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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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It feels like Groundhog Day reporting on Orlando vs. Philadelphia again. The rematch no one was overly excited for didn’t end in a loss! Not the match we wanted, but the match we needed? Hear me out: Orlando City struggles to win back-to-back, so while a draw isn’t a win, there’s hope for the Open Cup match on Wednesday? Yeah? No, this was a tough draw to accept as the Lions fought hard to come up from behind only to lose the lead in the 90th minute in true Lion fashion. Thank goodness for Brian Rowe, am I right? Here’s how they played according to me, for what it’s worth.

Starters

GK, Brian Rowe, 8.5 (MotM) — Rowe couldn’t stop that Fabian goal in the fourth minute but we quickly saw him stop what could have been an early second in the 10th minute when a Carlos Ascues turnover led to a Kacper Przlbyko shot. Rowe made another great save in the 35th when he tipped it right over. Rowe stopped the ball twice in two minutes to deny Kai Wagner and Fafa Picault’s attempts to get a second for the Union, only to shut down their attempts again in the 58th. It was his grasp in a moment of desperation that saved the Lions the point in 93rd minute, when he somehow got a finger on the ball to deny Philadelphia the win. I’ve watched the save on Jack Elliott’s header at least 50 times and I’m still in shock.

WB/D, Danilo Acosta, 5.5 — Try as he might, Acosta couldn’t make anything happen from some of his long balls up to the top. One clearance, four crosses, six long ball attempts, and a key pass had Acosta in the middle of a lot of it, but not much else.

D, Kamal Miller, 5.5 – Miller got the start tonight in the Orlando City musical chairs act. Miller’s time on the pitch saw one interception, four clearances, a blocked shot, and 75% passing accuracy. It was not a wild night out, but not a silent one either.

D, Alex De John, 6.5 — De John also got the start tonight for the first time in a while. He had the second-highest passing accuracy at 82%, three long ball attempts, a team-high nine clearances, and a blocked shot. Not a bad showing for the defender.

D, Shane O’Neill, 5.5 — O’Neill had a tough match, not because he wasn’t performing well, but because he just kept getting knocked around. Picault’s head to his face in the 24th had him down for a bit but he played on. In the 62nd minute, O’Neill went down again, possibly a culmination of everything coming at him in this match. He left the field with trainers as Nani came on in his place. In his time on the field he had four clearances, a tackle, four long ball attempts, and 73% passing accuracy.

WB/MF/D, Kyle Smith, 5.5 — In a surprising turn of events, Kyle Smith fired a shot off early in the second half, but saw it sail over the bar. His cross in the 80th minute that was blocked out for the corner — you know the one! — resulted in the play that put the Lions up for the first time all match. Heartbreak ensued as Smith got caught in between closing down Matthew Real and staying in position to mark the oncoming Przybylko, leading to the equalizer in the 90th minute. He had two tackles, one clearance, 74% passing accuracy this time out.

MF, Carlos Ascues, 5.5 — It was not the Peruvian’s best performance. An early turnover led to what could have been a quick second for the Union. His minutes saw a 79% passing accuracy, one tackle, two interceptions, and a blocked shot. He also lost track of Przybylko on the late equalizer.

MF, Uri Rosell, 8 — It was not very kind of the Union to beat up on Uri Rosell so much on this, his birthday! Rosell saw a team high in touches with 67, and had a team-high passing accuracy at 91%! Additionally, he finished with two tackles, two interceptions, and a clearance. I said it just last week and I’ll say it again, I love Uri in the midfield. He’s solid and dependable. A close second for my MotM, but Rowe’s denial of the Union’s win gave him the edge for me, so you know that was hard for me!

MF, Dillon Powers, 6 — Dillon Powers saw the starting XI for the first time in a few matches. His corner shot in the 42nd minute saw too much power and led to nothing for the Lions. Powers finished with two clearances, an offside call, and 78% accuracy on his 45 passes. He did well to hold his own out there.

F, Dom Dwyer, 7.5 — In his first start since May, Dom came to play. He was run down in the 27th minute, earning a free kick. Acosta crossed the ball up to Dwyer from distance and he got a head on it but saw the ball fly over the net. He had another shot in the 49th where we saw Acosta cross behind him and he made another bicycle attempt against the Union, but making poor contact sent it over again. In what may be the most contact we’ve seen in such a long time, Dwyer got another shot off in the 60th but it was just wide. This shot had ESPN+ announcers repeating, “They’ve got to keep an eye on Dwyer, they cannot lose sight of him.” Then bam! Without even looking, Dom headed in a beautiful ball from Nani’s free kick.

