Orlando City
Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Final Score 5-3 as Cyle Larin’s Hat Trick Not Enough In Lions’ Third Straight Loss
Rookie striker Cyle Larin scored a hat trick, but it was not enough for Orlando City to overcome its poor defending, as the Lions lost in their first trip to Yankee Stadium, 5-3, on Sunday afternoon.
BRONX, NY — The Pirlo party was on, but it was David Villa that brought Yankee Stadium to life. A brace from the Spanish forward helped push New York City FC to a 5-3 win over expansion rivals Orlando City on Sunday afternoon in front of a packed Yankee Stadium crowd of 32,041.
The two-goal performance from Villa, however, may have been overshadowed by the Major League Soccer debut of Andrea Pirlo, who entered the game as a sub in the 56th minute, and drew massive roars from the crowd each time he touched the ball.
With Rafael Ramos reportedly picking up a knock in training to his thigh, Orlando came out in an unconventional 3-4-3 formation with center backs Sean St. Ledger, Aurelien Collin and Seb Hines all playing, and Corey Ashe and Eric Avila playing wingback positions. Orlando City Assistant Coach Mark Watson piloted the club with Adrian Heath suspended.
The small width of the pitch put both teams off to a slow start, as Orlando City (6-9-6, 24 points) was forced to adjust to the field metrics and sight lines after playing most of their games this season on the larger Citrus Bowl turf.
Orlando City’s biggest chance of the first half happened to also be the team’s first and only, when Cyle Larin battled for a loose ball at the top of the NYFC penalty area, appearing to win the ball cleanly before putting a shot past Josh Saunders. Larin was instead, however, called for a foul, and the goal was waved off.
Trying to get something going, Villa did his best Carli Lloyd impression, trying to chip a pulled-out Tally Hall from midfield, but had no success recreating the moment.
Villa did, however, work enough magic to put New York City FC (6-9-6, 24 points) on the board in the 45th minute, just before the half. Bringing down a pass over his head with a perfect touch, he made St. Ledger spin around, then placed a perfect shot to Hall’s right inside the near post.
A game that went into halftime 1-0, only got much wilder from there.
After the Lions failed to put either of their two shots on target in the first half, Larin put Orlando City on the board for the first time in MLS play since Kaká’s opening goal against Real Salt Lake on July 4, finishing off a nicely placed shot inside the penalty area after the captain’s over-the-head flick from the midfield set up him in a 1-on-1 with an NYCFC defender.
Larin won the battle, but the war wasn’t over for the home side.
New York answered back just three minutes later with a wide-open, far-post goal from Javier Calle, putting his team back in control, 2-1. Calle slipped behind City’s back line and Thomas McNamara found him for a tap-in.
With Yankee Stadium still surging from Pirlo’s entrance into the game, Larin again silenced the large Bronx crowd with another game-tying goal. This time, Carlos Rivas got on the end of a great pass from midfielder Darwin Ceren and sent a ball from the end line across the box that found an open Larin for the score in the 62nd minute.
Rivas nearly put Orlando City in front seconds later, sending a good chance wide of the target.
Villa scored his second goal of the match in the 67th, then McNamara doubled the lead with an easy score directly in front of goal. Defensive breakdowns all around the field cost Orlando City, most notably here, with McNamara completely unmarked on the left side of the field.
The Lions nearly pulled one back on Servando Carrasco’s drive that goalkeeper Saunders tapped just wide. Carrasco, making his first start with Orlando City, didn’t get a lot of power behind the shot but the placement was on frame and only a diving save prevented the tying goal.
Orlando City was able to fight back one last time when Larin completed his first career hat trick with his ninth goal of the season in the 85th minute, setting a new Lions MLS record for goals in a match.
With a late free kick just outside of the penalty area, Kaká came within inches of leveling the score yet again. His curling free kick bounced off of the right post and was headed out of the box, starting a 3-on-1 NYCFC break. Mix Diskerud officially put the knife in the coffin on the quick counter with a tap-in goal in stoppage time that made it a 5-3 game.
“It’s obviously disappointing,” Watson said after the match. “We had a chance to make it 4-4 in the 93rd minute. So to come off losing the game 5-3 is disappointing. Defensively, we weren’t quite good enough, conceding five goals, but I think the fight back on a couple of occasions was good from our guys, and that’s what we’ll take out of the game.”
