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Orlando City vs. New York Red Bulls: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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4 years ago

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The Lions got an important win at home in Exploria Stadium with a 3-1 victory over the Red Bulls, extending their streak to nine games unbeaten. With Pedro Gallese and Sebas Mendez getting ready to miss matches for international play, the three points are more than welcome.

So how did the Lions’ individual performances rate in the win over the Red Bulls?

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6.5 — The Red Bulls had a chance in the 36th with a header on target but El Pulpo saved it comfortably. He did well to save a blast in from Marc Rzatowski that could have brought the Red Bulls onto level playing field late in the game. 

D, Kamal Miller, 6.5 — Kamal Miller had a bit of a messy match to start, with missing a clearance and conceding a corner in the opening minute of play. He had a nice play to break up the attack but then turned the ball right back over to help Florian Valot bring the Red Bulls back into the match in the 54th minute. He did well to clear New York corners and break up attacks down his side multiple times to keep the Red Bulls at bay. He had two tackles, two interceptions, and four clearances on the night.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6 — The Argentinian had a 79% passing accuracy in the match, one tackle, one interception, and four clearances, helping the Lions secure the win. Not as flashy or wild on the field as in past games, but a solid performance. 

D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — The Beefy Swede was solid on the back line in his performance against the New York Red Bulls. He had an 85% passing accuracy on 66 passes, one tackle, two interceptions, four clearances, and four blocked shots. 

D, Kyle Smith, 7 (MotM)— Kyle Smith had another great night getting the assist on Dike’s goal and sending several nice crosses into the area but failing to connect on anymore of them. He also made a huge defensive play in the 83rd minute when New York was looking to counter and possibly tie the match. With a 74% passing rate, seven tackles, a clearance, five crosses, and the assist, I’m giving him the slight edge over Junior Urso as this week’s Man of the Match.

MF, Andres Perea, 6.5 — Andres Perea got the start against the Red Bulls in place of the suspended Mendez. He ended the night with one shot, five aerials won, four tackles, three interceptions, two clearances, and an 81% passing rate. More importantly, the Lions didn’t seem to miss Mendez or Uri Rosell, which speaks to how well the youngster played.

MF, Junior Urso, 7 — The Bear got a shot off in in the 33rd minute forcing a save out of Jensen. Urso did well to get onto a Mueller pass, shrug Jason Pendant off, and score what would ultimately be the game winner on the breakaway in the 50th minute. He was visibly upset to be taken out after what appeared to be a knock to the head. Understandably so, as he was having one heck of a match. He went down on the play that should have been called and stayed down in pain while the referee allowed the game to play on. Urso had two shots on target, a goal, a tackle, one interception, two shots (both on target), and an 82% passing accuracy on the night. 

MF, Nani, 6.5 — The captain had a quieter night than normal, but ended the night with one tackle, three interceptions, and a 79% pass rate on 52 passes. He picked up a secondary assist on Antonio Carlos’ late insurance goal and moved the ball all night in the attack.

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 6.5 — Mauricio Pereyra left holding his hamstring at the half but proved to be the solid piece in midfield he usually is. It was his pass to Smith out wide that led to the opening goal and shortly after that he sent Mueller in alone on goal, but the shot was saved. Before leaving at the half, Pereyra had one tackle, a key pass, a yellow card, and a 71% pass rate. He switched play to the right on Dike’s goal by finding Smith and picked up the secondary assist.

MF, Chris Mueller, 6 — It seems Chris Mueller was a bit off his game in the first half. A great attack was building but Chris opted not to play in Pereyra during a 2-v-1 in the 23rd minute and he lost possession trying to beat his man. Cash had a chance quickly after Dike’s goal when he went 1-v-1 with David Jensen but seemed to have too much time to think about it and his shot was saved. In the second half Mueller came out more like himself, getting an assist on Urso’s goal and getting into the attack in the 76th minute but fired his shot over the bar. He ended the night with two shots, an assist, two tackles, an interception, a clearance, and an 87% pass rate.

F, Daryl Dike, 7 — It would seem a few games out of the starting XI was just what the Zombie, (or was it the Mummy…what was finally decided?) needed. Daryl Dike opened the scoring with a beautiful header off Smith’s cross in the 24th minute. Dike was headed for a second when the flag came up in the 67th, as he was called for a foul as he rounded his defender and got in behind. Head Coach Oscar Pareja was so angry about the call he got a yellow card. Dike ended the night with one goal on his only shot attempt, one tackle, and a 68% pass rate. 

Substitutes

F, Benji Michel (46’), 6.5 — Benji Michel came on for Pereyra to start the second half. It was in the 70th minute Michel had the chance to put the Lions even further ahead when he was sent in by Urso but he fired way off target. He made up for it by serving up an easy goal for Carlos, picking up an assist. Michel could have tried scoring on Jensen himself, but instead he played the Jamie Tartt role and made the extra pass for an easy team goal. He ended his half with an assist, two tackles, one shot, two key passes, and and a 92% pass rate on his 12 passes. 

