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Staff Roundtable Week 2: Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire

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10 years ago

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The saying “better late than never” was never more apparently proven than Sunday, when Orlando City scored twice in stoppage time to erase a 2-0 deficit and earn a hard-fought draw against Real Salt Lake. Adrian Winter came on and did his Energizer Bunny routine, adding pace and life into a side that had been put to sleep in the second half by RSL’s possession game. He and Cyle Larin provided the fireworks for a huge opening day crowd and got the team a draw that felt like a win.

With Chicago coming up tonight, it's time to go back to the Mane Land Roundtable to get our staff's takes on what we might see tonight. For this week, we've got Austin David, Scott Crumbly and Rich Shock taking their seats at the table. Let's get right to it.

With Kaká out, Adrian Heath pushed Brek Shea forward into the attacking midfield, where he and Molino were a mixed bag on Sunday vs. RSL. How do you see Heath’s attacking forces being distributed against Chicago on Friday?

Austin: I think it all depends on whether Antonio Nocerino is ready to play. A week of training with the team doesn’t instill full confidence for me in terms of chemistry and creativity in the attacking third. Personally, I’d run the same attacking force as the RSL game, with Shea, Larin, and Molino up top. The drawbacks last week were that the lineup wasn’t quite cohesive enough, with those three having not trained together up front all preseason. Now, they have a week of training to put something together and come out with a better game plan attacking wise. If it’s still not working out, then Heath could possibly bring on Nocerino in the later parts of the match to get something going. This week of training should help the flow of the offense, regardless of who plays up top.

Scott: Part of me would like to see Carlos Rivas get the start on the left side of midfield, but given his ankle injury last week and Heath’s propensity to throw Brek on the left wing when necessary, which we saw last season and again last week, I’d expect to see Heath stick with Shea in the advanced position and Luke Boden at the back.

Otherwise I think Heath will keep it the same with Kevin Molino out on the right behind Cyle Larin at center forward. That group created a number of dangerous chances against RSL and will be going against a Chicago defense that just allowed four goals to NYCFC. Adrian Winter is there to provide a second-half boost if needed, as he did last week.

Rich: I'm going to be a little unconventional with this answer — and I'm sure that will come back to haunt me — but I don't think we'll see Shea and Molino paired in the attacking midfield again. Shea is a dangerous player getting up the flanks and putting crosses into the box — we saw that with the nonchalant ball across the box that ended up as Larin's first goal on Sunday. But he looked uncomfortable pinched inside and Boden wasn't able to generate the same threat down the left flank as Ramos was down the right. I expect to see Shea moved back to his left back position and Molino paired up with someone new. (#foreshadowing)

We get Cristian Higuita back but now Darwin Ceren is suspended. Is this a simple case of a Ribeiro-Nocerino-Higuita defensive midfield this week or do you expect a shape change in Game 2?

Rich: Here's my continued unconventional answer to question 1: Nocerino starts, but not as a defensive midfielder. I think we'll see Carrasco start again in the holding midfield position with Higuita to his right and Ribeiro to his left. I don't think the Lions will come out in a 4-3-3 again on Friday; it seems much more likely that they will play a defined 4-3-2-1 with Nocerino and Molino as the two attacking midfielders. Carrasco had a solid outing — aside from a lazy tackle that eventually led to RSL's second goal — and it will be good to see Ribeiro and Higuita anchor that midfield as well. I expect Nocerino to start as the left attacking midfielder and to check into the midfield to collect the ball and give Orlando a 4-4-1-1 look at times. I doubt he goes the full 90 minutes though and either Rivas or Winter will replace him at some point in the second half.

Austin: I'd say Carrasco still starts over Nocerino, with the others still in the defensive midfield. I could see Nocerino come off the bench to spur someone either in the attack or in the midfield, but I don't think there's a huge reason to rush him into the starting 11. Carrasco is a serviceable midfielder and can do a good job distributing the ball wide, so I don't have a problem with him playing again in the defensive mid. Nocerino, if he does start, will most likely play more of an attacking role, which may switch up the formation a bit. Again, that's all contingent on the Italian's readiness to get in the starting spot.

