Orlando City
Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Player Grades and Man of the Match
Can you believe that? Returning home tonight became a purple smoke party as Orlando City notched a number of firsts — most goals in a match in MLS play, first goals for players, first assists for players, and a massive statement made as the Lions beat the New England Revolution, 6-1, in a match that saw less than 22 players finish the match. Luck was our side though, as it was the Revs that had to play a man down. There’s so much to cover from that match, so let’s just jump right in and see how the players scored.
Starting XI:
G, Joe Bendik, 6.5 — Solid match for Joe, even though he really didn’t have to do much in the second half. Lee Nguyen’s free kick got by him in the 46th minute, but some good clears prior. The back line did its job well, which meant Joe had a fairly quiet night.
D, Donny Toia, 6 — Mixed reviews for Toia this evening. He did a great job standing Teal Bunbury up at 8’. Captured a rebound of a corner and ripped it towards goal and gets another corner. Main complaint is that he was caught a number of times out of position, and his passes and touches forward looked heavy. A good night, regardless.
D, Leo Pereira, 7 — Had to hustle to cover for Toia on numerous occasions. Leo communicated really well with Seb. He picked up a yellow on a challenge on Kei Kamara that was a questionable card at 34’. Sent a great ball over the top that just missed Barnes on a run between the center backs in the 49th minute. A very solid outing for Leo.
D, Seb Hines, 8.5 — Warning. Seb Hines was an absolute candidate for MOTM. Seb played what I believe was his best match yet for the first team. Great reads, great reactions, and excellent communication with teammates. Xavier Kouassi’s slide tackle of Seb was VAR’d in the 11th, leading to a red card. Had a good look at a ball from a corner in the 27th, and then buried the ball in the back of the net with his head in the 32nd. Did very well against Kamara and stood him up or tackled balls away from him numerous times late in the match, especially in the 53rd on what would have been a one-on-one with Joe if he had not. Fantastic match for Seb.
D, Scott Sutter, 7 — Solid first half with good runs. Missed a touch in the 46th on a big switch from Yoshi that caught the Revolution off guard. Had a great opportunity to put a clean shot on frame in the 58th, but sent it high into the stands. He pulled up in the 84th minute with something that originally scared us all, as he was grabbing his hamstring, and started a wild string of events from one end of the pitch to the other, leading to Dom’s first goal at home. Jason Kreis said it was only cramping, nothing wrong with the hamstring. Good night for Scott, a.k.a. Mr. Consistent.
M, Yoshimar Yotun (MOTM), 9 — Yoshi is by far my Man of the Match. His spot kicks were dangerous all night long. He had a few errant passes, but hustled to win balls back every opportunity he could. Dragged a Revolution defender on his back, a CB, still dribbling the ball in the 29th. He played box to box, and did well working with the entire midfield to possess, distribute, find lanes, take on defenders, and eventually in the 90th, get his first goal as a Lion. There was no stopping Yoshi tonight, so let the memes fly. And lets not forget about his two assists.
M, Servando Carrasco, 7 — The quiet man on the pitch tonight. I do not mean quiet as in he did not do much, I mean quiet in the sense that he held shape and just did his job tonight. He had almost as many touches tonight as Yoshi, with a better passing accuracy. Couldn’t tell, could you? I certainly could.
M, Antonio Nocerino, 8.5 — Noce was on fire tonight, and seems to adapting very well to this slightly new role of a two-way player. His give and go with Kaká to get Kaká the shot in the 17th was brilliant. And the moment we have all been waiting for happened in the 22nd, when he recorded his first goal. His fire was all over the pitch this evening, and he ended the night with the highest passing accuracy on the team (93.5%).
M, Giles Barnes, 7.5 — Giles worked really in the number 10 spot this evening. He helped keep the Lions’ attack moving all night. He had two good looks, putting one on frame, and missed what should have been another goal in the 51nd.
