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Staff Roundtable: Orlando City at New York City FC Rewind and Pride Recap

Published

10 years ago

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Orlando City came back from the dead to steal a point at Yankee Stadium in the final game before the Copa America break. Taking five of a possible nine points from three matches in nine days was a positive entering the break, especially considering a number of injuries, suspensions and even the captain leaving for Brazil duty. Again.

Meanwhile, the similarly shorthanded Pride suffered its worst loss since entering the NWSL, falling flat at FC Kansas City to the tune of a 2-0 loss. Orlando never seemed a threat against a team that had entered the match without a win and with only two goals to its credit all season. Woof.

Joining us at the big purple table this week to talk about such things are Logan Oliver, Wade Williams, and Scott Crumbly. They've got takes on these topics (mostly).

Orlando City was largely outplayed on Sunday, which is not surprising given the circumstances (third game in nine days, on the road, missing several first-choice players, against a rested team that had been embarrassed the week before). Given that, are you satisfied with the single point? Why or why not?

Logan: With as many starters as we had out for one reason or another and being on the road in a difficult situation, it was a great comeback from a team that should have lost. The old adage for competing in soccer has always been win at home and draw on the road, and to that extent they were successful. Can't complain about the result from the team in those circumstances, they got the job done.

Wade: I'm satisfied with any result that brings points on the road, and given these circumstances, one point is a blessing. We were a David Villa slip away from being beaten — I'll take the point with a smile and a sigh of relief.

Scott: Heading into the weekend down five starters and playing on short rest, I'd have absolutely taken a point if you'd offered it before match time. When David Villa's chip gave NYC a 2-0 lead and then he went to the spot for a penalty kick later in the half, I couldn't help but think of last summer's five-goal outing for New York against Orlando in Yankee Stadium that featured a bevy of second-half goals. But the subsequent slip and miss gave the Lions new life, and along with a shot of adrenaline from Júlio Baptista off the bench, the Lions were able to steal another point. Playing on the road against a team that -€” despite coming off a 7-0 drubbing -€” is near the top of the East with so many unusual absences had me prepared for disappointment, so I couldn't help but feel pleased that the Lions salvaged the draw.

Cyle Larin failed to score in New York for the first time. He obviously had a couple of good opportunities, but how did New York City FC keep him from finding the net?

Wade: I don't know that they did anything markedly different to make a difference. Or maybe I'm just allergic to giving NYCFC praise. To me, the run had to end at some point. On a large enough sample size of data, the data will always regress towards the mean. As he played there more and more, there was no way he could keep up his rate of production. Like streaming hot streaks in fantasy baseball — eventually, every run has to end.

Scott: Could it have been some form of karmic retribution for the weirdo header Larin scored in his first game at Yankee Stadium this year? I suppose there's no way to know.

NYC has certainly seen its share of Larin goals on that tiny pitch, so holding him off the score sheet was certainly a priority. That being said, he still had a couple of chances that he could have put away, most notably the header off an Adrian Winter far-post cross early in the match that Josh Saunders made a big save on. His 60th-minute breakaway that was again stuffed by Saunders was another very good chance, and although he didn't find the net on this day, the fact that he got himself into those dangerous positions still shows his quality, not to mention his assist on the game-tying goal from Kevin Molino.

Add in the fact that he came to NYC having played 174 out of a possible 180 minutes in a two-game week and still went the distance on Sunday, and NYCFC was probably a bit fortunate that he didn't hurt them more than he did with the critical assist.

Logan: They had some great stops and last-ditch defending, coupled with denying him opportunities for most of the match. Limiting him to three shots total was key and any time a team can starve him for service, he'll struggle. Larin probably should have capitalized on the few chances he did have, but clutch stops by Saunders and the NYC defenders kept him out of the box score. Larin may never be the type of forward to carry the ball forward, but until he is he will be heavily reliant on his teammates to have any impact.

Obviously we've seen plenty of Servando Carrasco but this was our first look at Harrison Heath in 2016. What is your assessment of the defensive midfield in the absence of both Cristian Higuita and Darwin Ceren?

