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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union: Five Takeaways from a 2-1 Victory

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I could get used to this kind of thing. Orlando City has two wins from two matches and you can see a new attitude of players playing for each other, helping one another, and a bit of a swagger on the offensive end. We’ve seen backheel flicks, double spins, and all manner of moves previously not put on display by the Lions.

It’s a very encouraging start, and if it continues, it’s going to be a fun season.

Last night, Orlando City (2-0-0, 6 points) won its second straight against Philadelphia (0-1-2, 2 points), in the type of game that would have been a draw in years past. The drive by Ilsinho that clanked off the left post would have bounced into the net the last two years, sucking the life out of the stadium and stealing two points from Orlando for the visitors, and may have been the two points that kept the Lions out of the postseason. But that never happened, and instead we go into the international break on a bit of a high.

Before we turn our attention to the USMNT and the Pride’s preseason, let’s look back at what stood out from last night’s match.

No Knockin’ Nocerino

Nobody took more abuse early in their Orlando City tenure than Italian midfielder Antonio Nocerino. Boy has Noce turned things around. The 31-year-old from Naples has a renewed spring in his step and a more confident all-around game. It started after Jason Kreis took over as head coach in Orlando and has progressed to the point where the Italian is earning his hefty salary. Last night, Nocerino added a new wrinkle to his game – getting forward into the box to add to the attack.

“I thought he was spectacular,” Head Coach Jason Kreis said after the match. “He in particular was breaking up a lot of plays and was in and around a lot of important possessions for us, found the right pass many, many times, and did get forward a little bit more than he has typically, and we’re going to need that.”

Antonio was on his game all night, stepping into passing lanes to nick the ball, directing his teammates where to go, sending ridiculous one-time passes up the field where they hit teammates perfectly in stride, and being a veteran leader. It was a knockout performance from someone fans can’t knock much anymore.

Larin on Fire

I’ll admit it was a little worrying to see Cyle Larin score only one goal in the last nine games of 2016, and only four in the 14 matches after Kreis became Orlando City’s coach. Could it be that Kid Fantastic wasn’t cut out for the Kreis system? It turns out, LOL, no.

“I think first and foremost it’s about the work rate and the commitment that Cyle has put in to take himself through a new fitness level, and he’s able to play a little bit different way than he did last year,” Kreis said. “I enjoy seeing people who work hard get some success and it’s really pleasing to see Cyle get a couple goals.

“Tonight [Larin] showed an ability to make runs into the corners. He showed an ability to turn on the ball and go at defenders 1-v-1, and also he played some very nice passes in combination with other players around him, so that’s what we want. We want him to become a more versatile striker — not just a box striker.”

Larin has stuffed the net three times in two matches and nearly netted a hat trick last night in a tour de force performance up top for Orlando. The Canadian international is passing at a much higher rate this season (83.3% last night, with two chances created), making more intelligent runs in a wider variety of directions, and partnering at the top of Orlando’s 4-4-2 in perfect balance with Colombian striker Carlos Rivas. It may be too early to start talking about the Golden Boot or the MVP race, but if this continues, both of those things will be in play and we’ll have to start worrying about European clubs swooping in to take Cyle away.

Jose Aja and C.J. Sapong Waged an Epic Battle

It’s difficult to know how much of it could be seen on television, but Orlando City center back Jose Aja and Union striker C.J. Sapong embarked on one of the most physical 90-minute on-field wars I’ve ever seen. The Uruguayan defender and Philadelphia’s forward were banging and grabbing nearly the entire match, trying to win the positional battle. Aja tossed Sapong to the ground a couple of times but also managed to muscle him quite legally much of the night. Sapong may have scored a goal — when he was able to go up and over Will Johnson instead of fighting for it against Aja — but he won’t soon forget how tough his night in Orlando was.

This Carlos Rivas is DP-Worthy

For two seasons, we’ve seen an inconsistent young man from Colombia bewilder us with stray shots, tantalize us with his speed, and generally fail to make a meaningful impact on Orlando City games. If he can continue to turn in performances like last night, those days would appear to be over. Carlos Rivas drove the Union insane last night with his speed, finesse, surprising amount of defensive tenacity, and inch-perfect passes.