F, Kaká, 8.9 — In his first start in three matches, Kaká came back with a vengeance, paired up top with Dom. Had a great little pass to Noce in the sixth minute and a great look on goal in the 17th. Only ding to his match was picking up a yellow for simulation in the 28th that I will need to watch again. Brutal shot (in a good way) in the 43rd to score his first, and picked up his brace in the 77th off a rebound from Dom. Was a menace to the Revs all night long.
F, Dom Dwyer, 7.5 — He assists when he wants, oh, and he scores when he wants. Dom was Dom again tonight, and finally got his first goal at home. He also created some absolute magic for some camera folks with that flying volley attempt only to miss, have the ball bounce around and fall to Kaká, who put it in the back of the net. Dom got his goal in the 84th on that odd run of play while Sutter was dealing with a cramp.
Substitutes:
D, Tommy Redding (54’), 7 — Came in fairly early for Leo, and did well with Seb for the rest of the night. Was a little shaky at first, but warmed up to the task very quickly and was solid for the match. Part of the defense that kept Kamara from getting any shots off in the second half.
M, Richie Laryea (71’), 7 — Great hustle from Laryea for the short time he was on the pitch. He came into the left side of the diamond while Yoshi shifted up to the top. Had numerous, and some very dangerous, give-and-goes with his midfield partners and notched his first career MLS assist tonight on Yoshi’s goal in the 90th.
F, Cyle Larin (79’), 7 — In the short time he was on the pitch, Cyle kept the pressure on New England. Let’s not forget he also logged an assist on Dom’s goal in the 84th.
That’s all I’ve got, as I am exhausted from watching that. Who was your Orlando City Man of the Match? Vote below, and let me know why in the comments.
Polling Closed
| Player | Votes |
| Antonio Nocerino | 14 |
| Seb Hines | 8 |
| Kaká | 40 |
| Yoshimar Yotun | 81 |
| Dom Dwyer | 1 |
| Other | 3 |
Lion Links
Lion Links: 1/23/25
Orlando City signs Thomas Williams to new contract, Orlando Pride schedule revealed, USMNT wins against Costa Rica, and more.
I hope you all are staying warm as we deal with cold weather across Florida. It’s at least been nice to break out some of my heavier blankets and forgotten hot cocoa packets I’ve had stored away. My cat has also been curling up next to me more, which is always a plus. Still, not shivering while waiting for my car to warm up would be great. Let’s dive into today’s links!
Thomas Williams Signs New Orlando City Contract
Orlando City center back Thomas Williams signed a new contract with the club that lasts through 2026, with an option for 2027 as well. Williams joined the club’s academy back in 2015 and became the youngest Homegrown Player in club history when he signed a first-team contract at 16 years old in 2021. The 20-year-old hasn’t featured much for the first team, and he’ll likely spend most of this year with Orlando City B for consistent playing time. Hopefully Williams can take a step forward in his development and provide the Lions some helpful depth at center back in the event of injuries.
Orlando Pride 2025 Season Schedule Unveiled
The NWSL announced its 2025 season schedule Wednesday, and the Orlando Pride will start their title defense season at home against the Chicago Red Stars on March 14. Their first road game will be the following weekend on March 23 against NJ/NY Gotham FC. Decision Day returns to the schedule this year, with all 14 clubs in action on Nov. 2. The Pride will close out their regular season at home that day against the Seattle Reign, with the postseason set to begin on Nov. 7. There’s also a break in the schedule in July, with no regular-season games scheduled due to international tournaments like the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and Copa America Femenina.
USMNT Shuts Out Costa Rica in Orlando
The United States Men’s National Team beat Costa Rica 3-0 at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando Wednesday night to stay perfect at the home of the Lions and Pride at 7-0-0. Goalkeeper Zack Steffen truly earned his clean sheet, coming up with some great saves to deny Costa Rica. It was also a solid attacking performance from the Yanks, and Patrick Agyemang put a bow on what’s been a great month for him with his second goal in as many games. Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino has some time to assess things before the USMNT plays Panama in the Concacaf Nations League semifinals on March 20
Keeping Up With MLS Transfer News
San Diego FC added another Designated Player ahead of its inaugural season, signing Danish winger Anders Dreyer from Anderlecht for a transfer fee reportedly near $5 million. He recorded 31 goals and 23 assists in 87 appearances across all competitions for Anderlecht and joins San Diego on a three-year deal. Charlotte FC officially added Wilfried Zaha on loan from Galatasaray. He’ll occupy a DP spot and the loan lasts through Jan. 16, 2026, with an option to extend it through June of that year as well.
