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Orlando City vs. Seattle Sounders FC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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9 years ago

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Orlando City has a knack for dramatic last-minute goals to turn losses into draws. On this night it was Scott Sutter’s first goal as a Lion as he used his head to knock in the equalizer in the 94th minute at Seattle, one game after Jonathan Spector did the same exact thing against Montreal.

The Lions didn’t play a great game but they also didn’t play that poorly. There was a noticeable lack of quality in the final third but Seattle is a good defensive club at home and they can do that to teams. The important thing is that Orlando hung around all night and can move on to Chicago with another point.

Let’s get to our grades:

Starters

GK, Joe Bendik, 8 (MotM) — Terrific night for Joe, who kept the Lions in the game long enough for Sutter’s goal to matter. He finished with five saves and few of those were easy. He was alone against Will Bruin on the 19th-minute goal and the shot had too much power for him to stop. He read the game well and was quick off his line a few times to keep shots from happening, taking the ball off Jordan Morris’ foot in the 57th on one such occasion. His back-to-back stops of Clint Dempsey and Osvaldo Alonso in the 59th minute will likely be up for MLS Save of the Week and he denied Deuce again on a break in the 62nd minute. Great bounce-back game for Bendik.

D, Donny Toia, 6 — Spent much of the night blocking crosses and was unable to get forward much with Cristian Roldan and Nicolas Lodeiro working his side of the field. Finished with a tackle, two interceptions, and four clearances but he did get beat wide once by Morris on a play that led to the back-to-back Bendik saves. Passed at only a 75% clip, which was lowest on the back line. Made way for PC in the 85th minute.

D, Jonathan Spector, 7 — His step in the 19th minute nearly prevented the first goal but unfortunately he missed the ball and it fell perfectly for Bruin to score the opener. Other than that, Specs had the usual outing you’d expect, for the most part. He led the back line with a 91.2% passing accuracy and three of his four long balls were accurate. Tallied two tackles, three interceptions, a blocked shot, and a team-high eight clearances. His repeated sliding challenges prevented even more danger from Seattle.

D, Tommy Redding, 7.5 — Tommy may literally have only put one foot wrong all night and that was on the Morris run in the 57th minute, when he tried to stab at the ball and whiffed. Other than that, it was quite a solid night from the U.S. youth international. He even won a few aerial balls, which isn’t always his strongest skill. Finished with two tackles, a team-high six interceptions, a blocked shot, and three clearances. His passing was a robust 81.6% and he even got a shot on target with a glancing header in the second half.

D, Scott Sutter, 7.5 — Even before scoring the game-tying goal on the last touch of the ball, it was a good night for Sutter. He had two key passes and six crosses, one of which nearly found Will Johnson late. He was accurate passing (82.9%), and defensively held his ground well, finishing with a pair of interceptions and two clearances. He tried to set up Kaká in the 54th minute with a nice pass but the captain had his shot blocked. His first goal as a Lion was a memorable one.

MF, Kaká, 6.5 — It was another mixed night for the captain, who did a lot well, but also had some curiously bad turnovers and a few poor decisions. His delivery on the game-tying goal was superb, though. Sent Carlos Rivas in 1-v-1 with a great through ball early. Was set up at the top of the box by Rivas in the 37th minute but opted not to shoot and that decision led to a Seattle break. He picked out the wrong pass in the 41st minute, ignoring Giles Barnes and lifting a cross that was cut out by the defense. He passed at a 77.6% clip and notched two key passes, leading the team in touches (73) and finishing second in pass attempts (58).

MF, Antonio Nocerino, 6 — The Italian had a quietly solid night (again) but added several runs forward, getting into the box more than we’ve seen much of lately. Unfortunately, he went largely ignored by his teammates when he did so, but those runs did open up some space at the top of the box for others at times. He was the most accurate passer of all Lions with a minimum of 10 attempts (96.3%) and was often able to move the ball quickly to avoid Seattle’s pressure. Because Seattle played mainly down the wings and on balls over the top, he didn’t rack up any real defensive stats, but he was accurate on four of five long balls and his lone cross.

