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Intelligence Report: Scouting Orlando City at New York City FC

Published

9 years ago

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Orlando City has two points in two matches. While two draws to open the season might have been applauded just a year ago, they smack of disappointment in 2016. The club had a man advantage for a significant number of minutes in both games and failed to capitalize. Too many chances have gone wanting and the final ball seems to be teasingly absent.

Still, another game gives us hope for that elusive first victory. Yankee Stadium seems an unlikely place to get it. Orlando City hasn’t fared well on the narrow baseball field configurations the team has seen in its first year as a Major League Soccer franchise (one in MLS and two friendlies against lower leagues). Orlando City won and drew NYCFC at home and lost on the road a year ago.

This year, the New Yorkers seem to be in better early season form than Orlando. But the game must still be played and anything can happen when Cyle Larin travels to the Big Apple. Here to help us scout tonight’s opponent is Jake Gofman from our NYCFC sister blog, Hudson River Blue. And if you want to see how I responded to their questions, you can check that out here.

What are New York City FC’s key off-season additions and subtractions that we should know about and how have they affected the team?

Jake Gofman: NYCFC focused on improving its porous defense this off-season, so many of our key signings are on that side of the ball. Our most high-profile additions were internationals, including LB Ronald Matarrita from Costa Rica, CB Frederic Brillant from Belgium, and CDM Federico Bravo from Argentina. I think Jack Harrison, who we acquired in the SuperDraft via trade, would be included as a big addition for the club but he has yet to see the field. We also added some depth on defense by bringing in MLS veterans Mikey Lopez and Ethan White.

Matarrita has been plugged into the starting XI and has played very well, doing an excellent job of defending on the outside and working the ball into the midfield following successful tackles. He has good control of the ball and has great speed on the outside, which allows him to contribute to the attack and track back when required.

Brillant, on the other hand, has had a shaky go of things to start his MLS career. The 30-year old was brought in to provide stability, but has looked vulnerable at times as he adjusts to MLS.

Federico Bravo is a big addition to the club because of how he allows us to play. He is a hybrid CDM-CB in our 3-2-4-1, providing cover at the back for Jason Hernandez and in front for Andrea Pirlo. Matarrita is likely our most talented signing, but Bravo may be our most important.

Many of the subtractions to the squad came from the defense as well, with our biggest being the losses of Angelino, Shay Facey and Chris Wingert. Facey and Angelino were expected to return back to Manchester City, so their departure was an inevitability. Wingert was a solid player who made 25 appearances for NYC, but his loss is not devastating and was also anticipated. The most surprising loss was our trade of CM Andrew Jacobson. Jacobson appeared in 33 games for New York, but was likely shipped out because the midfield was getting too crowded.

In all, I think NYC brought in much more talent than they lost, and the contributions from the new players have been encouraging to start the season.

NYCFC is on its second manager in just a little over a season in the league. How has Patrick Vieira changed things from the Jason Kreis days?

JG: All things considered, firing Kreis was probably unfair to the manager. He was asked to build a culture and philosophy with an incomplete squad, and it certainly didn’t help that two of our DPs sauntered into the team after their European domestic seasons ended. Kreis had a style he wanted to instill and the team looked like it was getting there in the summer, only for New York to stumble towards the end of the season. That being said, Kreis made some tactical and squad-related decisions that drove fans crazy, mostly with how he interchanged the defense almost every game. Many supporters questioned the firing, and the hiring of Vieira from the ranks at City Football Group was provocative to say the least.

Vieira gradually gained the trust of fans, however, with his transparent and humble demeanor. I think many supporters see him as genuinely interested in growing with the club, and his outgoing personality is a welcome change from Kreis’s prickly demeanor. Tactically, Vieira, like Kreis, wants to play a ball-control game that produces aesthetically pleasing play.

Unlike Kreis, Vieira has shown himself to be more aggressive with the formation. The manager worked with the team in preseason on implementing a back three with Bravo playing as the hybrid, and he only waited one match before implementing it against Toronto FC. Vieira has also shown his resolute nature early, sending strong messages to the players for what he expects. For example, he came out early and told the media that Lampard and Pirlo were not going to play together in a three man midfield at any point. Additionally, he has been critical of Kwadwo Poku and has indicated that Poku must learn the game before he plays with the first team.

