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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Colorado Rapids: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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3 years ago

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Orlando City gained a hard-fought road point, drawing the Colorado Rapids 1-1 Wednesday night. Facundo Torres gave the Lions the lead in the 22nd minute, but Gyasi Zardes equalized in the 65th minute. If not for some excellent goalkeeping by Pedro Gallese, it could’ve been a multi-goal loss. Regardless, Orlando City will be happy to get out with a point.

Here’s a look at how the Lions did individually.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 8 (MotM) — Gallese had arguably his best game of the season in this one. The Peruvian international had six saves on the night and four were absolutely spectacular. Without Gallese’s heroics, not only would the Lions have lost, they would’ve lost by multiple goals. But the goalkeeper kept his team in the game and allowed them to claim what could be a valuable point.

D, Kyle Smith, 5 — Smith had a difficult night defending Sam Nicholson and Michael Barrios. The left back allowed too much space too often and had trouble keeping up with the midfielders. Defensively, Smith ended the game with three tackles, three clearances, two blocks, and one interception. Going forward, he completed 75.9% of his 29 passes and had one key pass. He also completed a team high seven of his eight long balls out of the back. He did have a nice long throw that led to Torres’ goal. But allowing multiple key balls into the box, including for the equalizing goal, is what will be remembered from Smith in this game.

D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — It wasn’t a great game by Jansson but it wasn’t a bad game either. The central defenders allowed Zardes behind too many times. It was Jansson allowing him through at the end of the game that forced Gallese into one of his great saves. The Swede had three tackles, one interception, two blocked shots, and one clearance. Offensively, he completed 86.4% of his 44 passes, one of which was a key pass, and five of his 10 long balls. In the final third, he recorded two off-target shots (one was blocked).

D, Antonio Carlos, 6 — Similar to Jansson, Carlos had a decent game but allowed Zardes behind too often. The main difference between the two defenders is that Carlos’ mistake resulted in a goal. Carlos did pick up the run through the middle, but he didn’t get ball side, allowing Zardes to get to the ball first and flick it past Gallese. He finished the game with one tackle, two interceptions, two blocked shots, and a team leading seven clearances. He completed 88.1% of his 59 passes, including one key pass, and completed three of his seven long balls. Additionally, he took one shot but it was off target.

D, Ruan, 5 — Like Smith, Ruan didn’t have his best game in Colorado. He was lucky not to be at fault for a goal in the 29th minute, when he left Jonathan Lewis wide open and wasn’t marking anyone in the attack. Fortunately, Lewis’ shot hit the post. Defensively, Ruan ended the game with one tackle and one clearance. He completed 81% of his 21 passes and didn’t have any key distributions.

MF, Benji Michel, 5.5  — This game showed the good and bad of Michel. In the opening minutes, the midfielder made a nice move to get past the defender and put a shot on target. While it wasn’t very dangerous for William Yarbrough, it made the goalkeeper make a save. However, bad Benji showed up in the 60th minute. After being sent through by Tesho Akindele, Michel either played a bad shot or bad pass to the back post that went out for a goal kick. That was the opportunity Orlando needed to convert to double the lead. Instead, moments later, the game was tied. Michel completed 80% of his 15 passes in this game and had one key pass. He took three shots, one of which was on target, and drew three fouls. Defensively, he contributed an interception and two clearances.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6.5— Araujo quietly had a solid night for the Lions. The defensive midfielder led the team with six tackles, adding to his two clearances, one interception, and one blocked shot. He completed 88.6% of his 44 passes but didn’t have any key passes. However, he completed four of his six long balls and drew two fouls.

MF, Junior Urso, 6 — Urso wore the armband for this game in place of Mauricio Pereyra, who had most of the night off. He had 41 touches in the midfield and completed 92.6% of his 27 passes, none of which were key passes. He took two shots and put one on target. Urso also helped out defensively with a pair of tackles and drew four fouls while fouling twice.

MF, Facundo Torres, 6.5 — This was one of Torres’ better games since joining the club at the beginning of the season. His biggest contribution was his 22nd minute goal, in which he slammed a touch from Alexandre Pato under the crossbar for the opener. Apart from the goal, Torres completed 76.9% of his 26 attacking passes and had one key pass. The goal was one of two shots he took and the only one that was on target. He completed three dribbles in the game and drew four fouls, tied for the team lead.

MF, Alexandre Pato, 5.5 — Pato was better in this game than he’s been in recent weeks, actually putting a shot on target. He was credited with assisting the goal by Torres, but it was a lucky assist as it was a bad touch and Torres just happened to be in the right place to avoid a turnover. Pato only completed 57.1% of his seven passes but did have three key passes, a team high. His four crosses were second on the team in this game but only one of them was accurate.