MF, Cristian Higuita, 4 — The Colombian lacked sharpness on this night, turning the ball over needlessly and carelessly far too many times. He started the night with a 14th-minute shot that was well off target from a good spot juts above the box. He had three bad turnovers in the first half. The first at 27’ broke up an offensive buildup; the second in the 30th led to a Seattle counter attack that eventually broke down; and the third forced Toia to clear it out for a throw. In the 43rd minute he worked a nice attack with MPG up the right but then didn’t pick his head up and crossed blindly to the back post where no one was. His passing turnovers continued through the second half, igniting a pair of Seattle counter attacks. Neither of his two shots threatened goal. Defensively, he did provide five tackles, an interception and a clearance. His overall passing accuracy was good (85.3%) on a team-high 61 passes but most of his success came on square or backward balls and much of his attacking play was poor.

MF, Matias Perez Garcia, 5.5 — MPG lacked the sharpness we saw on Saturday but it wasn’t a bad performance, so much as he just kind of got lost at times. He had a shot on target in the 56th minute on a pretty decent rip. His passing accuracy was good (81.6%) with one key pass but he was dispossessed a team-high five times. His set piece service was also lacking, with none of his four crosses finding its target. Contributed two interceptions and a clearance on defense. Subbed off in the 64th minute for Luis Gil.

F, Carlos Rivas, 5.5 — Not the best of nights for the Colombian, who had Orlando’s two best scoring chances but failed to bury either, but also not the worst. Had a chance to start the game off perfectly with a 1-v-1 against Stefan Frei five minutes in, but his right-footed shot was too close to the keeper, who made the save. His 35th-minute turnover led to a Nicolas Lodeiro shot on goal. Did well to find Kaká two minutes later but the chance went awry when the captain didn’t pull the trigger. He was fairly active defensively, with a tackle and four interceptions. His passing was accurate (88.2%) but only on 17 attempts. At least both of his shots were on target — no sky shots in this game.

F, Giles Barnes, 5.5 — The Jamaican worked hard as usual but not much came from his efforts in the final third. His one shot was off target. Passing accuracy was good (80%) but like Rivas, had few attempts (20) and didn’t create any chances off of them. He did draw a couple of fouls, earning an early set piece in a good spot. Finished with one tackle and an interception defensively. He came off in the 74th minute for Will Johnson.

Substitutes

MF, Luis Gil (64’), 6 — It was quietly a good game for Gil, who helped set up the late free kick that ended up tying the game. His interplay down the left with PC sent the Brazilian left back forward and down the Seattle flank. His passing was spot-on (94.4%) and he tallied one blocked shot and an interception.

MF, Will Johnson (74’), 6 — I thought Will’s night was kind of a mixed bag. He seemed to struggle to find his footing in the game but he nearly got onto Sutter’s late cross just ahead of Stefan Frei, and he also lashed a shot on target that forced a diving save. He managed to help provide some late energy and notched one interception but also picked up a yellow card for dissent.

D, PC (85’), N/A — Victor “PC” Giro came on late for Toia and his last-second run up the left side set up the game-tying goal. It’s probably unfair to give him a grade for about eight minutes of work, so I’ll give him an “N/A” but his actions definitely impacted the game and he completed all eight of his passes.

That’s the way I saw the individual performances from the match. What did you think? Let me know in the comments below and vote for your OCSC Man of the Match in our poll.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Tommy Redding22
Jonathan Spector12
Scott Sutter20
Joe Bendik107
Other10

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Orlando City

Orlando City Trades Duncan McGuire to Houston Dynamo

The Lions send the 2023 first-round pick to Houston for a pile of Garberbucks.

Published

19 hours ago

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July 10, 2026

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Image of Duncan McGuire playing the ball against New York City FC.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando no longer runs on Duncan as Orlando City has traded 2023 first-round draft pick Duncan McGuire to the Houston Dynamo. The big striker with the even bigger smile and the back flips joins the Dynamo, with the Lions receiving $600,000 in 2026 General Allocation Money (GAM), $400,000 in 2027 GAM, and $250,000 in 2027-2028 GAM. The return could also include up to $1.15 million in GAM add-ons if certain performance metrics are met. OCSC will retain a percentage of any sell-on by Houston.

It became clear that something was up with McGuire, as he did not dress for Orlando City’s friendly against Tampa Bay on Wednesday.

