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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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11 years ago

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Orlando City players can leave this game with their heads held high despite dropping two more points during this abysmal July-August stretch. For the first time since the win over Columbus on Aug. 1, the Lions were the better side and, aside from a few Chicago counters, completely controlled the match.

If not for some golden opportunities that went wanting, City would have grabbed all three points and stopped the bleeding with a victory on a night when it would have been far too easy to quit. Persistent rain, lightning delays and an early 1-0 deficit could not keep the Lions down, as Orlando battled for the full 90 minutes and always seemed the more likely team to score, save for a brief spell consisting of multiple Fire corner kicks.

Let’s get to our player grades and Man of the Match (and you can vote for your MotM in our poll below):

Starters

GK, Tally Hall, 6 – Perhaps could have done more on Accam’s goal in the 30th — getting beat at the near post from a severe angle — but made a diving one-handed stop to keep the game at 1-0 on Eric Gehrig’s header off a cheeky free kick play. Controlled his box well and made himself big when the speedy Chicago wingers and forwards beat their men wide.

D, Luke Boden, 6 – An uneven game for Bodz, who got forward more often than he has in recent matches, but wasn’t always sharp when doing so. In the 12th minute he sent a good ball forward for Rivas. Turned the ball over to Patrick Nyarko in the 32nd and then took a yellow card to thwart the counter. His corner kicks were only OK but he did have some good interchange with Carlos Rivas down the left.

D, Aurelien Collin, 6.5 – Badly missed a slide tackle, allowing a 2-on-1 early, but David Accam helped by losing the ball with no one around him. Busted up a Kennedy Igboananike rush and led the break late in the second half. Was strong in the air and finished with a team-high 84 touches, completing 81.8 percent of his passes.

D, David Mateos, 6 – A better outing than we’ve seen so far from the newcomer, although he fell asleep on a free kick and nearly let Gehrig score in the 34th minute. Won some important challenges when Chicago pushed forward but perhaps could have been better in the air on set pieces. A promising game, overall as he gets to know his teammates better.

D, Corey Ashe, 5.5 – Was abused in the 30th minute by Accam, giving up a goal from a seemingly harmless ball in the corner. Despite that tough moment, he rebounded to have a pretty good game, playing on the right instead of his favored left. Ashe’s crosses weren’t nearly as accurate coming off his right foot.

MF, Cristian Higuita, 7.5 (MOTM) – Was a force in the midfield much of the night, breaking up plays, and hustling all over the pitch. Had one of his strongest outings in a long time, avoiding rash challenges and getting involved in the offensive side, as well as picking out the right pass on most occasions. Completed 86.8 percent of his passes, won a game-high five tackles and won as many fouls as he conceded (two of each).

MF, Darwin Ceren, 5.5 – Started the match very slowly, giving the ball away in the fourth minute that led to a chance for Accam. Lost track of Gehrig on a free kick in the 15th minute, but luckily the defender headed it high. Generally passed poorly much of the game, however, he played much better in the final 30 minutes than in the first 60, including a late blast in stoppage time that forced a Sean Johnson save. Sent Rivas up the left side with a perfect long ball in the 57th for maybe his finest moment of the match.

MF, Carlos Rivas, 6.5 – Used his speed well in the first half. Drew a foul on a frustrated Gehrig in the 44th minute. Provided a great cross to set up Kaká all alone at the top of the box in the 57th, but the captain missed the shot. Worked some magic in the 70th to earn a corner, beating two Fire players with a move into the area. A positive outing that the young Colombian can build on, although he still misses too many shots high and he was given a brilliant chance late, only to knock it off the outside of the post.

MF, Kaká, 6 – The captain certainly worked as hard as we’ve seen but it didn’t translate into much in the way of chances. Missed a golden opportunity from the top of the box at 57′ off a beautiful feed from Carlos Rivas. Drew a free kick in a good spot in the 80th. Passing accuracy won’t reflect some of the runs he expected to be made, but weren’t. But he helped the club control the middle of the pitch, which led to Orlando’s 62.7 percent possession.

MF, Lewis Neal, 4 – Provided outstanding service on the own-goal in the 37th, but blew a golden chance in the 42nd minute when Larin gave him the ball on a platter — and he skied it over the bar. Overall, it was a tough night for Neal, who turned the ball over too cheaply with frequency. He did manage to draw a free kick and a yellow on Kennedy Ibgoananike in the 77th with a nice touch but it was certainly not Neal’s best outing.

