Orlando City
Intelligence Report: Orlando City at Columbus Crew

Orlando City hits the road for the first time in 2017 later today when the Lions visit Columbus Crew SC at Mapfre Stadium. The club had a trip to New England postponed due to weather concerns a couple of weeks ago and, as a result, has not yet played outside the cozy confines of the purple palace in Parramore.
In addition, Orlando has played just two games to the Crew’s four.
The Crew entered the weekend atop the Eastern Conference with seven points from a 2-1-1 record. After starting 0-1-1, Columbus has two straight wins, including impressively knocking Portland from the ranks of the unbeaten during the international break.
Columbus went 1-0-1 in two meetings against Orlando last season, drawing 2-2 at Mapfre Stadium and winning 4-1 at Camping World Stadium. The Lions have not won in Columbus (0-1-1) in two tries and are 2-2-2 against the Crew in all competitions since joining MLS (1-2-2 in league play and 1-0 in the U.S. Open Cup). This is the first of three meetings between the team, with the other two coming at Orlando City Stadium on Aug. 19 and Oct. 15.
Our friend Patrick Murphy from Massive Report has graciously agreed to give us a scouting report on the Crew. I also answered his questions, which you can catch over at their place.
What can you tell us about the 2017 Columbus Crew in terms of how different/similar it is to last year’s squad?
Patrick Murphy: There’s quite a bit different. Let’s start on defense because that was the focus this off-season. Gone is Michael Parkhurst and injured (for the season) is Gaston Sauro. In their places are Nicolai Naess (who was acquired last summer) and Designated Player Jonathan Mensah. That has been the starting duo when both are available this year. Josh Williams was also brought back to bring veteran depth while rookies Lalas Abubakar and Alex Crognale are players the team is high on. Crew SC also brought in left back Jukka Raitala and he started the first three games before being away on international duty last week.
In the midfield, Wil Trapp has a new partner in the Brazilian Artur who is on loan from Sao Paulo. Mohammed Abu was also acquired and started Week 1. Those two moved former mainstay Tony Tchani out of the 18-man game day roster. Speaking of Tchani, Columbus just traded the veteran midfielder to the Vancouver Whitecaps on Thursday in exchange for attacker Kekuta Manneh. When we spoke to Gregg Berhalter about the trade, he was very excited about what he hopes Manneh will add to an already potent attack.
Of these moves, Jonathan seems to be a good addition and Raitala has looked very solid. Crognale started and played a very solid 90 minutes two weeks ago against D.C. United and got some big minutes against the Portland Timbers last week when Jonathan left with an injury. Abu looked good in his first game and the Artur has been up and down, but appears to be trending up.
This is a very long way of saying there have been a lot of changes and the jury is still out on how they will all work after just four games this year.
One suspects fan expectations for the 2017 Crew are somewhere between what happened in 2015 and 2016. Where is this team realistically headed?
PM: I believe this team has to make the playoffs this season. Berhalter did so in both of his first two years and then the team struggled last year while missing the three highest paid players for most of the season (Sauro, Kei Kamara and Federico Higuain) for various reasons.
With how MLS handles its postseason, this shouldn’t be too much to ask. The Crew SC offense already seems primed for another big season and there is an added emphasis on defense this year (again, jury still out). I believe this team has enough talent to compete in the East and finish somewhere around third, if not higher.
Much of that will hinge on Higuain performing at the level he’s capable of week in and week out. He was the biggest loss a year ago and Columbus still doesn’t really have a replacement for him. He didn’t have the best first game, but progressed each game this season and was very good last week against Portland.
Who are some of the club’s unsung heroes that maybe don’t get the publicity or recognition around the league and what do they bring to the team?
PM: Wil Trapp is obviously a name that a lot of U.S. soccer fans know and are hopeful for. In Columbus, the expectations for him got very high and he hasn’t lived up to that. With that said, Trapp is vital for what Crew SC do in the center of the park. He helps out defensively and is important in the possession game Berhalter likes to play.
I also think Ola Kamara remains a little under the radar. He was very good last season, averaging a goal every 116 minutes, and already has three goals in four games. His movement is a lot of fun to watch and he has a knack for being in the right position at the right time. He also apparently has a left foot chip shot that we learned about last week, which was pretty remarkable.
The final guy I would say is Nicolai Naess. The center back, who has also filled in at defensive midfield, is a solid defensive player with great passing range. He was a bright spot in an otherwise forgettable defensive year last season and has started 2017 brightly. His partnership with Jonathan Mensah will continue to grow after Jonathan missed most of the preseason while on national team duty with Ghana.
