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Orlando City vs. Colorado Rapids: Final Score 4-3 as Nani Powers Lions to First Home Win

Nani’s brace led Orlando to a pair of comebacks in a wild, rain-soaked affair.

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

The Lions finally got a home win in 2019, but it was anything but easy. Orlando needed to come from behind twice against the Colorado Rapids to grab a late 4-3 victory at Orlando City Stadium in front of 22,450 on a rainy night.

The Rapids (0-4-2, 2 points) grabbed leads of 1-0 and 3-2 in the match but the resilient Lions were a threat to score all night and eventually put enough goals on the board to win the match when Nani converted a penalty in the 89th minute to lift City (2-2-2, 8 points) to the team’s first home win of the season. Orlando is still unbeaten in the series with the Rapids, improving to 4-0-1 in five meetings (3-0-0 in Orlando).

“You don’t want to be conceding three goals,” said Head Coach James O’Connor after the match. “As exciting and entertaining as it is for everybody to win — and it is, it’s great — but we don’t want to be like that every week. I certainly don’t.”

“Tonight was fantastic because we had so many opportunities and most of them we put inside the goal,” said Nani.

O’Connor made a few changes to the lineup, dropping center back Shane O’Neill and pushing Carlos Ascues to right center back. Tesho Akindele returned from his hamstring issue to start up top next to Dom Dwyer at forward. Nani slid back to the midfield alongside Sebas Mendez, Sacha Kljestan, and wingbacks Ruan and Joao Moutinho.

After the first six minutes were played between the penalty areas, both teams started attacking. Moutinho’s cross into the box in the sixth was the first good opportunity of the game, but it was knocked out for a corner by the defense. Two minutes later, Ruan sent a dangerous cross into the box that was deflected out by a defender but only as far as Kljestan, who had his shot blocked.

A minute later, the Rapids took the lead. Kei Kamara (who else?) pounced to make it 1-0. Dillon Serna’s cross into the box went about an inch over the head of a leaping Sané. Jansson didn’t expect the ball to get through and it bounced off his head and fell in behind, where Kamara won the race to the loose ball and poked it past Brian Rowe in the ninth minute.

The teams then exchanged set piece opportunities. After Dwyer saw a header blocked at the back post, the Rapids nearly scored on a direct free kick, but Keegan Rosenberry’s effort went just wide.

Orlando kept attacking up the wings and nearly scored in the 21st. Moutinho got to the end line and crossed in for Dwyer, but Deklan Wynne deflected it off his own goal post. Shortly after that, the Lions changed shape after Ascues went down with an apparent leg injury. Uri Rosell came on and slotted into the midfield with Orlando going four at the back.

The Lions equalized in the 31st minute, as Nani opened his Orlando City account. Ruan somehow nutmegged teammate Akindele just a couple yards in front of goal with a sizzling cross. Moutinho gathered it at the other side of the area and crossed it in for Nani to head home .

Colorado tried to pull that goal back quickly, earning a corner kick in the 33rd minute. But it was Orlando City that capitalized. The Lions cleared the cross out to Ruan, who blazed down the pitch on the counter attack. He crossed to Dwyer, who fired and saw his shot well saved by a diving Tim Howard, but it fell to the feet of Akindele, who roofed the ball just under the crossbar to make it 2-1 with his second goal of the season.

The Ruan Show continued for the rest of the half. First, he turned Nicolas Mezquida inside out with a dribble (the man has a family, Ruan!) and then drew a yellow card on Kamara, who tried to pull him back by the shirt. Then the speedy Brazilian blew past Serna, only to overcook his cross, hitting it over everyone.

Moutinho’s long ball in the 43rd minute sent Nani down the left. The Portuguese star found Dwyer in the box. Dom had trouble digging the ball out of his feet, but did manage to turn and shoot, but it was blocked. Two minutes later, Dwyer found space at the top of the area and got his shot on frame, but Howard made another diving save, sticking out a palm to keep it 2-1 at the break.

Orlando led in shots at the break, 7-5 (4-2 on target). Colorado had the edge in possession (54.5%-45.5%) and passing accuracy (82.1%-74.9%).

Unfortunately, Mother Nature reared her ugly head at the half, with a delay due to lightning in the area lasting an hour before the game restarted.

The Rapids were by far the more energetic team after the long delay, holding possession, winning balls off sloppy midfield passes, and trying to hit quickly on the counter. Rowe stopped a header from Kellyn Acosta in the 47th minute.

Orlando fizzed a couple crosses dangerously through the box after that, but defender Axel Sjoberg blocked Ruan’s pass and Nani’s went harmlessly out the other side as no Lions made a run after he mesmerized the defense out on the left side.

