2019 Orlando City Season in Review: Dom Dwyer

Orlando City acquired Dom Dwyer in July of the 2017 season, arriving to an airport full of supporters excited to see him coming “home.” Last season Dwyer participated in 26 games, starting 25 of them and playing 2,244 minutes, ending that season with 13 goals and a rating of 7 from The Mane Land for 2018.

So how did last year’s star forward rate in the 2019 season?

Statistical Breakdown

Dwyer played in 27 games, starting in only 16, playing 1,616 minutes. Those were his lowest numbers of starts and minutes since 2013. He scored seven goals and added four assists on the year — his fewest goals since he netted two back in 2013 but also his second-highest career assist total. He averaged 2.4 shots per game, a 76% pass accuracy, 0.3 key passes, 0.5 dribbles, and 0.6 offside calls. Discipline-wise, Dwyer drew seven yellows and a red card (for the infamous elbow incident).

Additionally, Dwyer made two appearances in the U.S. Open Cup matches, starting in one, playing 97 total minutes, with zero goals, zero assists, and no bookings.

Best Game

Dom’s best game was probably the 2-1 loss at Houston on Sept. 21. It was the second match in a row that the forward scored — something we’d been longing for seemingly all season. He perfectly headed the ball off a free kick from Mauricio Pereyra to put Orlando up early.

In that game Dom had five total shots, three on target, made a kick save in the 56th minute, and maintained an 83% passing rate while hustling to create chances and earning TML’s Man of the Match.

2019 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Dwyer a composite rating of 5. This was an off season for the forward and it felt like between injuries, the birth of his daughter, a case of the yips, and not seeing as much of the pitch, Dwyer never seemed to reach full form until the last couple of games of the year.

2020 Outlook

Dwyer will likely be back as he signed a three-year contract when he was brought in. It’s my thinking that with his family healthy and his wife, Sydney Leroux, returning to the pitch, we’ll see Dom’s motivation and head clear to regain the confidence and focus he lacked this season. I’m sure Dwyer, like a lot of us, is ready to move on from this season.

Previous Season in Review Articles (Date Posted)

• Greg Ranjitsingh (10/10)
• Santiago Patiño (10/11)
• Danilo Acosta (10/11)
• Alex De John (10/13)
• Robinho (10/14)
• Benji Michel (10/15)
• Mauricio Pereyra (10/16)
• Adam Grinwis (10/17)
• João Moutinho (10/17)
• Shane O’Neill (10/18)
• Dillon Powers (10/18)
• Carlos Ascues (10/22)
• Kyle Smith (10/23)
• Chris Mueller (10/24)
• Kamal Miller (10/25)
• Will Johnson (10/25)
• Cristian Higuita (10/26)
• Uri Rosell (10/27)
• Sacha Kljestan (10/29)
• Brian Rowe (10/31)
• Ruan (11/1)