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Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Final Score 3-2 as Lions Win Fourth Straight

Dom Dwyer and Chris Mueller scored again.

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7 years ago

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Carlos Romero, The Mane Land

Orlando City kept it rolling. A sellout crowd of 25,527 watched as the Lions climbed into a second-place tie (for the moment) in the Eastern Conference with a 3-2 win at Orlando City Stadium. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer each scored, and Yoshimar Yotun added two assists.

It was the first win in the series for either team, as Orlando City (4-2-1, 13 points) improved to 1-0-3 all time against the Earthquakes (1-3-2, 5 points). The win could have been more lopsided, with Orlando missing out on several good opportunities, and Justin Meram missing a penalty. The Lions led 3-0 in the second half before allowing a pair of goals off set pieces to Florian Jungwirth.

“Another night that I think the fans got their money’s worth. Another night that the coach gets a few more gray hairs,” Head Coach Jason Kreis said after the match. “But really, really pleased. Four wins in a row. Really, really pleased with three wins in a row at home. And I think we’re moving in a very positive direction. That’s the good news. The bad news is that we still have a way to go.”

Kreis stuck with the lineup that finished the Philadelphia game, a 4-2-3-1 with Will Johnson at right back, Cristian Higuita next to Yotun in central midfield, an attacking midfield line of Mueller, Kljestan, and Stefano Pinho, and Dwyer up top.

It took Orlando just over a minute to take the lead. A gorgeous long cross-field pass from Yotun found its way to Mueller, and the rookie shrugged off Shea Salinas, took the ball into the penalty area, and found the corner to make it 1-0. Mueller’s goal was his third in as many games and it was the fastest goal to start a game for Orlando City since the club joined MLS.

“(Yoshi) gets overlooked a lot, I feel like,” Mueller said. “He’s just unbelievable in the middle of the field. The balls that he’s finding me on is just next level, so my hat goes off to him. He had a great performance and it makes it easy when you’ve got guys like that giving you the ball.

“Chris made a fantastic individual effort,” Dwyer said of Mueller’s goal. “He’s coming on leaps and bounds every week so we’re very happy with him right now and very excited.”

Dwyer tried to double the lead 10 minutes later, getting into the box on the end of a long ball from Joe Bendik. Andrew Tarbell made a one-handed stop and it came off the woodwork. The rebound fell perfectly for Pinho but the Brazilian whiffed on the shot and the chance evaporated.

San Jose started seeing more of the possession for about the next 15 minutes and earning a series of corner kicks but the Lions were able to navigate those set-piece opportunities and retain the lead. Dwyer again nearly doubled the lead when he was sent into the box by Kljestan and fired a shot that deflected just inches wide of the far post in the 30th minute. Two minutes later, Pinho turned down a shot opportunity at the top of the box, worked in a bit deeper and got his shot blocked.

But three minutes later, Yotun sent another long ball that resulted in Orlando’s second goal. His ball found Mueller again on the right. The rookie waited until Tarbell committed and fed the ball toward goal, where Kljestan made a sliding effort to tap the ball in, putting the Lions up, 2-0 in the 35th minute. Mueller picked up his first MLS assist on the play.

“I heard (Kljestan),” Mueller said of his unselfish play. “It’s 100% a goal if you pass that ball. Probably could have scored it myself but the chance is slim. If I give that ball to Sacha, it’s a goal every time.”

“The key is Dom is able to bring down the first ball and hold off the center back and then I think he finds Yoshi, who finds Chris,” Kljestan said. “Chris looked up and saw me and I didn’t know if he was going to pass it or not. I think most young guys would take the shot themselves. But he knew if he laid it across in a good pass, it was an easy tap-in. He knows I would do the same for him and, yeah, I probably would have killed him if he would have shot and missed at that point, but unbelievable pass.”

