Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Montreal Impact: Player Grades and Man of the Match
This game was very strange. Orlando played one of its best 45 minutes of offense of the year in the first half and probably one of its worst 45 minutes in the second half. Jose Aja was at fault for two of Montreal’s three goals, but Jonathan Spector pulled one back in stoppage time to salvage a point at home.
Now, let’s get into the grades.
Starters
GK, Joe Bendik, 6 — It’s been a down last few games for the Orlando keeper. Was beaten near post for the first goal, beaten through his legs for the second, and dropped the ball after the initial save for the third. Jason Kreis mentioned that every goalkeeper goes through ups and downs and right now Bendik just isn’t as solid as he was earlier in the season. Still came out and made some good saves, including one on Hassoun Camara in the 77th minute.
D, Scott Sutter, 7.5 — Did another solid job in the back line. Was fairly aggressive going for the ball as well, leading the team in tackles, with four. Did well getting into the attack and serving balls into the area, but nothing came of them in the end. Finished the game with an 81% passing clip.
D, Jonathan Spector, 8 — It was a bit of a mixed bag for Spector in this one. For most of the match, he did an excellent job holding down the back line and stopping the front two on the counter. He also scored the equalizing goal in the 94th minute. However, on the second and third goals, Ignacio Piatti completely spun him around and basically took him out of the plays. Led the team in clearances and blocked shots and was fourth in passing with 90% accuracy.
D, Jose Aja, 4.5 — This was a night to forget for the Uruguayan. Had a really poor mistake in the 16th minute, giving the ball away to Ignacio Piatti, leading to a Montreal goal. Then followed it up with a missed, over-committed header on the second goal, taking him out of the play. Then he put the cherry on top with another giveaway to Piatti, who scored seconds later. He was subbed out in the 72nd minute.
D, Donny Toia, 7 .5— Against his former team, Toia did really well. Much like Sutter, he got forward often and helped in the attack. He even had a shot in the 18th minute that was deflected just wide. He was third on the team in tackles and clearances. The only knock on him potentially was that he was caught a bit too far forward at times and allowed Montreal to build up in the counter.
MF, Cristian Higuita, 7 — Both Higuita and Johnson had similar games. Did well to win the ball back, committed some silly fouls and did well distributing the ball out wide. Higuita had a 91% passing accuracy, finished third on the team in shots, and led the team in both tackles and fouls with four and five, respectively.
MF, Will Johnson , 7 — Essentially it’s cut and paste with Higuita as far as the breakdown. Johnson had a 92% passing accuracy, was also third on the team in shots, and fourth on the team in tackles. Came out for the last few minutes in favor of Luis Gil.
MF, Matias Perez Garcia , 8.5 (MOTM)— Tonight was a game that has been a long time coming for MPG. He was dynamic on the offensive end and solid defensively. Scored his first Orlando City goal in the eighth minute after some good wing play from Kaká and Barnes. Could have had an assist on the second goal, but Johnson’s shot was blocked and Rivas cleaned it up. Did manage an assist on the Spector goal off the corner, putting it perfectly into the box. Led the team in key passes, fouls earned, and dribbles, second on the team in total crosses, and third on the team in tackles.
MF, Kaka, 7.5 — A solid game for the captain and an impressive first half offensively. Had great chemistry with MPG and Barnes, linking up some great passes and getting into dangerous spaces in front of goal. Notched an assist on the first goal for MPG and continued to be a threat offensively going towards goal. The second half he was less effective, but that was mainly due to Montreal dropping back to defend the lead.
F, Giles Barnes, 8 — Was in very inspired form for this game and it really showed. Set up the first goal with a slotted pass for Kaká in the eighth minute and set up the second goal with his cross into the box. Had a number of good runs towards goal and, as mentioned with Kaká, had great link-up play with him, MPG, and himself. Was fourth on the team with 90% passing accuracy, second on the team in shots, and third in key passes.
F, Carlos Rivas, 7.5 — Once again, Rivas’ speed was a huge factor in this game. Balls over the top for him to chase opened up the offense for Orlando and allowed the Lions to break down the five at the back Montreal played. Scored his third goal of the year with a clean-up strike after Johnson had his shot saved in the 23rd minute. Led the team in both shots (five) and crosses (seven).
Substitutes
D, Tommy Redding (72’), 8 — Came in for Aja to try and calm the back line down and did just that. Was very composed despite the pressure from Montreal and had a few good stops defensively to keep the Impact off the scoreboard.
MF, Luis Gil (88’), N/A, — Came in for Johnson and tried to get something going offensively. Almost had a good play to Higuita in stoppage time, but it was cleared away by Montreal.
That is what the individual performances looked like to me. What did you think? Be sure to vote below for your OCSC Man of the Match.
Polling Closed
| Player | Votes |
| Giles Barnes | 16 |
| Matias Perez Garcia | 131 |
| Kaka | 15 |
| Carlos Rivas | 6 |
| Other | 16 |
Lion Links
Lion Links: 1/23/25
Orlando City signs Thomas Williams to new contract, Orlando Pride schedule revealed, USMNT wins against Costa Rica, and more.
