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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Houston Dynamo: Final Score 4-0 as Tired Legs and Too Much Speed Dooms Lions

In a match that saw a number of changes from Orlando’s side, City never found a way into a game dominated by the Dynamo.

Published

7 years ago

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Nick Leyva, The Mane Land

The speed of the Houston Dynamo and the tired legs of the Lions were a bad combination, as Orlando City was blown out, 4-0, at BBVA Compass Stadium. The club suffered consecutive losses for the first time all season, after dropping both matches on its two-game road trip. Alberth Elis, Mauro Manotas (twice), and Romell Quioto provided the goals for Houston.

Orlando City (6-3-0, 18 points) played away to Houston (5-3-1, 16 points) for its third game in just eight days and second game in as many time zones just three days apart, and despite squad rotation, the Lions looked tired and slow throughout the match.

Jason Kreis made several changes, dropping Kaká and Carlos Rivas from the starting lineup and dropping Jonathan Spector from the 18. Giles Barnes started up top with Cyle Larin, atop a midfield of Antonio Nocerino at the bottom of the diamond, Luis Gil and Will Johnson on the wings, and Matias Perez Garcia at the tip. The back line consisted of Donny Toia, Tommy Redding, Jose Aja — in his return to the field — and Scott Sutter.

One noticeable name out of the starting XI for Houston was Cubo Torres, the league’s leading goal scorer. Houston wouldn’t need him.

The Dynamo were able to take advantage early, as they earned a corner kick in the first three minutes and were inside the 18 with the ball three times in that same time frame but were unable to test the MLS Player of the Month for April, Joe Bendik. Unfortunately, that didn’t last.

Toia gave away a bad foul on his own end line on the outside, right of the box early. Houston hit the ensuing free kick well, but fortunately Aja cleared it away. The ball was immediately fed back into the middle of the field, and Houston’s Manotas hit a scary ball just wide of the post. With the pressure never ceasing, the ball was turned over by the Lions again and Houston broke away to earn a penalty kick on a Johnson foul. Manotas took the shot and hit the ball wide left as Bendik was diving the opposite way, giving the Lions a momentary reprieve.

Orlando needed a break and Manotas’ miss seemed the perfect opportunity for Orlando City to take a deep breath and try to work back into the game. But it wasn’t happening for the Lions as they could never really find possession of the ball — Houston was beating them to everything and continued to dominate the game. This proved costly in the 23rd minute, as Elis beat Toia wide and fired a shot on goal that beat Bendik inside the near post on a shot that perhaps the keeper should have stopped.

Orlando City has three losses on the season and all of them came after conceding the first goal. So Elis’ strike was a bad omen.

The best threatening moment of the first half for Orlando City finally came in the 29th minute on a nice build-up, but a turnover from Sutter in Houston’s 18-yard box resulted in a fast break for the opposition. Houston pushed and managed a shot but Orlando’s Redding prevailed and the counter was squashed as the ball sailed over the goal post.

Orlando City finally earned a corner in the 35th minute of the game but it resulted in nothing positive for the men in purple as the ball was easily hit away from being any real threat. It did however, finally seem that Orlando City was pushing further up the field, resulting in better touches and more pressure against the Houston defense. The Dynamo, after 35 minutes of pressing, finally seemed fatigued and Orlando was doing a better job of making things happen at this point.

The story of the first half is simple — Houston dominated all but seven, maybe eight minutes of the game as Orlando City struggled to find its footing. The Dynamo were more than likely wondering how they didn’t score more goals, especially with a missed penalty kick. The Lions had to be thankful they didn’t get scored on more as they looked fatigued and not too much excited about playing within the first 45 minutes.

Orlando City started off the second half a little bit better, even producing its first shot on target in the 47th minute. Johnson fired a shot with a lot of pace but Houston keeper Joe Willis was not bothered as he made a comfortable save. A mere two minutes later, Houston was on the attack as Alex broke down Toia and assisted a beautiful touch pass to Manotas, who hammered the ball into the net. Bendik was able to get a piece of the ball under his leg but the shot was just powerful enough to find its way into the net.

Just before subs Kaká and Rivas made their way into the game, Barnes found an open opportunity in the middle of the 18, but the shot was taken on his weaker foot and ended up sailing away from the goal.