So far, so good for Vieira, with four points out of six, but his hiring was certainly a bit of a shock and if things go sour fans may not give him the same amount of patience they gave Kreis.

What kind of formation and tactics can we expect from New York City FC this weekend against what is most likely going to be some variation of a 4-3-2-1 or 4-3-3 by Orlando City, and what do you view as the game’s key match-up?

JG: I would expect another three man back line again, with Bravo starting in between the midfield and the back three. The formation would be a 3-2-4-1 and it allows us to flex our muscle in the midfield and control the pace of the game. It can also leave us exposed at the back, and requires a full team effort for 90 minutes. This formation also highlights the importance of having athletic, two-way wingers who can track back defensively as well as initiate the attack and take their defenders on one-on-one. Khiry Shelton has been excellent so far in this role, and has provided plenty of cover for Frederic Brillant who is still settling into the team.

The key to the game will be these matchups on the outside. When Shelton and fellow winger Tony Taylor are caught out on attack, it leaves NYC exposed to the counter and requires strong one-v-one defending. I would anticipate Cyle Larin and Kevin Molino looking to exploit these opportunities and match-ups. How they play out on Friday could be the determining factor in the game.

What is your anticipated starting XI and score prediction for tonight?

JG: I think we see a similar formation to what we played against Toronto with the inclusion of Andoni Iraola at RB instead of Frederic Brillant.

Here’s our lineup prediction: Josh Saunders; Ronald Matarrita, Jason Hernandez, Andoni Iraola; Andrea Pirlo, Federico Bravo; Tony Taylor, Thomas McNamara, Mix Diskerud, Khiry Shelton; David Villa.

As for the match, I think both clubs have the firepower to make this a high-scoring affair. I see a 3-2 NYCFC win this, with goals coming from Larin and Molino, and on NYCFC’s side, from Villa, Shelton, and Mix.

* * *

Big thanks to Jake from HRB for giving us some insight on Orlando City’s fellow 2015 expansion side. These opposing team bloggers keep predicting Kevin Molino goals. It’s bound to happen sooner or later!

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Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 3-3 draw against the Revolution.

Published

6 hours ago

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May 11, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City returned home and returned to league play after a resounding midweek victory in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Lions faced one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference heading into the matchday, as the New England Revolution entered Saturday having won four straight Major League Soccer matches in a row and five straight in all competitions. As the rain fell at Inter&Co Stadium, so did any hopes of a clean sheet for either side as the match saw six goals in total, resulting in a somewhat disappointing 3-3 draw and a splitting of the matchday points. What follows are my five takeaways for the match.

Welcome Back, Martin Ojeda

Head Coach Oscar Pareja inserted Designated Player Martin Ojeda back into the starting 11, and the decision paid off in spades for the Lions, as Ojeda was the Orlando City offense on the night. A first-half brace from the Argentine saw Orlando City take control of the match a little after the half-hour mark. Ojeda was all over the field, and for his first goal, the midfielder fired a rocket blast off the bottom of the crossbar and in, which gave Revolution goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic little reaction time and almost no chance to attempt a save. For his second, just nine minutes later, Ojeda took a beautiful pass from Joran Gerbet, into a 1-v-1 situation and did well to remain composed before picking out the inside of the right post. It was a great start for Ojeda, which saw Orlando City jump out to a 2-0 lead. His third goal of the match, which we’ll get to in a moment, came from the spot in the second half. Ojeda may have scored the team’s first hat trick since 2015, but he led the team with seven shot attempts and any of the other four could also have found the net on another night, as the Lions’ No. 10 found the holes in the Revolution defense all night.

