Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Atlanta United FC (Round 2): Player Grades and Man of the Match
With all the people on both sides trying to play down talk of a rivalry, Hector Villalba just tried his best to make it one. After Villalba’s 87th-minute goal which beat Orlando City at home last week, revenge was on the agenda for tonight’s game.
For a lot of the match, it seemed as if Orlando was going to get that revenge, and that would put the rivalry talk to rest at least a bit (or potentially heat it up, one of the two). The two teams would have simply traded three points in a two-leg affair. Yet, when Villalba scored in the 92nd minute, it made every true Lion in the world feel at least a tingle of hatred for Atlanta — as if they needed a reason.
Although the game will be defined by two great goals, there was plenty action in between, so let’s take a look at the grades.
Starters
GK, Joe Bendik, 6.5 — The stats say five saves, but that doesn’t really tell the story of Bendik’s game. We didn’t really get to see any of the spectacular saves that are normally witnessed anytime he steps on the field, but he did play a part in the Lions’ goal by sending a near perfect long ball to Larin who laid it off for Kaká to strike home. He made a couple routine saves, a couple difficult ones, a mistake that could of tied it up in the 62nd minute — luckily it rolled out for a goal kick after it slipped under him — and just wasn’t able to do anything about the goal.
One of the more difficult saves came in the 74th minute when Greg Garza charged down the left off a quick free kick. Bendik came running out of his goal and blocked the shot confidently with his body. He will likely be criticized for getting beat near post by Villalba but it was a close range shot, so he should get a pass on that one. As for his passing, it wasn’t the best today as he averaged 54% compared to Brad Guzan’s 79% — it also factors in that Guzan had 16 less passes.
D, Donny Toia, 7 (MOTM) — Toia played very well on the defensive left side, getting the better of Julian Gressel, Anton Walkes, and, later on, Brandon Vázquez on almost every occasion they went toe to toe. This was shown by his team-leading eight tackles on the night. He didn’t get forward much in the game, although he had a shot blocked in the offensive box two minutes in, but that seemed to just be part of Kreis’ game plan and no fault of his, as the Lions were very comfortable to let Atlanta possess the ball. In the 12th minute, Toia had his first of many good defensive moments when he ran back after getting beat to block a cross in a dangerous position.
D, Jonathan Spector, 7 — I was going to give Spector MOTM and an 8, until the goal. Spector played great the whole game, but he had to do better on the last-minute goal. After Aja stepped, Spector didn’t realize that was his cue to mark Villalba who ended up putting it in the back of the net. Although he led both teams in clearances, with eight, what really set him apart in terms of his good play were two crucial moments in the game. The first came in the ninth minute when it looked like Villalba had beat him for pace and was in on goal, but then after a bad touch Spector recovered and made a fantastic tackle which would make Paulo Maldini proud. His second moment came in the 74th minute when he fouled Villalba running into space. This foul was crucial because if Villalba was able to play a through ball to the right then Atlanta’s pacey attack would have been off to the races.
D, Jose Aja, 6.5 — Aja didn’t do anything of too much importance, but overall he had a pretty solid game with four tackles and three clearances. In the 86th minute, he committed a foul right in front of the 18-yard box which could have been the equalizer. On the goal, there’s nothing he really could do because he had to step when Yamil Asad burst into that gap between the midfield and defense, but that left the passing lane open for Asad to hit Villalba. The midfield should have been tighter to both Almiron and Asad — two of Atlanta’s most dangerous players — on the play.
D, Scott Sutter, 7 — If for some reason, Toia was ineligible for MOTM, I’d give it to Sutter. He made an impact early in the game, getting forward and hitting the crossbar on a shot just outside the box. He also registered a team-leading five interceptions and four clearances which is not too shabby. He was caught sleeping at one point but it was at the half line and didn’t lead to anything. It seems like almost every player on the field could be blamed for Atlanta’s goal, and Sutter is certainly one of those, but if you look at where Asad picked up the ball you’ll realize that he was too far inside for Sutter to be responsible for picking him up.