Kaká and Rivas finally made their way onto the field in the 58th minute with hopes of changing the tide of the game. Those hopes would seemingly dissipate rather quickly as Quioto found what seemed to be an entire field of space. Quioto came up with a transition opportunity in the 64th minute but Bendik made an amazing save in a one-on-one situation that could have put Houston up 3-0.

But then the 65th minute came, and Quioto again found himself wide open on the left flank, breaking away with great speed. This time, however, Quioto laid the ball off to a wide open Manotas, who clanked the ball in off the right post, scoring his second goal of the game.  

Larin finally got his first real chance of the game in the 71st minute, an opportunity that came in front of the goal but Willis pushed the ball back into the middle of the 18, where no Orlando City player was able to capitalize.

Kreis subbed Cristian Higuita on for Johnson in the 71st minute. A minute later, Kaká wiggled his way through defenders and set up Gil, who scuffed his shot and Orlando’s opportunity to find a way into the game.

In the 75th minute, Quioto again found himself in acres of space on the left side of the field, where his pace again left defenders in his wake, as he put away his opportunity with a well-placed shot in the top right corner, chipping Bendik. This put Houston up 4-0 and put a cap to the scoring on the night.

The last 15 minutes of the game were played out with Orlando City looking to get a consolation goal, but the final touch was missing as the Lions were unable to capitalize on their opportunities. Houston earned many of the same opportunities where they could have run up the score but Bendik was able to prevent the game from getting further out of hand than it already was.

Orlando City never found its stride in the game and along with that looked fairly fatigued. The motor we are used to seeing was absent from the players and the end result was domination from the Houston Dynamo.

The Lions are back in action at home next Saturday against Sporting Kansas City at 7:30 p.m.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions look for a third straight win at home before heading back on the road when Charlotte FC visits.

Published

9 hours ago

on

September 18, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match preview and live thread for a Wednesday night matchup between Orlando City (11-10-7, 40 points) and Charlotte FC (10-10-8, 38 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (8:15 p.m., FS1, Apple TV). This is the second of the two scheduled meetings between the southeastern teams in the regular season.

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

History

The Lions are 2-1-2 in the all-time, regular-season series and 2-2-2 in all competitions. Orlando City is 1-1-0 at home in the regular season. Every game between the two teams (aside from the draws) has been decided by a single goal.

Tonight’s hosts have gotten the better of Orlando City recently, including a 2-0-2 mark in four meetings across all competitions since the start of last season. The teams most recently met on June 19 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte and played to a 2-2 draw. The hosts struck first with an early Kerwin Vargas goal and the Lions pulled one back through Duncan McGuire in the second half. But despite Charlotte going down a man on Scott Arfield’s red card, Brandt Bronico restored the hosts’ lead shortly after McGuire’s strike. Facundo Torres struck back moments later but the Lions could not find a winner on the road.

The previous match was also a draw at Bank of America Stadium, finishing in a 1-1 draw on Aug. 30, 2023. Enzo Copetti’s late penalty appeared to wrap things up for the hosts on a rainy night in Charlotte, but Martin Ojeda’s seeing-eye set piece equalized just before stoppage time as the teams split the points.

Charlotte claimed a 1-0 “home” victory in U.S. Open Cup play on May 9 of last year. That game took place at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews, NC, rather than at the club’s regular stadium. The first matchup of the 2023 season didn’t go any better for Orlando City, finishing as a 2-1 Charlotte win at Exploria Stadium on March 18. Copetti and Vargas put Charlotte up 2-0 by halftime. Ojeda pulled one back, but the Lions were wasteful in front of goal and couldn’t pull level.

The teams met at Bank of America Stadium on Aug. 21, 2022. After a scoreless first half, Ercan Kara put the Lions ahead on the road, only to see McKinze Gaines equalize just four minutes later. Tesho Akindele’s late goal lifted Orlando to a 2-1 victory.

Orlando City won the first-ever meeting between the sides on April 30, 2022 at Exploria Stadium. Ruan scored the opening goal and set up Torres on the counter for the second as the Lions took a 2-0 lead into the locker room. Christian Fuchs scored from the spot after Rodrigo Schlegel was called for a foul in the box in the second half, but that was as close as Charlotte got in what was ultimately a 2-1 Orlando victory.