I hope you all are staying warm as we deal with cold weather across Florida. It’s at least been nice to break out some of my heavier blankets and forgotten hot cocoa packets I’ve had stored away. My cat has also been curling up next to me more, which is always a plus. Still, not shivering while waiting for my car to warm up would be great. Let’s dive into today’s links!
Thomas Williams Signs New Orlando City Contract
Orlando City center back Thomas Williams signed a new contract with the club that lasts through 2026, with an option for 2027 as well. Williams joined the club’s academy back in 2015 and became the youngest Homegrown Player in club history when he signed a first-team contract at 16 years old in 2021. The 20-year-old hasn’t featured much for the first team, and he’ll likely spend most of this year with Orlando City B for consistent playing time. Hopefully Williams can take a step forward in his development and provide the Lions some helpful depth at center back in the event of injuries.
Orlando Pride 2025 Season Schedule Unveiled
The NWSL announced its 2025 season schedule Wednesday, and the Orlando Pride will start their title defense season at home against the Chicago Red Stars on March 14. Their first road game will be the following weekend on March 23 against NJ/NY Gotham FC. Decision Day returns to the schedule this year, with all 14 clubs in action on Nov. 2. The Pride will close out their regular season at home that day against the Seattle Reign, with the postseason set to begin on Nov. 7. There’s also a break in the schedule in July, with no regular-season games scheduled due to international tournaments like the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and Copa America Femenina.
USMNT Shuts Out Costa Rica in Orlando
The United States Men’s National Team beat Costa Rica 3-0 at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando Wednesday night to stay perfect at the home of the Lions and Pride at 7-0-0. Goalkeeper Zack Steffen truly earned his clean sheet, coming up with some great saves to deny Costa Rica. It was also a solid attacking performance from the Yanks, and Patrick Agyemang put a bow on what’s been a great month for him with his second goal in as many games. Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino has some time to assess things before the USMNT plays Panama in the Concacaf Nations League semifinals on March 20
Keeping Up With MLS Transfer News
San Diego FC added another Designated Player ahead of its inaugural season, signing Danish winger Anders Dreyer from Anderlecht for a transfer fee reportedly near $5 million. He recorded 31 goals and 23 assists in 87 appearances across all competitions for Anderlecht and joins San Diego on a three-year deal. Charlotte FC officially added Wilfried Zaha on loan from Galatasaray. He’ll occupy a DP spot and the loan lasts through Jan. 16, 2026, with an option to extend it through June of that year as well.
LAFC made a trade with its rival to strengthen its midfield, acquiring Mark Delgado from the LA Galaxy in exchange for $400,000 in General Allocation Money. The Portland Timbers signed Venezuelan forward Kevin Kelsy from Shakhtar Donetsk as an MLS U22 Initiative player, with FC Cincinnati receiving GAM for his discovery rights. Real Salt Lake, which signed Mason Stajduhar from Orlando City earlier this month, continued to make changes to its goalkeeping group. The club signed veteran goalkeeper Rafael Cabral as a free agent and transferred 19-year-old American Gavin Beavers to Brondby IF in Denmark.
UEFA Champions League Roundup
The penultimate round of the UEFA Champions League’s league phase wrapped up this week. Paris Saint-Germain beat Manchester City 4-2 in the heavyweight matchup of the round, with all six goals coming in the second half. Joao Neves gave PSG the lead in the 78th minute before Goncalo Ramos put the game on ice in stoppage time. City now needs to win its final game against Club Brugge on Wednesday in order to advance.
Real Madrid cruised to a 5-1 win against RB Salzburg to advance, with both Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr. scoring braces. Celtic also booked its spot in the next round after a 1-0 win against Young Boys. Feyenoord pulled off an upset by winning 3-0 against Bayern Munich as well. Elsewhere in the tournament, AC Milan won 1-0 at home against Girona, Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0, and RB Leipzig did well in a 2-1 victory over Sporting CP.
Free Kicks
- American goalkeeper Michelle Betos announced her retirement from professional soccer after a career that included winning the 2016 NWSL Shield with the Portland Thorns and the 2023 NWSL Championship with Gotham. Betos was also named NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year with the Thorns in 2015.
- Arsenal and Chelsea are among the multiple clubs reportedly keeping an eye on American forward Trinity Rodman, whose contract with the Washington Spirit ends after this year.
- Borussia Dortmund fired Nuri Sahin following the club’s 2-1 defeat to Bologna in the Champions League. Dortmund has lost all four of its matches so far in 2025 and is 10th in the Bundesliga standings.
- Some of the notable matches in today’s Europa League action include Manchester United hosting Rangers, Tottenham taking on Hoffenheim, and AS Roma traveling to face AZ Alkmaar.
- Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas has joined Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina. The 38-year-old hasn’t been with a club since departing PSG in May of 2024.
That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a great Thursday and rest of your week!
Orlando City
Orlando City Signs Defender Thomas Williams Through 2026
Orlando City signs Homegrown center back Thomas Williams to a new contract through 2026 with a club option for 2027.
Orlando City announced this morning that the club has signed defender Thomas Williams through the 2026 season with a club option for 2027. The Homegrown Player has been with the first team since 2021 and will continue for at least two more years.
