Orlando City
Orlando City at New York Red Bulls: Five Takeaways
Orlando City drew the New York Red Bulls 1-1 last night at Red Bull Arena. It was a last-minute goal by the home team that stole two points from the purple-clad Lions. While it was a disappointing ending, there were some positives to take away from the performance.
Here are my top five takeaways from this game.
Orlando City Does Enough for First MLS Playoff Appearance
Orlando City headed into this weekend’s matchup with the New York Red Bulls with an opportunity to make the MLS Cup playoffs for the first time since joining the league in 2015. In order to clinch the spot this weekend, they needed at least a point and some help from Toronto FC. A win and the Lions would only need a draw from Toronto. A draw would require the Reds claiming all three points. While it wasn’t known until after the Orlando City game had completed, a late Toronto FC goal was enough to lift the Reds over Atlanta United 1-0. It wasn’t the finish that Orlando City wanted from this game but it was enough to secure a playoff spot for the first time since 2014.
Daryl Dike Continues to Use His Body Well
It can be difficult to get a forward to use their big frame. Cyle Larin learned this skill during his first season with Orlando CIty in 2015 and carried that into 2016. However, during his final season with the club, he tried to be too cute with the ball. Daryl Dike is still young but has done very well in using his frame. Like Larin, it took him a while to learn this skill but it was on display again against New York. We’ve seen Dike use his body well late in games, but now we’re seeing him use it better in the attack. In the 55th minute, Dike shielded the Red Bulls defender well to make his way into the box before being taken out by Amro Tarek, earning a penalty. While Nani will get the credit for converting the penalty, it was Dike’s ability to shield that ball from the defender that earned that spot kick, giving the Lions the lead.
The Easiest Game of 2020 for Brian Rowe
This was Brian Rowe’s third start of the season as Pedro Gallese waits to go through quarantine after returning from the Peruvian national team. In the first two games against Atlanta and NYCFC, Rowe had to make some spectacular saves in order for the Lions to claim any points. The Orlando City backup goalkeeper had to make incredible saves in both of those games just for the Lions to earn a point. The Red Bulls didn’t challenge Rowe nearly as much as the previous two games had. Part of that is good defense but also some poor shooting by the Red Bulls. Either way, it was nice for the Lions’ starting goalkeeper not to need to make the save of the week just to avoid losing.
Orlando City Defense Didn’t Provide Easy Chances
You can often tell how well a defense plays by the opportunities provided to the opposition. The Orlando City back line put in a good effort for most of this game, making it much easier for Rowe to keep the Red Bulls off the board. Of the 14 shots taken by the Red Bulls, only six were from inside the box. The remaining eight were low-percentage shots from well outside the box. This was because the Lions’ defense wasn’t providing any pathways or connections to charge into the box. The only option for the opposition were those low-percentage shots. Unfortunately, they gave up space inside the box in the final minute of the game. Otherwise, it would’ve been a clean sheet and three points for the Lions.
Orlando City Missed Its Possession Leaders
The starting lineup of this game saw Mauricio Pereyra and Uri Rosell still missing. These are two of the players who build through the midfield and into the attack. When they’re on the field, the forwards can push further up, creating more opportunities in the opposing third. The absence of these two players was obvious in this game as the buildup through the midfield wasn’t nearly as clean. There were too many giveaways and the forwards were forced to come back into the midfield at times. It was a good performance all around by the team but the play through the midfield left a lot to be desired. That probably wouldn’t have been as much of a problem with a full squad.
That’s what I took away from the Lions’ 1-1 draw in New York. What stood out to you in this game? Let us know in the comments below.
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 Pride Sign Midfielder Haley McCutcheon to New Contract
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