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Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Final Score 3-3 as Lions’ Rally Twice

Orlando’s playoff chances have one foot in the grave after earning only one point in a crucial home match.

Published

7 years ago

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Nick Leyva, The Mane Land

Orlando City’s playoff chances are either dead or the vital signs are so faint as to be undetectable after a 3-3 draw against the sixth-place New England Revolution. The Lions (7-14-2, 23 points) rallied from 2-0 and 3-2 deficit against the Revs (7-7-8, 29 points), as Orlando City remains unbeaten at home against New England (2-0-3).

Dom Dwyer and a Matt Turner own goal got the Lions back into the game after sloppy play allowed Juan Agudelo and Cristian Penilla to stake the Revs to an early lead, but a back line that leaked all night did so one too many times, allowing second-half sub Teal Bunbury to put the Revs back on top. Scott Sutter got the last word with a header goal off a set piece in the third minute of stoppage time to pull Orlando level.

“Obviously delighted to get a point, especially so late in the game,” Head Coach James O’Connor said after the match. “Massive, massive thank you to the supporters tonight because I think they really helped us to come back in the game and get that point.”

O’Connor made only one change from the lineup that lost at the Galaxy last weekend, subbing out Chris Schuler in central defense for Shane O’Neill, who returned from his red card suspension.

Although Orlando City looked sharp from the opening whistle, it was New England that scored early off a routine play. Just a regular throw-in was flicked softly toward goal by Agudelo and somehow Earl Edwards Jr. completely whiffed on keeping it out. It was by far the softest goal Edwards has allowed in his MLS career and one that he’ll definitely want back.

After the goal, the Lions became too deliberate and even though they held some possession, they weren’t very threatening. New England, meanwhile, was content to allow possession and press for opportunities. Edwards was forced to come off his line and make a big save on Diego Fagundez in the 16th after the latter split the defense with a good run and Penilla found him with the pass.

New England doubled the lead in the 19th minute when Sutter opted to play a square ball to a well-covered O’Neill instead of trying to turn or passing back to Edwards. O’Neill had virtually no chance, as Caicedo arrived at the same time as the ball. He poked it away and it allowed Penilla to break in and scored uncontested on Edwards to make it 2-0.

Fagundez had a chance to make it 3-0 in the 23rd minute, dancing past the Orlando back line and firing a shot that Edwards saved.

City tried to regroup thereafter and got a few opportunities. In the 25th minute, a Yoshimar Yotún free kick found O’Neill, but his header went just wide of the net. Two minutes later, Dwyer got in behind the defense but tried to go near post and Turner made the save. PC got into the area in the 29th minute but his shot was blocked by the defense.

Those missed opportunities looked like they’d immediately bite the Lions as the Revs shredded the back line again in the 30th minute and Scott Caldwell got around Edwards but saw Amro Tarek save his effort off the line at the last second.

Six minutes later, Edwards had a second major mistake in the game, passing the ball directly to Fagundez, but Cristian Higuita tracked back and somehow dispossessed the Revolution attacker without conceding a penalty.

Sacha Kljestan went down on an ugly challenge from behind by Brandon Bye in the 37th minute. Bye was booked for the infraction but Kljestan had to sub out minutes later for Josué Colmán.

Just before the break the Lions pulled a goal back. Yotún sent Tony Rocha up the left flank and Rocha’s cross picked out Dwyer in front of goal. Dom played it first time and sent it over Turner to make it 2-1 in the 45th minute for his 10th goal of the season.

“It was huge,” O’Connor said of the timely goal. “Really well played ball for him from Tony but I think Dom’s finish is excellent and that gave us a lot of hope.”

“It gave us a little bit of confidence knowing we only needed one goal and we were right back in it,” Rocha said.

Shots were even at the end of the first half at 6-6 (5-2 on target for New England). The Lions held 72% possession and held a passing percentage advantage (86%-69%).

“We really felt at halftime that we could go on and win the game,” said O’Connor.

Orlando City came out aggressively after the break and earned the first decent look at goal. Higuita found Rocha in the box and the midfielder turned and fired just wide, hitting the outside netting in the 51st minute. Six minutes later, Dwyer forced a diving save from Turner on a shot through traffic. A minute later, Colmán fired a shot into the the box that Turner spilled but it fell just a bit wide for Dwyer to get onto it and slam home.

New England continued to try countering whenever possible, with Fagundez fizzing a shot just over the bar in the 61st.

