Orlando City
Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Final Score 1-1 as Lions Eliminated from Postseason Contention
Benji Michel’s goal in stoppage time rescues a point but the Lions are now winless in seven games.
Orlando City’s winless skid reached seven games (0-3-4) after a 1-1 draw to expansion FC Cincinnati at Nippert Stadium in Cincinnati. However, Orlando’s result ended up being meaningless with New England clinching the final playoff spot at home against New York City FC and eliminating the Lions from postseason contention.
Benji Michel’s stoppage-time goal lifted the Lions (9-14-10, 37 points) out of an embarrassing loss to the expansion side, and gives FC Cincinnati (6-22-5, 23 points) the new MLS record for most goals conceded in a season, with 75 — with one match left to play. Allan Cruz had Cincinnati ahead for much of the game before that late equalizer, when the hosts started to sag deep and absorb pressure in an effort to cling to the one-goal lead (sound familiar?).
James O’Connor was no doubt happy to have Joao Moutinho back in the starting lineup, giving him his preferred back line along with Robin Jansson, Lamine Sané, and Ruan. Will Johnson and Sebas Mendez joined Mauricio Pereyra in the midfield, with Nani, Dom Dwyer, and Tesho Akindele up top.
From the opening kick, Orlando City wasn’t good enough. The Lions couldn’t string passes together, failed to move quickly enough, telegraphed opportunities to allow the hosts a chance to cut them out, and gave too much space to attackers in the box.
Orlando’s first decent attack came in the ninth minute when Nani unlocked the defense with a superb ball to Akindele on the right. But the break melted down when the Canadian’s cross for Dwyer was well behind the striker.
Emmanuel Ledesma barely missed picking out the far corner with a curling effort a minute later, as he was given far too much space at the top of the area.
Disaster struck at the 13-minute mark when Moutinho pulled up lame with an apparent leg injury and had to be subbed off for Kyle Smith, making it a short return for the Portuguese fullback.
Rowe was called into action in the 25th minute after a quick Cincinnati throw-in. After Akindele passed the ball to no one and out of play, the restart was taken quickly and only a good stop by Rowe kept the hosts from opening the scoring.
Johnson smashed an outside-boot effort just wide in the 30th minute as Orlando went through about a five-minute good spell of possession and buildup.
Six minutes later, a ball played into the area found Akindele, who flicked the ball to get past goalkeeper Przemyslaw Tyton but then couldn’t direct his second touch on frame as he ran out of room at the goalpost and his effort was just wide.
Cincinnati came right back down the field and forced two saves from Rowe. The first was from Roland Lamah’s blast that the goalkeeper parried off his own crossbar and out. Cincinnati sent it back into the middle where Cruz flicked one toward goal but Rowe caught it.
Four minutes later, the hosts opened the scoring. Mendez turned the ball over on one of his now well-known “kick the ball back where it came from with the first touch” efforts and Cincinnati countered. Orlando momentarily fought the counter off but got caught on the recycle, as Cruz ended up with the ball all alone in front and he easily slotted home in the 40th minute.
There were shouts for a penalty from Cincinnati late in the half but no clear and obvious error was found and the half ended 1-0.
Cincinnati led in shots (9-4), shots on goal (4-0), and passing accuracy (83%-80%), while Orlando held a bit more of the possession (54%-46%). Aside from chances and shots on target, the biggest discrepancy between the sides was fouls, with Orlando being called nine times to Cincinnati’s three.
The Lions came out with a lot more intensity in the second half but fantastic goalkeeping helped Cincinnati hold the lead. Tyton denied two excellent shots by Dwyer in the second half and nearly did enough to keep his team in front.
Pereyra did well to send Nani down the left flank in the 48th minute, but the captain couldn’t quite cut his cross back enough to find Dwyer and Tyton collected. Two minutes later, Dwyer sent a point-blank header on target from a Pereyra cross that forced a great reaction save from Tyton to keep it out.
Orlando kept coming, with Ruan fizzing a cross just a bit too far out in front of Dwyer in the 51st minute. Johnson then blasted a shot that appeared to be headed in but deflected off a defender and out for a corner kick in the 54th minute. Nani then fizzed a cross through the area off a short corner give-and-go with Pereyra, which was just out of Dwyer’s reach and no one made a back-post run for the easy tap-in.
Nani found Dwyer again in the 67th minute and the striker made a nice move to stop the ball with his heel, shook his defender, then turned and fired a shot labeled for the corner but Tyton again got down to make the save.
