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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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7 years ago

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It was another loss, another shutout, and another game that was absolute torture to watch, as Orlando City fell 2-0 at Gillette Stadium to the New England Revolution. The Revs were dominant all night and City was hemmed into its own end throughout the match. Orlando hasn’t scored in five matches and seem unlikely to see a win the rest of the year, if I’m being honest.

However, I’m still responsible for grading the individual performances, so I’ll do my best to do so. A disjointed team isn’t going to see a lot of the ball, which makes it more difficult. Here we go.

Starters

GK, Adam Grinwis, (MotM) 7.5 — It was a pretty good night for the young goalkeeper. I don’t think he could have done much with either goal. The first took a deflection and went just inside the far post and the second was a free runner who volleyed it out of the air into the corner. He finished with four good saves on six shots. Adam got involved early coming out of his area to barely beat Teal Bunbury to a long pass and break it up. He made a good save on Diego Fagundez in the seventh minute on a shot through traffic, getting down and keeping his hand strong. He made a howler of a bad pass in the ninth minute on a goal kick to hand Fagundez an opportunity but the shot was blocked. He made another big save in the 11th minute on Penilla after an initial block by Sutter came back to the Revs’ forward. He made two more vital saves in the 75th and 84th minutes to keep the score respectable.

D, RJ Allen, 6 — It was a fairly quiet return to the lineup for Allen through the first half. He did make one nice play to head a ball away from Teal Bunbury back to Grinwis in the 38th minute. With five tackles, three clearances and an interception it was a busy night on the defensive end but Allen wasn’t able to get forward often and wasn’t effective when he did. He hit 72% of his passes but only attempted one cross.

D, Lamine Sané, 5 — Sané had a busy first half with six clearances as the Lions’ defense was constantly under pressure from the Revs. He seemed too reluctant to come out and challenge Cristian Penilla on the first New England goal even though he was the closest man. His passing was off, at just 60% and 1/6 on long balls, He had three interceptions after the half and two more clearances but I think he just wore down under the relentless New England pressure.

D, Shane O’Neill, 5.5 — Like his central defense partner he was busy throughout the first half, making two recoveries with two interceptions and a blocked shot and a tackle through the opening 45 minutes. He added an interception and four clearances after halftime and led the center backs in passing accuracy (74%). Surprisingly, he created one scoring opportunity while up for a set piece.

D, Scott Sutter, 6 — The Swiss-English fullback did well to block a shot in the 11th minute on a dangerous attack by Cristian Penilla. He had one cross in the first half but he popped it up trying a chip pass but it was easily cut out. He may have been able to cut back a pass to Chris Mueller on the play. At 76% he was the best passer on the back line but he was only 1/5 on long balls and 0/1 on cross attempts. Sutter finished with four tackles, an interception, two clearances and two blocked shots.

MF, Carlos Ascues, 5.5 — The Peruvian slotted into the left side of a three-man back line and had a mixed night. He nearly opened his account in the 16th minute when his thundering header flew toward goal on a corner kick but it was saved off the line by a Revs defender. He also had three blocks, two clearances, an interception and a recovery in the first half. He should have done better with a scoring chance in the 78th minute but fired wide after he was slipped in behind the defense. He blocked another shot and had three tackles in the second half. His passing was poor (60%) and he didn’t produce a key pass. But his two shot attempts tied Mueller for tops on the team.

MF, Tony Rocha, 5.5 — Tony had some good moments in the match and others in which he looked a bit overmatched. He did well to throw his body in the way of a shot by Luis Caicedo in the 17th minute to block a shot. Rocha produced a good corner kick service that nearly led to a goal, picking out Ascues early. He created two chances got a curling shot on target in the second half that forced a good save, and passed at a 79% rate which was good enough to lead the team on this night. Defensively he chipped in four tackles and a blocked shot. He was dispossessed twice and at times disappeared from the game but it’s a performance he can build off of.

MF, Chris Mueller, 5 — Once again the rookie put in a night of work but not much came of it. He had two shots in the first half but one was blocked and the other was a weak dribbler right at the keeper. He gets into good spots but often frustratingly slows play down and allows defenders to get into position and it can wreck the attack. He did well to win a free kick from distance in the 45th minute with a strong run. He had no shots in the second half but did create a scoring chance. His passing rate was only 50% and on just 16 attempts. He had one interception.

MF, Will Johnson, 5 — We saw the normal work rate from Johnson, hanging back and playing a defensive role in what appeared to be mostly a 3-5-2. In the 48th minute he did well to bust his hump tracking back to break up a New England attack. He was late getting out on Penilla on the first Revs goal and probably should have been closer to Fagundez on the second. He finished with two interceptions, three clearances, and a blocked shot but offered nothing going forward and passed at a pedestrian 62% accuracy.

