Orlando City
Orlando City vs. D.C United: Player Grades and Man of the Match
![](https://themaneland.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/OCvFCC-2019.05-47-1-scaled.jpg)
Well, another opener, another late goal for Orlando City. The Lions played about an hour a man down and still managed to come from behind to draw D.C. United, 1-1 at Orlando City Stadium. It was the Lions’ third such stoppage-time equalizer in four MLS opening days.
Despite the adversity, the Lions were able to steal a point on opening night, and here are my player grades. Yours may vary.
Starters
GK, Joe Bendik, 7.5 — Bendik was Bendik. He had two save-of-the-week nominees, the first coming on the saved penalty kick off the crossbar and left post. He also had a beautiful leaping save in the second half that kept the game 1-0. Bendik did slip up on the Yamil Asad goal as he misjudged a clear punch out situation on the set piece and got caught. Overall, a great opening game for Bendik.
D, Mohamed El-Munir, 6.5 — Even though he had some rough patches on defense throughout, El-Munir played as a powerhouse defensive player, staying physical through the entire game and creating some opportunities out of it. It was also his MLS debut, so forcing yourself into almost every play and playing a physical role was very important for the Lions. He also kept the game 1-0 with a crucial tackle on Darren Mattocks in the 79’ minute on a breakaway. El-Munir showed that he can play in the starting 11 for games to come.
D, Amro Tarek, 5.5 — Amro Tarek had a solid outing, even though he appeared lost for most of the first half. He picked up his play throughout the second half, being much more involved in the action and creating some plays for the Lions’ offensive attack. Tarek will improve throughout the year, but tonight was an average night for the Egyptian defender, filling in for presumed future starter Lamine Sané.
D, Jonathan Spector, 7.5 — Oh captain, my captain. Spector represented the Lions well in his first game as captain succeeding Kaká, and he played solid in his role. His diving header kept D.C. from scoring off the rebound of Bendik’s saved penalty. Spector held the back line up well being down a man, and his passing was also solid, which was evident on the assist to Pinho that led to the Lions scoring the game tying goal in the 90’+3 minute. Solid outing for the captain and a great assist that sent the fans home happy.
D, Scott Sutter, 8 — Sutter played a very solid game throughout, playing great defense on the outside and also coming up and delivering solid crosses that created attempts for the Lions’ offense. Sutter also passed the ball around the pitch well as a whole, helping Orlando City post an 82% passing rating. I believe Sutter’s presence on both ends of the field kept the Lions calm, and that allowed for the draw to occur even after he was subbed off. I was surprised to see him subbed off, but he played an amazing game on the outside on both the defensive and offensive end of the field.
MF, Cam Lindley, 5 — I feel as I am being generous here to Lindley by giving him this grade, as I believed he had a rough night. He had a horrific early turnover in the second minute and obtained the yellow card that let to the Asad goal, but he also settled into the club pretty well after being put in a position that he has never been placed in before — and in his MLS debut. Overall average game for Lindley, and hopefully these minutes were a stepping stone for progress in his talent.
MF, Victor “PC” Giro, 5 — Yes I know, he got sent off in the 41st minute, but PC was playing very well before his eventual red card. He was all over the field and played with rare and minor mistakes, but the red card as mentioned before did not allow him to play a full 90 minutes, let alone a full half. PC played well though, but a suspension for a game is ahead due to the red card.
MF, Will Johnson, 6 — Johnson was relatively quiet, but he also kept the midfield intact after the PC red card. Johnson had three fouls through the entire game, so his presence was felt physically but not much in terms of set pieces and important plays. Not much to say here about Johnson, an average night for him.
MF, Yoshi Yotún, 7 — Yotún was easily the most versatile midfielder on the pitch, and beside the Pinho goal, he had the best opportunity on net but was denied by Frederic Brilliant right on the line. Besides that, Yotún was all over the pitch and created numerous opportunities for himself and others. He officially finished with two shots and two chances created, with a game-high 95 touches.
F, Chris Mueller, 6.5 — For it being his first MLS game, Mueller played solidly. He was eventually subbed off for Stéfano Pinho, but while he was on the pitch, he showed flashes of what is to come from the youngster. Mueller had a few good opportunities, his best being a clean header win that went wide right. He had other good chances as well, but the ball never found the back of the net for the rookie. He also put in a dangerous cross for Meram. Overall, a very solid outing for his first MLS start.