LAFC made a trade with its rival to strengthen its midfield, acquiring Mark Delgado from the LA Galaxy in exchange for $400,000 in General Allocation Money. The Portland Timbers signed Venezuelan forward Kevin Kelsy from Shakhtar Donetsk as an MLS U22 Initiative player, with FC Cincinnati receiving GAM for his discovery rights. Real Salt Lake, which signed Mason Stajduhar from Orlando City earlier this month, continued to make changes to its goalkeeping group. The club signed veteran goalkeeper Rafael Cabral as a free agent and transferred 19-year-old American Gavin Beavers to Brondby IF in Denmark.
UEFA Champions League Roundup
The penultimate round of the UEFA Champions League’s league phase wrapped up this week. Paris Saint-Germain beat Manchester City 4-2 in the heavyweight matchup of the round, with all six goals coming in the second half. Joao Neves gave PSG the lead in the 78th minute before Goncalo Ramos put the game on ice in stoppage time. City now needs to win its final game against Club Brugge on Wednesday in order to advance.
Real Madrid cruised to a 5-1 win against RB Salzburg to advance, with both Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr. scoring braces. Celtic also booked its spot in the next round after a 1-0 win against Young Boys. Feyenoord pulled off an upset by winning 3-0 against Bayern Munich as well. Elsewhere in the tournament, AC Milan won 1-0 at home against Girona, Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0, and RB Leipzig did well in a 2-1 victory over Sporting CP.
Free Kicks
- American goalkeeper Michelle Betos announced her retirement from professional soccer after a career that included winning the 2016 NWSL Shield with the Portland Thorns and the 2023 NWSL Championship with Gotham. Betos was also named NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year with the Thorns in 2015.
- Arsenal and Chelsea are among the multiple clubs reportedly keeping an eye on American forward Trinity Rodman, whose contract with the Washington Spirit ends after this year.
- Borussia Dortmund fired Nuri Sahin following the club’s 2-1 defeat to Bologna in the Champions League. Dortmund has lost all four of its matches so far in 2025 and is 10th in the Bundesliga standings.
- Some of the notable matches in today’s Europa League action include Manchester United hosting Rangers, Tottenham taking on Hoffenheim, and AS Roma traveling to face AZ Alkmaar.
- Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas has joined Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina. The 38-year-old hasn’t been with a club since departing PSG in May of 2024.
That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a great Thursday and rest of your week!
Orlando City
Orlando City Signs Defender Thomas Williams Through 2026
Orlando City signs Homegrown center back Thomas Williams to a new contract through 2026 with a club option for 2027.
Orlando City announced this morning that the club has signed defender Thomas Williams through the 2026 season with a club option for 2027. The Homegrown Player has been with the first team since 2021 and will continue for at least two more years.
“Thomas is someone whose future we’re still very excited about and we’re happy to get him locked in with us for a couple more years,” Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi said in a club press release. “He’s shown a lot of growth these last few seasons, continuing to get game action with Orlando City B and proving the importance of our development pathway, and we’re looking forward to having him with us for the foreseeable future.”
The Titusville native joined the Orlando City Academy in 2015 and made his professional debut for the club on Aug. 7, 2020 against New England Revolution II. He played in 13 games that year with 10 starts and recorded 844 minutes. His play on the Young Lions’ back line earned him a first-team contract on June 15, 2021, at just 16 years old, making him the youngest player in club history to sign a Homegrown contract.
The 20-year-old center back made his MLS debut on April 16, 2022 in a 2-0 win over the Columbus Crew in Ohio. He made five appearances with three starts in all competitions that season, recording 271 minutes. To date, those are the only appearances he’s made with the first team.
Since joining OCB in 2021, Williams has made 69 appearances with 61 starts and recorded 5,132 minutes. He’s been booked 19 times and sent off twice, both times after receiving second yellow cards.
