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The Mane Land MLS Power Rankings: Week 14

Published

8 years ago

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Goalkeepers took center stage in Week 13 with several massive performances that meant a low-scoring week in Major League Soccer. The league’s best youngsters like Andre Blake, Jesse Gonzalez, and Zack Steffen were no surprise as they stonewalled talented attacks, but players like Patrick McLain and Ryan Meara also stepped up to earn points for their clubs.

Video review continues to remain a hot topic throughout the league, with instances like Federico Higuain’s red card reviewed while blatant contact to the face from teammate Cristian Martinez went unpunished. The replay system is mentioned more and more, with new wrinkles all the time.

But play goes on and the cream continues to rise to the top while a few upsets threw a wrench in the standings this week in classic MLS style. Check out how the latest results affected the power rankings:

1. Columbus Crew (Last Week: 4)

A showdown of two of the top defensive teams in recent weeks played out exactly like it was supposed to with a 0-0 draw on Sunday evening. Columbus had the majority of the quality chances — including a penalty — but couldn’t quite convert. Still, getting out of Children’s Mercy Park down a man, after Federico Higuain was sent off at the end of the first half, is a great result.

2. New York Red Bulls (Last Week: 1)

The Red Bulls’ offense was finally stifled by Andre Blake and the Union. On the other end, Tim Parker was all that stood between the visitors and a lead. Ryan Meara luckily wasn’t tested by CJ Sapong on his penalty attempt, and New York took just one frustrating point away.

3. Sporting Kansas City (Last Week: 3)

Very few teams have beaten Zack Steffen this year and SKC was no different. Even with a man advantage, SKC struggled to test the Crew defense. Tim Melia had to come up big to salvage a point after he made a clumsy challenge on Gyasi Zardes and gave up a penalty, but he did just that.

4. New York City FC (Last Week: 2)

David Villa and NYCFC looked as though they would cruise in Houston, dominating the early stages of the match and jumping out to a lead. But defensive lapses cost the Pigeons three goals as the Dynamo piled on the pressure.

5. Portland Timbers (Last Week: 6)

The Timbers rolled on, this time past the Rapids in Colorado as Samuel Armenteros bagged a skillful brace and Diego Valeri notched the winner just before the hour mark. Portland has now charged all the way up to third in the West table its their sixth win in a row.

6. Houston Dynamo (Last Week: 8)

Houston did exactly what got the team into the postseason last year, capitalizing on defensive mistakes. Alberth Elis, Tomas Martinez, and Alejandro Fuenmayor all got on the score sheet as the Dynamo are now unbeaten through four.

7. Atlanta United (Last Week: 5)

Atlanta was off this week.

8. FC Dallas (Last Week: 9)

Dallas weathered the storm from the champions, including some magic from Gonzalez. The Hoops put just three shots on target at Toronto, and held a measly 29.8% of possession, but got the job done thanks to the man between the sticks and Maxi Urruti’s deft touch.

9. Los Angeles FC (Last Week: 7)

Uruguayan dynamo Diego Rossi continues his stellar start to his MLS career, but LAFC will rue the missed chances in the expansion side’s 1-1 draw with D.C. United. Dejan Jakovic was sent off for a studs-up challenge in first-half stoppage time, but nothing was called in a bizarre turn of events as Laurent Ciman seemed to dive on top of the ball and handle it in LAFC’s penalty area.

10. Toronto FC (Last Week: 10)

TFC’s short-lived resurgence took a step back at home against Dallas. The Reds did everything they could to break through, forcing Gonzalez into nine saves on the night. But the worst part of the night might have been Tosaint Ricketts’ miss from inches out after a rebound dropped to his feet.

11. New England Revolution (Last Week: 13)

New England couldn’t quite hold onto its leads on the road in Vancouver. The Revs raced out to a 2-0 lead just to squander it in a matter of minutes. Teal Bunbury’s third gave the road team hope but Cristian Techera made the Revs’ lives miserable. But Brad Friedel should be content bringing the point back to Foxborough.

12. Orlando City (Last Week: 11)

The Lions blitzed Chicago but couldn’t capitalize on their plethora of chances. Orlando was by far the better side on the night but only Cristian Higuita could beat McLain and it cost the Lions. A pair of wonder goals from Aleksandar Katai and Alan Gordon at the death sank City’s hopes.

13. LA Galaxy (Last Week: 14)

It was a cagey affair in Carson with just two shots on target between bitter California rivals LA and San Jose. Luckily for the Galaxy, Romain Alessandrini has magic in his boots and was able to make the Southern California side’s shot count. The Frenchman was once again the difference-maker in Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s absence.

14. Philadelphia Union (Last Week: 17)

Philly will look back on Sapong’s penalty blunder, failing to put his attempt on frame. But a host of chances went begging that could have given the Union a victory instead of the draw that they took back across the Pennsylvania state line. A draw in Red Bull Arena is at least a positive sign, especially for a Philadelphia side that has been looking for positives as of late.