Scott: Yankee Stadium is certainly a strange place to make your MLS (season) debut, but I thought Heath showed fairly well in the tight confines of that pitch while going against the likes of David Villa, Mix Diskerud, and company. It wasn't an all-world showing from the 20-year-old, but that is to be expected in a (season) debut, and especially one alongside a fellow midfielder who finds himself behind the two first-choice DMs in Higuita and Cerén. His 69% passing rate wasn't great, but that small pitch (again) has something to do with that number, and he lent a hand in breaking up play with two tackles and a pair of blocked shots. All things considered, it was a good day for Heath to get some experience under his belt and help fortify depth for the future while Orlando managed to snatch a point. Everyone's got to start somewhere.

Logan: Heath had a decent season debut. His passing percentage hovered around 70% and he did an admirable job on the defensive end. His yellow was for a professional foul, which is a lot more than I can say for Carrasco's. He's not a terrible option off the bench if we're going to consistently have one or both of Higuita/Cerén unavailable. Both Carrasco and Heath are solid passers but neither are defensive stalwarts like Higuita, which is something that would be nice to see in the second-choice pairing, but Higuita seems to be the only destroyer on the roster. The really interesting thing is that Heath has now pushed Antonio Nocerino to fifth choice and it will be interesting to see if the Italian sees the field again anytime soon.

Wade: Yikes. I mean, neither played particularly bad, and I've written before of my appreciation of Carrasco's ability to accurately send the forwards deep, letting them use their speed to get behind the defense. As for Lil H, he always seems to do better than I expect. Whether I set the bar too low for him is subjective but one thing that isn't — Orlando City needs Higuita and Ceren there in the long run.

What do the Lions need to work on over the Copa America break in order to start turning all these draws into wins?

Logan: Turnovers. Sloppy play in midfield has left the defense in precarious situations, often with the fullbacks nowhere near a position to defend and the defensive midfield chasing the opposition. The defensive line needs fixing too. Too many goals have been conceded because a defender was caught napping, but stopping the cheap giveaways is a quicker and simpler method to limit the defensive bleeding and provide a more consistent attack.

Wade: The defense has to be better. Joe Bendik has been outrageous, but he isn't 24 feet wide and eight feet tall — he can't block everything. Positioning along the back line, stepping up on attackers, these are the things the Lions need to improve from within.

Scott: The good thing is that many of these draws would have been losses a year ago. The obvious downside, however, is that City could have taken a full three points from several of its draws and those points left on the table can come back to haunt you later in the year. While perhaps obvious, consistency would go a long way toward curing the team's ills. The Lions have been most consistent this season in stoppage time, where they've netted five (!) goals. Not leaving their urgency for so late in matches would be nice, as would clamping down when holding onto a late-game lead, as we saw them cough up against Philadelphia last week.

With three months of the season down, what moves, if any, should the club make in the summer transfer window?

Wade: Defense. Center back would be nice. I love most of what I've seen from David Mateos this year, but I'm still not sold on Seb Hines and I think Tommy Redding needs more seasoning before being truly ready to be an every game player.

Scott: Orlando's improved depth has shone over the course of its three-games-in-nine-days stretch, which was good to see. It seems like another central defender could be on the way, so is there any way to reverse the Antonio Nocerino move in the summer window? That allocation money, not to mention his salary, could be put to more effective use, to say the least.

Logan: They need a defender. Dionatan Teixeira may be that answer, but he's a relative unknown. The Lions need a physical stopper who can break up attacks. The forward and midfield areas seem filled out, and with roster spots and cap space so tight they can really only afford to bring in one player, especially if he takes up an international spot. It's got to be the right guy.

Pride Time

This is where Wade tapped out, having not watched their match. SMH. #FireWade

We got our first look at the Pride without several key starters over the weekend, and the result wasn't pretty. Yet there were portions of the first half that were very positive. How did FC Kansas City get (and stay) on the front foot against Orlando?

Scott: The Pride's failure to capitalize on their strong start to the game was what left the door open for Kansas City, and Yael Averbuch's deflected free kick was a bit of luck that helped them close the door on Orlando and assert control on the match once that solid start faded for the Pride. The lack of firepower up front without Alex Morgan ultimately limited the danger Orlando could generate in attack, and Kansas City took advantage, to their credit.

Logan: Goals change games. It's a cliche, but after Averbuch's free kick deflected in the Pride seemed deflated. FCKC had only scored two goals all season before the match and the Pride made their offense look dangerous in the second half. Maybe all Orlando teams are going to be slump-busters this season. Pair that with a limited Pride attack and Orlando never really looked like getting back in it.