The Quakes nearly pulled that goal right back. Danny Hoesen’s shot smashed off the woodwork a minute later and a second effort on goal was headed away by Amro Tarek. Four minutes later, Bendik made a save on a shot through traffic by Jungwirth. He spilled the save but was able to pounce on the ball before a San Jose player could arrive.

In the final minutes of the first half, the Lions missed out on a few great chances to put the game away. Pinho slipped trying to get onto a cross in front of an open net. Moments later, Yotun went in alone on a defender but tried to make one move too many and lost the ball.

Orlando held just 47% of the first-half possession, with both teams attempting five shots (Orlando had three on target to San Jose’s one). Both teams passed well, with the Lions connecting on 85% and the Quakes on 87%.

Much of the second half was played between the two penalty areas, as Orlando looked to slow play down and take the air out of the ball. Each team squandered some early set pieces after the break.

San Jose got its best opportunity to pull within 2-1 when Hoesen spun inside of Tarek in the 67th minute but fired his shot over the crossbar. It was an expensive miss, as the Lions extended the lead to 3-0 just two minutes later.

Second-half substitute Meram split the defense with a pass for Dwyer, who took a touch to round Tarbell and fire his 100th professional goal into the empty net. It was Dom’s fifth goal in his four games played this season, extending his scoring streak.

“It was a fantastic pass. Justin’s a threat whether it’s scoring goals or setting up goals,” Dwyer said of the play that sent him through. “Once he can get this monkey off his back and get that first one, i think the floodgates will open for him. I think he’s a very, very talented player and there’s a lot more to come from him.”

Yotun unleashed Mueller again in the 74th minute and the rookie got into the box, but his cross was cut out by the defense. Shortly after that, San Jose found a way into the game.

A corner kick found Chris Wondolowski, who headed on goal. Bendik got a hand to it to push it off the goal frame, but it bounced perfectly for Jungwirth to finish, putting the Earthquakes on the board in the 78th minute.

The Lions kept coming, however. Johnson got forward from his right back spot and smashed a shot that Tarbell fought off in the 79th minute to keep his team in the match. Three minutes later, Kljestan sent his set piece attempt over the crossbar.

It looked like City would put the game away when Dwyer was taken down in the box by Anibal Godoy, earning a penalty. Meram was given the opportunity to score his first goal as a Lion and stepped up to the spot. He took a very short approach and fired, but he left his shot too close to Tarbell, who got a hand on it to keep it out in the 86th minute.

The Earthquakes, to their credit, kept pressing and eventually got another Jungwirth goal off a corner — this time on a header from Magnus Eriksson’s service in stoppage time.

“For me, defending dead-ball situations is a matter of commitment, organization and focus,” Kreis said. “And I would say to give up the number of dead ball goals we have this year, we’re extremely disappointed with that. But it’s not just the coaches. I just walked out of the locker room and we have some people in there that are very, very disappointed not to have obtained all of our objectives tonight. Clearly a shutout at home is one of the objectives that we’ve had and haven’t accomplished yet.”

That was as close as the Quakes could get, and after more than four minutes of injury time, the final whistle blew on Orlando’s fourth straight victory and third consecutive win at home.

Orlando finished with 51% of the possession and both teams fired 11 shots (Orlando with six on target to San Jose’s three). The Lions passed at an 84.4% clip to San Jose’s 85.5%.

“We were a little bit disappointed to concede,” Dwyer said. “It wasn’t quite the complete performance, but we got the job done. We got all three points.”

The Lions will be back in action next Sunday as they face the Rapids in Colorado at 4 p.m. ET.

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Orlando City vs. CF Montreal: Final Score 1-1 as Lions Drop More Points at Home

The Lions made three-win Montreal look like a competent team in a wasteful effort at home.

