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Orlando City 2016 Midseason Player Grades

Published

10 years ago

July 6, 2016

We’ve hit the halfway point in the season for Orlando City and the Lions, through 17 games, sit just just one point under the elusive red line in the Eastern Conference with 21 points and a 4-4-9 record.

While Orlando City hasn't suffered a ton of defeats this season — their four losses are tied for the lowest total in the East — the club's nine draws suggest things could be going a lot better, which has prompted ownership to make the decision to fire Adrian Heath as head coach last week.

So, with the season halfway through, I present to you my midseason grades.

Goalkeepers

Joe Bendik, 8 (MVP) — The former Toronto FC goalkeeper has started in all 16 games for Orlando City this season, and could not have done a better job at making fans forget about the beloved Tally Hall, who was cut from the club during the offseason. 29 goals against across 17 games doesn’t sound great, but Bendik has been put under a lot of pressure because of back line troubles for Orlando of late and he’s made the most of it to record 60 saves as well.

Earl Edwards Jr., Incomplete — Earl hasn't seen the field much with Bendik playing as well as he has through the first half of the year, but he's looked good when called upon in U.S. Open Cup play and has made a few spot starts for Orlando City B.

Defenders

Rafael Ramos, 5 — The Portuguese defender may be celebrating his country’s recent Euro 2016 title, but he’s probably not celebrating much about his performance on the field this season. Ramos has only played in 10 games this season due to hamstring injuries that have sidelined him for most of the past two months. And, coming off an off-season in which he signed a new, higher paying contract extension, his play has noticeably slipped from last year, with his attitude getting at best of him at times, in addition to making too many young mistakes in the back.

Kevin Alston, 6.5 — Alston finally got his chance to break into the starting lineup in May and has played more effectively than Ramos. He’s been a better defender, with the occasional slip-up, and moves the ball well forward in the attack, although his crossing could be improved. As far as good MLS backup fullbacks go, Alston is one.

Tommy Redding, 7.5 — The 19-year-old has been outstanding for much of his sophomore season in MLS. Taking on, and holding down, a big name like David Villa on the road early in the season was one of his finer moments, but overall he’s put in a solid campaign. Redding has shown loads of talent and potential to grow into an anchor on the back line for the next few years for Orlando City. He was able to step up and deliver for the club when David Mateos went down with an injury before the start of the season.

David Mateos, 6 — It’s been an up and down season for Mateos, who has been taking a lot of flak from fans for his play recently. For one of the higher salaries on the team, it’s more than fair to say he hasn’t played up to expectations most of the time, but he did play well recently against the Houston Dynamo, and, while I’m not saying that speaks for his entire season, it does mean, contrary to belief, he’s had good games this season. Performance-wise he’s maybe at a 6.5, but after adjusting his rating to the pay scale he’s at an easy 6.

Seb Hines, 6.5 — Prone to the occasional breakdown, Hines has generally played well throughout much of the season, putting in good performances recently against Houston and San Jose, the latter of which may arguably have been his best game of the season. Against the Earthquakes, he also scored one of his two goals in 2016. The expected arrival of Jose Aja will likely mean more competition for Hines, which can only improve the back line play.

Luke Boden, 6 — Boden’s 6 comes from the fact that he’s only played in seven games this season for the Lions, and hasn’t been all too spectacular in those appearances, making this a pretty average season for the backup left back. Boden’s been getting more opportunities lately in the wake of Adrian Winter’s departure, which has Brek Shea playing up on the left wing now, opening the space in the lineup for Bodz to jump in.

Brek Shea, 6.5 — Brek finally scored his first goal with the club earlier this season against the Portland Timbers, and for a guy that scored plenty of goals the last time he was in MLS with FC Dallas, more than a year without a goal is a long time. But that’s pretty much been Brek’s Orlando City career in a nutshell. He’s not a great left back. He gets forward well, but he’s not doing enough to make himself a vital part of the attack. Interim coach Bobby Murphy praised him after the Houston game, and there’s really a lot of times this season where he looked good, but didn’t actually play a role in swinging a result one way or another. An effective Brek Shea can be a real difference maker for this club heading down the stretch.

Midfielders

Harrison Heath, 6.5 — Harrison only started two games all of last season for Orlando (three appearances), and already has two starts this year, both of which have been very impressive outings, to say the least. The 19-year-old was a stud at New York City FC in May, and put in another solid outing against Houston. I feel like being the son of the coach had many people taking Harrison for granted, but he’s really been an impressive young player for Orlando this year with plenty of potential to actually make himself a good player in MLS and beyond. Teammates have called him one of the best passers on the team, and he can show that clearly at times. But there’s still work to be done for this far-from-polished product. I’d love to give Heath a 7, but two games doesn’t fully justify it.

