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

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7 years ago

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Orlando City was a goal post away from putting the eventual Supporters Shield winners away in last night’s 2-2 draw against Los Angeles FC. But that pesky woodwork denied Santi Patino a goal that would have pushed the Lions’ lead to 3-1 and a minute later, Diego Rossi made good on one of his rare opportunities in the game to level things.

Draws are funny things, because how you feel about them is often related to the order in which the goals were scored. If LAFC scored the first two, Orlando fans would be ecstatic with the point. If the Lions had even scored just the last goal in the draw, supporters go home much happier. But when the other team gets the last licks in, it doesn’t feel quite as good, and the later that goal is scored, the worse it feels.

I went into this one expecting no points, Carlos Vela or no Carlos Vela, so a point was a nice surprise for me. Anyway, the Lions gained a point on New England. Let’s see how the individual performances graded out.

Starters

GK, Brian Rowe, 5.5 — Rowe got a hand on both LAFC goals but it would be unfair to say he should have stopped them. Adrien Perez’s goal took a deflection just in front of him and Diego Rossi’s 15th of the season was a 1-v-1 and just had too much on it to keep it out from that range. He didn’t have what you’d call a difficult save to make on either of the two that he stopped. His distribution was awful early in the game, as he sent two free kicks straight out of bounds and sending a long ball over everyone to opposing goalkeeper Tyler Miller. Rowe, who finished with just a 29% passing rate, has been better and he’s been worse this season. It was an OK game. He didn’t cost the team any points, nor did he earn the Lions any.

D, Kyle Smith, 7 — Smith just continues to play solid soccer. His offensive shortcomings are obvious — he hasn’t been a good crosser this year and he seems to get cut off when he gets to the corner and encounters traffic. But when he releases the pass early it’s usually pretty good and he’s been a workhorse on the defensive end. Last night, Smith was an 83% passer to lead the back line, led the team in tackles (5), and finished with two interceptions and five clearances.

D, Robin Jansson, 6 — I like what the Swede brings to the team. Last night he was solid if unspectacular. He led the Lions in clearances (6) but failed to record any tackles or interceptions. He got beat by Rossi’s speed on the tying goal. The back line could have stepped up before the pass or they’ve got to track Rossi and they did neither. His 83% passing was just a couple of tenths of a percentage point behind Smith. He attempted one shot but it was blocked.

D, Lamine Sané, 7 — Sané seemed right on the edge all night. He got caught on an early LAFC break but luckily after Perez rounded Rowe, he was too wide and Rowe smothered the pass attempt. Sané led the team in interceptions (6) and pitched in five clearances, two tackles, and two blocked shots. He did tee up the first goal for Perez but that was bad luck. He stretched out to get a toe to a dangerous cross and couldn’t get any power to clear it and it unfortunately fell perfectly for the LAFC forward. His passing was decent at 78%.

D, Ruan, 8 (MotM) — It was good to have the Brazilian speedster back on the pitch. He adds a dimension to the attack that doesn’t exist without him and could have made more plays had his teammates looked for him a bit more. There were opportunities to play him in that went ignored. He still sent a perfect ball to Benji Michel for the second goal to earn his assist. He was a 73% passer and created one chance. Sometimes he makes a great move to split two guys and then inexplicably dribbles right at a third defender, which is a bit maddening, but he’s always entertaining. He finished with three tackles, two clearances, and two interceptions and made some plays tracking back that no one else on Orlando could make just because of his speed. He even showed he was faster than a fresher Mohamed El-Munir late in the game, winning a race to a loose ball.

MF, Cristian Higuita, 8 — I had a tough time deciding between Higuita and Ruan for Man of the Match. The Colombian lost out by the slimmest edge for me. He was involved in both goals and the space LAFC had in Orlando’s end widened considerably after he tired and eventually left the game. I had to triple check his passing accuracy because I couldn’t believe it was only 56%, but he played in the final third a lot more than usual and was asked to facilitate the attack in ways he rarely is. He got a hockey assist on Michel’s goal and was a slight deflection from a primary assist on Nani’s. He sent in the cross that ended in Uri Rosell’s disallowed goal after Michel and Miller collided. He won an aerial, had three tackles, and made two interceptions.

