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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Five Takeaways

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7 years ago

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Orlando City survived and advanced in the U.S. Open Cup after a lightning-delayed, rain-soaked night in Boyds, MD, at the Maryland SoccerPlex. A nervy 120 minutes in the round of 16 ended in a 1-1 draw and a place in the quarterfinals went to the coin flip of penalty kicks, which the Lions grabbed decisively, 4-2.

What did we learn from the first night of the second Bobby Murphy era?

New Shape Mostly Effective

In four previous matches in charge of Orlando City, Murphy trotted out a 4-2-3-1 – a familiar shape the club has used most of this season. No matter. Murphy went with a 3-4-3, opting to use the team’s three top center backs across the back line; two fullbacks, a defensive midfielder, and an attacking midfielder in the middle; and two wings and forward Stefano Pinho up at the top of the formation. D.C. coach Ben Olsen said after the game that it was a change that United didn’t expect. For the most part, the experiment was a success. The three central defenders provided cover on a night when the wingbacks were a bit sloppy (more on that below) and when the midfield was a bit outnumbered.

Murphy’s lineup was full of delightful surprises, starting with a missing starter’s return. Lamine Sané hadn’t played since May 18 at Toronto but there was no easing him back into the lineup. Murphy isn’t coddling anyone. He put the French-Senegalese defender right into the starting lineup on a rainy night that ended up lasting more than 120 minutes. Speaking of missing starters, Scott Sutter didn’t play, but he did make the 18. Again, Murphy isn’t coddling anyone. Oh, you can play? Get in there!

While most of Murphy’s starters were regulars, there were exceptions in goal, where Earl Edwards Jr. was deployed, and up top, where Pinho replaced Dom Dwyer, who was rested in this match. It will be interesting to see how the team lines up on Saturday, particularly after riding defenders Sané, Amro Tarek, and Jonathan Spector, and midfielders Justin Meram, Sacha Kljestan, and Chris Mueller for 120 minutes on a heavy pitch.

Lions Continue Wasteful Ways

Orlando City peppered the D.C. goal with 21 shot attempts, but only three were on target. This continues a worrying trend of poor finishing from the Lions, who had ample opportunities to put the game away with several good looks. Pinho sent a shot badly wide in the 19th minute after Sacha Kljestan threaded a gorgeous through-ball to him that covered about 30 yards. Justin Meram and Kljestan fired over the bar on decent looks from just outside the area in the 53rd and 61st minutes, respectively. Pinho’s free header went just wide in the 69th minute and RJ Allen’s effort missed by even less two minutes later. Through normal time, only one shot was on frame and that was Meram’s shot right at Steve Clark, who let it slip through his grasp for Orlando’s only goal.

In extra time, Mueller got a high, arcing header on frame but Clark scrambled back to catch it. Colmán missed an empty net — albeit from a tight angle — in the 99th minute. Will Johnson missed the net two minutes later from inside the area. At least Colmán forced a good save from Clark in the 105th, but Johnson’s header was off frame in the 107th and Colmán fired over the bar in the 120th.

This lack of accuracy simply isn’t good enough and we’ve already seen it cost the Lions multiple games over the past month.

Lions Locked in During PKs

On the other hand, Orlando was locked in when the match went to penalties. Four of Orlando’s five shooters found the net and the only one who didn’t — Jose Villareal — fired his shot on target but Clark guessed correctly and the height was comfortable for him to make the save while diving to his right. If the Lions can translate the accuracy from the penalty shootout into the run of play, this will be a much better offense. Sure, there is less to worry about in terms of defenders and angles when it comes to penalties, but the key with the shootout was composure. Showing some in the run of play would allow the team to return to the win column on a regular basis.

Wayward Wingbacks

Mohamed El-Munir and RJ Allen should have been in a great position to contribute offensively in the 4-3-4. With more defender coverage behind them than usual, they were free to roam up the pitch and get involved, but things didn’t go as well as they should have. Below is their passing chart from the match.