Overview

Orlando City enters tonight’s match on a two-game winning streak, with both victories coming at home by 3-0 scorelines. The most recent came Saturday against the New England Revolution, following a victory over Nashville two weeks ago. The Lions finally climbed above .500 with Saturday’s win against the Revs and pulled level at 5-5-4 at home on the season.

Charlotte enters with one of the best defensive records in Major League Soccer. Only Columbus (28) has given up fewer goals than the North Carolina side’s 31. Tonight’s visitors lost 2-1 at Montreal Saturday night and is 0-2-1 since returning from the Leagues Cup break. In an 0-2-1 road slump, Charlotte is 4-7-3 away from home in 2024.

Orlando City will need to be patient but also try to build a volume of shots against Charlotte’s stout defense, led by goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, who has posted 100 saves on the season. That’s nearly double Pedro Gallese’s 54 saves on the year, but El Pulpo has played in five fewer games due to international duty. Still, the key to beating Charlotte is to get some goals on the board, as the visitors’ offense has found the net just 32 times this season — third fewest in the Eastern Conference.

“Charlotte is a team that we’ve played not long ago, but they have three or four additions to their squad, and we are making reference to them too,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the game. “We also know those new players and inclusions in the group change their dynamics. We are aware of how we can play them or how we can contend with them. Like any other game, we’re going to try and do our best and get our points. It’s our normal routine.” 

The Lions will be without Mason Stajduhar (lower leg), who started the match in Charlotte in June, and David Brekalo (thigh). Charlotte will be without Jahlane Forbes (hip), while leading scorer Patrick Agyemang (foot) is questionable.

Match Content

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.

Defensive Midfielders: Cesar Araujo, Wilder Cartagena.

Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Martin Ojeda, Facundo Torres.

Forwards: Ramiro Enrique.

Bench: Javier Otero, Luca Petrasso, Kyle Smith, Felipe, Heine Bruseth, Nico Lodeiro, Yutaro Tsukada, Luis Muriel, Duncan McGuire.

Charlotte FC (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Kristijan Kahlina.

Defenders: Jere Uronen, Tim Ream, Adilson Malanda, Nathan Byrne.

Defensive Midfielders: Djibril Diani, Ashley Westwood.

Attacking Midfielders: Pep Biel, Brandt Bronico, Kerwin Vargas.

Forward: Patrick Agyemang.

Bench: David Bingham, Jaylin Lindsey, Andrew Privett, Brandon Cambridge, Iuri Tavares, Junior Urso, Idan Toklomati, Liel Abada, Karol Swiderski.

Referees

REF: Marcos DeOliveira.
AR1: Logan Brown.
AR2: Ricardo Ocampo.
4TH: Lorenzo Hernandez.
VAR: Daniel Radford.
AVAR: Robert Schaap.

How to Watch

Match Time: 8:15 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium  — Orlando

TV/Live Stream: FS1, MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Radio: FM 96.9 The Game (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow along at @TheManeLand, as well as Orlando City’s official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC).

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 9/18/24

Duncan McGuire likes scoring goals, the Pride are impressive, Champions League results, and more.

Published

14 hours ago

on

September 18, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. It’s match day, so I hope you are hyped for a midweek showdown with Charlotte FC. So, put on your purple, and tell you boss you don’t care about the dress code. If you haven’t done so yet, there’s still time to listen to the latest episode of The Mane Land PawedCast to help get you ready after you check out today’s links. Let’s get to it.

McGuire Happy to Score

Duncan McGuire’s goal against the New England Revolution Saturday night was his first MLS strike since June. That kind of drought isn’t something he’s used to, and he was away at the Olympics for part of that time, but he said he’s just happy to contribute to the team winning. McGuire will look to continue his scoring in tonight’s match against Charlotte FC. The Lions will need McGuire and others to contribute in this crucial Eastern Conference match. If you’re unsure whether to attend in person, take a look at all the cool stuff the club is doing tonight. Check back later today for our match preview.

The Pride are Scary Good

The still undefeated Orlando Pride are very, very good. This is obvious to anyone that looks at the standings or the records being broken on a weekly basis. Still, it’s one thing to know it and another to see it. SBNation’s Southern Sylvs got a firsthand look at the team and the experience watching the Pride at the last match against the Kansas City Current at Inter&Co Stadium. Sylvs was impressed with the atmosphere and the club, despite what I thought wasn’t their best outing.

