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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Final Score 3-0 as Lions Drop First Match at Home

David Villa’s brace helped New York City FC avoid a season sweep by Orlando City, as the Lions dropped their first home match in their new stadium.

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Nick Leyva, The Mane Land

Orlando City will not be looking back on May as a month to be proud of, falling to 0-3-2 since the calendar turned from April after a 3-0 home loss to New York City FC. NYCFC avoided a three-game season series sweep to cap off a road trip of three games in eight days, thanks to a pair of goals from the reigning league MVP, David Villa.

The Lions continue to search for their first win since defeating the Colorado Rapids to close out the month of April and have two more games this month with a trip to Minnesota and a home meeting with D.C. United.

The game was a tale of two penalties for Orlando City (6-4-2, 20 points), which conceded one to Villa early in the match, before Cyle Larin missed one in the second half.

“Obviously grave, grave disappointment to lose our first game in front of our home fans,” Jason Kreis said of the result after the match. “I thought that the fans were excellent tonight. The atmosphere was terrific, the energy level and everything was good, and at the beginning of the game I thought things were going to go in a really positive direction for us, and then the penalty decision was made, and I think that took some air out of us.”

The Sunday night crowd — another sellout of 25,527 — was loud and raucous as always to begin the game, but quieted down early. That point came 14 minutes in, to be exact, when Villa converted a penalty kick for his seventh goal of the season, putting the visiting side up, 1-0. Kaká had been called for a handball in the box about a minute earlier when a cross attempt near the sideline ran directly into the arm of the incoming Brazilian. An unintentional handball, you can argue, but a blatant handball nonetheless.

Kaká didn’t bother to challenge the call, and regardless, Villa went low and to his right to beat Joe Bendik, who guessed correctly but couldn’t stop the well-placed shot.

Orlando City struggled to find any answers to NYCFC throughout the night, and didn’t present a lot of dangerous attack for New York’s defense.

In the sixth minute, Jonathan Spector found the speedy Carlos Rivas on a long ball over the defense that Rivas used to win a corner, but nothing came out of that. Rivas, who was active on the wings throughout the first half, whipped a cross to Larin, who was able to get his head on the ball but sent it nowhere near frame, out of play. The Lions weren’t able to produce anything from four corners in the first half.

Things went from bad to worse in the 35th minute when Rodney Wallace connected to find the back of the net, doubling the deficit. Jack Harrison took on Donny Toia down the Lions’ left side just long enough for Ethan White to make an overlapping run. Harrison laid the ball off to White, who sent a low pass across the goal that found Wallace, who buried it from a couple yards out.

Orlando had an opportunity to get back in the game in the 63rd minute when Scott Sutter was taken down in the penalty box off of a nice little give-and-go with Rivas. Larin stepped up to take the penalty — the Lions’ first of the season — and shanked it into the crossbar. It was an unlucky break for Orlando, which couldn’t find any breaks on the evening.

The Lions did, though, look a little better in the second half, in the sense that they actually put some decent chances up. Luis Gil, seconds after coming into the game, put a shot on frame from the edge of the penalty area. It challenged Sean Johnson, who saved the first effort, then collected the rebound attempt that bounced off of Matias Perez Garcia and just out of his reach as he couldn’t beat Johnson to the ball. About three minutes later, Sutter found Rivas with a nice cross from the wing. Rivas, in the middle of the box, put forward a rare header that sailed wide of goal.

NYCFC officially put the game out of reach in the 83rd when Villa added his second of the night. Villa ran forward with the ball before playing it off to Maxi Moralez on his left. Moralez quickly hit Villa forward with a ball over the defense, which went for the offside trap, leaving Villa all alone in front of Bendik, who couldn’t do much to stop what ended up as an open-net goal.

“Overall, it was not our night. I’m not going to sit here and say anything crass or disrespectful as if we were the better team, because we weren’t. New York City was very good tonight, and deserved the win,” Kreis said, referring to Patrick Vieira’s mid-week comments about NYCFC being the better team in the first two meetings this season.