What is your predicted lineup for the Orlando City match and your final score prediction? Also, are there any injury absences or suspensions we should know about?
PM: Injuries: Jonathan Mensah is questionable for this one after suffering a leg injury last week. He ran Thursday but wasn’t full go in training.
Projected starting lineup (4-4-1-1):
Zack Steffen; Harrison Afful, Alex Crognale, Nicolai Naess, Jukka Raitala; Ethan Finlay, Artur, Wil Trapp, Justin Meram; Federico Higuain; Ola Kamara
I’m erring on the side of caution and leaving Jonathan out. Josh Williams would be an option too, but I assume Crognale to better battle with size against Larin. Raitala just got back from Europe yesterday but I assume he gets his spot back.
Score: 2-1 to Crew SC. Larin for Orlando, Ola and Higuain for the Crew.
Big thanks to Pat from Massive Report for giving us some insight on this afternoon’s opponents from the Buckeye state.

Lion Links
Lion Links: 4/4/25
Orlando City gets ready for the Philadelphia Union, OCSC partners with Footy Access, USWNT prepares for Brazil, and more.

Happy Friday! It may feel a bit like the calm before the storm today, as Orlando City, Orlando City B, and the United States Women’s National Team are all in action on Saturday. It all makes for a fun next few days and I’m looking forward to it and also watching some kart racing on Sunday. Let’s get to the links!
Orlando City Gets Ready For the Philadelphia Union
The Lions are back in action Saturday with an away game against the Philadelphia Union at 7:30 p.m. Orlando has won its past two games and leads the league with 15 goals this season. The Union remain near the top of the Eastern Conference, but have lost two of their past three games. Duncan McGuire detailed how healthy competition and a willingness to defend has the offense firing on all cylinders heading into this match.
This will also be a rematch of the season opener on Feb. 22 when the Union won 4-2 at Inter&Co Stadium. Philadelphia Union Head Coach Bradley Carnell spoke on how Orlando is a different team compared to that match due to changes on offense and center back Robin Jansson’s recovery from a knock.
Orlando City Partners With Footy Access
With the Generation Adidas Cup set to take place later this month, Orlando City has partnered with Footy Access, which is a media company focused on youth soccer. This collaboration means fans will be able to enjoy highlights and interviews from Orlando’s academy as it progresses through the tournament. I’m pretty excited about being able to see how well Orlando’s academy is doing.
MLS NEXT also announced that new rankings focused on development rather than results will be used for its U-13 and U-14 age groups. These rankings will use an analytical formula that measures game play and the caliber of offensive and defensive actions. There will also be encouragement for teams to have their own identities on how they want to play.
USWNT Prepares to Face Brazil in Friendlies
The United States Women’s National Team will take on Brazil on Saturday in the first of two friendlies this international break, with the second match set for Tuesday. These friendlies will be rematches of last year’s Olympic gold medal match, which the U.S. won 1-0. Marta has retired from international soccer, but Pride midfielder Angelina was called up for these friendlies, along with former Pride forward Adriana. Lorena, who has only conceded one goal in three games for the Kansas City Current this season, will likely get the start in goal for Brazil behind a talented back line anchored by Tarciane. The USWNT will need to find ways to limit attacking threats like Kerolin and Gabi Portilho as well. These should be matches, with familiar faces on both sides for Orlando fans.
U.S. Set to Host 2031 Women’s World Cup
It looks like the 2031 Women’s World Cup will be held in the U.S., as FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated that the only bid came from the U.S. and potentially other Concacaf nations. The U.S., which withdrew from hosting the 2027 World Cup, would be the first country to host the tournament three times and last hosted it in 2007. The United Kingdom was also revealed as the lone valid bid to host the 2035 World Cup and it would be the first time the tournament is hosted there.
Free Kicks
- Shout out to Orlando City’s U-19 team for its title win and securing a spot in the MLS NEXT Cup playoffs.
- NJ/NY Gotham FC and Head Coach Juan Carlos Amorós have reached an agreement for a contract extension that will keep him at the club through 2029.
- The schedule for the third round of the U.S. Open Cup is out, with more USL Championship teams joining the fray. Only two MLS NEXT Pro teams remain, while El Farolito is the lone team from an open division still standing.
- Philadelphia Union forward Tai Baribo was named MLS Player of the Month for his performance in March and February. The 27-year-old scored six goals in five games, with five of those goals coming in the Union’s first two games of the season.
- As for the NWSL’s monthly awards, Kansas City forward Temwa Chawinga won Player of the Month after scoring in all three of her games so far this season. Houston Dash midfielder Maggie Graham claimed Rookie of the Month for scoring in her first two appearances.
