Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Player Grades and Man of the Match

Orlando City came out with pride and the supporters were treated to an excellent effort with a gut-wrenching result. The team gave it their all tonight and that needs to be applauded. Many of the players laid down on the field after emotionally and physically giving their fullest effort.

The fans and community at Camping World Stadium tonight were the true players of the game. Here are our player grades and Man of the Match:

Starters

G, Joe Bendik, 6.5 – Made some big saves when he needed to. Nothing he could do on the Earthquake goals. He did his job tonight. This is the life of goalkeeper — do everything in your power to keep the ball out of the net and sometimes it just doesn’t go your way.

D, Kevin Alston, 5 – Slightly below average night for him. Alston looked at fault for the Chad Barrett goal in the 85th minute. His crosses seemed off and looks like the two games in the week caught up to him tonight. He was arguably Orlando City’s worst player on the field tonight not counting one of the subs.

D, Tommy Redding, 5.5 – It wasn’t his best night but it wasn’t a nightmare. Tommy was in good position for most of the match and did well to run down Quincy Amarikwa and kept him to a quiet night. Another player who looked gassed in final moments when Orlando City needed to finish off the match.

D, Seb Hines, 7 (MOTM) – Seb had his best game since preseason. Hines had a golden opportunity on a Boden corner kick in the 31st minute that he sent over. However, he was was able to redeem him self in the 66th minute with a headed goal off a Winter corner kick. He defended well and although this was a team performance he gets our Man of the Match by the smallest of margins.

D, Luke Boden, 7 – He was dangerous on the flank and he was making runs all night long for Orlando City. Boden’s services both from corner kicks and the outside were challenging the San Jose back line. Luke defended well and was the best player who played tonight and also played on Wednesday night.

M, Adrian Winter, 6.5 – Winter again was the workhorse tonight, running down balls and winning possession for Orlando City. Winter missed a great opportunity in the 36th minute when he was one-on-one with Earthquakes goalkeeper David Bingham, only to send it over the bar. Winter’s service was on point in the 66th minute when his corner found Hines on the goal.

M, Servando Carrasco, 6.5 – Carrasco had an excellent strike in the 56th minute that Bingham made an excellent save on in traffic. He possessed the play well and was in hard on tackles. He was at the wrong place at the wrong time when he tried to get his foot to clear a ball at the end, which deflected right to Salinas for the tying goal.

M, Cristian Higuita, 6.5 – Higuita connected most of the attack in the first 45 for Orlando City. He obtained his normal yellow card in the 69th minute. Connected on most of his passes tonight and did well with Molino to facilitate the possession in Kaká’s absence.

M/D, Brek Shea, 5.5 – Brek had some dangerous runs in the first half but wasn’t able to connect some of his passes. He looked more at home on the wing. Brek had a chance to clear a ball that could have ended the game, but he wasn’t able to get enough on it and San Jose was able to push forward one final time. Shea was gutted after the match as he and the team really wanted the three points.

M, Kevin Molino, 6.5 – Molino was all over the pitch tonight trying to fill the number 10 role. There were streaks where he was connecting the dots and creating in the attack and other times his first touch failed him. Molino was in the middle of it all as he drew multiple yellow cards. He could have put the game out of reach on the breakaway in the second half only to be chased down by Marvell Wynne.

F, Cyle Larin, 6.5 – Cyle’s blue collar work tonight might have gone unnoticed until 65th minute when he applied some pressure to a San Jose defender and forced a corner kick that helped to set up the Hines goal. Larin had some great runs that extended the San Jose back line. A couple of dangerous chances that he wasn’t able cash in on, though.

Substitutes

M, Julio Baptista (62′), 7 – World class touch and turn by the Brazilian in stoppage time. Absolutely brilliant strike by Baptista. One of the best goals of the season. He did well to hold the ball and came in and occupied the space in the middle of the field that San Jose was conceding.

M, Antonio Nocerino (78′), N/A – Nocerino did not play a factor in this game. He occupied space and tried to get the team to lock in after the the Baptista goal. The way Harrison Heath has been playing he might have been a better option.

M, Carlos Rivas (87′) N/A – Helped to stretch the field after the San Jose goal. He brought a spark to the team and his entrance helped to bring energy back into the crowd. His ball in to Baptista was amazing for only coming in a few moments before.

Those are the grades in this 2-2 draw. Let us know who you think is your Man of the Match by voting below, and feel free to add your comments about the game.

Polling Closed