Orlando City
Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Player Grades and Man of the Match
Orlando City hosted the New England Revolution Saturday night in Exploria Stadium. The Revolution were riding a six match winless streak, and the best cure for that is playing Orlando City. Despite having more possession and more shots, the Lions were once again unable to find the back of the net, whereas New England finished three of their five shots on goal.
Let’s take a look at how each Lion performed individually in the 3-0 loss.
Starters
GK, Pedro Gallese, 6.5 — One thinks that a keeper has a bad match when giving up three goals. I’ll grant it’s not great, but when the defensive positioning allows runs in between defenders on all three of the goals, the keeper is not at fault. The only goal he even had a chance of stopping was the third one, and he got a hand on it, but it wasn’t enough. Gallese had to make a big save in the fifth minute of stoppage time on a long distance shot to prevent things from getting worse.
D, João Moutinho, 6 — Joao did well getting into the attack and not giving up much on the defense in the first half, though he did have a giveaway in Orlando’s defensive third in the 10th minute but nothing came of it for New England. He was good on his crosses with nine total on the night, though none were converted. Defensively, he only made one clearance, but was active up and down the right wing. Of course, the Revolution’s attack did come up his side of the pitch.
D, Robin Jansson, 6 — Jansson was his normal steady self for most of the game. Throughout the match he made his usual runs into the offense and completed four of six long balls in the match. He also had three tackles, one interception, and two clearances. It was a typical match for the Beefy Swede.
D, Antônio Carlos, 5.5 — This was definitely not one of Carlos’ better outings for Orlando City. Like Jansson, he wasn’t able to clog up the middle of the box to defend the scoring runs of New England. He also earned a yellow card in the sixth minute of play, though that didn’t seem to hamper his play. In the second half his failed clearance attempt resulted in the corner that produced New England’s third goal. This was not a great one from Orlando City’s best center back.
D, Ruan, 5.5 — Ruan did Ruan things in the first half. He made fast runs up the right side, and had some crosses that mostly were not great. There was a one-time cross he made that wasn’t too bad, but that’s probably because he didn’t have time to think about it. On the defensive side, he wasn’t able to close down the cross on New England’s first chance, but it didn’t hurt the Lions. He wasn’t able to recover when Matt Polster ran in behind Mauricio Pereyra with the two Orlando center backs pulled to the left by an overload on that side.
MF, César Araújo, 7 (MOTM) — Araujo had the most difficult job on the pitch — keeping Carles Gil in check — and for the most part he did. He was like a shadow on Gil the entire first half, making life difficult for one of the league leaders in assists. He drew two fouls, had a tackle, and an interception. He finally earned a yellow card in the 85th minute, despite getting away with plenty of close calls throughout the match. The yellow was deserved, but many of his other defensive plays were timed perfectly. Playing against Gil is tough, and that is why he earns our Man of the Match.
MF, Júnior Urso, 5.5 — Urso was not his most crisp in the first half. He wasn’t bad, but like others there were some forced passes that didn’t work, and neither of his shots were on target. When I say his passing wasn’t crisp, I mean he had a 79.2% passing rate. Part of that can be attributed to how compact New England was in defense, but Urso is one of the players who needs to make the adjustment and be better.
MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 6 — Pereyra was his usual self in the midfield. He directed everything, though he did have a few forced passes that didn’t work out. None of his three shots were on target. New England’s shape stopped up things inside their box, making it tough to work the ball inside. Still, he did have three key passes and looked good after going off injured in the last match against D.C. United.
MF, Facundo Torres, 6.5 — Torres played well off of Pereyra in the attack. He also did well on the left side with Moutinho, though he wasn’t able to get a shot off in the first half. That did change shortly into the second half as he got a shot off in the 49th minute, though it went wide right. He added another shot that hit the woodwork in the 60th minute, perfectly encapsulating the futility that is Orlando City’s offense. Still, with two key passes and four crosses, the Young DP was a bright spot in Orlando City’s lackluster offense.