All Good Things Must Come to an End

I had hoped to see Orlando City ride its club-best 653-minute shutout streak across all competitions for a little bit longer than a paltry five minutes after Ojeda’s second goal. If Orlando City fans had a nickel for every time an MLS player earned their first career goal against the Lions, we would all have a lot of nickels. Against the Revolution, another player opened his MLS account when Alhassan Yusuf ran onto a ball sent back across goal and calmly slotted it into the net from point-blank range. The goal cut the lead to one, pulling the Revs back into the game. To make matters worse, New England was able to level the match just before halftime with a Matt Polster header off a short corner. Polster wasn’t covered nearly well enough on the set piece. Orlando City also ended New England’s long streak without conceding, as Ojeda’s first goal Saturday night halted the Revs’ streak at 418 consecutive minutes.

Correcting a Mistake

Ten minutes into the second half, the Lions regained the lead from the penalty spot. Referee Rubiel Vazquez and the assistant referee on the east sideline both appeared well positioned to see Gerbet get kicked in the head by the high boot of Mamadou Fofana, but somehow both missed the call. Gerbet went down in the box with an apparent head injury but it took Vazquez an unacceptable amount of time to stop the match to check on the player. Once he did, there was a longer-than-necessary delay for the video assistant referee to check the play before sending Vazquez to the monitor for another look. The review correctly determined that Fofana fouled Gerbet. Ojeda stepped up to the spot and sent Ivacic the wrong way, completing his first career hat trick and Orlando City’s first hatty since Cyle Larin scored three goals on the road in a win over the Red Bulls on Sept. 25, 2015. Ojeda became the first player to notch a home hat trick in the club’s MLS era.

A Gift for the Opposition

After taking the 3-2 lead, Orlando City found was in control of the match for a good half-hour of game action despite the Revolution increasing their pressure as they hunted for the equalizer once again. The Revs found the reprieve they were searching for in the 85th minute after a head-scratching challenge from captain Robin Jansson resulted in a gifted penalty kick opportunity that Carlos Gil took full advantage of. There was no immediate need for Jansson to stick his foot out, as the attacking player for New England was running away from goal near the end-line. The contact seemed soft, but Vazquez pointed directly to the spot. This time, there was no trip to the monitor for a second look, as Orlando City continues to see inconsistencies within games on review decisions. While we’re not keeping any official records on video review, this seems like at least half a dozen times in Pareja’s time in Orlando when the match referee has gone to the monitor for one close play and not the other, with either one or both of those decisions ultimately benefitting the opposition. Either way, Jansson has to be aware of the situation and make a better decision in that moment when protecting a late lead.

Brekalo Settling In

Defender David Brekalo has struggled to stay healthy since his arrival in Orlando, but Saturday night was part of a recent stretch of games in which the Slovenian international has looked more and more comfortable. Still playing as a hybrid left back/left center back, not only did Brekalo stuff the stat sheet defensively with two tackles, an interception, three clearances, and a blocked shot, but he’s also starting to show more confidence in getting into the attack. He was an unfortunate in the 48th minute not to have scored a vital goal for the Lions. He started the play in the back, dribbled forward past a defender and passed, continuing his run up the pitch. He was rewarded with a return pass in the final third, taking the ball up the left side of the box and firing a shot that was ever so slightly deflected, sending it off the woodwork instead of into the net. Although he was partially culpable on the first New England goal — his sliding lunge was a tad late, allowing Ilay Feingold to get to Ignatius Ganago’s cross through the box and took him out of position to prevent the cross back in from Feingold to Yusuf — it was a good night overall for Brekalo, who seems to be finding his form. He moved to right center back late in the game when Pareja brought on Rafael Santos, hoping more attack-minded players could find a late game winner.

Those are my takeaways from a match that produced more goals than Orlando City fans have been seeing in most recent matches but didn’t produce a better result. What stood out to you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and as always, vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Final Score 3-3 as Lions Squander Lead Twice at Home

The Lions finally had an offensive outburst like they had earlier in the year, but the defense was as leaky as the attack was strong in a wasteful home loss.

