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Our City: The Legend of Dom Dwyer

Published

9 years ago

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Our City is a weekly column dedicated to the culture and history surrounding Orlando City and Major League Soccer.

If you are looking for the root of Dom Dwyer’s passionate relationship with Orlando City’s most faithful supporters, wind back the calendar to March 30, 2013. On a beautifully mild Florida evening in the city of St. Petersburg, the Lions and a company of thousands of away supporters were in town to finish off the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the first, and only, I-4 Derby. Orlando had won the home fixture, 3-2. As the game moved into the 90th minute, Orlando had done enough to secure a rivalry trophy with a 2-2 tie.

While enough for the team to secure a trophy, the supporters were still eager to get another game over on the Rowdies and win the home-and-away series outright. In the 91st minute, a searching ball from the defensive side of the midfield line found a streaking Dwyer, who easily placed his shot from the top of the penalty box into the bottom right-hand corner. The goal celebration didn’t involve a trademark Dom flip, but simply outstretched hands in the direction of the traveling support.

Something was born in that moment — intangible passions inside the hearts of supporters and Dom Dwyer. For many Orlando City fans, and probably all of the Tampa Bay Rowdies fans, this game was a meaningless preseason friendly that was given an element of hype by an Orlando City front office looking for anything to continue to stoke the passions for the club as they continued the fight to put themselves on the MLS expansion radar. For the traveling supporters, this game meant everything and Dwyer delivered.

It didn’t take Dwyer long to introduce himself to the Orlando City casuals, scoring the first goal of the season in a 3-1 win over Phoenix FC, and scoring in the first home win of the season vs. the USL Pro’s perennial powerhouse Rochester Rhinos. Dwyer scored his first regular season hat trick in a 7-2 thrashing of Antigua Barracuda on May 4.

The chant you have most likely heard in videos of Dwyer’s airport arrival, “He scores when he wants,” was a statement of fact when the chant first arrived in the south end of the Citrus Bowl in 2013. It really seemed like Dwyer did score when he wanted. In the 13 USL Pro games he played with Orlando City, he scored 15 goals. If you add in friendlies, U.S. Open Cup, and the playoffs Dwyer tallied an impressive 37 goals for the club.

Dwyer continued to grow his legendary status with two famous goals to give Orlando a win against the Colorado Rapids in the U.S. Open Cup’s third round. In the fourth round, Dwyer still made the headlines despite not being allowed to play. That match-up was against the club that had loaned Dwyer down to us, Sporting Kansas City. While most loan deals involve a clause that says players can’t play in games against their parent club, Orlando fans were hoping for a reprieve. The Lions didn’t get it, but still managed a shocking win away from home without their leading scorer.

Not long after that game, Dwyer was recalled to Sporting Kansas City, on June 27, 2013. His last game was a 2-0 win at the Citrus Bowl against Antigua Barracuda again. Of course, he scored in that game. Orlando’s first game without Dwyer was a toothless 2-0 loss at home to the eventual regular season champions, the Richmond Kickers. The Lions struggled, winning only one of the next six games.

The team found goals wherever they could to push towards the end of the season, including three from defender Rob Valentino in the last five games. Another 2-0 loss to Richmond sealed the championship for the team from Virginia, with Orlando City finishing one point behind in second place.

Orlando seemed to have found its mojo again and put together impressive wins against the Pittsburgh Riverhounds and forever nemesis the Charleston Battery, putting Orlando City into the USL Pro Final against the Charlotte Eagles.

It’s hard to summarize the week before the final. Orlando City founder and then-president Phil Rawlins and the always hardworking front office pushed to bring a massive crowd to the Citrus Bowl. Orlando had won the USL Pro final in the club’s first season in dramatic fashion, only to lose out in the semifinals in 2012. The theme was winning “our” trophy back. The other ripple moving through the headlines and the supporters’ hearts was talk of Dwyer returning for the final game. By this point, Dwyer had unsurprisingly staked a claim for significant playing time with Sporting Kansas City, so a return didn’t seem to be in the cards.

Maybe it was a persistent Rawlins, a word from Dwyer himself, or just an overly compassionate SKC front office, but Orlando’s hero found himself on a flight from Kansas to Orlando to play in the final game. I’d argue that one moment might be something the SKC front office and coaching staff will always regret. They turned a useful and productive loan spell for what would become one of the best players in club history into a love affair between Dwyer and the Orlando City supporters.

I’ve never in my life seen a wilder game of soccer than the 2013 USL Pro final. Over 20,000 fans filled the lower half of the Citrus Bowl — a then record. Those in attendance were treated to a thriller. Charlotte looked to ruin everything, with a 20th-minute goal, only to be answered by none other than Dwyer in the 33rd and 42nd to give Orlando a lead. The Eagles scored before halftime to make it 2-2.