MF, Cristian Higuita, 6 — Another day, another yellow card for Cristian Higuita. It seems there’s two things he just can’t do: stay out of trouble and not turn over the ball. Today he was his usual self, racking up turnovers and tackles, the worst coming in the 64th minute, where Atlanta came rushing on the counter. Higuita picked up his yellow card in the 56th minute, after supposedly hitting a player in the face, in a scuffle after a light foul on Cyle Larin. He came off in the 76th for Richie Laryea and I’d say it was actually an improvement for the team. All negatives aside, you can’t neglect his five tackles, four interceptions, and 81% passing accuracy.
MF, Antonio Nocerino, 5.5 — Nocerino didn’t have a particularly good game last week and he didn’t redeem himself in Atlanta. The Italian picked up three fouls and was lucky not to get a yellow for persistent infringement. His passing accuracy was also a low 64%, but it wasn’t all bad. He had a great chance at the 29-minute mark to put Orlando ahead, but his header was just wide. On the late goal, he takes a small amount of the blame for not stepping and pressuring Almirón, who delivered the pass to Asad.
MF, Will Johnson, 6 — Johnson seemed to take a page out of Higuita’s playbook as he didn’t contribute much to the attack but made up for it with his defensive prowess. In the 29th minute, Johnson actually played a part in a good attacking move when he whipped in a beautiful cross which provided Nocerino’s header just wide. Just like the team as a whole, the Canadian will not be remembered for a good defensive performance but rather for his part in Atlanta’s goal. Johnson, like Nocerino, could and should have stepped up to Almirón.
MF, Kaká, 6 — It’s always hard to assess a goal scorer’s performance, but its especially hard when the goal scorer plays poorly for most of the match, which is exactly what Kaká did. Before his 40th-minute wonder goal that rattled the top right corner of Guzan’s net, and was Orlando’s only shot on target in the entire match, Kaká was virtually nonexistent. Every good buildup play came on the right side, and the Brazilian was also pretty ineffective defensively. In the second half, he was a little more involved, but I stress a little. Overall, his performance would have been defined by his great goal, if he didn’t play such a large role in the equalizer. This may sound harsh, but I blame Kaká the most because he didn’t put out any effort to tackle Miguel Almirón, while he was actually the closest to him. Sure he’s the most expensive player in MLS, but he still has to work hard for the team.
F, Dom Dwyer, 5.5 — It was a pretty disappointing debut for the English-American though it wasn’t really his fault. Dwyer made good runs, but the service just wasn’t there with the limited time that Orlando possessed the ball. One weakness that really showed was that the team could really use a number 10 to help out with the chance creation department, but I’m sure Jason Kreis and Niki Budalic already knew that. Dwyer did have two mini chances, but both were blocked by Michael Parkhurst.
F, Cyle Larin, 6.5 — Larin also suffered from the lack of chances but he did show that even when he’s not scoring he can influence the match. In the 40th minute, the Canadian wunderkind received a long ball from Bendik and played a good lay off to Kaká which of course ended in a goal to remember. Larin was off and on in terms of hold-up play but he came through when it counted. In the 49th minute, Larin took the ball down the line and sent a low cross to Dwyer which was cut out.
Substitutes
MF, Giles Barnes (62’), 6 — Barnes did what he had to defensively. In attack, he had a shot and a pass across goal, but both were just a bit off.
F, Carlos Rivas (73’), 6 — Rivas didn’t have to do much as he came in at striker at a time where the Lions were pinned back and defending. He got off two shots which were both blocked and forced a corner in the 89th minute. Also blocked a dangerous free kick with a header late.
MF, Richie Laryea (76’), 6.5 — Laryea impressed again in another short cameo. He showed good control on the ball and registered two tackles and an interception in about 20 minutes. Perhaps if he stayed tighter to the to center mids then Asad couldn’t have received the ball, but you can’t really blame him for that because there were a lot of other things that went wrong.
That’s what I thought. Drop a comment voicing your opinion whether or not you agree or disagree with me and vote for your Orlando City Man of the Match below.
Polling Closed
| Player | Votes |
| Joe Bendik | 7 |
| Jonathan Spector | 11 |
| Donny Toia | 36 |
| Scott Sutter | 16 |
| Kaká | 18 |
| Other | 9 |
Orlando City
Orlando City Relies on Starters More Than Any Other MLS Team
An analysis of Óscar Pareja’s early lineup choices and substitution patterns and how that compares to the 2024 season.