“Duncan has meant a great deal to this club since the day he arrived in Orlando,” Orlando City General Manager and Sporting Director Ricardo Moreira said in a club press release. “His resilience, determination, and willingness to fight through challenges both on and off the field have earned the respect of everyone throughout our organization. He has played a major role in our success over the last several years, and when the opportunity arose, we wanted to ensure it was a move that made sense for both Duncan and the club. We’re grateful for everything he has given to Orlando City and wish him and his family nothing but success in this next chapter.”

The Lions selected McGuire out of Creighton with the No. 6 overall selection in the first round of the 2023 MLS SuperDraft. Although he was not a Generation Adidas player, the striker had signed a pre-draft contract with the league, meaning Orlando City didn’t need to spend time agreeing to a contract. The 6-foot-1 forward quickly became a starter for the Lions during his rookie year, and put together back-to-back, double-digit goal-scoring seasons in his first two professional seasons. Now in his fourth pro year, McGuire has appeared in 85 MLS matches (45 starts) for the Lions, scoring 29 goals and adding eight assists. In all competitions, McGuire has contributed 32 goals and nine assists in 109 appearances (55 starts).

Once one of the most promising up-and-coming American strikers in any league after his 24 goals across his first two MLS campaign, Mcguire underwent surgery on both shoulders in separate procedures after the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs, which have restricted his availability, affected his form, and have limited him to just five goals and three assists in his last 29 matches. He has sat behind various other strikers starting in his place the last couple of seasons, including Ramiro Enrique, Luis Muriel, and Justin Ellis.

After his breakout rookie campaign, in which the Omaha, NE native scored 14 goals, he was courted by several teams in Europe. He signed with Blackburn Rovers in 2024, only to see the transfer rejected by the English Football League due to an administrative error by the EFL Championship club. Upon his return, the Creighton product signed his most recent contract on Aug. 22, 2024, locking him down through 2027 with a club option for 2028. That deal now belongs to the Dynamo.

McGuire’s hot start to his professional career had him climbing the U.S. Men’s National Team player pool. Gregg Berhalter called him up to the USMNT for the first time in January 2024 ahead of the team’s friendly against Slovenia. The striker made his first USMNT appearance in that match, coming off the bench to replace Brian White on Jan. 20, 2024, in a 1-0 loss. That is his only cap to date, although he had previously appeared nine times and scored one goal for the U.S. U-23 side.

The 2022 Hermann Trophy winner spent three seasons at Creighton, where he appeared in 24 games (23 starts) in his final (junior) season, logging 1,591 college minutes. McGuire scored 23 goals and added three assists in 2022.

What It Means for Orlando City

It makes sense to deal a striker making a base salary of $600,000 ($921,000 in total guaranteed compensation) if he can’t crack the starting lineup. While some of that comes down to coaching decisions and other players emerging, it didn’t help McGuire that he struggled to regain the consistent form he showed in his first two years in Orlando. In the end, this is a bit of a blow financially to the club, as the initial agreement with Blackburn was for a reported $4 million. He now departs for considerably less money, but his value understandably dropped with his production and the two shoulder surgeries.

McGuire is still just 25 years old, and sitting out after two surgeries means he has fewer miles on his legs than many players his age. He could still regain the form that saw him score 14 times in 2023 and 10 more times in 2024 and had the USMNT and European clubs paying attention. Orlando City will hope that he returns to form, because that will influence how much GAM the club eventually receives for this transaction.

A fan favorite since his arrival, McGuire will be missed, and while the Lions could perhaps have benefitted from getting a player back in return to bolster an area of need, the influx of GAM can help accomplish the same goal.

McGuire’s departure appears to solidify Justin Ellis’ position on the first team, although his play in the first half of the season likely already did that. It may also open up more minutes for Tiago. But the trade also tells us that unless a new striker is brought in, the Lions will play without a traditional target striker for the time being, allowing players who have typically either played as wingers, attacking midfielders, or false nines to have the freedom to fluidly change positions and force defenders out of their comfort zones when it comes to coverage. Martin Ojeda, Antoine Griezmann, Ellis, Ivan Angulo, Marco Pasalic, and the team’s fullbacks will be harder to keep tabs on under such a system.

Whether it will work or if it will further stress the team’s shoddy transition defense (or both) remains to be seen.

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Orlando City

Flashback Friday: July 10, 2022 vs. Inter Miami

Let’s rewind to a match against the Herons that featured the unlikeliest of heroes.

