Orlando City
Orlando City vs. FC Dallas: Player Grades and Man of the Match
Shockingly, when two teams play in the afternoon Florida sun after playing Wednesday night, the game is not played as crisply as you’d like. Both Orlando City and FC Dallas came into a Saturday afternoon match at Orlando City Stadium on short rest and both coaches opted to play basically the same side as the midweek team. The result was sloppy and final balls were hard to come by — impossible, in fact — as the Lions have still never scored a goal against FC Dallas and the only goal Orlando has against any Texas MLS team is a Tyler Deric own-goal in 2015 against Houston. Weird.
Tired legs make for poor soccer, and both teams were guilty of it, but let’s get to the player grades from a less-than-satisfying 0-0 draw:
Starters
GK, Joe Bendik, 7.5 — He wasn’t called on often but Bendik played well in making five saves and controlling his area throughout the game. It took only four minutes for Joe to make a play, as he got a hand to a Carlos Gruezo shot to knock it over the bar. He made a good save on Tesho Akindele in the 12th minute. Joe was quick off his line to beat Dallas players to entry balls throughout the first half. Made a diving stop in the 30th on a Mauro Diaz free kick. He did spill a Gruezo shot in the 46th but it was nearby and he was able to re-gather. His last big save was probably in the 53rd, when a cross found Diaz at point-blank range and Bendik made himself big to make a sprawling save. His service was even good, connecting on seven of 11 long balls and 81% of his passes.
D, Donny Toia, 7 — It was a good game for Toia, who ran more of the attacking play than usual, playing on Yoshimar Yotun’s side. He led the defense in touches (69) and his 73% passing rate was good considering how many were in the offensive half. He finished with three clearances, one tackle, one interception, and a blocked shot, and committed only one foul. If there was a weakness in his game it was service but everyone’s passing seemed off in this game.
D, Jonathan Spector, 7.5 — With Specs being one of the more rested players on the pitch, he looked a little sharper than many of his teammates. He led the back line with an 85% passing percentage and seven clearances. He also finished with two tackles, two interceptions, and attempted a shot that was deflected in the box. His best moment was knocking the ball away from Maxi Urruti in the 72nd minute on a dangerous cross. Good return for Jonathan.
D, Seb Hines, 7 — Did just enough against Akindele in the 12th minute to keep him from getting in behind. He led the back line and tied for the team lead in shots (3), getting one dangerously on target on a set piece and forcing a good save from Jesse Gonzalez in the 76th minute. He made a vital tackle in the box in the first half to snuff out a chance and defensively he finished with two tackles, an interception, two clearances, and two blocked shots. He could have been called for a handball in the box at 74’ on a Kellyn Acosta shot but the ball was blasted hard and Hines was close to the shooter. The arm was a bit out from the body but not in an unnatural position. It didn’t warrant a review, per VAR Sorin Stoica and later Matt Hedges got away with one from further away and with his arm in a less natural position, so maybe those evened out in the end.
D, Scott Sutter, 6.5 — Of all the players who started three times in seven days, Sutter showed maybe the most wear and tear. His game wasn’t as sharp as we’re used to seeing. He mishit his cross in the 38th minute after Carrasco sent him down the right flank. He made two tackles and three clearances but no interceptions and the more dangerous Dallas crosses seemed to come from his side. He managed only 46 touches and 72% passing accuracy, going 1-for-3 on long-ball accuracy and 1-for-3 on cross accuracy. Worked his way into the box late in the first half and went down with some contact but no foul was awarded.
DM, Servando Carrasco, 6 — After a good match Wednesday, Servando struggled to make a mark in this match. He passed well (94% on 17 attempts) but managed only 19 total touches before being subbed out for Richie Laryea in the 55th minute. He gave up a free kick in a dangerous spot in the 29th minute with a clumsy challenge on Diaz, sweeping the FC Dallas star’s legs. Hit a nice ball over the defense to send Sutter down the right at the 38-minute mark. His lone defensive stat was a single interception. It wasn’t necessarily a bad effort, but Serva just didn’t find much success linking up with his teammates.