MF, Richie Laryea, 4.5 — The young Canadian was largely invisible in the first half except for a failed clearance in the 24th minute and a poor free kick conceded in the 35th. His six tackles were good and his 73% passing rate certainly wasn’t the worst on the team, but he disappeared for long periods, attempted one shot (off target), and seemed to lack ideas in the final third.

F, Josué Colmán, 4.5 — The Paraguayan was sloppy with the ball early, giving the ball away. He made some of the same mistakes we’ve seen earlier this season, holding the ball too long in traffic and losing it. He did finish with three key passes and was 2/2 on crosses, firing one shot (on target), but there were too many times he lost the ball needlessly or seemed hesitant to take on individual defenders and ended up between several instead. He also didn’t defend much despite the amount of possession New England had, finishing with one tackle.

Substitutes

MF, Sacha Kljestan (68’), 4.5 — His 78% passing wasn’t bad but it didn’t seem like Sacha ever got into rhythm after coming on for Mueller. He attempted no shots, made one tackle, and drew one foul, but he didn’t have much impact on the match.

MF, Cristian Higuita (69’), 5 — Cristian sent in a terrific ball to spring Ascues in the 78th minute. Aside from his one key pass he didn’t do a lot. He finished without any defensive stats, which is rare for the Colombian, and his 73% passing rate is poor for him as well.

Welp, that’s the way the game looked to me. It would be easy to give everyone really low scores because it was another poor effort without much possession or many opportunities, but I can’t blame individuals for team defending, which is the main reason the Revs had so much of the ball. I tried to weigh how well the players held up not having much of the ball against their poor passing and what I came up with was a lot of average except for Grinwis, who was good. Here’s the poll. Have at it.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Carlos Ascues2
Scott Sutter2
Tony Rocha6
Adam Grinwis34
RJ Allen0
Other7

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Orlando City

Orlando City Striker Duncan McGuire Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

It’s the other shoulder this time, but Big Dunc is on the shelf for awhile again after undergoing surgery.

Published

2 days ago

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June 6, 2025

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City announced today that Duncan McGuire has undergone arthroscopic surgery to repair the labrum in his left shoulder. The surgery was performed by Orlando City Chief Medical Officer Dr. Craig Mintzer of the Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute performed the surgery. Mintzer previously repaired the labrum and rotator cuff in McGuire’s right shoulder back in December for an injury he sustained in Orlando City’s playoff match against Charlotte FC Nov. 9 when he was pulled down by Djibril Diani.

The club’s press release said the 24-year-old striker’s return to play is expected “later this year.” The recovery given for his right shoulder surgery in late 2024 was listed as four to five months, but McGuire was able to come back and play much earlier than expected, appearing for the first time in 2025 in Orlando’s March 15 against the New York Red Bulls — at least a month before the earliest initial projection — however, this time there was no mention of damage to the rotator cuff.

Regardless, the Lions will be without the big target striker for a considerable amount of time.

McGuire had appeared in 12 matches during the regular season in 2025, starting three and scoring one goal and adding an assist. His goal came recently, serving as the game winner in Orlando’s 1-0 home victory over the Portland Timbers on May 24. He was recently listed as questionable on the club’s availability report ahead of the team’s most recent match against the Chicago Fire.

Orlando City drafted McGuire in the first round (No. 6 overall) in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft. After a breakout rookie campaign, in which the Omaha, NE native scored 14 goals, he was courted by several teams in Europe, signing with Blackburn Rovers, only to see the transfer rejected by the English Football League due to an administrative error by the EFL Championship club. After returning to Orlando, McGuire signed a new deal on Aug. 22 to remain a Lion. The new contract runs through 2027 with a club option for 2028. McGuire scored 10 goals and added three assists in 2024. For his Orlando City career, McGuire has appeared in 88 games (46 starts) across all competitions, scoring a total of 28 goals to go along with seven assists.

What It Means for Orlando City

McGuire appeared to be just finding his form, so this injury is unfortunate. The club didn’t put a timeline on McGuire’s recovery this time, but shaving a little off his 2024 recovery estimate, it’s likely that he’ll be out until at least some time in September.

Oscar Pareja has been favoring a 4-4-2 with Luis Muriel and Martin Ojeda up top in recent weeks, with Ramiro Enrique — who is also finding his form — typically spelling one of them when needed. Not having McGuire will affect Pareja’s late-game substitution pattern when Orlando is trailing, as he likes to put Enrique and McGuire both on the field when chasing the game. It also takes the team’s best target striker option out of the lineup when dealing with back lines with lots of height.

