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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew SC: Final Score 2-0 as Lions Lose Their First Road Match

A Justin Meram brace sealed the Lions’ first defeat in 2017 in Ohio.

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8 years ago

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Lauren Bacho, The Mane Land

COLUMBUS, OH — An early defensive mistake led Orlando City SC to its first 2017 MLS defeat, as the Lions lost 2-0 to Eastern Conference leaders Columbus Crew SC at Mapfre Stadium. Justin Meram scored a brace to give the home side the victory.

After its best-ever MLS start, Orlando City (2-1-0, 6 points) was one of the two undefeated Eastern Conference teams — along with Toronto FC — while Crew SC (3-1-1, 10 points) leads the conference after three straight wins. The Lions remain winless in three trips to Columbus (0-2-1).

The Lions dominated possession (50.3%), passing accuracy (84% to 81%) and shots (14-6, 4-3 on target), but were not able to match the Crew’s efficiency.

“I’m obviously disappointed that we suffered our first loss in our first away game, but we had a lot of positives from my point of view,” commented Orlando City Head Coach Jason Kreis after the match. “We created the right amount of chances but lacked a little bit of sharpness on the final third. Some of the choices we made were a little odd. We had players shooting from distance where they had a very little chance to score and occasionally we had guys passing when they should be shooting. But for me that stuff comes with games and minutes together.”

Despite having newcomer Scott Sutter available for the first time since his arrival, Kreis stuck to the starting XI he used against the Philadelphia Union and kept Will Johnson at the right back position.

Orlando City started the game putting some pressure on Columbus’ defenders when in possession, forcing the home team to give up on its usual passing style and play several long balls. The defenders were also high on the field, which led to a couple of early offside calls from the Crew offense.

However, at the 13th minute, the offside trap failed and Artur found Meram wide open on the left side. The midfielder entered the box and finished from a tight angle to find the back of Joe Bendik’s net on the Crew’s first shot.

“They got behind us a couple of times,” Kreis said. “We were stepping a little bit late and, from my point of view, if you are going to be late, you can’t step. There was a little bit of a tactical mistake there with our outside backs on a couple of occasions. However, I think that if we break it down, the number of times they actually played behind us and they were on side was relatively small.”

Orlando’s first attempt happened at the 20th minute, after Jonathan Spector intercepted the ball in the center of the field and quickly connected with Carlos Rivas, who shot from distance right at Zack Steffen.

The Lions insisted on creating from the left side, and Giles Barnes didn’t find himself in a good position to finish, shooting wide at the 28th minute. A few moments later, the Lions created again, now with Donny Toia taking advantage of a second ball. The fullback’s shot, though, was right in the center of the goal and that helped Steffen to make another easy save.

In the last few minutes of the first half, Jose Aja sustained what appeared to be a hamstring injury, and was replaced by Tommy Redding, who played in his first MLS game of 2017 after being part of the U.S. U-20 National Team. The home team controlled possession until the halftime break and insisted on feeding the ball to Harrison Afful and Ethan Finlay on the right side, while Orlando tried to create from counter attacks but was not able to create anything dangerous.

The second half started in a promising way for the Lions as Cyle Larin, who was extremely shy in his first 45 minutes, crossed from the left to find Johnson open at the opposite side, but the Canadian’s shot hit the outside netting at the 52nd minute.

Orlando tried to push numbers forward and create from the wings, but most of the crosses were promptly blocked by the Crew defenders. At the 70th minute, Jason Kreis tried his last move to change the game, bringing Sutter in to replace Matias Perez Garcia and pushing Johnson into the midfield.

The offensive strategy left plenty of space in the back and Crew SC took advantage of it in the 76th minute, when Federico Higuaín assisted Meram, who cut inside of Sutter and shot underneath Bendik’s body to score again.

The second goal apparently fueled the Lions, as the team dominated the finals minutes of the match. An angled free kick shot from Rivas at the 87th minute, a high header by Jonathan Spector at the 90th minute, and a 94th-minute drive by Johnson were the team’s best opportunities before the final whistle.

“It was about the mistakes we made,” Johnson said. “The margin is small and when you come on the road in this league you don’t have a whole lot of margin for errors. If you are not perfect or close to it, you are going to lose more points than you are going to win games. In between the boxes the effort was pretty good, but they made two plays on the box where they scored two goals and we didn’t make the right plays on either box, offensively or defensively.”

Next week, Orlando City returns home for its fourth match of the season against the New York Red Bulls, on Saturday, April 9.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/23/25

The Orlando Pride drop, OCSC Academy awards, USMNT characters, and more.

