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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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The Lions got mauled in San Jose last night and although I don’t disagree with James O’Connor’s assessment that it was like the team never left the dressing room for the first half, the perspective of a partial night’s sleep has me thinking that maybe the Western Conference’s second-place team is just that good.

San Jose has now gone 12 straight home games without a loss. The California side moves the ball with impressive speed and accuracy through the middle of the pitch and Orlando struggled to deal with that in the first 45 minutes of the match. By the time the Lions made some lineup changes and came out for the second half, the damage was done.

We know how the Lions did as a team. Here’s how I saw them individually:

Starters

GK, Brian Rowe, 6 — I didn’t think Rowe did anything particularly wrong. He made the saves he generally should make. He just didn’t provide the spectacular on a night when his teammates needed it. His best save of the six he made might have been kicking away a Cristian Espinoza left-footed effort in the 32nd minute after the Argentine had slickly bypassed a sliding Robin Jansson. He did manage to get a hand on Chris Wondolowski’s first goal but didn’t get enough of it to knock it off line. His distribution on the night was solid, hitting four out of seven long-ball attempts and his passing rate of 88% was good. Rowe didn’t get a lot of help. I strongly considered him for Man of the Match despite allowing three goals, which tells you what kind of night it was.

D, Kamal Miller, 5 — The Canadian rookie had been playing well but the Earthquakes took advantage of him last night. He was walked around by Espinoza a few times, leading to dangerous opportunities. He provided one tackle, two clearances, and a blocked shot defensively. His passing rate was poor (68%), but he did create two chances — one that Carlos Ascues wasted with a wide shot when he perhaps had better options — but he also had an impatient early cross as one of Orlando’s best counter-attacks was developing that fizzled out the chance.

D, Robin Jansson, 5.5 — The beefy Swede let his countryman, Magnus Eriksson, walk right past him for the opening goal. In fairness, Eriksson made a nice feint that got Jansson to hesitate only for a split second, but it was enough to put the Designated Player in on goal. Espinoza likewise got the better of Jansson on the chance described above in the Rowe section. Aside from those two individual moments, Jansson was generally his usual self, finishing with two tackles, an interception, three clearances, and a blocked shot. His passing rate was a bit lower than usual (83%) but he hit three of his four long balls and he tried to pitch in offensively, tying Dom Dwyer for the most shot attempts on the team (2), although neither was on frame.

D, Lamine Sané, 6 — Like Jansson, Sané made a few individual mistakes in an otherwise decent game. Of course, when you play center back, a couple of mistakes can be killers or at least stick out in the memory more than the errors further up the pitch. Sané was culpable on both of Wondolowski’s goals — only partially on the first but much more blatantly on the second. On the first, he stepped up but Wondo beat the trap because not everyone on the back line was in sync. On the second, he was left marking air and watching the ball while the league’s all-time leading goal scorer stood unmarked a few yards away for an easy finish. With no one else in the area, Sané must make sure that pass doesn’t get to Wondo. But despite that, it wasn’t all bad. Sané actually finished as the team’s co-leader in chances created (2) and led the back line with a 91% passing accuracy. He finished with three interceptions, a team-high five clearances, and a blocked shot. He was by far the most active defender in the game for Orlando with 18 more touches than his nearest back line teammate.

D, Kyle Smith, 5.5 — While Smith has become a reliable defender in Ruan’s absence, he has a long way to go on the offensive end. You’d take his 82% rate if he at least provided a key pass or two, but he didn’t produce any, nor did he register an accurate cross on the meager two attempts. But, as usual, he was active in his own end, recording four tackles — tied for the team high — two interceptions, and three clearances. With three defensive midfielders playing in the 4-3-3, more is needed in the attacking end from the fullbacks.