F, Cyle Larin, 7 – Got into dangerous positions from the game’s first moments. He missed the net on a chance after a nice run in the sixth minute and his hustle in the 10th led to a corner. He got loose in the box in the 37th minute and his presence and positioning helped create Gehrig’s own-goal. The goal will be reviewed to see if Larin’s touch directed it on frame before it hit Gehrig’s shoulder, but even if he doesn’t get credit for it, he made it happen. Undressed Gehrig in the 81st with his final involvement of the game, and fed Rivas a sitter that the Colombian hit off the outside of the woodwork.

Substitutes

F, Pedro Ribeiro (82′), N/A – Had one nice interchange with Carlos Rivas in the late going but didn’t have a chance to impact the match with only three touches.

MF, Servando Carrasco (86′), N/A – Came on late for Cristian Higuita and touched the ball five times.

Polling Closed

Player Votes
Carlos Rivas 19
Aurelien Collin 4
Cyle Larin 30
Cristian Higuita 43
Luke Boden 2
Other (tell us who, in the comments) 3
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Lion Links

Lion Links: 7/6/26

Pride fall to Angel City, OCB draw Crown Legacy, World Cup roundup, and more.

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2 hours ago

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July 6, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope you all had a great Fourth of July holiday weekend down in Florida. I was busy working over the weekend, but I got to check out a fireworks show at Wrigley Field. Let’s wish a happy belated birthday to Orlando City B goalkeeper Juan Rojas, who turned 18 Saturday. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Pride Fall to Angel City

The Orlando Pride fell 2-0 to Angel City FC at BMO Stadium Friday in their first match after the month-long World Cup break. Maiara Niehues scored the opener for Angel City in the first half. Sveindis Jonsdottir added another goal for Angel City to seal the win. With Barba Banda sidelined with a thigh injury, Orlando struggled to get anything going offensively and couldn’t get the ball out of its own end throughout the match. That result keeps the Pride in eighth, one point ahead of Angel City in the NWSL table. The Pride will look to bounce back at home Friday, facing the Kansas City Current at Inter&Co Stadium.

OCB Falls in Penalty Shootout After 1-1 Draw vs. Crown Legacy

Orlando City B overturned a 1-0 deficit to secure a 1-1 draw against Crown Legacy on the road at the Sportsplex at Matthews Sunday. After a scoreless first half, all the goals came in the second half. Crown Legacy struck first to take the lead, but Dylan Judelson leveled the match for the Young Lions. Crown Legacy won the penalty shootout 4-2 to earn a second point. OCB will be back on the road to take on FC Cincinnati 2 Sunday at NKU Soccer Stadium in Highland Heights, KY.

Crepeau and Canada Shut Out by Morocco in World Cup

The World Cup Round of 16 kicked off Saturday, with Canada falling 3-0 to Morocco at NRG Stadium in Houston. Orlando City goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau got the start for Canada. Former Lions Cyle Larin and Richie Laryea were in action as well. After a scoreless first half, Azzedine Ounahi scored twice in the second half for Morocco to take a 2-0 lead. Soufiane Rahimi added the insurance goal in stoppage time to put this match away as Morocco booked a spot in the quarterfinals, while Canada’s run in the tournament came to an end.

World Cup Roundup

In the other matchups from the Round of 16 over the weekend, Kylian Mbappe scored from the penalty spot for the only goal of the match in France’s 1-0 win against Paraguay Saturday. Orlando City midfielder Braian Ojeda was on the bench but did not play. On Sunday, Erling Haaland scored twice to help Norway edge Brazil 2-1 to reach the quarterfinals for the first time, and Jude Bellingham scored twice for England in a 3-2 win against Mexico. France will play Morocco, while England takes on Norway in the quarterfinals. Today’s Round of 16 matchups feature Spain facing Portugal and the U.S. Men’s National Team taking on Belgium.

Folarin Balogun’s Red Card Ban Suspended by FIFA

FIFA announced Sunday that the federation’s Disciplinary Committee suspended U.S. Men’s National Team forward Folarin Balogun’s one match red card ban. After being issued a one-match ban following his red card in the USMNT’s 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32, Balogun will be available to play in tonight’s Round of 16 match against Belgium at Lumen Field in Seattle. Balogun’s one-match ban will be placed on a one-year suspension status, but if he commits a similar infraction within that time, he will have to serve the ban. With Balogun back in play, it’s a huge boost for the USMNT attack, as he has scored three goals for the Yanks in the World Cup.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City gave a shout-out on social media to Crepeau, Marco Pasalic, and Ojeda for their great runs with their respective countries, reaching the knockout stages of the World Cup.
  • Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is reportedly set to become the new manager of the German Men’s National Team.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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Orlando City

Flashback Friday: July 4, 2023 vs. Toronto FC

Let’s rewind to an Independence Day affair that had plenty of offensive fireworks.