After the break, it was Charlotte again which struck first, in the 58th minute, only for Dwyer to score two more in the 61st and 69th minutes. One minute later, another Orlando City legend, Dennis Chin, put the game out of reach. It was Orlando City’s first academy player to sign a professional contract for the club, Adama Mbengue, and another from Chin to wrap up the game, as it finished 7-4 in favor of the Lions. Dwyer’s four-goal performance is still one of the single best personal efforts I’ve ever witnessed in decades of watching soccer.

The 2013 season was an important one in the long fight to take Orlando City into MLS. While things seemed to be moving in the right direction, everything felt tentative at that time. It was a belief among those of us in the stands that a win in the final and an impressive attendance record for both the regular season and the final game could be enough to push us over the finish line. It is hard to understate or even fully explain the important role Dwyer played in helping Orlando turn our bonfire of excitement into a forest fire. Orlando City was announced as the 21st MLS franchise in November of 2013, just 63 days after the club won the USL Pro final.

As Orlando City moved into MLS and Dwyer moved into stardom, the relationship never fully extinguished. Rumors always seemed to circle around the Orlando favorite returning home, and the player never did anything to squelch them. Dwyer arrived for his first game against the now MLS Lions wearing this backpack in 2015. Social media went crazy. Then coach Adrian Heath claimed Dwyer’s “spiritual home” was in Orlando and was also fined by the league for tampering.

Landed in Orlando with my new Backpack 😊 thanks @sonimustivar

A post shared by Dom Dwyer (@ddwyer14) on

The back and forth between Dwyer and Orlando City’s social media went on, a mutual appreciation society formed each time Dwyer came anywhere near the City Beautiful. I’m not sure how, but Sporting Kansas City could try and get tampering charges against most of Orlando City’s Twitter followers for their #FreeDom campaign. Our own site was not above fueling the fire a wee bit and perhaps irritating Sporting supporters a little.

Despite the back and forth love, until last week, everything seemed to be more nostalgic or hopefully abstract from both sides…that was until last week.

When rumors of a Dom Dwyer return started circling, the Orlando faithful walked a thin line of hope, for fear the silly season was just stirring up more rumors. Seeing him arrive at Orlando International Airport, those same fans jumped that line of hope and brushed past security to embrace their returning hero. 

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Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Orlando City restarts its 2026 MLS campaign late tonight out west at San Jose.

Published

2 weeks ago

on

July 22, 2026

By

Image of Braian Ojeda taking a shot in a friendly against FC Dallas.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread for a late night midweek matchup tonight between Orlando City (4-9-2, 14 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-2, 32 points) at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams in 2026 and the first time the teams have met since 2024.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of tonight’s match.

History

Orlando City is 3-1-3 in the previous seven MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions got their only away win in the series in the last meeting and enter tonight 1-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The teams last met on May 18, 2024, with Jack Lynn coming off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Lynn’s strike in the 89th minute broke the scoreless deadlock and lifted the Lions to a 1-0 victory.

The teams met in Orlando most recently way back on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.

Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.

The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.

The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.

In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.

The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.

Overview

The teams meet tonight to get their post-World Cup portion of the season started. Orlando City has been terrible on the road all season long, keeping only one MLS opponent under two goals all year away from home and allowing five goals twice (at New York City FC and Nashville) and six goals twice (at LAFC and in the team’s most recent match away at FC Cincinnati just before the break).

Orlando City is a putrid 1-6-1 on the road this season, and now the Lions must face the Western Conference co-leaders tonight before coming home to face Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at home on Saturday. They’ll have to play at least tonight’s game without Martin Ojeda, who is out with a thigh injury sustained some time between his first-half goal a week ago in a friendly against FC Dallas and the time the availability report dropped on Tuesday.

But it isn’t all bad news for the Lions, who should have both Antoine Griezmann and Dike in the lineup. Griezmann was the club’s highly prized and widely publicized summer Designated Player signing, while Dike’s return to Orlando came together more recently, following his departure from West Bromwich Albion. They’ll help the club’s offense, but the attack hasn’t been the issue in 2026 — it’s been the historically porous defense, which is on pace to shatter the MLS record for goals conceded.

Meanwhile, San Jose is one of the first half of the season’s biggest surprises, as the Quakes have been outstanding in 2026. Scoring 34 goals while conceding just 15, San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (tied for third), goals conceded (third), and goal differential (+19, third).

The Earthquakes are 4-2-1 at home and are coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland in their last game prior to the World Cup break. San Jose boasts Golden Boot challenger Preston Judd, who leads the Quakes with 11 goals, adding two assists in his 15 appearances. Ousseni Bouda has chipped in five goals and three assists. Niko Tsakiris leads the team with seven assists to go along with his two goals, but he’s still recovering from a lower body injury and is not available tonight. However, the arrival of Timo Werner (four goals and five assists in just seven games) has truly elevated Bruce Arena’s Quakes, and he’ll need to be one of the main focal points for the Orlando defense.