As you can see, the passing accuracy in the final third was a mess. Mo failed to produce one accurate cross, while Allen had one, which created a chance. El-Munir had very few completed positive passes — just a few square balls and mainly back passes. Allen had several cross attempts blocked, but at least he had more success linking up with Kljestan and Mueller on his side.

El-Munir also made a ton of defensive miscues in the match and was lucky not to be sent off in the 116th minute, when he lost the ball and grabbed a D.C. player, before angrily kicking the ball at him. This could easily have been two yellows instead of one, though it may not have played a role in the outcome so close to the end.

If Orlando is going to play this shape again, the Lions will need to be sharper on the wings.

The Landlord Knows Penalties

Earl Edwards Jr. came up huge on the first D.C. United penalty kick, denying Yamil Asad’s attempt after Will Johnson had put the Lions ahead in the shootout. It was a big momentum builder for Orlando, which scored on its first three attempts.

We first saw Earl save a penalty back on May 2, 2015, when he did it in a 3-2 friendly victory over Brazilian side Ponte Preta. That night, Edwards denied Biro Biro’s spot kick in the first half to keep the Lions just a goal down at the time, allowing his team to rally. That was nothing compared to what he did on June 17 of that inaugural MLS season, when he made three saves in a 10-round penalty shootout at Charleston that allowed Orlando City to advance past the Battery and into the fifth round. That night, he stopped Taylor Mueller, Dante Marini, and Zach Prince from the spot and City eventually won the shootout, 8-7, after a 4-4 draw in the U.S. Open Cup’s fourth round.

Last year, he stopped a penalty against Ottawa’s Gerardo Bruna in a nine-save effort for Orlando City B in a 3-0 home win. He also denied former USL Lion Aodhan Quinn from the spot in a 2-2 draw at FC Cincinnati last August.

The takeaway here is this: If you have to face penalty kicks, leave it up to “The Landlord” to evict those shots.

That’s what I saw in Orlando’s rain-drenched effort last night. What stood out to you?

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/23/25

Orlando City signs Thomas Williams to new contract, Orlando Pride schedule revealed, USMNT wins against Costa Rica, and more.

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2 hours ago

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January 23, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

I hope you all are staying warm as we deal with cold weather across Florida. It’s at least been nice to break out some of my heavier blankets and forgotten hot cocoa packets I’ve had stored away. My cat has also been curling up next to me more, which is always a plus. Still, not shivering while waiting for my car to warm up would be great. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Thomas Williams Signs New Orlando City Contract

Orlando City center back Thomas Williams signed a new contract with the club that lasts through 2026, with an option for 2027 as well. Williams joined the club’s academy back in 2015 and became the youngest Homegrown Player in club history when he signed a first-team contract at 16 years old in 2021. The 20-year-old hasn’t featured much for the first team, and he’ll likely spend most of this year with Orlando City B for consistent playing time. Hopefully Williams can take a step forward in his development and provide the Lions some helpful depth at center back in the event of injuries.

Orlando Pride 2025 Season Schedule Unveiled

The NWSL announced its 2025 season schedule Wednesday, and the Orlando Pride will start their title defense season at home against the Chicago Red Stars on March 14. Their first road game will be the following weekend on March 23 against NJ/NY Gotham FC. Decision Day returns to the schedule this year, with all 14 clubs in action on Nov. 2. The Pride will close out their regular season at home that day against the Seattle Reign, with the postseason set to begin on Nov. 7. There’s also a break in the schedule in July, with no regular-season games scheduled due to international tournaments like the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and Copa America Femenina.

USMNT Shuts Out Costa Rica in Orlando

The United States Men’s National Team beat Costa Rica 3-0 at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando Wednesday night to stay perfect at the home of the Lions and Pride at 7-0-0. Goalkeeper Zack Steffen truly earned his clean sheet, coming up with some great saves to deny Costa Rica. It was also a solid attacking performance from the Yanks, and Patrick Agyemang put a bow on what’s been a great month for him with his second goal in as many games. Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino has some time to assess things before the USMNT plays Panama in the Concacaf Nations League semifinals on March 20

Keeping Up With MLS Transfer News

San Diego FC added another Designated Player ahead of its inaugural season, signing Danish winger Anders Dreyer from Anderlecht for a transfer fee reportedly near $5 million. He recorded 31 goals and 23 assists in 87 appearances across all competitions for Anderlecht and joins San Diego on a three-year deal. Charlotte FC officially added Wilfried Zaha on loan from Galatasaray. He’ll occupy a DP spot and the loan lasts through Jan. 16, 2026, with an option to extend it through June of that year as well.