Published

18 hours ago

on

May 10, 2025

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City led twice — by two goals in the first half and again by a goal inside the final 10 minutes of normal time, but the Lions couldn’t hold onto either lead in a frustrating 3-3 draw at Inter&Co Stadium. Martin Ojeda fired home Orlando’s first hat trick in a decade, and the first of his professional career, but it wasn’t enough for the Lions (4-2-6, 18 points) to get all three points against the New England Revolution (5-4-2, 17 points) in front of an announced crowd of 18,505 on a rainy night.

Alhassan Yusuf and Matt Polster brought the Revs back from 2-0 down in the final minutes of the first half, and a Carles Gil penalty just moments before the end of normal time allowed the visitors to steal a point in Orlando and deny two more to the Lions’ tally in a game reminiscent of the start of the season.

“I think it was obviously very entertaining for the intensity of the game to people that came to the stadium, but at the end, the frustration is the same.,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “What we left on the field was another two points that we let go in a game that I think we had all (the opportunities) to close it and win it. But this is the game. We’re scoring goals but we conceded too. But I have to say as well that our team was always bringing the initiative. I think we really proposed the game all the time.”

Pareja’s lineup featured Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Alex Freeman. Cesar Araujo and Joran Gerbet were the central midfielders supporting attacking midfielders Ivan Angulo, Ojeda, and Marco Pasalic, with Luis Muriel up top.

The Lions opened the match as the protagonists of the game, winning the ball and finding spaces to send Angulo down the left or Freeman (surprisingly) down the middle up top. Ojeda, Muriel, and Pasalic facilitated moving the ball and then themselves up the field to join the play. However, once Orlando City built its two-goal lead, there were breakdowns on the defensive end that allowed the visitors to climb back into it before halftime.

Ignatius Ganago got the first sight of goal in the match in the fifth minute, firing shot from the top of the box, but Jansson was there to block it for Orlando.

The first good look for the Lions came four minutest later. Pasalic did well to slip Freeman behind the defense through the right half of the box. Freeman fired a shot that forced a good diving save from Aljaz Ivacic. The goalkeeper could not control the rebound, but the ball was offline for a charging Angulo to finish into the empty net.

That kicked off a good spell for Orlando. Araujo fired a blast from outside the area in the 11th minute, but Ivacic again made a good diving save, sending it out for a corner, but the Lions couldn’t pay off the set piece, as Brekalo got under his header attempt.

New England struggled early to break down Orlando’s defense. Campana fired a shot from outside the area in the 15th minute. The former Inter Miami striker hit it well, but Gallese did well to get to his left and make the save.

A minute later, Pasalic unlocked New England’s defense down the left, sending Angulo down the flank. Angulo picked out Ojeda at the top of the box, but the Argentine blasted his shot over the bar. Pasalic should have opened the scoring four minutes later. In the 20th minute, Muriel nodded a cross in the box down for the Croatian, who had time and space, but opted to hit the shot with power, fizzing it just over the crossbar.

Ojeda earned a corner in the 23rd minute that the Revs cleared but only out to Pasalic, who fired a shot back through. It took a deflection off a defender and went out for a corner. The Lions made the second set piece pay off. Ivacic made a big save on Araujo’s shot and the follow from Gerbet was blocked by the defense. Ojeda picked it up, dribbled toward goal and smashed a shot off the underside of the crossbar and in to make it 1-0 in the 24th minute with his fifth goal of the season — one more than he scored in MLS all of last season and equaling his 2023 output.

Moments after the goal, the Revs won a corner and it was nearly a costly one, with Ganago getting his head to it at the near post. However, the header went wide.

Ojeda doubled the lead in the 33rd minute. Gerbet sent the ball over the top, putting Ojeda in a 1-v-1 with the defense. A second New England defender recovered, but Ojeda did well to pull the ball back and fire it inside the right post to make it 2-0. His sixth of the year was the most he’s scored in a season for Orlando City.

“We’ve watched their film. When we review those opponents, I like to look for the spaces that I can try and find to create an advantage for us in the games,” Ojeda said. “And so, you know that was key tonight, to being able to find those spaces. But also what was key was my teammates finding spaces of their own and creating additional spaces for me in the run of play.”