Banda Still in Contention

The Orlando Pride’s Barbra Banda hasn’t scored as many goals as the Current’s Temwa Chawinga but that doesn’t mean she’s out of the NWSL MVP race. She has contributed quite a bit in her time with the club, and I expect that she will start putting in goals and providing assists again soon. How well the Pride do in the regular season will also likely impact the MVP selection.

Americans in the Champions League

Liverpool may have defeated AC Milan 3-1 in the first of eight UEFA Champions League matches for each club, but Christian Pulisic did score the first goal of the match.

Why pass the ball when it’s so much easier to simply score the goal yourself? That was pretty much it for AC Milan as Liverpool scored three unanswered goals to secure the victory.

Earlier in the day, Weston McKennie scored in Juventus’ 3-1 win over PSV. It was very much a right place, right time goal for the American.

lt was a good day for the Americans, and plenty of other USMNT players will be in action this week across different leagues and competitions.

Free Kicks

That will do it for today. We will have your match recap after the game tonight. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 9/17/24

Rafael Santos up for Goal of the Matchday, Lions earn recognition, stories to watch around MLS, and more.

Published

2 days ago

on

September 17, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

It wasn’t a perfect weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, but it was close. Orlando City, the Orlando Pride and Orlando City B went undefeated, and combined to take seven of the nine points available, which is hard to complain about. There’s no time to rest though, as the Lions will be back in action tomorrow at home against FC Dallas. As always, we have plenty to talk about today, so let’s get into the links.

Santos Strike Nominated for Goal of the Matchday

Rafael Santos opened the scoring in spectacular fashion during Orlando City’s 3-0 win over the New England Revolution, and his left-footed blast has been nominated for MLS Goal of the Matchday. With 22 minutes played, the Lions worked a short corner and Ivan Angulo found Santos free outside the box. The fullback took one touch to set the ball up before unleashing a dipping, curling effort that left a fully stretched Aljaz Ivacic with no chance. It was a special strike and a very worthy nomination. Make sure you go cast your vote for him to win it!

Lions Earn Weekly Recognition

In addition to his Goal of the Matchday nomination, Santos was also named to the starting lineup of the MLS Team of the Matchday as one of three defenders, while Facundo Torres was included on the bench. Outside of his goal, Santos also recorded two tackles and two clearances while helping the defense keep a clean sheet. Torres converted his penalty kick with venom, had 94% passing accuracy, and generally looked dangerous. Marcus Mitchell awarded Santos a 7 out of 10 and Torres a 7.5 out of 10 and Man of the Match honors in his player grades from the match, so it’s nice to see the pair get some recognition on a larger scale. Here’s hoping the good work continues!

Stories to Watch in MLS

Some of the flashier teams in the league might grab headlines on a consistent basis, but there are plenty of other intriguing stories happening around MLS. For one, the Lions are on a 6-1-1 run that has them up to fifth in the Eastern Conference with a game in hand on the Red Bulls in fourth. Martin Ojeda playing through the middle and moving Facu back out wide is a big reason why. Then there are the Colorado Rapids, a team that has the second-largest points-per-game increase from last season to this one. At the other end of things you have Charlotte FC, which has won just once in its last eight games and is in danger of missing out on the playoffs altogether.

Mikey Varas Will Coach San Diego FC

San Diego FC has found its first head coach, as it named former United States Men’s National Team interim head coach Mikey Varas to the top job. Varas spent several years with U.S. Soccer, and also was an assistant coach at FC Dallas under Luchi Gonzalez for three seasons. Aside from being the head coach of the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team from 2021 to 2023, this will be his only other gig as a full time head coach. Now that San Diego has that vacancy filled, it can do some serious work on building its roster ahead of its inaugural MLS season next year.

Free Kicks

  • The Orlando Pride held fast at the top spot of ESPN’s NWSL power rankings.
  • Orlando City had a big jump, as the Lions moved up six spots to ninth in ESPN’s MLS power rankings.
  • Former Orlando Pride coach Tom Sermanni has been named interim head coach of the Australian women’s national team.
  • NJ/NY Gotham FC has played on every day of the week at least once during this season.

That’s all I have for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

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