Rowe made a big save to deny Kamara in the 59th off a dangerous cross by Keegan Rosenberry on a play that should have — but didn’t — serve as a warning sign for the Orlando defense in the second half. Two minutes later, Rosenberry got down the right channel on the counter and picked out Mezquida, who scored on a free header in the 61st minute to make it 2-2.

Ten minutes later, the visitors took the lead. Benny Feilhaber played a ball across left to right to Cole Bassett, who faked as if he would drive to his right. Once Jansson committed, Bassett cut back inside on his left foot and curled a shot around Rowe to make it 3-2 Colorado.

As the game moved into the late stages, Nani went down in the penalty area after contact with Acosta. Referee Jair Marrufo saw no foul there, and a heated exchange took place between the two midfielders, but ultimately it was much ado about nothing.

Dwyer headed a ball right at Howard from just a few yards out in the 79th, and it started to look like Orlando would fall at home again. But then O’Connor introduced Chris Mueller for Mendez in the 80th, and he once again lifted the team with his energy.

A minute after coming on, Mueller scored. Moutinho threw in the ball in the final third. It took a high bounce and Nani headed it toward goal. Akindele stuck out a leg and helped it on with a back heel and Mueller collected it, then slotted it home through Howard to tie the game at 3-3 in the 81st minute.

“I just tried to stay alive,” Mueller said. “The ball kind of floated into the box. I think it was Tesho that went up with one of the defenders. It kind of took a weird bounce. I took it down and just kept the ball low, tried to get it on target, and it ended up going right through the goalie’s legs.”

O’Connor spoke after the game about his decision to bring Mueller off the bench as a sub yet again.

“We sat down with Chris and I just said to him, ‘Listen, you’re not going to start this one,’” O’Connor said. “I said, ‘You’re really unlucky.’ But we just felt that there was potential for Chris to be able to come off the bench and impact the game like he has. And when you have a weapon like that and you look at the way the game may go or may not go, the biggest decision for us is, do we start him?

The easiest thing for us to do is start Chris tonight. Everyone would have expected it, including them (the Rapids) to start the game. But when we looked at it, we thought we needed to be brave and we needed to maybe follow what our gut instinct was and bring him off the bench. Now when he goes and he does something like that (score), it’s incredible.”

The goal only urged the Lions on even more. Two minutes after Mueller’s goal, Ruan flashed a cross through the area that was just inches out of Dwyer’s reach at the back post, with a wide-open net in front of him. Four minutes later, another Ruan cross turned the game in Orlando’s favor. The Brazilian sent one into the area that Sjoberg tried to block with his head, but it ended up hitting his arm as well and Marrufo pointed to the spot even as Dwyer improbably missed an empty net from just a couple yards away. Nani stepped up to the spot, sent Howard the wrong way, and coolly completed his brace in the 89th minute, putting Orlando up, 4-3.

“It’s always good to score goals for the team,” said Nani shortly after netting his first two as a Lion. “It’s always good to help, but obviously it’s not the most important. We wanted to win for our fans. What they’ve been doing all (these) weeks is fantastic. I never saw that in my life. I’ve been playing for many teams, and when the things are not going well, everyone knows how the fans normally react. These fans, they are special, so I wanted so badly to help the team to win and tonight we are very happy because we did and it was a great game, a fantastic game for our team.”

The Lions saw out the final minute, plus four minutes of injury time, without allowing Colorado an opportunity to equalize, and the whistle signaled the end of Orlando’s first 2019 home victory.

City out-shot the Rapids, 16-10 (8-6 on target), with possession finishing about evenly split at 50/50. Colorado did pass slightly better (80%-76%) in the game.

O’Connor praised his star man after the match following Nani’s two-goal, one-assist performance.

“When you look at Nani, he’s a world-class player. We’re blessed to have somebody like that,” he said. “I think it shows you his professionalism and his mentality to have a reaction like that tonight. He’s got a phenomenal leap first half, scored a great header. And then the composure to take the penalty. He was cool as a cucumber and just slid it into the corner. I think when you look at his play and his experience and the way he’s trying to help the players it’s — as we’ve always said — very, very encouraging. It’s not just the technical aspect. It’s the leadership that he shows as well.”


Orlando City will travel west next weekend to take on Real Salt Lake in Utah on Saturday at 9 p.m. ET.

Orlando City

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

Orlando City completes its three-matches-in-eight-days marathon with a cross-country trip to San Jose.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread for a late Saturday night matchup between Orlando City SC (3-5-4, 13 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (3-9-1, 10 points). This is the only meeting between the teams in 2024 and the first time the teams have met since 2021.