For Orlando City, it was the most goals conceded in an MLS game, making it arguably their worst defensive performance of this expansion season. The seven combined goals in the second 45 minutes were the most scored in a half in MLS play this season.
Following Wednesday’s MLS All-Star Game, the Lions will return home this weekend, having dropped four straight matches across all competitions and on a 0-3-1 MLS run. City will look to rebound against a very tough Columbus Crew side at the Citrus Bowl on Saturday.
Lion Links
Lion Links: 12/25/24
Orlando Pride make everyone’s ‘nice’ list, the USMNT’s new attitude, Boxing Day matches, and more.
Merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah, Mane Landers! One of the great things about soccer is that unlike other sports, there are matches being played somewhere nearly every day of the year. It truly is something for which I’m grateful. That also means there’s soccer news even on a big holiday, making my job here a bit easier. As such, let’s get to the links.
Orlando Pride Still Tops
It doesn’t matter what list you mention when it comes to women’s soccer, the Orlando Pride will be on it. If you follow women’s soccer — and I don’t know why you wouldn’t — 2024 brought plenty of gifts. Obviously, Marta lifting a pair of trophies was big news in the world of women’s soccer. The arrival of Barbra Banda and Temwa Chawinga to the NWSL was also pretty significant. Enjoy all of this as long as you can. I know I will.
USMNT Savageness
Weston McKennie is loving the attitude that Mauricio Pochettino is bringing to the USMNT. Some have felt that the U.S. has played too timidly before his arrival. Now, McKennie feels he’s bringing a savageness and a bit of South American attitude to the team. Previously, the USMNT was known for being physical if not technical. Perhaps McKennie and his generation can bring both to the table.
Premier League Holiday Cheer
Thursday is a big matchday in the English Premier League. If you’re lucky enough to not have to go to work, there will be plenty of Boxing Day matches to enjoy. Liverpool is top of the table this Christmas, in large part to the efforts of Mo Salah, who became the first player in Premier League history to reach double figures for goals and assists before Christmas.
Given it’s the holiday season, I’m certain that all the EPL clubs want something in their stockings. Of course, if you’re not adding pieces you might fall behind. There are players that each club could add to help in the pursuit of glory.
Rioters Sentenced
Five of the 60 people detained after riots outside the UEFA Europa League match between the Dutch side Ajax and Israel’s Maccabi Tel-Aviv in November have been sentenced by an Amsterdam District Court. The perpetrators’ punishment ran from community service to six months in prison. The altercation took place between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli football fans. Five people were sent to the hospital and 20 others sustained minor injuries. I truly wish this type of thing would stop at soccer matches — or anywhere for that matter.
Free Kicks
- Gotham FC has signed Ghanaian midfielder Stella Nyamekye from Dreamz Ladies FC of the Ghana Women’s Premier League.
- U.S. Soccer has updated its plan for youth soccer player registration. Leagues will be able to determine whether they want to use birth year or school year age depending on local need.
- Pep Guardiola has been impressive at Manchester City, but he’s still quite a bit behind Sir Alex Ferguson when it comes to Premier League titles. It’s not looking good for him to catch him either, with Manchester City losing nine of its last 12 matches.
- Could Mesa, AZ be in line for a MLS franchise? Outgoing Mesa Mayor John Giles has done everything he can to make it happen.
That will do it for today. If you celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a wonderful time giving and receiving gifts this morning. If Hanukkah is your thing, enjoy all eight days and nights. Kwanzaa? Enjoy every day from Thursday through Jan. 1. Festivus celebrators, you should already have done your feats of strength and airing of grievances. If you don’t celebrate any particular holidays, I hope you had a peaceful, relaxing morning. Just know that we here at The Mane Land are grateful for the gift of your readership.
Orlando City
Top 10 Moments of 2024: Facundo Torres Breaks Lions’ All-Time Goal Record
In our No. 8 moment of the year, Facundo Torres sets a new Orlando City career record for goals scored.
As we count down to the new year of 2025 — which will be Orlando City’s 11th in MLS, the Orlando Pride’s 10th in the NWSL, and OCB’s third in MLS NEXT Pro — and say goodbye to 2024, it’s time to look back at the club’s 10 best moments of the year as selected by The Mane Land staff via vote.
