Orlando City
The Great Pretenders: Orlando City Squandered Its Fantastic Start to 2017
The promise of the best start in club history evaporated into a slow, painful death march, as Orlando City came into 2017 like proverbial lions and went out like lambs — ones that were repeatedly led to the slaughter.
Jason Kreis led his team to a 6-1 start to the season, including a 1-0 home win to christen Orlando City Stadium with a win over fellow 2015 expansion side New York City FC back on March 5. The Lions followed with a 2-1 home win over the Philadelphia Union, showing great resolve to bounce back after the Union had equalized. While the team wasn’t playing the most scintillating soccer, the Lions were showing grit and spirit — something that disappeared later in the season and was rarely seen after the calendar flipped to May.
The first bump in the road of 2017 came in a 2-0 loss at Columbus on April Fool’s Day in Scott Sutter’s first match — 19 minutes of action in all — with Orlando City. An early defensive lapse allowed Justin Meram to score the first of his two goals that day and Orlando was unable to come back, suffering the first loss of the year.
But then the Lions bounced back, winning their next four games. And not all of those were at home. City began their season-best run by dumping the New York Red Bulls, 1-0, on a Servando Carrasco header on April 9. Then came the dramatic 2-1 victory over the LA Galaxy on Cyle Larin’s late winner, as the big Canadian discarded Jermaine Jones in the first minute of stoppage and blasted home Will Johnson’s cross.
The wins over the Galaxy and Union both showed an Orlando City squad that would not fold when the pressure was on. But it turned out later to be nothing but fool’s (purple and) gold.
The first road win was next, showing Orlando City could get it done away from the club’s new soccer palace. The Lions used a Larin brace to dispatch New York City at Yankee Stadium, 2-1. The final game of the run was a 2-0 home win over the Colorado Rapids, with the Lions wearing down the visitors and getting goals from Carlos Rivas and Kaká — the former being one of the best strikes of the year.
We didn’t know it at the time, but that win over the Rapids would be the last one until the last day of May. Orlando City stood atop the table as April ended, with a 6-1 record, having outscored opponents, 10-4 and kept three clean sheets over the first two months.
The turning point came in the first game of May. It didn’t even seem like a warning sign of things to come at the time. The Lions went to BMO Field on May 3 and lost 2-1 to Toronto FC, but Orlando played great soccer for much of the game and Larin uncharacteristically missed two sitters that could have extended City’s winning streak to five games. From there, the Lions traveled directly to Houston and got waxed by the Dynamo, 4-0, in what was the true first warning bell of the year. Kreis rotated his squad and the team’s young center backs and tired fullbacks were overrun by Alberth Elis, Mauro Manotas, and Romell Quioto.
Orlando’s first consecutive losses of 2017 became a six-game winless skid, which included the first dropped points at home — a 2-2 draw vs. Sporting Kansas City on May 13 — a heartbreaking late 1-1 draw at San Jose on May 18, and back-to-back embarrassing losses. The first of those was the club’s initial loss at Orlando City Stadium in a 3-0 New York City FC romp at the purple palace. The second was a 1-0 shutout loss at a dreadful Minnesota United squad playing without Kevin Molino.
The promise of that 6-1 start was proving to be an illusion, but there was still plenty of time to get back to grinding out results, playing solid defense, and showing that iron will to overcome adversity.
D.C. United provided an oasis in the desert of poor results. Orlando City captured a home win over the Black & Red, 2-0 on May 31 to avoid a winless month. But even that game was harder than it should have been, including a gift goal that Bill Hamid gave Giles Barnes.
June was a chance to turn the page and right the ship and it didn’t quite come off, even though it nearly did. The first three matches in June were draws, but two of those were of the “good” variety and one was not only “bad,” but also extremely fortunate.
A nine-man Lions squad withstood a bad early red card and the high flying (at the time) Chicago Fire for a 0-0 home draw on June 4. That heroic defensive effort couldn’t be replicated, however, as a horror show of a game by Jose Aja led to a 3-3 home draw vs. the Montreal Impact on June 17. Matias Perez Garcia’s goal probably shouldn’t have counted, as it appeared the ball went over the end line before being crossed into the box for him, and Jonathan Spector’s header late in overtime rescued the lone point.
MPG’s first goal as a Lion turned out to be his last as the Argentine couldn’t come to terms with Orlando City on a new deal, was waived on June 28, and left for his home country.
The run of Orlando City draws reached three games when Scott Sutter’s stunner in stoppage gave the Lions a 1-1 tie at Seattle — the club’s first ever point against the Sounders. But the team stayed on the road for the second time on consecutive road games, as it did on the Toronto-Houston trip, and the result was the same in the second match. The Chicago Fire smashed the Lions, 4-0, showing the team that staying in hotels was not conducive to success. Two early David Accam goals got things rolling for the hosts and Orlando never found a way into the game.