F, Tesho Akindele, 5.5 — Akindele isn’t the goal-scoring type of forward for Orlando City and wasn’t one Wednesday night. He completed 69.2% of his 13 passes, but had one key pass on the flick to Michel that should’ve resulted in a great opportunity. However, that was his one real contribution to the game as he took only one shot and it was off target.

Substitutes

MF, Mauricio Pereyra (56’), 5.5 — The Lions’ captain got most of the day off, only playing the last 34 minutes. He completed 93.8% of his 16 passes and had one key pass. He also led the team with five crosses, but none of them were on target. Pereyra didn’t take any successful dribbles after coming on and was dispossessed a team-leading three times.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel (71’), 6 — Schlegel came on with 19 minutes to go as Oscar Pareja decided to go to a back five. While the Lions were looking to claim a point, this was also probably because of the poor defending by Smith and Ruan. Schlegel didn’t have any defensive stats, but completed 77.8% of nine passes and had one key pass going forward. He also had a run that drew a foul and set up an opportunity for the Lions late.

D, Michael Halliday (78’), 5 — Halliday came on for Ruan with 12 minutes to go and didn’t have much of an impact. He didn’t have any defensive plays and only had 10 touches on the ball. He completed 71.4% of his seven passes and had one off-target cross. His last three passes were particularly poor, with one putting Pereyra in a bad spot and two wasting potential opportunities in the attack to grab a late winner.

MF, Andres Perea (78’), N/A — During the same window in which Halliday came on, Perea replaced Torres in a defensive move. The midfielder only touched the ball five times and completed three of his five passes. Other than that, Perea didn’t have any impact on the game.

That’s how I saw Orlando City’s individual performances in the team’s 1-1 draw with Colorado. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match below.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Pedro Gallese56
Facundo Torres4
Robin Jansson0
Cesar Araujo0
Other (Let us know in the comments)0

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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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4 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: 1/22/25

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

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7 hours 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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Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/21/25

Orlando Pride release preseason camp roster, scouting Costa Rica, women’s soccer transfer grades, and more.

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1 day ago

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January 21, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Good morning, everyone! If you had yesterday off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, then I hope you enjoyed some restful time off. If not, then I hope you got your week started off on a good and productive note. There’s a lot going on around here this week as the United States Men’s National Team is in town, and Orlando City will play its first preseason match on Saturday. That means we have plenty to discuss, so let’s dig into today’s links.

Orlando Pride Drop Preseason Roster

Monday might have been a holiday but the Orlando Pride were busy, as they announced the roster for their upcoming preseason camp. Almost all of the usual suspects from the 2024 season are back, as the Pride return 98% of the player-minutes from last season and every single scorer. Mariana Larroquette is on the list although she’s currently on loan in Argentina, and Amanda Allen is likewise included after her loan at Lexington Sporting Club was terminated due to a torn labrum. The biggest intrigue comes from the trio of non-roster invitees: goalkeeper DeAira Jackson, midfielder Aryssa Mahrt, and forward Simone Jackson.

Scouting Costa Rica

The USMNT takes on Costa Rica on Wednesday at Inter&Co Stadium to wrap up the team’s annual January camp. Like the U.S., Costa Rica is bringing a roster devoid of the majority of its important players. Costa Rica also has a new manager at the helm in Miguel Herrera, who will take charge of the team for the very first time on Wednesday. Herrera typically lines his teams up in a 5-3-2 where the wingbacks take on a very important role and the team looks to hit on the counter while staying compact at the back. This will be the last time we see the USMNT in action until the Concacaf Nations League semifinals in early March.

Women’s Soccer January Transfer Grades

January has been a busy time for transfers in the women’s soccer world, so which teams have done the best business? Well, the Orlando Pride received an A grade for signing Marta to a new two-year deal, retaining a player who helped the team win its first ever trophies. Liverpool got an A for signing Julia Bartel on loan from Chelsea. Leicester City made an interesting call by transferring goalkeeper Lize Kop to Tottenham despite just being a point above the relegation zone. The Foxes get a C for the move, while Spurs get a B+ for adding a capable netminder.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans taking part in some very important games over the course of this week. Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, and Juventus face Club Brugge today in the UEFA Champions League, while Ricardo Pepi, Richy Ledezma, Esmir Bajraktarević, Malik Tillman and PSV Eindhoven take on Crvena Zvezda in the same competition. Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, and AC Milan will play Girona in the UCL on Wednesday, while Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, and Celtic take on Young Boys. On Friday, John Tolkin could make his Bundesliga debut when his new team, Holstein Kiel, travels to face Wolfsburg.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando Pride players reported for their preseason physicals on Monday.
  • Meanwhile, Orlando City took on the dreaded beep test during Monday’s training session.

That’s all I have for you today. Vamos Orlando!

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