The 2024 season will always be a bittersweet one when it comes to remembering the contributions of Uruguayan winger Facundo Torres. He once again started the season slowly before locking in over the summer and dazzling crowds, befuddling opponents, and doing impressive things with a soccer ball on behalf of Orlando City SC.
He helped the team get to the second round of the Concacaf Champions League/Cup and to the Eastern Conference final — the first time the club accomplished either achievement. Then he left, transferring to Palmeiras just days before Christmas. He may be gone, but the transfer funds and open Designated Player slot the sale brought the club may yet make for even more success on the field in the seasons to come.
Torres put together another brilliant season, starting by scoring a brace in the team’s Champions Cup opener against Cavalry FC on Feb. 21. Here’s the first of those goals:
He added a nice header later to put the game away. The brace had many fans dreaming that he wouldn’t take until the summer to get into a groove during his third year in Orlando like he did in his first two seasons. But then he didn’t score again in the run of play until the fourth minute of a May 29 road game against the Chicago Fire. That isn’t to say he didn’t find the net in March or April. He scored from the penalty spot once in each of those months — at Tigres March 12 and at Montreal April 20 — but it wasn’t the hot start fans were hoping for.
Torres did, however, settle in eventually and had himself a season. In fact, he broke Cyle Larin’s club record for most goals in a season across all competitions, by hitting the net 20 times in 2024. He scored 14 times in the regular season, twice in the MLS Cup playoffs, three times in Champions Cup play, and once in Leagues Cup. That doesn’t even count his made penalties in the postgame shootouts against Cruz Azul or Charlotte FC (in Game 3).
As usual, he did most of his damage in the second half of the year, when he helped the club put together a remarkable run of form that lifted the Lions from near the bottom of the conference to fourth place by season’s end. During the team’s final 17 games, Torres scored 11 of his 14 regular-season goals and posted three braces. The light switch seemed to be flipped in the first game of the second half of Orlando City’s 2024 season. After just three goals in the first 17 games — one in the run of play and two from the penalty spot (he also missed a penalty for the first time in his career in Game 17 against LAFC) — Torres scored three goals in the next two matches, helping the Lions to a comeback draw at Charlotte and a 4-2 home win over the Chicago Fire, setting the tone for an 11-4-2 run in the second half.
His torrid run of form had him climbing the club’s scoring list all summer and that culminated in reaching the pinnacle of the team’s MLS era on Oct. 2, when he did this in the 57th minute at home against the Philadelphia Union:
As Torres goals go, it wasn’t one of his prettiest or most impressive, but it was his 45th as a Lion across all competitions, passing Larin’s career mark for Orlando City’s MLS era. It also helped propel the Lions to a 2-1 win over the Union, putting the team on the cusp of clinching home field in the first round of the playoffs. It was also Torres’ last regular-season goal with Orlando City. Bittersweet.
However, the Las Piedras, Uruguay, native wasn’t finished scoring in 2024. He notched the first goal of Orlando’s postseason run in the 32nd minute against Charlotte FC at home on Oct. 27 in a 2-0 win. Torres placed himself in the right spot at the right time, taking advantage of a deflected Rafael Santos cross that fell in front of him in the box. The winger blasted it off the underside of the crossbar and into the back of the net to open the scoring.
The goal drew him level with Dom Dwyer for the club’s all-time career goals mark when combining Orlando City’s USL and MLS eras.
He should have claimed that record for himself in Game 2 of the Charlotte series when he fired home in stoppage time on the road, but the flag came up for Nico Lodeiro being offside in the buildup — incorrectly, per the offside modeling Twitter account.
While the offside modeling site is hardly official, it illustrates how close the play was. Many teams tend to get the benefit of those types of calls and the flags stay down, but Orlando is generally not one of those teams.
However, he took sole possession of the record one match later, breaking the tie with Dwyer in the 12th minute of stoppage time of Game 3. The Lions trailed 1-0 and the season was on the brink when Duncan McGuire was pulled down in the box on a late set piece, injuring himself to the point he had off-season surgery to repair the labrum and rotator cuff in his shoulder. Torres took the ball and stepped to the spot to face one of the best goalkeepers in MLS, Kristijan Kahlina. The Croatian read Torres well and made the stop, but he couldn’t control the rebound. Torres got to it quickly, kept his composure, and fired it home to level the match.