MF, Uri Rosell, 6.5 — It was tough watching Rosell’s goal waved off as the midfielder has worked hard and fought for Orlando City this year and it would have been a nice reward for him. The Spaniard put in a good shift, with an interception and a clearance and he took one for the team when he was booked for a professional foul to prevent a break when Smith slipped on the play. His 84% passing was the highest among non-defensive starters except Michel, although Uri had 36 more attempts. Only Nani and Smith had more than his 51 touches.

MF, Dillon Powers, 6 — It was the kind of quiet night you need from a defensive midfielder. Powers was a 79% passer and had two tackles, two interceptions, and a clearance. He even tied Nani as the team’s best long passer, connecting on four of his five long-ball attempts. As a guy who hadn’t played much in recent weeks, it was no surprise that his energy level dropped late in the game and he wasn’t closing down as quickly as he had earlier in the match.

F, Nani, 7.5 — The captain was active against LAFC, scoring his first non-penalty goal since May 19 with a lovely chip over Miller. He also participated in the buildup on Michel’s goal, giving the ball to Higuita at the start of the sequence. His cross nearly ended up in a goal in the 77th minute but Patino hit the post. Nani hit four of his five long balls like Powers, passed at a 78% rate, made three key passes, and chipped in defensively with an interception and a clearance.

F, Dom Dwyer, 5.5 — It was a quiet night for Dwyer, who didn’t receive great service and didn’t manage a shot attempt. He did chip in with solid hold-up play and he was pesky without crossing the line. He won three aerials, drew three fouls, passed at 80% and had one tackle and tried to block Perez’s 12th-minute shot but didn’t get enough of it.

F, Benji Michel, 6.5 — The rookie made no mistake on his go-ahead goal, scoring on his only shot attempt. His 89% passing rate was good but it came on just nine attempts. He chipped in a clearance and an accurate long ball. The only blemish to his game was that he was dispossessed four times on the night as the young Homegrown Player has to learn how to use his body better in traffic.

Substitutes

F, Santiago Patino (67’), 6 — In 23 minutes plus five more in stoppage time, Patino only managed 11 touches. He was nearly a hero in the 77th but his lone shot attempt of the night bounced back off the right post. He connected on all four of his pass attempts and showed good touch on his hold-up play. He contributed a tackle and two clearances defensively.

MF/F, Chris Mueller (73’), 6 — Despite coming in late, Mueller didn’t seem to have the usual jump in his legs against the players who had been on the pitch for most of the game. He did have a tackle and a clearance on defense and was an 88% passer. He was credited with two shot attempts, but neither was on target. He had just 16 touches and no key passes.

F, Robinho (87’), N/A — There wasn’t really enough time to give Robinho a fair grade. He only touched the ball seven times, though he did complete all three of his pass attempts. That about sums up his few minutes on the pitch.

That’s how I saw the individual performances as the Lions grabbed a vital point. What did you think? Vote for your Man of the Match in the poll below and let us know in the comments section where you think I went wrong.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Ruan27
Cristian Higuita25
Nani6
Benji Michel1
Lamine Sané2
Kyle Smith2
Other (Tell us who in the comments)0

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 7/6/26

Pride fall to Angel City, OCB draw Crown Legacy, World Cup roundup, and more.

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6 hours ago

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July 6, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope you all had a great Fourth of July holiday weekend down in Florida. I was busy working over the weekend, but I got to check out a fireworks show at Wrigley Field. Let’s wish a happy belated birthday to Orlando City B goalkeeper Juan Rojas, who turned 18 Saturday. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Pride Fall to Angel City

The Orlando Pride fell 2-0 to Angel City FC at BMO Stadium Friday in their first match after the month-long World Cup break. Maiara Niehues scored the opener for Angel City in the first half. Sveindis Jonsdottir added another goal for Angel City to seal the win. With Barba Banda sidelined with a thigh injury, Orlando struggled to get anything going offensively and couldn’t get the ball out of its own end throughout the match. That result keeps the Pride in eighth, one point ahead of Angel City in the NWSL table. The Pride will look to bounce back at home Friday, facing the Kansas City Current at Inter&Co Stadium.