F, Justin Meram, 8 (Man of the Match) — Meram was a thorn in the side of the D.C. United defense, creating numerous attacks that didn’t result in any goals, but kept D.C. on their toes. Meram’s ability to create opportunities in one-on-one situations was key, and he also sent in a few crosses that almost ended up in the back of the net as well. Meram showed his flexibility playing at striker instead of on the wing, which in the long run may help the Lions with the amount of injuries currently on the squad. Meram didn’t net a goal, but he did notch a secondary assist on Pinho’s goal and created a game-high four chances and fired a team-high three shots, while maintaining an 86% passing accuracy. His constant pressure and nifty nutmegs around the pitch gives him the edge as my Man of the Match.
Substitutes
F, Stefáno Pinho (58’), 7 — All credit to Pinho, who scored the game-tying goal, as he placed himself perfectly in the box for Spector to send in an easy assist and tie the game in stoppage time. Pinho did not start ahead of Chris Mueller, but he came on and played a very solid second half to help the Lions steal a point.
MF, Richie Laryea (66’), 6 — Laryea came on for Lindley, and played a great role in the midfield, only having one unsuccessful pass throughout his time on the pitch. He did have one shot that was way off target, but his overall tick-tack style of play was crucial for the Lions in the second half and he drew a couple of free kicks. Laryea was able to keep some plays alive with numerous recoveries and his overall style of play was solid. Good night for Richie, overall.
D, RJ Allen (81’), N/A — Allen did what he could do for only being on the pitch for about nine minutes, but he didn’t do anything wrong at all. He had two nice passes into the box in stoppage time that were deflected, but they kept D.C. honest in the comeback effort. Allen also played offensively due to the situation and was never really tested by D.C. on defense. Can’t fault Allen here at all, and he was a nice substitution option for Kreis.
Well, that’s what I thought about the match, lets see who you think was the Man of the Match. Vote below!
Polling Closed
Player | Votes |
Justin Meram | 188 |
Joe Bendik | 38 |
Scott Sutter | 5 |
Jonathan Spector | 41 |
Yoshí Yotun | 17 |
Stéfano Pinho | 8 |
Other (put it in the comments!) | 8 |
Opinion
Martin Ojeda Can Further Build on an Improved 2024
Martin Ojeda has picked things up after a slow start to the season, but he has room to play even better.
![](https://themaneland.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/OCvMontreal-LeaguesCup-2024.07.26-29-1-scaled.jpg)
Argentinian attacking midfielder Martin Ojeda finished his maiden season in an Orlando City uniform with six goals and 10 assists. While 16 goal contributions in his first year in a new league with unfamiliar surroundings isn’t a terrible return, there was a widespread sense that he didn’t perform at the level the Lions needed from a Designated Player. He improved the deeper Orlando got into the year though, and coming into the 2024 season, a lot of the projections involving OCSC being one of the best teams in the league were predicated on him taking the next step and becoming a true force in Major League Soccer. So, has that happened?
The broad numbers say that it hasn’t. Through 27 appearances and 1,582 minutes, Ojeda has three goals and eight assists, compared to six goals and 10 assists in 34 appearances and 1,751 minutes in 2023. The Argentine still has time to eclipse his totals from last year, but barring a positively explosive run of form, it’ll take him more minutes to do so. For my money, it isn’t quite that simple though.
For one thing, Ojeda has shown improvement in two key areas: passing accuracy and key passes. His accuracy is up to 84% in 2024, while it was 79% last season. He’s also already eclipsed his total for key passes in 2023, currently sitting on 45, compared to the 42 he finished with in his debut season in purple. That suggests that not only is he passing the ball better, but he’s also putting it in more dangerous areas than previously. Some of that is to be expected, considering his shift into the center of the field to play the no. 10, but he’s still had to adapt to the new position, and he’s looked more and more comfortable as the year has continued.