As it did in May, Orlando City avoided a winless month in the final match of the month, with a surprising 1-0 win at Real Salt Lake. Johnson sunk his old team as Jason Kreis was victorious in his return to Rio Tinto, where he’d had so much success throughout the years.
Little did we know, that would be Orlando City’s last win for quite some time. July was nearly a carbon copy of the previous two months. Orlando lost its first two games of the Gold Cup-shortened month and took a lead into stoppage time in the last match of the month before Hector Villalba’s 92nd-minute dagger earned Atlanta United a 1-1 draw at Bobby Dodd Stadium on July 29. That was part of an overall run of eight Orlando City matches without a win, as the club also went winless in August, capping the string of futility with another embarrassing 4-0 loss at the New England Revolution on Sept. 2.
The Lions won two of their final seven games of the year (2-3-2), but the damage had been done and we rarely saw more than an occasional glimpse of the grit, resolve, and spirit the team had over the first seven matches. At year’s end, Orlando City had turned a 6-1-0 start into a complete free fall of 4-14-9 over the final 27 games, including three months without a win (July, August, and October) and two months with just a single victory in both May and June — both in the final game of the month.
What happened? The team started off so promisingly that a playoff appearance seemed all but certain if Orlando could just be average the rest of the way. It couldn’t.
Even if Orlando City was a bad team, a 4-14-9 run seems inconceivable for a squad that managed to beat New York City FC twice — including once on the road — in the first seven outings. Isolated good outings after May 1 weren’t rewarded with three points — the loss at Toronto comes to mind. The 0-0 draw against Chicago with just nine men was a throwback to the resolve and determination the team showed early on. Where was that late in the first two meetings against Atlanta when Villalba was breaking hearts?
It’s hard to say how things spiraled so completely out of control. A more congested schedule — particularly in May — more road games, inconsistency at the center back position opposite Spector, and Larin’s mid-season scoring slump all contributed, to be sure.
Still, this team stopped playing like a team at some point, and that was all the difference to me. It’s likely the team was never as good as its record in March and April indicated, and yet could it possibly be as bad as the 4-14-9 nosedive suggests? If so, the 2017 Lions who began the year so brightly truly were the great pretenders.
Orlando City
Inside the Numbers: Goal Scoring and Shot Creation for Orlando City, OCB, and the Pride
A comparison among all three Orlando teams on where their goals and chance creation have come from.
Starting next week, all three Orlando teams will be back in season. After playing the most games (15) going into the World Cup break, Orlando City will return having played fewer games than both the Pride (will be at 16 games) and Orlando City B (will be at 19 games). MLS NEXT Pro channeled, fittingly, its inner Junior Senior and said we “won’t stop (won’t stop) won’t stop the beat” and kept playing through the break, hence OCB’s large lead in games played. The Pride returned two weeks ago, and are in the midst of a two-game week to vault them past Orlando City as well.
As of the writing of this article Orlando City had played 15 games, the Pride 14, and OCB 18, and with all teams coming back into action this felt like a good time to have a good time by talking about the most fun part of soccer — creating chances and scoring goals. Goalkeepers might disagree with that statement, but they can take inspiration by what they see when they look left and right on the goal line and pipe down.
The three charts below show every player who has scored at least one goal for any of the three Orlando teams thus far this season, using FotMob’s data for “chances created.” Chances created is FotMob’s category name for the stat also known as key passes (the MLS and MLS NEXT Pro websites track these pretty well, the NWSL’s website not so much), which are classified as the final pass that happened before a player takes a shot.
We’ll start with the Pride, using data through their game against Kansas City on July 10:
| Player | Minutes | Goals | Goal Share | Chances Created* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barbra Banda | 1,017 | 12 | 57% | 1.59 |
| Haley McCutcheon | 1,260 | 2 | 10% | 1.29 |
| Hannah Anderson | 545 | 2 | 10% | 0.17 |
| Marta | 346 | 2 | 10% | 1.30 |
| Cori Dyke | 1,244 | 1 | 5% | 0.14 |
| Jacquie Ovalle | 520 | 1 | 5% | 2.25 |
| Nicole Payne | 249 | 1 | 5% | 0.72 |
*per 90 minutes
Barbra Banda’s production continues to be prodigious. She is currently the only player in league history to play more than 1,000 minutes in a season and average more than one goal per 90 minutes (1.06). Her 12 goals accounts for nearly three out of every five scored by the Pride, and she is the only player in the league with a goal share higher than 50%, which says just as much about the rest of the Pride’s offense as it does Banda. Center back Hannah Anderson ranking in a tie for second among goal scorers is also a little concerning.
