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Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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5 years ago

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It was a tale of two halves in Orlando on a windy, misty night. The first half saw The Lions fall 3-1 before the half. Were I a gambling woman, my money would have been on another home loss after the first-half performance.

I’m not sure what went down in the locker room, but the Lions came back out in the second half hungry to come back. A draw really wasn’t the result the Lions were hoping for, or needed, but after the first 45, I’ll take the point over a massacre. Let’s get to the grades.

Starters

GK, Brian Rowe, 6 — I think you could hear the sound of hearts breaking across the stadium as Rowe was wandering about out of his goal, despite Ruan making things tricky for Cristian Penilla, who chipped one in right over the keeper to regain the lead for New England. He was beaten again in the 41st when Gustavo Bou made it 3-1 in the first half. He had a huge save in the 84th when Penilla cleared the defense and got a shot off.

D, Kyle Smith, 5.5 — When the defender was caught out of position in the 21st minute he had no choice but to take Brandon Bye down for a yellow. The defender has been working his way up the player rankings for me, but last night was not his night. He was getting smoked on the left all night. Smith finished with one interception, one clearance, a blocked shot, two tackles, and an 89% pass completion rate on 37 attempts.

D, Robin Jansson, 5.5 — Would it be a match if we didn’t see the Swede booked? He received a yellow in the 60th minute for a foul on the counter attack. In a surprisingly quiet night for Jansson, he finished with one clearance, one blocked shot, and a 76% pass completion rate on 38 attempts.

D, Lamine Sané, 6.5 — There was a scary moment when Sané went down hard but walked it off and rejoined game play following the restart. Perhaps his best moment of the match was in the 74th minute when a crucial touch kept the Revs from going up a fourth. Sané ended the night with three tackles, an interception, an 89% pass completion rate on 26 attempts, and a team-high five clearances.

D, Ruan, 6 — Ruan had a lot of heavy touches last night, seeming not quite himself out there. After a nice bit of play to outrun the Revs defenders, Ruan sent a cross into the area in the 75th minute that Dwyer tried to send in before going down. He ended the night with one clearance, one interception, a blocked shot, two dribbles, and a 79% passing rate on 34 attempts.

MF, Cristian Higuita, 6.5 — I have to start by saying how much I’ve missed Higuita in the midfield. Last week and this week he proved to us all just how valuable he is. He’s an aggressive threat who isn’t afraid to snatch the ball and take chances. I probably would have died if his shot in the 45th minute off a short free kick had gone in, but in City fashion it was fired way over the bar. Higuita tried to smash one in again in the 78th but it was right to Matt Turner, who saved it with ease. He ended the night with three tackles, two interceptions, a clearance, three shots (one on target), and an 83% pass rate on 64 attempts. A lot of the midfield play ran through him with 86 touches through the match, a team high for the night.

MF, Carlos Ascues, 5.5 — Back from international duty with Peru, Ascues seemed to work well with the other midfielders. The Peruvian ended the night with three tackles, a blocked shot, and a 91% pass accuracy on 22 attempts, but he struggled to get on the ball, with only 28 touches in his 56 minutes.

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 6.5 — His corner service right to Nani was a thing of beauty, and it was nice to see his level of play back on the field. Pereyra made things harder for New England but came off at the half. Here’s hoping we can see him fit for the full 90 soon. He ended the night with his first MLS assist, a 79% pass rate on 28 attempts, two tackles, and three key passes.

MF, Nani, 9 (MotM) — The stadium came alive seven minutes after the own goal — first, when Nani’s cross was just out of the reach of Dom’s head, and again when Pereyra’s corner kick connected with Nani for a header right into corner of the net to tie up the game. Things were exciting just before the halftime whistle but Nani’s shot sailed over the bar. His perfectly timed cross in the 47th minute connected with Dom’s head to make it 3-2 and bring the Lions back into the match. There’s no question that the match rested heavily on the shoulders of the captain, who completed his brace to tie the game and nearly set up a Santiago Patino winner. While his 67% passing rate leaves a bit to be desired, you can’t be mad at the man for two goals and an assist to help the Lions earn a point at home. He finished with team highs in shots (7) and chances created (5) too.

