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Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Final Score 2-0 as Lions Break Six-Match Winless Run

Cyle Larin and Giles Barnes provided the offense and Joe Bendik kept a clean sheet as Lions returned to their winning ways at home.

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Carlos Romero, The Mane Land

The city of Orlando experienced its worst drought since 1907 at the beginning of May, but on Wednesday night Mother Nature decided to give back some of the water that she had apparently been holding back from the City Beautiful. Orlando City hosted D.C. United in the midst of a downpour for much of the evening, and, just as Central Florida’s drought seemed to end, so did City’s six-game winless run, thanks to a 2-0 win over D.C. led by goals from Cyle Larin and Giles Barnes.

The win came in front of the first non-sellout in OCS history, but still a good crowd of 24,112.

“Really, really pleased with the guys’ efforts and commitment level tonight,” Orlando City Head Coach Jason Kreis said. “I think they got what they deserved, they got the three points.”

Orlando (7-5-2, 23 points) controlled the possession for most of the first half, claiming 59% of the ball, but the Lions never looked particularly dangerous despite that advantage. City totaled nine shots in the first 45 minutes, but only three came inside the box and none were particularly challenging for United keeper Bill Hamid to corral.

Orlando’s best chance came in the waning moments of the first half, when Luis Gil played Larin forward on the break following a D.C. turnover, but the Canadian was unable to steer his shot far enough across the face of goal from the left side of the box, and MLS save leader Hamid safely claimed it. After a no-call on a Scott Sutter penalty shout, the half ended at an appropriate 0-0, with little to no creativity in the center of the pitch for OCSC and 10 D.C. fouls illustrating the sloppiness of the first 45 on a rain-soaked pitch.

The only bit of flash for City came when Matias Perez Garcia skillfully chipped a ball to play Carlos Rivas into the box, but the Colombian was unable to make anything of the cross he played afterward.

The rain subsided at the break, but the second half continued in much the same fashion until the substitution of Barnes injected some much-needed energy into Orlando City. The English-Jamaican brought fire to the side immediately, sliding in vigorously on a tackle seconds after entering the match and taking off from there.

Just six minutes later, Barnes won a free kick outside the left side of the box by drawing contact with a winding run through three defenders. Barnes rose to his feet and urged the supporters’ section to get loud, and that set the stage for Orlando’s first goal of the night on the ensuing free kick. Will Johnson sent an in-swinging ball off his right foot that barely missed the rising head of Jose Aja before finding the dome of Larin, who had powered his way inside of Steve Birnbaum to nod home and give City a 1-0 advantage.

“It’s nothing short of amazing that he continues to score those types of goals,” Kreis said following the match when asked about Larin’s ability to continually use his physicality to generate goals. “I think every opponent is keen on being very physical with him. It’s a credit to Cyle that he can continue to score through those types of challenges.”

The goal was Larin’s eighth of the year and ended a 266-minute goal drought for Orlando.

The energy that Barnes ignited continued to pulsate, as City stayed on the front foot and created a few more chances, one of which could’ve resulted in another Larin goal had it not been blocked at the edge of the box after Barnes pulled a ball back to set him up.

Things almost came crumbling down in the 74th minute, however, when Aja sent an errant back pass toward Joe Bendik that was badly underhit, leaving the keeper alone with a charging Lamar Neagle. Bendik’s attempt to sweep the ball away failed, and Neagle found himself 1-v-1 with only center back Jonathan Spector to beat, but Spector channeled 2015 Brek Shea and blocked the shot into the air with his knee, allowing Bendik to rush back and punch it away off the line and preserve the lead. Go ahead and mark it down as the MLS Save of the Week, with Spector and Bendik sharing honors on what was a spectacular effort to stop what appeared to be a certain goal for D.C. (4-7-2, 14 points).

Orlando proceeded to try to ride out the remainder of the match and cling to the one-goal advantage, when it got a nice break to cap things off. Barnes was rewarded for his high-energy shift with a bit of fortune when the usually reliable Hamid turned in a howler and completely whiffed on a 25-yard effort from Barnes, deflecting a soft goal across the line to seal the victory for the Lions after it hit him directly in the gloves.