Published

7 hours ago

on

July 12, 2025

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City couldn’t make Martin Ojeda’s goal in the first half stand up as a late Montreal penalty kick sent the Lions to their third straight game without a win in a disappointing 1-1 draw at Inter&Co Stadium. Rodrigo Schlegel’s foul on Prince Owusu allowed the latter to tie the match from the spot late in a game in which Montreal (3-13-6, 15 points) finished with only four shots and just the one on target.

The Lions (9-5-8, 35 points) themselves mustered just 11 shots and put three on goal against the worst team in the Eastern Conference, which was playing on short rest after a home match in the Canadian Championship at midweek. The season series ended with two draws, which doesn’t speak well of an Orlando side with postseason aspirations.

“We couldn’t reach the rhythm the whole game,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “I have to say that we tried to move and eventually we had some actions that ignited us a little, but the overall (thought) was it was a very uncomfortable game for us. The effort was there. It was a very complicated game. It was not an easy one.”

Pareja had to juggle his lineup a bit because of a pair of suspensions for yellow card accumulation to Pedro Gallese and Robin Jansson. Javier Otero started in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Schlegel, David Brekalo, and Alex Freeman — his first game back since the Gold Cup ended. Cesar Araujo and Eduard Atuesta started in central midfield between wingers Ojeda and Marco Pasalic, with Luis Muriel and Ramiro Enrique up top.

The first half began as a choppy and dull as any game this season, as Montreal kept much of the ball early with neither side able to create much of a threat. The visitors won a free kick in the 10th minute but didn’t do anything with it, but aside from that, the opening 15 minutes were quiet.

Orlando City finally attempted a shot in the 17th minute, but Ojeda got well under his volley attempt off a deflected cross and sent his attempt high into The Wall.

It wasn’t until the 24th minute when the game saw its first shot on target. Muriel fired a left-footed effort from just outside the area, but Jonathan Sirois was able to dive to his left to make the save. Three minutes later, the Lions broke the scoreless deadlock on a set piece.

Samuel Piette fouled Pasalic just outside the area in the 27th minute. Ojeda and Muriel lined up over it, with Ojeda tapping it to the Colombian forward. Muriel put his foot on the ball to stop it, teeing it up for the Argentine to blast just inside the right post to make it 1-0 in the 28th minute. It was Ojeda’s 10th goal of the MLS season, making him the third Lion to record 10 goals and 10 assists in a season (all competitions). It was also his seventh consecutive MLS match with a goal contribution, setting a new club record.

“It’s something we work on with the coaches. Martin Perelman is in charge of that in particular,” Ojeda said. “Today was a bit of (guile) that thankfully ended in a goal. We do have quality players with a lot of technique. A lot of these plays can result in things like this, so yeah, let’s continue on this way.”

Montreal’s only shot attempt of the half came shortly after Ojeda’s goal. Hennadii Synchuk tried to catch Otero napping, blasting a shot from distance that didn’t miss the right post by much, sending it just wide.

Ojeda scored a minute later, but the flag came up for offside. Enrique had played him in with a lovely through ball, but replay showed Ojeda was just off and the call on the field was confirmed after video review.

Five minutes later, Montreal followed suit. Ojeda and Santos tried to work a give-and-go up the left sideline, but it didn’t come off and the visitors broke in transition. Owusu got onto a through ball and beat Otero, but he was several yards offside and it was an easy offside call.

Pasalic drew another free kick early in stoppage time from the left. Ojeda scorched a cross to the back post for Brekalo, but the Slovenian couldn’t get his header on target. Orlando won one more late free kick near the touchline and Muriel sent it in. Enrique had a free header, but his redirect was right at Sirois on the last touch of the half.

At the break, Orlando held the advantage in possession (51.8%-48.2%), shots (6-1), and shots on target (3-0). Montreal had more corners (1-0) and better passing accuracy (91.1%-90.9%).

“When you find rivals that have that model of chasing and converting the game into dueling in every single area, it has that tendency to be a game that is caught here and there, that the sequences are broken if we cannot get the flow that we want,” Pareja said of the team’s disjointed attack tonight. “And eventually we did it. It seemed like we were getting the rhythm and immediately we came back to that discomfort in the game.”