It was not only an important strike, but it was also his 47th and final goal for Orlando City across all competitions, although he also calmly scored his penalty in the ensuing shootout to help send the Lions through to the conference semifinals against Atlanta United.
It’s fitting that Torres’ final Orlando City goal was such an important one, as he’s been such a big part of the team’s success over the past three seasons. He departed the club officially on Dec. 20 for a club-record transfer fee after scoring a total of 47 goals across all competitions. He added 25 assists in his time in purple, amassing a club-record 72 career goal contributions.
In a three-year Orlando career that was filled with highlight-reel plays, Torres brought a lot of joy to the club’s fans during his stay. His ascendance to the top of the club’s MLS and combined scoring lists is worthy of inclusion as one of our top moments of the season.
Come back through New Year’s Eve as we count down the remainder of the top 10 moments of 2024 for Orlando City, the Orlando Pride, and OCB.
Previous Top Moments of 2024
- 10. Orlando City’s massive second-half surge clinches top-four spot in Eastern Conference.
- 9. The Orlando Pride sign Zambian international striker Barbra Banda ahead of the 2024 season.
Lion Links
Lion Links: 12/24/24
MLS transfer roundup, Americans in midweek action, NWSL news galore, and more.
Happy Tuesday and merry Christmas Eve, everyone! I hope you’re all having a good start to your week and have some fun stuff planned for the upcoming holidays.
Before we get started with today’s links, we here at The Mane Land want to give a special shout out to Joe (a.k.a. fldatadude) for signing up for a Homegrown Player-level membership on our Buy Me a Coffee page. By signing up at one of our three levels of support, our readers and podcast listeners can enjoy added benefits in addition to keeping our bills paid so we can continue doing what we do.
Now we do have plenty of items to get to today, so let’s get into today’s news.
MLS Transfer News Roundup
Several MLS teams have been busy at work in the transfer market, so let’s break down the recent moves. LAFC signed free agent forward Jeremy Ebobisse to a three-year deal with an additional option year, adding more firepower to an already strong squad. The Portland Timbers also got some business done via free agency, as they signed winger Ariel Lassiter. FC Dallas acquired forward Anderson Julio from Real Salt Lake, with defender Sam Junqua and up to $500,000 in General Allocation Money going to RSL in exchange. Finally, Lorenzo Insigne has teased on his Instagram that he will play another season for Toronto FC in 2025.
Americans in Midweek Action
There are a number of Americans playing this week, so get everything marked down and enjoy some festive footy. Thursday’s Boxing Day slate features Americans heavily, with Chris Richards, Matt Turner, and Crystal Palace traveling to take on Tyler Adams and Bournemouth in Premier League play. Antonee Robinson and Fulham will play Chelsea that same day, while Brenden Aaronson and Leeds United face an unenviable trip to Stoke City to round things off on Thursday.
Keeping Up With NWSL Happenings
Let’s start our NWSL roundup with the San Diego Wave, which have reportedly hired Jonas Eidevall as their new head coach. The Swede most recently spent time coaching Arsenal and has reportedly been the Wave’s top choice for several weeks. We now move to the realm of fact, where Angel City FC has signed midfielder Macey Hodge to a two-year deal with an option for the 2027 season. Finally, expansion team BOS Nation FC agreed a lease with Boston Public Schools and the City of Boston that will allow the team to use White Stadium as its home ground starting in 2026.
European Transfer Rumor Mill
Europe’s club teams can’t do business quite yet, but rumors are flying thick and fast with January just around the corner. First up, Manchester United is said to be exploring a deal to sign Victor Osimhen in January, particularly with Marcus Rashford indicating that he wants out of the club. Staying in the Premier League, Christopher Nkunku’s agent has reportedly offered the forward’s services to Barcelona, as he hasn’t been starting for the Blues and wants a larger role. Finally, Bayern Munich is said to be closely monitoring Borussia Dortmund’s Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, which would add him to a long list of Dortmund players snapped up by the Bundesliga giants.
Free Kicks
- Christian Pulisic sees the funny side when people refer to him as the “LeBron James of soccer.”
- FIFPRO has accused FIFA of failing to reach consensus and is against FIFA’s temporary transfer changes following the judgement in Lassana Diarra’s case.
- At a time when more and more emphasis is being placed on dead ball situations, explore what goes into making a good set piece.
That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a very merry Christmas Eve!
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