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Orlando City vs FC Dallas: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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6 years ago

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Orlando City was the better team in the first half and part of the second half against FC Dallas but a 69th-minute red card — on a second yellow — to Sebas Mendez changed the game. Fortunately, the Lions were strong defensively and came away with a well-earned point. It’s the team’s eighth straight game with at least a point and keeps Orlando in the top four of the Eastern Conference.

Here is how I viewed the individual performances in this game.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 7 (MotM) — As with many games this season, Pedro Gallese was great in this one. Especially in the first half, FC Dallas had some excellent chances but Gallese was up to the challenge. In the 10th minute, Gallese blocked a shot by Santiago Mosquera at point-blank range. In the 41st minute, Bryan Acosta flicked a ball that nearly found the top corner but Gallese was once again up for the task. Gallese ended the game with four saves and did well to manage the clock as the Lions looked to claim a point despite being a man down.

D, Ruan, 5.5 — It’s difficult to judge Ruan’s performance in this game as he only lasted 23 minutes before exiting with an injury. In the short time he was in action, Ruan caused trouble down the right. Nani and Mauricio Pereyra looked for him on multiple occasions. Defensively, he was strong, not giving anything to the FC Dallas attack.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6.5 — Rodrigo Schlegel came away with another strong performance filling in for Antonio Carlos. After Sebas Mendez was sent off with 20 minutes remaining, Orlando City was put under pressure and the central defenders did well to keep the opposition at bay. He ended the game with three tackles, two clearances, and a blocked shot.

D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — Robin Jansson was already the leader of the Orlando City defense but has been even more so since Antonio Carlos has been out. The Swede was strong in the back and, along with Schlegel, was key in ensuring that the Lions claimed a point. His stats might not stand out, recording a tackle, four clearances, and a blocked shot, but the goose egg for FC Dallas is largely attributed to his performance.

D, Kyle Smith, 6 — This was a bounce-back performance by Kyle Smith, who struggled in the team’s last game against Sporting Kansas City. After providing opportunities for the opposition midweek, Smith was much better in Dallas. In addition to being strong defensively, Smith completed 84.5% of his 58 passes and was accurate with four of his six long balls.

MF, Junior Urso, 6 — It was another strong performance by Junior Urso in the defensive midfield. His distribution was solid once again, completing 90.9% of his 55 passes. He had fewer tackles than his counterpart, Mendez, but was much smarter when doing so. The result was assisting in an important clean sheet that earned the Lions a point.

MF, Sebas Mendez, 3.5 — It was a night to forget for Mendez. He didn’t play that poorly for most of the game, completing 90% of his 50 passes. However, two stupid mistakes in his final five minutes defined his night. In the 64th minute, Mendez was issued a yellow for time wasting when he kicked the ball away after a free kick was awarded. Just five minutes later, after having just been cautioned, Mendez went in with a dangerous challenge, resulting in a second booking. He put his team in a difficult situation, effectively undoing all the good work he had done previously in the game.

MF, Nani, 6 — Nani was once again at the point of the Orlando City attack most of the night. He completed 76% of his 50 passes and made four key passes in the game. He ended up with a total of nine shots, but only one of those shots was on target. The club captain was lucky not to give up a late free kick to FC Dallas just outside of the Orlando City box but it was a quality performance overall.

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 6.5 — Pereyra was excellent for the Lions in this game. He was often involved in play and did well to find others while building an attack. Touching the ball 60 times, Pereyra completed 86.1 of his 43 passes and had five key passes. He came off for Andres Perea in the 73rd minute but it was because of the need for a defensive addition after Sebas Mendez was sent off. Oscar Pareja would’ve preferred to have the attacker on, especially with the type of game he was having.

MF, Chris Mueller, 5 — Chris Mueller is usually a key part of the Orlando City attack, but he was largely missing in this game. In 63 minutes on the field, he only touched the ball 36 times and took two shots, with one on target. Mueller completed 87% of his 23 passes and attempted two crosses, but neither reached their intended target.

F, Tesho Akindele, 5 — Tesho Akindele was looking for a strong performance against his old club but it wasn’t to be. Coming off a good performance in Kansas City, Akindele only managed to record one shot, which was blocked, and only completed 61.5% of his 13 passes. He nearly got on the end of a first half cross, which could’ve been the opening goal, but was unable to reach it and ran into the goal instead.

Substitutes

D, Kamal Miller (23’), 6 — Kamal Miller was thrown into the game well before he expected and did very well. He replaced Ruan in the 23rd minute and was solid, helping complete the clean sheet. He made two interceptions and two clearances on the night, while 68.8% of his 32 passes found their mark.

F, Daryl Dike (63’), 5 — Oscar Pareja brought Daryl Dike on in the 63rd minute hoping he could do more than Akindele had done to that point. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the best night for the rookie. He had a couple of chances with the ball inside the box but was unable to threaten FC Dallas goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer and drew a free kick in a dangerous spot after out-dueling Matt Hedges, but Nani’s set piece delivery hit the wall. In the end, Dike only ended up with one shot that hit the side netting.

F, Benji Michel (63’), 5 — Similar to Dike, it was an unremarkable performance by Benji Michel. Despite being on the field for 27 minutes, he only touched the ball seven times and took one shot, which was off target. He was brought in to add a spark to the attack but was unable to.

MF, Andres Perea (73’), 5.5 — Perea came on as a defensive replacement after Mendez was sent off in the 69th minute. He only touched the ball five times and didn’t make any defensive stops so it’s difficult to judge his performance. However, considering that FC Dallas didn’t cause too much trouble while attacking a man up in the final minutes, Perea was helpful in the clean sheet and point earned by Orlando City.

That’s how I think Orlando City’s players performed against FC Dallas. How did you see the game? Let us know what you thought of the performance in the comment section and don’t forget to vote on the Man of the Match below.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Pedro Gallese33
Mauricio Pereyra2
Nani2
Robin Jansson8
Other10

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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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3 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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