F, Benji Michel, 6.5 — Benji Michel was taken down by Wagner in the 66th minute after he made a great run that led the Lions to the oh-so-important free kick. His time on the pitch saw one key pass, one interception, and a 69% passing accuracy.

Substitutes

MF, Nani (64’), 8 — Three minutes into game play for Nani, he took the free kick earned by Michel, assisting Dom’s equalizer. You know the song by Miley Cyrus, where she sings the line, “She’s just being Miley?” Well, he’s just being Nani, as he worked hard to win the ball for throw-ins, and taking corners that led to goals, that’s all.

F, Chris Mueller (74’), 7.5 — Mueller got his head on the corner kick in from Nani, which was blocked by Blake, but Patino was able to tap it in. Always the perfect infusion off the bench, pace of play changed a bit when Cash took the field. He finished with 78% passing accuracy and all heart.

F, Santiago Patino (80’), 6.5 — In his first minute of game play, on his first touch, Patino tapped it in, and has officially opened his account with Orlando City, helping to put the Lions up late in the second half. If only he’d marked Real instead of Fontana late, perhaps we could have seen a different result.


Those second-half Lions, yes please! These Lions connected on set pieces! I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that before. Agree or disagree with my ratings? Let me know in the comments and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match! 

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Brian Rowe45
Uri Rosell14
Nani14
Dom Dwyer5
Santiago Patino0
Other: Be sure to tell us who in the comments!3

Orlando City

Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union

Find out how the season has been treating the Philadelphia Union since the two teams met in the season opener.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City has strung two wins together for the first time in the 2025 Major League Soccer season, and now the Lions will try to make it three on the bounce. Along with the chance to extend the winning streak to three games comes the opportunity for revenge against the Philadelphia Union. The Union got the better of Orlando in the first game of the season to the tune of a 4-2 victory, and now we’ll have a chance to see what sort of progress OCSC has made since then.

Before that, though, I spoke to Matt Ralph, the managing editor of Philadelphia Soccer Now, to see how things have been going for Philly since that first game of the season. He was kind enough to help get us up to speed on a Union side that’s been one of the best in the league so far.

The Union don’t seem to have had much problem in adjusting to how Bradley Carnell wants to play. What’s made this team so successful through its opening six games?

Matt Ralph: The players have bought in, and the new additions have fit in well. One of Carnell’s strengths is his communication, and like Jim Curtin before him, he has done a great job of being consistent with his messaging and has created a challenging training environment that has prepared his players well week to week. Carnell has put his stamp on the “Philly tough” approach, no doubt, but many of the ingredients were already in place, and if anything, he’s cranked things up another notch with the intensity he expects day to day in training and within the 90 minutes. That’s not necessarily a bad thing, but both losses have shown that there is little margin for error, which is not really a new phenomenon for a team over the last decade that’s become known for punching above their weight. 

Let’s talk about Golden Boot leader, Tai Baribo. Outside of the great scoring numbers, what does he bring to the team?

MR: Baribo will be the first person to deflect credit to his teammates and his humility and team-first mentality is one of his greatest attributes. When you see him get stuck in to make a tackle in the middle of the park in the 80th minute, it illustrates how much his work rate and willingness to do anything to win — whether the goals come or not — impacts the team. 

Obviously it’s pretty early in a long season, but the Union have been impressive so far. What would be seen as a successful season for this group?

MR: It’s pretty much playoffs or bust, and once they get to the post-season, as we know, all bets are off. A competitive U.S. Open Cup run would be nice, though the schedule in May is not very kind.

Will any players be unavailable due to injury, suspension, etc.? What is your projected starting lineup and score prediction?

MR: Kai Wagner is questionable again, so look for him to come off the bench at the very least. I think there will be one or two changes in the starting XI, be it Indiana Vassilev, Bruno Damiani, or Olwethu Makhanya starting, but it will mostly be a similar look (with Nathan Harriel healthy) from match day 1. 

Projected starting XI: Andre Blake; Frankie Westfield, Ian Glavinovich, Jakob Glesnes, Nathan Harriel; Jovan Lukic, Danley Jean-Jacques, Quinn Sullivan; Daniel Gazdag, Bruno Damiani, Tai Baribo.

The Union haven’t drawn a match yet this season and Orlando has shown they can score (first in the league with 15 goals), so I’m going with a 2-2 draw.