MF, Will Johnson, 6.5 (Man of the Match)— When you don’t notice a defensive midfielder, it generally means he did his job. Johnson’s night wasn’t perfect. He had an awful turnover that produced a San Jose scoring chance, although Rowe bailed him out on it. His 92% passing accuracy led all starters and he created one scoring chance and attempted one shot, which was blocked. His four tackles co-led the team, and he added an interception and a clearance. I selected him as MotM but it was honestly just about a coin flip between Johnson and Uri Rosell — mostly as the two players who did the least amount wrong while being involved in the game.

MF, Uri Rosell, 6.5 — Rosell put in the work in his own end, recording one tackle, three interceptions — tying Sané for the team lead — one clearance, and one blocked shot. He registered the team’s only shot on target, although he didn’t get all of his 13th-minute effort that he sent toward the back post from outside the area. His passing rate of 83% needed to be better but he did hit four of his seven long balls and a few of those sprung the Lions for what should have been more threatening attacks. Two of those were notable in the 19th and 29th minutes. He earned his 90th-minute yellow card.

MF, Carlos Ascues, 4 — Although the Peruvian has played well in recent games, I thought Ascues looked a bit slow and lethargic last night. He touched the ball only 15 times in the first half before being subbed out at the break. His passing rate of 88% wasn’t bad but came on just eight attempts. His best contribution was a shot wide of the near post but he perhaps had more time and space than he realized and could have picked out a better option in the box. Ascues registered a clearance and a blocked shot defensively but he was more of a passenger on the night. James O’Connor wasn’t happy and his halftime interview indicated there were people not giving the effort he wanted in the first 45 minutes. Subbing Ascues out gives an indication of one of the players he felt weren’t giving enough.

F, Nani, 5 — The captain had a frustrating night that ended in an injury of unknown severity at 71 minutes. The Earthquakes seemingly always had two men ready to mark him when Orlando was on the ball and that contributed to a sloppier than usual night with just a 63% passing rate and he lost the ball seven times. He created one scoring chance, got nine crosses into the area (two accurate), but attempted no shots. Defensively, he added a clearance and a blocked shot. While I think much of his lack of quality on the night was related to how he was being marked without Mauricio Pereyra on the pitch, the Lions still needed more from their captain and Designated Player.

F, Dom Dwyer, 4.5 — Starved of service throughout the match, there was little Dwyer could do to affect the match. He had two shot attempts, neither on target, but at least he did the job of trying to score on the few opportunities he had. He was shown the softest of all yellow cards in the 65th minute. While Dwyer can be an agitator and initiate contact, this card came from the most innocuous of bumps with the goalkeeper as he was coming down from a jump for a cross that Daniel Vega cut off. The incidental contact was perhaps a foul — and Vega sold the hell out of it — but hardly worthy of the usual Dwyer booking. His hold-up play wasn’t great but there generally were few options for him anyway and he passed at a 73% rate. He won two aerials, blocked a shot on the defensive end, and finished the night with just 35 touches.

F, Benji Michel, 4 — Like Ascues, Michel came off at halftime, indicating a position that O’Connor wanted more out of. The rookie managed just 16 touches and passed at only a 50% rate (on just eight attempts, like Ascues), although he tied Dwyer for the team lead in aerials won (2). Michel failed to record any defensive statistics, which is unusual for a player who usually displays more desire and energy when pressing and getting into passing lanes. He produced no crosses, shots, or scoring chances and — again, like Ascues — was more of a passenger during his 45 minutes than a driver.

Substitutes

MF, Cristian Higuita (46’), 5.5 — The Colombian finally returned to make his 100th MLS appearance after about a three-month absence and generally played well. He led all Lions with a 97% passing rate and connected on both of his long-ball attempts. Surprisingly, Higuita registered no defensive statistics. He committed two fouls, though his booking was nearly as soft as Dwyer’s and happened right after Jackson Yueill should have gone in the books for cleaning out Akindele with his studs showing. Higuita attempted one shot, which Orlando players felt should have drawn a handball. I can’t say whether it was a good no-call or not because the broadcast literally never showed a replay. It was a decent 45-minute return for Higuita, who will be relied upon more heavily in the upcoming LAFC match.