15. Chicago Fire (Last Week: 15)

The Fire went into Orlando content with playing for a draw, at times putting all 11 men behind the ball. City spent most of the match in Chicago’s final third, but the Fire weathered the storm with moments of individual brilliance to snatch all three points.

16. Vancouver Whitecaps (Last Week: 16)

Cristian Techera was a man on a mission as the Uruguayan winger bagged all three of Vancouver’s goals in a wild come-from-behind draw. The diminutive forward found plenty of space behind New England’s back line time after time and he could have had a fourth as his first half chip beat Matt Turner but bounced off the woodwork.

17. Minnesota United (Last Week: 18)

The Loons took flight against an ailing Montreal side as Batman and Superman both found the back of the net. Minnesota made the most of its chances and coupled it with a solid defensive performance to inch closer to the red line in the West.

18. Seattle Sounders (Last Week: 12)

Seattle has just one win in its last five and has sunk to the bottom of the West table, only ahead of Colorado on goal difference. To make matters more concerning, the Rave Green have been held scoreless in all but three MLS matches this season. Failure to score yet again on a weak RSL defense is bad news for the reigning Western Conference champions.

19. Real Salt Lake (Last Week: 22)

Sebastian Saucedo scored his first MLS goal in spectacular style. It not only broke the deadlock, it ended up as the game-winning goal as RSL managed its first victory over a Western Conference team in a month.

20. D.C. United (Last Week: 21)

It was a smash-and-grab draw for D.C. Luckily for the road team, a Zoltan Stieber handball and penalty call was overturned, leaving the door open for Darren Mattocks. The Jamaican forward got on the end of a header from Paul Arriola to level it with less than seven minutes remaining in normal time.

21. Montreal Impact (Last Week: 19)

There’s talk of a total rebuild in Montreal coming soon, with owner Joey Saputo claiming even superstar Ignacio Piatti is on the market. It may be necessary for the Canadians, who have struggled mightily in 2018, with a 2-0 loss to Minnesota the latest in a long line of disappointing results.

22. San Jose Earthquakes (Last Week: 20)

It hurts to lose a match to your most-hated rival. It hurts worse when their goalkeeper makes a fingertip save in the final minute to deny a surefire equalizer. But when that keeper was in San Jose blue and black just a few months ago? That has to sting for the Quakes, who are now winless through three.

23. Colorado Rapids (Last Week: 23)

The score looked closer than the match actually was. An own goal and a late penalty brought the Rapids within one goal of Portland but Colorado was never a threat to take points off the Cascadian side.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Orlando City restarts its 2026 MLS campaign late tonight out west at San Jose.

Published

2 weeks ago

on

July 22, 2026

By

Image of Braian Ojeda taking a shot in a friendly against FC Dallas.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread for a late night midweek matchup tonight between Orlando City (4-9-2, 14 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-2, 32 points) at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams in 2026 and the first time the teams have met since 2024.

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

History

Orlando City is 3-1-3 in the previous seven MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions got their only away win in the series in the last meeting and enter tonight 1-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The teams last met on May 18, 2024, with Jack Lynn coming off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Lynn’s strike in the 89th minute broke the scoreless deadlock and lifted the Lions to a 1-0 victory.

The teams met in Orlando most recently way back on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.

Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.

The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.

The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.

In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.

The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.

Overview

The teams meet tonight to get their post-World Cup portion of the season started. Orlando City has been terrible on the road all season long, keeping only one MLS opponent under two goals all year away from home and allowing five goals twice (at New York City FC and Nashville) and six goals twice (at LAFC and in the team’s most recent match away at FC Cincinnati just before the break).

Orlando City is a putrid 1-6-1 on the road this season, and now the Lions must face the Western Conference co-leaders tonight before coming home to face Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at home on Saturday. They’ll have to play at least tonight’s game without Martin Ojeda, who is out with a thigh injury sustained some time between his first-half goal a week ago in a friendly against FC Dallas and the time the availability report dropped on Tuesday.

But it isn’t all bad news for the Lions, who should have both Antoine Griezmann and Dike in the lineup. Griezmann was the club’s highly prized and widely publicized summer Designated Player signing, while Dike’s return to Orlando came together more recently, following his departure from West Bromwich Albion. They’ll help the club’s offense, but the attack hasn’t been the issue in 2026 — it’s been the historically porous defense, which is on pace to shatter the MLS record for goals conceded.

Meanwhile, San Jose is one of the first half of the season’s biggest surprises, as the Quakes have been outstanding in 2026. Scoring 34 goals while conceding just 15, San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (tied for third), goals conceded (third), and goal differential (+19, third).

The Earthquakes are 4-2-1 at home and are coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland in their last game prior to the World Cup break. San Jose boasts Golden Boot challenger Preston Judd, who leads the Quakes with 11 goals, adding two assists in his 15 appearances. Ousseni Bouda has chipped in five goals and three assists. Niko Tsakiris leads the team with seven assists to go along with his two goals, but he’s still recovering from a lower body injury and is not available tonight. However, the arrival of Timo Werner (four goals and five assists in just seven games) has truly elevated Bruce Arena’s Quakes, and he’ll need to be one of the main focal points for the Orlando defense.