Published

20 hours ago

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July 10, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

With both the United States Men’s National Team and Colombia suffering World Cup exits that were both agonizing in their own right, this summer’s tournament has lost a little luster for me. Don’t get it twisted, I’m still looking forward to the rest of the games, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t going to be a little bittersweet.

Fortunately, Orlando City will be back in action before we know it, and in the meantime we can continue our practice of looking back on Lions matches from years gone by. Last week we relived a 4-0 win over Toronto FC from July 4, 2023. This week we go a little farther into the past to July 10, 2022, and a visit from Inter Miami.

Going into the match with the Herons, OCSC was badly in need of a result. The Lions were in the midst of a summer slump and had won just one of eight matches since squeaking by Toronto FC 1-0 back on May 14. To try to turn things around, Oscar Pareja sent out a lineup of Pedro Gallese in goal; a back line of Kyle Smith, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Ruan; Junior Urso and Cesar Araujo in the double pivot; Benji Michel, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres in attacking midfield; and Ercan Kara up top.

Orlando’s effort to try to pick up a win had to wait a little longer than originally planned, as kickoff was postponed by close to two and a half hours due to lightning in the area. Once the game eventually started, both Orlando City’s fans and players probably wished it had been delayed a little longer. The Lions came out of the starting blocks slow and were guilty of a number of bad passes and miscommunication that made it difficult to get going offensively.

The bad start nearly cost the home side early, as Pereyra played a bad back pass in the seventh minute that was snagged by Indiana Vasilev, who promptly broke toward goal. Fortunately, his shot smashed into Gallese’s face and went wide of the net to spare Mauricio’s blushes. Speaking of the Uruguayan, Miami seemed to have keyed on him as a player to stop at all costs, because whenever the Lions started to get a rhythm in the final third, the Herons promptly fouled him to break up the flow of things.

It took half an hour for the first decent chances to finally surface for Orlando City. When those opportunities arrived, it was in the form of Urso taking a pop from outside the box that got blocked on the way through, and Michel nearly getting on the end of a training ground corner kick routine, only to be let down by a bad first touch.

That was mostly everything of note in a largely quiet first half. Miami had the more dangerous chances, but there wasn’t much to separate the teams in the end. Miami had a slim lead in possession (50.6%-49.4%), and also had more shots (6-3), shots on target (1-0), and corners (3-2). Orlando City was a shade more accurate in its passing (84.5%-83.6%).

Once the second half started, Miami very nearly got an early goal once again, but Robert Taylor didn’t get good contact on a header attempt and the ball went out harmlessly for a goal kick. Vassilev had a much more dangerous effort in the 49th minute, but he put his shot over the bar and wasted a nice passage of play from the visitors.

Orlando carved out an excellent chance of its own nine minutes later. Ruan played a clever cutback for Michel, but like Taylor, he didn’t get good contact on his shot and sent it tamely right to goalkeeper Drake Callender. Torres and Urso sent shots wide and high shortly afterward, before Miami really should have scored from a 72nd-minute corner kick. Aime Mabika found himself all alone in front of goal after the initial ball was played short, but he put his header wide right.

Tesho Akindele was one of the substitutes brought on, and he flashed his fresh legs by getting on a couple of chances as the game wound towards the 90th minute. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to convert either one, and things looked sure to end in a scoreless draw. Enter an extremely unlikely hero: Jake Mulraney.

In the second of four minutes of stoppage time, the winger sent a hopeful cross into the box with just two men in purple to aim for. The ball had relatively little chance of reaching Akindele, who was bracketed by two defenders, but Damion Lowe tried to clear it and instead sliced it off the underside of the crossbar and into the Miami net making it 1-0 to the good guys.

Unsurprisingly, given the state of the game up to that point, neither team managed to muster any real chances after that, and Orlando narrowly came away with three much-needed points.

OCSC ended the game with more possession (54.7%-45.3%) and better passing accuracy (96.6%-82.9%), while Miami took more shots (10-8) and won more corners (6-2). Both sides put just one shot on target, making the final score somewhat unsurprising.

Marcus Mitchell was at the helm for Player Grades in this game, and he gave the outstanding Cesar Araujo the Man of the Match award, with a grade of 7.5 out of 10. The midfielder racked up eight tackles, drew nine fouls, and played a key pass while snuffing out a lot of Miami’s danger before it could truly develop.