Published

16 hours ago

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April 23, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. This weekend we have the most convenient schedule, with the Orlando Pride playing Friday night, Orlando City on Saturday night, and Orlando City B on Sunday night. It’s nice knowing what I’ll be doing each night. Now, I just need all three teams to get back on the winning side of things. Until then, let’s get to the links.

Bad Pride, Good Pride

It might have been the dumbest way to lose a match against the Washington Spirit, but — actually nevermind, there is no “but” about it. We can, however, decide to move forward rather than dwell on it after today. Unsurprisingly, the Pride dropped in the all-knowing power rankings. All for XI only dropped the Pride one spot to No. 2 since everyone has a bad day now and again. The CBS power ranking dropped the team to No. 3. That was the “bad.” The “good” is that we can revisit the puppies that showed up at Inter&Co Stadium. The loss still hurts, but it’s hard to stay mad after looking at the puppies.

The (OCSC) Academy Awards

Assuming you read Lion Links on Monday morning (or listened to The Mane Land PawedCast this week) you know that the Orlando City SC Academy U-18 team won the Generation Adidas Cup. Now we know that three of the very young Lions — Gustavo Caraballo, Jackson Platts, and Justin Ellis — were named to the U18 Best XI. Additionally, Caraballo and Ellis earned MVP and Top Scorer awards, respectively. It was truly the bright spot of an otherwise forgettable weekend.

Pochettino Prepares

The USMNT did not do well in the Concacaf Nations League, falling to Panama and then Canada in the third place match. Now, U.S. Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino has to prepare the team for the Gold Cup. Pochettino said that he needs the “right characters” on the squad, whether they are the most talented or not. He also spoke of the need for the players to fight for the badge and the flag. Former USMNT coach Bruce Arena said Pochettino may not be the right man for the job because he’s not an American. The USMNT’s next matches are friendlies against Turkiye and Switzerland on June 7 and June 10, respectively.

MLS Transfer News

The Columbus Crew are making moves. The club received $250,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) from the Houston Dynamo in exchange for a 2025 international roster slot. The club then sent DeJuan Jones to the San Jose Earthquakes for $425,000 in GAM and a 2025 international roster slot. Elsewhere, Sporting Kansas City acquired forward Santiago Muñoz on loan from Liga MX side Santos Laguna.

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That will do it for today. Check back as we get you ready for the full slate of matches coming up.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/22/25

Pedro Gallese earns recognition, Americans in midweek action, English promotion update, and more.

Published

2 days ago

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April 22, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Well it wasn’t the worst weekend that Orlando soccer has ever had, but it certainly wasn’t the best either. Fortunately, all three of Orlando’s teams will be back in action soon, so there’s no need to dwell on the past too much. Let’s take a moment to wish a happy birthday to the Orlando Pride’s Brianna Martinez, as well as to Kaká! Now, it’s time to turn our attention to today’s links.

Pedro Gallese Earns Weekly Recognition

Pedro Gallese kept a third clean sheet in a row and Orlando City’s third clean sheet of the year in the team’s scoreless draw on the road against CF Montreal. In recognition of his efforts during the match, Gallese was named to the bench of the latest edition of the MLS Team of the Matchday. El Pulpo made six saves to blank a Montreal team that intently searched for a breakthrough, and made a couple of truly excellent second half stops that kept the score level. Congrats to Pedro and keep up the good work!

Americans in Midweek Action

A number of Americans will be playing games during the working week, and there are some big matches to keep an eye on. The main event is on Wednesday, when Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, and AC Milan face Inter Milan in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semifinal, which is tied 1-1 after the first leg. Also on Wednesday, Chris Richards, Matt Turner, and Crystal Palace will play Arsenal in the Premier League. Thursday then has Malik Tillman, Richy Ledezma, and PSV Eindhoven playing FC Twente in the Eredivisie, while Johnny Cardoso and Real Betis play Valladolid in La Liga action.

English Promotion Update

Following results in the EFL Championship on Monday, Leeds United and Burnley have both secured promotion to the Premier League for next season. Both teams won their respective games and are each on 94 points, and with just two matches left, third-placed Sheffield United has no way to catch them. The other promoted side will be determined after the promotion playoffs, which would feature Sheffield United, Sunderland, Bristol City, and Coventry City if the season ended today. Meanwhile in League One, Wrexham’s 2-1 victory over Blackpool meant the Dragons retook second place and the automatic promotion spot that comes with it. If they beat Charlton on Sunday and Wycombe Wanderers drop points against Leyton Orient, then Wrexham would secure promotion to the Championship.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

Transfer rumors continue to fly thick and fast as we approach the business end of most European seasons, so let’s take a look at a few items worth catching up on. Manchester United is said to be keen on signing 17-year-old Argentine Franco Mastantuono from River Plate. Liverpool is reportedly interested in signing winger Ademola Lookman from Atalanta, although the Reds would likely face competition from several other Premier League teams. Finally, Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro has revealed that he and Xabi Alonso have a gentleman’s agreement that if a team the Spaniard used to play for is interested in hiring him as its coach, then the club will not hinder the process. The statement has led to renewed speculation that Alonso will be named Real Madrid coach if Carlo Ancelotti leaves in the summer.

