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Orlando City’s Power Outage

Published

7 years ago

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Orlando City is experiencing technical difficulties this season on the offensive end. It’s a problem that goes deeper than a lower-than-usual output from striker Dom Dwyer, who has been in and out of the lineup due to injuries and suspensions and has been wildly out of form much of the time he’s been on the field.

After all, Tesho Akindele has largely offset Dwyer’s lack of production by having a surprising career year in Orlando. Nani has added quality as well, although with only one goal (from the spot on Saturday) in two months, that production has largely fallen off. Chris Mueller has also fallen off, not having scored a goal in MLS play since July 3 or a goal in any competitive match since July 10.

The Lions simply aren’t scoring enough goals and so the margin of error for the defense has been tested time and again, particularly in recent weeks.

City has either conceded a late equalizer or had to hold on desperately over the final minutes of matches to win over the course of the current four-game unbeaten streak (2-0-2). That is, of course, just a league unbeaten streak, because that stretch of matches also includes a 2-0 shutout loss at home to this Friday’s opponent, Atlanta United, in the U.S. Open Cup. During this section of the schedule, the Lions have scored more than one goal in only one game, nabbing a late second in stoppage time in a 2-0 win over FC Dallas.

Orlando has scored 35 goals in 2019, which is behind every Eastern Conference team except D.C. United (34), the Columbus Crew (29), and FC Cincinnati (26). In the Western Conference, only Vancouver (27) has scored fewer goals.

Where have the goals gone?

Our Andrew Sharp touched on this as part of his column Monday, noting that part of the problem stems from creating scoring opportunities.

Perhaps an even bigger concern that exacerbates inefficiency when the chances do eventually come along is the fact that they are simply few and far between. The Lions have registered the third fewest shots and fourth fewest shots on goal per game in MLS this season.

A team that can only eke out 11 shot attempts per match on average and get only 3.6 of them on frame had better put the ball in the net with extreme efficiency. That’s not sustainable offense for a team with playoff aspirations.

Orlando City is averaging 1.3 goals per game in 2019, but five of the team’s 35 goals came in one match against Cincinnati and four more came against Colorado. Both of those matches were played before June 1, and three more goals came on June 1 in a 3-0 win at Montreal. That’s more than a third of the team’s goal output for the season in just three matches and those outbursts came nearly three months ago.

In fact, the Lions have scored more than one goal in a match just seven times in 2019 in league play. Additionally, City scored crooked numbers in two U.S. Open Cup games but one of those was against USL side Memphis and the other came in extra time after a 0-0 draw in regulation. Orlando’s offense has produced one multi-goal game in its last eight league matches and last 10 competitive matches overall. Woof.

Simply put, scoring is a problem.

Certainly part of the problem can be tied to a $1.5 million striker who has underperformed in 2019. We don’t really need to rehash that here because it’s not like the player himself, the manager, the team, or the fans are unaware of Dwyer’s lack of goal scoring in 2019 and all we can do is hope it returns soon.

The other part of it is a matter of tactics and/or personnel. Orlando City has played three defensive-minded midfielders in a 4-3-3 through much of 2019. While it has been much lower risk than when the team was playing three at the back and probably gives the team its best chance of avoiding losses and staying in contention — because starting fullbacks Ruan and Joao Moutinho tended to get caught upfield when using a 3-5-2 — a defense-first lineup does little to create scoring chances or cash in on them when they arise. Defensive midfielders, after all, are not widely known for their scoring touch and only the best of them are accomplished chance creators.

