Connect with us

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Player Grades and Man of the Match

Published

9 years ago

on

Well, that was a fun win and I’m sure we’d all like to see a lot more of that next season. Orlando City possessed the ball in the attacking half, created many good scoring chances and finished plenty of them in a 4-2 win over D.C. United on Decision Day. And it could have been even more lopsided than that, as Kevin Molino hit a post and missed a header just wide, and Carlos Rivas whiffed on a half volley try with an empty net to shoot at.

Still, it was an outstanding result and the Lions finish the season feeling good after beating two playoff teams in the final two matches of the season by a combined 6-2 score. Now begins the process of Jason Kreis molding this team into what he wants it to become.

But first, let’s give out our final match grades for 2016.

Starters

GK, Joe Bendik, 5.5 – With only three shots on target and two goals allowed, this would usually not be a very good grade. However, Joe had zero chance on the first goal, which came off essentially a two-on-nobody after perhaps the worst back pass in Orlando City history (more on that later). Kennedy Igboananike’s goal was a freaking rocket and also didn’t allow Bendik much of a chance to stop it. Ultimately, United wasn’t a very dangerous team overall in this game and Joe didn’t have much of a chance to show his stuff, for either good or bad.

D, Mikey Ambrose, 6 – A solid day for Mikey, in my opinion, with one chance created and a lot of creativity shown in his combination play up the left side with Kaká and others. His 71.7% passing rate could have been better, and he had no accurate crosses on four attempts and only one accurate long ball out of five. He also forced Seb Hines to cover a lot of ground early in the game as he got caught upfield a couple of times. Still, there were way more positives than negatives and he has a lot of upside. Finished with a tackle, a clearance, and two interceptions.

D, Seb Hines, 4 – Folks will point a lot of fingers at Seb after this game, and rightfully so when you consider the world’s softest back pass that was nominally intended for Joe Bendik but essentially gave United its first real lifeline in the game. Hines started the game wobbly, but had to cover a lot of space (see above review for Ambrose). Defensively, which is the primary job he has, Hines did OK. He had two clearances, two interceptions, and one tackle. He gave away a free kick early with a clumsy foul, though. He and Jose Aja did a nice job of moving the ball and keeping Orlando from being penned into their own end.

D, Jose Aja, 7 – On a team-high (tied with Hines) passing attempts, Jose completed 83.6% and won nearly everything in the air. He led the team in touches (76), interceptions (3), and clearances (3) and tied Cristian Higuita for the most tackles (4). His towering headers turned balls into the Orlando box into throw-ins for the opposition. He had only one nervy giveaway in the second half, but he immediately won the ball back. Good day for Aja although it could have been better had Igboananike not gotten the better of him for the second D.C. goal. Kennedy has done that to a lot of defenders though.

D, Rafael Ramos, 6.5 – Over the past two games, Rafa hasn’t shown us much we haven’t seen before. He’s been effective moving forward but has had issues here or there on the defensive end. Ramos completed 97.5% of his passes and was a fluid part of the offense, assisting on Molino’s opening goal. His habit of sneaking in behind the United defense created problems for the opposition all game. He got beat badly by Julian Buescher on Igboananike’s goal but he was limping noticeably at the time and was subbed out just afterward for Kevin Alston, so injury probably played a role in that. His biggest issue is his crossing accuracy, as Rafa was 0-for-5 in that department. He finished with a tackle, two interceptions and a blocked shot.

MF, Antonio Nocerino, 7 – Another very solid game for the Italian, who completed 90.7% of his passes, kept United moving laterally instead of straight down the middle of the pitch, and broke up play on D.C.’s few attacks. Five of his eight long balls were accurate, and he finished with three tackles and two interceptions. The main difference between Nocerino now and at the beginning of the season is that he understands the system and not only where he should be but also where his teammates belong. You can see him confidently directing the players around him.

MF, Cristian Higuita, 8 – What a game for Cristian. The young Colombian notched his first goal and assist of the season, completed 93.% of his passes, made a team-high four tackles, and was his usual pesky self all over the field on defense. Jason Kreis said he wanted Cristian to move up behind the attacking midfielders during play and that paid off big for Higuita in this game. Also…no yellow cards.