OCB Falls in Penalty Shootout After 1-1 Draw vs. Crown Legacy

Orlando City B overturned a 1-0 deficit to secure a 1-1 draw against Crown Legacy on the road at the Sportsplex at Matthews Sunday. After a scoreless first half, all the goals came in the second half. Crown Legacy struck first to take the lead, but Dylan Judelson leveled the match for the Young Lions. Crown Legacy won the penalty shootout 4-2 to earn a second point. OCB will be back on the road to take on FC Cincinnati 2 Sunday at NKU Soccer Stadium in Highland Heights, KY.

Crepeau and Canada Shut Out by Morocco in World Cup

The World Cup Round of 16 kicked off Saturday, with Canada falling 3-0 to Morocco at NRG Stadium in Houston. Orlando City goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau got the start for Canada. Former Lions Cyle Larin and Richie Laryea were in action as well. After a scoreless first half, Azzedine Ounahi scored twice in the second half for Morocco to take a 2-0 lead. Soufiane Rahimi added the insurance goal in stoppage time to put this match away as Morocco booked a spot in the quarterfinals, while Canada’s run in the tournament came to an end.

World Cup Roundup

In the other matchups from the Round of 16 over the weekend, Kylian Mbappe scored from the penalty spot for the only goal of the match in France’s 1-0 win against Paraguay Saturday. Orlando City midfielder Braian Ojeda was on the bench but did not play. On Sunday, Erling Haaland scored twice to help Norway edge Brazil 2-1 to reach the quarterfinals for the first time, and Jude Bellingham scored twice for England in a 3-2 win against Mexico. France will play Morocco, while England takes on Norway in the quarterfinals. Today’s Round of 16 matchups feature Spain facing Portugal and the U.S. Men’s National Team taking on Belgium.

Folarin Balogun’s Red Card Ban Suspended by FIFA

FIFA announced Sunday that the federation’s Disciplinary Committee suspended U.S. Men’s National Team forward Folarin Balogun’s one match red card ban. After being issued a one-match ban following his red card in the USMNT’s 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32, Balogun will be available to play in tonight’s Round of 16 match against Belgium at Lumen Field in Seattle. Balogun’s one-match ban will be placed on a one-year suspension status, but if he commits a similar infraction within that time, he will have to serve the ban. With Balogun back in play, it’s a huge boost for the USMNT attack, as he has scored three goals for the Yanks in the World Cup.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City gave a shout-out on social media to Crepeau, Marco Pasalic, and Ojeda for their great runs with their respective countries, reaching the knockout stages of the World Cup.
  • Former Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is reportedly set to become the new manager of the German Men’s National Team.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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Orlando City

Flashback Friday: July 4, 2023 vs. Toronto FC

Let’s rewind to an Independence Day affair that had plenty of offensive fireworks.

Published

3 days ago

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July 3, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The United States Men’s National Team picked up a gritty, resilient 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on Wednesday, and will now face Belgium in a rematch of the 2014 World Cup Round of 16 next Monday. While we patiently wait for that game, it’s time to continue our Friday tradition of revisiting some classic Orlando City games from years past.

Last week, we rewound to a high octane affair against the Chicago Fire in late June 2022, that saw the Lions douse Chicago’s flames and pick up a much-needed 4-2 victory. Today, let’s hop in the time machine and travel back to Independence Day 2023, when Toronto FC came to town.

At the time of Toronto’s visit, things were going relatively smoothly for OCSC. The team was riding a three-match unbeaten streak and had scored five goals across those three games. Oscar Pareja lined up his team in its customary 4-2-3-1, with Pedro Gallese in goal; a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith; Wilder Cartagena and Cesar Araujo in the double pivot; Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres in the attacking midfield; and Duncan McGuire up top.

