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SeaWolves Come Alive in the Fourth to Beat the Comets in Kansas City, 6-4

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8 years ago

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The Orlando SeaWolves fell behind three separate times and didn’t score a single goal in the first half. But Richard Schmermund’s second-half hat trick — plus an assist and a huge defensive play — led the SeaWolves to a 6-4 comeback win on the road against the Kansas City Comets. Orlando (7-8) snapped a season long three-game losing streak to creep closer to second-place Kansas City (9-8) in the South Central Division.

“First half I was trying to find my legs,” Schmermund said after the game. “Second half, I came out and good things happened.”

Thiago Freitas returned from a knee injury but Victor France was still out with a hamstring issue and defender Derek Huffman sat out the first match of his two-game suspension.

The Comets struck first in the opening quarter. SeaWolves keeper Piotr Sliwa made an initial save on a shot by Ignacio Flores off a Kansas City set piece. Unfortunately, Sliwa left a juicy rebound for Leo Gibson to head home at the 4:22 mark, putting the hosts on top, 1-0.

That turned out to be all the scoring in the opening period. The SeaWolves out-shot the Comets, 7-5, but had nothing to show for it. Freitas had a couple of good opportunities but he fired one shot right at the goalkeeper and trickled another effort weakly on goal. Gordy Gurson whiffed on a good scoring chance and Mario Alvarez fired wide on a counter attack.

Anthony Grant had Kansas City’s best opportunity to double the lead before the end of the first, but he too shot wide on the break.

Orlando had the first good chance of the second half when Edwin Rojas sent a blast on goal but Mark Saxby made a good reaction save to fight it off. About three minutes into the period, former Orlando City player Kevin Ellis fired a shot for the Comets but Sliwa made a big save. Ellis got a breakaway moments later and Sliwa again made a huge stop to keep it at 1-0.

Four and a half minutes into the second, Elmo Neto was set up on the doorstep but Saxby made a big save to keep Orlando off the board. A couple of minutes later, Sliwa made a pair of nice stops on Ramone Palmer and Bryan Perez, then Alvarez smashed a shot that Saxby kept out on the other end as the teams traded scoring chances.

The Comets finally doubled their lead with just 2:18 remaining in the first half.

In the Orlando offensive zone, Neto felt some pressure and tried to pass it back toward his own goal. The problem was the only player on the field near that end was Gui Gomes of Kansas City. Sliwa did well to deny Gomes on the breakaway but Ellis picked up the rebound, forced Sliwa to commit and sent his shot into the top of the net to make it 2-0 at the 12:42 mark. It was Ellis’ third goal in two outings against the SeaWolves.

Osvaldo Rojas sent a header just wide as the first half expired, and Kansas City led 2-0 at the break, out-shooting Orlando, 14-13. Neither team had a power play in the first half.

Schmermund brought the SeaWolves back to life in the early minutes of the third quarter. He scored just 2:07 into the third at even strength, putting his sixth goal of the year in past Saxby.

Moments later he broke up a 3-v-1 Kansas City break. Then, at the 3:50 mark, he leveled the game at 2-2 on a set piece, sneaking a shot between a two-man wall and Saxby, just inside the far post, with his seventh goal of the season.

Orlando had an opportunity to take the lead on the power play moments later. Gurson fired just wide from the left side and the best opportunity of the man advantage went wanting. The Comets killed off the power play from there. Freitas put a soft shot right at Saxby just seconds after the advantage expired.

Gomes nearly put Kansas City back on top in the closing minutes of the third, missing a shot just inches wide of the back post. The miss must have frustrated Gomes, who chopped down Freitas with a cheap, reckless challenge, putting Orlando on its second power play.

But the power play actually hurt Orlando. Freitas, playing injured, didn’t move well all night and when he turned it over at the top of the KC area and was easily outpaced by Palmer, who beat Sliwa to make it 3-2 with a shorthanded goal with just 11.1 seconds remaining in the quarter. Gurson put the ball in the net but the horn had just sounded and the goal didn’t count.

Orlando out-shot Kansas City in the third, 12-1, but still trailed the game. The SeaWolves held a 25-15 edge in shots and the Comets had 14 penalty minutes to none for Orlando, yet the hosts held the 3-2 advantage.

Kansas City started the fourth period by killing off the power play and then spent most of the first four minutes of the quarter in Orlando’s end. Orlando equalized against the run of play at the 4:10 mark. After a Comets turnover, Kevin Naranjo slipped a pass to Neto on the left and he fired a right-footed shot inside the far post to make it 3-3.