MF, Kaká, 8 – The maestro of the midfield had a vintage performance against United. His long ball to Ramos set up Molino’s goal and gave the captain a hockey assist. He had a regular assist later on Higuita’s goal and made Sean Franklin look like a traffic cone to score a goal of his own in the 21st minute – a gorgeous shot off the inside of the back post. He created four chances and completed 82.6% of his passes. His lone blemish may have been his unselfishness, as a couple of his passes were easily cut out when he could have instead shot on target.

MF, Matias Perez Garcia, 6.5 – MPG was robbed early on a shot that should have been a goal if Travis Worra hadn’t channeled his inner Bill Hamid. That was one of two shots for the Argentinian. He passed accurately (90.9%) and had his usual hustle but seemed to disappear at times. He had only one tackle but no unsteady touches. He didn’t draw as many fouls around the box as usual. Just a solid outing.

MF, Kevin Molino, 8.5 (MOTM) – The Trinidadian put on a show in an effort that showed definitively that he wants to be a part of this club in 2017. In addition to his 13th-minute goal, he hit the post in the 56th minute and had a few other chances just miss the target. His four shots and five chances led all players in the game and he had a passing accuracy of 81.8%. He was clicking with everyone around him all game long and was a bit unlucky not to at least score a brace. He also played solid defense, with a tackle and two interceptions. His hustle was noticeable.

F, Carlos Rivas, 6 – The Colombian striker did a lot of things well in this game but finishing wasn’t one of them. He missed a bouncing pass from a Molino pass in the 52nd. He then was sent in on a beautiful dummy by Molino in the 68th minute when just one simple touch would have had him in past Worra on an empty goal. But Rivas did a good job of wreaking havoc with his speed and spreading the ball around to help develop the attack rather than take on multiple defenders by himself. His passing accuracy of 68% doesn’t look like much until you compare it with what we’ve seen out of Cyle Larin when deployed as a lone striker the last few weeks. He continues to try his customary long shots with predictable results.

Substitutes

F, Cyle Larin (69’), 5 – The Canadian came on for MPG but didn’t have much impact on the game other than to worry the back line a bit. He registered only one shot (off target), took only 10 touches, and completed just two of his four passes. Did nearly score on a cross that was cut out at the last second in the 80th minute when Ambrose sent Kaká down the left and the captain squared a ball into the six-yard box.

F, Julio Baptista (75’), 7 – The Beast made an impression in his 15 minutes. He took a pass from Higuita and blasted a goal that took a slight deflection off Marcelo Sarvas in the 89th to cap the scoring. Tried an audacious bicycle kick off a corner in the 84th that would have made for a spectacular goal but he didn’t get all of it. A minute later he nearly snuck in a shot to the near post that caught side netting instead. He completed all three of his passes and his seven touches were nearly as many as Larin had in six fewer minutes played.

D, Kevin Alston (81’), N/A – Kevin entered for a limping Ramos and didn’t have much time to make an impact. He did register one tackle but completed neither of his two passes. With the Lions on the attack for most of his time on the pitch, there wasn’t much involvement for Alston.

That’s the way I saw Orlando City’s individual performances in a 4-2 season-ending win over D.C. United. Please vote for your player of the game below and let me know how wrong you think I was in the comments section below.

Polling Closed

Player Votes
Kaká 64
Kevin Molino 21
Cristian Higuita 44
Antonio Nocerino 4
Jose Aja 4
Other 3
Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City Showing Signs of Adjusting to Eduard Atuesta’s Absence

The Lions have looked much better on offense the last two games, and there’s a couple of reasons why.

Published

1 day ago

on

May 16, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Much has been made of Orlando City’s difficulties in creating chances and scoring goals when Eduard Atuesta has been unavailable due to injury. It’s not hard to understand why either. The Colombian was unavailable for three of Orlando’s four scoreless draws this year, and he only played nine minutes as a substitute in the stalemate against the New York Red Bulls on April 12.