MF, Tesho Akindele, 5.5 — It was easy to be excited to see Tesho on the pitch when in the second minute he had a shot that ended up being blocked. That was short lived of course when in the 15th he sent an own goal in off the post. He had a chance for redemption in the 27th minute but sent a shot just wide of the goal. Tesho had another chance in the 62nd when Nani sent it in to him but he mishit and sent it to the only part of the goal that was covered by Turner. Akindele ended the night with an 88% pass rate on 33 attempts, two interceptions, one shot on target and an own goal.

F, Dom Dwyer, 7 — Dwyer sent a header in off a Nani cross and suddenly being down by only one seemed to light a fire under the entire team. Dom had another chance when he hit the rebound of Tesho’s misfire, but it too was saved. The forward earned a free kick in a decent area but sent it sky high over the bar. He was involved in a collision as he and Turner both lunged for the ball as Dom tried to knock it home off a Ruan cross in the 75th. The collision had Dom down and subbed off for Patino. He walked onto the pitch with ice taped to his leg following the final whistle. Here’s hoping he’s not out any more minutes due to injury. He ended the night with three shots (two on target), an 83% pass rate on 12 attempts, and one goal.

Substitutes

F, Benji Michel (46’), 6 — Michel came on at the start of halftime for Pereyra who wasn’t fit for the full 90. The forward ended the night with an interception and a blocked shot, and a 57% pass rate on seven attempts.

MF, Sebas Méndez (57’), 6 — The Ecuadorian, back from international duty, came on for Ascues. The 62nd minute was the moment of chances from Tesho’s misfire. After the save on Dom’s opportunity, Méndez had a chance in the same wild sequence of play but fired wide. He ended the night with a 78% pass rate on 23 attempts, an interception, two key passes, and a blocked shot.

F, Santiago Patino (76’), 6 — Santi got his head under the ball in the 78th and (can you guess?) sent it over. He had a chance again quickly in the 80th only to see it brushed by Turner’s foot and knocked off the outside of the post for a corner. His short time on the pitch saw him complete all three of his passes, and attempt two shots with one on target. The burst of energy and fresh legs were what the Lions were looking for, but not quite enough to take the lead. Patino’s now hit the post with potential game winners in each of his last two games, so he’s due for a little luck.

That’s how I saw things. What were your thoughts on the 3-3 draw against the New England Revs? Who was your Man of the Match? Be sure to vote in the poll below!

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Nani50
Cristian Higuita2
Lamine Sané2
Other: Be sure to tell us who in the comments!0

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Orlando City

How Orlando City’s Offense Stacks Up Against What Atlanta Does Defensively

How Orlando City has performed against teams playing with three or four defenders, and how that may influence the playoff game against Atlanta United.

Published

18 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The most famous quote about real estate is that “there are three things that matter in property: location, location, location.” Soccer coaches also like to think in threes, especially when it comes to points, but for a soccer coach, the three things that matter might be the rhyming triplet “formation, formation, formation,” as that is where they will have the biggest influence on every game that their team plays.

Throughout his tenure as head coach, Óscar Pareja has preferred to use a 4-2-3-1 as his formation (fbref.com’s lineup data shows that the Lions primarily played a 4-2-3-1 in 65% of their MLS matches this season, and 79% of their MLS matches during the last three seasons). The Lions have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 during each of their last 14 games, and my confidence level is strong to quite strong (can you believe Meet the Parents came out 24 years ago?) that they will do so once again on Sunday when they host Atlanta United.

Atlanta United also prefers to deploy a 4-2-3-1, but was less consistent than Orlando City this season during MLS play, as evidenced by the chart below that shows how Atlanta lined up this season:

The purpose of this image is a table to show how Atlanta United lined up in 2024 (mostly in a 4-2-3-1 but also in one of six other formations).

I am relying on the coders at Opta for their evaluation of the formation, as I do not watch a lot of Atlanta United matches (sounds terrible), but though Atlanta primarily played with four defenders in more than two-thirds of its matches, during the last two matches it played a 3-5-2, the only two matches all season in which interim coach Rob Valentino rolled out that formation. I suspect that the formation change was related partially to playing Inter Miami and trying to defend the Herons’ dynamic offense and partially due to an injury suffered by defender Brooks Lennon in the first game of that series. So, while Atlanta primarily played four in the back for most of the season, there is a good chance it will roll with what worked against Florida’s second-best MLS team when it plays Florida’s best MLS team this weekend.

