Connect with us

Uncategorized

Staff Roundtable: International Break Bye Week and New York City FC Recap

Published

10 years ago

on

We've got another 10 days before the next Orlando City game, after the Lions escaped from New York with three points and five from the first three matches of the 2016 MLS season. Next up on the schedule is the defending champion Portland Timbers on Sunday, April 3.

What did we learn about Orlando City against NYCFC and in the first three games of the season? What do we know about Major League Soccer overall? Joining us to discuss this at this week's edition of the roundtable are Kyle Foley, Austin Siegel, and Jeff Milby. It's their turn at the big purple table and it's time for them to answer the questions of the week (although maybe I should have thrown out question three, since everyone answered the same).

Orlando City held off New York City FC despite ceding possession for about the last 70 minutes of the match. How did they do it? Do you think they meant to absorb pressure for so long after grabbing the early lead or was that just a byproduct of being outplayed in the possession game?

Kyle: I think it was part of the game plan as well as a slight byproduct. Orlando knew that after it scored early, it could afford to absorb some pressure but it knew that because the contributing factors (lineup, pitch width, etc.) led it to have to play on the defensive anyway.

Austin: With Kaká on the mend and Antonio Nocerino still learning everyone's name, I think it's only natural that Orlando struggled in the midfield against NYCFC. Whatever plan the Lions had on Friday night probably went out the window when both Cyle Larin and Nocerino were forced to exit early in the second half, but the team's saving grace came in the final 30 minutes. Adrian Winter and Kevin Molino finally generated something on the counter, which kept New York from bringing everyone forward. Factor in Joe Bendik's best game as a Lion, and it was enough for Orlando to grab all three points on Friday night.

Jeff: As a byproduct of building the league on parity, it's especially true in MLS that game states dictate play more than anything. Week after week, you can see winning teams concede the majority of possession to their opponents, which can be explained away with this reason in a major way. Orlando City scored an early goal against NYCFC, and therefore the game state dictated that New York would dominate possession. Throw in the fact that the Lions were on the road, and it only makes sense the possession stats played out as they did. Orlando won a road game the way a road team should. Orlando conceded possession in three of its five road victories last season.

There's been a lot of talk about Kevin Molino's quality in the final third over the first three weeks of the season. Do you see a Kaká return opening up space for him and allowing for more success? Is this a confidence issue? Or, more ominously, is Kevin not yet ready for prime time?

Austin: Kevin Molino just can't catch a break. He came into last season expecting to be Orlando's second attacking option, until his season ended in May. With the emergence of Cyle Larin, he probably expected to be the club's third option going forward in 2016, but found himself leading the offense with three points on the line against New York. I expect the Trinidadian to improve with Orlando City's health, as opposing defenses are forced to key in on Larin and Kaká. He's already shown a knack for finding space around goal, which should only be easier behind a full strength squad.

Jeff: The return of Kaká can only help Molino's situation, but it's not farfetched to think that perhaps he wasn't quite ready for the big lights. Success at the USL level is not a direct harbinger of MLS success (see Matt Fondy in 2015 for an easy example) and that is especially the case when you consider Molino was a star in a fledgling USL. Throw in the injury and his slow start to 2015 is understandable. For my money though, the jury is out until we see him play in a healthy and complete Orlando City midfield.

Kyle: I think having Kaká back will help him a bit, but I believe it's mostly a confidence issue. After his ACL injury, he needs to return to his 2014 form and I believe he will do so when he isn't being counted on as the main facilitator.

Through three games, which Orlando City player is your most pleasant surprise and who has been a bit of a disappointment so far?

Jeff: Tommy Redding has been a pleasant surprise for me. It's not easy to play in MLS at 19 and he has fared reasonably well in his three assignments. Things are looking up for the HGP, and international duty with the U.S. U-19s is only going to help continue his growth and development. As far as disappointments go, I've got to call out Cyle Larin. I really expected the kid to have set the single season scoring record by now (kidding). It's really too early in the season to begin pointing fingers, but Brek Shea has continued to be consistently inconsistent. Granted, we're only three weeks into the summer-long grind that is MLS.