Orlando nearly sprung Dwyer in behind in the 66th minute but the flag went up on a very close play and the whistle blew. You’d expect the assistant referee to keep the flag down on close plays these days and let video review sort out any problems, but in this case the flag went up right away despite replay showing the play was extremely close.

Penilla fired a shot through traffic off a corner kick in the 69th minute that took a deflection, but Edwards was able to track it through the forest of players and make a diving save.

The Lions finally leveled the game in the 71st minute. Yotún delivered a free kick into the box that Tarek headed off the left post. The ball skipped back across the front of goal and Turner knocked it into the net with his hand. The goal was given to Tarek with an assist to Yotún but it’s hard to imagine it won’t be changed to an own goal. If it sticks, it’ll be Tarek’s first MLS goal.

With the game tied, Brad Friedel sent Bunbury into the game for Caldwell in the 74th minute and the move paid dividends almost immediately. Bunbury got on the ball on the right side and roasted Tarek, getting in behind and slotting in the Revs’ third goal of the night in the 76th minute.

“It has to stop,” O’Connor said about the defensive issues of his team, which has given up seven goals in two matches. “You can’t score three goals again and we get a tie this week. You have to stop. You can’t give goals away like that. We’re 2-0 down in the blink of an eye. When you’re giving up the goals that we are giving up — it’s not like teams are having to work for the goals. I’m waiting for a game where a team is so generous and gives us the type of goals that we’re giving teams, and I look forward to when that happens.”

Two minutes later, Penilla rang one off the crossbar as he nearly put the game to bed. The Lions looked a bit shook after the third New England goal and it nearly cost them a fourth. It turned out to be a costly miss for Penilla.

The Revs kept looking more likely to score a fourth than Orlando to score a third, earning another quick corner kick after Penilla’s miss. Agudelo shot wide in the 83rd minute as New England tried to put the game away.

But the Lions stuck around and regained their composure. Yotún found Stefano Pinho in the 89th minute, but the Brazilian headed it well over the bar. Four minutes of stoppage time loomed for Orlando to take something from the game.

The Lions left it late, but the goal finally came in the 93rd minute. Pinho earned a set piece out to the right, and Yotún once again provided superb delivery, finding Sutter for the game-tying header. It honestly looked like a stoppable shot for Turner but he made a mess of it and it found the net to make it 3-3.

“It’s good that we got a point so late,” Sutter said. “Obviously we’re all disappointed because we wanted more from the game.”

On the restart after the goal, Dwyer was booked for a foul away from the ball — one of several fouls away from the ball on the night (making one wonder if Hilario Grajeda would have seen fouls actually on the ball) — and a fracas broke out at midfield. In the wake of a lot of pushing and shoving, Grajeda went to video review and sent off Yotún, who appeared to shove Jalil Anibaba. The replay doesn’t show much, but Yotún will miss next week’s match at D.C. as a result of the decision.

One would hope Grajeda had a different angle than that on which to base such a decision.

After it was all sorted out, neither team got a look at goal and the game finished knotted up at three apiece.

The Lions finished with 65% of the possession but were out-shot 14-13 (7-6 on target). Orlando held an 84%-73% edge in passing accuracy.

“I think the movement was very good. Tonight I thought Yoshi’s delivery was excellent,” O’Connor said. “I think we can still play better than that. We need to be braver…You score six goals in two games and you pick up a point?”

Notes:

  • Higuita made his 87th appearance for Orlando City to pass Cyle Larin for the most in the club’s MLS history.
  • O’Connor said after the match that Kljestan will be evaluated after getting his knee and ankle rolled up on the harsh challenge by Bye.
  • O’Connor also said Yotún was a question mark for the second half after getting fouled several times in the first half.
  • The Lions committed only 11 fouls but saw three yellow cards and a red, while New England committed 23 fouls and saw only one yellow.

The Lions visit D.C. United at Audi Field next Sunday at 8 p.m.

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Orlando City

Orlando City SC vs. Inter Miami: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions and Herons are set to begin the 2025 Tropic Thunder series in Fort Lauderdale.

Published

6 hours ago

on

May 18, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread for a Sunday night Tropic Thunder matchup between Orlando City (5-2-6, 21 points) and the team’s Publix Enemies, Inter Miami CF (6-2-4, 22 points) at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale (7 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). It’s the first of the two scheduled meetings between the sides this season with the Herons scheduled to make the return trip to Orlando on Aug. 10.