LM, Yoshimar Yotun, 8 (MotM) — Like most of the team, Yoshi didn’t seem to have a lot of jump in his legs and it kept him from being dangerous throughout the first half, although he came on strong at the end of the game. He had a shot attempt seven minutes in but it was nowhere near the goal. In the second half he found more freedom and dialed in his passing more. In the 62nd minute he picked out Giles Barnes’ run up the middle and would have sent him in alone on goal had Atiba Harris not been holding the Jamaican’s left arm with both hands (it wasn’t called). Great free kick service in the 77th minute led to a good chance. His 90th-minute corner delivery found Kaká but the captain’s flick on was inches out of Cyle Larin’s reach. Yoshi’s shot in the 93rd went off Gonzalez and hit the post, and three minutes later he crushed one that Gonzalez saved with his face. He finished with three shots (two on target) and a game-high four key passes, drew three fouls, passed at an 84% clip, three tackles, one clearance, and had a game-high 94 touches.
RM, Antonio Nocerino, 6 — The Italian’s game was similar to Carrasco’s in that link-up play was lacking and passing wasn’t always sharp (79%). His 32 touches were more than Serva’s but he also was on the pitch 12 more minutes. Like Carrasco, Noce finished with one interception and had no shot attempts. His work rate was fine but he didn’t accomplish a lot.
AM, Giles Barnes, 5 — The Jamaican had a tough game, especially in the first half, losing the ball repeatedly in traffic and impatiently firing straight at Jesse Gonzalez from distance in the 36th minute as the Lions broke on a 4-on-4, rather than holding up play for his teammates to make runs into the area. His shot in the 77th minute was nowhere near the target. His passing was 76% on only 21 attempts and he had only 35 touches, but just lacked some of the quality he’s shown over the past few matches.
F, Kaká, 5 — Like others, the captain was a bit sloppy. Had a chance to serve up a cross for Dom in the 41st minute but left his pass too close to Gonzalez. His cross in the 71st was over the near-post runner and nowhere near the back-post run. Neither of his two shots were on target, though he did have a nice flicked header on a corner that Larin couldn’t quite reach. His passing accuracy was just 75% on just 35 touches and defensively he made one interception.
F, Dom Dwyer, 6 — While he was active and his work rate was high, as usual, Dom didn’t make too much of a mark on the game and many of his passes to try to send in teammates didn’t quite come off as the defender would often get just the slightest touch to send it off target. He finished with one shot (off target) and one key pass, no defensive stats, and just 60% passing on 20 touches. He wasn’t getting great service regardless of how much pressure he put on the back four for Dallas.
Substitutes
MF, Richie Laryea (55’), 6.5 — The Canadian came on for Carrasco to provide fresh legs in the midfield, taking the right side of the diamond and sending Nocerino back to defensive mid. He was active, getting 25 touches in his appearance, with a shot and a key pass, but had trouble linking up with teammates, passing at a 71% clip. He finished with a tackle, a clearance, and an interception, slotting into the middle of the midfield in a 4-3-3 after Carlos Rivas came on late.
F, Cyle Larin (67’), 4.5 — I was surprised Cyle started on the bench after he did the same in the midweek, considering the short rest. He made little mark on the game with nine touches, although he completed all four of his passes. He was just offside on a promising build-up where he could have played Kaká in on goal. He didn’t register a shot or a key pass and no defensive stats, drawing one free kick. Larin theoretically could have made more of his fresher legs but it just never happened.
F, Carlos Rivas (84’), 5.5 — If the Lions ever needed Rivas’ speed, it was today, but the Colombian didn’t get much of a chance to use it. He made one key pass and sent in the great cross to Larin on the offside play, but he was also dispossessed three times in a short outing and couldn’t do much with the ball in his 12 touches.
That’s how I saw the individual performances. How did you see it? Leave your thoughts below and vote for your Man of the Match in our poll.
Polling Closed
| Player | Votes |
| Joe Bendik | 12 |
| Jonathan Spector | 5 |
| Seb Hines | 3 |
| Donny Toia | 0 |
| Yoshimar Yotun | 21 |
| Other | 1 |
Opinion
The Case for Starting Luis Muriel Against Atlanta
Muriel’s game is tailor made to help Orlando get the result in what will likely be a tight contest.
For the second season in a row, Orlando City finds itself hosting a match in the Eastern Conference semifinals. It was a scenario that was far less likely this year, with the Lions watching as all three seeds above them crashed out in the first round, leaving OCSC as the highest-seeded team still standing in the East. Last year’s semifinal match didn’t go so well, with 10-man Orlando falling to the eventual champion Columbus Crew in extra time. So, how do the Lions avoid that fate this year and advance to the Eastern Conference final for the first time?