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That’s all I have for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City

Orlando City’s Focus On Youth Development Showing In The First Team

Orlando City is seeing more and more players promoted from the academy, through OCB, and into the first team.

Published

3 days ago

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April 21, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City began its academy in the USL Pro days with the goal of developing players for the first team. It took nearly a decade to begin seeing youth development bear fruit, but it’s becoming apparent early in the 2025 season.

Prior to 2019, Orlando City signed four players to Homegrown Player contracts. Tommy Redding, Tyler Turner, and Harrison Heath never played in the academy and the other, Mason Stajduhar, developed primarily at Chargers Soccer Club in Tampa.

Orlando City signed arguably its first true Homegrown Player when the club inked Benji Michel to a first-team contract. The following off-season, the Lions added David Loera and Jordan Bender. Mikey Halliday signed in July 2020. All of the players came through the academy before signing first-team deals. 

So what changed?

Part of it was the growth of the academy. It takes several years to begin producing players. Another major factor was the hiring of Luiz Muzzi on Dec. 18, 2019. Muzzi came from FC Dallas, a club known for promoting from its academy. He brought in Ricardo Moreira, who shares his vision of developing young talent for the first team.

And it’s not only Muzzi and Moreira. Former Orlando City head coach Adrian Heath rarely attended OCB games. James O’Connor only went to one, and that was to see his former teammate, Dennis Chin, who was playing with the opposing Richmond Kickers. The Orlando City boss left when Chin came off.

Oscar Pareja and other first-team coaches have been at several games, far more than their predecessors. That’s largely to do with the games’ location at the training facility, which is another factor in OCB’s development. The 2019 team trained over 40 miles away from the first team. The move to Kissimmee has the first team, OCB, and the development academy under one roof. It’s another display of the club’s more recent commitment to youth development.

Undoubtedly, the transformation of OCB under Muzzi and Moreira has also impacted Homegrown talent coming through. The team’s 2016 and 2017 rosters were primarily made up of first-team reserves and USL lifers. The 2019 team had many players from the Soccer Institute at Montverde Academy (SIMA), many of which were young but ineligible for Homegrown status.

Things began to change in 2020. The roster shifted to include more academy players and that’s only grown. This year, 15 OCB players came out of the academy, two were drafted, and eight are outside signings on MLS NEXT Pro deals. Other than Jhon Solis and first-team goalkeeper Carlos Mercado, everyone to appear for the team is 23 years old or younger.

The focus on giving OCB spots to academy graduates is now seen in the first team. Players like Thomas Williams, Javier Otero, Alex Freeman, Colin Guske, and Gustavo Caraballo have been regulars on the MLS team sheet. Injuries to first-team regulars has seen them receiving regular playing time.

The poster boy for this change is Freeman. The right back came out of the academy and spent a couple of years at OCB before signing his first-team contract. He won the starting role early in the 2025 regular season.

Many players joined the club later in their development, but we’re seeing some come through having been nearly fully developed at the Orlando City Academy. Guske and Caraballo joined at 13 years old, the youngest age group of the development academy. Both signed first-team deals for this year.

The midfield duo continue to play with OCB most games but are also on the first-team roster almost weekly. The only reason they weren’t in Montreal Saturday night is because they were helping the club’s U-18 team reach (and then win) the Generation Adidas Cup final.

With Muzzi and Moreira at the helm, more players continue to come through. U-18 captain and OCB starter Jackson Platts appears to be well on his way to a first-team contract. So does fellow U-18 and OCB starting forward Justin Ellis.

This past weekend saw another academy product make his first-team debut. Zakaria Taifi took over at right back for OCB when Freeman moved up to the first team this year. Signing a short-term deal Saturday, he came on as a late substitute to help the 10-man Lions see out the scoreless draw.

First-team absences have provided opportunities for many young players. If several weren’t at the Generation Adidas Cup, it could be more. Regardless, the last few years have shown a big step forward for the club.

The shift in recent years is more than the pride of seeing local kids representing the hometown team. They’ve been an essential part of the 2025 campaign. The club hasn’t had to use a short bench or dip into outside emergency signings. Instead, the Lions call up kids they know, making it easier to seamlessly place them into the team.

There will be times where several injuries will occur to experienced players. Orlando City is prepared for this more now than ever before, and it’s because of the players coming through the academy and playing with OCB. We’re already seeing it early in this 2025 season.

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