What It Means for Orlando City
Williams is the fourth natural center back for Orlando City on the current squad behind Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Rodrigo Schlegel. He played well early in his OCB and MLS career, but has struggled recently. Last year, he played exclusively with the second team, partnering with Nabi Kibunguchy.
While Williams hasn’t made much of an impact on the first team so far, he’s only 20 years old and still has plenty of time to develop. Extending his contact shows that the club still has faith that he can turn into a key player for the MLS side.
It’s unlikely that Williams will see any time with the first team in 2025 (barring injuries and/or suspensions), considering that he’s also been behind versatile defender Kyle Smith at the center back position. He’ll likely spend the upcoming season with OCB, continuing to develop and earn his spot with the first team. As a Homegrown Player, there isn’t much risk in signing Williams to a new contract, especially if the club’s technical staff thinks he can develop into a quality defender.
Lion Links
Lion Links: 1/22/25
Orlando City transfer rumors, Orlando Pride preseason begins, USMNT at Inter&Co, and more.
Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. Up here in Tallahassee, I’m waking up to snow/sleet, closed schools, closed government offices, and potentially icy roads. Many people will get an extra day off of work, however, I still get to go to work. I’m sure you can imagine how happy I am about that. Enough of my winter grumbling. Let’s get to the links but not until after we wish Orlando City fullback Michael Halliday a happy 22nd birthday.
Orlando City Reportedly Targeting Croatian International
While I can no longer say that Orlando City hasn’t signed any new players, the club is still moving at its traditionally slow speed as compared to other MLS clubs. We had the signing of Nicolas Rodriguez last week. Now, we have Tom Bogert report of yet another winger prospect for the club in Croatian Marco Pasalic from HNK Rijeka, though it is not a done deal. Hopefully the other targets Bogert mentions are of the striker variety.
Pride Preseason Begins
The 2024 NWSL champions are back to defend their title. The Orlando Pride returned to training on Tuesday. The club hasn’t needed to add many pieces, though some of the players already here, like Simone Charley and Grace Chanda, haven’t actually played any minutes for the Pride yet. Most of the chemistry is in place for Seb Hines, but reinforcing those bonds will be the challenge as the Pride look to repeat.
USMNT at Inter&Co Tonight
Hopefully you have tickets to the USMNT friendly match versus Costa Rica at Inter&Co Stadium tonight. The match starts at 7 p.m. and there are television and streaming options if you’re not going in person. Despite the squad having 14 players with three or fewer caps, Mauricio Pochettino does not consider this an “alternative” squad, nor does he want the players to think of themselves like that.
Girma Reportedly Nearing Completion of Chelsea Move
USWNT defender Naomi Girma is reportedly headed to Chelsea FC Women for a record $1.1 million transfer fee. That is a very big chunk of change for San Diego FC to use to try to replace one of the best defenders in the world. The deal is not complete as of Tuesday evening, but according to the original report from The Athletic, it is close to being done. Girma would be the first women’s soccer player to earn a transfer fee of over $1 million.
MLS Transfer Updates
Other MLS clubs keep on putting pen to paper when it comes to new players. The Chicago Fire are bringing in Jonathan Bamba on a Designated Player deal from La Liga side Celta de Vigo. The Luca de la Torre loan from Spain’s RC Celta de Vigo to San Diego FC is also official.
Cucho Hernandez evidently wants to stay with the Columbus Crew, though he is still waiting on a new offer.
Free Kicks
- I know you might think that Orlando City has a lot to do personnel-wise as the preseason begins, but evidently, the Lions didn’t make the Top 5.
- EUFA Champions League is in full swing, with big names Liverpool and Barcelona winning yesterday. There’s also more to come today.
- Former Orlando Pride player Alanna Kennedy signed a one-year contract with Angel City FC.
- Keep your eyes peeled later today for the NWSL schedule drop.
That will do it for today. Stay warm out there, my friends. Vamos Orlando!
A 2025 Orlando Pride Wish List
Lion Links: 1/23/25
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