On the flip side of that concern, however, is a reminder that Marta and Jacquie Ovalle have not even played a combined 900 minutes. When they play, they create shots — in particular Ovalle, who is in the top 10 in the league in chances created per 90 minutes — and Pride fans can continue to imagine what it would be like to see a front line of Banda, Ovalle, and Marta, and to see how they would all create shots and goals for one another.
Moving from one team with a dominant primary scorer to another, Orlando City is up next:
| Player | Minutes | Goals | Goal Share | Chances Created* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martín Ojeda | 1,313 | 11 | 48% | 1.58 |
| Griffin Dorsey | 951 | 2 | 9% | 0.85 |
| Marco Pašalić | 642 | 2 | 9% | 0.70 |
| Duncan McGuire | 481 | 2 | 9% | 1.12 |
| Tyrese Spicer | 440 | 2 | 9% | 1.43 |
| Tiago | 584 | 1 | 4% | 0.46 |
| Justin Ellis | 534 | 1 | 4% | 1.69 |
| Luis Otávio | 417 | 1 | 4% | 0.22 |
| Ignacio Gómez | 14 | 1 | 4% | 0.00 |
*per 90 minutes
Martín Ojeda’s 48% goal share (it’s actually 47.8%, but I rounded all the goal shares to two digits, which is why that column does not appear to sum to 100%; you can breathe a sigh of relief, the math maths) ranks him just behind the 48.1% of Chicago’s Hugo Cuypers, and those two players are the only two players above 45% in MLS. Orlando City’s pattern looks remarkably similar to the Pride’s, with one player scoring most of the goals and everyone else at two or one. The arrival of Antoine Griezmann and the rumored return of Daryl Dike could, and probably should, change that, but we know that Duncan McGuire will not score any more goals for the Lions and Marco Pašalić is also rumored to be moving on as well, so it likely will be someone else who steps up.
Please someone step up.
When it comes to creating shots, Orlando City does not have a go-to player like Ovalle, but both Justin Ellis and Ojeda are in the top 40 in the league. As will be seen below, Ellis is already an elite creator when playing against players his own age, and in a decent sample of minutes, he has shown he has the talent to compete at the MLS level. The next few weeks will reveal a lot about his ability to continue to contribute, as teams have now had the chance to watch him play in MLS and will have him in their game plans once the season resumes. I think he will continue to excel, especially since in recent weeks he has had a chance to play alongside and learn from Griezmann.
Speaking of Griezmann, Orlando City’s newest Lion created 1.90 chances per 90 minutes in La Liga and 1.86 during Champions League play this past season, so I think it is a safe assumption that Griezmann will immediately create chances at a high level once the season resumes. The big question will be if someone will step up to complement Ojeda as a second scorer. Again, I beg someone to do so.
And now for OCB, a team with plenty of players who have stepped up:
| Player | Minutes | Goals | Goal Share | Chances Created* |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pedro Leão | 1,195 | 7 | 19% | 1.51 |
| Harvey Sarajian | 1,118 | 5 | 14% | 2.01 |
| Gustavo Caraballo | 895 | 4 | 11% | 2.41 |
| Justin Ellis | 356 | 3 | 8% | 3.03 |
| Justin Hylton | 398 | 3 | 8% | 1.13 |
| Matthew Belgodere | 847 | 3 | 8% | 2.13 |
| Issah Haruna | 1,171 | 3 | 8% | 1.54 |
| Bernardo Rhein | 1,428 | 2 | 5% | 1.58 |
| Ignacio Gómez | 902 | 2 | 5% | 0.50 |
| Nicolas Lasheras | 259 | 1 | 3% | 0.35 |
| Zakaria Taifi | 254 | 1 | 3% | 0.35 |
| Jacob Ramírez | 218 | 1 | 3% | 0.83 |
| Caleb Trombino | 316 | 1 | 3% | 1.14 |
| Dylan Judelson | 1,030 | 1 | 3% | 0.61 |
*per 90 minutes
The Young Lions do not have a single scorer dominating the chart like the other two Orlando teams, but unlike their fellow teams, they have an abundance of players who have scored more than twice this season. Seven different players have scored three or more times and 14 players have scored at least once. As a team, OCB ranks fourth in the league in goals scored per game. No player accounts for more than 20% of the team’s goals, making OCB difficult to defend.