F, Benji Michel, 6 — I thought Michel had an okay match. He was slightly more dangerous than usual, putting in a nice ball to Pato in the 31st minute that Pato should have finished. He earned a corner in the 36th on a nice run from a Jansson long ball, and he had a header that went wide right in the 63rd minute. It wasn’t a spectacular appearance either in a good or bad way, and for Michel that isn’t a bad thing. Unlike so many of his teammates, he did actually get a shot on target.
F, Alexandre Pato, 6 — Pato was a mixed bag in the first half. He gave up too many balls per usual, but also made some silky smooth passes into teammates that should have resulted in better chances. He had a particularly nice ball into Torres in the box in the seventh minute, but like others it amounted to nothing. His best opportunity came in the 33rd minute when he took a ball off of Urso’s foot for a great shot that was his only one on target out of six total attempts. His 90th-minute free kick went well over the crossbar.
Substitutes
MF, Iván Angulo (58’), 5 — Angulo came on for Urso and only had 16 touches, completing 84.6% of his 13 passes and recorded one interception. The new winger didn’t register a shot attempt or a key pass in more than half an hour, although we can cut him some slack given it was his first appearance with the club.
D, Kyle Smith (76’), 6 — Smith came on for Ruan. He had 14 touches, including two crosses (neither accurate), one tackle, and one interception. El Soldado didn’t play badly, but he wasn’t able to spark any type of opportunity for his club either. He completed all eight of his pass attempts.
F, Nicholas Gioacchini (76’), 6 — The young USMNT player came on for Pereyra, though not in a like-for-like situation. Gioacchini did manage to get a shot off, and made one interception on defense. He completed all four of his pass attempts.
F, Tesho Akindele (76’), 6 — Akindele came on for Michel, and repeated what his teammate was able to do by getting a shot on target and winning an aerial. That is all on just nine touches in the match.
That’s how I saw the individual performances in a very forgettable outing for the Lions. Let me know your thoughts in the comments and be sure to vote for your Man of the Match below.
Polling Closed
Player | Votes |
Alexandre Pato | 1 |
César Araújo | 17 |
João Moutinho | 0 |
Mauricio Pereyra | 1 |
Someone else (tell us in the comments) | 6 |
Lion Links
Lion Links: 12/23/24
Orlando City sells Facundo Torres to Palmeiras, Lions draft four players, latest MLS transfer moves, and more.
Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. My weekend has been busy working at Under Armour, with Christmas just two days away. I also covered high school hockey and went to a Chicago Bulls game. Besides that, I finally got all my Christmas shopping done. There is plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.
Orlando City Announces Facundo Torres Transfer to Palmeiras
Orlando City announced on Friday that forward Facundo Torres has been sold to Palmeiras for a club-record fee. Torres leaves Orlando as the Lions all-time goal-scoring leader. He had 123 appearances across all competitions, scored 47 goals, and added 25 assists in three seasons in Orlando. Torres made a big impact as a Lion, helping the club reach the playoffs the last three years and winning the 2022 U.S. Open Cup title.
The Lions will have an open Designated Player spot to fill during the off-season. Their home opener against the Philadelphia Union is less than two months away.
Lions Select Four Players in 2025 MLS SuperDraft
The Lions made four selections during the 2025 MLS SuperDraft on Friday. With the 27th overall pick, they chose midfielder Joran Gerbet out of Clemson. Gerbet had a solid collegiate career, recording 12 goals and 15 assists, and he led Clemson to the 2023 National Championship title as well. In the second round, the Lions added another Clemson Tiger by selecting center back Titus Sandy, Jr. with the 46th overall pick. Sandy played in 48 matches, logging 2,520 minutes, and was also part of the 2023 National Championship team. Later in the same round, the Lions picked forward Collins Oduro out of Indiana. Oduro made 44 appearances for the Hoosiers, scoring eight goals to go with seven assists. The Lions concluded their 2025 MLS SuperDraft by selecting Marshall defender Takahiro Fujita in the third round with the 87th overall pick. MLSSoccer.com unveiled its draft grades for each club, and Orlando City received an A- as its grade.