The two-goal lead lasted only five minutes. After Orlando City ended New England’s long shutout streak, it was only fair for the Revs to return the favor. Ganago ended up with the ball out wide on the left and made a dangerous cross between the back line and Gallese that went through to the right side. Ilay Feingold was first to it, centering for Yusuf to blast home past a helpless Gallese from point-blank range in the 38th minute, halting the shutout streak in MLS play at 563 minutes and 653 minutes in all competitions.

“After the (game was) 2-0, we had low energy for some reason,” Gerbet said. “So like, we conceded two goals, which we shouldn’t. The guy, like, crossed it. He put it back on top of the box. So, like, that’s maybe also my zone. So, I didn’t watch back.”

Buoyed by the goal, New England stayed on the front foot for most of the remainder of the first half. However, it was at the end of the first period when the next chance came, and the Revolution made the most of it. New England earned a late penalty and took it short. The cross went to the back post, where Polster got his head to it and nodded home to make it 2-2 in the 45th minute.

“I think the first two goals that they scored was essentially a lack of concentration on all of our parts,” Ojeda said. “After the 30 minutes that we had played, and we went up two goals, we started to let them hit transitions on our defense, in areas that I myself take charge of. As attackers, we have to make sure that we’re helping out our defenders, that we’re helping out Pedro, and I think in those in those minutes, the we faltered in that.”

Neither side was able to produce a goal in three minutes of injury time and the teams went to the break tied at 2-2.

At the break, the Revs had the advantage in possession (57%-43%) and passing accuracy (85.5%-82.6%). Orlando City finished the first half with more shots (11-6), shots on target (4-3), and corner kicks (3-2).

“One of the games that we took advantage of those spaces that we create,” Pareja said. “And sometimes we create (space) but we don’t use it. But tonight, we created and used it all the game, and especially in that first half.”

Ojeda’s hat trick nearly came in the 47th minute when he took a pass on the left and fired quickly. He would have had the goalkeeper beaten, but Brayan Ceballos made a huge play to stick out a leg and block the shot.

The Lions kept coming. Muriel showed off some excellent skill to round his defender on the left, setting up Ojeda at the near post. Ojeda’s first touch was a shot but he pulled it wide of the left upright in the 48th minute. Seconds later, Brekalo brought the ball up the middle and continued his run. The Lions built the attack well and the ball ended up back on Brekalo’s foot. The defender slipped in and fired a shot that a defender blocked onto the post and out for a corner. Orlando couldn’t make the set piece pay off.

Gerbet took a high boot from Mamadou Fofana in the box moments later. Nothing was initially called, but referee Rubiel Vazquez was sent to the monitor for a second look. The penalty was correctly given.

Ojeda took the spot kick, waited for Ivacic to make his move, and fired down the middle to make it 3-2 in the 55th minute with his seventh goal of the MLS season. The successful penalty moved Ojeda to within one of the golden boot lead.

The goal gave Orlando City its first hat trick since September of 2015, when Cyle Larin netted three times against the New York Red Bulls. It was also Orlando’s first hat trick at home in the club’s MLS era in all competitions, as the previous three took place at New York City FC, at the Red Bulls, and at the Charleston Battery in U.S. Open Cup play — all in 2015.

“I think he came up in a very good moment,” Pareja said of his No. 10. “He was facing some tightness in his body, and we rested him and let him recover. And last game in the Cup game that we played, we started seeing that spark on him again. And today, it was a phenomenal game for Martin. I think he’s showing us all those things that he can do more frequently, but my admiration for such a game that he played today for us, it was great.”

The game stayed somewhoat open after the third goal. The Revolution nearly found a gift in the 62nd minute on a long-range free kick from Gil that was nodded toward goal from the top of the box. Gallese was alert and was able to make the stop.

Orlando should have done better with a chance in the 68th minute that Ojeda set up with an incredible pass to send Muriel in transition. The Colombian took too many touches to try to finesse around Ivacic instead of shooting, and the goalkeeper was able to take the ball right off his foot.

“We should have been lethal when we were (up) 3-2, and we had a few chances just to put the game away, and we let it go,” Pareja said.