Now, if you want to read more about Atlanta, then you can read our match preview, which will drop Sunday morning, but I want to look at how Orlando did against teams that play similar styles. Looking only at MLS games, the table below shows how Orlando City performed against different back line structures this season (the left side is how the Lions’ opponents lined up, the right side is how Orlando City performed against opponents in those formations):

Table embedded as an image showing Orlando City doing best in goal differential in 12 games against three-man back lines, second best against four-man back lines, and having played once against a five-man back line (a 1-1 draw).

Orlando City earned slightly more points per game — the stat that matters most — against teams that played four in the back, but the Lions had a better average goal differential when teams played three in the back. Atlanta will likely deploy one of those two formations. In both games against Orlando City this season, Sunday’s visitors went with a 4-2-3-1, but as mentioned earlier, they used three in the back in each of their last two matches, so it really could be either.

Soccer is not like baseball, where players primarily stay in the same spot throughout the game, so some of these stats have to be taken with a grain of salt, as players are not always rigidly in the same position throughout a match. A team may also primarily play with four in the back but switch to three when chasing a game, or five when trying to protect against a late goal.

That said, using the data around Orlando City’s opponents’ general formations, here are the attacking groups who played the most frequently against four defenders during the 24 MLS games where Opta coded the opponents as using a defensive group of four:

Table embedded as an image showing the most frequently used lineups against teams who deploy four defenders. The most frequently used attacking group has a plus eight goal differential for the season.

It is a little ominous that the main starting group, shown in row one, has played 666 MLS minutes against back lines of four this season, but do I like that green goal differential of +8 in those minutes, which is a strong +1.08 per 90 minutes. I like that goal differential more than I like all the things that Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin like on their song that is creatively named “I Like It.” Coincidentally, when people ask me what I think about that song, I say, “I like it.” I am very creative.

If we look at the lineups that Orlando City has used against back lines of three defenders then there are some pretty major differences in personnel groupings, but it must be noted that more than half of the games against teams playing three in the back came early in the season, when Ramiro Enrique was unavailable to play. Enrique, my presumed starter at striker, has played fewer than three games’ worth of minutes (265 total) against back lines of three this season, and only 28 minutes with the main starting group, which ranks 13th among all the attacking lineups for minutes played against three defenders. That group scored one goal in their 28 minutes together though, for a robust 3.21 goals-scored-per-90-minutes average.

While the team as a whole has been successful against three-man back lines, I do not expect any of the lineups shown in the table below to play more than a few minutes together this weekend, though the first row and the last row are strong groups and had a lot of success.

Table embedded as an image showing the most frequently used lineups against teams who deploy three defenders. The most frequently used attacking group has a plus three goal differential for the season.

I am sure that all week long the Orlando City coaching staff has been going back and forth on whether it is more likely that Atlanta reverts to its most commonly used four in the back, or if the Five Stripes try for three wins in a row with three in the back. I would prefer that Atlanta plays with zero defenders and goalkeeper Brad Guzan wears a blindfold, but I think that is unlikely to be the case.

Even though Atlanta defeated Orlando City both times while in a 4-2-3-1, based on available personnel and recent results, I believe that the team will come out in a 3-5-2 in Inter&Co Stadium in the conference semifinal. Good things come in threes, and Orlando City’s best offensive production this season has been against three defenders, so I am going to be hoping that this continues, and in the third game against Atlanta the Lions grab the three points. Three’s company!

Well, it is a playoff game, so there are no actual points at stake, but you know what I meant.

Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to get a victory to advance to the Eastern Conference final?

Published

20 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City continues its playoff journey against Atlanta United Sunday at Inter&Co Stadium. The Lions are coming off an emotional penalty shootout win over Charlotte FC in their best-of-three, first-round series. Likewise, Atlanta United stunned everyone by taking out Inter Miami to advance in its own best-of-three matchup. Now, the rivals meet in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

What does Orlando City need to do to get past Atlanta United to advance to the Easter Conference final?

Beat Guzan

Brad Guzan made 16 saves over Atlanta’s three matches against Inter Miami, including seven in the 3-2 win on the road in Game 3. The 40-year-old former USMNT keeper is in excellent form and is a big reason why the Five Stripes are facing Orlando City. Converting chances against Guzan will be crucial to earning a result. There have been times this season when the Lions have struggled to convert their chances. Despite that, the team has done enough offensively to get to this point. Facundo Torres, Martin Ojeda, Duncan McGuire, Ramiro Enrique, and others have contributed and will need to do so this weekend.