After the goal, Kansas City came right back after Orlando, getting a few good opportunities, one of which was cleared off the line after Sliwa was beaten. Drou Goff knocked it off the line just inches in front of goal.

But the Comets regained the lead anyway at the 6:42 mark. James Togbah took a pass from John Sosa in the middle third, ran right to left and sent a left-footed effort past Sliwa to make it 4-3.

But Orlando refused to go away. Schmermund slipped a pass to Gurson at the back post on a set piece and Gordy swept his 23rd goal of the season past Saxby to even things up at 4-4 at the 7:57 mark.

After Togbah fired over the Orlando goal on a decent opportunity, the SeaWolves finally grabbed their first lead of the game. It was Schmermund (who else?) again with a set piece blast that found a hole in the wall and fizzed just under the bar and into the net to make it 5-4 with 3:28 remaining in the game.

Ellis zipped a shot just wide moments later that could have tied the score and shortly after that, the Comets pulled Saxby for an extra attacker, with Sosa wearing the goalkeeper jersey. The strategy didn’t pay off, however, as Bobby Hurwitz — officially signed earlier today — put the ball into an empty net to open his Orlando account and give the SeaWolves a two-goal cushion with a minute to play.

From there, Orlando saw the game out and held on for a much-needed 6-4 win.

The SeaWolves were not only 0-for-2 on the power play, but also gave up a shorthanded goal. Still, Orlando won the shots battle, 36-25, and, more importantly, the game.

The SeaWolves won’t have long to savor the victory, as they’ll travel overnight to Milwaukee to play the first-place Wave (15-3) tomorrow afternoon at 2:05 p.m. ET.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 144: Gotham Rewind, Seattle Preview, and More

The Pride finished their home schedule with a loss to Gotham and hope to finish their road schedule with a win in Seattle.

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1 week ago

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October 28, 2026

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Image of Solai Washington running onto a ball behind the Gotham defense.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride tried to send their fans home happy in their regular-season home finale, but despite an impressive overall performance against the league leaders, the Pride wasted numerous chances in front of goal and paid for two big mistakes at the back in what ultimately ended as a 2-1 loss in a season filled with far too many defeats. Solai Washington did so many things well, but despite a month’s worth of chances, she could only muster one goal. Still, it was a promising outing albeit in a developing story that won’t continue much longer this year.

We discuss the key plays, players, and moments, look back at our score predictions from last week, and select our Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox asked us about Marta, the reasons for the Pride’s struggles in 2026, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

Finally, we look ahead to Sunday’s season finale at the Seattle Reign. The Pride opened their 2026 season with a home loss to the Reign but would like to close it with a road win over Seattle to enter the off-season on a positive note. It won’t be easy, as the Reign are clinging to the last playoff spot and trying to catch rival Portland as multiple teams are trying to catch them. We look at Orlando’s attempt to play spoiler, check back on the series history, compare the teams’ positions in the table, provide our key matchups, and more.

Here’s how Episode 144 went down:

0:15 – The Pride finished their home schedule with a good performance but another poor result against the league’s top team.

20:07 – Our mailbagbox has questions about the GOAT.

38:26 – Seattle was the first 2026 opponent and will be the last 2026 opponent. We preview for the last time this season.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 140: Bay FC Rewind, San Diego Preview, and More

The Pride keep their playoff hopes alive by eliminating Bay FC but things get tougher with San Diego visiting Friday.

Published

1 month ago

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September 30, 2026

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Image of Jacquie Ovalle dribbling toward the Bay FC defense.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Justin Glatt

The Orlando Pride remained perfect on the road against Bay FC with a 3-1 win on Sunday. Deuces were wild, as Haley McCutcheon, who wears jersey No. 2, scored in the second minute of both halves, and her two goals in California gave the midfielder her second brace of both the 2026 NWSL season and her career. Barbra Banda figured heavily in pulling defenders out of position on two of the three Orlando goals and assisted on Jacquie Ovalle’s right-footed thunderbolt in stoppage time to put the game away. But make no mistake, it’s not as if the Pride played well, turning the ball over often and conceding 28 shot attempts to the hosts.