Both teams begane making substitutions shortly after that opportunity, and New England’s worked out a bit better than Orlando’s. Ramiro Enrique, in particular, got into good areas but either couldn’t get good contact on his shot or turned the ball over trying to pass to a teammate. A good cross found Enrique on a corner kick in the 76th minute. The Argentine got his head to it and got it on goal, but his downward headed shot was soft enough for Ivacic to get a hand on it to keep it out.

The Lions tried to slow the match down and see out the win, while the Revs tried to push numbers forward. Orlando drew several yellow cards from Vazquez, who had been lenient most of the night both with foul calls and bookings. Still, things seemed to be under control until the 82nd minute. Ganago cut in front of Jansson in the box, while running away from goal on the right. Jansson was trying to play the ball but made light contact with the Revs forward with his foot. Ganago went down and Vazquez immediately pointed to the spot to award the penalty. Unlike the Gerbet play, video assistant referee Daniel Radford did not send Vazquez to the monitor for a second look, despite a lengthy check.

Gil took the spot kick and beat Gallese to score the game’s final goal in the 85th minute.

Orlando had some half chances to find a winner but could not convert. Second-half sub Duncan McGuire fired over the bar in the 87th minute from a shot outside the area. Two minutes later, McGuire got down the right flank and picked out a pass for Enrique in front, but he got well under the ball on his shot and sent it high over the goal and into The Wall. In the 90th minute, Enrique mishit his shot from the top of the box that hit McGuire and went in, but the big striker was offside when the ball found him and the goal was immediately disallowed.

Neither side created much in the 10 minutes of stoppage time. Substitute Rafael Santos was beaten badly by Luis Diaz Espinoza, who fired from outside the area. It was an awkward shot for Gallese, but the Peruvian made the save and his defense was able to clear the rebound in the second minute of injury time.

Orlando came close in the sixth added minute. Pasalic lined up a shot from well outside the area that Ivacic could only fight off. Freeman picked up the rebound on the right side and did well to lift a cross in front for Ojeda. The Argentine came close to a fourth goal, but a defender deflected the shot just wide of the right post. Nothing came of the corner kick and that was it for the good opportunites in the match.

New England finished with the advantage in possession (53.1%-46.9%) and passing accuracy (85.7%-85.2%). Orlando City ended the game with the edge in shots (23-16), shots on target (8-6), and corners (6-3).

“The pain that we have is the game allowed us to kill the game and we let it go on key moments that we have to do better,” Pareja said. “But there is a bunch of positive things. I see a team, probably the way we attacked today and the way we proposed it, this is the team that we want to see.”

“It’s a shame that tonight we we gave up three goals, because we had come in with with five games, six games of clean sheets,” Ojeda said. “And so, it’s a surprise to see three goals (conceded), but we go back into the week to work and to try and fix those errors that cause those goals on our side.”

The Lions are back in action Wednesday night when Charlotte FC visits Inter&Co Stadium.

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Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The recently offensively challenged Lions return home to face a red-hot Revolution side with the best defense in MLS.

Published

1 day ago

on

May 10, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (4-2-5, 17 points) and the New England Revolution (5-4-1, 16 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). This is the first of the two scheduled meetings between the two MLS Eastern Conference rivals this season with the Lions scheduled to make the return trip to Massachussetts on July 19.

Here’s what you need to know for the match.

History

The Lions are 5-7-7 in the regular-season series against New England and 6-8-7 in all competitions. At home, Orlando City is 4-1-5 against the Revs in the regular season and 5-2-5 in all competitions.

The last meeting between the teams took place on Sept. 14, 2024, with the Lions completing their first-ever sweep of the Revs with a 3-0 win. Rafael Santos, Facundo Torres (from the penalty spot), and Duncan McGuire provided the offense in a dominant performance. The teams previously met on July 13 at Gillette Stadium, where the Lions won for the first time, handing the Revs a 3-1 home loss. Torres’ brace led the way to an Orlando comeback, with Ramiro Enrique also scoring to overturn an early 1-0 deficit provided by Giacomo Vrioni.