Cincinnati was content to sit back, stay organized, and absorb pressure, resulting in more opportunities for the Lions. If this sounds familiar and if it sounds like a recipe for disaster, it’s only because you’ve seen it several times this season, only the other way around. So the Lions kept coming.
Johnson made a nice run, then made a cheeky no-look flick to Dwyer in the box. Dwyer tried to smash it out of midair but got under the ball and it skied over the bar. Three minutes later, Nani smashed a header just wide. In the 88th, Johnson again continued his run into the area and had a free header off a cross but he mistimed his jump and it sailed high.
Just when it looked like the breakthrough wouldn’t come, it did. Nani sent in a cross nearly a full minute into stoppage time that Dwyer got his head to and nodded backward. Second-half sub Michel ran onto it and smashed home his fourth goal of his rookie season to level the match. Dwyer and Nani each got an assist, giving the captain double figures in helpers (10) this season to go with his team-leading 12 goals.
Both teams had half-chances to find a late winner, but Cincinnati had the best opportunity, as the Lions got caught out and Ledesma ended up behind the defense. Jansson did just enough to put him off, and Ledesma dragged his shot wide in the 95th minute. Mueller then won a corner at the other end but it was cleared and the final whistle blew.
Orlando ended the season series 1-0-1 against FC Cincinnati, despite being out-shot (16-13) and having fewer shots on target (7-3) and a worse passing accuracy (83%-78%). Orlando managed more possession (54.6%-45.4%), largely due to Cincinnati sitting back in the final half hour of the match.
With Columbus beating the Philadelphia Union, the Lions fell to 11th place in the Eastern Conference, so…hey, better draft position, right?
With New England’s 2-0 win over New York City FC tonight, Orlando City will finish up its season at home next Sunday against the Chicago Fire at 4 p.m. ET.
Orlando City
Orlando City Fullback Alex Freeman Selected to Participate in 2025 MLS All-Star Game
The 20-year-old, currently with the USMNT, was selected via fan vote to his first MLS All-Star Game.
Fullback Alex Freeman has been selected to the 2025 MLS All-Star Team to compete in Austin, TX on July 23, the club announced today. Freeman, 20, who is currently away on international duty with the United States Men’s National Team in the Concacaf Gold Cup, was selected via fan vote and is the youngest player on this year’s All-Star squad. The 2025 MLS All-Star Game will pit the MLS All-Star Team against the Liga MX All-Star Team at Q2 Stadium.
Freeman was selected through the league’s fan, media and player voting process, receiving
the highest vote total among MLS right backs. The young fullback has had a breakout season in 2025, appearing in 17 matches (16 starts) with Orlando City, playing 1,474 minutes and scoring four goals with one assist. His four goals are the most by a defender in MLS play this season.
Prior to this season, Freeman had made just three MLS appearances — all off the bench — for a total of nine minutes, putting just one shot on target. He picked up his first goal contribution last year with an assist against D.C. United on July 6, 2024.
Freeman’s play has been head-turning, and he’s earned his first USMNT call-up and appearance at the senior level this season. A member of the U.S. Gold Cup team, Freeman started all three group stage games, becoming just the second USMNT player aged 20 or younger to do so. He helped the United States win all three matches, keeping clean sheets against Trinidad & Tobago and Saudi Arabia.
Freeman is the first Orlando City player selected to the MLS All-Star Team since Pedro Gallese and Nani represented the Lions in Los Angeles in 2021. He is also the first OCSC defender to be selected to the MLS All-Star Team. Freeman becomes the seventh different player and eighth different representative of the club overall in the midseason exhibition (James O’Connor was head coach of the 2019 event held in Orlando).
