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Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Final Score 0-0 as Nine-Man Lions Hold for a Draw

Ted Unkel sent off Rafael Ramos early and Antonio Nocerino later, but Orlando City still managed to earn a point.

Published

8 years ago

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Nick Leyva, The Mane Land

Orlando City (7-5-3, 24 points) earned its second straight clean sheet, but it’s safe to say the Lions will probably never earn a more satisfying single point in a match. Referee Ted Unkel put his fingerprints all over this match, sending two Lions off early but Orlando City’s players rallied around one another for a hard-fought 0-0 draw in front of 24,469 at Orlando City Stadium.

Rafael Ramos and Antonio Nocerino both hit the showers while the game was still going on but the Lions still held off league-leading goal scorer Nemanja Nikolic and the high-flying Chicago Fire (7-3-4, 25 points), who entered the game on a four-game winning streak.

“I don’t want to talk about the [referee’s] decisions,” Head Coach Jason Kreis said after the match. “I don’t think it’s fair to the players to bring up a negative point of view. For me, the point of view should only be positive because the work that those guys put in tonight, the togetherness that those guys showed tonight, the commitment level that those guys showed tonight — what they were willing to do for each other, for themselves, and for the fans — was second to none. I just want to say, ‘hats off to our boys.’”

After the game, the referee’s liaison said Unkel refused to respond to questions asked by the pool reporter, who submitted three questions after conferring with the game’s assembled media during the match. This level of petulance isn’t surprising considering the track record of this particular game official.

The game was only 26 minutes old when Ramos was sent off without either side having yet really settled into the match.

Ramos, tracking a ball hit high into the air, stuck out a foot to clear it but did it just as Brandon Vincent arrived. Ramos was tracking the ball’s flight path and it was unlikely he even knew Vincent was bearing down on him, but Unkel judged his play to be “violent conduct” and sent Ramos to the showers early in his first MLS match this season.

“I feel for the referees because they’re asked to interpret things on a second’s notice and they’re asked to interpret so many things,” Johnson said. “I’m sure you could poll a bunch of people and some say it’s a red, some not. I thought we dealt with them well and I think that’s the story we’re taking from it.

“He feels hard done by,” Johnson said of Ramos. “You feel for the kid. He works for three months getting himself fit and healthy and then a call like that comes your way and it’s tough to swallow.”

Johnson took over at right back for the remainder of the first half as Kreis kept his attacking players on the field to try to hit Chicago on the counter. After halftime, Giles Barnes was withdrawn and Scott Sutter took over at right back.

“Asking him to switch positions — which, he hasn’t played right back for a very long time now — he just went in there and did anything and everything that it took tonight to lead this team to a result. He wasn’t the only one. I think everybody that played in this match tonight showed what they’re willing to give to this team, to this community, and to this club.”

Kreis started a young back line, with Ramos giving Sutter a breather — for 45 minutes, anyway — and Leo Pereira and PC spelling Jose Aja and Donny Toia, respectively. The midfield featured Cristian Higuita, Nocerino, Johnson, and Barnes, with Carlos Rivas and Cyle Larin up top in a 4-4-2 that later became a 4-4-1 and then a 4-4-0 as game conditions changed.

Not much happened prior to Ramos’ red card. Johnson had a shot at the top of the box blocked and Rivas sent a free kick over the Heineken sign and into the upper deck from 30 yards out. David Accam, who has torched Orlando in the past, saw Bendik block his shot in the 14th minute. Bastian Schweinsteiger hit a shot over the bar at the 20-minute mark. Rivas hit a rocket in the 24th that forced Matt Lampson to parry it away but then the Colombian fired well wide off a layoff from Nocerino on a short corner that could have worked if he hit it on frame.

Two minutes later, the game was ruined and Orlando City was forced into settling for sporadic counter attacks as the sole source of offense.

Schweinsteiger took the free kick just above the box after Ramos departed but hit his shot over the net. Larin had Orlando’s best scoring opportunity in the 33rd minute, catching Lampson off his line, but the Canadian hit his shot straight at the Chicago keeper rather than chipping him.