Legendary swordsman Inigo Montoya, a man who is not lefthanded, once opened a conversation by asking the Dread Pirate Roberts if, by any chance, he had six fingers on his right hand. Nobody will need to prepare to die by the end of this column, but I will ask a similar question: I don’t mean to pry, but did you by any chance happen to realize that we are already more than one-sixth of the way through the MLS regular season? Six fingers, one-sixth of the season…close enough. Let’s go.
Time flies when you are having fun, and somehow Orlando City has already played 540 minutes of MLS soccer this season. I consider 500 minutes played to be a cutoff amount when looking at player and lineup performance, and with the conclusion of the most recent game in Los Angeles, the team has now surpassed that 500-minute threshold.
In looking at the opening 540 minutes, I was surprised to see how much continuity I found in the minutes played, considering how many injuries the Lions have had to work around during these first six games. In just the first six games, Orlando City has already had full games missed due to injury by César Araujo (1), David Brekalo (2), Robin Jansson (2), Duncan McGuire (3) and Nico Rodriguez (5). Brekalo and Pedro Gallese both missed a game for international duty as well. McGuire was not expected back during the first set of games, but all of those other players, with the possible exception of Rodriguez, were expected to contribute during the early part of the season.
These absences led to games where the substitutes list was full of players who will play big minutes for Orlando City B this year, but not players who Óscar Pareja was likely to turn to off the bench unless the game was out of hand or he was absolutely desperate. According to Opta’s tracking through the opening six games, Orlando City ranks last in MLS in the average minutes played by its substitutes, as the average amount of time per appearance for the players off the bench for the Lions is only 12 minutes. For context, 16 teams have an average amount of time per substitute appearance of 20 minutes or greater, and Inter Miami and Toronto are tied with a league-leading 27 minutes per substitute appearance.
The interesting thing about those two teams, Miami and Toronto, is that Miami leads the league in points per match with 2.6 and Toronto is second from the bottom with a scant 0.33 points per match. I think a lot of this data will even out over time, as right now there are several teams, including Miami, that are playing in multiple competitions and trying to keep players fresh for all of their matches.
When it comes to Orlando City, however, that is not the case, and thus far there has just been the standard one game per week on six consecutive Saturdays. The players are rested for each game. The issue has just been that Pareja has not had the depth and variety of players he thought he would have to bring off the bench to protect a lead or chase a deficit.
We often joke in articles or on The Mane Land PawedCast about how “Óscar gonna Óscar,” and once he finds a lineup he likes, he sticks with it. Even with all the injuries he has somehow managed to do this again this season, as you can see from the chart below. I started tracking lineup data last season, and even though the 2025 season is only six games old and there have been so many absences from key players this season, it was striking to see that the 11-man lineup that has played the most minutes together this season already outranks all but two lineups from the entire 2024 MLS season (including the five playoff games!):
Now, it is a little unfair to the one 2025 lineup on the above chart that it has such a negative goal differential per 90 minutes, because if it is only the 10 field players, with goalkeeper excluded, then that lineup has played 215 minutes together and has a +0.84 goal differential per 90 minutes. That group is +4 with Javier Otero in net in 74 minutes together, and removing the goalkeepers from the calculation turns that negative goal differential into a positive.
What that also tells us, however, is that when it comes to the 10 field players, Pareja has played the same unit in the field for 40% (215/540) of the team’s minutes already. Granted it is early in the season, but after six MLS games last season, the lineup that had played together the most had played a grand total of 74 minutes together (14% of all minutes). The top five most used lineups in last season’s opening six MLS games combined to play 302 minutes, or 56% of all minutes, and in 2025 it is 402 minutes, or 80%. My math, and everyone else’s math, says that is a much higher percentage and indicates that the team is focused on continuity early.