When he was healthy and got the start against Atlanta United two games later, the Lions won 3-0 and he created the most chances of anyone in the game with three. Orlando then promptly reverted to being offensively stunted in the following game against the Chicago Fire, and was only able to manage its fourth scoreless draw of the year, despite playing over a half the game with a man advantage.

There certainly seemed to be plenty of evidence pointing towards Atuesta being the missing cog in Orlando City’s offense. While he only has two assists in eight games, he does a ton of work in linking the defense to the attack and is great at finding attacking players in dangerous areas, as evidenced by his 17 key passes. In the 0-0 draws with the Philadelphia Union, CF Montreal, and the Fire, Orlando just didn’t look right without him, although the Red Bulls game was a much better performance that was ultimately derailed by Rodrigo Schlegel’s sending off.

While he hasn’t played in either of Orlando’s last two league matches, a 3-3 draw against the New England Revolution, and a 3-1 win against Charlotte FC, the offense clearly hasn’t had any problem creating chances. If anything, the Lions should have scored more goals if not for a couple instances of less-than-crisp finishing in each match.

So, why the sudden change?

Well for one thing, the Designated Players are firing on all cylinders again. Martin Ojeda scored a hat trick against New England, and he and Luis Muriel scored Orlando’s first two goals against Charlotte. Ojeda didn’t start either of the two games against Atlanta and Chicago because he was dealing with a minor injury, but now that it’s in the rearview mirror, he’s been a man possessed. Muriel probably should have had at least one goal of his own against the Revs but seemed oddly reluctant to shoot, although he still completed three dribbles and delivered three key passes. The Charlotte game was then his turn to come out of the gate swinging, as he narrowly had a goal ruled out for offside just two minutes in, before hammering a venomous shot from distance just six minutes later that gave Kristijan Kahlina all sorts of trouble and opened the scoring.

It isn’t just getting contributions from the big guns though, because we need to acknowledge the play of rookie Joran Gerbet in these last two games. He’s the man who’s been asked to fill in for Atuesta next to Cesar Araujo, and he’s getting more and more comfortable in that role. Against the Revs he had an interception, a key pass and an assist, and completed a long ball and a through ball while recording a passing accuracy of 86.5%. Against Charlotte, he recorded an interception, three clearances, a completed dribble, and two successful long balls, and he had an outstanding passing accuracy of 98%. They weren’t all simply backwards or sideways passes either. There were plenty of times when he progressed the ball upfield to an attacking player and helped keep the Lions moving forward, and that’s exactly what you want out of the guy playing that position.

He still has a way to go before reaching Atuesta’s level, but that’s to be expected for a guy that’s playing the first professional season of his career. What’s most important is that he’s getting more comfortable, contributing, and proving that he can be a legitimate option to rotate into the starting XI when Atuesta is unavailable or when fixture congestion dictates changes to the lineup.

It’s worth mentioning the caveat that the last two games haven’t been against the strongest opposition the league has to offer. The Revs were on a four-game winning streak before playing Orlando, but three of those four wins were against weak or shaky teams in Atlanta, Toronto FC, and Charlotte, while the fourth team (NYCFC) has been difficult to get a read on. I’m not saying the Revs are a paper tiger, but it’s tough to know how good they really are despite a good run of recent form. Then you have Charlotte, which was above the playoff line but also on a three-game losing streak coming into the match that has now been convincingly extended to four.

At the end of the day, you can only beat who’s in front of you, but I’d encourage us all to not get too carried away until we see the same results against sterner opposition. For better or worse, that’s exactly what we’ll get in the Lions’ next three matches, which will be against a capable, albeit flawed, Inter Miami side on the road, at home in the U.S. Open Cup against a Nashville SC team that’s fourth in the East, and at home against the Portland Timbers, who are currently fourth in the West.

Ultimately, we can only judge this team on what we’ve seen from it, and over the last two games we’ve seen a side that’s had no trouble creating chances. Despite the continued absence of the important Atuesta, the Lions are adjusting thanks to contributions from their heavy hitters and the improving play of the rookie Gerbet. Only time will tell if those improvements are sustainable, but for now its a hell of a lot of fun to enjoy.