A minute after that chance, Johnson made a sliding block to knock a cross out for a corner with a Fire player lurking at the back post for a tap-in. The last dangerous chances of the first half came Chicago’s way. The first happened in the 42nd minute, when Vincent hit a shot that took a deflection and just missed the back post. In stoppage time, Nikolic failed to beat Bendik with a pair of chances.

After the break, Orlando looked to play more defensively, and Chicago became far too deliberate in trying to patiently break down the Lions. The Fire possessed the ball for 70% of the second period but had trouble fashioning good scoring chances. Orlando players dove and slid in front of passes and shots, giving their bodies to the cause in front of Bendik’s goal.

“It helped us in a way, because they have some speed and their guys didn’t adjust well to not having much time and space,” Johnson said of parking the bus.

Meanwhile, on the other end, Orlando City created no shots in the second half.

Michael de Leeuw got a head to a cross in the 56th minute but Bendik was there to collect.

Three minutes later, Kreis sacrificed Rivas for Kaká, making his return from a calf injury. Unfortunately, the captain wasn’t able to have any effect on the offense as the Lions parked the bus in front of Bendik’s net.

In the 67th minute, disaster struck again. An onrushing Nocerino, who hadn’t even committed a foul in the match, stuck out a boot to meet an oncoming airborne ball. Matt Polster moved into his path at the last second and the Italian’s studs found Polster’s rear end instead of the ball. Unkel went straight to the red card again and the Lions were down to eight field players with still 23 minutes plus stoppage to go.

“When you go down to nine, you’re certainly just playing for the draw,” Kreis said. “But when we were down to 10, as you saw, we didn’t bring in Sutter right away. We wanted to shift Will over to the right back. We wanted to keep attacking-minded players out there to see if we could hit them on the break. We weren’t throwing in the towel by any means. At halftime, I’m talking to the coaching staff about how we were going to win the game, not about how we were going to draw the game. So, all of our decisions were bending that way until we get the second ejection and then it’s just like ‘how are we going to hold on?’”

But Chicago continued to be complacent in the attack, although Veljko Paunović tried to instill life in his club by bringing on Arturo Alvarez, Djordje Mihailovic, and David Arshakyan. But most of Chicago’s efforts continued to be from distance above the box or through hopeful crosses into the box that were met time and time again by Spector and Pereira or caught by Bendik. In a last-ditch desperate effort, the Fire sent everyone into the attack and ended up finding the crossbar twice in stoppage time — first Polster, then Arshakyan.

“We needed a little bit of luck there,” Bendik said after the game.

Finally, the whistle mercifully blew and a shattered Orlando City team had earned the hardest point of the season.

“To be down a man for — what were we down a man, at least 60 minutes? — and then two men for as long as we were tonight…it was incredible. Nothing short of fantastic,” Kreis said. “Chicago for me is a very, very, very good team right now, so to be able to get a shutout with 11 players says something, but with nine, says a completely other thing.”

“When you feel like everything’s against you, it kind of rallies you in a way and unites you,” Johnson said. “Our group understood. We have worked in training with numbers down. We were well prepared. We feel united and the support of the fans was also special.”

Orlando City now has kept two straight clean sheets to rebound from a six-game winless streak.

“We’re getting back to who we were,” said Johnson. “We lost our identity, if you will, for a little bit there. We started trying to get a little clever. Now we’re back to who we are and so the shutouts feel good. On a night like tonight, I think the best case scenario was 0-0. You’re never happy not to win at home, but on a night when you have nine guys against 11 at this level, it’s pretty difficult to do any better than a point.”

Orlando City gets a bit of a breather with the international break. The Lions’ next game will be Wednesday, June 14 against Miami FC in U.S. Open Cup fourth round action. The next MLS match for City will be Saturday, June 17 when the Montreal Impact visit Orlando City Stadium.

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Orlando City

Orlando City Showing Signs of Adjusting to Eduard Atuesta’s Absence

The Lions have looked much better on offense the last two games, and there’s a couple of reasons why.

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2 hours ago

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May 16, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Much has been made of Orlando City’s difficulties in creating chances and scoring goals when Eduard Atuesta has been unavailable due to injury. It’s not hard to understand why either. The Colombian was unavailable for three of Orlando’s four scoreless draws this year, and he only played nine minutes as a substitute in the stalemate against the New York Red Bulls on April 12.