To have any shot at taking something from this game, the Lions will need to play better road defense than they have all season. Orlando can score goals, but with Ojeda out, Griezmann will need to adapt quickly, and someone other than the team’s leading scorer will need to find the net.

The Lions will play without Ojeda (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty). In addition, Marco Pasalic may or may not have returned to the team after the World Cup. He was not in training Monday, although interim head coach Martin Perelman said he expected the Croatian back soon. The Earthquakes will be without Nonso Adimabua (lower body), former Lion Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body), DeJuan Jones (lower body), and Tsakiris (you guessed it, lower body…come on, San Jose).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer

San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn.

Defenders: Jamar Ricketts, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic.

Defensive Midfielders: Beau Lerouox, Ronaldo Vieira.

Attacking Midfielders: Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez, Ousseni Bouda.

Forwards: Preston Judd.

Bench: Jonathan Gonzalez, Dave Romney, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan, Jack Jasinski, Ian Harkes, Francesco Montali, Max Floriani, Darius Johnson.

Referees

REF: Elijio Arreguin.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Timothy Ford.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 542: Tampa Bay Friendly, McGuire Traded, OCB Beats Cincinnati, and More

Lions maul the Rowdies in friendly action, OCB wins on the road, and it’s transfer season.

Published

3 weeks ago

on

July 14, 2026

By

Image of Antoine Griezmann and Ivan Angulo celebrating a goal in a friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City welcomed I-4 Derby rival Tampa Bay to Inter&Co Stadium for a friendly match on Wednesday and then proceeded to bludgeon the Rowdies with a couple of hammers named Antoine Griezmann and Justin Ellis. The two attackers combined for a goal and four assists in a 6-0 beatdown of the team from the Gulf Coast, with five different Lions scoring and Griffin Dorsey forcing an own goal. We discuss Griezmann’s first minutes with Orlando City, what the team showed in its formation, and how good Justin Ellis’ vision is.

Oh, and it’s also transfer season now. Duncan McGuire is on his way out and Marco Pasalic reportedly will follow soon, while a new left back may be headed from Spain to Orlando.

Following all of that, we discuss Maxime Crepeau being added to the MLS All-Star Team and the announcement that he’ll participate in the 2026 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge.

Our mailbagbox asked us about which World Cup semifinalist players we’d want to join Orlando this season (if we could only pick one), and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

After the mailbagbox, we dive into OCB’s 2-1 road win at FC Cincinnati 2. It wasn’t the prettiest game by the Young Lions, but they managed to do enough to earn three points on the road, where they’ll stay to face Chattanooga on Saturday. We briefly preview that game.

Finally, Orlando City will be in Dallas Wednesday for the second of two friendlies leading up to the restart of the MLS season. It’s unlikely we’ll get a lot of details about that one, but we’ll see what happens. Maybe the FC Dallas folks will help us out.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 542 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City crushed the Rowdies, the transfer season is in full swing, plus: hey now, Crepeau’s an all-star.

28:50 – The mailbagbox is always good for a hypothetical scenario.

36:54 – The Young Lions slipped past Cincy and head to Chattanooga, while the senior Lions head to Dallas.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 119: International Break, USWNT, Louisville Preview, and More

The Pride return from a long international break looking to get their first-ever road win against Racing Louisville.

Published

3 months ago

on

April 22, 2026

By

Image of Haley McCutcheon scoring the opening goal in Orlando's home playoff win over Seattle.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

It feels like months since the Orlando Pride last took the field, but the calendar says otherwise. If you believe calendars, it’s only been a little less than three weeks, but time moves strangely in the post-pandemic apocalyptic world.

Anyway, we don’t have a match to recap, so we touched on a couple of Pride players putting the ball in the net during the international break and chat a bit about the United States Women’s National Team’s three-game friendly series against Japan. Emma Hayes used a lot of players, and the team looked solid for two of the three matches, but the rotated middle game seemed a bit disjointed. Hayes has greatly expanded the player pool and will have plenty of options when the World Cup approaches.

Our mailbagbox had questions about a potential change in the NWSL schedule, as the league explores adopting the fall-to-spring slate, and opposition own goals. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

After the mailbagbox, we turned our attention toward Friday’s late afternoon tussle with Racing Louisville in Kentucky. The Pride have never won on the road against Louisville, and it’s about high time they did. This match begins a congested push to the June World Cup break, and although Friday’s hosts aren’t high in the table, the Pride must be at their best to get a road result in this fixture. We look back at the series history, compare the two sides, provide our key matchups in the game, and make our final score predictions.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how Episode 119 went down:

0:15 – We open the show with a little banter about the Pride in the international break and the USWNT’s series vs. Japan.

9:03 – The mailbagbox features questions via both eletronic mail and social media. We welcome all modes of delivery.

19:59 – The Pride travel to Louisville to face Racing. They’ve never won in Kentucky, but we inform them how to do so.

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