The teams met in Orlando on Oct. 7, 2023, with the Lions winning 3-2 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates. Orlando City clinched second in the Eastern Conference as McGuire and Torres built a 2-0 lead. Pedro Gallese gave up a soft goal from distance to Carles Gil, but Ivan Angulo pulled that one back three minutes later. Gil added a second goal deep in stoppage time to improve the result cosmetically.

New England got the better of the Lions in the previous matchup of the 2023 season, winning 3-1 at Gillette Stadium on June 17. After a scoreless first half, the Revs went up by two with goals from Emmanuel Boateng and Gustavo Bou 18 minutes apart. McGuire pulled one back late, but Gil scored the dagger five minutes later.

These teams met at Exploria Stadium on Aug. 6, 2022, and the previously struggling Revolution whipped Orlando City, 3-0. New England got goals from unlikely sources, as central midfielders Matt Polster and Wilfrid Kaptoum and center back Henry Kessler provided the offense. The teams met at Gillette Stadium on June 15 of that year, and the Revs went ahead on a Gil goal, but the Lions pulled that back with a Robin Jansson strike en route to a 1-1 road draw.

New England went unbeaten in the 2021 season series. The teams played to a 2-2 draw at Exploria Stadium on Oct. 24, 2021. The Lions built a 2-0 lead through goals by Nani and Daryl Dike, but two late Adam Buksa goals allowed the Revs to steal a point. The teams met at Gillette Stadium just over a month prior to that draw in Orlando, with Nani’s missed penalty a costly one in a 2-1 Revs home win. The Revolution jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a goal by Buksa and an own goal off of Rodrigo Schlegel, in which the referee was quite lenient with Buksa’s treatment of the Orlando defender in the lead-up to Tajon Buchanan’s cross. Dike pulled one back for the Lions and later won a penalty, but Nani’s attempt to go down the middle was read at the last second by Matt Turner, who got his shoulder to it to preserve the lead.

The Revolution ended the Lions’ season at Exploria Stadium in the 2020 playoffs, knocking Orlando City out of MLS Cup contention in the conference semifinal round on Nov. 29, 2020. That 3-1 win by the Revs was the first road win for either side in the series in any competition. Gil put the Revs up early from the penalty spot after a call against Uri Rosell, and Bou doubled the lead eight minutes later, finishing a play that started with a Nani turnover. Junior Urso pulled a goal back before the halftime whistle, but Mauricio Pereyra was sent off for a studs-up challenge on Polster at the hour mark. Still, Nani had a chance to equalize from the spot, but a poor penalty was saved by Turner. Bou added a late insurance goal.

In the final year of the pre-pandemic times, the Revs went 1-0-1 in the season series. The Lions and Revolution met at Exploria Stadium on Sept. 14, 2019, with Orlando overcoming a Tesho Akindele own goal and two deficits — the second by two goals — and rallying for a 3-3 draw. Shortly after Akindele’s own goal opened the scoring, Nani tied things up. Cristian Penilla and Bou scored goals five minutes apart just before halftime to seemingly give the visitors control. But Dom Dwyer pulled one back after the restart and Nani tied it up.

The teams also met at Gillette Stadium in 2019 on July 27, and the Revs put the Lions on full blast, 4-1. Bou scored within the first two minutes of the game, and the Revolution got goals from Penilla, Gil, and Diego Fagundez. Akindele scored to avoid the shutout.

The teams also met at Exploria Stadium in U.S. Open Cup action that year on June 19, with the Lions scoring twice in a 30-minute extra time session and holding on for a 2-1 victory. Benji Michel and Akindele staked Orlando to a 2-0 lead before Justin Rennicks pulled one back off a Gil back-post cross. City was able to see the game out.

The last meeting of 2018 saw the Revs top a depleted Orlando side, 2-0 in Gillette Stadium on Oct. 13. In the first matchup of 2018, the teams combined for six goals in a 3-3 draw at Orlando City Stadium on Aug. 4.