For starters, they can succeed on each of Dave Rohe’s three keys to victory! I’d like to make an addition though, and campaign for Oscar Pareja to start Luis Muriel instead of Ivan Angulo. To be clear, it’s not that I have an axe to grind against Angulo, as he’s largely ranged from solid to good when starting out on the left wing. For my money though, this match is tailor made for Muriel and giving him the start could help Orlando get through to the next round without needing to resort to extra time or penalties.
It’s not unreasonable to expect Sunday’s game to play out in a similar manner to Orlando’s 2-1 Decision Day loss to Atlanta, in which the visitors had 34% of the ball to OCSC’s 66%. True, part of that disparity was down to Atlanta’s 2-0 lead after 16 minutes, which allowed the visitors to sit back, bunker, and protect what they had. Even if the game had remained scoreless for longer though, Atlanta probably would likely have ceded possession anyway and looked to play defensively and hit on the counter. They rolled out a compact 4-2-3-1 in that game, but deployed a 3-5-2 in their last two games against Miami, and they might do so again after its effectiveness.
With Orlando likely to have the lion’s share (hehe) of the ball, and Atlanta sitting deep, there figures to be less room for Angulo to deploy his electric pace. OCSC will probably need to make things happen in the “half-court,” with an emphasis on moving the ball quickly, making clever runs, and finding those runs with creative and accurate passes.
Enter Luis Muriel. The Colombian Designated Player had a slow start to life with Orlando City but has come on strong in recent months, excelling in a super sub role and frequently making an impact in games off the bench. In 56 minutes against Charlotte in Game 3, he completed two dribbles, played one key pass and one through ball, and took three shots, with one on target, one off target, and one blocked. He doesn’t offer Angulo’s speed, but he has maybe the best vision and range of passing of anyone on the team, he’s an outstanding dribbler, and he’s a calm and capable finisher.
He hasn’t been asked to do a ton of traditional striker work during his resurgence, but Muriel has excelled at setting up teammates and creating chances, as evidenced by the litany of key passes littering his stat sheet. Those attributes could be hugely important in breaking Atlanta down, and with two key passes and two completed dribbles against them in just 22 minutes on Decision Day, he’s already proven he can be effective against the Five Stripes.
Another thing that could help the Lions in starting Muriel, is that it would almost certainly take Atlanta by surprise. Oscar Pareja isn’t exactly known for tweaking his lineup on a game-to-game basis, vastly preferring to find an XI that works and stick with it religiously. As long as everyone’s healthy, that lineup has featured Angulo starting with Muriel coming off the bench, and flipping the script would certainly be an unexpected variation that Atlanta might not be expecting. At this level, teams are good enough to adjust on short notice, but you also take every possible edge that you can find, and a lineup shift could be exactly that.
In short, as much as I like Angulo, I think Muriel should get the call in his place on Sunday. The veteran’s combination of vision, passing ability, and dribbling makes him uniquely suited to help unlock defenses, which will be crucial in a game where Orlando City is likely to dominate possession. I don’t think it’s likely to happen given Papi’s consistency with his lineups, but the unexpected move could give the Lions the edge they’re looking for. Vamos Orlando!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 11/22/24
Emily Sams wins Defender of the Year, Orlando City’s turnaround, Barbra Banda nominated for African Woman Player of the Year, and more.
Happy Friday! Beyond working and catching some soccer here and there, I don’t have many plans for the weekend. I’m also hoping to find some time to trial some cranberry and brie bites I’m trying to perfect before Thanksgiving next week. For now though, let’s jump right into today’s links from around the soccer world!
Emily Sams Awarded NWSL Defender of the Year
The Orlando Pride’s Emily Sams was named 2024 NWSL Defender of the Year after a fantastic season. The Pride only conceded 20 goals in a record-breaking season, and Sams played in all 13 of the team’s shutouts. Sams was one of the most impactful players for the Pride this year and had 163 recoveries, 76 clearances, and 16 blocks. She’s the first Pride player to win the award and it’s great to see her receive some deserved recognition in her second year in Orlando.
Analyzing Orlando City’s Revitalization
It’s been a rollercoaster of a season for the Lions to say the least. There were serious concerns over whether or not the Lions would even make the playoffs back in June and now they find themselves as the highest remaining seed in the Eastern Conference this postseason. Facundo Torres’ excellent run of play is a major reason behind the club’s turnaround, but the buy-in from all of Orlando’s attackers has helped create a dynamic and unselfish offense. Although expectations are rising once more for the Lions, Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi spoke on how the team is focused on Sunday’s playoff match.