And the team isn’t scoring on set pieces either. Corner kicks have generally ranged from laughably bad to oh-shit-the-other-team-might-score, with only a couple of near misses giving any hope that eventually the Lions might cash one in. Free kicks have been marginally better. A lot has to go right for a set piece to work, but the Lions can’t seem to get the service in sync with those who would head the ball home. In fairness, aside from Lamine Sané and Akindele, there isn’t a lot of height on this team, but you’d still like a corner kick to produce something every now and again. And don’t get me started on how awful the short corners have been. #BanShortCorners

Here’s your 2019 offense by all players who are not commonly positioned as wings or forwards:

  • Sacha Kljestan — one goal, two assists.
  • Carlos Ascues — one goal, one assist.
  • Will Johnson — one goal, one assist.
  • Cristian Higuita — zero goals, one assist.
  • Dillon Powers — zero goals, one assist.
  • Uri Rosell — zero goals, one assist.
  • Sebas Mendez — zero goals, zero assists.
  • Ruan — zero goals, four assists.
  • Joao Moutinho — zero goals, three assists.
  • Kamal Miller — zero goals, zero assists.
  • Danilo Acosta — zero goals, one assist.
  • Kyle Smith — zero goals, zero assists.
  • Robin Jansson — zero goals, zero assists.
  • Lamine Sané — zero goals, zero assists.
  • Shane O’Neill — zero goals, zero assists.
  • Alex De John — zero goals, zero assists.

So, that’s three goals and seven assists in 27 games from the Orlando City midfield, no goals and eight assists from those who typically play fullback or wingback, and zero goals and zero assists from the center backs. In short, there’s not much help for the forward line of the 4-3-3 and there are players slumping among that group.

On May 19, Nani scored a brace in a 5-1 win over FC Cincinnati. Since that game, he’s scored only two goals and both were on penalties. It’s been three months since he’s scored in the run of play. Part of that is likely the league adjusting to him and some of it is no doubt the fatigue of playing his second season consecutively.

If Nani, Dwyer, and Mueller are all slumping at the same time (Mueller’s last league goal was July 3) and there’s no help from the midfield, fullbacks, or defenders (on set pieces), it’s basically the Akindele show. Again, not the best recipe for success regardless of how good Tesho has been in 2019 — and he’s been head and shoulders better than any of us had a right to expect.

On top of all of that, when Orlando City gets a lead, it doesn’t maintain that momentum and tends to sink deeper or play anywhere-will-do out of the back, which seems safer until you realize how much possession the players are conceding. The law of averages favors the opponent when you continuously hand them the ball. The same dearth of chances that keeps Orlando from scoring a second goal ultimately rewards the opponent for creating 15 or 20.

Even that many half-chances will eventually pay off, as we saw on Saturday night when a stupid bounce off a throw-in cost the Lions two vital points during a murderer’s row part of the schedule. Get the ball into the box enough times and eventually something good will happen. Or something bad, in the Lions’ case defensively.

I chalk the so-called “bunkering” up to a lack of comfort on the ball from a defensive-minded midfield. Thumping the ball downfield or out for a throw isn’t a bad play to waste a few seconds but it’s not a way to kill off a game.

To me, it doesn’t look like traditional bunkering — a concerted effort to sit on a one-goal lead — and James O’Connor never really seems pleased with the turnovers and lack of possession after matches. It simply looks like a lack of willingness by players to make the right pass, get forward, and go on and win the game. Maybe it’s confidence, or maybe it’s the instinct of having eight defensive players on the field and isolating the three up top who think more about scoring and have the skill to do so.

Five of Orlando’s draws have been 1-1 final scores. Those could have been put out of reach with a second goal, but you can’t score if you give away the ball and if you’re not clinical in front of goal, you minimize the few chances you do generate.

Mauricio Pereyra may help with all of this, being a good defensive midfielder who can also create offensively. He’s exactly what the team has needed in 2019 and he showed signs of that Saturday night. In fact, if not for Akindele being a couple feet offside, Pereyra’s willingness to get forward would have helped produce a game-winning penalty.

But it’s going to require more than Pereyra if Orlando is going to make the postseason. The Lions must be bolder. They must be confident in going and getting a second goal. They must hold onto the ball more when leading. They must finish when they have opportunities — Akindele had a golden opportunity to put Saturday night’s game away but saw his late shot saved. And it wouldn’t hurt to get Dwyer, Nani, and Mueller going again or for Robinho to step up.

Without a bit more quality on the offensive end, it’s unlikely this team will squeak above the playoff line. I said before the season started that this looked like an eighth-place team. Hopefully the Lions will prove me wrong in a good way, but to do that goals must be scored.

