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Orlando City vs. Real Salt Lake: Final Score 3-1 as Lions Set Club Win Streak Mark in MLS

Goals from Dom Dwyer, Lamine Sané, and Yoshimar Yotún bring Orlando from behind yet again.

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7 years ago

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Carlos Romero, The Mane Land

For the fourth time in six matches, Orlando City fell behind but rallied to win. After conceding a Corey Baird goal just 12 minutes into a battle with Real Salt Lake at Orlando City Stadium, the Lions got second-half goals from Dom Dwyer, Lamine Sané, and Yoshimar Yotún to win a club-record sixth straight game since joining Major League Soccer.

Orlando City (6-2-1, 19 points) improved to 2-0-2 in the all-time series with RSL (3-5-1, 10 points), having won the last two in a row. The announced attendance of 23,258 saw the Lions climb to within a point of second-place New York City FC in the Eastern Conference standings with a game in hand.

“Another afternoon or evening that I’m really, really pleased with the players’ mentality and their character,” Head Coach Jason Kreis said after the game. “It says a lot that we can continue to come back from difficult situations. Being a goal down in the first half after I thought we started so incredibly brightly was difficult for the guys. And I think the beginning of the second half there were some difficulties again but we continued to push, we continued to believe, we continued to stay together and we get the result I think in the end we deserved.”

Amro Tarek was fitted with a face mask this week to protect his broken nose but he was not in the team’s starting lineup, after sustaining a lower body injury in training on Saturday. Chris Schuler made his Orlando City debut — against his old team — alongside Sané on the back line, giving Orlando its fifth different center back combination on the season. The rest of the starting XI was the same as last weekend at Colorado, and the only change on the bench was PC in for Josué Colmán, who was pulled out of the 18 after an undisclosed violation of team rules in the locker room before the game, according to Kreis.

Real started the game brightly, working in an early cross and pressing high up the pitch, creating some nervous moments for the Orlando City defense. At the same time, Orlando was able to create some near chances but couldn’t quite put them away as the wet ball skipped off feet in front of goal.

Yotún found Chris Mueller in space in the seventh minute, and the rookie made mincemeat of left back Pablo Ruiz, working his way into the box before crossing the ball for Justin Meram. Meram was beaten in the air by Justen Glad, but the ball fell perfectly for Yotún, who blasted just wide.

RSL was able to get on the board first in the 12th minute when Damir Kreilach played a through ball that allowed Baird to get in behind Sané. The French-Senegalese defender stuck out a foot but it was inches out of reach and he could not match Baird’s pace. Goalkeeper Joe Bendik was late in recognizing the danger, allowing the RSL forward space to chip the ball into the wide-open goal and give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

Orlando responded to the goal with an attack of its own, quickly winning a corner after the restart. The Lions took the set piece quickly and Sacha Kljestan drove into the box and crossed a ball for Dwyer, who mishit his shot then got a second opportunity and saw his second chance beat Nick Rimando, but it was cleared off the line by Brooks Lennon.

Yotún then found Dwyer in the box in the 15th minute. He laid it off for Kljestan, but the shot was well over the bar.

The Lions kept pressing, with Dwyer again whiffing at a pass at his feet. The ball continued on for Will Johnson, who fired his shot straight at Rimando for the easy save in the 18th minute. Joao Plata tested Bendik on the break from 25 yards out with a powerful, swerving shot that Orlando’s keeper fought off and then collected before it could cross the line for a corner just moments later.

Meram’s best opportunity came in the 24th minute when he found himself alone just inside the left edge of the penalty area. He had time to line up his shot but then blasted it just inches wide of the near post.

Ruiz fired over the bar on a good free kick opportunity in the 26th minute, after Baird was brought down from behind by Mohamed El-Munir. Real nearly doubled its lead six minutes later when El-Munir appeared to be fouled near midfield — but when nothing was called, the visitors were able to break two-on-two against the Lions’ center backs. Baird ended up on the right side with the ball from Jefferson Savarino and he beat Bendik with his shot but it found the far post and stayed out.