Published

3 days ago

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July 3, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The United States Men’s National Team picked up a gritty, resilient 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on Wednesday, and will now face Belgium in a rematch of the 2014 World Cup Round of 16 next Monday. While we patiently wait for that game, it’s time to continue our Friday tradition of revisiting some classic Orlando City games from years past.

Last week, we rewound to a high octane affair against the Chicago Fire in late June 2022, that saw the Lions douse Chicago’s flames and pick up a much-needed 4-2 victory. Today, let’s hop in the time machine and travel back to Independence Day 2023, when Toronto FC came to town.

At the time of Toronto’s visit, things were going relatively smoothly for OCSC. The team was riding a three-match unbeaten streak and had scored five goals across those three games. Oscar Pareja lined up his team in its customary 4-2-3-1, with Pedro Gallese in goal; a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith; Wilder Cartagena and Cesar Araujo in the double pivot; Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres in the attacking midfield; and Duncan McGuire up top.

Orlando very nearly got a goal a little under 10 minutes into the game. Former OCSC goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh knocked down a cross in front of the net, and while Pereyra was first to the ball, he could only blast it over the bar with the goal at his mercy. Fortunately, that miss would not come back to haunt the Lions, who bagged the game’s first goal in the 16th minute. Angulo sucked defenders toward him on the left edge of the box before releasing Santos out wide. The fullback played a peach of a first-time, curling cross to the back post, where Araujo was waiting to power a diving header into the side netting at the far post for his first league goal.

That goal broke the game open, and Orlando got another goal six minutes later to double the advantage. It initially looked like a carbon copy of the first goal, with Santos out in space on the left side of the box, sending in a curled cross. The ball deflected off a defender and came in low toward the goal. Ranjitsingh waited for the ball instead of going to claim it, and that allowed McGuire to nip in front of him and get a touch on the ball to sneak it in at the near post.

Orlando nearly got even more goals inside the half hour, with Torres and McGuire both going close in quick succession. Federico Bernardeschi smashed a shot off the post in the 28th minute, and the Lions seemed to be losing focus a little bit, with the hydration break a welcome pause in play when it came. OCSC came out of the pause well, and Pereyra put Angulo through in the 36th minute, but the Colombian couldn’t bring the ball under control and fashion a shooting chance.

Orlando led in every meaningful statistical category at halftime. The Lions had more possession (55.8%-44.2%), shots (6-2), shots on goal (2-0), corners (4-2), and passing accuracy (89.5%-85%). Most importantly, they led 2-0 on the scoreboard.

Toronto tried to change things at halftime by introducing three substitutes, but Orlando settled back into the game quickly and negated the efforts of interim TFC manager Terry Dunfield. Angulo and Torres forced Ranjitsingh into a pair of saves in the 53rd and 55th minutes, and the Lions tried to press their advantage by sending on Ramiro Enrique and Martin Ojeda in the 57th minute for McGuire and Pereyra.

The game then changed in a big way in the 62nd minute. Cartagena and Bernardeschi exchanged words after a turnover, and the Italian winger put Cartagena on the ground with the help of a little theatrics from the midfielder. Bernardeschi had already been yellow carded in the 47th minute for a foul on Smith, and the altercation with Wilder saw him receive a second yellow and his marching orders to go along with it.

With TFC down to 10 men, the Lions started to tee off at goal. Ojeda came close to getting the team’s third in the 69th minute, with Enrique doing the same in the 71st but missing just wide. When the goal finally came, it was from the unlikely foot of Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, who had been subbed into the game alongside Ercan Kara in the 68th minute.

Thorhallsson made a great run behind the defense in the 77th minute, and Araujo picked him out well. Ranjitsingh came out to try to play sweeper-keeper, but DDT beat him to the ball easily, touched it around the former Lion, and rolled it into the empty net to score his first MLS goal and make it 3-0.

Toronto had a halfway decent chance to pull one back in the 82nd minute, but Brandon Servania’s long-distance attempt at chipping Gallese ended up missing high and settling on the roof of the net. Kara then iced the game in the 84th minute. Araujo fired a pass to Ojeda at the top of the box, and even though he had trouble bringing it under control, he had the presence of mind to backheel it toward goal for the big Austrian to pounce on and fire a low, hard shot into the net for 4-0.