Another reason the Young Lions are difficult to defend is that so many players are constantly looking to set up their teammates for shots and are skilled enough to be able to do so. Four attacking players have created more than two chances per 90 minutes, including the aforementioned Ellis, during his early season games with OCB, and defender Bernardo Rhein creates more shots than almost everyone on Orlando City and the Pride.
The diversity of OCB’s attack, especially as compared to the senior Lions and the Pride, is on display in the chart below, which shows all of the players who have scored at least one goal in league play and their associated chances created per 90 minutes values. OCB’s players are in yellow, Orlando City’s in purple, and the Pride’s in light blue.
It may be subjective whether you think Florida sits on the Gulf of Mexico or the Gulf of America, but there is also a gulf in Orlando and that is between Banda and Ojeda and the rest of their teammates.
Hopefully, by the time the regular seasons wrap up for all three teams, the gulf is more like a cove, or better yet a stream, as additional scorers have emerged like hot springs for the Lions and the Pride. OCB will be fine if it continues to flood the field with all of its attacking talent. It is the senior teams that need to look deep inside the well to find some additional scorers.
By this time next week, all three seasons will be going again, and with the games coming fast and furious in July and August, we will rapidly see if the second part of the season will look like more of the same, or if that World Cup break will lead to a sea change as the season continues.
Vamos Orlando!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 7/16/26
Orlando City wins friendly, Orlando Pride beaten at home, MLS season returns tonight, and much more.
How’s it going, Mane Landers? For those of us in Florida, it looks like some storms could be heading our way this week. While that can be a bit annoying if you have outdoor plans, hopefully it will make some of this oppressive heat a bit more bearable. Both the Orlando Pride and Orlando City B are on the road on Saturday, so we may get to dodge some dreaded weather delays as well. But for now, let’s get to the links!
Orlando City Wins Friendly at FC Dallas
The Lions went to Texas for a friendly against FC Dallas and won 2-1 at Texas Health Mansfield Stadium — home of North Texas SC, FC Dallas’ MLS NEXT Pro side. Antoine Griezmann seems to be settling in nicely with the club, scoring yet again in this friendly after doing so a week ago against the Tampa Bay Rowdies. Martin Ojeda also got on the scoresheet in the first half and you can check out both finishes below.
While I don’t put too much stock in friendlies, it sure does feel better to be on the winning side of them. This was the final tune-up for Orlando before the Lions hit the road for a match against the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday in their first league game since May.
Orlando Pride Shut Out At Home
The Orlando Pride hosted the Boston Legacy and weren’t able to get a result in a 1-0 loss at Inter&Co Stadium. Barbara Olivieri scored the game’s only goal in the 17th minute to give Boston the lead. Orlando had its chances to equalize but couldn’t manage to put together a finished product in the end. This was Orlando’s third loss to an expansion side this season (0-3-1) as the Pride picked up only one point out of 12 in four matches against Boston and Denver. It’s been a season of inconsistency for the Pride, but hopefully that means they’ll come back stronger in Saturday’s road match against the Utah Royals.
MLS Season Returns Tonight
MLS is back! While the Lions aren’t in action until Wednesday, the season resumes tonight with an exciting slate of games. Many eyes will be on the match between the Chicago Fire and Vancouver Whitecaps, as it could include Robert Lewandowski’s MLS debut. While it’s a brand new team and league for the forward, he’d be going up against a familiar face in former Bayern Munich teammate Thomas Muller, who has helped Vancouver climb to the top of the Western Conference. Other intriguing matchups tonight include a Canadian clash between CF Montreal and Toronto FC and a rivalry game between the Seattle Sounders and Portland Timbers. On Friday, Nashville will host Atlanta United before the LA Galaxy and LAFC square off in the latest edition of El Trafico.
Argentina Will Face Spain in World Cup Final
Argentina orchestrated yet another dramatic victory this World Cup, beating England 2-1 to advance to the World Cup final to face Spain. After a scoreless first half, Anthony Gordon gave England the lead in the 55th minute with his first goal of the tournament. England shifted gears and parked the bus to defend its lead, but Enzo Fernandez scored an equalizer in the 85th minute and Lautaro Martinez gave Argentina its winner in stoppage time. Lionel Messi assisted on both goals, and Argentina is now just one game away from winning its second consecutive World Cup. Sunday’s final should be a great match pitting Argentina’s potent offense up against a Spanish defense that has only conceded once all tournament.
Free Kicks
- Former Lion Alex Freeman was noted as one of many players whose stock likely went up due to their World Cup performance. Hopefully, a solid summer translates to more playing time with Villarreal and an eventual transfer for Orlando City to benefit from due to the sell-on percentage.