Orlando City and New England split the season series in 2017. City completed a 6-1 demolition of 10-man New England at home Sept. 27, 2017. New England won at Gillette Stadium that year by a 4-0 count.

The Lions went 1-0-2 in the series in 2016, winning 3-1 at home on July 31. The teams played a controversial 2-2 draw in Orlando on April 17, 2016. The second 2016 meeting reached the same final score on April 30 in New England.

The teams met twice in 2015, with Orlando City rallying from a 2-0 deficit in the final 17 minutes to draw 2-2 at the Citrus Bowl in April. The Sept. 5 rematch at Gillette Stadium didn’t go as well, with New England taking a 3-0 win. Fagundez, Agudelo and Chris Tierney scored for the Revolution.

Overview

Orlando City is coming off its fourth scoreless draw in five matches. The 0-0 result at Chicago was a hard pill to swallow, as the Lions were up a man for more than half the match. While the lineup hasn’t exactly been the same for all of the recent scoreless draws, the common denominator is that midfielder Eduard Atuesta has missed time. He had tightness the first time but shortly after returning to the lineup for Orlando’s 3-0 win over Atlanta United, he sustained a neck injury in training and was listed as out again tonight on the club’s availability report.

The Lions are unbeaten in eight games (3-0-5), but a lack of offense has cost them two points four times during that run, as 0-0 draws could easily have become 1-0 (or better) wins with more lethal finishing. Orlando City has shut out five consecutive MLS opponents and a heavily rotated side also blanked the Tampa Bay Rowdies in St. Petersburg 5-0 on Wednesday for a sixth straight shutout in all competitions.

The Revolution are ninth in the Eastern Conference and sit just one point behind Orlando City. New England may be the league’s hottest team, arriving in Central Florida riding a four-game winning streak in the league without allowing a goal in that span, as well as a five-match winning streak in all competitions after Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup road victory over Rhode Island SC. Goals won’t be easy to come by, as the Revs boast the league’s best defense, allowing just seven goals in 10 matches this season. The team’s weak spot has been offense, with just nine goals to New England’s credit in 2025 — the third fewest in the Eastern Conference. However, the Revs have scored six of those goals during this four-game run, which has been sparked by a formation change to a 5-3-2, with the wingbacks pushing up while in possession.

Having any success against New England usually demands that the opposition keeps tabs on Gil, one of the league’s most lethal playmakers and a guy who can score goals of his own as well. Gil has five goals and an assist for six goal contributions — two-thirds of those the Revolution have scored this season. Leo Campana has two of the other three goals after arriving in New England via trade from Inter Miami.

“New England is a team that we have seen in the last four or five games that has changed their structures,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “We have seen noticeable changes from the way they played before in the first part of the season. But a reference of the players that we also know. So, we’re trying to be prepared for it.”

Orlando City will be without Atuesta (neck), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee), while Joran Gerbet (lower leg) and Favian Loyola (thigh) are questionable. New England will be without Malcolm Fry (leg), while Tomás Chancalay (groin) and Luca Langoni (quad) are questionable.

Match Content

Official 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.

Bench: Javier Otero, Rafael Santos, Kyle Smith, Colin Guske, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Gustavo Caraballo, Justin Ellis, Ramiro Enrique, Duncan McGuire.

New England Revolution (5-3-2)

Goalkeeper: Aljaz Ivacic.

Defenders/Wingbacks: Peyton Miller, Mamadou Fofana, Brayan Ceballos, Tanner Beason, Ilay Feingold.

Midfielders: Matt Polster, Carles Gil, Alhassan Yusuf.

Forwards: Leo Campana, Ignatius Ganago.

Bench: Alex Bono, Brandon Bye, Wyatt Omsberg, Will Sands, Keegan Hughes, Luis Diaz Espinoza, Jackson Yueill, Cristiano Oliveira, Maxi Urruti.

Referees

Ref: Rubiel Vazquez.
AR1: Cory Richardson.
AR2: Rhett Hammil.
4th: Elton Garcia.
VAR: Daniel Radford.
AVAR: Jonathan Johnson.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30p.m. ET.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

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 match. Go City!

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