“There’s only one team that matters: Atlanta United,” Muzzi said. “The easiest way to lose a game is to look ahead. I’ll say we didn’t expect to be playing at home, but it’s welcomed. We’re focused on Atlanta, they’re playing great. They have a lot of confidence and momentum. It doesn’t matter they’re the No. 9 seed because they’re not playing like the No. 9 seed.”
Barbra Banda Up For African Woman Player of the Year
Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda was one of 10 players nominated for this year’s African Woman Player of the Year award. The 24-year-old has done well for both club and country this year. She scored 13 goals in her first regular season with the Pride and has three goals so far in the playoffs. Banda also had a hat trick for Zambia in the Summer Olympics. She’s joined by fellow NWSL players Temwa Chawinga and Racheal Kundananji on the list of nominees. Bay FC striker Asisat Oshoala, who has won the award in five of the past six years, was not nominated for the first time in a decade. The nomination list will be trimmed to a three-player shortlist before the winner is announced on Dec. 16 in Morocco.
Croix Bethune Named NWSL Midfielder of the Year
Washington Spirit rookie Croix Bethune won NWSL Midfielder of the Year after recording 10 assists and five goals in 17 matches this season. A knee injury cut her season short in September, but she still tied Tobin Heath’s record for the most assists in a season. Bethune gave plenty of NWSL teams headaches this year and also won Rookie of the Year earlier this week. She’s the first player to ever receive NWSL Midfielder of the Year and she beat out the Pride’s Marta, the North Carolina Courage’s Ashley Sanchez, and Kansas City Current duo Lo’eau LaBonta and Vanessa DiBernardo.
Eastern Conference Clubs Making Moves
FC Cincinnati officially signed striker Kevin Denkey from Cercle Brugge on a deal that will last through 2028. The 23-year-old joins as a Designated Player on a reported $16.2 million transfer, which would be a league record. He won the Golden Boot in Belgium last year after scoring 27 goals and should give Cincinnati some considerable firepower next year.
Elsewhere in the league, CF Montreal declined the option on Josef Martinez’s contract, meaning the Venezuelan forward will be a free agent once again. The 31-year-old led Montreal with 11 goals this season and we’ll see where he winds up next. Charlotte FC did not trigger the purchase option on Pep Biel’s loan, opening up a Designated Player spot. Former Lion Junior Urso’s contract option was also declined by Charlotte. The Philadelphia Union signed defender Olivier Mbaizo to a contract extension that will keep him with the club through 2026, with options for 2027 and 2028 as well.
Free Kicks
- In preparation for the 2026 World Cup, FIFA named 26 new options across the country as “base camps” for participating teams to train and rest. Orlando was included, with OCSC’s training grounds at Osceola Heritage Park pitched alongside the Lake Nona Wave Hotel.
- ESPN‘s Jeff Kassouf dove into how the NWSL stacks up to the biggest sports leagues in the U.S. Saturday’s NWSL Championship between the Pride and Spirit should showcase just how entertaining the league is to plenty of viewers.
- Pep Guardiola will stick around as Manchester City’s manager for a couple more years after signing a two-year contract extension with the club. His contract was set to expire at the end of this season.
- Here’s a cool breakdown of the seven amateur teams that have qualified for the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup so far. None are from Florida, but there are some great logos to check out if you’re looking for a team to root for in the early rounds next year. Debutants Southern Indiana FC and the Virginia Dream are my personal favorites of the bunch.
- The draw for the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations will take place today. Zambia is in the second pot, meaning it will be put in a group of four that will include one of Nigeria, South Africa, or Morocco. The tournament itself will be in July of next year.
- Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City all clinched a spot in the Women’s Champions League quarterfinals with two games still left to play.
That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend. Go Orlando!
Orlando City
How Orlando City’s Offense Stacks Up Against What Atlanta Does Defensively
How Orlando City has performed against teams playing with three or four defenders, and how that may influence the playoff game against Atlanta United.
The most famous quote about real estate is that “there are three things that matter in property: location, location, location.” Soccer coaches also like to think in threes, especially when it comes to points, but for a soccer coach, the three things that matter might be the rhyming triplet “formation, formation, formation,” as that is where they will have the biggest influence on every game that their team plays.