Orlando very nearly got a goal a little under 10 minutes into the game. Former OCSC goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh knocked down a cross in front of the net, and while Pereyra was first to the ball, he could only blast it over the bar with the goal at his mercy. Fortunately, that miss would not come back to haunt the Lions, who bagged the game’s first goal in the 16th minute. Angulo sucked defenders toward him on the left edge of the box before releasing Santos out wide. The fullback played a peach of a first-time, curling cross to the back post, where Araujo was waiting to power a diving header into the side netting at the far post for his first league goal.

That goal broke the game open, and Orlando got another goal six minutes later to double the advantage. It initially looked like a carbon copy of the first goal, with Santos out in space on the left side of the box, sending in a curled cross. The ball deflected off a defender and came in low toward the goal. Ranjitsingh waited for the ball instead of going to claim it, and that allowed McGuire to nip in front of him and get a touch on the ball to sneak it in at the near post.

Orlando nearly got even more goals inside the half hour, with Torres and McGuire both going close in quick succession. Federico Bernardeschi smashed a shot off the post in the 28th minute, and the Lions seemed to be losing focus a little bit, with the hydration break a welcome pause in play when it came. OCSC came out of the pause well, and Pereyra put Angulo through in the 36th minute, but the Colombian couldn’t bring the ball under control and fashion a shooting chance.

Orlando led in every meaningful statistical category at halftime. The Lions had more possession (55.8%-44.2%), shots (6-2), shots on goal (2-0), corners (4-2), and passing accuracy (89.5%-85%). Most importantly, they led 2-0 on the scoreboard.

Toronto tried to change things at halftime by introducing three substitutes, but Orlando settled back into the game quickly and negated the efforts of interim TFC manager Terry Dunfield. Angulo and Torres forced Ranjitsingh into a pair of saves in the 53rd and 55th minutes, and the Lions tried to press their advantage by sending on Ramiro Enrique and Martin Ojeda in the 57th minute for McGuire and Pereyra.

The game then changed in a big way in the 62nd minute. Cartagena and Bernardeschi exchanged words after a turnover, and the Italian winger put Cartagena on the ground with the help of a little theatrics from the midfielder. Bernardeschi had already been yellow carded in the 47th minute for a foul on Smith, and the altercation with Wilder saw him receive a second yellow and his marching orders to go along with it.

With TFC down to 10 men, the Lions started to tee off at goal. Ojeda came close to getting the team’s third in the 69th minute, with Enrique doing the same in the 71st but missing just wide. When the goal finally came, it was from the unlikely foot of Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, who had been subbed into the game alongside Ercan Kara in the 68th minute.

Thorhallsson made a great run behind the defense in the 77th minute, and Araujo picked him out well. Ranjitsingh came out to try to play sweeper-keeper, but DDT beat him to the ball easily, touched it around the former Lion, and rolled it into the empty net to score his first MLS goal and make it 3-0.

Toronto had a halfway decent chance to pull one back in the 82nd minute, but Brandon Servania’s long-distance attempt at chipping Gallese ended up missing high and settling on the roof of the net. Kara then iced the game in the 84th minute. Araujo fired a pass to Ojeda at the top of the box, and even though he had trouble bringing it under control, he had the presence of mind to backheel it toward goal for the big Austrian to pounce on and fire a low, hard shot into the net for 4-0.

Ojeda nearly got a goal of his own two minutes later but had a great effort saved in what was the last truly dangerous moment of the game.

As was the case at halftime, when the final whistle blew, the Lions had created plenty of fireworks on both the scoreboard and the stat sheet. OCSC finished with more possession (59.6%-40.4%), shots (18-6), shots on target (9-0), corners (8-2), and passing accuracy (91%-84.8%).