Orlando City SC All-Stars
| Year | Player | Position |
| 2025 | Alex Freeman | Defender |
| 2021 | Pedro Gallese | Goalkeeper |
| 2021 | Nani | Forward |
| 2019 | Nani | Forward |
| 2019 | James O’Connor | Manager |
| 2018 | Yoshimar Yotun | Midfielder |
| 2017 | Dom Dwyer | Forward |
| 2017 | Kaká | Midfielder |
| 2016 | Cyle Larin | Forward |
| 2016 | Kaká | Midfielder |
| 2015 | Kaká | Midfielder |
2025 MLS All-Star Team
Goalkeepers (3)
- Dayne St. Clair (Minnesota United FC / Voted In)
- Brad Stuver (Austin FC / Coach’s Selection)
- Yohei Takaoka (Vancouver Whitecaps FC / Coach’s Selection)
Defenders (8)
- Jordi Alba (Inter Miami CF / Voted In)
- Max Arfsten (Columbus Crew / Coach’s Selection)
- Tristan Blackmon (Vancouver Whitecaps FC / Voted In)
- Michael Boxall (Minnesota United FC / Voted In)
- Alex Freeman (Orlando City SC / Voted In)
- Jakob Glesnes (Philadelphia Union / Coach’s Selection)
- Andy Najar (Nashville SC / Coach’s Selection)
- Miles Robinson (FC Cincinnati / Coach’s Selection)
Midfielders (6)
- Sebastian Berhalter (Vancouver Whitecaps FC / Voted In)
- David Da Costa (Portland Timbers / Coach’s Selection)
- Evander (FC Cincinnati / Voted In)
- Diego Luna (Real Salt Lake / Voted In)
- Jeppe Tverskov (San Diego FC / Coach’s Selection)
- Philip Zinckernagel (Chicago Fire FC / Coach’s Selection)
Forwards / Wingers (9)
- Patrick Agyemang (Charlotte FC / Commissioner’s Pick)
- Tai Baribo (Philadelphia Union / Voted In)
- Denis Bouanga (LAFC / Voted In)
- Anders Dreyer (San Diego FC / Coach’s Selection)
- Hirving ‘Chucky’ Lozano (San Diego FC / Commissioner’s Pick)
- Lionel Messi (Inter Miami CF / Voted In)
- Diego Rossi (Columbus Crew / Coach’s Selection)
- Brandon Vazquez (Austin FC / Coach’s Selection)
- Brian White (Vancouver Whitecaps FC / Voted In)
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. St. Louis City: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Lions make their first trip to St. Louis looking to build on their win at Colorado.
Welcome to your match thread and preview for a Wednesday night matchup between Orlando City (8-4-6, 30 points) and St. Louis City SC (3-9-6, 15 points) at Energizer Park in St. Louis, MO (8:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). This is the second meeting ever between the two sides, the first in St. Louis, and the only one on the 2025 regular-season schedule.
Here’s what you need to know about the match.
History
These teams have met just once before. Orlando City won that match 2-1 on Aug. 26 at Exploria Stadium on Facundo Torres’ penalty in the first minute of stoppage time. Torres completed his brace after a handball in the box by Anthony Markanich stopped a shot by Rafael Santos. Torres opened the scoring in the second half, but Rasmus Alm equalized, with his goal being awarded after video review revealed the referee’s assistant should not have raised their flag for the ball going out of play prior to the critical pass that led to the goal. Jake Nerwinsky was sent off late in that game for a foul denying Ramiro Enrique a goal-scoring opportunity.
Overview
The Lions are 3-2-4 on the road this season after coming off a tightly contested 1-0 road win at Colorado on June 14, snapping a two-match losing streak that ended a busy May schedule. Orlando has been off since beating the Rapids but will try to continue building momentum as the month of June comes to a close. The Lions have six matches against Eastern Conference competition after visiting tonight’s Western Conference opponents in the leadup to the 2025 Leagues Cup at the end of July.
Orlando City center back Rodrigo Schlegel will serve his one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation tonight, and with Alex Freeman away with the USMNT, the Lions will be missing half of their starters on the back line for this match as the entire right half will be out. Look for David Brekalo to move to right center back. Dagur Dan Thorhallsson is the most likely candidate to take the right back spot, with either Kyle Smith or Santos slotting in at left back.
St. Louis City is 2-3-4 at home this season and is coming off a wild 3-3 home draw against the LA Galaxy on June 14. Joao Klauss scored a hat trick in the match, putting his third goal of the game in the net in the fifth minute of stoppage time to steal a point against the defending champions. Tonight’s hosts are 0-1-1 in their last two matches, but they’ve been playing better lately, with five consecutive games either decided by a single goal or finishing in a draw.
Klauss may have gotten three of his five goals this season in the last game, but he can be one of the league’s most lethal finishers. It’s not the best night for Orlando to be missing half of its back line with the Brazilian rounding into form. On the other end, Roman Burki is one of the best goalkeepers in the league, so Orlando City will need to be clinical to finish chances — something that the team has struggled with at times.
“St. Louis is a team we don’t regularly play, but we’ve followed them over the last three or four games,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “They’ve changed coaches, even though it’s someone who has been within the system. We try to capture what their current modes are — how they’re structured, how they’re playing — and then merge that into our game plan. We don’t have as much context of a rivalry as we usually do, since it’s a team we don’t know very well. But we keep preparing in our way and keep insisting that imposing our style on the game is what we’re looking for.”