Montreal came out of the lockerroom with a bit more urgency than Orlando for the first few minutes, keeping the Lions pinned back. When Orlando finally held some possession, Freeman found some space down the left, cut inside, and sent a left-footed shot over the crossbar in the 50th minute.

Montreal then won a series of free kicks in the attacking third. Although the visitors didn’t pay any of them off, they came close in the 55th minute when an entry ball hit someone in front of Otero and fell in the box. Schlegel swooped in and cleared the danger.

The Lions won their first corner of the game in the 58th minute but played it short and were flagged for offside on the play.

The game kind of went dead in terms of chances for a while after that. Ivan Angulo’s blocked effort in the 73rd was the closest either side came to scoring over a 15-minute span.

Montreal got its gift in the 81st minute. Owusu carried the ball into the area on the left and went down after contact with Schlegel. The Montreal forward went looking for the contact and sold it well, with Ramy Touchan pointing to the spot. Owusu then used a stutter step to get Otero leaning and slotted home to tie the game in the 83rd minute.

“We are tired of seeing that, and it’s really frustrating,” Pareja said of the penalty decision going against Orlando. “It’s a big dive.”

Orlando City didn’t create much down the stretch. Ojeda fired from the top of the box but missed just wide in the 86th minute. Freeman cut inside and had his shot blocked early in stoppage time. Second-half sub Nico Rodriguez tried from distance moments later and the ball deflected off a defender and changed directions, but it stayed in the middle for Sirois to save in the fifth of the eight added minutes.

The Lions finished with the advantage in possession (52.9%-47.1%), shots (11-4), shots on target (3-1), corners (3-2), and passing accuracy (90.1%-90%).

With the draw, Orlando City is winless in three straight games (0-1-2) and winless in its last three at home (0-2-1).

“I think they kept the ball, which, you know, good defense is a good offense, and keeping the ball and limiting our chances in the attack,” said Kyle Smith, who subbed on in the second half to make his 200th appearance across all competitions for Orlando. “And then I think with their back five, it helps control what we were trying to do.”

“The team confidence has to stay alive the whole year,” Pareja said. “I don’t consider that we have to depend to the results. Our work and our job and our professionalism tell us that when the game finishes, you have to move on to the next one. We know that it hurts, but we have to be capable to move on. Tomorrow we have the responsibility to prepare for this game on Wednesday. That is a big challenge as well.”

The Lions have a quick turnaround as they look to bounce back when New York City FC visits Inter&Co Stadium on Wednesday.

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

The shorthanded Lions look to get back in the win column when Montreal visits.

Published

19 hours ago

on

July 12, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (9-5-7, 34 points) and CF Montreal (3-13-5, 14 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). It’s the second of the two scheduled meetings between the Eastern Conference rivals in 2025.

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

History

The Lions are 8-9-6 against Montreal in the all-time regular-season series and 10-10-6 in all competitions since they joined MLS. OCSC is 4-4-3 in home MLS games against Montreal and 6-4-3 in matchups held in the greater Orlando area — this includes wins in Leagues Cup and the MLS is Back Tournament knockout rounds.

The most recent meeting was a scoreless draw in Montreal on April 19. The Lions’ efforts at bringing home a road win took a hit in the second half when Rafael Santos was sent off.

The teams last met in Orlando in the 2024 Leagues Cup competition nearly one year ago on July 26, with the Lions running rampant in a 4-1 home victory. Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Facundo Torres, Ramiro Enrique, and Martin Ojeda staked Orlando to a 4-0 lead. Josef Martinez scored for Montreal, although his bid for a brace was denied when Pedro Gallese stopped his penalty kick attempt.