When he was healthy and got the start against Atlanta United two games later, the Lions won 3-0 and he created the most chances of anyone in the game with three. Orlando then promptly reverted to being offensively stunted in the following game against the Chicago Fire, and was only able to manage its fourth scoreless draw of the year, despite playing over a half the game with a man advantage.

There certainly seemed to be plenty of evidence pointing towards Atuesta being the missing cog in Orlando City’s offense. While he only has two assists in eight games, he does a ton of work in linking the defense to the attack and is great at finding attacking players in dangerous areas, as evidenced by his 17 key passes. In the 0-0 draws with the Philadelphia Union, CF Montreal, and the Fire, Orlando just didn’t look right without him, although the Red Bulls game was a much better performance that was ultimately derailed by Rodrigo Schlegel’s sending off.

While he hasn’t played in either of Orlando’s last two league matches, a 3-3 draw against the New England Revolution, and a 3-1 win against Charlotte FC, the offense clearly hasn’t had any problem creating chances. If anything, the Lions should have scored more goals if not for a couple instances of less-than-crisp finishing in each match.

So, why the sudden change?

Well for one thing, the Designated Players are firing on all cylinders again. Martin Ojeda scored a hat trick against New England, and he and Luis Muriel scored Orlando’s first two goals against Charlotte. Ojeda didn’t start either of the two games against Atlanta and Chicago because he was dealing with a minor injury, but now that it’s in the rearview mirror, he’s been a man possessed. Muriel probably should have had at least one goal of his own against the Revs but seemed oddly reluctant to shoot, although he still completed three dribbles and delivered three key passes. The Charlotte game was then his turn to come out of the gate swinging, as he narrowly had a goal ruled out for offside just two minutes in, before hammering a venomous shot from distance just six minutes later that gave Kristijan Kahlina all sorts of trouble and opened the scoring.

It isn’t just getting contributions from the big guns though, because we need to acknowledge the play of rookie Joran Gerbet in these last two games. He’s the man who’s been asked to fill in for Atuesta next to Cesar Araujo, and he’s getting more and more comfortable in that role. Against the Revs he had an interception, a key pass and an assist, and completed a long ball and a through ball while recording a passing accuracy of 86.5%. Against Charlotte, he recorded an interception, three clearances, a completed dribble, and two successful long balls, and he had an outstanding passing accuracy of 98%. They weren’t all simply backwards or sideways passes either. There were plenty of times when he progressed the ball upfield to an attacking player and helped keep the Lions moving forward, and that’s exactly what you want out of the guy playing that position.

He still has a way to go before reaching Atuesta’s level, but that’s to be expected for a guy that’s playing the first professional season of his career. What’s most important is that he’s getting more comfortable, contributing, and proving that he can be a legitimate option to rotate into the starting XI when Atuesta is unavailable or when fixture congestion dictates changes to the lineup.

It’s worth mentioning the caveat that the last two games haven’t been against the strongest opposition the league has to offer. The Revs were on a four-game winning streak before playing Orlando, but three of those four wins were against weak or shaky teams in Atlanta, Toronto FC, and Charlotte, while the fourth team (NYCFC) has been difficult to get a read on. I’m not saying the Revs are a paper tiger, but it’s tough to know how good they really are despite a good run of recent form. Then you have Charlotte, which was above the playoff line but also on a three-game losing streak coming into the match that has now been convincingly extended to four.

At the end of the day, you can only beat who’s in front of you, but I’d encourage us all to not get too carried away until we see the same results against sterner opposition. For better or worse, that’s exactly what we’ll get in the Lions’ next three matches, which will be against a capable, albeit flawed, Inter Miami side on the road, at home in the U.S. Open Cup against a Nashville SC team that’s fourth in the East, and at home against the Portland Timbers, who are currently fourth in the West.

Ultimately, we can only judge this team on what we’ve seen from it, and over the last two games we’ve seen a side that’s had no trouble creating chances. Despite the continued absence of the important Atuesta, the Lions are adjusting thanks to contributions from their heavy hitters and the improving play of the rookie Gerbet. Only time will tell if those improvements are sustainable, but for now its a hell of a lot of fun to enjoy.