F, Tesho Akindele (46’), 6 — The Canadian added some quality and hold-up play, finishing with a dribble and two chances created, but did disappear from the game at times. An 84% passing rate wasn’t bad considering his position and where those passes took place (all but two of the 19 were in the attacking half and all but seven were in the final third). He had one tackle and one clearance defensively and was generally decent in his 45 minutes, although an extremely heavy touch wrecked one of Orlando’s more promising buildups of play of the last half hour.

F Chris Mueller, (71’), 5 — Like other players, Mueller struggled with the Avaya Stadium pitch, but he had more trouble than many of his teammates. A couple of slips ruined potential attacks and it was a problem for Orlando players all night that never seemed to get resolved. Mueller failed to get his one shot attempt on target from a decent area in the box and just generally struggled to produce anything in the attack over the final 20 minutes despite getting on the ball 17 times. He had one dribble but created no chances. His 88% passing sounds pretty good until you look at a snapshot of his attempts.


That’s how I viewed the individual performances but, since we all see the game differently, how did you see it? I wouldn’t say that anyone stood out as amazing on the night and I had difficulty picking a Man of the Match on a night when the entire team fizzled. Defenders had lapses, midfielders turned over the ball, and forwards were isolated. It was a complete team loss. But hey, vote for your MotM below.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Brian Rowe4
Uri Rosell1
Will Johnson8
Cristian Higuita16
Tesho Akindele0
Lamine Sané1
Other (please tell us who in the comments section below)4

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Three Keys to Victory

Checking these three boxes should go a long way toward helping Orlando City pick up all three points against D.C.

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Image of Maxime Crepeau catching the ball in front of goal.
Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City got an unexpected three points midweek when it knocked off Charlotte FC 4-1 at home. The performance and ensuing result continued a trend of improved performances for the Lions now that Robin Jansson is healthy and back in the team. OCSC will now try to build on Wednesday’s victory when it hits the road to take on D.C. United on Saturday. What follows are three things that I believe will go a long way toward helping the Lions bring home all three points from the nation’s capital.

Stop Tai Baribo

I don’t like suggesting that one player is responsible for the entirety of a team’s offense, because when it comes to soccer, that’s rarely a truly accurate statement. The mere fact that there are 11 players on the field at a time means that scoring goals usually involves several different players in order to get the ball into the net. That being said, D.C. United has scored eight league goals on the year and Tai Baribo has six of them. D.C. is 2-1-1 in games in which Baribo finds the back of the net, and 0-2-3 in games when he fails to score. The striker flashed exactly how lethal he can be in his team’s wild 4-4 draw with the New York Red Bulls on Wednesday, as he bagged a hat trick and helped rescue a point for D.C. with an 80th-minute equalizer. OCSC did a good job of neutralizing Idan Toklomati on Wednesday, but Baribo provides an altogether different sort of challenge, and the defense will need to put in another focused and composed performance if it’s going to keep him off the scoresheet.

Win the First 15

Something Orlando City did an especially good job of in the second half was winning the first 15 minutes of the period. The team flew out of the break and created an excellent chance that Martin Ojeda buried in the 49th minute to give OCSC the lead for good. Ivan Angulo should have scored six minutes later, only to put his shot wide, but Ojeda scored another goal in the 61st to put the game to bed. While the opening 15 minutes of the first half weren’t dominant, the Lions still started the game composed and created a couple of good chances for Ojeda and Justin Ellis. It was a welcome departure from previous games that have seen Orlando concede early goals in the opening minutes of both halves. Even if the Lions can’t get on the board in the opening moments of the first and second half, it’s important for the team to come out focused and intense, and establish a strong foothold in the match. Setting a strong early tone is important on the road, and it’s vital that Orlando does so tomorrow.