LAFC made a trade with its rival to strengthen its midfield, acquiring Mark Delgado from the LA Galaxy in exchange for $400,000 in General Allocation Money. The Portland Timbers signed Venezuelan forward Kevin Kelsy from Shakhtar Donetsk as an MLS U22 Initiative player, with FC Cincinnati receiving GAM for his discovery rights. Real Salt Lake, which signed Mason Stajduhar from Orlando City earlier this month, continued to make changes to its goalkeeping group. The club signed veteran goalkeeper Rafael Cabral as a free agent and transferred 19-year-old American Gavin Beavers to Brondby IF in Denmark.

UEFA Champions League Roundup

The penultimate round of the UEFA Champions League’s league phase wrapped up this week. Paris Saint-Germain beat Manchester City 4-2 in the heavyweight matchup of the round, with all six goals coming in the second half. Joao Neves gave PSG the lead in the 78th minute before Goncalo Ramos put the game on ice in stoppage time. City now needs to win its final game against Club Brugge on Wednesday in order to advance.

Real Madrid cruised to a 5-1 win against RB Salzburg to advance, with both Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr. scoring braces. Celtic also booked its spot in the next round after a 1-0 win against Young Boys. Feyenoord pulled off an upset by winning 3-0 against Bayern Munich as well. Elsewhere in the tournament, AC Milan won 1-0 at home against Girona, Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0, and RB Leipzig did well in a 2-1 victory over Sporting CP.

Free Kicks

  • American goalkeeper Michelle Betos announced her retirement from professional soccer after a career that included winning the 2016 NWSL Shield with the Portland Thorns and the 2023 NWSL Championship with Gotham. Betos was also named NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year with the Thorns in 2015.
  • Arsenal and Chelsea are among the multiple clubs reportedly keeping an eye on American forward Trinity Rodman, whose contract with the Washington Spirit ends after this year.
https://twitter.com/tombogert/status/1882171400481542482

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a great Thursday and rest of your week!

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Orlando City

Orlando City Signs Defender Thomas Williams Through 2026

Orlando City signs Homegrown center back Thomas Williams to a new contract through 2026 with a club option for 2027.

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22 hours ago

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January 22, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B / Mark Thor

Orlando City announced this morning that the club has signed defender Thomas Williams through the 2026 season with a club option for 2027. The Homegrown Player has been with the first team since 2021 and will continue for at least two more years.

“Thomas is someone whose future we’re still very excited about and we’re happy to get him locked in with us for a couple more years,” Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi said in a club press release. “He’s shown a lot of growth these last few seasons, continuing to get game action with Orlando City B and proving the importance of our development pathway, and we’re looking forward to having him with us for the foreseeable future.”

The Titusville native joined the Orlando City Academy in 2015 and made his professional debut for the club on Aug. 7, 2020 against New England Revolution II. He played in 13 games that year with 10 starts and recorded 844 minutes. His play on the Young Lions’ back line earned him a first-team contract on June 15, 2021, at just 16 years old, making him the youngest player in club history to sign a Homegrown contract.

The 20-year-old center back made his MLS debut on April 16, 2022 in a 2-0 win over the Columbus Crew in Ohio. He made five appearances with three starts in all competitions that season, recording 271 minutes. To date, those are the only appearances he’s made with the first team.

Since joining OCB in 2021, Williams has made 69 appearances with 61 starts and recorded 5,132 minutes. He’s been booked 19 times and sent off twice, both times after receiving second yellow cards.