NJ/NY Gotham FC Trades Lynn Williams to the Seattle Reign
We had a trade that went down in the National Women’s Soccer League as NJ/NY Gotham FC traded forward Lynn Williams and goalkeeper Cassie Miller to the Seattle Reign. In exchange, the Seattle Reign acquired midfielder Jaelin Howell, an international roster slot, and $70,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM). Williams spent two seasons with Gotham FC, recording 17 goals and seven assists. She made 75 appearances for the U.S. Women’s National Team and was part of the squad that won a gold medal at the 2024 Olympics in Paris. Miller began the 2024 NWSL season as the number one goalkeeper for Gotham but was moved to a backup role once the club acquired Ann-Katrin Berger. Howell made eight appearances for the Reign this season after being acquired from Racing Louisville FC in August.
Latest Transfer Moves in MLS
We have some MLS transfer news to catch you up on from over the weekend. Real Salt Lake acquired forward Elias Manoel and four MLS SuperDraft picks from the New York Red Bulls in exchange for $700,000 in GAM. The Red Bulls maintain a sell-on percentage for Manoel as well. Atlanta United also made a trade, acquiring midfielder Mateusz Klich from D.C. United in exchange for Atlanta’s first round 2025 MLS SuperDraft Pick and up to $50,000 in conditional GAM if Atlanta re-signs Klich. The New England Revolution signed goalkeeper Alex Bono to a contract through the 2026 season. Bono spent the previous two seasons with D.C. United. The Revolution also added defender Tanner Beason, who previously played five seasons with the San Jose Earthquakes. Beason’s deal is through the 2026 season, with an option for 2027.
Premier League Weekend Roundup
We had plenty of action in the Premier League over the weekend. Manchester City fell 2-1 to Aston Villa on Saturday and has lost nine out of its last 12 matches across all competitions. Arsenal cruised past Crystal Palace 5-1, Newcastle United defeated Ipswich Town 4-0 with Alexander Isak getting a hat trick, and Nottingham Forest won 2-0 against Brentford. West Ham United and Brighton fought to a 1-1 draw. On Sunday, Manchester United lost 3-0 at home to Bournemouth. Liverpool defeated Tottenham Hotspur 6-3, with Mohamed Salah scoring twice. Vitor Pereira won his first match as Wolverhampton’s manager, as his side beat Leicester City 3-0. The Everton and Chelsea and Fulham and Southampton matches ended in a scoreless draw.
Free Kicks
- In an interview with Fast Company, former Orlando Pride player Alex Morgan gave insight into her next chapter since retiring from pro soccer. Morgan discussed how she’s navigating through her post-playing career, investing in other sports, and continuing to support current and future generations of female athletes.
- Atlanta United named Ronny Deila as its next head coach. Deila previously coached Standard Liege, New York City FC, Celtic, and Club Brugge.
- FIFA and Netflix signed an agreement for exclusive broadcast rights in the United States for the 2027 and 2031 editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup.
- In another coaching move, USL Championship side Sacramento Republic FC announced former Tampa Bay Rowdies head coach Neill Collins as its next head coach after activating his release clause at Raith Rovers.
- Weston McKennie scored a goal in the first half to help Juventus snap its run of four consecutive draws in league play with a 2-1 win against Monza on Sunday.
- Jesus Navas played his final match for Sevilla as his side lost 4-2 to Real Madrid on Sunday. Navas will retire from professional soccer after his contract ends this month after a stellar 21-year career.
That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.
Orlando City
2024 Orlando City Season in Review: Wilder Cartagena
The midfielder helped Orlando City own the center of the field throughout the majority of the 2024 season.