Toe the Disciplinary Line

While the Lions need to play with the same intensity and effort that we saw in Wednesday’s win, they also need to be careful and not get carried away when it comes to physicality. The team picked up five yellow cards midweek, and while no one is close to being suspended for yellow card accumulation yet, it’s obviously important to not go too far and pick up a red card. OCSC is likely to have another young lineup on Saturday, and some of the team’s youthful exuberance was on display against Charlotte. Iago, Luis Otavio, and Ignacio Gomez were responsible for three of the team’s five yellow cards, with Gomez’s booking coming just one minute after he was subbed onto the field for Zakaria Taifi. The Lions did well to not pick up any further bookings and get reduced to playing with 10 men, but there were moments when it felt like they just barely toed the line without crossing it. Orlando needs to replicate the balancing act of playing with speed and intensity, while not taking things too far and picking up bookings that put the team into a bad situation.


There you have it, folks. Nothing is guaranteed in this sport, but if the Lions can shut down the dangerous Baribo, come out strong to start both halves, and play with a high level of intensity while not crossing the line, I think they’ll be in a very good position to pick up all three points against D.C. United. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 4/24/26

Martin Ojeda and Luis Otavio honored, Orlando Pride play Racing Louisville today, USWNT announces Brazil friendlies, and more.

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Image of Haley McCutcheon, Luana, and Angelina celebrating Orlando's win over Portland.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday! I’m still energized from Orlando City’s victory on Wednesday and am hoping the winning trend continues tonight and through the weekend as we get ready for three straight days of Orlando soccer. Let’s jump right into today’s links from around the soccer world!

Martin Ojeda, Luis Otavio Honored on MLS Team of the Matchday

Orlando City forward Martin Ojeda claimed a spot on the latest MLS Team of the Matchday after scoring twice in the second half to lift the Lions to a 4-1 win over Charlotte FC on Wednesday. It was a welcome return to form for Ojeda, who amassed 31 goal contributions last season but was off to a slow start this year. Midfielder Luis Otavio scored his first goal as a Lion in the match and was named to the bench of the MLS Team of the Matchday as well. The 19-year-old’s goal was struck with the outside of his foot and was one of the wilder moments from an exciting night of MLS soccer that included 43 goals across 11 games.

Orlando Pride Play Racing Louisville Today

With the international break over, the Orlando Pride are back in action today at 5:30 p.m. for a road game against Racing Louisville. The Pride last played on April 3, with Haley McCutcheon scoring a pair of late goals in a 2-1 victory at home to hand Angel City FC its first loss of the season. Although Louisville is still searching for its first win of the season, the Pride have never won on the road against Racing. Hopefully the Pride can make some history tonight and take all three points to start this next stretch of games off strongly.

USWNT Will Play in Brazil This June

The United States Women’s National Team will play Brazil in a pair of road friendlies in June. The first will take place in Sao Paulo on June 6 before the two nations meet again on June 9 in Fortaleza. These will be the USWNT’s first matches in Brazil since 2014 and should help the team prepare for the World Cup there next summer. The U-23 team will also be with the senior team in Brazil during this time to play against clubs from Sao Paulo.

European League Races Hit the Final Stretch

Leagues across Europe are entering the home stretch of their seasons and there’s still plenty up for grabs. The title race in England is neck and neck between Manchester City and Arsenal, but the relegation fight is just as enticing as Tottenham remains in the drop zone with five games to go. Another intriguing relegation battle is in Spain, as Sevilla’s 2-0 loss to Levante has the club right in the thick of things near the bottom of the La Liga table.

Things are fairly settled in Germany and Italy beyond squabbling for Champions League qualification, but the Ligue 1 title race may center around a May 13 match between Paris Saint-Germain and Lens if PSG stumbles over the next few weeks. Last, but definitely not least, the Scottish Premiership title fight is as tight as can be. Hearts slightly leads over Rangers and Celtic, but there are juicy matchups between the three over the next month.

Free Kicks


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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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 4-1 home win over Charlotte?

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Image of Martin Ojeda celebrating a goal.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City finally managed to score more than two goals thanks to a 4-1 victory over visiting Charlotte FC. If I’m being honest, I wasn’t looking forward to writing or even watching this game, but boy was I wrong. As a whole, the team played well, and there are some good grades for many, unlike the last several weeks. Let’s take a look at how Orlando City’s players rated individually in a matchup with Charlotte.