- Goalkeeper Tim Melia has announced his retirement from professional soccer after a 17-year career that included 10 years with Sporting Kansas City.
- Toronto FC added midfielder Maxime Dominguez on loan from Vasco da Gama in Brazil’s top flight.
- Arsenal’s injury woes this season continue, with defender Gabriel Magalhaes set to miss the rest of the season due to a hamstring injury.
- We’ll end our links with the Lions celebrating Rodrigo Schlegel’s birthday in style.
That’s all for this fine Friday, I hope you all have a fantastic day and a relaxing weekend!
Orlando City
Orlando City Relies on Starters More Than Any Other MLS Team
An analysis of Óscar Pareja’s early lineup choices and substitution patterns and how that compares to the 2024 season.

Legendary swordsman Inigo Montoya, a man who is not lefthanded, once opened a conversation by asking the Dread Pirate Roberts if, by any chance, he had six fingers on his right hand. Nobody will need to prepare to die by the end of this column, but I will ask a similar question: I don’t mean to pry, but did you by any chance happen to realize that we are already more than one-sixth of the way through the MLS regular season? Six fingers, one-sixth of the season…close enough. Let’s go.
Time flies when you are having fun, and somehow Orlando City has already played 540 minutes of MLS soccer this season. I consider 500 minutes played to be a cutoff amount when looking at player and lineup performance, and with the conclusion of the most recent game in Los Angeles, the team has now surpassed that 500-minute threshold.
In looking at the opening 540 minutes, I was surprised to see how much continuity I found in the minutes played, considering how many injuries the Lions have had to work around during these first six games. In just the first six games, Orlando City has already had full games missed due to injury by César Araujo (1), David Brekalo (2), Robin Jansson (2), Duncan McGuire (3) and Nico Rodriguez (5). Brekalo and Pedro Gallese both missed a game for international duty as well. McGuire was not expected back during the first set of games, but all of those other players, with the possible exception of Rodriguez, were expected to contribute during the early part of the season.
These absences led to games where the substitutes list was full of players who will play big minutes for Orlando City B this year, but not players who Óscar Pareja was likely to turn to off the bench unless the game was out of hand or he was absolutely desperate. According to Opta’s tracking through the opening six games, Orlando City ranks last in MLS in the average minutes played by its substitutes, as the average amount of time per appearance for the players off the bench for the Lions is only 12 minutes. For context, 16 teams have an average amount of time per substitute appearance of 20 minutes or greater, and Inter Miami and Toronto are tied with a league-leading 27 minutes per substitute appearance.
The interesting thing about those two teams, Miami and Toronto, is that Miami leads the league in points per match with 2.6 and Toronto is second from the bottom with a scant 0.33 points per match. I think a lot of this data will even out over time, as right now there are several teams, including Miami, that are playing in multiple competitions and trying to keep players fresh for all of their matches.
When it comes to Orlando City, however, that is not the case, and thus far there has just been the standard one game per week on six consecutive Saturdays. The players are rested for each game. The issue has just been that Pareja has not had the depth and variety of players he thought he would have to bring off the bench to protect a lead or chase a deficit.
We often joke in articles or on The Mane Land PawedCast about how “Óscar gonna Óscar,” and once he finds a lineup he likes, he sticks with it. Even with all the injuries he has somehow managed to do this again this season, as you can see from the chart below. I started tracking lineup data last season, and even though the 2025 season is only six games old and there have been so many absences from key players this season, it was striking to see that the 11-man lineup that has played the most minutes together this season already outranks all but two lineups from the entire 2024 MLS season (including the five playoff games!):

Now, it is a little unfair to the one 2025 lineup on the above chart that it has such a negative goal differential per 90 minutes, because if it is only the 10 field players, with goalkeeper excluded, then that lineup has played 215 minutes together and has a +0.84 goal differential per 90 minutes. That group is +4 with Javier Otero in net in 74 minutes together, and removing the goalkeepers from the calculation turns that negative goal differential into a positive.
What that also tells us, however, is that when it comes to the 10 field players, Pareja has played the same unit in the field for 40% (215/540) of the team’s minutes already. Granted it is early in the season, but after six MLS games last season, the lineup that had played together the most had played a grand total of 74 minutes together (14% of all minutes). The top five most used lineups in last season’s opening six MLS games combined to play 302 minutes, or 56% of all minutes, and in 2025 it is 402 minutes, or 80%. My math, and everyone else’s math, says that is a much higher percentage and indicates that the team is focused on continuity early.