Orlando City initially acquired midfielder Wilder Cartagena on loan through the 2022 MLS season. After a successful end of the year, the club exercised the option to extend the loan through the 2023 season. He became a key player in the starting lineup for the Lions that season, resulting in the club signing him to a permanent deal through the 2025 season on Dec. 14, 2024. The Peruvian midfielder built a powerhouse partnership with fellow midfielder César Araújo, forming what may have been the best central midfield duo in all of MLS during the 2024 season.
Let’s take a look back at Cartagena’s season with Orlando City.
Statistical Breakdown
Cartagena participated in all four of the competitions Orlando City played in during 2024, playing primarily in his normal central defensive midfielder role but also filling in as center back for around seven games worth of minutes (631). Despite playing in a brand new position for approximately 20% of his total minutes, Cartagena ended up leading the team in plus-minus for the season, finishing +22 across all competitions, meaning the Lions were much better with him on the pitch than they were when he wasn’t.
In MLS regular-season play, the Peruvian international appeared in 27 matches, starting 25 and playing 2,192 minutes. He only recorded one goal contribution on the season, an assist, though he took 24 shots, putting eight on target. He completed 89% of his passes with 16 key passes, one successful cross, and 25 completed long balls. On the defensive side, he recorded 76 tackles, 20 interceptions, 42 clearances, and nine blocks. He committed a team-leading 48 fouls, suffered 28 fouls, and received seven yellow cards and one red card, which he picked up after the conclusion of the game against Minnesota United. Coincidentally, his red card suspension and his one-game ban for yellow card accumulation each resulted in him missing a regular-season game against Atlanta United — both were Orlando losses.
During the MLS playoffs, Cartagena started all five matches, playing 431 minutes with no goals or assists. He took two shots, placing one on target, and he completed 87.2% of his passes with a single key pass. Defensively, he recorded nine tackles, four interceptions, 11 clearances, and one block. He drew eight fouls and committed nine, and he was booked twice, with both being yellow cards.
Cartagena played in all four Concacaf Champions Cup matches, starting every game and playing 315 minutes. He did not take any shots, so he did not score any goals, and he didn’t contribute any assists either. He completed 86.6% of his passes, including four key passes. Defensively, he tallied eight tackles, five interceptions, four clearances, and one block, and he committed three fouls, while suffering five. He was booked twice, earning two yellow cards.
During Leagues Cup play, Cartagena started all three games, playing the full 270 minutes with zero goal contributions. He took three shots, placing one on target, and completed 92.1% of his passes, but with zero key passes. He added three tackles, three interceptions, four clearances, and one block on defense, and he committed three fouls and drew one. Unlike in the other three competitions, in Leagues Cup play he did not receive any cards.
Best Game
While Cartagena only had one goal contribution for the season, the positions he played do not lend themselves to being able to use the commonly cited stats like goals and assists to evaluate which game was the finest. That said, I think the one game in which Cartagena had an assist was his finest performance, but the assist was only the cherry on top of an outstanding game all over the field by the Peruvian midfielder, as his performance helped lead the Lions to a dominant 5-0 victory over D.C. United on March 9.
Cartagena completed 77 of his 81 passes (95.1%), and while any game with that many completed passes and that high of a completion percentage would be excellent, it was the types of passes that he completed that really set this game ahead of all of his other performances. He completed 22 of those 77 passes into the attacking third of the field, meaning they were attacking balls forward towards goal that went from the middle or defensive third into the attacking third. If 22 sounds like a lot, well, that’s because it is. There were only seven instances during MLS play in 2024 of a player completing 22 or more passes into the attacking third in a single game.
If that was not enough, Cartagena also went 11 of 12 (91.7%) on long passes (passes of at least 30 yards) on the night, one of only 24 instances during MLS play in 2024 of a midfielder completing at least 11 long passes and being successful on more than 90% of his long pass attempts.
On top of both of those stats, Cartagena also got on the score sheet for the only time all season, playing a beautiful cross from the right flank onto the head of a charging Robin Jannson, who smashed in his header and gave the Lions a 2-0 lead.
