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Orlando City vs. Vancouver Whitecaps: Final Score 1-0 as the Lions Net Late Goal to Win

Orlando has two straight wins at home and its first ever win against Vancouver on a late goal by Nani.

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6 years ago

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Nani got a late game winner — deflecting Sacha Kljestan’s shot past Zac MacMath — to lead Orlando City to a 1-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps in front of 22,468 at Orlando City Stadium. Nani’s goal in the 88th minute broke up a hard-fought struggle as the Whitecaps sat in deep after playing a game Wednesday and traveling across the continent.

Orlando (3-3-2, 11 points) got its first ever win over the Whitecaps (1-5-2, 5 points) in five tries (1-3-1) and second shutout win of the season. The Lions are also unbeaten (3-0-0) in the special Parley kits to celebrate Earth Day after previous wins over New York City FC and San Jose.

“Really pleased to get the three points,” said Head Coach James O’Connor after the match. “I thought Vancouver made it obviously very difficult for us. I think at times we showed some decent passages but I think we can play a little bit cleaner, a little bit crisper. It’s a massive win for us.”

“Great team effort defensively,” said OCSC goalkeeper Brian Rowe. “I think it’s something to build on and a great result.”

O’Connor changed up the lineup from last week’s squad at RSL. He went with a four-man back line of (L-R) Joao Moutinho, Robin Jansson, Lamine Sané, and Ruan. The midfield was defense heavy with Uri Rosell flanked by Sebas Mendez left and Will Johnson right. Nani and Dom Dwyer started up top with Chris Mueller.

Vancouver lined up with a five-man back line and sat deep, forcing Orlando to break through several lines and the Lions struggled to do that. Nani managed to get a free kick from distance on goal early on and Mendez fired wide of MacMath’s goal in the seventh minute.

After Vancouver won a couple of corners off the counterattack, Nani redirected a Moutinho cross toward goal in the 20th minute but again the shot was at MacMath. The Lions got the ball into the area in the 23rd minute but both Dwyer and Johnson had shots blocked.

The game went through a spell where Orlando lacked movement and Nani had trouble breaking down Hwang In-Beom, losing the ball on a couple tries to get past the Vancouver midfielder. Moutinho teed up a shot in the 31st minute but got it nowhere close to the goal frame.

The Lions dodged a bullet a minute later when Ruan made a great play to dispossess Yordy Reyna to prevent him from getting in alone on goal on the break. The Whitecaps got their only shot of the half on target in the 35th minute. Ali Adnan lined up a free kick from about 35 yards away, straight out in front of goal. His shot forced a diving save from Rowe. Derek Cornelius got a head to the ensuing corner but he sent the shot wide.

In the 43rd, the Lions nearly broke through off a corner kick. A header by Cornelius — who was defending Mueller — was sent toward his own goal but cleared off the line by Scott Sutter. Then a shot from distance by Rosell was blocked at the top of the area. A minute later, Sané headed just over the bar off Nani’s corner kick cross.

Moutinho got the last good chance of the half as Mueller sent him down the left but MacMath fought off the shot and Johnson’s header was nowhere close on the ensuing corner.

Orlando City held the advantage in shots (10-3), shots on target (2-1), passing accuracy (84%-78%), and possession (56%-44%). However, the first half went just as Vancouver hoped, with the Lions unable to break down the defense and a few counter opportunities available for the Caps. The 0-0 score was much more favorable to the visitors than Orlando City after the first 45 minutes.

The second half started much like the first, with Orlando struggling to break down the Vancouver lines of defense. The Lions were able to get some crosses in but could do little with them against three center backs defending Dwyer, who finished the match without a shot attempt.

Orlando did manage to get in a counter of its own in the 55th minute, with Nani getting his shot blocked at the end of the attack off a nice pass from Mueller. A minute later, Mueller himself was nearly played in but the ball was just a touch too far in front and MacMath scrambled off his line to get to it first.

At times, the Whitecaps came up a little higher on the pitch and pressed a little near midfield but it was much the same game as the opening 45 minutes.

Vancouver looked to find the breakthrough in the 56th minute when Reyna sent a cross through the area but it was way too far in front of Fredy Montero.