With Alex Morgan, Kristen Edmonds, Laura Alleway, and Ashlyn Harris all out, who was missed most and which player was missed least?

Logan: Morgan might have been the most missed, even if she hasn't had the greatest impact so far this season. The Pride needed someone to finish the decent chances they had in the first half and to provide any sort of threat in the second. Harris might have saved Erika Tymrak's curling shot, but I doubt even she gets to the deflection off Sanderson. Alleway was probably the least missed, Pressley has been a pretty good replacement in the last couple of matches.

Scott: As mentioned above, the Pride weren't able to turn possession into truly threatening chances, which leads me to believe Morgan was missed the most. Even when she's not scoring, she commands extra attention from defenses, and given the fact that Aubrey Bledsoe wasn't at fault for either FCKC goal, Ashlyn Harris wasn't missed quite as much on this day.

* * *

And thus concludes your roundtable discussion for this week as Orlando City and the Pride are off this week for the international window. OCB hosts Louisville City on Sunday and of course we've got Copa America Centenario to watch.

Feel free to add your answers to the questions above 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

By

Image of Braian Ojeda taking a shot in a friendly against FC Dallas.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread for a late night midweek matchup tonight between Orlando City (4-9-2, 14 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-2, 32 points) at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams in 2026 and the first time the teams have met since 2024.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s match.

History

Orlando City is 3-1-3 in the previous seven MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions got their only away win in the series in the last meeting and enter tonight 1-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The teams last met on May 18, 2024, with Jack Lynn coming off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Lynn’s strike in the 89th minute broke the scoreless deadlock and lifted the Lions to a 1-0 victory.

The teams met in Orlando most recently way back on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.

Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.

The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.

The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.

In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.

The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.

Overview

The teams meet tonight to get their post-World Cup portion of the season started. Orlando City has been terrible on the road all season long, keeping only one MLS opponent under two goals all year away from home and allowing five goals twice (at New York City FC and Nashville) and six goals twice (at LAFC and in the team’s most recent match away at FC Cincinnati just before the break).

Orlando City is a putrid 1-6-1 on the road this season, and now the Lions must face the Western Conference co-leaders tonight before coming home to face Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at home on Saturday. They’ll have to play at least tonight’s game without Martin Ojeda, who is out with a thigh injury sustained some time between his first-half goal a week ago in a friendly against FC Dallas and the time the availability report dropped on Tuesday.

But it isn’t all bad news for the Lions, who should have both Antoine Griezmann and Dike in the lineup. Griezmann was the club’s highly prized and widely publicized summer Designated Player signing, while Dike’s return to Orlando came together more recently, following his departure from West Bromwich Albion. They’ll help the club’s offense, but the attack hasn’t been the issue in 2026 — it’s been the historically porous defense, which is on pace to shatter the MLS record for goals conceded.

Meanwhile, San Jose is one of the first half of the season’s biggest surprises, as the Quakes have been outstanding in 2026. Scoring 34 goals while conceding just 15, San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (tied for third), goals conceded (third), and goal differential (+19, third).

The Earthquakes are 4-2-1 at home and are coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland in their last game prior to the World Cup break. San Jose boasts Golden Boot challenger Preston Judd, who leads the Quakes with 11 goals, adding two assists in his 15 appearances. Ousseni Bouda has chipped in five goals and three assists. Niko Tsakiris leads the team with seven assists to go along with his two goals, but he’s still recovering from a lower body injury and is not available tonight. However, the arrival of Timo Werner (four goals and five assists in just seven games) has truly elevated Bruce Arena’s Quakes, and he’ll need to be one of the main focal points for the Orlando defense.

To have any shot at taking something from this game, the Lions will need to play better road defense than they have all season. Orlando can score goals, but with Ojeda out, Griezmann will need to adapt quickly, and someone other than the team’s leading scorer will need to find the net.

The Lions will play without Ojeda (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty). In addition, Marco Pasalic may or may not have returned to the team after the World Cup. He was not in training Monday, although interim head coach Martin Perelman said he expected the Croatian back soon. The Earthquakes will be without Nonso Adimabua (lower body), former Lion Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body), DeJuan Jones (lower body), and Tsakiris (you guessed it, lower body…come on, San Jose).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer

San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn.