Starters

GK, Maxime Crépeau, 6.5— This was a pretty good match for the Orlando City keeper, though it almost wasn’t. He made three saves, two of which were difficult. He got big and cut off the angle in the 28th minute on the first save. He got caught inside on Charlotte’s goal, but Braian Ojeda also made a mess of defending Morrison Agyemang at the back post. In the 64th minute, he celebrated a block by Tiago a bit early when he thought the ball had gone out, but it hadn’t. Fortunately, Iago was there to make a play and Charlotte was offside anyway, so the third attempt didn’t count. He made a point-blank save in the 81st and another leaping save deep in stoppage time to keep Charlotte at bay.

D, Adrian Marin, 5.5 — Marin almost got the Lions off to a bad start when he lost a 50/50 ball in the sixth minute but Charlotte couldn’t capitalize. After that, he settled in, though he still scares me a bit. He completed 87.7% of his 65 passes, including three of his seven long balls. Defensively, he contributed four tackles and four clearances. Again, he wasn’t bad, but he also wasn’t impressive.

D, Robin Jansson, 7 — Jansson continues to show excellent form after his return from injury. The captain is a calming presence that keeps the defense organized. Since his return, Orlando City has allowed only three goals. He did his usual job of stopping attacks up and down the field. He completed 92% of his 50 passes, including one of his four long balls. Defensively, he logged one tackle, one interception, and a team-high eight clearances. It was the same type of performances that has earned him Man of the Match honors before, but this time the Lions created some offense.

D, Iago, 6 — Iago seems to be settling in now that he has Jansson next to him on the back line. He made some key defensive plays, including a clearance while Crepeau was celebrating too early. He completed 83.3% of his 36 passes, including one of his four long balls. Defensively, he logged one interception, three blocked shots, and two clearances. Thankfully, he didn’t lead Orlando City on shot attempts in this match.

D, Zakaria Taifi, 6 — Thank goodness Taifi muffed his shot attempt in the 21st minute. That’s not something one would normally say, but since it ended up as a Luis Otavio goal, it’s all good. Technically, it didn’t count as a shot, but he did get credit for the assist. He did take one other shot that was on goal, but it was easily saved, and he had two key passes. The Homegrown fullback made a good toe poke to stop an attack in 14th minute and a good recovery run in the 43rd minute to deflect a cross out for a corner. He finished with two tackles, an interception, and two clearances on the defensive side, passing at a 95.2% success rate. He was subbed off for Ignacio Gomez in the 78th minute.

MF, Iván Angulo, 6 — This was a very Ivan Angulo performance, by which I mean he did some good things, some bad things, and some inexplicable things. He did well tracking back on defense and occasionally taking the ball back in the midfield. He earned a yellow card in the 23rd minute keeping breaking up a counter off Braian Ojeda’s blocked ball into the box on a corner kick. He also missed an excellent opportunity after Ojeda put him in on goal in the 56th minute. It’s the type of play that he should at least put the shot on frame, but he was unable to even come close. He made up for it a bit with his excellent pass for the assist on Gomez’s late goal. He completed 91.7% of his 36 passes, including the one key pass. Defensively, he contributed two tackles. He subbed off for Harvey Sarajian in second-half stoppage time .

MF, Braian Ojeda5.5 — Braian Ojeda made one really bad play in this match that cost Orlando City a clean sheet. He was bowled over by Agyemang while defending the back corner on Charlotte’s lone goal. Other than that, he wasn’t too bad. He completed 91.3% of his 46 passes, including one cross. Defensively, he made three tackles and one clearance, while committing two fouls. He was more aggressive in the midfield this match, and that made a difference in limiting Charlotte’s attack.