If Larin earned most people’s Man of the Match nods for his two goals, Rivas can’t have been far behind. His slick backheel on to Matias Perez Garcia’s onrushing foot helped set up the second goal, even as his fizzing cross permitted nothing other than the simplest of touches from Larin to help it across the line for Orlando’s first of the evening. He set up two other excellent opportunities that went wanting, but last night’s performance was reminiscent of – and possibly better than – Rivas’ masterful performance at Montreal late last season. This Carlos Rivas is an MLS DP, full stop.

After the match, Kreis talked about Rivas’s “willingness to work extremely hard” in the off-season and “give us something different with his running behind defenders.”

“[Rivas] deserves a couple [goals] as well,” Kreis said. “I wouldn’t want to say anything about the forwards without saying how important Carlos Rivas was to the performance tonight as well.”

He’s very succinct, too. When asked how his ailing hamstring felt after the game, he said, “muy bueno.”

Fortress

Orlando City Stadium is legit. It’s difficult to explain how moving into a new building has changed the feel of the team, but it just has. The press box was rumbling under my feet and I heard every chant and every song as the purple-clad masses willed their team on to another victory. This year’s Lions rarely seem nervy. This Orlando City team doesn’t appear to rattle. One expects good results rather than bad ones, even if a play breaks down the wrong way and you’re suddenly looking down the pitch to see an enemy striker bearing down on Joe Bendik.

“Another night where I’m really, really pleased with the effort and commitment, the work rate, the togetherness, the passion of the players. I think a lot of that is spurred on by our fantastic home fans,” Kreis said. “So, a really pleasing night for, I think, everybody involved.”

Just by moving into a more intimate venue a few blocks away from Camping World Stadium, the 2017 version of Orlando City seems much more likely to get positive results at home. The fans and the team are turning Orlando City Stadium into the kind of fortress the old Citrus Bowl never was. You now expect points rather than hope for them.


Those are the things I noticed in last night’s 2-1 win. What stood out to you? Let us know in the comments section below.

Opinion

The Case for Starting Luis Muriel Against Atlanta

Muriel’s game is tailor made to help Orlando get the result in what will likely be a tight contest.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

For the second season in a row, Orlando City finds itself hosting a match in the Eastern Conference semifinals. It was a scenario that was far less likely this year, with the Lions watching as all three seeds above them crashed out in the first round, leaving OCSC as the highest-seeded team still standing in the East. Last year’s semifinal match didn’t go so well, with 10-man Orlando falling to the eventual champion Columbus Crew in extra time. So, how do the Lions avoid that fate this year and advance to the Eastern Conference final for the first time?

For starters, they can succeed on each of Dave Rohe’s three keys to victory! I’d like to make an addition though, and campaign for Oscar Pareja to start Luis Muriel instead of Ivan Angulo. To be clear, it’s not that I have an axe to grind against Angulo, as he’s largely ranged from solid to good when starting out on the left wing. For my money though, this match is tailor made for Muriel and giving him the start could help Orlando get through to the next round without needing to resort to extra time or penalties.

It’s not unreasonable to expect Sunday’s game to play out in a similar manner to Orlando’s 2-1 Decision Day loss to Atlanta, in which the visitors had 34% of the ball to OCSC’s 66%. True, part of that disparity was down to Atlanta’s 2-0 lead after 16 minutes, which allowed the visitors to sit back, bunker, and protect what they had. Even if the game had remained scoreless for longer though, Atlanta probably would likely have ceded possession anyway and looked to play defensively and hit on the counter. They rolled out a compact 4-2-3-1 in that game, but deployed a 3-5-2 in their last two games against Miami, and they might do so again after its effectiveness.

With Orlando likely to have the lion’s share (hehe) of the ball, and Atlanta sitting deep, there figures to be less room for Angulo to deploy his electric pace. OCSC will probably need to make things happen in the “half-court,” with an emphasis on moving the ball quickly, making clever runs, and finding those runs with creative and accurate passes.