In addition to Schlegel (suspension) and Freeman (international duty) the Lions will be without Duncan McGuire (shoulder), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee), while Joran Gerbet (thigh) is listed as questionable. St. Louis City will be without Alm (hip), Chris Durkin (knee), Henry Kessler (hamstring), Eduard Löwen (hamstring), Joakim Nilsson (knee), and Tomáš Ostrák (lower body).
Match Content
- The most recent epsiode of the PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for tonight’s match.
Official Lineups
Orlando City (4-4-2)
Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.
Defenders: Kyle Smith, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.
Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Cesar Araujo, Eduard Atuesta, Marco Pasalic.
Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Ramiro Enrique.
Bench: Javier Otero, Rafael Santos, Zakaria Taifi, Thomas Williams, Colin Guske, Gustavo Caraballo, Justin Ellis, Nico Rodriguez, Luis Muriel.
St. Louis City SC (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper: Roman Burki.
Defenders: Jayden Reid, Timo Baumgartl, Kyle Hiebert, Tomas Totland.
Midfielders: Marcel Hartel, Simon Becher, Akil Watts.
Forwards: Celio Pompeu, Joao Klauss, Cedric Teuchert.
Bench: Ben Lundt, Michael Wentzel, Joey Zalinsky, Josh Yaro, Jake Girdwood-Reich, Conrad Wallem, Alfredo Morales, Xande Silva, Brendan McSorely.
Referees
REF: Guido Gonzales, Jr.
AR1: Ryan Graves.
AR2: Walt Heatherly.
4TH: Matt Thompson.
VAR: Kevin Terry, Jr.
AVAR: TBA.
How to Watch
Match Time: 8:30 p.m.
Venue: Energizer Park — St. Louis, MO.
TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).
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 game. Go City!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 6/25/25
Orlando City and OCB play tonight, the Club World Cup continues, and more.
Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. It is a busy week here at The Mane Land. Orlando City and Orlando City B play tonight, there are FIFA Club World Cup matches, Concacaf Gold Cup, and USWNT friendlies. It’s a lot, but it also means there’s a ton of soccer to watch, which is a good thing. Let’s get to the links.
Go West, Orlando City
Orlando City heads to Missouri to take on St. Louis City FC tonight. The Lions will be without Alex Freeman (international duty) and Rodrigo Schlegel (yellow card accumulation). Orlando City will need to deal with St. Louis City striker Joao Klauss while finding goals on the road. This is a must-watch midweek match. We will have a preview later today, and you should also listen to The Mane Land PawedCast to prepare.
Orlando City B Returns Home vs. Toronto FC II
Orlando City B hosts Toronto FC II at Osceola County Stadium tonight. Like the first team, we will have coverage for you. The Young Lions are coming off a two-week break after a loss to Carolina Core FC. It will be interesting to see which OCB shows up for the match. You can watch the match on mlsnextpro.com.
Club World Cup, Orlando-Style
There might not be as many people in the seats at the Club World Cup as FIFA would like, but Orlando is still a big part of it. The group stage finishes this week as the competition heads into the Round of 16. There’s a ton of prize money up for all the competitors no matter where they are currently in the standings. Our Michael Citro was at Camping World Stadium last night to cover LAFC vs. Flamengo in Group D.
USMNT News
The USMNT will face Costa Rica Sunday in a Concacaf Gold Cup quarterfinal match in Minneapolis. Malik Tillman has been a bright spot on the roster, though Orlando City fans will be watching Freeman. The perpetual search for a consistent striker continues for the USMNT, though Patrick Agyemang may be the answer — at least for now.
Free Kicks
- The Pride managed to maintain the Number 2 spot in SI.com’s Power Rankings despite the loss to Racing Louisville.
- So, the 2025 MLS All-Star jersey has arrived. Thoughts?
- There’s nothing quite like having your number retired after playing for a team for two whole years after playing for another club for six years. It is especially special when the new club has been in existence for a whole four years. Congratulations to former Orlando Pride forward Alex Morgan.
- Lyon has been relegated to Ligue 2 due to the club’s financial problems.
- Paul Mullin is headed to Wigan on a season long loan from the recently promoted Wrexham AFC. That’s probably a spoiler for a future episode of Welcome to Wrexham.
- Concacaf has cleared Jesse Marsh of allegations that he disregarded the competition’s rules regarding suspended match officials.
- After the Gold Cup, Agyemang may be making the move from Charlotte FC to Derby County.
- You may have seen that the USWNT is celebrating Pride month with rainbow numbers on the team jerseys. I am a supporter and ally, but it means even more to the players.
That will do it for today. Make sure you check back later for our match coverage. You can also follow our live coverage on Bluesky. Vamos Orlando!
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Orlando City vs. St. Louis City: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
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