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Lion Links: 5/16/25

Orlando City players make MLS Team of the Matchday, Luis Muriel focused, Orlando Pride plays tonight, and more.

Published

6 hours ago

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May 16, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Happy Friday! I’ve had a pretty good week so far and am looking forward to three straight days of Orlando soccer. The Orlando Pride will get us started tonight and then we have Orlando City B on Saturday before Orlando City plays on Sunday. It should be a fun next few days, and hopefully one filled with celebrations too. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Lions Make MLS Team of the Matchday

There’s plenty of purple in the latest MLS Team of the Matchday following Orlando City’s 3-1 win over Charlotte FC. Martin Ojeda and David Brekalo were both selected, while Oscar Pareja was chosen as the top coach from the midweek slate. Ojeda’s strike in the first half is also up for Goal of the Matchday as his strong run of form continues. The only outfield player on this Team of the Matchday that didn’t score is Brekalo, who had two assists, so it’s nice to see him receive deserved recognition for an excellent performance that included a great setup on Orlando’s third goal. Pareja has the Lions on an 11-game unbeaten streak across all competitions and is managing things well so far during this busy May.

Luis Muriel Staying Focused in Sophomore Season

With five goals so far this season, Orlando City forward Luis Muriel has already mirrored his scoring total from all of last season. Staying mentally prepared has been key for the 34-year-old in his second year with Orlando, and he spoke about what’s changed for him after not quite reaching expectations in his first year.

“Coming to a league like this isn’t easy. A lot of times from the outside, you aren’t able to measure up or really see what the league is. Sometimes you can underestimate things, thinking it’s easy,” Muriel said. “That leads you to take things on in a different way, the work, the matches.

“When you go into ‘MLS Mode’ you realize how good the league is, how competitive it is, how demanding the league is to be able to do things well. That’s when things start to flow, to go well. I think that’s the difference between this year and last.”

He’s finding his footing in the league now and was a force to be reckoned with against Charlotte on Wednesday. Muriel is aware that the Lions will need him to be at his best when they travel to take on Inter Miami on Sunday for an important rivalry clash.

Diving Into Justin Ellis’s Ascent

Victor Olorunfemi of Top Drawer Soccer gave a great profile on Orlando City B forward Justin Ellis and his growth with the club. Ellis, who just celebrated his 18th birthday on Wednesday with his MLS debut, is having a great year after a solid season with OCB last year. The high school senior was the top scorer at this year’s Generation Adidas Cup with six goals to help Orlando’s U-18 team win the tournament. He can create chances just as well as he can convert them and is quick to give credit to the coaches and staff that have helped him develop. The U.S. youth pool is deep, but Ellis could be a name to keep an eye out for ahead of the U-20 World Cup in September.

Orlando Pride Match Headlines NWSL Weekend

The Orlando Pride’s match tonight against the Kansas City Current is the premier matchup this week in the NWSL. While I wouldn’t call it a rivalry just yet, these two teams had great games last year. The Current are still out for revenge after Orlando beat them while shorthanded last summer and won again in the NWSL playoffs in Orlando before winning the NWSL Championship in Kansas City. First place in the league is on the line and it should be a thrilling match featuring the league’s top two defenses and attacking threats like Barbra Banda, Temwa Chawinga, Marta, and Debinha.

NWSL Contenders and Underperformers

We’re about a third of the way into the NWSL season and ESPN‘s Jeff Kassouf dove into how each team is meeting its expectations so far. Despite their stumbles in recent weeks, the Pride are near the top of the table and have plenty of time to get things firing on all cylinders. Two of the California teams are enjoying surprising success so far, with the San Diego Wave up in fourth while Angel City FC is in fifth and could become a real contender once Alexander Straus takes over as head coach. NJ/NY Gotham FC and the North Carolina Courage are sleeping giants of sorts, so it will be interesting to see when they start climbing up the table.