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/16/25

Orlando City players make MLS Team of the Matchday, Luis Muriel focused, Orlando Pride plays tonight, and more.

Published

1 day ago

on

May 16, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Happy Friday! I’ve had a pretty good week so far and am looking forward to three straight days of Orlando soccer. The Orlando Pride will get us started tonight and then we have Orlando City B on Saturday before Orlando City plays on Sunday. It should be a fun next few days, and hopefully one filled with celebrations too. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Lions Make MLS Team of the Matchday

There’s plenty of purple in the latest MLS Team of the Matchday following Orlando City’s 3-1 win over Charlotte FC. Martin Ojeda and David Brekalo were both selected, while Oscar Pareja was chosen as the top coach from the midweek slate. Ojeda’s strike in the first half is also up for Goal of the Matchday as his strong run of form continues. The only outfield player on this Team of the Matchday that didn’t score is Brekalo, who had two assists, so it’s nice to see him receive deserved recognition for an excellent performance that included a great setup on Orlando’s third goal. Pareja has the Lions on an 11-game unbeaten streak across all competitions and is managing things well so far during this busy May.

Luis Muriel Staying Focused in Sophomore Season

With five goals so far this season, Orlando City forward Luis Muriel has already mirrored his scoring total from all of last season. Staying mentally prepared has been key for the 34-year-old in his second year with Orlando, and he spoke about what’s changed for him after not quite reaching expectations in his first year.

“Coming to a league like this isn’t easy. A lot of times from the outside, you aren’t able to measure up or really see what the league is. Sometimes you can underestimate things, thinking it’s easy,” Muriel said. “That leads you to take things on in a different way, the work, the matches.

“When you go into ‘MLS Mode’ you realize how good the league is, how competitive it is, how demanding the league is to be able to do things well. That’s when things start to flow, to go well. I think that’s the difference between this year and last.”

He’s finding his footing in the league now and was a force to be reckoned with against Charlotte on Wednesday. Muriel is aware that the Lions will need him to be at his best when they travel to take on Inter Miami on Sunday for an important rivalry clash.

Diving Into Justin Ellis’s Ascent

Victor Olorunfemi of Top Drawer Soccer gave a great profile on Orlando City B forward Justin Ellis and his growth with the club. Ellis, who just celebrated his 18th birthday on Wednesday with his MLS debut, is having a great year after a solid season with OCB last year. The high school senior was the top scorer at this year’s Generation Adidas Cup with six goals to help Orlando’s U-18 team win the tournament. He can create chances just as well as he can convert them and is quick to give credit to the coaches and staff that have helped him develop. The U.S. youth pool is deep, but Ellis could be a name to keep an eye out for ahead of the U-20 World Cup in September.

Orlando Pride Match Headlines NWSL Weekend

The Orlando Pride’s match tonight against the Kansas City Current is the premier matchup this week in the NWSL. While I wouldn’t call it a rivalry just yet, these two teams had great games last year. The Current are still out for revenge after Orlando beat them while shorthanded last summer and won again in the NWSL playoffs in Orlando before winning the NWSL Championship in Kansas City. First place in the league is on the line and it should be a thrilling match featuring the league’s top two defenses and attacking threats like Barbra Banda, Temwa Chawinga, Marta, and Debinha.

NWSL Contenders and Underperformers

We’re about a third of the way into the NWSL season and ESPN‘s Jeff Kassouf dove into how each team is meeting its expectations so far. Despite their stumbles in recent weeks, the Pride are near the top of the table and have plenty of time to get things firing on all cylinders. Two of the California teams are enjoying surprising success so far, with the San Diego Wave up in fourth while Angel City FC is in fifth and could become a real contender once Alexander Straus takes over as head coach. NJ/NY Gotham FC and the North Carolina Courage are sleeping giants of sorts, so it will be interesting to see when they start climbing up the table.

Free Kicks

  • You’ll need a paid subscription for the full details, but Orlando City right back Alex Freeman continues to impress this season. Freeman is finding success in a way different from his father Antonio Freeman, who led the NFL in receiving yards for the Green Bay Packers in 1998.
  • This year’s MLS pre-match jerseys to celebrate Pride month are out and they’re a vibrant and funky design.