Let’s talk about that positional change a little. The first few months of the season were ugly for just about everyone wearing an Orlando City jersey. Guys were hurt, off on international duty, or suspended, and many of the ones who could play were forced to do so in positions that weren’t natural for them. At various points throughout the early months of 2024, he found himself playing in the hole behind two strikers, as a deep-lying playmaker, deputizing at striker himself, or dropped from the starting XI entirely.
It was hard to argue with him coming off the bench, as he had just three assists in the 16 games prior to the LAFC match on June 15. He got his first league goal of the year in that match though, and in the 11 games since then, he’s recorded two goals and four assists. While not a staggering return, he’s trending in the right direction. Outside of the numbers, he looks capable of being able to produce at a higher level.
Saturday’s match against Nashville SC provided two specific instances which I found encouraging. The first was his assist on Ivan Angulo’s opening goal, specifically the way in which Ojeda created the goal.
Everything about that is fantastic. The anticipation and work rate to get into a position to intercept the wayward pass, the vision to see Angulo’s position, the quick decision to play the one-touch pass, and the execution to deliver that pass squarely on the money. One of the knocks on Ojeda in an OCSC shirt has been his decision making and execution in the final third, as at times he’s settled for long potshots or held onto the ball too long before trying to find a teammate. None of that was on display here, and the speed of thought, coupled with the execution, meant that Orlando grabbed an early lead.
Let’s then talk about the turn he executed at midfield during the buildup to Facundo Torres’ first goal. Ojeda receives the ball, takes a touch, neatly slips it through a defender’s legs, and then immediately drives hard at the Nashville defense before releasing the ball and finding Torres in space. It’s one moment of skill, but it’s something that happens when you have a guy who’s playing with confidence, and the fact that he then made the right pass at the right time makes it even better.
Those are the moments that we’ve started to see more of from the Designated Player as the year has gone on, and we’ll need to continue seeing more of if Orlando City wants to keep pushing up the table.
Ojeda has a chance to improve on his debut season and really make an impact for the Lions down the stretch. If he keeps playing with confidence, making the correct decisions, and executing in the way that he’s shown this summer, it should bode well for OCSC. Vamos Orlando!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 9/6/24
Amanda Allen loaned to Lexington SC, Alex Morgan announces retirement, USMNT prepares for Canada, and more.
![](https://themaneland.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/DSC_0068.jpg)
Happy Friday! I don’t have many plans this weekend, but am still looking forward to the next few days after a hectic week. When not working, I plan on finally starting Book of Night by Holly Black and figuring out how to make the most out of some dark rum I was gifted. For now though, let’s get to today’s links from around the soccer world!
Amanda Allen Loaned to Lexington SC
The Orlando Pride have loaned forward Amanda Allen to Lexington SC for the remainder of the USL Super League season. This decision should give Allen some valuable minutes, and the loan includes a right to recall as well. The 19-year-old has made 17 appearances since joining the Pride and had an assist in this year’s season opener. She is also currently in Colombia for the U-20 Women’s World Cup and her Canada squad takes on Brazil tonight. Hopefully she’s able to tear it up in the USL Super League’s inaugural season.
Alex Morgan Announces Her Retirement
American forward Alex Morgan has announced that she will retire after the San Diego Wave’s match on Sunday. She also announced that she is pregnant with her second child.
In her 224 international appearances, Morgan scored 123 goals and was a major force behind the USWNT’s back-to-back World Cup victories in 2015 and 2019. At the club level, she has played in every year of the NWSL’s existence and joined the Orlando Pride ahead of their inaugural season in 2016. In her six years in Orlando, Morgan recorded 23 goals and 10 assists in 69 appearances. Off the field, she’s been an outspoken supporter of equality and increased investment in women’s sports. We wish her the best of luck after a legendary career.
USMNT Faces Canada on Saturday
The United States Men’s National Team will take on Canada on Saturday in Kansas City in the first of two friendlies this month. Plenty has changed since the U.S. beat Canada in a penalty shootout in the 2023 Concacaf Gold Cup quarterfinals, particularly on the sideline. American coach Jesse Marsch was hired by Canada in May, while the U.S. will be led by Mikey Varas in an interim capacity amid buzz that Mauricio Pochettino will take over. The U.S. is without Giovanni Reyna for these friendlies due to injury, with Cade Cowell replacing him. Canada boasts a talented roster that includes a trio of former Lions in Cyle Larin, Richie Laryea, and Kamal Miller. After this match, the USMNT will take on New Zealand on Tuesday.