Cartagena went the full 90 in this match, contributing not only offensively but also defensively, with three tackles, four recoveries, and one clearance, and his dominance in the center of the field helped the Lions keep a clean sheet.
2024 Final Grade
The Mane Land awarded Cartagena a composite rating of 7.5 out of 10 for the 2024 season, the same as the 7.5 we gave him last season. I mentioned earlier that the team was +22 while Cartagena was on the field, and that +22 equaled a +0.62 goals per 90-minute average over his total minutes played, meaning that when Cartagena played, the Lions were nearly two-thirds of a goal better than their opponents. On the flip side, when Cartagena was off the field, the Lions were -5 for the season, which equaled a -0.48 goals per 90-minute average. The net of those two per 90-minute averages is +1.10, meaning that Orlando City was more than one goal better than its opponents when Cartagena was on the field as compared to when he was off, showing just how valuable he was to the team during the 2024 season.
2025 Outlook
I expect 2025 to look very similar to 2024 for Cartagena, as both he and his midfield partner Araujo are set to return and are completely comfortable in Head Coach Óscar Pareja’s system. The Lions also parted ways with Felipe, Jeorgio Kocevski, and Heine Gikling Bruseth, meaning that Nico Lodeiro is the only player on the roster with significant experience in the role where Cartagena usually plays, and Lodeiro is more of a supersub than a starter at this point in his career and a much more offensive minded No. 8 option than a defensive, double-pivot type. Kyle Smith and Dagur Dan Thórhallsson both have the skillset to potentially get some minutes there, and Orlando City used its first-round draft pick in the MLS SuperDraft to select midfielder Joran Gerbet from Clemson, but it should be Cartagena’s job to lose during the 2025 season, and I expect to see him on the field for the vast majority of Orlando City’s minutes.
Previous Season in Review Articles (Date Posted)
- Alex Freeman (12/5/24)
- Michael Halliday (12/6/24)
- Yutaro Tsukada (12/7/24)
- Mason Stajduhar (12/8/24)
- Javier Otero (12/9/24)
- Jack Lynn (12/11/24)
- Shakur Mohammed (12/12/24)
- Luis Muriel (12/13/24)
- David Brekalo (12/14/24)
- Facundo Torres (12/14/24)
- Rodrigo Schlegel (12/15/24)
- Rafael Santos (12/16/24)
- Kyle Smith (12/17/24)
- Martín Ojeda (12/18/24)
- Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (12/19/24)
- Nico Lodeiro (12/20/24)
- Ramiro Enrique (12/21/24)
Orlando City
Top 10 Moments of 2024: Orlando City Surges to Top Four Spot in Eastern Conference
Languishing near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, the Lions made a massive push from June 19 onward to finish fourth in the Eastern Conference.
As we count down to the new year of 2025 — which will be Orlando City’s 11th in MLS, the Orlando Pride’s ninth in the NWSL, and OCB’s third in MLS NEXT Pro — and say goodbye to 2024, it’s time to look back at the club’s 10 best moments of the year as selected by The Mane Land staff via vote.
The Lions were floundering. A team that finished strong in 2023 and ended up second in the Supporters’ Shield race had bolstered the attack in the off-season by signing a Designated Player forward out of Italy’s Serie A and figured to pick up where it left off. It didn’t.
Orlando City struggled out of the gate to connect in the final third, to find a cohesive starting XI that worked well together, and to find the form with which it ended the 2023 campaign. Although the Lions swept Canadian Premier League side Cavalry FC in the first round of the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup at the onset of the season, they once again played a scoreless draw on opening day of league play, got blown out at Inter Miami, gave up a 95th-minute goal to lose at home to Minnesota, and then got knocked out of Champions Cup by Tigres before falling at Atlanta.
The team’s 0-3-1 start to the regular season was followed by two wins and two draws, pulling Orlando to 2-3-3, but that surge proved to be fool’s gold. That run preceded a late-game collapse at home against Toronto that turned a 1-0 87th-minute lead into a 2-1 loss. That loss, to a Toronto team that finished 11-19-4, turned into a home losing streak after FC Cincinnati departed Inter&Co Stadium with a 1-0 win on May 4.