In the 60th minute, Nani fizzed a ball through the six that MacMath deflected out for a corner, and moments later the Vancouver goalkeeper just beat Dwyer to a 50/50 aerial ball. Mueller had a shot slightly deflected that sailed inches over the bar in the 70th minute as it started to look like the game could finish 0-0.

But things nearly went horribly wrong in the 72nd minute as In-Beom got in as the trailing runner on a Vancouver attack and sent his sliding shot over Rowe’s goal on the visitors’ best chance of the game.

Second-half sub Tesho Akindele fired a header just over the bar in the 75th minute after coming on for Dwyer. Kljestan came on for Johnson just a minute later as O’Connor continued to search for a way to unlock the Whitecaps.

Reyna got a half chance in the 85th with a weak shot to the back post that Rowe smothered. The Vancouver forward then fired over the bar two minutes later.

Orlando finally got its goal in the 88th. Ruan took the ball down the right channel and cut it back to the top of the area. Kljestan ran onto it and fired hard but the ball hit Nani and deflected into the net to make it 1-0. Nani now leads the Lions with four goals this season and has a three-game goal-scoring streak going. The Portuguese star also has four assists to go with those four goals in eight games played.

“I secretly just wanted the assist,” Kljestan joked after the game. The assist was his 91st in MLS, tying Cobi Jones for eighth in MLS history in 57 fewer matches.

“Watching from the bench I thought we were playing a little bit too slow with the ball,” he said. “We needed a little bit more action in the box and then fortunately the goal came that way. I think it was a cut-back cross from Ruan and I think we had three guys in the box and so it created a little bit of confusion in front of their back line and fortunately the ball ended up in the back of the net.”

After more than seven minutes of stoppage time, the whistle blew and Orlando City had its second consecutive home victory. The Lions out-shot Vancouver 16-6 (4-2 on target), held more possession (61%-39%) and out-passed the Caps (86%-77%) in a deserved victory that almost didn’t come.

“Today was a difficult game,” Kljestan said. “I think if somebody didn’t watch the game but maybe just looked at the schedule and saw Vancouver played on Wednesday and then flew across the country, you would say Orlando should win easily. But that’s not the case in MLS. They came here and they set up very defensively, tactically. They played behind the ball a lot and tried to hit us on the counter, and they defended very well, so it was hard for us to carve out chances.”

O’Connor said his players deserved enormous credit for going on and winning the game, avoiding the frustration of not being able to break down the bunkering Caps.

“It became pretty apparent that they wanted to sit very deep and make it very, very hard for us and deny space. It’s trying to be patient, it’s trying to make good decisions when we have the ball, and manage the transition moments.”

“In the end to get a 1-0 win, at the end of the year, we’ll look back and think that this was an important game for us to win,” said Kljestan. “To now get our second win in a row in our stadium is big for us, so we’ve got to keep that going.”

Next up for Lions is a trip to Yankee Stadium for the first repeat opponent of 2019. Orlando City will square off against the Pigeons at 1 p.m. ET.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/31/25

Orlando Pride transfer Adriana for record fee, Orlando City re-signs Carlos Mercado, new Leagues Cup format revealed, and more.

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2 hours ago

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January 31, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! Today ends the first month of 2025 and my resolutions are mostly intact. I’d like to walk a bit more in the afternoons than I currently am, but I’ll take what I can get. I don’t have too many plans lined up this weekend beyond working, catching some sports, and board games with friends. But for now, let’s dive into today’s links from around the soccer world.

Adriana Transferred For Orlando Pride Record Fee

The Orlando Pride have transferred Adriana to Al Qadsiah FC in the Saudi Women’s Premier League for a club record fee of reportedly $500,000. Adriana requested the move after two seasons with the Pride since joining in January of 2023. The versatile attacker recorded 12 goals and five assists in 46 regular-season appearances with the Pride. This move opens up an opportunity for more minutes for the team’s young players, and that transfer fee should help improve the Pride’s roster.

Carlos Mercado Re-Signs With Orlando City

Orlando City signed goalkeeper Carlos Mercado to a new contract through the upcoming 2025 season, with club options for 2026 and 2027. The club declined the option on his previous contract following the 2024 season, but he’s back in purple after Mason Stajduhar’s trade to Real Salt Lake. The 25-year-old will likely feature as Orlando City B’s starting goalkeeper this season, with Javier Otero backing up Pedro Gallese on the first team. Mercado started 20 games for the Young Lions last season, so he has some playing time and familiarity with the team under his belt ahead of the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro season.