McGuire brings size and strength and an ability to occupy center backs that others on the roster can’t replicate. There are times when Enrique’s game is better suited to the opponent, but without McGuire there will be no ability to pivot. With Jack Lynn’s off-season retirement, that leaves the striker pickings mighty slim on the Orlando City bench. That might change Ricardo Moreira’s approach to the MLS Secondary Transfer Window.

Losing a scorer of McGuire’s caliber is always difficult, but this season it could be the difference between finishing high in the table and simply getting into the postseason in a strong Eastern Conference field.

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Opinion

Orlando City Must Learn from May’s Mistakes

The Lions can learn some valuable lessons from the three losses they suffered in May.

Published

2 days ago

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June 6, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City hadn’t quite achieved juggernaut status as the Major League Soccer season turned from April to May, but a 12-match unbeaten run in the league is nothing to sniff at, despite there being a healthy number of draws interspersed with the victories. Things turned sour as May drew to a close though, as the Lions lost three of their final four matches of the month and entered a two-week break with a whimper rather than a roar.

Losing is never fun, but in this case those three defeats don’t need to be entirely negative experiences, and there are plenty of lessons to be learned from those three bitter losses that will hold Orlando in good stead if it can implement the proper solutions.

More Squad Rotation

One of the biggest factors in Orlando’s rough finish to May was a lack of squad rotation. Oscar Pareja has always been a coach that likes to find his first-choice XI and stick to it almost religiously. He doesn’t normally tweak his lineups or tactics according to whatever opponent is on the slate, and very much values consistency. In periods of fixture congestion, that tendency can be to Orlando’s detriment, and that was very much the case against both Nashville SC and the Chicago Fire.

After beating Inter Miami 3-0 in an emotional rivalry match on May 18, Pareja made just one change for a U.S. Open Cup match against Nashville SC three days later. Ramiro Enrique slotted in for Luis Muriel up top, but every single other starter from the Miami game also got the nod midweek. With Nashville deploying a heavily rotated lineup mostly filled with backups, the gamble was a simple one: hope that OCSC’s A-team can open up a big first-half lead against Nashville’s B-squad before bringing mass changes in the second half to get guys some rest. Hindsight is, of course, 20/20, but the strategy backfired badly as the Lions lost 3-2. Orlando started well with Marco Pasalic’s 17th-minute strike, but the team faded badly afterwards and gave up a couple of very uncharacteristic goals to lose the game. Lapses in concentration and tired defending cost OCSC the game, and that isn’t something we can normally say about this team.

Then, after losing to Atlanta United 3-2 on May 28 due in no small part to Cesar Araujo’s red card, Pareja made two changes for a match against the Chicago Fire on May 31, with Muriel coming in for Enrique, and the other change being a forced one, as Eduard Atuesta replaced the suspended Araujo. Those starters looked noticeably gassed during the resulting 3-1 loss, and the fatigue manifested itself by players missing chances that would normally be converted or in sloppy, mistake-ridden defending.

May was a packed month with a whopping nine matches in 31 days, and most months won’t be that busy. August is set to be the busiest remaining period of the year with six games in 31 days, although that number could rise higher if the Lions make a run in Leagues Cup. The bottom line is that guys are going to need more rest as the season goes on. If the coaching staff doesn’t trust some of the guys currently available as backups, then they need to dip into the transfer market in one way or another and get some players that they do trust, because if the starting XI gets run ragged during busy periods it’s going to cost Orlando, plain and simple.

Cool Heads Usually Prevail

Orlando City has received three red cards on the season, which is tied for the second-most in the league. Unsurprisingly, the Lions are winless in games in which they’ve had a man sent off, with draws against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal and a loss to Atlanta United. The results against the Red Bulls and Atlanta were particularly difficult to swallow, as before going down to 10 men, Orlando had looked on track to get three points in each game.

Araujo’s red card against Atlanta was especially frustrating, as he allowed Mateusz Klich to get under his skin, grabbed him by the throat, and reduced his team to 10 men when OCSC was nursing a 2-1 lead on the road. It was completely unnecessary and was also the sort of thing that Orlando had looked to put in the rearview mirror after keeping its collective composure and not picking up any bookings in the 3-0 road win against Miami, while the Herons picked up four and looked noticeably rattled in the process.

It should go without saying, but the Lions can’t afford to get key players sent off. Six extra points could make a big difference in the standings at the end of the year, and that number could rise even higher if OCSC can’t put its disciplinary issues to rest once and for all.