A 2-0-1 surge followed, but it could only bring the Lions to 4-5-4 on the season. But again, Orlando City fans had to take the bad with the good, as the club went 0-3-1 in its next four. Two late goals by LAFC and a missed Facundo Torres penalty — the first such miss in his entire soccer careeer — produced a 3-1 home loss that left the club at just 4-8-5 at the season’s midway point. Some fans were calling for Oscar Pareja’s job; no one was happy with new Designated Player Luis Muriel’s play; and the players seemed frustrated, disjointed, and at odds with each other on the pitch.
Things looked bleak for extending the club’s four-year postseason streak to five. It seemed as if there was no way to break out of the funk the Lions were in.
But then it happened.
The team’s fortunes didn’t turn around all at once, and the turning point sure didn’t seem like one at the time. Orlando City went to Charlotte on June 19, found itself up a man, and still had to scrape by with just a 2-2 draw. Down a man, Brandt Bronico put Charlotte FC up 2-1 with 13 minutes remaining, and things looked worse than ever for the Lions, who were on the verge of falling to 4-9-5 and threatening to contend for the wooden spoon. But Torres struck in the 81st minute to bring City level on a corner kick. Was this the goal that ultimately saved Orlando City’s 2024 season?
Once tied, Orlando pushed furiously for a winner but to no avail. The single point the Lions brought home from North Carolina didn’t feel good at the time, but it was a start — the first pebble in what ultimately turned into an avalanche. A win and a loss in the next two matches didn’t seem particularly noteworthy either, but the team was starting to put things together.
After beating Chicago 4-2 on June 22 at home, the Lions nearly mounted a comeback after a disastrous first half in a 4-2 loss at New York City FC on June 28 — a game in which Orlando lost backup goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar for the rest of the season. The Lions then won four straight matches and went 4-0-1 in their final five games prior to the Leagues Cup break, entering the MLS pause at .500 with a 9-9-7 record. It had taken the team half the season to recover from the poor start, but the Lions were back in the fight.
A win and two draws in Leagues Cup, despite some international absences, kept the Lions’ momentum going. Although a flat performance in a loss at Sporting Kansas City in the MLS restart weekend didn’t help matters, it was followed by three more consecutive wins — all via shutout, with Orlando outscoring its opponents 8-0 — and six victories in seven matches. The lone loss in that seven-game stretch was a 4-3 defeat at Columbus in which a valiant comeback effort fell just short.
After that 6-1-0 run, Orlando entered Decision Day with a 15-11-7 record and a top-four spot that wasn’t spoiled by a loss in the regular-season finale to Atlanta.
The Lions’ 11-4-2 finish over the final 17 matches of the 2024 season not only pushed the team into the postseason, it also put Orlando City in position to take advantage when Miami, Columbus, and Cincinnati all faltered in the first round of the playoffs.
Because the Lions were the highest remaining seed in the postseason, once Orlando City won its best-of-three, first-round series against Charlotte, it had home field priority for the remainder of the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Lions hosted Atlanta in the Eastern Conference semifinal and knocked their rivals out of the postseason in a tight defensive battle in which the Five Stripes hardly troubled goalkeeper Pedro Gallese. Orlando advanced to the Eastern Conference final for the first time, hosting the New York Red Bulls.
Although Orlando faltered in that conference final, which is not the result we (or the Lions) wanted, City put itself in the best possible position to reach the MLS Cup final by finding the right blend of chemistry, form, and grit in the season’s second half.
The Lions came closer to MLS Cup in 2024 than ever before, thanks to the team’s second-half surge. As such, that surge is a worthy inclusion in the list of the club’s top moments of the year, and a great way to kick off our annual series of the club’s most memorable accomplishments and events.
Come back through New Year’s Eve as we count down the remainder of Orlando City’s top 10 moments of 2024.
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