Servando Carrasco, 7 — All things considered, I think this has been a very good campaign for Carrasco in Orlando. He’s easily the most overlooked player on the team, if you ask me. He’s another player I think people take for granted far too much based solely on who he’s married to, but the fact is Carrasco has stepped up and played an important role for the club this season. Never quite the star, but a solid role player. He doesn’t get to see too much time when both Cristian Higuita and Darwin Ceren are healthy and available, but he looked good in his start against San Jose a few weeks ago. A 7 is not saying he’s been the best player on the team, but given his campaign as a whole it’s looking good.

Antonio Nocerino, 4 — It’s been a nightmarish start to his MLS career for Nocerino, who’s been reduced to a bench player since struggling to gain any momentum for the club after leaving AC Milan. His production hasn’t come close to the expensive salary he’s collecting, and tension between him and the fans is starting to grow. His best game to date may well be the club’s most recent Open Cup game against the Ft. Lauderdale Strikers, but in MLS competition, he’s hardly looked comfortable or adjusted to the league at all. Here’s to hoping he can turn it around before it’s too late.

Cristian Higuita, 6 — Overall, things could be much better for Higuita this season. That's not saying things have been bad, but there are still problems he needs to fix — most notably, he's still getting yellow cards far too often, and that hurts the team when he's forced to play more cautiously or is getting suspended. The Montreal game back in May was maybe one of his most impactful games this season, but in general, Higuita has been the same tackling, hard-nosed force night in and night out for this club, averaging over four tackles per game and close to three interceptions.

Darwin Ceren, 6 — Higuita's partner in crime, Ceren, is also having a pretty suspect year for a guy we expect so much out of. That's not saying he hasn't made an impact alongside Higuita in the defensive midfield, because believe me, this team is without a doubt five times better when they're both on the pitch. Ceren continues to be one of the best passers on the team this season, and he can be a driving force of the offense from the back. He missed a few games back in May and one in June because of a knee injury, but has come back healthy to bolster the Lions' midfield.

Carlos Rivas, 5 — Like Brek, Rivas finally scored his first MLS goal for Orlando City earlier this season, and it was about time. Rivas came to the team young and lacking experience, and was thrown right into the fire. I personally think an upgrade can be made at the left wing position, but as long as Rivas is here he should be playing, because very few people on this team can run like him. He’s a problem for defenders on that left side, and opens up plenty of space with his off-the-ball runs (whenever he stays onside). He’s in the doghouse right now, but hopefully he gets out soon enough to help this team out.

Kevin Molino, 7.5 — I would like to assume that Molino will be in the running for MLS Comeback Player of the Year. After failing to score in any of his eight games last season before his ACL injury, Molino has come back to being the player we all knew so well in the USL. He has six goals with five assists at the halfway point, which is phenomenal for the 26-year-old. A 10-10 season would be the best thing Orlando City could have asked for coming back from injury, and it’s very possible the way he’s been playing. Without Molino, this is a much less creative team, as we saw a lot last season. And not having Kaká for most of the year has already been a big blow.

Kaká, 6 — Speaking of, Kaká's only played nine games this season for the Lions, with several different injuries hampering his second year in the league. Those nine games, however, have seen him produce three goals and five assists, which proves that at the very least he's been productive when healthy (and that's been the main problem). Who's to say where this team could be right now if the Brazilian captain where able to stay on the pitch?

Forwards

Julio Baptista, 7 — With all of the focus on how bad of a signing Nocerino has been, Baptista has quietly been putting together a very solid campaign for the Lions. The 34-year-old has two goals in 10 games, one of those a monster go-ahead goal at the time against San Jose. He’s been effective at drawing fouls and holding off defenders (which, yeah, he’s huge), and has been a contributing playmaker from the midfield at times. He’s been a solid and perfect backup to Cyle Larin to this point.

Cyle Larin, 7.5 — Which brings me to the young Canadian sophomore, who's followed up his 17-goal breakthrough performance with eight goals and three assists in 15 games this season. Larin continues to show improvement, while still trying to gain the stamina to last 90 minutes. His best game of the year may just be the Montreal game, where he picked up a brace to secure a big three points at home for his side.

Other Incomplete Grades

Conor Donovan — In the 18 on multiple occasions, but hasn’t played with the senior team.
Pedro Ribeiro — Made three appearances for the club (one start) before undergoing back surgery.
Devron Garcia — Has featured in the 18, but has only played for OCB.
Richie Laryea — Hasn’t played yet, either, but is developing nicely with the reserves.
Hadji Barry — Has only appeared in four games this season, all off of the bench. Can’t really give him a grade, but I would say he’s shown promise and the coaching staff really likes him.

* * *

That's if for my midseason grades. What do you think? Who would you grade differently? Comment below!

Polling Closed

Player	Votes
Joe Bendik	115
Kevin Molino	53
Tommy Redding	17
Cyle Larin	10
Other	12

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

3 weeks ago

July 22, 2026

Michael Citro

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

Our most recent PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for tonight’s match.

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!

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

4 weeks ago

July 14, 2026

Michael Citro

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.

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

4 months ago

April 22, 2026

Michael Citro

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.