Keeping Up With International Soccer
San Marino may be one of the smallest countries in the world, but it arguably had the biggest win of a busy day of international soccer after beating Liechtenstein 1-0 for its first competitive victory. Elsewhere in the UEFA Nations League, Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 900th career goal in Portugal’s 2-1 win over Croatia, while Spain was held to a scoreless draw in Serbia.
The third round of AFC World Cup qualifying is underway and Australia was upset 1-0 at home by Bahrain. Japan suffered no such setback though, dominating China in a 7-0 home win. Palestine drew 0-0 against South Korea in Seoul, which is no easy task.
CONMEBOL’s World Cup qualifiers have also resumed, and Bolivia came up with a huge 4-0 win in high altitude against Venezuela to move up the table. We may see some Lions in action today. Facundo Torres and Uruguay take on Paraguay, while Pedro Gallese, Wilder Cartagena, and Peru host Colombia.
Free Kicks
- FC Cincinnati’s Luca Orellano won MLS Goal of the Matchday for scoring from nearly 80 yards out to beat CF Montreal goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois. Orlando’s Facundo Torres placed second in the voting for his volleyed strike against Nashville SC.
- NJ/NY Gotham FC forward Ella Stevens was named NWSL Player of the Month after recording three goals and two assists in August.
- Argentina beat Brazil in blind soccer at the Paralympics, ending Brazil’s unbeaten streak that has lasted the past 20 years. France and Argentina will face off in the gold medal game on Saturday.
- Chris Jurasek has stepped down as Chelsea’s chief executive after a year in the position, with Jason Gannon replacing him.
That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!
Orlando City
Predictions for Orlando City’s Remaining Games of the 2024 Season
A deep dive into Orlando City’s final seven opponents and predictions on the Lions will do in those matchups.
![](https://themaneland.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/CityReper83124-42.jpg)
We do not often write about National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell at The Mane Land, but it is clear that the NFL was intentional about scheduling its season-opening weekend on a bye weekend for Orlando City, lest they lose all of their viewers to watching the team that you know and I know is the most exciting team to watch in all of sports. Fittingly for the city of Orlando, that excitement has been similar to a roller coaster this season, with ups and downs throughout, but with positive results in eight of the last 10 matches and wins in six of those matches, the team is clearly now heading in the right direction. The question remains whether the Lions will continue this climb or if they are just leading up to a sudden drop.
The Lions have seven games remaining on their regular-reason schedule, and at a quick glance it would appear like they have an excellent chance of continuing their hot streak and picking up points in more than half of those games. The next games in order are:
- Home vs. New England (1.04 points/game this season, 23rd in MLS)
- Home vs. Charlotte (1.41, 14th)
- At Columbus (1.96, second)
- At Dallas (1.22, 18th)
- Home vs. Philadelphia (1.11, 21st)
- At Cincinnati (1.89, fourth)
- Home vs. Atlanta (1.15, 20th)
As Orlando City is currently on a pace of 1.37 points per game, which is 15th in MLS, the Lions are playing four teams with lower points per game this season, one that is nearly the same, and two that have been performing better thus far this season.
In looking a little deeper at the seven remaining opponents, however, that schedule actually starts to look a little more difficult. If you look at the results from the most recent five matches instead of the season as a whole, Orlando City is playing four teams (Columbus, Dallas, Philadelphia, Atlanta) that are performing better recently than they had been for all games prior to their most recent five games. Two of those teams (Columbus and Dallas) are tied with Orlando City for second in MLS, with 10 points from their last five games. Unfortunately for Orlando City, both of those games against Columbus and Dallas will be on the road, but then again, Orlando’s road record of 6-3-5 (1.50 points/game) is better than its home record of 4-4-5 (1.23 points/game), so perhaps that is actually fortunate.
In looking even deeper, well, this chart will help show how all over the place Orlando City’s opponents really are when you look at their full season performance and also their more recent performance. (PPG = points per game and GDG = goal differential per game, which I needed to use instead of just plain goal differential, since the teams have not all played the same amount of games.)