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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

2 weeks ago

on

July 22, 2026

By

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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Podcasts

PawedCast Episode 542: Tampa Bay Friendly, McGuire Traded, OCB Beats Cincinnati, and More

Lions maul the Rowdies in friendly action, OCB wins on the road, and it’s transfer season.

Published

3 weeks ago

on

July 14, 2026

By

Image of Antoine Griezmann and Ivan Angulo celebrating a goal in a friendly against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City welcomed I-4 Derby rival Tampa Bay to Inter&Co Stadium for a friendly match on Wednesday and then proceeded to bludgeon the Rowdies with a couple of hammers named Antoine Griezmann and Justin Ellis. The two attackers combined for a goal and four assists in a 6-0 beatdown of the team from the Gulf Coast, with five different Lions scoring and Griffin Dorsey forcing an own goal. We discuss Griezmann’s first minutes with Orlando City, what the team showed in its formation, and how good Justin Ellis’ vision is.

Oh, and it’s also transfer season now. Duncan McGuire is on his way out and Marco Pasalic reportedly will follow soon, while a new left back may be headed from Spain to Orlando.

Following all of that, we discuss Maxime Crepeau being added to the MLS All-Star Team and the announcement that he’ll participate in the 2026 MLS All-Star Skills Challenge.

Our mailbagbox asked us about which World Cup semifinalist players we’d want to join Orlando this season (if we could only pick one), and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

After the mailbagbox, we dive into OCB’s 2-1 road win at FC Cincinnati 2. It wasn’t the prettiest game by the Young Lions, but they managed to do enough to earn three points on the road, where they’ll stay to face Chattanooga on Saturday. We briefly preview that game.

Finally, Orlando City will be in Dallas Wednesday for the second of two friendlies leading up to the restart of the MLS season. It’s unlikely we’ll get a lot of details about that one, but we’ll see what happens. Maybe the FC Dallas folks will help us out.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 542 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City crushed the Rowdies, the transfer season is in full swing, plus: hey now, Crepeau’s an all-star.

28:50 – The mailbagbox is always good for a hypothetical scenario.

36:54 – The Young Lions slipped past Cincy and head to Chattanooga, while the senior Lions head to Dallas.

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Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 119: International Break, USWNT, Louisville Preview, and More

The Pride return from a long international break looking to get their first-ever road win against Racing Louisville.

Published

3 months ago

on

April 22, 2026

By

Image of Haley McCutcheon scoring the opening goal in Orlando's home playoff win over Seattle.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

It feels like months since the Orlando Pride last took the field, but the calendar says otherwise. If you believe calendars, it’s only been a little less than three weeks, but time moves strangely in the post-pandemic apocalyptic world.

Anyway, we don’t have a match to recap, so we touched on a couple of Pride players putting the ball in the net during the international break and chat a bit about the United States Women’s National Team’s three-game friendly series against Japan. Emma Hayes used a lot of players, and the team looked solid for two of the three matches, but the rotated middle game seemed a bit disjointed. Hayes has greatly expanded the player pool and will have plenty of options when the World Cup approaches.

Our mailbagbox had questions about a potential change in the NWSL schedule, as the league explores adopting the fall-to-spring slate, and opposition own goals. 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.

After the mailbagbox, we turned our attention toward Friday’s late afternoon tussle with Racing Louisville in Kentucky. The Pride have never won on the road against Louisville, and it’s about high time they did. This match begins a congested push to the June World Cup break, and although Friday’s hosts aren’t high in the table, the Pride must be at their best to get a road result in this fixture. We look back at the series history, compare the two sides, provide our key matchups in the game, and make our final score predictions.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how Episode 119 went down:

0:15 – We open the show with a little banter about the Pride in the international break and the USWNT’s series vs. Japan.

9:03 – The mailbagbox features questions via both eletronic mail and social media. We welcome all modes of delivery.

19:59 – The Pride travel to Louisville to face Racing. They’ve never won in Kentucky, but we inform them how to do so.

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