The two sides met in Montreal on April 20, 2024 trading goals back and forth in a 2-2 draw at Stade Saputo. Mason Toye opened the scoring early, but Torres equalized from the spot a few minutes later. Ariel Lassiter appeared to win it late in normal time for the hosts, but Ivan Angulo struck in stoppage time to earn Orlando City a road point. These teams opened the 2024 season against each other in Orlando and played to a 0-0 draw. The Lions dominated the stat sheet but had a goal waved off for offside and simply weren’t lethal enough.

The teams met twice in 2023, completing the season series on Sept. 30, 2023, with Orlando winning 3-0 in dominant fashion. Jonathan Sirois’ own goal opened the scoring, and Thorhallsson and Torres added strikes for Orlando City. That was a good measure of revenge for OCSC, after Montreal defeated Orlando City 2-0 and handed the Lions their first road loss of the 2023 MLS season on May 6 at Stade Saputo. A Robin Jansson own goal got Montreal started in the second half and Romell Quioto added a second goal four minutes later.

These two sides played their biggest game against each other in the 2022 MLS playoffs, with CF Montreal knocking Orlando City out of the postseason by a 2-0 scoreline on Oct. 16, with goals by Ismael Kone and Djordje Mihailovic — the latter coming deep in stoppage time from the penalty spot.

Each team won at home in the two-game, regular-season series in 2022, with Montreal thumping Orlando 4-1 on May 7. Joel Waterman, Mihailovic, Joaquin Torres, and Zachary Brault-Guillard did the damage on the scoreboard and Orlando City managed just two shot attempts, with Joao Moutinho’s goal on a set piece helping the Lions avoid a shutout. Orlando City did not have either starting center back for that match, and it showed. The teams also met on opening day of the 2022 season, when Orlando City captured a 2-0 home win behind second-half goals from Alexandre Pato and Benji Michel.

In 2021, the teams met in Montreal on Decision Day, with the Lions earning a 2-0 road victory at Stade Saputo to clinch a playoff spot. Sebas Mendez and Daryl Dike provided the goals. That season’s matchup in Orlando came on Oct. 20, 2021, with the visitors managing a 1-1 draw. Chris Mueller struck for the Lions just before halftime, but Rudy Camacho answered on a corner kick header shortly after the restart. The first meeting of 2021 took place Sept. 15 in Orlando with the Lions falling 4-2 and finishing the game with just nine men after both Nani and Andres Perea were sent off. Quioto led Montreal with a goal and two assists. Mathieu Choiniere and Quioto put Montreal up 2-0, but despite already being down one man, Jansson and Ruan tied things up. The visitors got two more from Lassi Lappalainen and Sunusi Ibrahim.

The teams met at Red Bull Arena in late 2020 as the team then known as the Montreal Impact played home games in New Jersey due to the pandemic. Orlando City got a Dike goal in the 39th minute to win 1-0 on Nov. 1, 2020. It was the second meeting of the 2020 season, with Orlando also beating Montreal 1-0 in the MLS is Back Tournament knockout rounds on July 25 to advance to the quarterfinals. Tesho Akindele scored the game’s only goal on a Montreal defensive mistake.

Orlando City snapped a six-game winless streak against Montreal (0-5-1) in MLS regular-season play dating back to 2016 when the Lions put the Impact to the sword in a 3-0 drubbing at Stade Saputo on June 1, 2019. Nani (penalty), Akindele, and Will Johnson supplied the offense that day. The Lions fell 3-1 at Exploria Stadium back on March 16, 2019, and Ignacio Piatti was a big reason why, scoring his ninth and 10th career goals against Orlando, adding to a strike by Orji Okwonkwo. Dom Dwyer added a cosmetic goal late for Orlando City to spoil the clean sheet.

Montreal did not allow a goal against the Lions in 2018, sweeping the two-game set from Orlando, and the Impact shut out Orlando City in three of the six meetings in that 5-0-1 run. The lone draw in that time frame was a 3-3 shootout in Orlando in 2017, in which the Impact led deep in stoppage time, only to see Jonathan Spector’s well-placed header steal the Lions a point.