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

History

Orlando City is 5-5-5 in the series in all competitions, 5-4-4 in MLS play, and 2-4-0 on the road in league games.

The most recent meeting came just a couple of days more than one year ago on May 15, 2024, when the teams played to a scoreless draw at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando. It was the last 0-0 draw in the regular season for the Lions prior to the four the team has already played to this season.

This fixture a year ago resulted in a forgettable 5-0 loss for the Lions at Chase Stadium on March 2. Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi scored braces and Robert Taylor added a goal in a match Orlando City was never in, as it was already 2-0 just 11 minutes after kickoff.

The previous meeting in Orlando, the final result was a 1-1 draw on Sept. 24, 2023. Duncan McGuire brought Orlando back from a 1-0 deficit after David Ruiz had given the Herons a 1-0 lead early in the second half.

On Aug. 2 of last year, the teams met in Leagues Cup action. The Herons were fortunate to not see Messi sent off with a second yellow late in the first half and even more fortunate to get a soft penalty call on Antonio Carlos as they won, 3-1. Messi opened the scoring after being ignored in the box early. Cesar Araujo made up for his uncharacteristic defensive lapse on the first goal by scoring 10 minutes later. Josef Martinez put Miami back on top with the Downy-soft penalty just after halftime and Messi sunk in the dagger in the final 20 minutes.

The teams also met in Fort Lauderdale in MLS play on May 20, 2023, with Orlando City winning, 3-1. Ercan Kara’s early goal was canceled out by Leonardo Campana shortly before the hour mark, but Martin Ojeda and Rafael Santos found the net in the second half to power the Lions to victory.

Inter Miami won at home, 4-1, on Oct. 5, 2022. Campana scored in the game’s first minute and Orlando City never settled in. Gonzalo Higuain added two goals — one from the spot — and Ariel Lassiter also scored before Kara pulled one back to spoil the shutout.

The first regular-season meeting of 2022 resulted in a 1-0 Orlando City win at Exploria Stadium on July 9, as a stoppage-time own goal by Damion Lowe was the difference between the Lions earning just one point or all three. The ball was sent into the box by Jake Mulraney.

The teams also met at Exploria Stadium on May 25, 2022 in U.S. Open Cup action, with the two sides needing extra time after a scoreless 90 minutes. In extra time, Miami got a goal from Jean Mota against the run of play, but Facundo Torres quickly equalized for Orlando. The match ended 1-1 and Orlando won the ensuing penalty shootout, 4-2. Bryce Duke was denied by Mason Stajduhar and DeAndre Yedlin missed the net during the spot kicks, while all four Orlando shooters scored.

The intrastate rivals played to a scoreless draw in Orlando on Aug. 27, 2021. Tesho Akindele missed a penalty in the match, but the Lions had several other good opportunities to score (but didn’t) in a wasteful performance. Orlando and Miami battled to a 1-1 draw at Exploria Stadium on Aug. 4, 2021. Carlos scored in first-half stoppage time but was knocked into concussion protocol on the play by Kelvin Leerdam. Kieran Gibbs equalized in the 66th minute on a header in front of a less-than-attentive Ruan. Akindele had a goal called back after video review for being offside and the teams split the points. Earlier in the season, the Lions came from behind in Fort Lauderdale to win 2-1 on a pair of brilliant goals by Chris Mueller and Nani on June 25, 2021.

In the final meeting of 2020, the Lions saw their 12-match unbeaten streak end on Oct. 24 in a 2-1 road loss in Fort Lauderdale. Miami defender Leandro Gonzalez Pirez’s header in the 89th minute was the difference after a Daryl Dike goal and an own goal off Robin Jansson saw the game tied up at halftime. The teams met in Orlando on Sept. 12, 2020 with Orlando battling to a 2-1 win on Mauricio Pereyra’s goal. The Lions had taken the lead on an own goal by Andres Reyes. Former Lion Brek Shea tied things up in the 65th, before Pereyra answered with a nice goal off the left post in the 69th minute.

The first meeting in Fort Lauderdale opened Phase 1 of Major League Soccer’s return to regular-season play after the MLS is Back Tournament. That one was an uncharacteristically sloppy match for the Lions, who fell 3-2 in Inter Miami’s first-ever home match. It was Miami’s first franchise win after an 0-5-0 start. Orlando trailed by more than one goal for the first time all season in that game. Dike and Nani provided the offense for Orlando, but Julian Carranza’s brace and Rodolfo Pizarro’s insurance goal were enough to lift the Herons.