Free Kicks

  • You’ll need a paid subscription for the full details, but Orlando City right back Alex Freeman continues to impress this season. Freeman is finding success in a way different from his father Antonio Freeman, who led the NFL in receiving yards for the Green Bay Packers in 1998.
  • This year’s MLS pre-match jerseys to celebrate Pride month are out and they’re a vibrant and funky design.

Love lifts us up 💜The new 2025 Pride Pre-Match Jerseys are here!🛒 orlsoccer.co/fbpri

— Orlando City SC (@orlandocitysc.com) 2025-05-15T18:56:08.764Z
  • Esther Gonzalez leads the NWSL with seven goals this season and has agreed to a contract extension with Gotham FC that will last through 2027.
  • FIFA representatives, including FA Chair Debbie Hewitt and UEFA President Alexander Ceferin, walked out of FIFA’s annual congress in protest of FIFA President Gianni Infantino arriving three hours late. Infantino has spent this week in the Middle East visiting leaders in Saudi Arabia and Qatar with Donald Trump.
  • FC Barcelona officially won this year’s La Liga title after a 2-0 win over Espanyol. Phenom Lamine Yamal scored a sensational goal in the match, which is fitting considering how crucial he was to Barcelona winning the league this year.
  • Predictable names like Luis Enrique and Antonio Conte are on the list of top European coaches this year, but this article also shines a light on coaches who navigated tough waters in small boats. Alexander Blessin has St. Pauli on the verge of survival in the Bundesliga and Filippo Inzaghi improved Pisa by 30 points in Serie B to secure promotion.

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

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Inter Miami: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to secure a victory in Sunday’s edition of Tropic Thunder?

Published

1 day ago

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May 15, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City / Mark Thor

The first Tropic Thunder match of the season is here. As I recently said on The Mane Land PawedCast, I am both looking forward to and dreading this match. I think that is an appropriate feeling. Orlando City is in the midst of a congested May schedule, but every match matters.

Inter Miami tops my list of hated teams at this point. As such, I very much want the Lions to win and for Florida to be purple. What does Orlando City need to do to earn all three points on the road against their in-state rivals?

Pocket Messi

Orlando City must keep Lionel Messi from having too big of an impact on the match. There are plenty of other players that the defense will need to worry about, and I’ll get to them. What I’m looking for is a frustrated Messi — Messi that feels he should be getting calls on the lightest of touches but is not.

The pair of players that I’m expecting to keep an eye on Messi are Cesar Araujo and Rodrigo Schlegel. The lion’s share of that burden will fall to Araujo. I want him to be hounding Messi every time he gets the ball. If Messi is able to get past Araujo, I want Schlegel to be right in his face. We’re all sick of MLS and Apple TV putting his smug mug in our faces at every opportunity. It’s time for two of Orlando’s defenders to take the shine off of Messi.

Deal with the Rest

Assuming Araujo can limit Messi, Orlando City still has to deal with Miami’s talented attacking players not named Messi. Miami and Orlando entered Wednesday night’s game with the same number of goals scored (21) and allowed (15) this season, although the Herons conceded more at San Jose (3) than the Lions (1) did at home against Charlotte. Each scored three times on Wednesday. However, the memory of the last time the Lions faced Miami at Chase Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale is a 5-0 loss. That isn’t something we want to see again.

Theoretically, no match is more important than another, although an argument could be made that Tropic Thunder is no mere match. I fully expect a starting back line of Alex Freeman, Schlegel, Robin Jansson, and David Brekalo in front of Pedro Gallese to stop Miami’s attack. A clean sheet is the objective.

Alex vs. Alba

As you can tell, this is a very defensive heavy Three Keys, but given what happened in this fixture last year, I don’t think it’s out of line. Alex Freeman has been good this season. He has secured the starting spot at right back and seems unlikely to give it back. One of the things he is good at is getting into the attack with Marco Pasalic. That isn’t what I’m looking for from him this weekend.

Miami’s Jordi Alba is a dangerous player that Freeman will be expected to help contain. Alba has five assists, seven successful crosses, and 13 key passes so far this season. If Freeman is still getting up the pitch to assist in the attack, he will need to make sure he isn’t allowing Alba free rein to get behind him and serve as a provider in Orlando’s half of the field.

That is what I will be looking for Sunday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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