New England’s -0.84 under Full Season GDG means that for the full season the Revolution have been losing games by an average of 0.84 goals per game.
![](https://themaneland.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Last-7-Games-1024x257.png)
A few takeaways from this chart:
- I mentioned earlier that four teams are getting better results recently than they had been before the most recent five matches, but Dallas and Philadelphia are both playing significantly better than they had before, while Atlanta and Columbus are only playing slightly better than they had before.
- That said, Columbus was playing really well and is still playing really well, so that lack of improvement is relative, since the Crew did not have a lot of room to improve and yet they still did.
- Cincinnati is a stunning case, since the club had only lost four of its first 22 matches before losing four of its next five. And in those four losses, Cincinnati was outscored 9-2, leading to that big drop in GDG. Even with that swoon, Cincinnati is still ranked fourth overall in MLS and third in the Eastern Conference in points per game.
- Lastly, the section on the far right shows how each team has performed at home or on the road this season. The Match Location is for Orlando City, and the Opponent PPG shows, for example, that Philadelphia averages 1.31 points on the road this season. Orlando City has a better location-based PPG than its opponent in only three (New England, Charlotte, Atlanta) of the final seven games.
During each of the last three seasons, Orlando City earned at least 48 points during the regular season, and to make it four years in a row, the Lions will need to pick up at least 11 points from these final seven games. Here are the possible points the Lions can still earn, based on the number of wins they could have in those seven games:
![](https://themaneland.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Possible-7-Game-Results.png)
Just looking at the math, it is possible that they could get to 11 points with only two wins, but that would require no losses in the other five games, and I think that is asking a lot for a team that has lost 37% of its games thus far this season. I think the most likely way that Orlando City gets to at least 11 points is three wins and two draws or four wins and any number of draws, so we need to rank the final seven opponents based on the likelihood of an Orlando City win.
Before we do that, however, we should note that Orlando City’s only MLS loss in its last seven MLS matches was at Sporting Kansas City, a team that is among the hottest in MLS, with results in four of its last five matches. Even though SKC lost, it played some close matches with several of the top teams in the league (LA Galaxy, Real Salt Lake, Colorado, Vancouver) before that. Perhaps Orlando City’s loss away in Kansas City was not as bad as it seemed at the time.
No, that loss still stunk.
Coming back to our ranking, I got out my mathematics degree, shined it up, blew it a kiss, and then put together a very fancy (read: very simple) algorithm using standard deviations to determine the order of most to least likely for Orlando City to get a win, with a formula that went:
![](https://themaneland.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Algorithm-1024x262.png)
That formula produced the list below, ranked in order of the upcoming schedule, accompanied by the team’s rank in order of likelihood of Orlando City getting a win (higher numbers mean Orlando City is more likely to win):
![](https://themaneland.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Rank-Order.png)
Whether this algorithm is correct or not, there is no doubt that the next two games for Orlando City are absolutely critical in both the made-up pursuit of a fourth straight season of at least 48 points and the more important push to secure a playoff berth and the opportunity to win MLS Cup. The next game (New England) is always the most important game, and after that, Orlando City could have an opportunity to pass Charlotte and move up the table, depending on how the Lions do against New England and how Charlotte does in its Sept. 14 match against CF Montréal. Both matches are at home, and despite their poor overall home record the Lions have three wins and one draw in their last four home MLS games. It would be quite nice to extend that to five wins in their last six before going on the road to Columbus.
I am going to predict that Orlando City does indeed win against New England and Charlotte, loses on the road at Columbus, ties at Dallas, ties Philadelphia, loses at Cincinnati, and closes with a home win over Atlanta for a final record of 3-2-2 during those last seven matches. The mathematically inclined will quickly recognize that a 3-2-2 record adds up to the 11 points the Lions needed to get to 48 points, but leaves them short of getting to 50 for the third time in the last four years. They would secure a playoff position, but they would also be on the road for the first game, and a third game as well if the series goes to three games.
While the team has definitely been playing a lot better as of late, I think this last seven-match run is a difficult one and the Lions will have to really push to do even as well as I predicted, which is only earning 11 of a possible 21 points. They have it in them to make a run. Let’s hope they come back from this bye week ready to roar and rub my prediction right in my face.
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