Thank you to Matt for the refresher on the Union. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/4/25

Orlando City gets ready for the Philadelphia Union, OCSC partners with Footy Access, USWNT prepares for Brazil, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Happy Friday! It may feel a bit like the calm before the storm today, as Orlando City, Orlando City B, and the United States Women’s National Team are all in action on Saturday. It all makes for a fun next few days and I’m looking forward to it and also watching some kart racing on Sunday. Let’s get to the links!

Orlando City Gets Ready For the Philadelphia Union

The Lions are back in action Saturday with an away game against the Philadelphia Union at 7:30 p.m. Orlando has won its past two games and leads the league with 15 goals this season. The Union remain near the top of the Eastern Conference, but have lost two of their past three games. Duncan McGuire detailed how healthy competition and a willingness to defend has the offense firing on all cylinders heading into this match.

This will also be a rematch of the season opener on Feb. 22 when the Union won 4-2 at Inter&Co Stadium. Philadelphia Union Head Coach Bradley Carnell spoke on how Orlando is a different team compared to that match due to changes on offense and center back Robin Jansson’s recovery from a knock.

Orlando City Partners With Footy Access

With the Generation Adidas Cup set to take place later this month, Orlando City has partnered with Footy Access, which is a media company focused on youth soccer. This collaboration means fans will be able to enjoy highlights and interviews from Orlando’s academy as it progresses through the tournament. I’m pretty excited about being able to see how well Orlando’s academy is doing.

MLS NEXT also announced that new rankings focused on development rather than results will be used for its U-13 and U-14 age groups. These rankings will use an analytical formula that measures game play and the caliber of offensive and defensive actions. There will also be encouragement for teams to have their own identities on how they want to play.

USWNT Prepares to Face Brazil in Friendlies

The United States Women’s National Team will take on Brazil on Saturday in the first of two friendlies this international break, with the second match set for Tuesday. These friendlies will be rematches of last year’s Olympic gold medal match, which the U.S. won 1-0. Marta has retired from international soccer, but Pride midfielder Angelina was called up for these friendlies, along with former Pride forward Adriana. Lorena, who has only conceded one goal in three games for the Kansas City Current this season, will likely get the start in goal for Brazil behind a talented back line anchored by Tarciane. The USWNT will need to find ways to limit attacking threats like Kerolin and Gabi Portilho as well. These should be matches, with familiar faces on both sides for Orlando fans.

U.S. Set to Host 2031 Women’s World Cup

It looks like the 2031 Women’s World Cup will be held in the U.S., as FIFA President Gianni Infantino stated that the only bid came from the U.S. and potentially other Concacaf nations. The U.S., which withdrew from hosting the 2027 World Cup, would be the first country to host the tournament three times and last hosted it in 2007. The United Kingdom was also revealed as the lone valid bid to host the 2035 World Cup and it would be the first time the tournament is hosted there.

Free Kicks

  • Shout out to Orlando City’s U-19 team for its title win and securing a spot in the MLS NEXT Cup playoffs.

That’s all for this fine Friday, I hope you all have a fantastic day and a relaxing weekend!

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Orlando City

Orlando City Relies on Starters More Than Any Other MLS Team

An analysis of Óscar Pareja’s early lineup choices and substitution patterns and how that compares to the 2024 season.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Legendary swordsman Inigo Montoya, a man who is not lefthanded, once opened a conversation by asking the Dread Pirate Roberts if, by any chance, he had six fingers on his right hand. Nobody will need to prepare to die by the end of this column, but I will ask a similar question: I don’t mean to pry, but did you by any chance happen to realize that we are already more than one-sixth of the way through the MLS regular season? Six fingers, one-sixth of the season…close enough. Let’s go.

Time flies when you are having fun, and somehow Orlando City has already played 540 minutes of MLS soccer this season. I consider 500 minutes played to be a cutoff amount when looking at player and lineup performance, and with the conclusion of the most recent game in Los Angeles, the team has now surpassed that 500-minute threshold.

In looking at the opening 540 minutes, I was surprised to see how much continuity I found in the minutes played, considering how many injuries the Lions have had to work around during these first six games. In just the first six games, Orlando City has already had full games missed due to injury by César Araujo (1), David Brekalo (2), Robin Jansson (2), Duncan McGuire (3) and Nico Rodriguez (5). Brekalo and Pedro Gallese both missed a game for international duty as well. McGuire was not expected back during the first set of games, but all of those other players, with the possible exception of Rodriguez, were expected to contribute during the early part of the season.

