Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew SC (Round 2): Player Grades and Man of the Match
Orlando City’s winless run continues but if the team can continue playing like it did against the Columbus Crew tonight, it won’t last much longer. Look, I get it. you want wins — not draws, and certainly not losses. You want more than a good effort. I do too. But results in sports don’t always reflect performance and words like ‘deserve’ have nothing to do with the game of soccer.
So, while I understand people’s frustrations with the final score and a dwindling hope of reaching the playoffs (which, if you’ve paid attention since May 1, you shouldn’t be surprised by), but I have to applaud a solid 96-minute effort by the Lions, who out-shot the Crew 20-4 (7-2 on target), out-possessed them 55.5%-44.5%, and out-passed them 85%-77%. You can perform well and not get a result. That’s the sad truth about the game of soccer that a lot of people forget.
Anyway, enough with the preamble, let’s get to the grades.
Starters
GK, Joe Bendik, 6.5 — You might think it was a light night for Joe with the Crew only getting four shot attempts and only two on goal, but he did put in some work. His save in the 37th minute was a tremendous effort as Ola Kamara got in behind the defense and left Joe all alone to come way off his line and smother the shot. Columbus tried to play directly over the top with quick long passes often and he was called on to come outside the box to make plays, notably a couple of clearances. Bendik made only one save and the goal against was from point-blank range with a quick change of direction. His distribution was mostly solid with 5/10 on long balls, including a couple really good ones. This grade may be low but there wasn’t a lot for him to do at times.
D, Donny Toia, 6.5 — Donny made two crucial one-on-one challenges in the box to break up potential Crew breakaways. But he also gave up the foul that led to the Columbus goal. It was a bit soft, especially considering the venom in some of the challenges in the game, but Toia did put his hands on the Crew player and that’s an easy way to get noticed by the referee. He finished with two tackles, an interception and two clearances and a very good 84.2% passing percentage, and managed one cross on the offensive end, before being subbed off in the 83rd minute for Richie Laryea.
D, Leo Pereira, 6.5 — The young Brazilian held his own for the most part. He did have a couple of shaky moments and allowed a couple of free runners. But he was active in the game, with 70 touches — most on the back line and second most on the team. His 63 passes were the most on the team and he was a respectable 81% on the night. He did get beat over the top a few times but that was largely how Columbus was playing. He finished with one tackle, two interceptions, two clearances, one aerial won, and an accurate cross. He did, however, concede three free kicks on the night. As with Bendik, his score may have been higher had he needed to do more defending.
D, Tommy Redding, 6.5 — Overall a solid night for Tommy, who, like his central defense partner, didn’t have to fend off too many periods of sustained Columbus pressure. His 96.9% passing rate will raise some eyebrows, but he didn’t have a single tackle in the game, with one interception, one aerial won, and two clearances. As you could say about anyone, he had a little trouble handling Justin Meram, but in the end all Meram did was rattle the woodwork. Allowed Ola Kamara to get behind the line once forcing a huge save by Bendik.
D, Scott Sutter, 7 — As usual, Sutter did his thing and helped the team out on both ends. Defensively, he had two tackles, two interceptions, and a clearance, and was part of the reason that Meram and Kamara had pretty quiet nights. His 73.3% passing is a bit misleading as the majority of his passes were in the offensive half, as opposed to his back line mates. He had two key passes, sent five crosses into the area, and had one shot attempt, but his movement and ability to read the game helped Orlando maintain sustained pressure in the second half.
MF, Antonio Nocerino, 6 — When your defensive midfielder has no defensive statistics it is either a sign that he was terrible or that the other team didn’t attack a whole lot. It was the latter in the Italian’s case on this night. He spent most of the game connecting the left and right sides of the attack and facilitating between the back line and the attacking players. He passed at a pretty good 87.8% clip but had no crosses or shots and drew only one foul. We’ve seen him jump into the attack last week at New York but on this night he was a spectator when the ball went into the final third, and that was possibly part of the game plan.