That continuity thus far this season has paid dividends, with the Lions earning 10 points from the first six games, twice as nice as last season’s five points after the first six games. Last year, the team was balancing midweek Concacaf Champions Cup games in addition to injuries and an international break during the opening weeks of the MLS season, so there were some good reasons for the lineup rotation and the slow start. This year’s squad will have to navigate two upcoming cup tournaments in the coming months, and so we likely will see a lot of new lineup configurations or more rotation once the U.S. Open Cup starts in May and then again when Leagues Cup starts in July.
Thus far though, Pareja has been able to stick with his starters deep into matches, and has only given playing time to 20 players, which is tied for third fewest across all of MLS. Fan bases often clamor for the coach to “play the kids,” but while Pareja has had young and inexperienced players on the senior roster for every game, he really has only given significant minutes to Alex Freeman from the group of players that could be referred to as “the kids.” Gustavo Caraballo has played nine minutes, which is incredible for a 16-year-old (15-year-old Cavan Sullivan of Philadelphia is the only player younger than Caraballo to have played this season, and he has also played only nine minutes), and new signing Nico Rodriguez (20 years old) has played 11 minutes, but the next three youngest players to play are all at least 22 and were with the senior club last season (Otero and Ramiro Enrique) or came to the club after four seasons of college soccer (23-year-old, but nearly 24-year-old, Joran Gerbet).
The team’s record thus far shows that Pareja has been right to limit the minutes to the small group of players he trusts, and with one game per week for the next six weeks it will be interesting to see if the early trend of starters playing long minutes and only a few players getting all the minutes off the bench continues. The next match is on the road against Philadelphia, which so rudely came into Orlando and defeated the Lions 4-2 in the season opener, and my expectation is that while we likely will not see any players make their season debut in this game, I do think we will see a different starting lineup than the season opener and probably a different one than the game last weekend against the Galaxy.
No matter who the Lions go with, I am sure they will want to avenge the season-opening loss and bring three points back home to Orlando.
As we wish.
Vamos Orlando!
Orlando City
Orlando City at Philadelphia Union: Three Keys to Victory
What do the Lions need to do to earn all three points on the road against Philly?
Orlando City is on the road yet again, this time heading to Pennsylvania to take on the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park Saturday night. The Lions will look to get a second road win in a row after the smash-and-grab victory against the LA Galaxy. Things don’t get any easier with the Union sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference, but a win would catapult Orlando City above Philadelphia in the standings. Here’s what Orlando City needs to do to earn all three points against the Philadelphia Union.
Tie up Tai
Tai Baribo leads the way-too-early-to-call Golden Boot race with six goals in five matches. The Union striker has taken 13 shots, putting eight on target and the aforementioned six in the back of the net. He scored a brace in the season opener against Orlando to bag a third of those goals. It’s a pretty easy call to say stopping the league leader in goals is an important part of shutting down the Philadelphia attack.
It will be up to Cesar Araujo and whichever center back pairing we get to shut Baribo down. Of course, he’s not the only one the Lions need to worry about since the Union also have striker Mikael Uhre, and midfielders Daniel Gazdag and Jovan Lukic providing goals and assists. The point is that Philadelphia is second only to the Lions in offensive production with 13 goals compared to Orlando City’s 15 goals.
Formation Change
In the last match against the LA Galaxy, the Lions struggled to get things going with Luis Muriel up top, Ojeda at the No. 10 spot and Ivan Angulo on the left. Once Duncan McGuire came on, Muriel shifted back, Ojeda went wide, and Angulo subbed off. That really opened up the attack and allowed the Lions to get the two goals needed to secure the victory.
Perhaps Oscar Pareja could start things off like that against Philadelphia. Angulo hasn’t been great the last few matches, and perhaps some time on the bench will get his head straight. McGuire is still early in his return from injury, but Ramiro Enrique can start up top with Big Dunc coming in later as he has the last few matches. I think making this change could help Orlando City get an early goal on the road.
Vengeance is Thine
When the two teams met on opening day, the Union dropped four goals on Orlando City in Inter&Co Stadium. You would think it a completely dominating performance, but the Lions actually had more shots, more shots on target, and more possession than the Union. Philadelphia simply put each of its four shots on target past Pedro Gallese. That type of luck is unlikely to happen again.