Enter Luis Muriel. The Colombian Designated Player had a slow start to life with Orlando City but has come on strong in recent months, excelling in a super sub role and frequently making an impact in games off the bench. In 56 minutes against Charlotte in Game 3, he completed two dribbles, played one key pass and one through ball, and took three shots, with one on target, one off target, and one blocked. He doesn’t offer Angulo’s speed, but he has maybe the best vision and range of passing of anyone on the team, he’s an outstanding dribbler, and he’s a calm and capable finisher.

He hasn’t been asked to do a ton of traditional striker work during his resurgence, but Muriel has excelled at setting up teammates and creating chances, as evidenced by the litany of key passes littering his stat sheet. Those attributes could be hugely important in breaking Atlanta down, and with two key passes and two completed dribbles against them in just 22 minutes on Decision Day, he’s already proven he can be effective against the Five Stripes.

Another thing that could help the Lions in starting Muriel, is that it would almost certainly take Atlanta by surprise. Oscar Pareja isn’t exactly known for tweaking his lineup on a game-to-game basis, vastly preferring to find an XI that works and stick with it religiously. As long as everyone’s healthy, that lineup has featured Angulo starting with Muriel coming off the bench, and flipping the script would certainly be an unexpected variation that Atlanta might not be expecting. At this level, teams are good enough to adjust on short notice, but you also take every possible edge that you can find, and a lineup shift could be exactly that.


In short, as much as I like Angulo, I think Muriel should get the call in his place on Sunday. The veteran’s combination of vision, passing ability, and dribbling makes him uniquely suited to help unlock defenses, which will be crucial in a game where Orlando City is likely to dominate possession. I don’t think it’s likely to happen given Papi’s consistency with his lineups, but the unexpected move could give the Lions the edge they’re looking for. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 11/22/24

Emily Sams wins Defender of the Year, Orlando City’s turnaround, Barbra Banda nominated for African Woman Player of the Year, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday! Beyond working and catching some soccer here and there, I don’t have many plans for the weekend. I’m also hoping to find some time to trial some cranberry and brie bites I’m trying to perfect before Thanksgiving next week. For now though, let’s jump right into today’s links from around the soccer world!

Emily Sams Awarded NWSL Defender of the Year

The Orlando Pride’s Emily Sams was named 2024 NWSL Defender of the Year after a fantastic season. The Pride only conceded 20 goals in a record-breaking season, and Sams played in all 13 of the team’s shutouts. Sams was one of the most impactful players for the Pride this year and had 163 recoveries, 76 clearances, and 16 blocks. She’s the first Pride player to win the award and it’s great to see her receive some deserved recognition in her second year in Orlando.

Analyzing Orlando City’s Revitalization

It’s been a rollercoaster of a season for the Lions to say the least. There were serious concerns over whether or not the Lions would even make the playoffs back in June and now they find themselves as the highest remaining seed in the Eastern Conference this postseason. Facundo Torres’ excellent run of play is a major reason behind the club’s turnaround, but the buy-in from all of Orlando’s attackers has helped create a dynamic and unselfish offense. Although expectations are rising once more for the Lions, Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi spoke on how the team is focused on Sunday’s playoff match.

“There’s only one team that matters: Atlanta United,” Muzzi said. “The easiest way to lose a game is to look ahead. I’ll say we didn’t expect to be playing at home, but it’s welcomed. We’re focused on Atlanta, they’re playing great. They have a lot of confidence and momentum. It doesn’t matter they’re the No. 9 seed because they’re not playing like the No. 9 seed.”

Barbra Banda Up For African Woman Player of the Year

Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda was one of 10 players nominated for this year’s African Woman Player of the Year award. The 24-year-old has done well for both club and country this year. She scored 13 goals in her first regular season with the Pride and has three goals so far in the playoffs. Banda also had a hat trick for Zambia in the Summer Olympics. She’s joined by fellow NWSL players Temwa Chawinga and Racheal Kundananji on the list of nominees. Bay FC striker Asisat Oshoala, who has won the award in five of the past six years, was not nominated for the first time in a decade. The nomination list will be trimmed to a three-player shortlist before the winner is announced on Dec. 16 in Morocco.