- Duncan McGuire wasted no time scoring for his new team, putting the ball in the back of the net early on in the Houston Dynamo’s 2-1 friendly win against America de Cali.
- The Galaxy added Finnish forward Robert Taylor as a free agent, signing him to a contract through the end of the year with an option for all of 2027 as well.
- The Philadelphia Union are reportedly finalizing the return of Kai Wagner, who only just left the Union for Birmingham City in January.
- The San Jose Earthquakes are reportedly close to signing Australian forward Luka Jovanovic, who scored 11 goals last season for Adelaide United.
- Enjoy this comprehensive list of United States Men’s National Team head coach candidates should Mauricio Pochettino find a new gig.
That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 7/15/26
Daryl Dike’s potential return, Orlando Pride prepare for Boston, World Cup news, and more.
Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. Oh boy, do we have some news for you today. Between the Orlando Pride match tonight, the World Cup this afternoon, and some potential big signings, we have a lot to get to. We also want to wish a very happy birthday to Orlando City B goalkeeper Tristan Himes. Now, let’s get to the links.
The Return of Dike(?)
Forget “It’s coming home,” rather he’s coming home! Per Tom Bogert, Daryl Dike is set to return to Orlando City after his multi-year stint with West Bromwich Albion. Dike had a rough go of it in England, mainly due to injuries he sustained. I figure he just needs some Florida sunshine and the team at Orlando Health to help find the form that made him a terror to Orlando City’s opponents.
It also seems that the departure of Marco Pasalic is not a done deal. There has not been an official bid as of yet, and if Orlando City’s valuation isn’t met, then he may be staying. If he stays, he bolsters the attack. If not, well that’s what Dike is coming back to do and it would supply the Lions with plenty of coin to bolster the roster.
Orlando Pride Set for Boston Legacy
The Orlando Pride host expansion side Boston Legacy FC at Inter&Co Stadium tonight. The Pride will look to avenge a 2-1 loss earlier this season in Boston. After defeating the Kansas City Current over the weekend, Seb Hines’ squad will want to keep the home winning streak going. This may be Barbra Banda’s last match before heading out for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations tournament later this month, so take the opportunity to head to the match if you are in the Orlando area.
World Cup News
France was unable to keep things going as Spain defeated Les Bleus 2-0 on Bastille Day. La Roja now wait to see whether Argentina or England will be the opponent in the final. As they have done so many times this World Cup, the Spanish did not allow a goal and did enough offensively to advance. Lamine Yamal earned a penalty that Mikel Oyarzabal slotted home to give Spain a lead in the 22nd minute. Pedro Porro added another in the second half and France was unable to muster any magic.
Later today, England and Argentina square off to see which team will play the Spaniards. The amount of history between these teams at World Cups is enough to make most watch the match. I think the bigger question is which team does Gianni Infantino want to win, and will we see the same shenanigans we’ve seen in previous matches featuring these two teams? Don’t worry, England. I’m sure it’ll be fine.
USMNT Reflections
There’s been a bit of space and time for all of us to process the USMNT’s performance at the World Cup and it isn’t all doom and gloom. None other than Carli Lloyd said that despite the way it ended, it was a successful outing for the U.S. Matt Freese is trying to see the positives even though he made a costly mistake that gave up a goal to Belgium. Folarin Balogun said what I was thinking in that a certain phone call about his red card did affect the USMNT’s nerves heading into the match against Belgium. Lastly, the future could be bright thanks to these five USMNT prospects.
Free Kicks
- Atlanta United has signed Chilean defender Paulo Diaz on a free transfer. I didn’t realize a team could improve the defense with signings.
- As I alluded to above, Ismail Elfath will lead an all-U.S. Soccer referee crew for the match between Argentina and England. I’m curious to see how it plays out.
- If you want to watch the Bundesliga, you may need to get another streaming service as the U.S. rights are moving from ESPN to USA Network & Fandango.
- Charlotte FC is ending the practice of charging Personal Seat Licenses (PSLs) in an effort to stem declining attendance and slower ticket sales. I’m glad that was an experiment that failed in MLS even if it is standard in other American professional sports.
- The New England Revolution have signed 18-year-old Peyton Miller to a contract extension through the 2028-2029 season.
- Former Orlando City B defender Nabi Kibunguchy has signed with USL Championship side Indy Eleven. We wish him luck with his new team.
That will do it for today. Check back later for our coverage of the Orlando Pride’s match against Boston Legacy FC. You can follow The Mane Land on Bluesky for updates. Vamos Orlando!
Inside the Numbers: Goal Scoring and Shot Creation for Orlando City, OCB, and the Pride
Orlando Pride vs. Boston Legacy FC: Five Takeaways
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