What It Means for Orlando City

Williams is the fourth natural center back for Orlando City on the current squad behind Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Rodrigo Schlegel. He played well early in his OCB and MLS career, but has struggled recently. Last year, he played exclusively with the second team, partnering with Nabi Kibunguchy.

While Williams hasn’t made much of an impact on the first team so far, he’s only 20 years old and still has plenty of time to develop. Extending his contact shows that the club still has faith that he can turn into a key player for the MLS side.

It’s unlikely that Williams will see any time with the first team in 2025 (barring injuries and/or suspensions), considering that he’s also been behind versatile defender Kyle Smith at the center back position. He’ll likely spend the upcoming season with OCB, continuing to develop and earn his spot with the first team. As a Homegrown Player, there isn’t much risk in signing Williams to a new contract, especially if the club’s technical staff thinks he can develop into a quality defender.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/22/25

Orlando City transfer rumors, Orlando Pride preseason begins, USMNT at Inter&Co, and more.

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1 day ago

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January 22, 2025

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Dan MacDonald, The ManeLand

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. Up here in Tallahassee, I’m waking up to snow/sleet, closed schools, closed government offices, and potentially icy roads. Many people will get an extra day off of work, however, I still get to go to work. I’m sure you can imagine how happy I am about that. Enough of my winter grumbling. Let’s get to the links but not until after we wish Orlando City fullback Michael Halliday a happy 22nd birthday.

Orlando City Reportedly Targeting Croatian International

While I can no longer say that Orlando City hasn’t signed any new players, the club is still moving at its traditionally slow speed as compared to other MLS clubs. We had the signing of Nicolas Rodriguez last week. Now, we have Tom Bogert report of yet another winger prospect for the club in Croatian Marco Pasalic from HNK Rijeka, though it is not a done deal. Hopefully the other targets Bogert mentions are of the striker variety.

https://twitter.com/tombogert/status/1881755961125449765?s=46&t=pMoq7Wulqfb35D7C8ydroA

Pride Preseason Begins

The 2024 NWSL champions are back to defend their title. The Orlando Pride returned to training on Tuesday. The club hasn’t needed to add many pieces, though some of the players already here, like Simone Charley and Grace Chanda, haven’t actually played any minutes for the Pride yet. Most of the chemistry is in place for Seb Hines, but reinforcing those bonds will be the challenge as the Pride look to repeat.

USMNT at Inter&Co Tonight

Hopefully you have tickets to the USMNT friendly match versus Costa Rica at Inter&Co Stadium tonight. The match starts at 7 p.m. and there are television and streaming options if you’re not going in person. Despite the squad having 14 players with three or fewer caps, Mauricio Pochettino does not consider this an “alternative” squad, nor does he want the players to think of themselves like that.

Girma Reportedly Nearing Completion of Chelsea Move

USWNT defender Naomi Girma is reportedly headed to Chelsea FC Women for a record $1.1 million transfer fee. That is a very big chunk of change for San Diego FC to use to try to replace one of the best defenders in the world. The deal is not complete as of Tuesday evening, but according to the original report from The Athletic, it is close to being done. Girma would be the first women’s soccer player to earn a transfer fee of over $1 million.

MLS Transfer Updates

Other MLS clubs keep on putting pen to paper when it comes to new players. The Chicago Fire are bringing in Jonathan Bamba on a Designated Player deal from La Liga side Celta de Vigo. The Luca de la Torre loan from Spain’s RC Celta de Vigo to San Diego FC is also official.

https://twitter.com/sandiegofc/status/1881741042904350864

Cucho Hernandez evidently wants to stay with the Columbus Crew, though he is still waiting on a new offer.

https://twitter.com/tombogert/status/1881786193693823104

Free Kicks

https://twitter.com/weareangelcity/status/1881749040863588770?s=12&t=_WZBNG4ILAyRLdwBeB4mpQ
  • Keep your eyes peeled later today for the NWSL schedule drop.
https://twitter.com/nwsl/status/1881749035218042954?s=46&t=pN-YJp3s7ZQlCXqnTAgSfw

That will do it for today. Stay warm out there, my friends. Vamos Orlando!

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