Croix Bethune Named NWSL Midfielder of the Year

Washington Spirit rookie Croix Bethune won NWSL Midfielder of the Year after recording 10 assists and five goals in 17 matches this season. A knee injury cut her season short in September, but she still tied Tobin Heath’s record for the most assists in a season. Bethune gave plenty of NWSL teams headaches this year and also won Rookie of the Year earlier this week. She’s the first player to ever receive NWSL Midfielder of the Year and she beat out the Pride’s Marta, the North Carolina Courage’s Ashley Sanchez, and Kansas City Current duo Lo’eau LaBonta and Vanessa DiBernardo.

Eastern Conference Clubs Making Moves

FC Cincinnati officially signed striker Kevin Denkey from Cercle Brugge on a deal that will last through 2028. The 23-year-old joins as a Designated Player on a reported $16.2 million transfer, which would be a league record. He won the Golden Boot in Belgium last year after scoring 27 goals and should give Cincinnati some considerable firepower next year.

Elsewhere in the league, CF Montreal declined the option on Josef Martinez’s contract, meaning the Venezuelan forward will be a free agent once again. The 31-year-old led Montreal with 11 goals this season and we’ll see where he winds up next. Charlotte FC did not trigger the purchase option on Pep Biel’s loan, opening up a Designated Player spot. Former Lion Junior Urso’s contract option was also declined by Charlotte. The Philadelphia Union signed defender Olivier Mbaizo to a contract extension that will keep him with the club through 2026, with options for 2027 and 2028 as well.

Free Kicks

  • In preparation for the 2026 World Cup, FIFA named 26 new options across the country as “base camps” for participating teams to train and rest. Orlando was included, with OCSC’s training grounds at Osceola Heritage Park pitched alongside the Lake Nona Wave Hotel.
  • ESPN‘s Jeff Kassouf dove into how the NWSL stacks up to the biggest sports leagues in the U.S. Saturday’s NWSL Championship between the Pride and Spirit should showcase just how entertaining the league is to plenty of viewers.
  • Pep Guardiola will stick around as Manchester City’s manager for a couple more years after signing a two-year contract extension with the club. His contract was set to expire at the end of this season.
  • Here’s a cool breakdown of the seven amateur teams that have qualified for the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup so far. None are from Florida, but there are some great logos to check out if you’re looking for a team to root for in the early rounds next year. Debutants Southern Indiana FC and the Virginia Dream are my personal favorites of the bunch.
  • The draw for the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations will take place today. Zambia is in the second pot, meaning it will be put in a group of four that will include one of Nigeria, South Africa, or Morocco. The tournament itself will be in July of next year.
  • Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City all clinched a spot in the Women’s Champions League quarterfinals with two games still left to play.

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

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Orlando City

How Orlando City’s Offense Stacks Up Against What Atlanta Does Defensively

How Orlando City has performed against teams playing with three or four defenders, and how that may influence the playoff game against Atlanta United.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The most famous quote about real estate is that “there are three things that matter in property: location, location, location.” Soccer coaches also like to think in threes, especially when it comes to points, but for a soccer coach, the three things that matter might be the rhyming triplet “formation, formation, formation,” as that is where they will have the biggest influence on every game that their team plays.

Throughout his tenure as head coach, Óscar Pareja has preferred to use a 4-2-3-1 as his formation (fbref.com’s lineup data shows that the Lions primarily played a 4-2-3-1 in 65% of their MLS matches this season, and 79% of their MLS matches during the last three seasons). The Lions have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 during each of their last 14 games, and my confidence level is strong to quite strong (can you believe Meet the Parents came out 24 years ago?) that they will do so once again on Sunday when they host Atlanta United.

Atlanta United also prefers to deploy a 4-2-3-1, but was less consistent than Orlando City this season during MLS play, as evidenced by the chart below that shows how Atlanta lined up this season:

The purpose of this image is a table to show how Atlanta United lined up in 2024 (mostly in a 4-2-3-1 but also in one of six other formations).