Scott: I personally would rather see Heath play Cristian Higuita, Antonio Nocerino and Servando Carrasco in his three-man midfield. While Ribeiro does look more comfortable in the central midfield than he did up front, he still looks to be lumbering a bit. Higuita was one of the most talented young mids in MLS last season, so he’s an obvious choice to slot in coming back off suspension, with a Higuita-Nocerino-Cerén trio being the eventual ideal behind attacking mids Kaká and Molino once all are fit and eligible at the same time.

Cyle Larin had a tough preseason and struggled at times against Real Salt Lake. Still, Kid Fantastic impacted the end of the game with a goal and an assist. Was this just a case of him pressing and now that he's scored he can relax and play his game or will we see inconsistencies in his sophomore year?

Scott: I think it was a bit of both. Larin was clearly exhausted after the final whistle, and admitted he’s going to have to get used to teams trying to rough him up this year. Still, I think the clinical finish followed by the game-winning assist will certainly help his confidence moving forward, and despite some frustration Sunday he was an offside call and a one-on-one save by Nick Rimando away from making it two or three goals vs. RSL.

Rich: Larin will struggle some in his second year, but I would be surprised if that's totally attributed to the "sophomore slump." He is a defined striker in this league and teams will prepare for him specifically; he should be ready for some added attention and not be surprised when it isn't as easy the second time around. With that being said, a healthy Orlando City will provide ample opportunities for Larin to score — if we're being honest, he could have had three or four on Sunday alone.

Austin: With any young player, you’re going to see some inconsistencies pop up now and again. Having that goal and his first career assist will definitely help him mentally when it comes to his play on the pitch, but time will tell how his second season in MLS goes. It’s only one game in and there’s not enough to make a calculated call whether Larin will or won’t live up to expectations. As far as this week goes, Larin’s coming up against a shaky (at best) Chicago Fire defense, so scoring a goal or two is within the realm of possibility and that could only help him going forward.

With David Mateos out, what did you make of the Seb Hines – Tommy Redding pairing at central defense against a good RSL attack force?

Scott: I thought Hines and Redding played fairly well and would like to see how they play alongside one another as they continue to develop familiarity. Redding fared well against a dangerous trio of attackers, and his on-ball abilities complement the physical game of Hines. I'd obviously like to see Hines refrain from clumsy challenges in the box when the attacker has an acute angle at goal and the keeper still to beat, though.

Austin: To be honest, Hines and Redding weren’t tested all too much in the RSL game. There were the counter attacks and opportunities early on, but in those instances, they seemed to hold their own. Aside from the Hines penalty, they were a serviceable back pairing, but may be tested a bit more with the speed of David Accam and Kennedy Igboananike up top for the Fire.

Rich: Redding was awesome against RSL and would have been my MOTM had Winter not come on and saved the day. He was solid in the back of the team and didn't really get himself turned around too often. He got beat over the top on the ball that eventually led to RSL's penalty kick, but recovered well enough that he probably saved Hines from getting a straight red. Both Hines and Redding seemed comfortable with each other and that should be a pairing that Orlando City fans are happy to see out on the pitch again on Friday.

What is your projected lineup and score line for Friday night vs. the Fire?

Austin: With Nocerino possibly getting into the fold this week, I could see the same lineup as last week if he does not play (Higuita in for Ceren though), but if he does end up in the lineup, he would take either the left wing or Carrasco's spot in the 4-3-2-1. Either that, or Heath goes back to the 4-2-3-1 and puts him in the central attacking midfield, with Molino and Winter on the wings. The nice thing is that the team has options, which isn't something we could have said in the past.

Rich: I think the Lions win 3-1 and Nocerino scores his first goal. Bendik; Ramos, Redding, Hines, Shea; Higuita, Carrasco, Ribeiro; Molino, Nocerino; Larin

Scott: Bendik; Boden, Hines, Redding, Ramos; Higuita, Carrasco, Nocerino; Shea, Molino; Larin in a 4-3-2-1 alignment. I'll predict a 3-1 win for the Lions, playing at home against of a less-than-stout back line.

* * *

That's your roundtable discussion for Week 2. Feel free to add your answers to these questions or explain why our staff is right/wrong in their predictions or analysis in the comments section below.

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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

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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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