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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Real Salt Lake: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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10 years ago

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It was a tale of two halves, as Orlando City lost Kaká to a red card near the close of the first half. Before the card, fans of both clubs were treated to two special goals, with the Lions striking first and early.

It looked like Real Salt Lake would score first, with Tally Hall turning back a close shot, only to see the Lions run and make a chance of their own a minute later. Kaká used perfect timing and a fantastic through ball from Pedro Riberio to lift all the fans back in Orlando looking for some fireworks on this Fourth of July match-up.

Real Salt Lake gave the 20,956 home fans something to cheer for with Tony Beltran’s well-placed pass across the box, finding Sebastián Jaime for a header to bury it past a very in form Tally Hall.

The game changed completely when Orlando talisman Kaká received his marching orders for what is being called a “serious foul” on Morales. Just the second time in his career that Kaká has seen a straight red, and just the third time he’s ever been sent off in his career. City fans will be curious to hear the thinking behind the sending off for sure. While he went in aggressively to take the ball back, the ill intentions of the stamp on Morales is very questionable.

Orlando came out aggressive in the second half, keeping Salt Lake on their toes and away from Tally Hall’s goal for most of the start of the first half. The second half became an operation of efficiency, as Orlando successfully killed off the game in the last 20 minutes to hold on for the draw. Most of the grades reflect a team that did its best to hold on to a draw, on the road, in front of an impressive home crowd, and while down a man. Despite any grade the players get in this one, a sincere round of applause for holding on to this one, boys.

Player Grades

G, Tally Hall, 8.5 (MOTM) — Unanimous choice among the people watching at my house, The Mane Land staff, and Real Salt Lake’s broadcast announcers (watching on MLSLive). Hall had huge save after huge save, while keeping his back line steady throughout an onslaught of late attacks and near misses from Real Salt Lake. Not a lot he could do on the goal against, either. Hall is in fantastic form right now going into a key stretch of the season.

D, Luke Boden, 6.5 — Good night for Boden without being a standout night. Thought for sure he would open his MLS scoring account in the second half, a goal that would only further endear the left back to the fans, but it took a deflection.

D, Sean St. Ledger, 7— A hard-hat shift for the Irish international tonight. Combined with Hall and Hines to form the bulwark that frustrated Salt Lake all night long. A couple of crucial tackles and good man marking helped the Lions bring home a valuable road point. A little casual stepping up to guard the entry pass that resulted in the goal, but he could have also played is a lot worse had he been too aggressive. Oh, and he nearly scored the winner in the 63rd minute.

D, Seb Hines, 7 — Really unlucky not to have hit the back of the net on beautiful header from a well placed Rivas corner. Active on defense, he and St. Ledger continue to find their chemistry. On the goal, his defense is hard to fault on a well placed header from a nice ball in. Once Collin comes back from injury, Orlando looks to have a potent three man rotation at the central back position.

D, Rafael Ramos, 6 — Honestly, I think the grade of a 6 is a bit harsh for a player that didn’t do too much wrong and helped the defense hold on for the road draw. Still, not much positive from Ramos tonight. His runs never seemed to materialize, while he looked desperate and lucky on defense. Still the youngster can be satisfied with his effort tonight.

MF, Lewis Neal, 5.5 — Quiet night for Neal. Did what he needed to do to help the team hold the draw but never looked to do more than the minimum.

MF, Cristian Higuita, 4 — Really rough night for Cristian. He earned his yellow card, and probably did enough over the course of the second half to earn another. Missed the ball and luckily the player in the box for what could have been lights out for Orlando on a wild sliding challenge. This will be a game to put behind him and hope he can call it a rough night and find the form he’s had in the past few weeks again.

MF, Carlos Rivas, 7– A solid performance from the speed merchant tonight. The complexity of the game after Orlando went a man down meant it would always be a challenging night for Rivas. Without his running mate Kaká in the second half he became the lone striker, swapping spots with Ribeiro. He fought hard and looked dangerous, but not as much as he has in the past few games. This game keeps his run of good form going, one that will need to continue with Kaká set to miss the next game through suspension.

MF, Kaká, 6 — A tale of extremes for the captain tonight. His goal during the opening stanzas of the match was as beautiful as they come. The red card, only the third of his career, was a bit of a shock. The ref went for yellow first it seemed but changed his thinking to red after his linesman made him aware of a stomp to Javi Morales. Not sure of the intention, but either way the Brazilian had a short shift tonight and left his teammates to fight on without him at the end of the first half.

MF, Eric Avila, 7 — Good shift for the midfielder, looked active and energetic. Stayed engaged once the game shifted in Real Salt Lake’s favor. His play in the defensive end helped alleviate some of the constant pressure on the back line. He also can take some credit for the pass that set up the Riberio assist.

F, Pedro Ribeiro, 6.5 — Set up Kaká with the perfect through ball for the goal, but not much else worked for Riberio on the evening. The aggressiveness and creativity were there, but he seemed to lack a bit of luck. After Orlando went down to 10 men he seemed to disappear in a more defensive midfield role.

Substitutes

M, Amobi Okugo (90′), N/A — Heath kept an offensive set on the field despite the red card, meaning Okugo only saw minutes once the draw seemed the right result for the evening.

* * *

So there we have it. Your Lions remain in the playoff hunt, but face a number of challenging games in the coming weeks with Gold Cup call-ups, key injuries, and now Kaká’s red card. These will be the times that test this team the most.

Polling Closed

Player Votes
Tally Hall 129
Sean St. Ledger 5
Seb Hines 1
Other (pleas specify in the comments) 4
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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.

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1 hour ago

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January 22, 2025

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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.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/22/25

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

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4 hours ago

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January 22, 2025

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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!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/21/25

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

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1 day ago

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January 21, 2025

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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!

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