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

History

Orlando City is 2-1-3 in the previous six MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions have yet to win an away game in the series, however, going 0-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The most recent meeting took place 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 in his second full season as 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

Orlando City is unbeaten in its last two games following a 0-0 home draw against Inter Miami Wednesday night. The Lions and Herons looked shattered in the second half of that game, and neither side would give an inch defensively. On the first clear looks at goal the teams had, both goalkeepers were outstanding, keeping the game scoreless. Orlando looks to earn points for the third straight match, but the team didn’t get to rotate much in the last week due to injuries, and things may not be back to normal just yet.

San Jose is in the Western Conference cellar with just three wins and 10 points from 13 matches. Still, the Earthquakes can score. San Jose has put the ball in the net 22 times this season. Only three Western Conference teams and five clubs in all of MLS have scored more. San Jose’s big problem has been shipping goals. The Quakes have conceded 32 times in 2024, which is dead last in Major League Soccer. The closest team to giving up that many is Portland, which has yielded 27 goals and just beat San Jose 4-2 on Wednesday night. That game was wild, with a horrible penalty throwing the Timbers a lifeline while they trailed 2-0 late. The bad call also resulted in the sending off of defender Bruno Wilson, though he will be eligible for this match after his one-game suspension was rescinded by the Independent Review Panel. Portland not only scored the penalty, but roared back to win 4-2 in a crazy game that included a second penalty on the Quakes later in the match.

Former FC Dallas coach Luchi Gonzalez is in his second season at the helm in San Jose. His team features a standout forward in Cristian Espinoza, who has two goals and a team-leading eight assists on the year. That gives him a direct goal contribution on nearly half of San Jose’s 22 goals in 2024. He’ll be the man Orlando must stop from scoring or setting up others, but the Quakes still have Jeremy Ebobisse (three goals), as well as a new No. 9, Amahl Pelligrino, who leads the Quakes with four goals on the year.

The Lions will need to avoid getting in a shootout with the Earthquakes, try to conserve energy, and play tight defense like they did on Wednesday.

“A really short period to prepare the game, but it’s the way that it is,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said about tonight’s game. “We’re traveling to the west coast, we had a very good flight, the boys look very fresh, and today we will train in the evening to keep our preparation and to keep recovering the team. So basically, that has been the routine so far and we’re just trying to get in and use this momentum to keep adding points.” 

The Lions will play this west coast game without Ramiro Enrique (right ankle), Mikey Halliday (right knee), Robin Jansson (right ankle), and Tahir Reid-Brown (left thigh). Cesar Araujo is also out tonight due to yellow card accumulation. The Earthquakes have three injuries heading into this game, with Daniel Britto (lower body), JT Marcinkowski (knee), and Jamar Ricketts (lower body) listed as out.

Match Content


Projected Lineups:

Orlando City (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: Rafael Santos, Rodrigo Schlegel, David Brekalo, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.

Defensive Midfielders: Wilder Cartagena, Nico Lodeiro.

Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Martin Ojeda, Facundo Torres.

Forwards: Duncan McGuire.

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

Goalkeeper: William Yarbrough.

Defenders: Vitor Costa, Tanner Beason, Rodrigues, Carlos Akapo.

Defensive Midfielders: Niko Tsakiris, Carlos Gruezo.

Attacking Midfielder: Amahl Pelligrino, Hernan Lopez, Cristian Espinoza.

Forwards: Jeremy Ebobisse.

Referees

REF: Malik Badawi.
AR1: Ryan Graves.
AR2: Adam Garner.
4TH: Brandon Stevis.
VAR: Kevin Stott.
AVAR: Mike Kampmeinert.


How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

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

Radio: FM 96.9 The Game (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow along at @TheManeLand, as well as Orlando City’s official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC).

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Opinion

Examining Orlando City’s 3-5-2

Let’s talk about Orlando City’s three-center-back formations, and try to determine if they should be the new norm.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

In the last two Orlando City matches against the Philadelphia Union and Inter Miami, Oscar Pareja has deployed his team in 3-5-2, and 3-4-1-2 formations, respectively. While Papi typically prefers to set his team up in a 4-2-3-1, injuries to fullbacks Rafael Santos, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, and Mikey Halliday have necessitated some creative problem solving. The two uses of the 3-5-2 and its slightly tweaked variant have been met with success, as the Lions have taken four points from their last two games and, as a result, there’s been some calls online for the team to persist with the formation. With that being the case, let’s do some digging into how the formation has served OCSC, and try to determine if it’s a viable option going forward.

