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Orlando City: Swapping Louisville for Local USL Team “Important for Player Development”

Published

11 years ago

on

On Tuesday, The Mane Land broke the news about Orlando City’s intentions to end the affiliation agreement with Louisville City and develop players in house with a new, locally based USL club.

That evening, Vice President of Development Tim Holt spoke to the gathered media at halftime of the Lions’ U.S. Open Cup match against Columbus Crew SC to give a little background on the decisions and what the future of Orlando City’s USL plans might entail.

Here's how it went:

What can you tell us about this big news and why it's important for the club?

Tim Holt: "It's enormous. Exciting day for the club, and it's an exciting day for Central Florida soccer fans. Obviously we as a club have our roots in USL the first four years and sort of built ourselves up and proved this was an MLS market. And now, having established ourselves in MLS, the USL team becomes important in different ways.

It becomes important from a player development standpoint, certainly, in terms of providing all of these emerging young players that we have not just on the first team but coming up through the academy, an opportunity for meaningful professional games — up to 30 games a year. And it's also important from a club development standpoint in terms of connecting with more partners and players and different communities surrounding Orlando throughout the Central Florida market. So, both from a business development standpoint and a player development standpoint, it's a pretty significant development."

Obviously a lot of thought went into this decision. Why was it made at this time instead of when the club started?

TH: "I'm 45 days into this with the club. My previous professional incarnation was with USL, full disclosure. I think when the club entered into MLS, the trend and just because of what was happening, it made sense to affiliate with Louisville City. (There were) Great relationships, both from a coach (and) from an owner's standpoint. It made a lot of sense to have that relationship."


But things change very fast in the soccer world. Professional soccer is developing at warp speed. And for us to be able to keep up and be seen as one of the more progressive clubs in MLS — more and more teams are doing their own stand-alone teams. The stand-alone team gives us the benefit of all the players in the professional pool training together, day in and day out and be able to not have to fight geography and logistics for them to get games. So you get to benefit a young player — take a Harrison Heath or any number of different players we have — training day in and day out with Kaká. There’s value in that. There’s also value in that player getting games, and then when they do get games they’re able to contribute and they’re match fit. They’re ready to go.”

I give a ton of credit to the ownership – Phil and Flavio, Paul McDonough – for supporting something that we think is very, very important to the future development of the club. Huge investment in the academy. This is the bridge between the MLS and the academy."

How is the development system coming along?

TH: "In terms of actual teams, we're getting there. It's sort of building some depth and some meat in there. It's early days. The youth club as we know it is only about one or two years old, so we need all these pieces in place, but that's a long-term yield. It takes six, seven, eight years to develop kids from the younger ages, but when they do come through, there has to be a place for them other than the MLS team. And the USL is a strong league, it's a growing league and week in, week out very competitive. So we'll be able to play some first-team guys that aren't getting games. We'll have a core component of guys on USL contracts, and then we'll have some of the most outstanding academy players sort of supplementing that roster and playing a full USL schedule."

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The Lions will end their USL agreement with Louisville City FC after only one season and will own and operate an “OCSC2-type” franchise out of Orlando for player development purposes starting in 2016.

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Orlando City to End Affiliation with Louisville City FC, Will Pursue Local USL Team

Is there a venue in mind, or is there an opportunity to play around the region to build the brand?

TH: "I don't think we'll be nomadic. We haven't ruled anything in and out. We're going through a process of exploring different venues throughout the Central Florida region. Certainly playing in Orlando is one option but anything within a sort of 60- to 90-minute drive could be an option for us. I think the most important thing is finding an appropriate venue for this team to play. We want something that's intimate for fans. It needs to be big enough to meet the league's standards, so you're looking at a five to ten thousand seat stadium. This isn't just about playing 30 professional soccer games, though. We want the fan experience to be as good as it has been throughout Orlando City's lifespan so far and I think we can do that and create a unique identity for this particular team – the USL team – and get all the player development benefits that we're talking about that make this make sense."

What is the timeline for selecting a venue and taking those next steps?

TH: "It's several months. It won't be something where we're making that announcement next week or even next month, but I would say by early fall – September or October – in order to make those announcements and get things locked in. The same thing with the branding of the team and more personnel decisions – potentially a general manager specific to that team. But there's going to be a full integration. This isn't sort of a subsidiary of a team. It's an extension of the first team on the player side, on the technical side, but it'll be an additional sort of brand and initiative on the commercial and the business side."

Is the Orlando area capable of sustaining an MLS and a USL team?

TH: "It's a good question. I think a lot of that depends on how you market the team. Obviously we need to be very deliberate about when we play the games, where we play them. We don't want to be competing against ourselves. We don't want to cannibalize our own fan base. That could occur, I think, if you don't manage it properly. But we think in this region, as big as it is, as big as the appetite is for entertaining soccer and a great night out, that we can manage that so that both teams can thrive."

Who was the driving force behind this decision?

TH: "Hard question to answer because I think it was almost universal that this needed to happen. So, obviously the technical side is going to drive that in order to keep up, which is the coaching staff and (GM) Paul McDonough. But no less enthusiastic are Phil and Flavio and Alex (Leitao), and I certainly didn't throw cold water on it when I came in here because it makes all the sense in the world. This is where the progressive clubs in this country are headed and our goal is to do it better than anybody else does it."

Did this season's rash of injuries contribute to making this decision?

TH: "When you have a roster of 28 players, when everybody's fit and available, you're going to rely on 14, 16, 18 guys. What about the other 10? And then when they are called upon, how can they be match fit? So it certainly accentuates the need for that when you have a period like the Gold Cup or you have a spate of injuries. You rely on the depth of your roster and those players need to be ready to go, and training's great but you can only be sharp if you're getting games with regularity."

Will the new USL club be purple too?

TH: "I think we're committed that there will be a visual sort of connection right away. As far as the branding's concerned, there's a lot of different opinions. We're going to get feedback from our supporters and fans and partners to be able to do that. A lot of the MLS teams that have done a stand-alone have put a ‘2' after it. I'd like to think that we're at least going to explore other unique and creative ideas for the identity of that team. I think when we introduce it, ultimately, you'll know that there's an association and a connection, but beyond that, we've got to figure that stuff out. We'd like to think that we can get creative."

Is there a plan to bring in a professional women's team to Orlando too?

TH: "Certainly that's a different conversation about the continued depth of the club. Again, the ambition of this club is second to none in American soccer. We're already pretty heavily invested through our youth club and our elite girls' programs — the ECNL teams. Just like for MLS and USL teams, it's both aspirational and inspirational when you have a senior team on that side. So on the women's side, it's early days and I don't want to go too far out of my lane, but certainly when you look at the support of the sport in this region, something like that you think potentially could work, but that's not for today."

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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

4 days 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

2 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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