We break down a road win that may have been more exhausting to watch than to play in (although I wouldn’t bet on it), check back on our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox asked us about Haley McCutcheon, where to most strongly place the blame for the Pride’s disappointing season, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

Finally, we looked ahead to Friday, when Orlando will host San Diego Wave FC, looking to both complete a season sweep and to keep its faint playoff hopes alive. We look at the series history, provide our key matchups for the contest, and make our predictions for the final score.

Here’s how Episode 140 went down:

0:15 – The Pride improved to 2-1-1 under Yolanda Thomas, but a lot of good Cosette Morche saves were required to get that second win.

20:00- The mailbagbox asks us to play the blame game.

33:36 – The Pride continue to face California-based competition, but Friday’s opponent is much higher in the table than Sunday’s was.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Orlando City restarts its 2026 MLS campaign late tonight out west at San Jose.

Published

4 months ago

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July 22, 2026

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Image of Braian Ojeda taking a shot in a friendly against FC Dallas.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread for a late night midweek matchup tonight between Orlando City (4-9-2, 14 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-2, 32 points) at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams in 2026 and the first time the teams have met since 2024.

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

History

Orlando City is 3-1-3 in the previous seven MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions got their only away win in the series in the last meeting and enter tonight 1-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The teams last met on May 18, 2024, with Jack Lynn coming off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Lynn’s strike in the 89th minute broke the scoreless deadlock and lifted the Lions to a 1-0 victory.

The teams met in Orlando most recently way back on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.

Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.

The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.

The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.

In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.

The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.

Overview

The teams meet tonight to get their post-World Cup portion of the season started. Orlando City has been terrible on the road all season long, keeping only one MLS opponent under two goals all year away from home and allowing five goals twice (at New York City FC and Nashville) and six goals twice (at LAFC and in the team’s most recent match away at FC Cincinnati just before the break).

Orlando City is a putrid 1-6-1 on the road this season, and now the Lions must face the Western Conference co-leaders tonight before coming home to face Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at home on Saturday. They’ll have to play at least tonight’s game without Martin Ojeda, who is out with a thigh injury sustained some time between his first-half goal a week ago in a friendly against FC Dallas and the time the availability report dropped on Tuesday.

But it isn’t all bad news for the Lions, who should have both Antoine Griezmann and Dike in the lineup. Griezmann was the club’s highly prized and widely publicized summer Designated Player signing, while Dike’s return to Orlando came together more recently, following his departure from West Bromwich Albion. They’ll help the club’s offense, but the attack hasn’t been the issue in 2026 — it’s been the historically porous defense, which is on pace to shatter the MLS record for goals conceded.

Meanwhile, San Jose is one of the first half of the season’s biggest surprises, as the Quakes have been outstanding in 2026. Scoring 34 goals while conceding just 15, San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (tied for third), goals conceded (third), and goal differential (+19, third).

The Earthquakes are 4-2-1 at home and are coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland in their last game prior to the World Cup break. San Jose boasts Golden Boot challenger Preston Judd, who leads the Quakes with 11 goals, adding two assists in his 15 appearances. Ousseni Bouda has chipped in five goals and three assists. Niko Tsakiris leads the team with seven assists to go along with his two goals, but he’s still recovering from a lower body injury and is not available tonight. However, the arrival of Timo Werner (four goals and five assists in just seven games) has truly elevated Bruce Arena’s Quakes, and he’ll need to be one of the main focal points for the Orlando defense.

To have any shot at taking something from this game, the Lions will need to play better road defense than they have all season. Orlando can score goals, but with Ojeda out, Griezmann will need to adapt quickly, and someone other than the team’s leading scorer will need to find the net.

The Lions will play without Ojeda (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty). In addition, Marco Pasalic may or may not have returned to the team after the World Cup. He was not in training Monday, although interim head coach Martin Perelman said he expected the Croatian back soon. The Earthquakes will be without Nonso Adimabua (lower body), former Lion Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body), DeJuan Jones (lower body), and Tsakiris (you guessed it, lower body…come on, San Jose).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer

San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn.

Defenders: Jamar Ricketts, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic.

Defensive Midfielders: Beau Lerouox, Ronaldo Vieira.

Attacking Midfielders: Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez, Ousseni Bouda.

Forwards: Preston Judd.

Bench: Jonathan Gonzalez, Dave Romney, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan, Jack Jasinski, Ian Harkes, Francesco Montali, Max Floriani, Darius Johnson.

Referees

REF: Elijio Arreguin.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Timothy Ford.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

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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