A big thing to note with Orlando’s use of a three-man back line is the presence of Wilder Cartagena as the middle center back. It isn’t his natural position, but Rodrigo Schlegel’s suspension for the Union game meant that Pareja needed to conjure another center back from somewhere, and he elected to shift Cartagena into the back line rather than use Kyle Smith or one of Abdi Salim or Thomas Williams.

Against Philly, a normal 3-5-2 was used, with Pedro Gallese in goal, David Brekalo, Cartagena, and Robin Jansson in the back line, Ivan Angulo and Facundo Torres as wingbacks, Nico Lodeiro, Cesar Araujo, and Martin Ojeda in the midfield, and Luis Muriel and Duncan McGuire up top. The only tweaks against Miami were Schlegel replacing the injured Jansson and Ojeda pushing up to sit behind the two strikers in a 3-4-1-2 formation.

In the Union game, Orlando did a great job at pushing numbers forward quickly when it won the ball, and all three of its goals came in situations where the attack was pressed quickly when the Lions won possession. The Lions took 13 shots, with eight of them from inside the box, and totaled 1.25 expected goals (xG). The team’s best chances of the night came with McGuire’s headed opener and Muriel’s second goal, as both came from inside the box and both were converted. Against Miami, the Lions took 14 shots, with seven from inside the box, and totaled .69 xG. OCSC’s best chance came from Martin Ojeda’s 32nd-minute shot from inside the box, which was well saved by Drake Callender.

In essence, Orlando created more chances against the Union, and was more clinical about finishing those chances. However, the difference in attacking output wasn’t drastic, and we might be able to put it down to Miami being a better team than Philly and the Lions playing the Herons on short rest.

Against Philly, OCSC had a rough outing defensively. While one of the Union goals came from a penalty kick, the home team took a whopping 29 shots during the game with all but eight from outside the box, for a total of 3.85 xG. Against Miami, the Herons took seven shots with six inside the box for a total of .60 xG. Aside from Gallese stonewalling Luis Suarez just minutes into the game in a 1-v-1 chance, the defense largely did a good job of limiting chances.

Even accounting for two penalty kick attempts inflating Philadelphia’s expected goals, the Lions did a far better job at limiting dangerous chances against Miami. That could be due to the team being more comfortable with the defensive setup after using it for a game or a more cautious approach by Oscar Pareja due to Miami’s considerable firepower, even without the injured Lionel Messi.

The numbers and the eye test say that there’s enough reason to consider continuing to use the formation going forward. The Lions have shown that they can create chances and score goals, and they’ve shown that they can have a solid defensive outing, although it would be nice to demonstrate both characteristics in the same game. That, my friends, is where things start to get tricky, because persisting with the 3-5-2 or a variation of it isn’t as simple as obeying what the numbers say.

Let’s talk about Orlando’s personnel. Thorhallsson and Santos both seem to be working their way back from injury, and once healthy they could theoretically slot in at the two wingback positions, which should help Orlando avoid the defensive mess we saw against the Union. That means we need to figure out what to do with Torres and Angulo. Despite his slow start to the season, Torres is a guy you have to have on the field, and in order to do that, I propose slotting him into Ojeda’s spot in the 3-4-1-2. The problem there is that he hasn’t looked super comfortable when operating as a central playmaker, but this could be resolved by instructing Muriel to drop off McGuire and play a little deeper, and giving Facu free reign to roam into the wide areas where he’s more comfortable.

Assuming Jansson will be missing for a few more games, I think you keep Cartagena at center back, considering how well he’s played there. Ojeda and Angulo come off the bench as impact subs, and you can rotate Ojeda into Lodeiro’s spot in the midfield as necessary to protect the Uruguayan’s legs. Once Jansson is back, he can slot in as the third center back, and Cartagena can move into the midfield, with Nico likely being the man sacrificed in games where Pareja wants more defensive stability, or Cartagena/Araujo dropping to the bench if Papi wants to go in guns blazing. I don’t particularly love that option though, as you generally want your best players on the field, and I have a hard time justifying breaking up the Araujo-Cartagena partnership that’s seen so much success.

The immediate problem with any three-center-back formation is Araujo’s yellow card suspension, which will mean he’s unavailable for Saturday’s game against San Jose. Theoretically, Cartagena could move up the field to take his place and Smith could slot in for the Peruvian, or Felipe could start in Araujo’s place, but if Santos and Thorhallsson are fit enough to start, I think we’ll see the return of a four-man back line. Otherwise, the same lineup would be starting its third game in eight days, and on a West Coast trip to boot. That seems like a recipe for disaster, so while I think there’s a way to trot out a 3-5-2/3-4-1-2, I don’t think we’ll see it on Saturday.