While the goal was certainly one that Hamid will be embarrassed to have allowed, it was emblematic that Barnes’ relentless energy paid off for him and the team, regardless of the fashion the goal came in.

“That’s your prototypical ‘why you make a substitution,’” Kreis said of Barnes’ game-changing performance. “You want a substitute to change the game and lift the energy, and I think that’s exactly what Giles did.”

Kreis even noted that he told Barnes that he thought his first Orlando goal would come in a strange way just this week, noting that the forward had been pressing and trying to do too much at times to make it happen. Those words proved prophetic Wednesday evening when Barnes locked up the three points for the Lions.

It wasn’t the prettiest of matches, but it was exactly what Orlando City needed to get off the schneid and back into the win column for its first win in May on its final match of the month.

It was Orlando’s second straight win over D.C. and it evens the all-time series since the Lions began MLS play in 2015 at three wins apiece. Orlando ended the night with 57% of the possession and 19 shots, seemingly breaking through after failing to score on 20 shots vs. Minnesota last weekend.


The Lions are back in action Sunday night against the Chicago Fire, once again inside the friendly confines of Orlando City Stadium.

Lion Links

Lion Links: 3/21/25

Scott Sutter joins Orlando Pride staff, Pride watch party schedule announced, USMNT falls flat vs. Panama, and more.

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Carlos Romero, The Mane Land

Welcome to the weekend, Mane Landers. I just found out that Barbra Banda’s goal didn’t win NWSL Goal of the Week, despite earning the most fan votes. Utterly ridiculous and I hope that Banda takes out the supporters’ frustration this weekend. I need these upcoming matches to take the bad taste of that USMNT match out of my mouth. In the interest of moving on, let’s get to the links.

Former Lion Scott Sutter Joins Orlando Pride Staff

Former Orlando City fullback Scott Sutter has joined Seb Hines’ staff with the Orlando Pride. Sutter was one of three new support staffers announced by the Pride on Thursday and will serve in the role of player development coach. Sutter made 51 appearances with Orlando City in 2017 and 2018, scoring four goals and adding six assists in his time with the club. He joins fellow former Orlando City players Hines and Giles Barnes on the Pride’s staff. Previously, Sutter has coaching experience as a volunteer assistant coach at the University of Virginia and as an academy head coach with D.C. United. 

The Pride also named Erin Angelini as the new head of rehabilitation and Tara Kaff as the club’s performance nutritionist. In addition to the new hires, Chris Cafaro and Christi Edson were promoted to head of video performance analysis and head of performance, respectively.

Pride Announce Watch Party Schedule

You can watch the Orlando Pride away matches in the comfort of your own home, but if you crave the excitement of celebrating goals with your follow supporters, you can attend of the club’s official watch parties. These events are scheduled for some of the Pride’s biggest away matches against the best the NWSL has to offer. The match Sunday against NJ/NY Gotham FC is a must-see match and the first of those aforementioned watch parties.

Lifeless USMNT Crashes Out of Nations League

The USMNT lost 1-0 to Panama on a second-half stoppage-time goal from the visitors. The U.S. garnered most of the possession and more shots, but the Yanks couldn’t finish their chances and it came back to haunt them in the end. The loss knocks the U.S. out of the Concacaf Nations League, meaning it will be the first time that the competition isn’t won by the USMNT.

New Women’s World Sevens League

A new 7-v-7 league, Women’s World Sevens, will launch in May with a reported $5 million grand prize pool for each event. Eight clubs will participate in each event, though the participants have not yet been announced. We do know that form USWNT star Tobin Heath will be involved as a player advisor for the events.