MF, Yoshimar Yotun, 6.5 — Yoshi is still finding his way with his new team but he is certainly showing his skill set. Just two minutes in, he made a ridiculous move to get by a defender and launched a shot toward the back post from distance that didn’t miss by much. None of his three shots were on target, but considering the range he’s shooting from, he wasn’t off by much. On a team-high 88 touches, he had one key pass, an 85.5% passing accuracy, a team-high three interceptions, and a tackle. He showed his versatility when he finished the game at left back after Toia was subbed out.
MF, Will Johnson, 7 — Will’s night ended after only 32 minutes after a knee-to-knee collision with Waylon Francis and then a second foul by Wil Trapp took him out of the match. But while he was out there, Johnson fired two shots — both on goal — completed all 10 of his passes, and cleared one ball on defense. He brought energy and passion to the field but in the end a nasty challenge wrecked his night.
MF, Giles Barnes, 7.5 (MOTM) — His game-tying goal was a brilliant strike from deep on the right side of goal he fizzed one off the back post, which deflected all the way to the right post and in. It was unsaveable. He took on defenders all night, while connecting on 88.9% of his passes and taking a team-high five shots (two on frame). He also drew three fouls, made two tackles, and had one interception.
F, Carlos Rivas, 7 — The Colombian was active and had a very strong game that was spoiled only by a few really off-target passes that could have played teammates in alone on goal and some poor set-piece service that repeatedly failed to beat the first defender. He still had four key passes to lead all players but there were a few near-misses that really could have made the difference in the game where he just failed to hit the mark. He also whiffed spectacularly from the top of the box when Cyle Larin played him a great cross. Only one of his eight crosses was on target and his passing rate of 73.3% should have been better. He chipped in two tackles and an interception defensively. It wasn’t a bad night at all for Carlos but a little more sharpness in his passes into the penalty area would have made him MotM worthy in my book and possibly helped the Lions get that second goal.
F, Cyle Larin, 5.5 — The Canadian allowed Lalas Abubakar to get inside of him on the first-half Columbus set-piece goal, which was certainly unfortunate. Cyle had only one shot on target and one key pass. His passing rate was good (87.5%) but he won no aerials and managed only 29 touches on the night — the fewest of any starter who went at least half the game except Bendik. Larin worked hard but just seemed to get marked out of the game.
Substitutes
MF, Cristian Higuita (32’), 7.5 — This was a completely different Higuita than we’ve seen throughout 2017. This Higuita got into the box repeatedly, assisted on the game-tying goal, completed 93.3% of his passes — many of which were forward in the attacking half — and took two shots. He was feisty and assertive on the pitch, earning four free kicks, and tallying four tackles. It was a literal toss-up for me to pick MotM between Cristian and Barnes. Giles scored the goal so he gets the nod.
F, Dom Dwyer (63’), 6.5 — Dom made his Orlando City Stadium debut and immediately changed the energy of the match. His first involvement was a collision with goalkeeper Zack Steffen on an aerial ball and there was at least a hint of a foul on Steffen, who looked to initiate the contact. The keeper gets the benefit in those situations though, especially when they are shaken up on the play. Dwyer had three shots, with two on frame, including a blistering effort that forced a very good save in the 94th minute. He completed all four of his passes and his passion and energy gave the team a lift. With only three full training sessions since his arrival due to the All-Star Game and his surgery, the team needs a full 90 from this Dom.
MF, Richie Layrea (83’), N/A — Richie has been getting on the pitch too late to do enough to warrant a fair grade, but the glimpses he’s showing are certainly promising. He completed all six of his passes — including a key pass. Another good showing for the young Canadian in an abbreviated spell of play.
That’s the way I saw the individual performances from Orlando City’s draw with the Crew. Please feel free to share your scores in the comments section and vote for your OCSC Man of the Match below.
Polling Closed
| Player | Votes |
| Dom Dwyer | 14 |
| Carlos Rivas | 9 |
| Cristian Higuita | 30 |
| Giles Barnes | 29 |
| Scott Sutter | 4 |
| Other | 4 |
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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