Defenders: Jamar Ricketts, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic.

Defensive Midfielders: Beau Lerouox, Ronaldo Vieira.

Attacking Midfielders: Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez, Ousseni Bouda.

Forwards: Preston Judd.

Bench: Jonathan Gonzalez, Dave Romney, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan, Jack Jasinski, Ian Harkes, Francesco Montali, Max Floriani, Darius Johnson.

Referees

REF: Elijio Arreguin.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Timothy Ford.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 542: Tampa Bay Friendly, McGuire Traded, OCB Beats Cincinnati, and More

Lions maul the Rowdies in friendly action, OCB wins on the road, and it’s transfer season.

Published

3 weeks ago

on

July 14, 2026

By

Image of Antoine Griezmann and Ivan Angulo celebrating a goal in a friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City welcomed I-4 Derby rival Tampa Bay to Inter&Co Stadium for a friendly match on Wednesday and then proceeded to bludgeon the Rowdies with a couple of hammers named Antoine Griezmann and Justin Ellis. The two attackers combined for a goal and four assists in a 6-0 beatdown of the team from the Gulf Coast, with five different Lions scoring and Griffin Dorsey forcing an own goal. We discuss Griezmann’s first minutes with Orlando City, what the team showed in its formation, and how good Justin Ellis’ vision is.

Oh, and it’s also transfer season now. Duncan McGuire is on his way out and Marco Pasalic reportedly will follow soon, while a new left back may be headed from Spain to Orlando.

Following all of that, we discuss Maxime Crepeau being added to the MLS All-Star Team and the announcement that he’ll participate in the 2026 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge.

Our mailbagbox asked us about which World Cup semifinalist players we’d want to join Orlando this season (if we could only pick one), and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

After the mailbagbox, we dive into OCB’s 2-1 road win at FC Cincinnati 2. It wasn’t the prettiest game by the Young Lions, but they managed to do enough to earn three points on the road, where they’ll stay to face Chattanooga on Saturday. We briefly preview that game.

Finally, Orlando City will be in Dallas Wednesday for the second of two friendlies leading up to the restart of the MLS season. It’s unlikely we’ll get a lot of details about that one, but we’ll see what happens. Maybe the FC Dallas folks will help us out.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 542 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City crushed the Rowdies, the transfer season is in full swing, plus: hey now, Crepeau’s an all-star.

28:50 – The mailbagbox is always good for a hypothetical scenario.

36:54 – The Young Lions slipped past Cincy and head to Chattanooga, while the senior Lions head to Dallas.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 119: International Break, USWNT, Louisville Preview, and More

The Pride return from a long international break looking to get their first-ever road win against Racing Louisville.

Published

3 months ago

on

April 22, 2026

By

Image of Haley McCutcheon scoring the opening goal in Orlando's home playoff win over Seattle.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

It feels like months since the Orlando Pride last took the field, but the calendar says otherwise. If you believe calendars, it’s only been a little less than three weeks, but time moves strangely in the post-pandemic apocalyptic world.

Anyway, we don’t have a match to recap, so we touched on a couple of Pride players putting the ball in the net during the international break and chat a bit about the United States Women’s National Team’s three-game friendly series against Japan. Emma Hayes used a lot of players, and the team looked solid for two of the three matches, but the rotated middle game seemed a bit disjointed. Hayes has greatly expanded the player pool and will have plenty of options when the World Cup approaches.

Our mailbagbox had questions about a potential change in the NWSL schedule, as the league explores adopting the fall-to-spring slate, and opposition own goals. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

After the mailbagbox, we turned our attention toward Friday’s late afternoon tussle with Racing Louisville in Kentucky. The Pride have never won on the road against Louisville, and it’s about high time they did. This match begins a congested push to the June World Cup break, and although Friday’s hosts aren’t high in the table, the Pride must be at their best to get a road result in this fixture. We look back at the series history, compare the two sides, provide our key matchups in the game, and make our final score predictions.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how Episode 119 went down:

0:15 – We open the show with a little banter about the Pride in the international break and the USWNT’s series vs. Japan.

9:03 – The mailbagbox features questions via both eletronic mail and social media. We welcome all modes of delivery.

19:59 – The Pride travel to Louisville to face Racing. They’ve never won in Kentucky, but we inform them how to do so.

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