Marcus Mitchell had Player Grades for this one, and he named Araujo the Man of the Match with a grade of 8 out of 10 for his one-goal/one-assist effort. The other high performers on the night were Antonio Carlos, and Cartagena, who each graded out at 7.5 out of 10.

That’ll do it for this week’s trip down memory lane. We’ve been getting spoiled lately, with Orlando putting up four goals in back-to-back time machine games, and it’s made for an enjoyable glimpse into years gone by. With any luck, next week’s edition will be similarly entertaining. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 7/3/26

Orlando Pride visit Angel City tonight, NWSL free agents to watch, Portugal and Spain advance, and more.

Published

3 days ago

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July 3, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! I don’t have many plans this holiday weekend beyond enjoying some soccer and indulging myself in a few hot dogs to celebrate. It should be a fun weekend, but make sure to stay safe out there if you plan on setting off any fireworks. For now though, let’s get to the links!

Orlando Pride Take On Angel City FC Tonight

The NWSL resumes today and the Orlando Pride will play against Angel City FC at 10 p.m. in their first match since a 3-1 win over Bay FC on May 29. That win capped off a six-game month for the Pride, including a stretch of three straight road games. Meanwhile, Angel City parted ways with Alex Straus over the break after only winning once in May, and tonight’s match will be Leif Gunnar Smerud’s first since being named interim head coach. It can be tough playing an opponent with a new coach, but hopefully the Pride can bring all three points back to Orlando.

Top NWSL Free Agents to Watch

Free agency is officially underway in the NWSL and the list of players with contracts expiring at the end of the year includes some of the league’s best players. Orlando Pride star Marta was listed as one of the top free agents to watch, though I would be pretty shocked if she plays for another NWSL club if she leaves Orlando after this season. Leicy Santos, Debinha, and Rose Lavelle are other skilled attackers who will become free agents, but Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger is sure to have plenty of clubs reaching out for her talents as well.

Portugal and Spain Advance in World Cup

This World Cup hasn’t been short on excitement and that continued with Portugal’s 2-1 win against Croatia. After a scoreless first half, Croatia took the lead thanks to a goal from Ivan Perisic, but Cristiano Ronaldo equalized from the penalty spot and the game was moments away from heading to extra time. Goncalo Ramos gave Portugal the goal it needed to advance deep in stoppage time, but Croatia nearly came back with a goal that was disallowed due to an offside call. Spain cruised to a 3-0 win against Austria to book its spot in the round of 16 as well. Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice for his second brace of the tournament, with Marc Cucurella assisting on both of his goals. Spain and Portugal will square off in the next round in what should be a fantastic match. Switzerland and Algeria kicked off late.

The round of 32 wraps up today with a trio of matches, starting with Egypt’s game against Australia. Cape Verde will then look to shock the world when it plays Argentina, and the late game will be between Colombia and Ghana.

Columbus Crew Sign New Designated Player

The Columbus Crew have signed Spanish midfielder Brais Mendez to a Designated Player contract through the 2028-2029 season with a club option for the 2029-2030 season. Mendez has spent the past four La Liga seasons with Real Sociedad, recording 33 goals and 24 assists in 166 appearances. He gives the crew some additional firepower as reports swirl regarding Diego Rossi’s departure for CF Monterrey. While maybe not in the same headline-grabbing tier of MLS summer signings like Antoine Griezmann or Robert Lewandowski, Mendez is a big addition to the league as the Eastern Conference arms race continues.

Free Kicks

  • CF Montreal sent $2.1 million in General Allocation Money to Austin FC in exchange for midfielder Dani Pereira. Selected with the first overall pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft, Pereira has contributed six goals and 23 assists in 165 appearances across all competitions for Austin.
  • Real Salt Lake reportedly rejected a transfer bid around $3.5 million from CF Monterrey for midfielder Diego Luna.
  • American winger Emma Sears reportedly requested a trade from Racing Louisville, although the club is not reportedly interested in a midseason transfer.
  • The United States Men’s National Team’s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina had record viewership. Understandably so, too, as I spent most of the match pacing around my living room.

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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