D, Antonio Carlos (79’), 6.5 — After being out for a while with an injury, Antonio Carlos came in for Kamal Miller. Then, in the 95th minute he scored his first MLS goal, sealing the win at home for the Lions. The play went under review for a possible offside call, but the goal was good. The Brazilian actually started and finished the play, winning the ball in the air and passing off to Nani before continuing his run up field, where he completed the play.

MF, Joey Dezart (79’), N/A— The 22-year-old came on for Dike and didn’t really have much of a chance to make an impact, managing only six touches.

D, Alex De John (86’), N/A— The defender came on late in the match for Chris Mueller in an attempt to add to the defense. He was only in for about 10 minutes, making four touches.

D, David Loera (90’), N/A— David Lorea made his MLS debut for Orlando City when he came on for Urso in the dying minutes of the game. He only touched the ball twice but he provided energy and defended well in his limited minutes.

That’s how I saw things. Be sure to tell us what you thought of the players’ performances in the comments, and vote in our poll for Man of the Match.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Kyle Smith48
Junior Urso31
Daryl Dike8
Pedro Gallese3
Other6

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 10/11/24

Orlando Pride in Portland, U.S. men and women news, international upsets, and more.

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2 days ago

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October 11, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Milton has finally made its way out of Florida, though many of us will be dealing with the aftermath for a while. We hope that you and yours are safe and that the damage is minimal. I know that many are still without power — which is why I’m writing Lion Links today instead of Marcus Mitchell. Fortunately, the Orlando Pride play in Portland tonight, although it will be a late one. Let’s get to the links.

Pride in Portland

The Orlando Pride may be the NWSL Shield winners, but with three matches left in the regular season, the job is not done. Now, the club will take on the Portland Thorns. The Thorns haven’t been great as of late, but Providence Park is a tough place to play. While the club is focused on the upcoming playoffs, the Pride still want to finish undefeated in the regular season. Portland, like many clubs, are fighting for a playoff spot.

USWNT Players in the News

Lindsey Horan didn’t have the best Olympics in my opinion, but she is doing very well in her start to Lyon’s season. She’s scored five goals in four matches to help Lyon top the table. Back home, Crystal Dunn is being honored by Empowerment on the East River hosted by Black Players for Change.

USMNT in Action

The USMNT plays its first match under Mauricio Pochettino Saturday night against Panama, and you can watch it on multiple platforms. There are no conflicts of interest this go-around, but next year, some players will need to choose between playing in the Club World Cup or the Gold Cup.

International Results

Orlando City, and all the other teams and leagues, aren’t playing right now due to an international break. The matches have already begun. Perhaps the biggest news was Greece’s stunning 2-1 win over England. The victory puts Greece atop Group B2 in the UEFA Nations League competition.

Over in Group A2, Italy blew a two-goal lead to draw Belgium 2-2. There were plenty of other results, including Erling Haaland becoming his country’s all-time top scorer after scoring a brace in Norway’s 3-0 win over Slovenia. If you want to catch more matches, here’s where you can watch.

Free Kicks

That will do it for today. Check back tonight for our Pride match recap, and follow The Mane Land on Twitter during the match. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 10/10/24

Orlando City’s potential as a playoff dark horse, the Orlando Pride’s rise to prominence, the USMNT prepares for Panama, and more.

Published

3 days ago

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October 10, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

I hope you’re all staying safe out there as Hurricane Milton tears across the state of Florida. While we endure the storm and wait for the Orlando Pride to play in Portland on Friday night, let’s distract ourselves with some links from around the soccer world.

Orlando City’s Dark Horse Potential

On the latest episode of the Offside with Taylor Twellman podcast, he spoke on how Orlando City will be a dark horse in the tournament. The Lions have been on an incredible run of form over the past few months and can host in the first round of the playoffs if they manage to hold onto the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. Nearly all of the team’s attackers are hitting their stride and a recent win over FC Cincinnati is evidence that the Lions aren’t to be overlooked in this year’s playoffs.

“[Orlando City is] the best team in MLS since July 1 and they are scoring goals for fun while winning 10 of those 13 games,” Twellman said. “They will fight, they will claw, basically they will do anything to get under your skin.

“Nobody, and I mean nobody, wants to play this version of Orlando City.”

How the Orlando Pride Made History

It still feels a bit surreal that the Orlando Pride lifted the NWSL Shield with three games left to play this season. Here’s a great feature by Henry Bushnell of Yahoo Sports that dives into some of the reasons behind the Pride’s dominance this season. Vice President of Soccer Operations and Sporting Director Haley Carter has helped build a culture of confidence, comfort, and resilience by investing in the players as humans and not just what they can do on the field.