The first Tropic Thunder match went Orlando City’s way, with Nani scoring late to lift the Lions to a 2-1 win over the upstarts from South Florida in the opening match of the MLS is Back Tournament. Despite it being a tournament match, it was also a league game. Juan Agudelo opened the scoring for the Herons, but Mueller equalized, setting the stage for Nani’s 97th-minute winner.

Overview

The Lions are coming off a comfortable 3-0 home win over Charlotte FC on Wednesday, extending the club’s unbeaten run to 10 games in MLS (4-0-6) and 11 in all competitions (5-0-6). that streak includes a mark of 1-0-4 on the road in league play and 2-0-4 away in all competitions. The Lions are 1-1-4 in road games in the regular season and 2-1-4 in all competitive matches away from home in 2025.

Ojeda has been red hot for Orlando City, scoring four goals in the last two matches, including a hat trick against the New England Revolution. Beyond those goals, he’s also generating scoring chances and getting more shots of late.

Inter Miami is coming off a 3-3 road draw against the Earthquakes in San Jose in the midweek. The Herons have just one win in their last six games in all competitions (1-4-1), but they are unbeaten (1-0-2) in the last three league meetings and four games in all competitions (2-0-2) in this in-state rivalry series.

The Lions must do what they can to limit Messi’s involvement as much as possible, while keeping a defender glued to Suarez (if he plays — he’s missed the last few games but returned to full training earlier this week) whenever he arrives near the penalty area. Miami’s attack is formidable enough that it helps the team’s defense, as it is often difficult to dispossess the Herons and maintain extended spells of possession long enough to get at Inter Miami’s back line. Orlando should look to get forward quickly in transition tonight to take advantage of the Herons pushing up in support of the attack.

It’s a rivalry game, so anything can happen.

“I’m expecting a game with character. The rivalry is growing very genuinely,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “I’m expecting an intense game with the protagonists of both teams that know what it means to play in this derby. For us, we are coming from a positive result and some very good performances lately. We have confidence to go in there and try to win that game. It would be very important, so that’s the game mode that we are in now.”

The Lions will be without Eduard Atuesta (neck), Nico Rodriguez (thigh), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee). Inter Miami will be without Drake Callender (sports hernia), Baltasar Rodríguez (hamstring), and David Ruiz (hamstring).

Match Content

Projected Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Alex Freeman.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Cesar Araujo, Joran Gerbet, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Luis Muriel, Martin Ojeda.

Inter Miami (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Oscar Ustari.

Defenders: Jordi Alba, Noah Allen, Maximiliano Falcon, Marcelo Weigandt.

Defensive Midfielders: Sergio Busquets, Yannick Bright.

Attacking Midfielders: Benjamin Cremaschi, Lionel Messi, Tadeo Allende.

Forward: Luis Suarez.

Referees:

Ref: Guido Gonzales Jr.
AR1: Jeremy Kieso.
AR2: Chris Elliott.
4th: Marcos DeOliveira.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: Tom Supple.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7 p.m.

Venue: Chase Stadium — Fort Lauderdale.

TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

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 game. Go City!

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Orlando City

Orlando City Showing Signs of Adjusting to Eduard Atuesta’s Absence

The Lions have looked much better on offense the last two games, and there’s a couple of reasons why.

Published

2 days ago

on

May 16, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Much has been made of Orlando City’s difficulties in creating chances and scoring goals when Eduard Atuesta has been unavailable due to injury. It’s not hard to understand why either. The Colombian was unavailable for three of Orlando’s four scoreless draws this year, and he only played nine minutes as a substitute in the stalemate against the New York Red Bulls on April 12.

When he was healthy and got the start against Atlanta United two games later, the Lions won 3-0 and he created the most chances of anyone in the game with three. Orlando then promptly reverted to being offensively stunted in the following game against the Chicago Fire, and was only able to manage its fourth scoreless draw of the year, despite playing over a half the game with a man advantage.

There certainly seemed to be plenty of evidence pointing towards Atuesta being the missing cog in Orlando City’s offense. While he only has two assists in eight games, he does a ton of work in linking the defense to the attack and is great at finding attacking players in dangerous areas, as evidenced by his 17 key passes. In the 0-0 draws with the Philadelphia Union, CF Montreal, and the Fire, Orlando just didn’t look right without him, although the Red Bulls game was a much better performance that was ultimately derailed by Rodrigo Schlegel’s sending off.