Throughout his tenure as head coach, Óscar Pareja has preferred to use a 4-2-3-1 as his formation (fbref.com’s lineup data shows that the Lions primarily played a 4-2-3-1 in 65% of their MLS matches this season, and 79% of their MLS matches during the last three seasons). The Lions have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 during each of their last 14 games, and my confidence level is strong to quite strong (can you believe Meet the Parents came out 24 years ago?) that they will do so once again on Sunday when they host Atlanta United.
Atlanta United also prefers to deploy a 4-2-3-1, but was less consistent than Orlando City this season during MLS play, as evidenced by the chart below that shows how Atlanta lined up this season:
I am relying on the coders at Opta for their evaluation of the formation, as I do not watch a lot of Atlanta United matches (sounds terrible), but though Atlanta primarily played with four defenders in more than two-thirds of its matches, during the last two matches it played a 3-5-2, the only two matches all season in which interim coach Rob Valentino rolled out that formation. I suspect that the formation change was related partially to playing Inter Miami and trying to defend the Herons’ dynamic offense and partially due to an injury suffered by defender Brooks Lennon in the first game of that series. So, while Atlanta primarily played four in the back for most of the season, there is a good chance it will roll with what worked against Florida’s second-best MLS team when it plays Florida’s best MLS team this weekend.
Now, if you want to read more about Atlanta, then you can read our match preview, which will drop Sunday morning, but I want to look at how Orlando did against teams that play similar styles. Looking only at MLS games, the table below shows how Orlando City performed against different back line structures this season (the left side is how the Lions’ opponents lined up, the right side is how Orlando City performed against opponents in those formations):
Orlando City earned slightly more points per game — the stat that matters most — against teams that played four in the back, but the Lions had a better average goal differential when teams played three in the back. Atlanta will likely deploy one of those two formations. In both games against Orlando City this season, Sunday’s visitors went with a 4-2-3-1, but as mentioned earlier, they used three in the back in each of their last two matches, so it really could be either.
Soccer is not like baseball, where players primarily stay in the same spot throughout the game, so some of these stats have to be taken with a grain of salt, as players are not always rigidly in the same position throughout a match. A team may also primarily play with four in the back but switch to three when chasing a game, or five when trying to protect against a late goal.
That said, using the data around Orlando City’s opponents’ general formations, here are the attacking groups who played the most frequently against four defenders during the 24 MLS games where Opta coded the opponents as using a defensive group of four:
It is a little ominous that the main starting group, shown in row one, has played 666 MLS minutes against back lines of four this season, but do I like that green goal differential of +8 in those minutes, which is a strong +1.08 per 90 minutes. I like that goal differential more than I like all the things that Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin like on their song that is creatively named “I Like It.” Coincidentally, when people ask me what I think about that song, I say, “I like it.” I am very creative.
If we look at the lineups that Orlando City has used against back lines of three defenders then there are some pretty major differences in personnel groupings, but it must be noted that more than half of the games against teams playing three in the back came early in the season, when Ramiro Enrique was unavailable to play. Enrique, my presumed starter at striker, has played fewer than three games’ worth of minutes (265 total) against back lines of three this season, and only 28 minutes with the main starting group, which ranks 13th among all the attacking lineups for minutes played against three defenders. That group scored one goal in their 28 minutes together though, for a robust 3.21 goals-scored-per-90-minutes average.
While the team as a whole has been successful against three-man back lines, I do not expect any of the lineups shown in the table below to play more than a few minutes together this weekend, though the first row and the last row are strong groups and had a lot of success.
I am sure that all week long the Orlando City coaching staff has been going back and forth on whether it is more likely that Atlanta reverts to its most commonly used four in the back, or if the Five Stripes try for three wins in a row with three in the back. I would prefer that Atlanta plays with zero defenders and goalkeeper Brad Guzan wears a blindfold, but I think that is unlikely to be the case.
Even though Atlanta defeated Orlando City both times while in a 4-2-3-1, based on available personnel and recent results, I believe that the team will come out in a 3-5-2 in Inter&Co Stadium in the conference semifinal. Good things come in threes, and Orlando City’s best offensive production this season has been against three defenders, so I am going to be hoping that this continues, and in the third game against Atlanta the Lions grab the three points. Three’s company!
Well, it is a playoff game, so there are no actual points at stake, but you know what I meant.
Vamos Orlando!
Orlando Pride vs. Washington Spirit: Three Keys to Victory
The Case for Starting Luis Muriel Against Atlanta
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