Love lifts us up 💜The new 2025 Pride Pre-Match Jerseys are here!🛒 orlsoccer.co/fbpri

— Orlando City SC (@orlandocitysc.com) 2025-05-15T18:56:08.764Z
  • Esther Gonzalez leads the NWSL with seven goals this season and has agreed to a contract extension with Gotham FC that will last through 2027.
  • FIFA representatives, including FA Chair Debbie Hewitt and UEFA President Alexander Ceferin, walked out of FIFA’s annual congress in protest of FIFA President Gianni Infantino arriving three hours late. Infantino has spent this week in the Middle East visiting leaders in Saudi Arabia and Qatar with Donald Trump.
  • FC Barcelona officially won this year’s La Liga title after a 2-0 win over Espanyol. Phenom Lamine Yamal scored a sensational goal in the match, which is fitting considering how crucial he was to Barcelona winning the league this year.
  • Predictable names like Luis Enrique and Antonio Conte are on the list of top European coaches this year, but this article also shines a light on coaches who navigated tough waters in small boats. Alexander Blessin has St. Pauli on the verge of survival in the Bundesliga and Filippo Inzaghi improved Pisa by 30 points in Serie B to secure promotion.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Inter Miami: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to secure a victory in Sunday’s edition of Tropic Thunder?

Published

2 days ago

on

May 15, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City / Mark Thor

The first Tropic Thunder match of the season is here. As I recently said on The Mane Land PawedCast, I am both looking forward to and dreading this match. I think that is an appropriate feeling. Orlando City is in the midst of a congested May schedule, but every match matters.

Inter Miami tops my list of hated teams at this point. As such, I very much want the Lions to win and for Florida to be purple. What does Orlando City need to do to earn all three points on the road against their in-state rivals?

Pocket Messi

Orlando City must keep Lionel Messi from having too big of an impact on the match. There are plenty of other players that the defense will need to worry about, and I’ll get to them. What I’m looking for is a frustrated Messi — Messi that feels he should be getting calls on the lightest of touches but is not.

The pair of players that I’m expecting to keep an eye on Messi are Cesar Araujo and Rodrigo Schlegel. The lion’s share of that burden will fall to Araujo. I want him to be hounding Messi every time he gets the ball. If Messi is able to get past Araujo, I want Schlegel to be right in his face. We’re all sick of MLS and Apple TV putting his smug mug in our faces at every opportunity. It’s time for two of Orlando’s defenders to take the shine off of Messi.

Deal with the Rest

Assuming Araujo can limit Messi, Orlando City still has to deal with Miami’s talented attacking players not named Messi. Miami and Orlando entered Wednesday night’s game with the same number of goals scored (21) and allowed (15) this season, although the Herons conceded more at San Jose (3) than the Lions (1) did at home against Charlotte. Each scored three times on Wednesday. However, the memory of the last time the Lions faced Miami at Chase Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale is a 5-0 loss. That isn’t something we want to see again.

Theoretically, no match is more important than another, although an argument could be made that Tropic Thunder is no mere match. I fully expect a starting back line of Alex Freeman, Schlegel, Robin Jansson, and David Brekalo in front of Pedro Gallese to stop Miami’s attack. A clean sheet is the objective.

Alex vs. Alba

As you can tell, this is a very defensive heavy Three Keys, but given what happened in this fixture last year, I don’t think it’s out of line. Alex Freeman has been good this season. He has secured the starting spot at right back and seems unlikely to give it back. One of the things he is good at is getting into the attack with Marco Pasalic. That isn’t what I’m looking for from him this weekend.

Miami’s Jordi Alba is a dangerous player that Freeman will be expected to help contain. Alba has five assists, seven successful crosses, and 13 key passes so far this season. If Freeman is still getting up the pitch to assist in the attack, he will need to make sure he isn’t allowing Alba free rein to get behind him and serve as a provider in Orlando’s half of the field.

That is what I will be looking for Sunday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Trending