Ojeda nearly got a goal of his own two minutes later but had a great effort saved in what was the last truly dangerous moment of the game.

As was the case at halftime, when the final whistle blew, the Lions had created plenty of fireworks on both the scoreboard and the stat sheet. OCSC finished with more possession (59.6%-40.4%), shots (18-6), shots on target (9-0), corners (8-2), and passing accuracy (91%-84.8%).

Marcus Mitchell had Player Grades for this one, and he named Araujo the Man of the Match with a grade of 8 out of 10 for his one-goal/one-assist effort. The other high performers on the night were Antonio Carlos, and Cartagena, who each graded out at 7.5 out of 10.

That’ll do it for this week’s trip down memory lane. We’ve been getting spoiled lately, with Orlando putting up four goals in back-to-back time machine games, and it’s made for an enjoyable glimpse into years gone by. With any luck, next week’s edition will be similarly entertaining. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 7/3/26

Orlando Pride visit Angel City tonight, NWSL free agents to watch, Portugal and Spain advance, and more.

Published

3 days ago

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July 3, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! I don’t have many plans this holiday weekend beyond enjoying some soccer and indulging myself in a few hot dogs to celebrate. It should be a fun weekend, but make sure to stay safe out there if you plan on setting off any fireworks. For now though, let’s get to the links!

Orlando Pride Take On Angel City FC Tonight

The NWSL resumes today and the Orlando Pride will play against Angel City FC at 10 p.m. in their first match since a 3-1 win over Bay FC on May 29. That win capped off a six-game month for the Pride, including a stretch of three straight road games. Meanwhile, Angel City parted ways with Alex Straus over the break after only winning once in May, and tonight’s match will be Leif Gunnar Smerud’s first since being named interim head coach. It can be tough playing an opponent with a new coach, but hopefully the Pride can bring all three points back to Orlando.

Top NWSL Free Agents to Watch

Free agency is officially underway in the NWSL and the list of players with contracts expiring at the end of the year includes some of the league’s best players. Orlando Pride star Marta was listed as one of the top free agents to watch, though I would be pretty shocked if she plays for another NWSL club if she leaves Orlando after this season. Leicy Santos, Debinha, and Rose Lavelle are other skilled attackers who will become free agents, but Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger is sure to have plenty of clubs reaching out for her talents as well.

Portugal and Spain Advance in World Cup

This World Cup hasn’t been short on excitement and that continued with Portugal’s 2-1 win against Croatia. After a scoreless first half, Croatia took the lead thanks to a goal from Ivan Perisic, but Cristiano Ronaldo equalized from the penalty spot and the game was moments away from heading to extra time. Goncalo Ramos gave Portugal the goal it needed to advance deep in stoppage time, but Croatia nearly came back with a goal that was disallowed due to an offside call. Spain cruised to a 3-0 win against Austria to book its spot in the round of 16 as well. Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice for his second brace of the tournament, with Marc Cucurella assisting on both of his goals. Spain and Portugal will square off in the next round in what should be a fantastic match. Switzerland and Algeria kicked off late.

The round of 32 wraps up today with a trio of matches, starting with Egypt’s game against Australia. Cape Verde will then look to shock the world when it plays Argentina, and the late game will be between Colombia and Ghana.

Columbus Crew Sign New Designated Player

The Columbus Crew have signed Spanish midfielder Brais Mendez to a Designated Player contract through the 2028-2029 season with a club option for the 2029-2030 season. Mendez has spent the past four La Liga seasons with Real Sociedad, recording 33 goals and 24 assists in 166 appearances. He gives the crew some additional firepower as reports swirl regarding Diego Rossi’s departure for CF Monterrey. While maybe not in the same headline-grabbing tier of MLS summer signings like Antoine Griezmann or Robert Lewandowski, Mendez is a big addition to the league as the Eastern Conference arms race continues.

Free Kicks

  • CF Montreal sent $2.1 million in General Allocation Money to Austin FC in exchange for midfielder Dani Pereira. Selected with the first overall pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft, Pereira has contributed six goals and 23 assists in 165 appearances across all competitions for Austin.
  • Real Salt Lake reportedly rejected a transfer bid around $3.5 million from CF Monterrey for midfielder Diego Luna.
  • American winger Emma Sears reportedly requested a trade from Racing Louisville, although the club is not reportedly interested in a midseason transfer.
  • The United States Men’s National Team’s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina had record viewership. Understandably so, too, as I spent most of the match pacing around my living room.

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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