In short, the two formations have shown enough promise for them to merit some more looks, while bearing in mind that we’ve only seen a small sample size. The biggest challenge with continued use comes when Orlando has a clean bill of health and you try to figure out how to get as many of your best players on the field as you can. At that point it becomes a question of whether one of the new formations maximizes this team’s strengths, or if the best course of action is to revert to a 4-2-3-1 and keep the 3-5-2 in the back pocket for when its needed.

Either way, the strategy is going to be something interesting to keep an eye on going forward.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/17/24

MLSPA releases player salaries, Duncan McGuire discusses move to Blackburn, Orlando Pride prepare for the Seattle Reign, and more.

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Happy Friday! The weekend is nearly here, with plenty of soccer both here in the domestic leagues and abroad. I have a pretty packed weekend but am looking forward to watching Orlando City and the Orlando Pride in action. It should be a nice next few days, so let’s get it started with today’s links!

MLSPA Releases Player Salaries

The Major League Soccer Players Association unveiled the base salary and guaranteed compensation information for every player under contract with the league as of April 25 — except Wilder Cartagena, apparently. Luis Muriel is the highest-paid Orlando City player, and his $4.3 million in guaranteed compensation is the 12th most in the league, while his base salary is just over $2.83. As for other Orlando newcomers, Nico Lodeiro’s compensation is $800,000 and David Brekalo’s is $683,000.

Lionel Messi predictably tops the list of all players with $20.4 million guaranteed for playing with Inter Miami. To put that number into perspective, it’s more than the compensation of every team in the league except his own team (Miami), Toronto FC, Nashville SC, and the Chicago Fire. Orlando City is 22nd in the league in compensation, clocking in at $15.07 million.

Duncan McGuire Weighs In on Moving to Blackburn

Orlando City forward Duncan McGuire had a hurricane of an off-season due to a transfer saga that nearly saw him join Blackburn Rovers in England. An administration error by Blackburn prevented the move from going through, and McGuire ultimately returned to Orlando. In the time since, there have been reports that Orlando offered him a new contract and that Blackburn still wants him to join in the summer. McGuire spoke about whether he is still interested in a move to Blackburn after the difficult experience.

“It’s tough to say,” McGuire told GOAL.”That was a pretty bad mistake, a pretty bad mistake by them. I’d be open to maybe having a conversation but it would have to be a lot to get me to go back there. On the plane ride back, I just felt like my tail was between my legs. I asked my agent how often this happens and he was like ‘This doesn’t happen’.

“I didn’t burn bridges with my teammates or have it be like ‘Oh you wanted to leave and now you’re back’. When I got back, it was like I never left.”

Orlando Pride Prepare for the Seattle Reign

The Orlando Pride will take their six-game win streak on the road for a match against the Seattle Reign Sunday night. The Reign are coming off of a 4-0 loss to the Portland Thorns in their sixth defeat of the season, but Pride Head Coach Seb Hines discussed how the Reign played better in that match than the score suggests. The Pride have also never won in Washington, and the turf and atmosphere of Lumen Field could give Orlando some trouble after a long trip. Injuries, particularly to the midfield, have made things difficult for the Pride, but midfielder Morgan Gautrat detailed how the team’s chemistry has helped them get results despite the adversity.

Nashville SC Fires Gary Smith

Nashville SC has parted ways with Gary Smith, who had been the club’s only head coach while in MLS. Smith joined Nashville back in 2018, coaching the team for two seasons in the USL Championship before. With a defensive style, Smith led the team to MLS playoff appearances in all four years but couldn’t put together a deep run. Nashville is currently 10th in the Eastern Conference and Rumba Munthali will serve as the club’s interim head coach while the club searches for a new permanent coach.

Charlotte FC Transfers Enzo Copetti Out

Another Designated Player is leaving Charlotte FC, as the club transferred Enzo Copetti to Rosario Central in Argentina’s top flight. The forward recorded eight goals and three assists across all competitions while with Charlotte, and has played less than 500 minutes this season. Copetti is the latest Designated Player transferred out since Dean Smith took over as Charlotte’s head coach, with Kamil Jozwiak sent to Granada and Karol Swiderski loaned to Hellas Verona. Despite the turnover, Charlotte sits fifth in the Eastern Conference and could make some noise this season if it brings in the right players in the summer transfer window.

Free Kicks

  • Former Lion Miguel Gallardo spoke with the folks over at The Blazing Musket about the New England Revolution and the art of goalkeeping.
  • Our condolences go out to the friends and family of Derek Sanderson, who played for many teams across many leagues back in the 1980s, including the American Soccer League’s Orlando Lions.

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

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