Much of the remainder of the first half was played in the middle of the park, with Orlando on the attack but breaking down through sloppy passes that were either poorly weighted or behind their intended targets.

The visitors took their 1-0 advantage to the locker room despite owning just 37% of the possession and being out-shot, 10-8. Real Salt Lake did get five of its eight shots on frame compared to Orlando’s two, which was largely the difference in the opening half.

RSL came out of the break looking to put the game to bed, and Albert Rusnak’s blast off the post in the 49th minute was inches from doing so. Rusnak faked to his right, then cut left to create space from Schuler and fired his shot off the woodwork. Two minutes later, Savarino’s header off a Kyle Beckerman pass was well saved by Bendik, conceding just a corner.

“We know that they’re good on the counter attack but a lot of the chances came from angles or from distance so I thought overall it was a pretty good night,” Bendik said of his defense.

After that opening flurry to start the second period, the Lions started getting more of the game, but continued to lack the quality in the final third they’d shown throughout the first half. Meram had a shot deflected out for a corner in the 56th minute and Kljestan fired wide off a quickly taken free kick a minute later. A dangerous corner kick cross from Yotún needed just a touch in the 59th but it sailed harmlessly through the six-yard box.

The Lions finally broke through in the 60th minute, but it was off another opportunity that was nearly wasted. Kljestan got forward and had an opportunity to shoot but instead tried to cross for Dwyer and his pass was blocked. But the acting captain regained possession and lifted a ball to the back post that Dwyer nodded home to tie the score. That’s six goals in six matches played on the year for Dom.

Kljestan has either scored a goal or assisted on one in every game of the Lions’ six-game win streak.

RSL nearly pulled the goal right back. Plata’s cross cleared Schuler by inches and fell onto Baird’s foot. The Real Salt Lake forward settled it with a deft first touch and blasted a shot that forced a sliding kick save from Bendik. It was a huge stop in the 62nd minute, because the Lions took the lead seconds later. Yotún’s corner kick cross found Sané’s head, and the defender powered his first MLS goal past Rimando to make it 2-1 in the 63rd minute.

“I’m very happy for the team. For us it was a glad day, particularly for me, it was a first goal and it helped,” Sané said when asked about his goal.

The goal by Sané gave Orlando City six consecutive games scoring more than one goal, which is another club record since joining MLS. The overall record is seven by the USL Lions in 2014. Yotún earned his fifth assist on the year by delivering a perfect ball.

Orlando City wasn’t done, controlling the ball and the play, against the young RSL side. Shortly after Mueller was subbed out for Stefano Pinho after cramping up, the Lions put the game away. Kljestan sent Dwyer down the left in the 78th minute and Dom saw his shot saved by a diving Rimando. The ball fell perfectly for the onrushing Yotún, who smashed it into the gaping net to make it 3-1.

A few substitutions didn’t change much. Real Salt Lake seemed to lose its energy after the third Orlando goal and in fact the Lions had a couple of half chances, with Uri Rosell firing over the bar on one occasion and forcing a Rimando save on another shot.

Bendik saw very little attack from the visitors over the final 10 minutes, plus four more minutes of injury time. The whistle finally blew and Orlando held all three points yet again.

“As a coach you’d probably much prefer not having to come back so many times — not to be suffering the first goal in so many matches — but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter. It’s about 90 minutes,” Kreis said. “Over the 90 minutes our guys continued to work and stay together and get the result. I think we deserved that result and we got it.”

“Our power is a good character and in the second half we did the job to win this game,” Sané said.

The Lions finished with 53% of the possession, allowing more of the ball to RSL after the second goal, but staying organized and allowing very little room in the defensive third. Orlando out-shot the visitors, 19-16 (but 7-9 on target), passing at an 84% rate to RSL’s 81%.

The Lions return to the pitch next Sunday when first-place Atlanta United visits at 6 p.m. ET.

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Orlando City

Orlando City Relies on Starters More Than Any Other MLS Team

An analysis of Óscar Pareja’s early lineup choices and substitution patterns and how that compares to the 2024 season.