Orlando won the first two meetings in 2016 by a combined score of 6-2. The teams split three meetings in 2015, with each going 1-1-1.

Overview

Orlando City enters this match on a two-game winless streak after a 2-2 come-from-behind road draw at Charlotte FC a week ago. The Lions enter having given up two goals in each of the last three matches — six in all — and things aren’t set up for success tonight with both Jansson and Gallese suspended for yellow card accumulation. Orlando City is 5-3-2 in home matches this season, however two of those three losses have come in the team’s last two games in Inter&Co Stadium. In order to stop that skid, the Lions will have to tighten up the defense. If he starts in his first match since the end of the Concacaf Gold Cup, Alex Freeman’s return could help.

Montreal is last in the Eastern Conference with just three wins and 14 points this season. But it bears repeating that one of those points came at Orlando’s expense. Additionally, two of Montreal’s three wins on the season have come in the past four MLS matches. Add in that two of the club’s three victories have been road wins (2-7-2), and tonight’s visitors may be feeling a bit more confident than they’ve shown for much of this season. CF Montreal did, however, play a midweek match at home, finishing in a 2-2 draw against Forge FC in Canadian Championship action.

To get the win tonight, Orlando will have to get back to playing sound defense. If the Lions can stay organized, they can get out in transition where Marco Pasalic, Enrique, and Ojeda can be dangerous.

“It is part of our DNA that we don’t play with any context of the teams — not how they’re doing in the standings or how they are doing at the moment. It’s something that is not our problem,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “If we play against another team that is really bright, we don’t care either. It’s first about trying to be ourselves while trying to get the initiative and plan the game model — trying to do our things the way we plan it, with the energy that our fans deserve. The respect that we have for not just the game but for the jersey — all of those things don’t change, regardless of the moment or the opposition. The only way I know how to win games in my life is to take it the best way possible on Saturday at 7:30.”

Orlando City will be without Jansson (suspension), Gallese (suspension), Joran Gerbet (thigh), Duncan McGuire (shoulder), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee). Per Montreal’s game notes, every player is available. Montreal will be without Jalen Neal (ankle), while Samuel Piette (illness) and Giacomo Vrioni (elbow) are questionable.

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Javier Otero.

Defenders: Rafael Santos, Rodrigo Schlegel, David Brekalo, Alex Freeman.

Midfielders: Martin Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Cesar Araujo, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Luis Muriel, Ramiro Enrique.

Bench: Carlos Mercado, Kyle Smith, Zakaria Taifi, Thomas Williams, Colin Guske, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Ivan Angulo, Nico Rodriguez, Shak Mohammed.

CF Montreal (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Jonathan Sirois.

Defenders: Luca Petrasso, Brendan Craig, Fernando Alvarez, Dawid Bugaj.

Midfielders: Joel Waterman, Victor Loturi, Samuel Piette.

Forwards: Caden Clark, Prince Owusu, Hennadii Synchuk.

Bench: Sebastian Breza, Aleksandr Guboglo, Tom Pearce, Owen Graham-Roache, Olger Escobar, Fabian Herbers, Bryce Duke, Dante Sealy, Sunusi Ibrahim.

Referees:

Ref: Ramy Touchan.
AR1: Jeremy Kieso.
AR2: Rhett Hammil.
4th: Natalie Simon.
VAR: Shawn Tehini.
AVAR: Joshua Patlak.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

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

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English); Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Orlando City Nailed the Signing of Eduard Atuesta

Orlando City spent big to sign the Colombian midfielder, and so far the decision looks like a great one.