Leagues Cup Reveals New Format for 2025

Orlando City was one of only 18 MLS clubs to qualify for this summer’s Leagues Cup and we now know what the new format for the tournament will be. The group stage is gone and in its place is a convoluted first phase that can be simplified as there being six sets of six teams —three from MLS and three from Liga MX. Each team will play one match against the three teams from the opposing league, and then only the top four teams overall from each league will advance to the quarterfinals. This means that there will be MLS vs. Liga MX matchups every game until possibly the semifinals. One rule that stuck around though is that there will still be a penalty shootout for an additional point if two teams draw.

NWSL Awards Franchise to Denver

The NWSL officially announced that the league’s 16th franchise will be in Denver. The new club will take the field in 2026 and is finalizing plans to build a stadium for the team. Rob Cohen, who founded the Denver Sports Commission to help bring major sporting events to the city, will serve as the club’s controlling owner and governor, while Mellody Hobson will be the alternate governor. Denver’s team doesn’t have a name, colors, or a logo just yet, but I think anything other than DEN Nation FC would be a good idea.

Free Kicks

  • Former Pride player Emily van Egmond joined Birmingham City on a two-and-a-half-year contract after three years with the San Diego Wave. Birmingham is at the top of the Women’s Championship in a tight race for promotion to the Women’s Super League.
  • Manuel Cocca, whose contract with Orlando City B expired after last season, has joined Arsenal de Sarandi in Argentina’s second division.

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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Opinion

Orlando City’s Lack of Off-Season Signings Starting to Become a Concern

The Lions’ roster hasn’t gotten any bigger in the last few weeks, so it’s understandable if fans are getting a bit antsy.

Published

22 hours ago

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January 30, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Three weeks ago I wrote that there was no reason to panic about Orlando City’s lack of off-season signings. It was early in January, and the club typically does a lot of its business throughout the first month of the year. Since then, the club signed Nicolas Rodriguez, but the Lions also traded Mason Stajduhar, and forward Jack Lynn retired. That is more subtraction than addition for a team looking to make it to the next level. Is it now time to panic?

The departure of Stajduhar hits Orlando City supporters in the feels given how long he was with the club, but one may assume the coaches have seen enough from Javier Otero to be confident in his ability to back up Pedro Gallese. The club still needs to bring in another keeper [Editor’s note: this story was written prior to the club signing Carlos Mercado this morning], but Stajduhar’s departure isn’t as big of a problem as it might first seem.

We don’t know how long Duncan McGuire will be unavailable once the season starts. Even if he’s back sooner than expected, Orlando City will still be lacking at the striker position. Ramiro Enrique has proven he can be a starter, but with Jack Lynn’s departure, there isn’t anyone behind him. While Luis Muriel is technically a striker, he tends to play further back in a facilitator role rather than as an actual No. 9. We haven’t seen any transfer moves for a new striker.

The Lions got a big influx of cash, thanks to the Facundo Torres deal. Replacing the goal production of Orlando City’s all-time leading goal scorer is a priority. So far, the club has brought in Rodriguez as an MLS U22 Initiative player. Despite the similarities between the two, Rodriguez is not a replacement for Torres. It is unrealistic to expect the young man to score double-digit goals his first year in MLS.

I’m not even worried about the attacking midfield. As I mentioned above, Muriel is best as a facilitator, Martin Ojeda is now wearing the No. 10 jersey, and Ivan Angulo can play on either side. It’s Torres’ goal contributions I’m worried about missing. Orlando City needs to replace that production sooner rather than later or another slow start seems certain.

I’m not going to address the Wilder Cartagena injury until we know more, but that is also potentially very bad news. That brings us to today. The team is already deep into its preseason trip to Mexico. This is the trip that in the past has been the time when the team truly bonds. Any players brought in at this point will obviously miss that valuable time.

Additionally, unless a signing is someone who has already played in MLS — which is incredibly rare for this front office — it is going to take them time to adapt to the league as well as the club and their new teammates. That brings us back to the real potential for another slow start to the season.