Published

5 hours ago

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April 3, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Legendary swordsman Inigo Montoya, a man who is not lefthanded, once opened a conversation by asking the Dread Pirate Roberts if, by any chance, he had six fingers on his right hand. Nobody will need to prepare to die by the end of this column, but I will ask a similar question: I don’t mean to pry, but did you by any chance happen to realize that we are already more than one-sixth of the way through the MLS regular season? Six fingers, one-sixth of the season…close enough. Let’s go.

Time flies when you are having fun, and somehow Orlando City has already played 540 minutes of MLS soccer this season. I consider 500 minutes played to be a cutoff amount when looking at player and lineup performance, and with the conclusion of the most recent game in Los Angeles, the team has now surpassed that 500-minute threshold.

In looking at the opening 540 minutes, I was surprised to see how much continuity I found in the minutes played, considering how many injuries the Lions have had to work around during these first six games. In just the first six games, Orlando City has already had full games missed due to injury by César Araujo (1), David Brekalo (2), Robin Jansson (2), Duncan McGuire (3) and Nico Rodriguez (5). Brekalo and Pedro Gallese both missed a game for international duty as well. McGuire was not expected back during the first set of games, but all of those other players, with the possible exception of Rodriguez, were expected to contribute during the early part of the season.

These absences led to games where the substitutes list was full of players who will play big minutes for Orlando City B this year, but not players who Óscar Pareja was likely to turn to off the bench unless the game was out of hand or he was absolutely desperate. According to Opta’s tracking through the opening six games, Orlando City ranks last in MLS in the average minutes played by its substitutes, as the average amount of time per appearance for the players off the bench for the Lions is only 12 minutes. For context, 16 teams have an average amount of time per substitute appearance of 20 minutes or greater, and Inter Miami and Toronto are tied with a league-leading 27 minutes per substitute appearance.

The interesting thing about those two teams, Miami and Toronto, is that Miami leads the league in points per match with 2.6 and Toronto is second from the bottom with a scant 0.33 points per match. I think a lot of this data will even out over time, as right now there are several teams, including Miami, that are playing in multiple competitions and trying to keep players fresh for all of their matches.

When it comes to Orlando City, however, that is not the case, and thus far there has just been the standard one game per week on six consecutive Saturdays. The players are rested for each game. The issue has just been that Pareja has not had the depth and variety of players he thought he would have to bring off the bench to protect a lead or chase a deficit.

We often joke in articles or on The Mane Land PawedCast about how “Óscar gonna Óscar,” and once he finds a lineup he likes, he sticks with it. Even with all the injuries he has somehow managed to do this again this season, as you can see from the chart below. I started tracking lineup data last season, and even though the 2025 season is only six games old and there have been so many absences from key players this season, it was striking to see that the 11-man lineup that has played the most minutes together this season already outranks all but two lineups from the entire 2024 MLS season (including the five playoff games!):

Now, it is a little unfair to the one 2025 lineup on the above chart that it has such a negative goal differential per 90 minutes, because if it is only the 10 field players, with goalkeeper excluded, then that lineup has played 215 minutes together and has a +0.84 goal differential per 90 minutes. That group is +4 with Javier Otero in net in 74 minutes together, and removing the goalkeepers from the calculation turns that negative goal differential into a positive.

What that also tells us, however, is that when it comes to the 10 field players, Pareja has played the same unit in the field for 40% (215/540) of the team’s minutes already. Granted it is early in the season, but after six MLS games last season, the lineup that had played together the most had played a grand total of 74 minutes together (14% of all minutes). The top five most used lineups in last season’s opening six MLS games combined to play 302 minutes, or 56% of all minutes, and in 2025 it is 402 minutes, or 80%. My math, and everyone else’s math, says that is a much higher percentage and indicates that the team is focused on continuity early.