Kyle: Tommy Redding has been beyond impressive, for such a young kid performing at this level, the way he is, is incredibly impressive. Brek Shea has been the biggest disappointment for me. I'm a firm believer that the move to left back is not the best move for him as he's looked inconsistent at best and apathetic at times.

Austin: Tommy Redding has got to be the surprise of the young season, considering he wasn't even guaranteed playing time off the bench when preseason camp opened up. He kept David Villa under control last week (my favorite Orlando City fact of the season: Redding was nine when Villa scored his first World Cup goal) and he's currently playing well enough to keep a former MLS All-Star on the bench in Aurélien Collin. Biggest disappointment has probably been Brek Shea. Injuries have forced him between the attacking midfield and back line, but he hasn't played very well in either spot. Hopefully another USMNT snub will motivate him to improve, but with the exception of his assist against RSL, Shea hasn't been much of a factor this season.

For Orlando City, who benefits the most from this international break and who (if anyone) does it hurt most?

Kyle: I think Kevin Molino benefits the most, with the opportunity to get some time in for Trinidad and Tobago. I also think this week helps Kaká as he isn't being rushed to return to match fitness so quickly.

Jeff: I think it benefits Kevin Molino quite a bit. Being called up to the Trinidad & Tobago squad for a game against St. Vincent & the Grenadines could be the jump-start of form and confidence he needs. On the other side of the coin, the only way this break could harm any of Orlando's players is if the dreaded injury bug lays claim to any of the players on international duty. If anything, the week off gives Orlando more time to heal injuries to Kaká and the recently returned Carlos Rivas, while allowing the team to continue to gel.

Austin: You have to think Kaká benefits the most from the international break, despite the fact that his injury means he'll miss Brazil's WCQ games against Uruguay and Paraguay. Orlando will want the captain at full strength when the MLS Cup champion Portland Timbers come to town next week. The break would seem to hurt Cyle Larin's early-season momentum, but since he was playing sick against New York, maybe a trip back home for some WCQs is exactly what the Canadian needs. Even Kevin Molino will get some action with Trinidad and Tobago to help him forget about a disappointing performance against New York. In other words, I don't think the break really hurts anybody.

Clearly three matches in it's hard to take much and extrapolate it over the season, but which teams have caught your eye early in this season? Which teams will turn things around, and who are the MLS pretenders?

Kyle: Montreal has caught my eye, performing well, even without Drogba, so far. I definitely think Seattle will turn things around and San Jose is the biggest pretender.

Austin: Before the season, I thought Chicago and Philadelphia were the only teams in the Eastern Conference that Orlando City didn't have to worry about, but I'm a little worried the Union might be for real. Chris Pontius was a nice off-season pickup, and he's already helped D.C. United go from worst to first before. I think Columbus will shake off its slow start, but I'll go on record and say that either New England or D.C. miss the playoffs this season. United faded down the stretch in 2015 and it looks like they haven't rediscovered their form this year.

Jeff: FC Dallas has continued its strong upward trajectory that started last season and Kansas City is off to a perfect start without the services of last season's team MVP, Benny Feilhaber. Both of those teams should have some considerable staying power at the top of the league standings. The two biggest disappointments have to be Columbus and Seattle. Two teams that made the playoffs last year — with realistic hopes of winning it all — have sunken to the basement of the league table. I believe in Columbus' ability to turn things around, but I'm not a believer in Seattle anymore. It seems Sigi Schmid's window to turn the Sounders into playoff contenders ended last year, and the squad is really feeling the departure of Obafemi Martins.

* * *

That's your roundtable discussion for this early season bye week. 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.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

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!

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

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.

Continue Reading

Trending