When you have roster turnover, the idea is to bring in players that are better than the players that departed. We know that the ownership is serious about winning. The 2022 Open Cup victory and the Orlando Pride’s two 2024 trophies are a testament to that. Now, it’s time to see that commitment with some substantial signings for City. In some ways, I feel the club has left it a little late, but I’ll take what I can get at this point.

I’m not saying it’s time to panic — though I won’t tell you not to do so — but I’m definitely getting a bit concerned. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/30/25

Orlando City reveals kickoff events, women’s transfer market grows, Tanner Tessmann named U.S. Young Male Player of the Year, and more.

Published

1 day ago

on

January 30, 2025

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

We’re all another day closer to the return of Orlando soccer and I can’t wait. I’ve been whittling the days away with reading, writing, and taking far too many photos of my cat. This month has flown by for me, and I’m not complaining too much about it. Let’s dive right into today’s links from around the soccer world.

Orlando City Announces Kickoff Events

In preparation for Orlando City’s 2025 season, the club announced various events before the season opener at home against the Philadelphia Union on Feb. 22. The launch for the team’s new primary kit will take place on Feb. 12 at the Canvas Event Venue, with fans in attendance able to get the jersey and meet players. Other events throughout February include a chalk talk, musical bingo night, and plenty of ways to get merch ahead of the season. However, the Purple Pride 5K is not listed, which is a bit disappointing considering it would have been the 10th annual edition of the event.

Analyzing the Women’s Soccer Transfer Market

American defender Naomi Girma’s move from San Diego Wave FC to Chelsea was the first to break the $1 million threshold for transfer fees in women’s soccer and The Athletic ($) dove into which players could warrant similar spending from clubs in the future. Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda was one such player noted. Banda did fantastic in her first season in the league last year, starred in the past two Olympics, and is still only 24 years old. Only time will tell if Europe can entice her before her contract in Orlando is up, but clubs would likely pay seven figures for her services. Americans Sophia Smith and Trinity Rodman could also surpass that $1 million mark, along with NWSL MVP Temwa Chawinga and Paris FC’s Clara Mateo.

Tanner Tessmann Named U.S. Young Male Player of the Year

U.S. Soccer announced that midfielder Tanner Tessmann was voted 2024 U.S. Soccer Young Male Player of the Year after a solid year for both club and country. The 23-year-old captained the U.S. at the Olympics last summer and started for the senior team in both Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal games against Jamaica. A regular starter for Venezia last year, Tessmann scored in the promotion playoffs to help the team earn a spot in Serie A. He was then transferred to Olympique Lyon in August and has taken part in the Europa League. Tessmann received 70% of the vote, winning the award over Gianluca Busio and Niko Tsakiris.

Champions League First Stage Wraps Up

The UEFA Champions League’s league phase is finally over, with eight clubs already through to the round of 16 and 16 set to take part in a knockout round. Manchester City escaped elimination after a 3-1 win over Club Brugge that resulted in both teams advancing to the knockout stage. A hat trick from Ousmane Dembele lifted Paris Saint-Germain to a 4-1 win against Stuttgart and secure 15th in the standings. Aston Villa, Lille, and Bayer Leverkusen all won to clinch a spot in the round of 16, all three benefiting from Atalanta coming up short in a 2-2 draw with Barcelona. AC Milan lost 2-1 to Dinamo Zagreb in a match that included Christian Pulisic scoring and Yunus Musah being sent off. Liverpool’s perfect run came to an end following a 3-2 loss to PSV Eindhoven, but it still topped the standings.

While I found the new league phase to be a bit underwhelming, the knockout stage should provide some intriguing matchups. The draw will take place on Friday, but we already know that Manchester City will play either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich and Juventus will face either AC Milan or PSV Eindhoven.

Free Kicks

  • MLS Season Pass will broadcast a featured game with enhanced production on Sunday nights. It’s a solid strategy and hopefully it can catch on and become something fans across the country look forward to each week.
  • The Chicago Fire are set for a nice payday if Jhon Duran completes his move from Aston Villa to Al-Nassr.
  • Giovanni Reyna earned some style points for this assist in Borussia Dortmund’s 3-1 win against Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

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