The Lions will get a much-needed week of rest following this loss, but not that much time before they have to jump on a flight and head to Minneapolis, where they’ll meet former Orlando City boss Adrian Heath (should MLS decide to not suspend Heath for entering the field of play against LA on Sunday) and Minnesota United FC for the first time on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. ET.

Lion Links

Lion Links: 3/29/24

Lions brace for the Red Bulls, Pride take on Chicago, OCB will play Inter Miami II in Bradenton, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday! Today marks one year since we here at The Mane Land published our first story here at our new independent home. It’s a bit hard to believe that it’s already been a year. Thank you all for sticking with us or checking us out since our move. That kind of support goes farther than you might think. I joined the team back in October of 2016 as an editor and it’s only just now hitting me that I’ve been here for nearly a quarter of my entire life. Here’s hoping for another great year of independence and Orlando soccer!

Orlando City Set to Host New York Red Bulls

Orlando City’s match at home Saturday night against the New York Red Bulls was noted as one of the top matches in the league this weekend. The Lions earned their first win of the MLS season last weekend and will look to build on that momentum heading into tomorrow. The Lions will also get a boost from players returning from international duty, with Duncan McGuire, Facundo Torres, David Brekalo, and Peruvian duo Pedro Gallese and Wilder Cartagena back. They’ll have their hands full against a New York team that’s coming off of a 4-0 win over Inter Miami. Lewis Morgan had a hat trick in that match and Orlando’s defense will have to find a way to keep him and the rest of the Red Bulls from running rampant.

Orlando Pride Take On Chicago Tonight

The Orlando Pride’s third match of the NWSL season kicks off tonight at 7 p.m. when they host the Chicago Red Stars. The Pride enter this match following a gritty 1-1 draw against Angel City FC, with Brazilians Angelina and Marta linking up on a corner kick for a late equalizer. One thing to keep an eye on in tonight’s match will be how the Pride’s shorthanded defense can limit Chicago’s attack. The Pride have targeted versatile players while rebuilding, and that proved to be worth it last week as multiple players stepped up to fortify the back line. The last time these two sides squared off in Orlando was in August of last year, with the Pride coming up with a big 5-0 win. Hopefully we get to see a similar result tonight.

OCB Match Will Be Part of Generation Adidas Cup

Tuesday’s MLS NEXT Pro match between Orlando City B and Inter Miami II will take place at IMG Academy in Bradenton and will be part of this year’s Generation Adidas Cup. The participating teams of the tournament were invited to attend the match, along with their families, and fans can watch the match for free on the league website. The match will be broadcast in English, but a new AI dubbing platform will be used to instantly translate it into Spanish, French, and Portuguese. It will supposedly maintain voice and tone, so I’m morbidly curious to hear just how artificial it will sound.

Generations Adidas Cup Kicks Off Tomorrow

Speaking of the Generation Adidas Cup, the youth tournament kicks off tomorrow. All MLS academy teams will compete alongside some of the top youth teams from around the world in both the U-15 and U-17 age groups. Orlando City’s U-15 side was noted as one to watch after a strong run of form this year. Caleb Trombino has been solid defensively and Jakob Garcia has the attacking talent to light it up in this tournament. The team can make a statement when it takes on Arsenal’s U-15 squad at 10 a.m. this Sunday. That match, along with 27 others, will be broadcast on MLS Season Pass.

Free Kicks

  • The Lions received some special visitors for their training.
  • Somehow, the Seattle Reign’s Ji So-Yun beat Marta to win NWSL Goal of the Week.

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

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New York Red Bulls: Three Keys to Victory

What does Orlando City need to do to earn a second victory in a row at home this Saturday?

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City is coming off its first win of the MLS regular season and will look to carry that momentum into Saturday night’s Eastern Conference matchup against the New York Red Bulls. The Lions will have several players back from international duty, making Oscar Pareja’s job a bit easier, although some of them will be on short rest. What does Orlando City need to do to earn all three points against the Red Bulls?

Stop Morgan

Lewis Morgan has been on a tear this season with five goals in five matches. That is more than every Orlando City player combined so far this season. The Red Bulls were held scoreless in two matches, meaning those five goals have come in three matches, with Morgan scoring a hat trick against Inter Miami. I love that he took it to the Herons like that, but I’m going to need him to cool off a bit against the Lions.