Since that time, the Orlando City defense has stiffened — at least a little bit — and the team has been more difficult to break down. I’m not saying the defense is as stalwart as last season, but it has improved. Orlando City needs to use that four-goal drubbing at the hands of the Union to galvanize the defense to enact revenge with a multi-goal victory of its own.
That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 4/3/25
Martin Ojeda in the MLS MVP mix early, Orlando Pride players won’t play for Zambia this window, Tierna Davidson out for the NWSL season, and more.
How’s it going, Mane Landers? I hope this week has been going well for you as we gear up for a busy Saturday filled to the brim with soccer to enjoy. Despite my blender’s protests, I’ve finally figured out how to make frozen coconut mojitos and plan on having those get me through the rest of the week. Before we dive into today’s links, let’s all wish a happy 28th birthday to Orlando City legend Rodrigo Schlegel!
Martin Ojeda’s MVP Credentials
Orlando City’s Martin Ojeda placed second in Sacha Kljestan’s MLS MVP power rankings this week. With four goals and three assists so far this season, Ojeda leads the league in goal contributions and is a major reason why the Lions have scored a league-high 15 goals. It’s great to see the 26-year-old take the reins of the offense after Facundo Torres’ departure. Inter Miami’s Luis Suarez tops Kljestan’s rankings, despite only having a goal in five games this season. Tai Baribo, Evander, and Lionel Messi round out the top five in what could be an interesting MVP race this year.
Pride Players Won’t Join Zambia For International Duty
Zambia will be without four NWSL players when it takes part in the Yongchuan International Tournament in China this month. Along with Bay FC forward Rachael Kundananji, Orlando Pride trio Barbra Banda, Grace Chanda, and Prisca Chilufya were withdrawn from international duty, with the Football Association of Zambia stating it was due to additional travel measures by the current U.S. administration. FAZ General Secretary Reuben Kamanga expects the quartet to be available for future matches and both Banda and Kundananji played in friendlies in Zambia in February. Restrictions like this may limit the appeal of the NWSL to foreign players in the future.
Fan Banned For Hateful Language Towards Banda
NJ/NY Gotham FC announced that the fan who directed hateful language towards Banda has been banned following an investigation that included interviewing witnesses and reviewing security footage. The incident took place at the Pride’s match against Gotham on March 23 at Sports Illustrated Stadium. The fan was found to be in violation of the NWSL Code of Conduct and their season ticket was revoked as well. Gotham also encouraged fans to report inappropriate behavior through the team’s encrypted text message service to inform the stadium’s incident management team.
USWNT Defender Tierna Davidson Out for the NWSL Season
American center back Tierna Davidson will miss the remainder of the 2025 NWSL season after tearing the ACL in her left knee in the club’s draw against the Houston Dash. It’s tough news for her, Gotham, and the United States Women’s National Team, as she captains the NWSL club and featured heavily in the Olympics last year. Davidson sustained an ACL injury in her right knee back in 2022, which contributed to her missing out on the 2023 World Cup. Gisele Thompson replaced Davidson for the USWNT’s upcoming friendlies with Brazil, and Pride defender Emily Sams will likely receive more playing time as the team prepares for the 2027 World Cup.
Free Kicks
- Orlando City received $100,000 in General Allocation Money in exchange for former academy goalkeeper Zack Campagnolo’s Homegrown Player rights. The Lions will receive another $100,000 in GAM if conditions are met, and they retain a sell-on percentage if Campagnolo is transferred.
- San Diego FC added Milan Iloski on loan from FC Nordsjaelland in Denmark through July of this year. Iloski is a San Diego native and won the USL Golden Boot for Orange County SC in 2022.
- New England Revolution midfielder Carles Gil won MLS Goal of the Matchday for his free kick against the New York Red Bulls.
- El Farolito SC, which is named after a burrito chain and bar local to San Francisco, has reached the third round of the U.S. Open Cup for the second straight year. The National Premier Soccer League side took down Monterey Bay FC to reach this point of the tournament.
- Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 to book its ticket to the Copa del Rey final, where it will face rival Real Madrid on April 26.
That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a terrific Thursday and rest of your week!
Orlando City Relies on Starters More Than Any Other MLS Team
Orlando City at Philadelphia Union: Three Keys to Victory
Lion Links: 4/3/25
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