Cartagena is Essential

Orlando City lost twice to Atlanta United during the regular season. What is interesting, and perhaps relevant, is that Wilder Cartagena was out for both of those matches. Cartagena was shown a straight red in the match against Minnesota United prior to the first match against Atlanta way back in March. He was shown a yellow card in the match against FC Cincinnati and then served a yellow card accumulation suspension for the final match of the season against Atlanta. Fortunately for Orlando City, Cartagena will be available for the match this weekend. I’ve mentioned before the importance of Cartagena to Orlando City’s success. When he and Cesar Araujo are on the field together, the defense is simply better. Cartagena is frankly one of the better defensive midfielders in MLS. Atlanta scored five goals in the series against Miami, and Orlando will need to keep the visitors from having that kind of offensive success.

Overcome the Past

That darn international break in the middle of the playoffs is something I don’t love. More precisely, I don’t like it because Orlando City often struggles after a break. It would have been nice if Orlando City could have ridden the momentum from the penalty kick victory into the Atlanta match, but that’s not to be. Now is the time for Orlando City to break some bad habits, including turning around its historical lack of success against Atlanta, and tendency to struggle in the first match after a break. Oscar Pareja needs to have the players in the right frame of mind, and the players need to execute the plan. A full house of supporters can also make a difference. Given it’s a Sunday afternoon match, there’s no reason not to pack the house.

That is what I will be looking for Sunday afternoon. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 11/21/24

Marta’s chance to shine in NWSL Championship, NWSL and MLS award winners announced, 2025 SheBelieves Cup details, and more.

Published

23 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I’ve been spending most of this week plotting out some holiday shopping to make things a little less stressful for myself over the next few weeks. A big weekend filled with Orlando soccer awaits us, so make sure to get any errands or obligations out of the way sooner rather than later. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Spotlight Falls On Marta in NWSL Championship

There are plenty of storylines heading into Saturday’s NWSL Championship between the Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit, including Marta’s opportunity to put an exclamation point on what has been an excellent season for the Pride. Orlando has been enjoying the fruits of its labor this season after a rebuild over the past few years that’s included plenty of change in the City Beautiful. Marta has been a constant, however, enduring some difficult seasons since joining the Pride and adapting her game She’s scored in both of the Pride’s playoff games so far and has a chance to author a storybook ending on Saturday.

Ann-Katrin Berger Named NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year

NJ/NY Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was named 2024 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year, beating out the Pride’s Anna Moorhouse and Utah Royals FC’s Mandy Haught for the honor. It was Berger’s first year in the NWSL and she’s the first European player to win the award. She only conceded 16 goals across her 22 matches for Gotham this season and was a key reason behind her team’s success. I’m not too surprised that Moorhouse did not win, considering how solid the Pride’s defense was as a whole, but this won’t take anything away from a record-breaking season for her.

Wilfried Nancy Named MLS Coach of the Year

Columbus Crew Head Coach Wilfried Nancy was voted 2024 MLS Coach of the Year after a historic season in which the Crew set club records in both points and goals. The Crew also won the Leagues Cup this summer and their 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup campaign included advancing past Tigres and Monterrey en route to the final. This is Nancy’s first time being named Coach of the Year and he has been a finalist for the award every year since 2021. The Frenchman received 40.02% of the vote, winning the award over Inter Miami’s Gerardo Martino and Colorado Rapids Head Coach Chris Armas.

2025 SheBelieves Cup Details Unveiled

The 10th annual SheBelieves Cup will take place next year and the tournament will return to its usual format where each of the four teams plays each other once. The United States Women’s National Team will host Japan, Colombia, and Australia in February in what should be an exciting tournament. The U.S. will take on Colombia on Feb. 20 in Houston before facing Australia in Arizona on Feb. 23 and finishing the tournament on Feb. 26 against Japan at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. These games will also be the first domestic games of 2025 for the USWNT as it prepares to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.

Eric Quill Named FC Dallas Head Coach

FC Dallas announced that Eric Quill will become the team’s next head coach. Quill joins Dallas after a great year with New Mexico United that included trips to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals and USL Championship Western Conference semifinals. It’s also a reunion of sorts for Quill, as he previously coached North Texas SC and was named USL League One Coach of the Year with the club in 2019. Dallas missed out on the playoffs this season, with Peter Luccin coaching the team on an interim basis after the firing of Nico Estevez in June.

Free Kicks

  • District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser challenged Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer to a bet involving this weekend’s NWSL Championship, with embarrassing lightshows on the line.

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

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