That continuity thus far this season has paid dividends, with the Lions earning 10 points from the first six games, twice as nice as last season’s five points after the first six games. Last year, the team was balancing midweek Concacaf Champions Cup games in addition to injuries and an international break during the opening weeks of the MLS season, so there were some good reasons for the lineup rotation and the slow start. This year’s squad will have to navigate two upcoming cup tournaments in the coming months, and so we likely will see a lot of new lineup configurations or more rotation once the U.S. Open Cup starts in May and then again when Leagues Cup starts in July.
Thus far though, Pareja has been able to stick with his starters deep into matches, and has only given playing time to 20 players, which is tied for third fewest across all of MLS. Fan bases often clamor for the coach to “play the kids,” but while Pareja has had young and inexperienced players on the senior roster for every game, he really has only given significant minutes to Alex Freeman from the group of players that could be referred to as “the kids.” Gustavo Caraballo has played nine minutes, which is incredible for a 16-year-old (15-year-old Cavan Sullivan of Philadelphia is the only player younger than Caraballo to have played this season, and he has also played only nine minutes), and new signing Nico Rodriguez (20 years old) has played 11 minutes, but the next three youngest players to play are all at least 22 and were with the senior club last season (Otero and Ramiro Enrique) or came to the club after four seasons of college soccer (23-year-old, but nearly 24-year-old, Joran Gerbet).
The team’s record thus far shows that Pareja has been right to limit the minutes to the small group of players he trusts, and with one game per week for the next six weeks it will be interesting to see if the early trend of starters playing long minutes and only a few players getting all the minutes off the bench continues. The next match is on the road against Philadelphia, which so rudely came into Orlando and defeated the Lions 4-2 in the season opener, and my expectation is that while we likely will not see any players make their season debut in this game, I do think we will see a different starting lineup than the season opener and probably a different one than the game last weekend against the Galaxy.
No matter who the Lions go with, I am sure they will want to avenge the season-opening loss and bring three points back home to Orlando.
As we wish.
Vamos Orlando!
Orlando City
Orlando City at Philadelphia Union: Three Keys to Victory
What do the Lions need to do to earn all three points on the road against Philly?

Orlando City is on the road yet again, this time heading to Pennsylvania to take on the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park Saturday night. The Lions will look to get a second road win in a row after the smash-and-grab victory against the LA Galaxy. Things don’t get any easier with the Union sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference, but a win would catapult Orlando City above Philadelphia in the standings. Here’s what Orlando City needs to do to earn all three points against the Philadelphia Union.
Tie up Tai
Tai Baribo leads the way-too-early-to-call Golden Boot race with six goals in five matches. The Union striker has taken 13 shots, putting eight on target and the aforementioned six in the back of the net. He scored a brace in the season opener against Orlando to bag a third of those goals. It’s a pretty easy call to say stopping the league leader in goals is an important part of shutting down the Philadelphia attack.
It will be up to Cesar Araujo and whichever center back pairing we get to shut Baribo down. Of course, he’s not the only one the Lions need to worry about since the Union also have striker Mikael Uhre, and midfielders Daniel Gazdag and Jovan Lukic providing goals and assists. The point is that Philadelphia is second only to the Lions in offensive production with 13 goals compared to Orlando City’s 15 goals.
Formation Change
In the last match against the LA Galaxy, the Lions struggled to get things going with Luis Muriel up top, Ojeda at the No. 10 spot and Ivan Angulo on the left. Once Duncan McGuire came on, Muriel shifted back, Ojeda went wide, and Angulo subbed off. That really opened up the attack and allowed the Lions to get the two goals needed to secure the victory.
Perhaps Oscar Pareja could start things off like that against Philadelphia. Angulo hasn’t been great the last few matches, and perhaps some time on the bench will get his head straight. McGuire is still early in his return from injury, but Ramiro Enrique can start up top with Big Dunc coming in later as he has the last few matches. I think making this change could help Orlando City get an early goal on the road.
Vengeance is Thine
When the two teams met on opening day, the Union dropped four goals on Orlando City in Inter&Co Stadium. You would think it a completely dominating performance, but the Lions actually had more shots, more shots on target, and more possession than the Union. Philadelphia simply put each of its four shots on target past Pedro Gallese. That type of luck is unlikely to happen again.
Since that time, the Orlando City defense has stiffened — at least a little bit — and the team has been more difficult to break down. I’m not saying the defense is as stalwart as last season, but it has improved. Orlando City needs to use that four-goal drubbing at the hands of the Union to galvanize the defense to enact revenge with a multi-goal victory of its own.
That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!
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