If Orlando City is to stop Morgan it will take excellent defending from the Lions’ back line and of course Pedro Gallese, who is returning from international duty. Orlando City also gets Wilder Cartagena and David Brekalo back, meaning more of the first choice lineup will be available to keep a clean sheet. With the match at home, earning a clean sheet is all the more important.

Proper Rest and Preperation

It might seem silly to say, but having more than a few days between matches is conducive to earning points. When Orlando City was participating in the Concacaf Champions Cup, the Lions never had time to properly recover or train with a game plan for the next match. Now, the Lions are able to do so, and the result against Austin FC reflects that.

Pareja is a top level MLS coach. We know that he has a plan for about the first 20 minutes of any match, and then makes adjustments throughout the remainder of the match. Even so, many of those adjustments have been planned out prior to the match. That, paired with a more rested roster, allows the Lions to be the protagonists Pareja wants them to be.

Shots, Shots, Shots

Orlando City was able to create plenty of chances against Austin FC, and will need to do so again against the Red Bulls. The Lions took 22 shots Saturday night, with eight on target, and they put two in the back of the net against Austin. Hopefully, Orlando City can be more efficient going forward, but if you don’t create opportunities, you won’t score.

The Red Bulls have some decent defenders who Orlando City will have to deal with, including fullback John Tolkin and Carlos Coronel at keeper. If the Lions can pass even close to the way they did against Austin, the opportunities will come, and if that is the case, hopefully the goals will come. Orlando City still has a sizable goal deficit, thanks to the early part of the season, that can only be corrected with more goals on the other end.


That is what I will be looking for this Saturday night at Inter&Co Stadium. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 3/28/24

Getting to know Rafael Santos, Orlando Pride prepare for Chicago, Midge Purce out for the season, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I hope the work week has been treating you well as we gear up for another weekend of soccer. March flew by for me and April is shaping up to be a pretty busy month as well. In other news, I’m looking into adopting a cat and gathering the supplies to make that happen. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Getting to Know Rafael Santos

Orlando City left back Rafael Santos was the latest Lion to field questions as part of the club’s video series for fans to learn more about its players. The 26-year-old spoke about the decision process behind joining Orlando and playing outside of Brazil for the first time in his career after five years with Cruzeiro. He’s brought his attack-minded style of play to the team, particularly in terms of providing lethal crossing from the wing. Make sure to check out the full video as Santos also shared photos of his newborn and showcased his skill with a cavaquinho.

Orlando Pride Prepare to Host Chicago

After a pair of draws to start their season, the Orlando Pride will have a chance to claim their first win of the season when they host the Chicago Red Stars tomorrow night at 6 p.m. Head Coach Seb Hines spoke about how the Pride have shown plenty of resilience so far this young season. The team managed to secure a point in last week’s 1-1 draw with Angel City FC despite a patchwork back line due to injuries. That defense will likely have its hands full against Mallory Swanson and a Chicago team that won both of its first two games. Hines spoke about how the Pride are preparing for Chicago and how they will need the home crowd to bring the support tomorrow night.

Sophia Smith Signs Record-Breaking New Deal

American forward Sophia Smith signed a new contract with the Portland Thorns that will make her the highest-paid NWSL player, according to the club. The new deal will last through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026 as well. The 23-year-old was drafted by the Thorns with the first overall pick in the 2020 NWSL Draft and has gone on to score 34 regular-season goals. Smith re-signed with the club in 2022 and was set to become a free agent following this season, but will instead stay in Portland.

Midge Purce Out for NWSL Season

NJ/NY Gotham FC forward Midge Purce will miss the remainder of the NWSL season after tearing her ACL. The 28-year-old will undergo surgery and suffered the injury in her team’s 1-0 victory over the Portland Thorns this past weekend. She’s been with Gotham since 2020 and assisted on both goals in her team’s 2-1 win in the 2023 NWSL Championship. It’s a tough blow for the United States Women’s National Team too, as she will not be representing the U.S. during this summer’s Olympics in France.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City B’s match against Carolina Core FC on April 14 has been rescheduled.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

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