To have any shot at taking something from this game, the Lions will need to play better road defense than they have all season. Orlando can score goals, but with Ojeda out, Griezmann will need to adapt quickly, and someone other than the team’s leading scorer will need to find the net.

The Lions will play without Ojeda (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty). In addition, Marco Pasalic may or may not have returned to the team after the World Cup. He was not in training Monday, although interim head coach Martin Perelman said he expected the Croatian back soon. The Earthquakes will be without Nonso Adimabua (lower body), former Lion Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body), DeJuan Jones (lower body), and Tsakiris (you guessed it, lower body…come on, San Jose).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer

San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn.

Defenders: Jamar Ricketts, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic.

Defensive Midfielders: Beau Lerouox, Ronaldo Vieira.

Attacking Midfielders: Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez, Ousseni Bouda.

Forwards: Preston Judd.

Bench: Jonathan Gonzalez, Dave Romney, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan, Jack Jasinski, Ian Harkes, Francesco Montali, Max Floriani, Darius Johnson.

Referees

REF: Elijio Arreguin.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Timothy Ford.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

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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Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 542: Tampa Bay Friendly, McGuire Traded, OCB Beats Cincinnati, and More

Lions maul the Rowdies in friendly action, OCB wins on the road, and it’s transfer season.

Published

3 weeks ago

on

July 14, 2026

By

Image of Antoine Griezmann and Ivan Angulo celebrating a goal in a friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City welcomed I-4 Derby rival Tampa Bay to Inter&Co Stadium for a friendly match on Wednesday and then proceeded to bludgeon the Rowdies with a couple of hammers named Antoine Griezmann and Justin Ellis. The two attackers combined for a goal and four assists in a 6-0 beatdown of the team from the Gulf Coast, with five different Lions scoring and Griffin Dorsey forcing an own goal. We discuss Griezmann’s first minutes with Orlando City, what the team showed in its formation, and how good Justin Ellis’ vision is.

Oh, and it’s also transfer season now. Duncan McGuire is on his way out and Marco Pasalic reportedly will follow soon, while a new left back may be headed from Spain to Orlando.

Following all of that, we discuss Maxime Crepeau being added to the MLS All-Star Team and the announcement that he’ll participate in the 2026 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge.

Our mailbagbox asked us about which World Cup semifinalist players we’d want to join Orlando this season (if we could only pick one), and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

After the mailbagbox, we dive into OCB’s 2-1 road win at FC Cincinnati 2. It wasn’t the prettiest game by the Young Lions, but they managed to do enough to earn three points on the road, where they’ll stay to face Chattanooga on Saturday. We briefly preview that game.

Finally, Orlando City will be in Dallas Wednesday for the second of two friendlies leading up to the restart of the MLS season. It’s unlikely we’ll get a lot of details about that one, but we’ll see what happens. Maybe the FC Dallas folks will help us out.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 542 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City crushed the Rowdies, the transfer season is in full swing, plus: hey now, Crepeau’s an all-star.

28:50 – The mailbagbox is always good for a hypothetical scenario.

36:54 – The Young Lions slipped past Cincy and head to Chattanooga, while the senior Lions head to Dallas.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 119: International Break, USWNT, Louisville Preview, and More

The Pride return from a long international break looking to get their first-ever road win against Racing Louisville.

Published

3 months ago

on

April 22, 2026

By

Image of Haley McCutcheon scoring the opening goal in Orlando's home playoff win over Seattle.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

It feels like months since the Orlando Pride last took the field, but the calendar says otherwise. If you believe calendars, it’s only been a little less than three weeks, but time moves strangely in the post-pandemic apocalyptic world.

Anyway, we don’t have a match to recap, so we touched on a couple of Pride players putting the ball in the net during the international break and chat a bit about the United States Women’s National Team’s three-game friendly series against Japan. Emma Hayes used a lot of players, and the team looked solid for two of the three matches, but the rotated middle game seemed a bit disjointed. Hayes has greatly expanded the player pool and will have plenty of options when the World Cup approaches.

Our mailbagbox had questions about a potential change in the NWSL schedule, as the league explores adopting the fall-to-spring slate, and opposition own goals. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

After the mailbagbox, we turned our attention toward Friday’s late afternoon tussle with Racing Louisville in Kentucky. The Pride have never won on the road against Louisville, and it’s about high time they did. This match begins a congested push to the June World Cup break, and although Friday’s hosts aren’t high in the table, the Pride must be at their best to get a road result in this fixture. We look back at the series history, compare the two sides, provide our key matchups in the game, and make our final score predictions.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how Episode 119 went down:

0:15 – We open the show with a little banter about the Pride in the international break and the USWNT’s series vs. Japan.

9:03 – The mailbagbox features questions via both eletronic mail and social media. We welcome all modes of delivery.

19:59 – The Pride travel to Louisville to face Racing. They’ve never won in Kentucky, but we inform them how to do so.

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