Focus for the Full 90

There were moments in each of Orlando’s three May losses that the team committed bad defensive lapses or mistakes. Whether it was not playing to the whistle on Nashville’s third goal, Atuesta’s bad turnover against Atlanta, or the Lions collectively allowing Chicago to stroll through midfield to score a third goal, there were plenty of examples of bad breakdowns that were largely absent during the team’s unbeaten run. Can some of that be attributed to tired minds and tired legs? Maybe so — it’s a lot harder to play crisp and focused when the minutes have piled up. Regardless, its something that can’t continue to happen going forward. It’s possible that having more rotation in the squad will help that a lot, but it’s also on the players on the field to stay as mentally sharp as they can when they’re out on the pitch.

Clearly, a recurring theme here is that fresh legs and balanced squad rotation are top of my list of things I want to see change. I’m all for riding the hot hands, but tired legs make for tired minds, and tired minds make mistakes and are easier to rile up. Whether reinforcements come from the bench or an outside source, using more bodies will go a long way towards solving some of the issues that we saw in May’s three losses. All we can do now is wait and see what happens once the team returns from its break. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/6/25

Alex Freeman called up for Concacaf Gold Cup, Orlando Pride get ready for the Houston Dash, Orlando City B plays tonight, and more.

Published

2 days ago

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June 6, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday! I’ll be spending this weekend celebrating my birthday by beating my friends at mini golf with no mercy but still hope to catch some soccer over the next few days. I’ve also been on a bit of a movie kick and plan on catching Wes Anderson’s new flick at some point soon. But for now, let’s dive into today’s links!

Alex Freeman Called Up For Gold Cup

Orlando City defender Alex Freeman was officially called up by the United States Men’s National Team for the Concacaf Gold Cup this summer. He’s the only Lion who will be at the tournament and is one of seven uncapped USMNT players on the roster. The 20-year-old could receive more playing time than expected, as right back Sergino Dest is not on the roster so that he can recover over the summer. Left back John Tolkin was added to replace Dest, so Freeman has a real shot at making a claim for the position this month. The U.S. will take on Turkey Saturday in the first of two friendlies before its first Gold Cup match against Trinidad & Tobago on June 15.

Orlando Pride Prepares to Host the Houston Dash

With the international break for women’s soccer over, the Orlando Pride return to action Saturday with a home game against the Houston Dash. It should be a great opportunity for the Pride to ease back into the swing of things against a Dash team that’s only scored 10 goals this season. Pride midfielder Ally Lemos spoke on the benefit of being able to rest heading into this match while maintaining a winning mindset from a 3-1 victory on May 23.

Anna Moorhouse Called Up For 2025 Euros

Orlando Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was named to England’s final roster for the 2025 UEFA European Women’s Championship. She’s one of three goalkeepers on the squad following Mary Earp’s surprise retirement from international soccer, and she will likely compete with fellow uncapped player Khiara Keating for the backup position behind Hannah Hampton. Moorhouse has started in every game for the Pride this season and was an NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year finalist for her record-breaking season last year. England’s Euro run will begin July 5 against France before other group matches against the Netherlands and Wales.

Orlando City B Takes On Huntsville City FC

The Young Lions are riding high after a 2-1 win over Chattanooga FC and will take that momentum into tonight’s road match against Huntsville City FC. Midfielder Noah Levis scored his first career goal in that home win, with Justin Hylton providing the assist in his OCB debut. Orlando’s offense has been hot and cold this season but has a variety of attacking talent that can create chances in different ways. The Young Lions have only won once on the road, but a win tonight would lift them to third in the Eastern Conference.

Free Kicks

  • FIFA Club World Cup action is coming to the City Beautiful this month and Orlando City legend Kaká spoke on how it’s nice for Orlando to host games.
  • San Diego Wave Head Coach Jonas Eidevall was named NWSL Coach of the Month. The Wave were undefeated in May, winning three of their four matches to climb to second in the league standings.
  • The NWSL will allow intraleague loans for all teams, with the players needing to consent to the move in order for it to happen. Denver and Boston’s expansion teams will have access to potentially over $1 million in Allocation Money starting on July 1 to build their rosters before the 2026 season.
  • Atletico Madrid is reportedly close to signing American midfielder Johnny Cardoso from Real Betis.
  • South Korea, Uzbekistan, and Jordan all qualified for the 2026 World Cup, while China was eliminated from contention. Australia beat Japan 1-0 and will qualify so long as it doesn’t lose heavily to Saudi Arabia on June 10.
  • Spain beat France 5-4 in a wild game to reach the UEFA Nations League final against Portugal on Sunday. Lamine Yamal continues to take the world by storm, but a late rally by France nearly completed a comeback.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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