While he hasn’t played in either of Orlando’s last two league matches, a 3-3 draw against the New England Revolution, and a 3-1 win against Charlotte FC, the offense clearly hasn’t had any problem creating chances. If anything, the Lions should have scored more goals if not for a couple instances of less-than-crisp finishing in each match.

So, why the sudden change?

Well for one thing, the Designated Players are firing on all cylinders again. Martin Ojeda scored a hat trick against New England, and he and Luis Muriel scored Orlando’s first two goals against Charlotte. Ojeda didn’t start either of the two games against Atlanta and Chicago because he was dealing with a minor injury, but now that it’s in the rearview mirror, he’s been a man possessed. Muriel probably should have had at least one goal of his own against the Revs but seemed oddly reluctant to shoot, although he still completed three dribbles and delivered three key passes. The Charlotte game was then his turn to come out of the gate swinging, as he narrowly had a goal ruled out for offside just two minutes in, before hammering a venomous shot from distance just six minutes later that gave Kristijan Kahlina all sorts of trouble and opened the scoring.

It isn’t just getting contributions from the big guns though, because we need to acknowledge the play of rookie Joran Gerbet in these last two games. He’s the man who’s been asked to fill in for Atuesta next to Cesar Araujo, and he’s getting more and more comfortable in that role. Against the Revs he had an interception, a key pass and an assist, and completed a long ball and a through ball while recording a passing accuracy of 86.5%. Against Charlotte, he recorded an interception, three clearances, a completed dribble, and two successful long balls, and he had an outstanding passing accuracy of 98%. They weren’t all simply backwards or sideways passes either. There were plenty of times when he progressed the ball upfield to an attacking player and helped keep the Lions moving forward, and that’s exactly what you want out of the guy playing that position.

He still has a way to go before reaching Atuesta’s level, but that’s to be expected for a guy that’s playing the first professional season of his career. What’s most important is that he’s getting more comfortable, contributing, and proving that he can be a legitimate option to rotate into the starting XI when Atuesta is unavailable or when fixture congestion dictates changes to the lineup.

It’s worth mentioning the caveat that the last two games haven’t been against the strongest opposition the league has to offer. The Revs were on a four-game winning streak before playing Orlando, but three of those four wins were against weak or shaky teams in Atlanta, Toronto FC, and Charlotte, while the fourth team (NYCFC) has been difficult to get a read on. I’m not saying the Revs are a paper tiger, but it’s tough to know how good they really are despite a good run of recent form. Then you have Charlotte, which was above the playoff line but also on a three-game losing streak coming into the match that has now been convincingly extended to four.

At the end of the day, you can only beat who’s in front of you, but I’d encourage us all to not get too carried away until we see the same results against sterner opposition. For better or worse, that’s exactly what we’ll get in the Lions’ next three matches, which will be against a capable, albeit flawed, Inter Miami side on the road, at home in the U.S. Open Cup against a Nashville SC team that’s fourth in the East, and at home against the Portland Timbers, who are currently fourth in the West.

Ultimately, we can only judge this team on what we’ve seen from it, and over the last two games we’ve seen a side that’s had no trouble creating chances. Despite the continued absence of the important Atuesta, the Lions are adjusting thanks to contributions from their heavy hitters and the improving play of the rookie Gerbet. Only time will tell if those improvements are sustainable, but for now its a hell of a lot of fun to enjoy.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/16/25

Orlando City players make MLS Team of the Matchday, Luis Muriel focused, Orlando Pride plays tonight, and more.

Published

2 days ago

on

May 16, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Happy Friday! I’ve had a pretty good week so far and am looking forward to three straight days of Orlando soccer. The Orlando Pride will get us started tonight and then we have Orlando City B on Saturday before Orlando City plays on Sunday. It should be a fun next few days, and hopefully one filled with celebrations too. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Lions Make MLS Team of the Matchday

There’s plenty of purple in the latest MLS Team of the Matchday following Orlando City’s 3-1 win over Charlotte FC. Martin Ojeda and David Brekalo were both selected, while Oscar Pareja was chosen as the top coach from the midweek slate. Ojeda’s strike in the first half is also up for Goal of the Matchday as his strong run of form continues. The only outfield player on this Team of the Matchday that didn’t score is Brekalo, who had two assists, so it’s nice to see him receive deserved recognition for an excellent performance that included a great setup on Orlando’s third goal. Pareja has the Lions on an 11-game unbeaten streak across all competitions and is managing things well so far during this busy May.