Pro Soccer Wire‘s Jason Anderson detailed how the Pride were able to beat the Washington Spirit to deservedly lift the trophy and it’s also a great read. The Pride did well to adjust to the Spirit’s commitment to their formation and cranked up the tempo to create opportunities to win.

MLS 2024 22 Under 22 List Unveiled

Although Michael Halliday and Heine Gikling Bruseth were eligible, no Lions made this year’s MLS 22 Under 22. Inter Miami midfielder Diego Gomez tops the list, with Real Salt Lake’s Diego Luna and the Philadelphia Union’s Jack McGlynn rounding out the top three. The youngest player on the list is 15-year-old midfielder Cavan Sullivan, while the Chicago Fire’s Chris Brady is the only goalkeeper to make the cut. Of the 22 players listed, 16 play in the Eastern Conference. As for notable players who weren’t listed, CF Montreal’s Caden Clark has thrived since being traded by Minnesota United and Matai Akinmboni deserves some recognition for his role in D.C. United’s defense at 17 years old.

USMNT Prepares for Panama

The United States Men’s National Team will play its first match under Mauricio Pochettino on Saturday when it takes on Panama in a friendly in Austin. This will be a rematch of when the two nations squared off in Copa America on June 27, with the U.S. falling 2-1. The Yanks failed to make it out of the group stage of that tournament and Gregg Berhalter was fired as head coach in July. A statement win against a Panamanian side that’s currently 37th in the FIFA rankings would be a great start to Pochettino’s tenure as head coach.

Free Kicks

That’ll do it for me today, as my power has just gone out, so it’s the perfect time to wrap things up. Stay safe out there!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 10/9/24

Orlando City’s on fire, OCB to face the Fire (2), the USMNT’s upcoming friendly, and more.

Published

4 days ago

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October 9, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. I made the trip down to Inter&Co Stadium to see the Orlando Pride win the 2024 NWSL Shield over the weekend. I know it was raining — fortunately, I remembered my rain jacket — but if you weren’t there, you really missed an amazing night. You can read about it in our recap, but seeing the team raise that shield was unforgettable. Hopefully, it won’t be the only hardware the Pride raise this year. Let’s get to the links.

Red Hot Lions

Orlando City has won 10 of its last 13 matches to climb into position to potentially begin the playoffs with home-field advantage. The run of good form has the Lions sitting in fourth place in the Eastern Conference. The latest 3-1 victory over FC Cincinnati moved the team from eighth to sixth in the MLS Power Rankings, and up to fifth in the Goal.com Power Rankings. Orlando City’s last match of the season will be at home against Atlanta United on October 19.

Pride’s Success No Accident

Marta had a great match Sunday and more than earned her moment in the sun when she lifted the NWSL Shield. Of course, none of that happens if the people working behind the scenes aren’t doing everything possible to help the Pride in this incredible turnaround. The players will likely tell you that the club’s success is in part thanks to the organization that has been built.

Of course, not every women’s club gets the amount of support that the Orlando Pride receive. Many clubs do not have the infrastructure from staff to facilities to truly grow the women’s game. It’s an issue for many clubs in various leagues across the world. Coaches end up having to pick up the slack, and that isn’t sustainable. While I’m grateful that the Wilf family and Haley Carter are providing the necessary tools for the Pride to succeed, I would like to see other organizations step up as well.

OCB to Face Chicago Fire II in Playoffs

Orlando City B will square off against Chicago Fire II away from home to start the playoffs. OCB finished the MLS NEXT Pro regular season in fifth place — which isn’t too bad when you look back a few weeks. Unfortunately for OCB, the top four clubs get to choose their first-round opponent in the playoffs (well, the top three do…the fourth-place club doesn’t really have a choice). It’s one of the weird things that MLS NEXT Pro does. No one above the fourth-place Chicago Fire II opted to play the Young Lions. The match between the Young Lions and Chicago Fire II will take place Sunday, Oct. 20, at 3 p.m.

USMNT Ready for Poche

The Mauricio Pochettino era for the USMNT kicks off Saturday with a friendly against Panama at Q2 Stadium in Austin, TX. Three days later, the new U.S. boss will face rival Mexico in Guadalajara. Big-name players like Christian Pulisic and Weston McKennie are on the roster. One player who won’t be there is the injured Folarin Balogun. That might open a window of opportunity for Josh Sargent to make a splash with the new coach. Sargent’s more rounded style of play is something that forwards have demonstrated under Pochettino at the club level. A friendly is exactly the sort of place for Sargent to show his stuff.

Free Kicks

That will do it for today. Check back this week as we get you ready for the Pride’s upcoming match in Portland. Most importantly, stay safe as this hurricane makes its way towards Florida. Vamos Orlando!

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