Free Kicks


That will do it for today. Make sure to check back as we get you ready for the Orlando City and Orlando Pride matches this weekend. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City’s Defense Must Start Rocking Right Now

Orlando City’s defensive struggles and the historical risks of giving up an average of more than two goals per game.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Rob Base and DJ E-Z Rock penned a song in 1988 that became a staple on dance floors and in sports arenas everywhere, and it will probably remain so for years to come. That song is the classic single “It Takes Two,” a favorite of mine for as long as I can remember. The reason I bring it up here is not because of Rob Base and his excellent flow, but rather because in three of the four games this season “it takes two” was also the answer to the question “how many goals will the Lions need to score to at least give themselves a chance to earn a point?”

Sadly, in the other game of the first four it was not it takes two but rather it takes two times two, or perhaps it it takes two two times, when the Lions gave up four goals in the season opener.

The regular season is 34 games long, and with only four games played, Orlando City still has 88% of its games remaining. And, with one win and one draw among those first four games, the Lions have earned four points, which is better than last season, when they had only earned one point after their first four games. That team went on to make it all the way to the Eastern Conference final, so we should not overreact to a slow start.

And really, the slow start is only on the defensive side, because the offense has scored nine goals, tying for second in MLS so far, and it is also among the top teams in shots (second), shots on target (third), goals per shot (seventh), and goals per shot on target (sixth).

I wanted to look a little more at the defense this week, and in particular look at that ugly stat around giving up at least two goals in every game. I looked back at the last three seasons in MLS to see how many regular-season games a team gave up at least two goals, and I was both heartened and disheartened by what I found. Here are the results, broken out by each team’s final position (reminder that the regular season is 34 games):

Final Position202220232024Three-Year Avg.
Champion11131914.3
Runner-Up4121410.0
Conf. Finalist14.010.013.512.5
Conf. Semi-Finalist13.012.313.813.0
Conf. Quarter-Finalist13.212.113.512.9
Wild CardN/A14.51916.8
Did Not Make Playoffs17.515.819.517.6

It was heartening to see that the average across every final position that ended in the playoffs was at least 10 games, and most were at least 12.5. I had thought it would be a lower average, so based on Orlando City’s early performances, I was glad to see that it was higher than I thought.

Though it is not in the chart above, the average for all playoff teams during the three seasons was 13.1 games of giving up at least two goals. That is approximately 38% of a season, so the average playoff team gave up at least two goals in nearly two out of every five games. This was also more than I thought, and it means that Orlando City can pretty quickly get back onto a similar pace with a good run of defensive form.

While I was happy to see that most teams — even teams that went deep into the playoffs — had posted double-digit games of shipping two or more goals, that still does not change the fact that Orlando City is on pace to give up two or more goals in…let me check my math here….every game this season. A four-game sample is a small one, and it would not be wise to make any firm conclusions off of that, but it is simple math to look at the three-year averages for the teams that went deep into the playoffs and to calculate that Orlando City is already around one-third of the way there, with nearly 90% of the season left to play. Disheartening.

The obvious question is why are the Lions giving up so many goals, and, as was discussed a bit on the most recent episode of The Mane Land PawedCast, the team has started four different defensive lineups in four games, and the Lions will make it five for five during this week’s game against D.C. United, as Pedro Gallese was called up to Peru’s national team, so Javier Otero will likely be the starter in goal. The back line in front of Otero will probably be a repeat of a lineup that has already been used, but the lack of continuity in defense has certainly contributed to some of the issues in the first four games.

Head Coach Óscar Pareja has pointed to individual mistakes that need to be cleaned up for the results to improve, but the team as a whole has allowed the fourth-most shots on target this season, an average of 5.75 per game. Using expected goals as a measure for the danger of the locations of the shots allowed, Orlando City is giving up shots from the second-most dangerous locations across MLS, making it unsurprising that its opponents have put so many shots on target per game and converted 10 of those shots into goals. Individual mistakes certainly contributed, and Robin Jansson was called for a questionable foul that gave the Red Bulls an undeserved penalty kick, but the issues seem to be a little deeper than just a few mistakes that need to be cleaned up.