These absences led to games where the substitutes list was full of players who will play big minutes for Orlando City B this year, but not players who Óscar Pareja was likely to turn to off the bench unless the game was out of hand or he was absolutely desperate. According to Opta’s tracking through the opening six games, Orlando City ranks last in MLS in the average minutes played by its substitutes, as the average amount of time per appearance for the players off the bench for the Lions is only 12 minutes. For context, 16 teams have an average amount of time per substitute appearance of 20 minutes or greater, and Inter Miami and Toronto are tied with a league-leading 27 minutes per substitute appearance.

The interesting thing about those two teams, Miami and Toronto, is that Miami leads the league in points per match with 2.6 and Toronto is second from the bottom with a scant 0.33 points per match. I think a lot of this data will even out over time, as right now there are several teams, including Miami, that are playing in multiple competitions and trying to keep players fresh for all of their matches.

When it comes to Orlando City, however, that is not the case, and thus far there has just been the standard one game per week on six consecutive Saturdays. The players are rested for each game. The issue has just been that Pareja has not had the depth and variety of players he thought he would have to bring off the bench to protect a lead or chase a deficit.

We often joke in articles or on The Mane Land PawedCast about how “Óscar gonna Óscar,” and once he finds a lineup he likes, he sticks with it. Even with all the injuries he has somehow managed to do this again this season, as you can see from the chart below. I started tracking lineup data last season, and even though the 2025 season is only six games old and there have been so many absences from key players this season, it was striking to see that the 11-man lineup that has played the most minutes together this season already outranks all but two lineups from the entire 2024 MLS season (including the five playoff games!):

Now, it is a little unfair to the one 2025 lineup on the above chart that it has such a negative goal differential per 90 minutes, because if it is only the 10 field players, with goalkeeper excluded, then that lineup has played 215 minutes together and has a +0.84 goal differential per 90 minutes. That group is +4 with Javier Otero in net in 74 minutes together, and removing the goalkeepers from the calculation turns that negative goal differential into a positive.

What that also tells us, however, is that when it comes to the 10 field players, Pareja has played the same unit in the field for 40% (215/540) of the team’s minutes already. Granted it is early in the season, but after six MLS games last season, the lineup that had played together the most had played a grand total of 74 minutes together (14% of all minutes). The top five most used lineups in last season’s opening six MLS games combined to play 302 minutes, or 56% of all minutes, and in 2025 it is 402 minutes, or 80%. My math, and everyone else’s math, says that is a much higher percentage and indicates that the team is focused on continuity early.

That continuity thus far this season has paid dividends, with the Lions earning 10 points from the first six games, twice as nice as last season’s five points after the first six games. Last year, the team was balancing midweek Concacaf Champions Cup games in addition to injuries and an international break during the opening weeks of the MLS season, so there were some good reasons for the lineup rotation and the slow start. This year’s squad will have to navigate two upcoming cup tournaments in the coming months, and so we likely will see a lot of new lineup configurations or more rotation once the U.S. Open Cup starts in May and then again when Leagues Cup starts in July.

Thus far though, Pareja has been able to stick with his starters deep into matches, and has only given playing time to 20 players, which is tied for third fewest across all of MLS. Fan bases often clamor for the coach to “play the kids,” but while Pareja has had young and inexperienced players on the senior roster for every game, he really has only given significant minutes to Alex Freeman from the group of players that could be referred to as “the kids.” Gustavo Caraballo has played nine minutes, which is incredible for a 16-year-old (15-year-old Cavan Sullivan of Philadelphia is the only player younger than Caraballo to have played this season, and he has also played only nine minutes), and new signing Nico Rodriguez (20 years old) has played 11 minutes, but the next three youngest players to play are all at least 22 and were with the senior club last season (Otero and Ramiro Enrique) or came to the club after four seasons of college soccer (23-year-old, but nearly 24-year-old, Joran Gerbet).

The team’s record thus far shows that Pareja has been right to limit the minutes to the small group of players he trusts, and with one game per week for the next six weeks it will be interesting to see if the early trend of starters playing long minutes and only a few players getting all the minutes off the bench continues. The next match is on the road against Philadelphia, which so rudely came into Orlando and defeated the Lions 4-2 in the season opener, and my expectation is that while we likely will not see any players make their season debut in this game, I do think we will see a different starting lineup than the season opener and probably a different one than the game last weekend against the Galaxy.

No matter who the Lions go with, I am sure they will want to avenge the season-opening loss and bring three points back home to Orlando.

As we wish.

Vamos Orlando!

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