I am relying on the coders at Opta for their evaluation of the formation, as I do not watch a lot of Atlanta United matches (sounds terrible), but though Atlanta primarily played with four defenders in more than two-thirds of its matches, during the last two matches it played a 3-5-2, the only two matches all season in which interim coach Rob Valentino rolled out that formation. I suspect that the formation change was related partially to playing Inter Miami and trying to defend the Herons’ dynamic offense and partially due to an injury suffered by defender Brooks Lennon in the first game of that series. So, while Atlanta primarily played four in the back for most of the season, there is a good chance it will roll with what worked against Florida’s second-best MLS team when it plays Florida’s best MLS team this weekend.

Now, if you want to read more about Atlanta, then you can read our match preview, which will drop Sunday morning, but I want to look at how Orlando did against teams that play similar styles. Looking only at MLS games, the table below shows how Orlando City performed against different back line structures this season (the left side is how the Lions’ opponents lined up, the right side is how Orlando City performed against opponents in those formations):

Table embedded as an image showing Orlando City doing best in goal differential in 12 games against three-man back lines, second best against four-man back lines, and having played once against a five-man back line (a 1-1 draw).

Orlando City earned slightly more points per game — the stat that matters most — against teams that played four in the back, but the Lions had a better average goal differential when teams played three in the back. Atlanta will likely deploy one of those two formations. In both games against Orlando City this season, Sunday’s visitors went with a 4-2-3-1, but as mentioned earlier, they used three in the back in each of their last two matches, so it really could be either.

Soccer is not like baseball, where players primarily stay in the same spot throughout the game, so some of these stats have to be taken with a grain of salt, as players are not always rigidly in the same position throughout a match. A team may also primarily play with four in the back but switch to three when chasing a game, or five when trying to protect against a late goal.

That said, using the data around Orlando City’s opponents’ general formations, here are the attacking groups who played the most frequently against four defenders during the 24 MLS games where Opta coded the opponents as using a defensive group of four:

Table embedded as an image showing the most frequently used lineups against teams who deploy four defenders. The most frequently used attacking group has a plus eight goal differential for the season.

It is a little ominous that the main starting group, shown in row one, has played 666 MLS minutes against back lines of four this season, but do I like that green goal differential of +8 in those minutes, which is a strong +1.08 per 90 minutes. I like that goal differential more than I like all the things that Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin like on their song that is creatively named “I Like It.” Coincidentally, when people ask me what I think about that song, I say, “I like it.” I am very creative.

If we look at the lineups that Orlando City has used against back lines of three defenders then there are some pretty major differences in personnel groupings, but it must be noted that more than half of the games against teams playing three in the back came early in the season, when Ramiro Enrique was unavailable to play. Enrique, my presumed starter at striker, has played fewer than three games’ worth of minutes (265 total) against back lines of three this season, and only 28 minutes with the main starting group, which ranks 13th among all the attacking lineups for minutes played against three defenders. That group scored one goal in their 28 minutes together though, for a robust 3.21 goals-scored-per-90-minutes average.

While the team as a whole has been successful against three-man back lines, I do not expect any of the lineups shown in the table below to play more than a few minutes together this weekend, though the first row and the last row are strong groups and had a lot of success.

Table embedded as an image showing the most frequently used lineups against teams who deploy three defenders. The most frequently used attacking group has a plus three goal differential for the season.

I am sure that all week long the Orlando City coaching staff has been going back and forth on whether it is more likely that Atlanta reverts to its most commonly used four in the back, or if the Five Stripes try for three wins in a row with three in the back. I would prefer that Atlanta plays with zero defenders and goalkeeper Brad Guzan wears a blindfold, but I think that is unlikely to be the case.

Even though Atlanta defeated Orlando City both times while in a 4-2-3-1, based on available personnel and recent results, I believe that the team will come out in a 3-5-2 in Inter&Co Stadium in the conference semifinal. Good things come in threes, and Orlando City’s best offensive production this season has been against three defenders, so I am going to be hoping that this continues, and in the third game against Atlanta the Lions grab the three points. Three’s company!

Well, it is a playoff game, so there are no actual points at stake, but you know what I meant.

Vamos Orlando!

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