Published

2 days ago

on

July 11, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

There was a lot of understandable hand-wringing among Orlando City fans when Wilder Cartagena went down with a ruptured Achilles tendon in preseason. The injury meant that the Lions would be without one of their most important players for the 2025 season, as Cartagena and Cesar Araujo had formed an excellent partnership in the engine room of Orlando’s squad. Fans needn’t have worried though, because the front office quickly identified Eduard Atuesta as the man it wanted to replace Cartagena and persevered through some public back-and-forth to land him from Palmeiras.

Not only did OCSC sign a proven MLS-caliber midfielder, but the Colombian assimilated into the team almost immediately and has been just as good as advertised.

For one, he’s been able to provide a consistent impact on the defensive side of things. Atuesta has made 15 regular-season appearances (13 starts) and has logged 1,172 minutes on the field. In that time, he’s recorded 22 tackles (tied for fifth on the team), 10 interceptions (tied for fourth), and 14 blocks (eighth). Out of he and Araujo, the Uruguayan is asked to do more of the defensive work, but Atuesta has still been a perfectly capable contributor on that side of the ball.

His impact has most been felt on offense though. We knew when the signing was announced that Atuesta should carry more punch going forward than Cartagena did, and that’s precisely how things have played out. His six assists is second most on the team, trailing only Martin Ojeda, who has nine. He also has the second-most progressive passes on the team with 92, again only behind Ojeda, who has 104. If that isn’t enough, consider that despite playing in defensive midfield, he’s third on the team in shot-creating actions with 65 (trailing Ojeda with 108, and Luis Muriel with 73), and he leads the team in goal-creating actions with 13. In fact, those 13 goal-creating actions are tied for the fifth most in the league, and his average of one goal-creating action per 90 minutes is third best in the league behind Lionel Messi and Ali Ahmed who average 1.25 and 1.04, respectively.

Really, the only area where his game is lacking on offense is scoring actual goals, as he has yet to get one in MLS play, despite having some good chances to do so. Despite the lack of direct goals, he’s become instrumental in Orlando being able to operate its offense at a high level — just cast your mind back to earlier in the year, when the Lions played to multiple scoreless draws when he was unavailable due to injury. OCSC eventually got its offense looking better in his absence due to Joran Gerbet growing more comfortable and the Designated Players getting back on track, but that took time, and the Lions just look much more cohesive when he’s on the field than when he isn’t. Those 92 progressive passes are an extremely important reason why, as he and Araujo (who has 84) are vital when it comes to joining the defense to the attack.

He’s also costing Orlando a reasonable amount of money for what the club is getting in return. His $725,000 in guaranteed compensation makes him the seventh-highest-paid player on the team, but so far he’s holding up his end of the bargain with what he’s bringing to the offense. That number places him 22nd among central midfielders in the league behind guys like Felipe Carballo ($1,199,777.00 in guaranteed compensation for two assists in 16 appearances), Mateusz Klich ($1,937,338.00 in guaranteed compensation for one assist in 16 appearances), and Sebastian Lletget ($891,250.00 in guaranteed compensation for one goal and one assist in 11 appearances). While those guys don’t all exactly match the profile of Atuesta, the point I’m making is that so far he’s been pretty good value for money when you look around at what some other teams in the league are getting.

His impact is perhaps best summarized by Fbref.com’s scouting report tool, which compares someone to other players in his position over the course of the last 365 days. While this isn’t a perfect tool for evaluating Atuesta as an Orlando City player, since it takes into account some of his stats while he was with Palmeiras, it still provides a useful look at his current level, and this is just exactly what you want to see.

Screen shot of Atuesta's statistics.

In short, I can’t give the front office enough credit for landing Atuesta. The club didn’t try to cheaply replace the vastly important Cartagena and instead identified the guy the Lions wanted, went out, and made the signing happen. So far, that decision has paid off — most notably in what the Colombian midfielder has brought to Orlando City’s offense. If he keeps assisting at his current rate and also starts scoring a few goals of his own, then his signing could end up being one of the best pieces of business in recent years. Vamos Orlando!

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