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Addressing Orlando City’s Biggest Off-Season Questions (So Far)

Published

11 years ago

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For what seems like a fairly standard off-season for a Major League Soccer team, some of Orlando City's fans seem to be taking umbrage at some of the things the Lions are doing as they prepare for 2016. Although a move or two may have been worthy of a slightly raised eyebrow, nothing done to date seems worth getting riled up over.

In the spirit of the holiday season, I thought it was time to put myself in the shoes of the team's "Scrooges." Do their concerns have merit? Certainly it's OK to be concerned about your favorite team's business dealings if you believe they are moving in the wrong direction. Is Orlando City doing this? Let's address the questions fans have posed.

Is the team handling its dealings in a less transparent manner than in years past?

Looking back through old stories, it's hard to see any real pattern of explanatory behavior from Orlando City in making player moves. Any explanation has been fairly standard boiler plate-type stuff. And why not? In today's litigious climate, you can't really badmouth former employees without risking a lawsuit. The safe PR move is to simply say you're going in a new direction and move on. I haven't seen any real evidence that the team is handling its business significantly differently than in years past.

Then again, perhaps Phil Rawlins and others have been more forthcoming with the supporters groups in the past than they have been this year. That's certainly a possibility, but since I'm not involved in Ruckus or Iron Lion Firm leadership, I have no basis of reference. That said, if the club is less forthcoming than before, it probably speaks more to the difference between being an MLS team rather than a USL team more than any real effort to deceive or mislead fans. A major league team cannot operate the same way as a minor league team if it wants to keep a competitive advantage.

Was the decision not to renew assistant coach Ian Fuller's contract made by Armando Carneiro or Flavio Augusto da Silva and out of Adrian Heath's control?

While it's possible, it makes little sense that Heath wasn't involved in this decision. Why would a new GM (or "Chief Soccer Officer") or an owner handcuff his coach? A new GM or team owner will typically replace the head coach and put their own guy in charge. It behooves both the GM and the team owner to run a successful team and win games. This is the big reason so many new GMs get rid of the guy who wasn't their choice and pick a new coach. If they stick with the old coach, it makes no sense to eliminate someone who has been helpful to him.

I'm not saying it couldn't have happened; just that it doesn't make sense. The simplest explanation is usually the correct one. Fuller's contract was up. This was an opportunity to upgrade the coaching staff. Heath has had a year to evaluate what Fuller brings to his MLS team. It may simply be an effort to add a coach with more experience.

Adrian Heath is a smart and involved head coach. It's impossible for me to believe he had no say whatsoever in Fuller's departure. He strikes me as the kind of guy who would rather leave himself than not have the final say over his staff.

Isn't Joe Bendik a downgrade at goalkeeper from Tally Hall?

Perhaps, but it's not meant to be a like-for-like swap and there's more to it than that. Hall is a talented shot stopper and is one of the league's best when on top of his game. However, with two knee injuries in two years, and at his price, Hall's health was clearly a concern. The emergence of Earl Edwards Jr., who the coaching staff holds in high esteem, was a catalyst for this move. The Lions saw an opportunity to get younger and cheaper with Edwards and then hedged their bet by bringing in an experienced MLS goalkeeper to provide competition for the UCLA product.

Isn't the hiring of Stewart Kerr a sign that Bendik will be the starter?

While Kerr did work with Bendik at Toronto FC, that doesn't mean Bendik will start. Kerr has worked with a number of goalkeepers and has helped them develop, including Julio Cesar, John Ruddy and Darren Randolph. He'll be tasked with coaching up both Bendik and Edwards, along with young Mason Stajduhar and (if he is officially signed, as reports suggest he will be), Thierry Graca.

While it's certainly helpful that Bendik and Kerr have worked together, it doesn't necessarily portend any particular advantage. It may be that negotiations with Kerr helped facilitate getting Bendik to Orlando. Or vice versa. Or perhaps it was a coincidence. At any rate, whoever plays between the sticks for City next season, they'll need a more cohesive defense in front of them than Hall had last year.

Carneiro has no MLS experience and his arrival forced out GM Paul McDonough. Has ownership lost their minds?

Probably not. I will point out that a lot of our readers and followers on Twitter questioned McDonough's effectiveness in the summer transfer window, even though I felt he did a pretty good job at addressing the team's needs without mortgaging the team's future or overpaying for talent.

Both Phil Rawlins and Flavio Augusto da Silva want Orlando City to have a world class academy system, which is the lifeblood of a good MLS team. As Major League Soccer has evolved, the SuperDraft and Re-Entry Draft are becoming less and less relevant as team-building mechanisms. Both may be gone in a few years. A strong academy, however, is a doorway to talent riches and Orlando is well positioned.

Florida is a talent rich state and Carneiro has experience building a successful academy at one of Europe's big clubs. His hiring will be a good thing in the long run. And a man smart enough to rise to the positions he has occupied is surely intelligent enough to figure out Major League Soccer's rules in fairly short order. I'm not worried that he'll screw up the salary cap or fail to capitalize on allocation order and anyone who is worried about that must have a fairly low level of trust in those who hired him.

* * *

In my view, this has been a pretty run-of-the-mill MLS off-season so far. The team jettisoned mostly players that were deemed expendable or cost more money than their projected value in 2016. They let go of an assistant coach (and that could end up being a good thing, even if Fuller is a club legend, depending on who his replacement is) and likely upgraded the goalkeeper coach. On the player addition side, Orlando brought in a veteran keeper to compete with a young guy the Lions believe in and a right back who can push Rafael Ramos.

There are moves remaining to be made, for sure. We'll know more in the coming weeks about how the team plans to address the open roster spots and whether or not help will come in the form of another Designated Player (or two). Being patient is difficult for sports fans, especially those who are used to winning trophies. But, so far, the team has done nothing catastrophic or panic-inducing.

I do reserve the right to panic later.

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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

on

July 22, 2026

By

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

By

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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