That continuity thus far this season has paid dividends, with the Lions earning 10 points from the first six games, twice as nice as last season’s five points after the first six games. Last year, the team was balancing midweek Concacaf Champions Cup games in addition to injuries and an international break during the opening weeks of the MLS season, so there were some good reasons for the lineup rotation and the slow start. This year’s squad will have to navigate two upcoming cup tournaments in the coming months, and so we likely will see a lot of new lineup configurations or more rotation once the U.S. Open Cup starts in May and then again when Leagues Cup starts in July.

Thus far though, Pareja has been able to stick with his starters deep into matches, and has only given playing time to 20 players, which is tied for third fewest across all of MLS. Fan bases often clamor for the coach to “play the kids,” but while Pareja has had young and inexperienced players on the senior roster for every game, he really has only given significant minutes to Alex Freeman from the group of players that could be referred to as “the kids.” Gustavo Caraballo has played nine minutes, which is incredible for a 16-year-old (15-year-old Cavan Sullivan of Philadelphia is the only player younger than Caraballo to have played this season, and he has also played only nine minutes), and new signing Nico Rodriguez (20 years old) has played 11 minutes, but the next three youngest players to play are all at least 22 and were with the senior club last season (Otero and Ramiro Enrique) or came to the club after four seasons of college soccer (23-year-old, but nearly 24-year-old, Joran Gerbet).

The team’s record thus far shows that Pareja has been right to limit the minutes to the small group of players he trusts, and with one game per week for the next six weeks it will be interesting to see if the early trend of starters playing long minutes and only a few players getting all the minutes off the bench continues. The next match is on the road against Philadelphia, which so rudely came into Orlando and defeated the Lions 4-2 in the season opener, and my expectation is that while we likely will not see any players make their season debut in this game, I do think we will see a different starting lineup than the season opener and probably a different one than the game last weekend against the Galaxy.

No matter who the Lions go with, I am sure they will want to avenge the season-opening loss and bring three points back home to Orlando.

As we wish.

Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City at Philadelphia Union: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to earn all three points on the road against Philly?

Published

6 hours ago

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April 3, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City is on the road yet again, this time heading to Pennsylvania to take on the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park Saturday night. The Lions will look to get a second road win in a row after the smash-and-grab victory against the LA Galaxy. Things don’t get any easier with the Union sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference, but a win would catapult Orlando City above Philadelphia in the standings. Here’s what Orlando City needs to do to earn all three points against the Philadelphia Union.

Tie up Tai

Tai Baribo leads the way-too-early-to-call Golden Boot race with six goals in five matches. The Union striker has taken 13 shots, putting eight on target and the aforementioned six in the back of the net. He scored a brace in the season opener against Orlando to bag a third of those goals. It’s a pretty easy call to say stopping the league leader in goals is an important part of shutting down the Philadelphia attack.

It will be up to Cesar Araujo and whichever center back pairing we get to shut Baribo down. Of course, he’s not the only one the Lions need to worry about since the Union also have striker Mikael Uhre, and midfielders Daniel Gazdag and Jovan Lukic providing goals and assists. The point is that Philadelphia is second only to the Lions in offensive production with 13 goals compared to Orlando City’s 15 goals.

Formation Change

In the last match against the LA Galaxy, the Lions struggled to get things going with Luis Muriel up top, Ojeda at the No. 10 spot and Ivan Angulo on the left. Once Duncan McGuire came on, Muriel shifted back, Ojeda went wide, and Angulo subbed off. That really opened up the attack and allowed the Lions to get the two goals needed to secure the victory.

Perhaps Oscar Pareja could start things off like that against Philadelphia. Angulo hasn’t been great the last few matches, and perhaps some time on the bench will get his head straight. McGuire is still early in his return from injury, but Ramiro Enrique can start up top with Big Dunc coming in later as he has the last few matches. I think making this change could help Orlando City get an early goal on the road.

Vengeance is Thine

When the two teams met on opening day, the Union dropped four goals on Orlando City in Inter&Co Stadium. You would think it a completely dominating performance, but the Lions actually had more shots, more shots on target, and more possession than the Union. Philadelphia simply put each of its four shots on target past Pedro Gallese. That type of luck is unlikely to happen again.