Or, perhaps it is a few individual mistakes, a lack of continuity on the back line and also some bad luck. Six of the goals allowed have been from within four yards, one was a penalty kick, and one was shot into a wide open goal after Rodrigo Schlegel took perhaps the worst touch in his professional career. According to Opta’s tracking, Orlando City only gave up five goals from four yards or closer in 2024, and for that number to already be six this season seems like an aberration more than a new normal. The team also opened the season against Philadelphia, and after four games played, the Union lead the league in goals scored. That was also the game when Jansson was unexpectedly scratched from the starting lineup just minutes before the opening kickoff, changing the defensive game plan considerably.

Maybe that is me seeing the glass half full instead of half empty, but these are the same defensive players as last season, with the exception of Alex Freeman playing instead of Dagur Dan Thórhallsson for most of the minutes at right back. The defensive statistics were much better in 2024 than thus far in 2025, and Freeman is not a downgrade from Thórhallsson, so I think a positive regression to the mean will be coming. The 2024 team also gave up 10 goals in the first four games, 2.5 goals per game, but then gave up 40 goals in the next 30 regular-season games, a reduction of more than one goal per game, from 2.5 to 1.33.

The Lions’ defense has the talent and the experience to do something similar this year, especially as the players spend more minutes together, and there is no time like the present to have their first game of giving up fewer than two goals. I do not think it is too much to ask, and if the players are looking for some inspiration, they could get that by watching the Orlando Pride’s defensive players, who are coached by former Orlando City defender Seb Hines.

Let’s hope that the defense can, to quote Rob Base, make this thing go right.

Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to secure three points at home against D.C. United?

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B

Orlando City returns to Inter&Co Stadium Saturday night to face Eastern Conference foe D.C. United. The Lions have given up a ton of goals this season but have also scored quite a few. However, with only one win so far, Orlando City needs to get a positive result at home this weekend. Here’s what Orlando City needs to do to earn all three points against D.C. United.

Blank Benteke

D.C. United has scored six goals so far this season. Christian Benteke has scored three of those six goals. While that is completely unsurprising, it also makes Benteke the most important player on the field for the Lions to shut down. Orlando City has given up at least two goals in every match and a total of 10 goals already this season. That must change on Saturday night.

Robin Jansson is back in the starting lineup, but he didn’t have his best match against the New York Red Bulls. We need the Beefy Swede to get back into form both mentally and physically if he is to help keep Benteke off the scoresheet. Obviously, Jansson won’t be the only player needed to stop Benteke, but he is the leader of the team and the leader of the defense.

The other major factor is Pedro Gallese’s absence, as the keeper will be on international duty. That means Javier Otero will get his first MLS start in goal. Otero will need to rise to the challenge in front of a leaky back line. Said back line needs to stop being so leaky to help out Otero. Everyone elevating to get the job done is ideal.

Continued DP Contributions

Orlando City’s Designated Players have scored six of the club’s nine goals, and provided four of the team’s five assists on the season. While that is exactly like it should be for any team, that hasn’t always been the case for the Lions in the past. It’s so normal and also so odd at the same time.

D.C. United has given up five goals so far this season, which is pretty average in comparison around the league. My point is that Kim Jun-hong is not Carlos Coronel, and D.C. United’s defense hasn’t been as stingy as the New York Red Bulls defense. If the Lions can score two goals against New York — and it should have been more — then Marco Pasalic, Martin Ojeda, and Luis Muriel can certainly score multiple goals against D.C.

New Midfield, Who Dis?

Eduard Atuesta had an excellent game against the New York Red Bulls. Joran Gerbet had as good a first start as any rookie could in place of Cesar Araujo, who missed the match due to some tightness late in the week. Orlando City may have its starting defensive midfielder back, but if not, then Gerbet will need to build on his performance from last week.

The D.C. United midfielders are expected to provide service for Benteke. The Orlando City midfield needs to disrupt that service at every opportunity. If they do this, then Atuesta can do what he does best to link the defense to the Orlando City offense and provide opportunities to the attack to hopefully outscore D.C. United.


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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