Those three points didn’t exactly galvanize the Lions in the short term, as they won just one of their next six games in all competitions, not counting a friendly loss to Arsenal. Fortunately, better times lay ahead in the U.S. Open Cup.

That’ll do it for this week’s edition of Flashback Friday. We’ve only got one more of these before Orlando City returns to action on July 22, so enjoy the reminiscing while you can. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 7/10/26

Duncan McGuire reportedly being traded, Orlando Pride host Kansas City tonight, Steve Cherundolo named U.S. U-23 men’s coach, and more.

Published

23 hours ago

on

July 10, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! The Orlando Pride are in action tonight and we also have an Orlando City B game on Sunday to look forward to. It’s been a bit of a hectic week on my end, but it’s at least helped make the U.S.’s World Cup loss feel like old news. Orlando City putting the Tampa Bay Rowdies to the sword in a friendly didn’t hurt either. Let’s get to the links!

Orlando City Reportedly Trading Duncan McGuire

Forward Duncan McGuire is reportedly being traded by Orlando City to the Houston Dynamo in exchange for $1.25 million in General Allocation Money, with another $1.15 million heading Orlando’s way if performance metrics are reached per Tom Bogert of The Athletic.

🇺🇸🟠 BREAKING: The Houston Dynamo to acquire forward Duncan McGuire from Orlando City, per sources.Orlando acquires $1.25m GAM + $1.15m GAM add-ons. ORL retains sell-on clause.Houston acquires new goal scorer, will fit seamlessly in Dynamo attack. www.nytimes.com/athletic/743…

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert.bsky.social) 2026-07-09T15:25:31.373Z

Selected by Orlando with the sixth overall pick in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft, McGuire has scored 29 goals across four seasons with the Lions. Injuries have plagued him in recent years, but let’s hope he can have a renaissance of sorts with Houston and hit those performance requirements if this move comes to pass. Orlando would be even lighter on options up top, but the money could help the club improve at a few positions.

Orlando Pride Host the Kansas City Current Tonight

Following a 2-0 loss to Angel City FC, the Orlando Pride will look to bounce back tonight when they host the Kansas City Current in the first meeting this season between the past two NWSL Shield winners. The Current are on a three-game win streak, with Michelle Cooper scoring twice in a 3-0 win over the Denver Summit last week. Temwa Chawinga also scored in that match to bring her tally to eight as she closes the distance on Pride forward Barbra Banda in the Golden Boot race. Hopefully the Pride can keep Kansas City’s offense in check and get back on track with a win at home.

Steve Cherendulo Named U.S. U-23 Men’s National Team Coach

U.S. Soccer appointed Steve Cherendulo as the head coach of the United States U-23 Men’s National Team as preparations begin for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Cherundulo is no stranger to success in the City of Angels, leading LAFC to a league title and MLS Cup victory in 2022 before winning the 2024 U.S. Open Cup as well. He represented the U.S. as a player starting at age 18 and played in three World Cups, which should be valuable experience to get these younger players ready to make an impact with the senior team. Tahir Reid-Brown, Justin Ellis, and Colin Guske are a few Orlando City players to keep an eye out for as possible Olympic roster candidates as they develop their games.

France Advances to World Cup Semifinals

France became the first team to secure its spot in the World Cup semifinals, beating Morocco 2-0. After a scoreless first half, Kylian Mbappe scored his eighth goal of the tournament to give France the lead and then provided the assist on Ousmane Dembele’s goal a few minutes later. While the offense is understandably grabbing headlines, the defense has now had a clean sheet in three straight games during this knockout phase. In the semifinals, France will take on whichever nation advances from today’s match between Spain and Belgium.

Free Kicks

  • Less than 24 hours after scoring for Orlando City in a friendly, Antoine Griezmann was in Boston for France’s World Cup match.
  • Crystal Dunn, who set records at Florida State University before her storied professional career, joined the Tallahassee Reckoning’s ownership group. The organization aims to provide more opportunities for youth soccer players and improve the pathway towards playing professionally.
  • English defender Jarell Quanash was given a two-game suspension for the serious foul play that earned him a red card against Mexico. He’ll miss Saturday’s quarterfinal against Norway and also England’s semifinal if it advances.

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

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