Since that time, the Orlando City defense has stiffened — at least a little bit — and the team has been more difficult to break down. I’m not saying the defense is as stalwart as last season, but it has improved. Orlando City needs to use that four-goal drubbing at the hands of the Union to galvanize the defense to enact revenge with a multi-goal victory of its own.

That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 4/3/25

Martin Ojeda in the MLS MVP mix early, Orlando Pride players won’t play for Zambia this window, Tierna Davidson out for the NWSL season, and more.

Published

11 hours ago

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April 3, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I hope this week has been going well for you as we gear up for a busy Saturday filled to the brim with soccer to enjoy. Despite my blender’s protests, I’ve finally figured out how to make frozen coconut mojitos and plan on having those get me through the rest of the week. Before we dive into today’s links, let’s all wish a happy 28th birthday to Orlando City legend Rodrigo Schlegel!

Martin Ojeda’s MVP Credentials

Orlando City’s Martin Ojeda placed second in Sacha Kljestan’s MLS MVP power rankings this week. With four goals and three assists so far this season, Ojeda leads the league in goal contributions and is a major reason why the Lions have scored a league-high 15 goals. It’s great to see the 26-year-old take the reins of the offense after Facundo Torres’ departure. Inter Miami’s Luis Suarez tops Kljestan’s rankings, despite only having a goal in five games this season. Tai Baribo, Evander, and Lionel Messi round out the top five in what could be an interesting MVP race this year.

Pride Players Won’t Join Zambia For International Duty

Zambia will be without four NWSL players when it takes part in the Yongchuan International Tournament in China this month. Along with Bay FC forward Rachael Kundananji, Orlando Pride trio Barbra Banda, Grace Chanda, and Prisca Chilufya were withdrawn from international duty, with the Football Association of Zambia stating it was due to additional travel measures by the current U.S. administration. FAZ General Secretary Reuben Kamanga expects the quartet to be available for future matches and both Banda and Kundananji played in friendlies in Zambia in February. Restrictions like this may limit the appeal of the NWSL to foreign players in the future.

Fan Banned For Hateful Language Towards Banda

NJ/NY Gotham FC announced that the fan who directed hateful language towards Banda has been banned following an investigation that included interviewing witnesses and reviewing security footage. The incident took place at the Pride’s match against Gotham on March 23 at Sports Illustrated Stadium. The fan was found to be in violation of the NWSL Code of Conduct and their season ticket was revoked as well. Gotham also encouraged fans to report inappropriate behavior through the team’s encrypted text message service to inform the stadium’s incident management team.

USWNT Defender Tierna Davidson Out for the NWSL Season

American center back Tierna Davidson will miss the remainder of the 2025 NWSL season after tearing the ACL in her left knee in the club’s draw against the Houston Dash. It’s tough news for her, Gotham, and the United States Women’s National Team, as she captains the NWSL club and featured heavily in the Olympics last year. Davidson sustained an ACL injury in her right knee back in 2022, which contributed to her missing out on the 2023 World Cup. Gisele Thompson replaced Davidson for the USWNT’s upcoming friendlies with Brazil, and Pride defender Emily Sams will likely receive more playing time as the team prepares for the 2027 World Cup.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City received $100,000 in General Allocation Money in exchange for former academy goalkeeper Zack Campagnolo’s Homegrown Player rights. The Lions will receive another $100,000 in GAM if conditions are met, and they retain a sell-on percentage if Campagnolo is transferred.
  • San Diego FC added Milan Iloski on loan from FC Nordsjaelland in Denmark through July of this year. Iloski is a San Diego native and won the USL Golden Boot for Orange County SC in 2022.
  • New England Revolution midfielder Carles Gil won MLS Goal of the Matchday for his free kick against the New York Red Bulls.
  • El Farolito SC, which is named after a burrito chain and bar local to San Francisco, has reached the third round of the U.S. Open Cup for the second straight year. The National Premier Soccer League side took down Monterey Bay FC to reach this point of the tournament.
  • Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 to book its ticket to the Copa del Rey final, where it will face rival Real Madrid on April 26.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a terrific Thursday and rest of your week!

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