Orlando's home playoff win over Seattle.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

It feels like months since the Orlando Pride last took the field, but the calendar says otherwise. If you believe calendars, it’s only been a little less than three weeks, but time moves strangely in the post-pandemic apocalyptic world.

Anyway, we don’t have a match to recap, so we touched on a couple of Pride players putting the ball in the net during the international break and chat a bit about the United States Women’s National Team’s three-game friendly series against Japan. Emma Hayes used a lot of players, and the team looked solid for two of the three matches, but the rotated middle game seemed a bit disjointed. Hayes has greatly expanded the player pool and will have plenty of options when the World Cup approaches.

Our mailbagbox had questions about a potential change in the NWSL schedule, as the league explores adopting the fall-to-spring slate, and opposition own goals. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

After the mailbagbox, we turned our attention toward Friday’s late afternoon tussle with Racing Louisville in Kentucky. The Pride have never won on the road against Louisville, and it’s about high time they did. This match begins a congested push to the June World Cup break, and although Friday’s hosts aren’t high in the table, the Pride must be at their best to get a road result in this fixture. We look back at the series history, compare the two sides, provide our key matchups in the game, and make our final score predictions.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how Episode 119 went down:

0:15 – We open the show with a little banter about the Pride in the international break and the USWNT’s series vs. Japan.

9:03 – The mailbagbox features questions via both eletronic mail and social media. We welcome all modes of delivery.

19:59 – The Pride travel to Louisville to face Racing. They’ve never won in Kentucky, but we inform them how to do so.

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