Luis Muriel Staying Focused in Sophomore Season

With five goals so far this season, Orlando City forward Luis Muriel has already mirrored his scoring total from all of last season. Staying mentally prepared has been key for the 34-year-old in his second year with Orlando, and he spoke about what’s changed for him after not quite reaching expectations in his first year.

“Coming to a league like this isn’t easy. A lot of times from the outside, you aren’t able to measure up or really see what the league is. Sometimes you can underestimate things, thinking it’s easy,” Muriel said. “That leads you to take things on in a different way, the work, the matches.

“When you go into ‘MLS Mode’ you realize how good the league is, how competitive it is, how demanding the league is to be able to do things well. That’s when things start to flow, to go well. I think that’s the difference between this year and last.”

He’s finding his footing in the league now and was a force to be reckoned with against Charlotte on Wednesday. Muriel is aware that the Lions will need him to be at his best when they travel to take on Inter Miami on Sunday for an important rivalry clash.

Diving Into Justin Ellis’s Ascent

Victor Olorunfemi of Top Drawer Soccer gave a great profile on Orlando City B forward Justin Ellis and his growth with the club. Ellis, who just celebrated his 18th birthday on Wednesday with his MLS debut, is having a great year after a solid season with OCB last year. The high school senior was the top scorer at this year’s Generation Adidas Cup with six goals to help Orlando’s U-18 team win the tournament. He can create chances just as well as he can convert them and is quick to give credit to the coaches and staff that have helped him develop. The U.S. youth pool is deep, but Ellis could be a name to keep an eye out for ahead of the U-20 World Cup in September.

Orlando Pride Match Headlines NWSL Weekend

The Orlando Pride’s match tonight against the Kansas City Current is the premier matchup this week in the NWSL. While I wouldn’t call it a rivalry just yet, these two teams had great games last year. The Current are still out for revenge after Orlando beat them while shorthanded last summer and won again in the NWSL playoffs in Orlando before winning the NWSL Championship in Kansas City. First place in the league is on the line and it should be a thrilling match featuring the league’s top two defenses and attacking threats like Barbra Banda, Temwa Chawinga, Marta, and Debinha.

NWSL Contenders and Underperformers

We’re about a third of the way into the NWSL season and ESPN‘s Jeff Kassouf dove into how each team is meeting its expectations so far. Despite their stumbles in recent weeks, the Pride are near the top of the table and have plenty of time to get things firing on all cylinders. Two of the California teams are enjoying surprising success so far, with the San Diego Wave up in fourth while Angel City FC is in fifth and could become a real contender once Alexander Straus takes over as head coach. NJ/NY Gotham FC and the North Carolina Courage are sleeping giants of sorts, so it will be interesting to see when they start climbing up the table.

Free Kicks

  • You’ll need a paid subscription for the full details, but Orlando City right back Alex Freeman continues to impress this season. Freeman is finding success in a way different from his father Antonio Freeman, who led the NFL in receiving yards for the Green Bay Packers in 1998.
  • This year’s MLS pre-match jerseys to celebrate Pride month are out and they’re a vibrant and funky design.

Love lifts us up 💜The new 2025 Pride Pre-Match Jerseys are here!🛒 orlsoccer.co/fbpri

— Orlando City SC (@orlandocitysc.com) 2025-05-15T18:56:08.764Z
  • Esther Gonzalez leads the NWSL with seven goals this season and has agreed to a contract extension with Gotham FC that will last through 2027.
  • FIFA representatives, including FA Chair Debbie Hewitt and UEFA President Alexander Ceferin, walked out of FIFA’s annual congress in protest of FIFA President Gianni Infantino arriving three hours late. Infantino has spent this week in the Middle East visiting leaders in Saudi Arabia and Qatar with Donald Trump.
  • FC Barcelona officially won this year’s La Liga title after a 2-0 win over Espanyol. Phenom Lamine Yamal scored a sensational goal in the match, which is fitting considering how crucial he was to Barcelona winning the league this year.
  • Predictable names like Luis Enrique and Antonio Conte are on the list of top European coaches this year, but this article also shines a light on coaches who navigated tough waters in small boats. Alexander Blessin has St. Pauli on the verge of survival in the Bundesliga and Filippo Inzaghi improved Pisa by 30 points in Serie B to secure promotion.

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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