“Thomas is someone whose future we’re still very excited about and we’re happy to get him locked in with us for a couple more years,” Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi said in a club press release. “He’s shown a lot of growth these last few seasons, continuing to get game action with Orlando City B and proving the importance of our development pathway, and we’re looking forward to having him with us for the foreseeable future.”
The Titusville native joined the Orlando City Academy in 2015 and made his professional debut for the club on Aug. 7, 2020 against New England Revolution II. He played in 13 games that year with 10 starts and recorded 844 minutes. His play on the Young Lions’ back line earned him a first-team contract on June 15, 2021, at just 16 years old, making him the youngest player in club history to sign a Homegrown contract.
The 20-year-old center back made his MLS debut on April 16, 2022 in a 2-0 win over the Columbus Crew in Ohio. He made five appearances with three starts in all competitions that season, recording 271 minutes. To date, those are the only appearances he’s made with the first team.
Since joining OCB in 2021, Williams has made 69 appearances with 61 starts and recorded 5,132 minutes. He’s been booked 19 times and sent off twice, both times after receiving second yellow cards.
What It Means for Orlando City
Williams is the fourth natural center back for Orlando City on the current squad behind Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Rodrigo Schlegel. He played well early in his OCB and MLS career, but has struggled recently. Last year, he played exclusively with the second team, partnering with Nabi Kibunguchy.
While Williams hasn’t made much of an impact on the first team so far, he’s only 20 years old and still has plenty of time to develop. Extending his contact shows that the club still has faith that he can turn into a key player for the MLS side.
It’s unlikely that Williams will see any time with the first team in 2025 (barring injuries and/or suspensions), considering that he’s also been behind versatile defender Kyle Smith at the center back position. He’ll likely spend the upcoming season with OCB, continuing to develop and earn his spot with the first team. As a Homegrown Player, there isn’t much risk in signing Williams to a new contract, especially if the club’s technical staff thinks he can develop into a quality defender.
Lion Links
Lion Links: 1/22/25
Orlando City transfer rumors, Orlando Pride preseason begins, USMNT at Inter&Co, and more.
Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. Up here in Tallahassee, I’m waking up to snow/sleet, closed schools, closed government offices, and potentially icy roads. Many people will get an extra day off of work, however, I still get to go to work. I’m sure you can imagine how happy I am about that. Enough of my winter grumbling. Let’s get to the links but not until after we wish Orlando City fullback Michael Halliday a happy 22nd birthday.
Orlando City Reportedly Targeting Croatian International
While I can no longer say that Orlando City hasn’t signed any new players, the club is still moving at its traditionally slow speed as compared to other MLS clubs. We had the signing of Nicolas Rodriguez last week. Now, we have Tom Bogert report of yet another winger prospect for the club in Croatian Marco Pasalic from HNK Rijeka, though it is not a done deal. Hopefully the other targets Bogert mentions are of the striker variety.
Pride Preseason Begins
The 2024 NWSL champions are back to defend their title. The Orlando Pride returned to training on Tuesday. The club hasn’t needed to add many pieces, though some of the players already here, like Simone Charley and Grace Chanda, haven’t actually played any minutes for the Pride yet. Most of the chemistry is in place for Seb Hines, but reinforcing those bonds will be the challenge as the Pride look to repeat.
USMNT at Inter&Co Tonight
Hopefully you have tickets to the USMNT friendly match versus Costa Rica at Inter&Co Stadium tonight. The match starts at 7 p.m. and there are television and streaming options if you’re not going in person. Despite the squad having 14 players with three or fewer caps, Mauricio Pochettino does not consider this an “alternative” squad, nor does he want the players to think of themselves like that.
Girma Reportedly Nearing Completion of Chelsea Move
USWNT defender Naomi Girma is reportedly headed to Chelsea FC Women for a record $1.1 million transfer fee. That is a very big chunk of change for San Diego FC to use to try to replace one of the best defenders in the world. The deal is not complete as of Tuesday evening, but according to the original report from The Athletic, it is close to being done. Girma would be the first women’s soccer player to earn a transfer fee of over $1 million.
MLS Transfer Updates
Other MLS clubs keep on putting pen to paper when it comes to new players. The Chicago Fire are bringing in Jonathan Bamba on a Designated Player deal from La Liga side Celta de Vigo. The Luca de la Torre loan from Spain’s RC Celta de Vigo to San Diego FC is also official.
Cucho Hernandez evidently wants to stay with the Columbus Crew, though he is still waiting on a new offer.
Free Kicks
- I know you might think that Orlando City has a lot to do personnel-wise as the preseason begins, but evidently, the Lions didn’t make the Top 5.
- EUFA Champions League is in full swing, with big names Liverpool and Barcelona winning yesterday. There’s also more to come today.
- Former Orlando Pride player Alanna Kennedy signed a one-year contract with Angel City FC.
- Keep your eyes peeled later today for the NWSL schedule drop.
That will do it for today. Stay warm out there, my friends. Vamos Orlando!
A 2025 Orlando Pride Wish List
Lion Links: 1/23/25
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