MF, Luis Otavio, 7 — This was easily Luis Otavio’s best match so far. He only took one shot, but it was on target and in the back of the net to start the scoring on the night. The ball fell perfectly to Otavio after Taifi’s errant shot attempt. He settled it and took a powerful shot with the outside of his right foot that froze everyone, including Charlotte keeper Kristijan Khalina, to give Orlando the 1-0 lead. It was a perfect time to score his first professional goal. Defensively, he compiled three tackles, two interceptions, and one bicycle kick clearance in the 29th minute. He earned a yellow card in the 42nd minute. Otavio subbed off in second-half stoppage time for Colin Guske.

MF, Justin Ellis, 6 — Ellis was a bit of a surprise start due to Tyrese Spicer falling ill on game day, but the young forward played well. He took one shot in the 12th minute, on which he tried to turn in the box, but it went wide right. His big moment came in the 50th minute, when he took a pass from Tiago, made his way into the box, and laid the ball off to Martin Ojeda for the second goal of the match. Ellis’ aforementioned shot was his only one, but he did have an excellent assist on what turned out to be the winning goal. He completed 82.8% of his 29 passes with three key passes. Defensively, he made one tackle and committed one foul, earning a yellow card in the 67th minute. He was subbed off in second-half stoppage time for Bernardo Rhein.

F, Martín Ojeda, 7.5 (MotM) — Welcome back, Martin Ojeda! The Designated Player took four shots and put two on target, both of which went in. The first was a perfectly placed shot into the top right corner from Ellis’ pass. The second was an absolutely beautiful set-piece shot from just outside the box. He completed 91.3% of his 46 passes, including three key passes, two crosses, and six successful long balls. He received a yellow card in first-half stoppage time for arguing about a soft foul he was called for. This was the type of match that Orlando City needs from Martin Ojeda.

F, Tiago, 6.5 — Tiago should have been credited with the secondary assist on Orlando City’s first goal, but he was not. He made a long run to the end line and then put the ball back across the box perfectly for Taifi, who clipped it out to the top of the box where Otavio put it away. Tiago took one shot that was on target and earned a secondary assist on Ojeda’s first goal. He completed 77.8% of his 27 passes, made one key pass, and had three successful crosses. Defensively, he logged three clearances, blocked one shot, and committed two fouls, earning a yellow card in the 67th minute. Like many of his teammates, this was one of his best showings this season. He subbed off in 74th minute for Tahir Reid-Brown.

Substitutes

MF, Tahir Reid-Brown (75′), 5.5 — Tahir Reid-Brown came on for Tiago, who was sitting on a yellow card, to help protect the lead. He didn’t do much with his time on the pitch, but he also wasn’t asked to with the two-goal lead the club had at the time. He didn’t hurt Orlando City, and had some critical interventions to break up Charlotte’s attack near the top of the area. He completed 66.7% of his six passes with one cross. Defensively, he contributed one clearance.

MF, Ignacio Gomez (78′), 6.5 — Gomez decided he was going to make sure he received a grade for his performance. Almost immediately after entering the match, he earned a yellow card for a tussle with Charlotte star attacker Wilfried Zaha. He made up for it in the 87th minute by scoring his first MLS goal. He helped set the play up by finding Angulo with a good pass to the middle and then continued his run, finishing like a veteran. It was his only shot of the match, and he completed all three of his passes. Defensively, he contributed one tackle and two clearances while committing two fouls.

MF, Colin Guske (90+3′), N/A — Guske was brought on for Luis Otavio as Martin Perelman decided that everyone should get to play in this match. Guske wasn’t on long enough, nor did he do enough, to earn a grade.

F, Harvey Sarajian (90+3′), N/A — Harvey Sarajian came on for Ivan Angulo. Like Guske, Sarajian wasn’t on long enough, nor did he do enough, to earn a grade, although he gave up a dangerous free kick in stoppage time.

MF, Bernardo Rhein (90+3′), N/A — Congratulations to Bernardo Rhein for making his first MLS appearance. He came on for Justin Ellis. Sadly, like the other two guys he came on with, he wasn’t on long enough, nor did he do enough, to earn a grade.


That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s 4-1 victory over Charlotte. Let us know what you thought of the game in the comments below, and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.

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