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Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Final Score 1-1 as Shorthanded Lions Look Out of Sync

Chris Mueller’s goal was enough to keep the unbeaten streak going but it wasn’t a good-looking game from Orlando.

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City played well enough for the opening 30 minutes to extend its unbeaten streak to 11 games (6-0-5) but looked completely out of sync for the last hour in a 1-1 draw vs. New York City FC at Exploria Stadium. Chris Mueller provided the opening goal for the Lions (8-2-7, 31 points) but a mistake at the back allowed Keaton Parks to equalize for New York City FC (8-7-3, 27 points).

Although the Lions have gone 11 matches without a loss, the team has only won one of its last four (1-0-3) and in this game looked disjointed against an NYCFC team that played just four days ago and traveled on match day. Orlando City is now 6-5-5 in the all-time series against New York City FC and 3-2-3 at home.

“It was a hard game and a hard rival too, but today, listen, we’ll take the point,” said Head Coach Oscar Pareja after the match. “(The players) had been consistent on results and today we wanted so bad the three points but we couldn’t (get them) and we didn’t deserve it either.”

The Lions kicked off the match missing a huge chunk of their roster, including:

  • Dom Dwyer (knee)
  • Joao Moutinho (groin)
  • Uri Rosell (not medically cleared)
  • Tesho Akindele (not medically cleared)
  • Mauricio Pereyra (not medically cleared)
  • Benji Michel (not medically cleared)
  • Pedro Gallese (international duty)
  • Sebas Mendez (international duty)
  • Kyle Smith (not on the injury report but also not on the match day roster)

With so many players unavailable, Pareja went with Brian Rowe in goal — his 100th career MLS start — behind a back line of Kamal Miller, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Ruan, who made his return from injury. Junior Urso and rookie Joey DeZart started in the central midfield behind an attacking midfield of Nani, Andres Perea, and Mueller, with Daryl Dike up top.

Orlando City started the match on the front foot. Nani sent Perea down the left in the first minute but the young midfielder missed just wide of the near post.

Three minutes later, Nani practically put a curling cross on a plate for Mueller, but Cash couldn’t make good contact with his head and his shot was well off target from right in front.

In the 14th minute it was Dike’s turn to waste an opportunity. Ruan sent in a nice cross but the big striker hit his shot just wide of the right post.

The Lions finally broke through in the 18th minute. Ruan knocked the ball past Gudmundur Thorarinsson and then raced by him to keep it from going over the end line. Then he sent in a perfect cross to Mueller, who guided his header inside the back post to make it 1-0. It was Mueller’s team-leading eighth goal of the season.

Orlando nearly made it 2-0 on a set piece a few minutes later when the ball pinged around the box and fell to Dike, who passed to Urso for an easy finish. Unfortunately, Dike lined up offside on the set piece and did not establish himself on before playing the ball.

New York City started to grow in the game, largely due to Orlando tailing off. The Lions started to get a bit sloppy with their pass placement, misjudging where their teammates would be, and could never quite get back to playing the free-flowing way they did in the first half hour. The visitors fired their first shot at Rowe in the 25th minute for an easy save and Jesus Medina fired right at Rowe again a minute later from the top of the area and after that, NYCFC controlled much of the match.

The Pigeons finally got their equalizer off a sloppy turnover from Carlos, who took a back pass from Mueller but then tried to play around a New York City player and got his pass attempt blocked. The visitors made the most of the sudden change of possession and worked the ball in behind to Parks, who had his initial shot deflected by Rowe. As the ball headed toward the end line for a corner kick it slowed to a crawl, allowing Parks to reach it first and slot it home to make it 1-1 in the 43rd minute.

After several more Orlando turnovers and six minutes of first-half stoppage time, the teams went to the break even at 1-1. New York City led in shots (9-7), shots on goal (4-1), and corners (3-1). The Lions held more possession (51%-49%) and were more accurate overall in the passing game (85%-80%) despite their nervy last 10 minutes of the opening period.

“Thirty very good minutes for us in the first half,” Pareja said. “After that, New York started just getting the ball. We couldn’t get the ball back as we used to do and they started creating some actions there, including the goal.”

The entirety of the second half looked like the last 20 minutes of the first half, with the visitors on the front foot and Orlando struggling to string passes together or win 50/50 balls. DeZart and Perea swapped positions at times but neither was effective in the attack. Rowe, meanwhile, came up with several big saves to prevent New York City from leaving Orlando with all three points.

“I’m very happy for Brian and I think we can thank him a lot today for one point,” Jansson said.

Nani forced Sean Johnson into his only save of the game in the 62nd minute, lining up a free kick from straight out in front of goal and firing a shot that was headed inside the right post if not for a diving save.

That was about it for Orlando City’s scoring chances in this game. From that point it was all about Rowe keeping NYCFC out at the other end, and the veteran goalkeeper had an outstanding night, finishing with seven saves, including several big ones down the stretch.

The first of his impressive saves came on a drive by Gary Makay-Steven in the 63rd minute and then he denied a Valentin Castellanos header in the 64th minute on the ensuing corner.

Rowe made another important stop in the 83rd minute on Ismael Tajouri-Shradi to keep things level.

Orlando’s last opportunity for a winner came in the 88th minute when Urso sent a beautiful diagonal ball to spring Ruan but the right back never looked at the goal in front of him and instead tried crossing back through traffic, wasting the opportunity.

Pareja gave Homegrown midfielder Jordan Bender his MLS debut in stoppage time. After about 10 minutes of added time, the teams had to be satisfied with the 1-1 draw.

New York City dominated the stat sheet, leading in shots (18-9), shots on goal (8-2), corners (8-1), possession (55.3%-44.7%), and passing accuracy (82%-80%).

“We are disappointed, but it’s a tight schedule and we just need to prepare for the next one,” Jansson said.

“It’s definitely a special evening for me,” Rowe said of his 100th MLS start. “A little bit bittersweet. I would have loved to have gotten the shutout and the win. It would have been great to get the three points, but I think we’re okay escaping with the draw after that performance tonight and it looks like the other results around the league went our way. So, we’ll get through this one and set our sights on this weekend, and kind of correcting course, and getting back to the football and the quality that we know we can play.”


Orlando City hits the road for a Sunday evening rematch against the New York Red Bulls at 7 p.m. at Red Bull Arena.

Orlando City

In 2025, OCSC Stands for Orlando City Scorers Club

How Orlando City’s top offensive performers this season compare to the rest of MLS…and the Premier League.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Last week, I wrote about the state of Orlando City at the halfway point of the season, focusing mostly on the team’s accomplishments on offense and defense through 17 games. For this week, let’s look at some of the top performing Lions, because it’s always fun to talk about offensive success. I do not apologize if you take offense to my desire to only focus on offense, because that would be defensive, and there is no place in this article for defense.

Many moons ago, back in January during the preseason, I wrote an article looking at the best offensive seasons in Orlando City’s MLS history. I used a derived metric called game score to rank the seasons, and I’ll quickly explain again how that is calculated:

Goals Scored + Expected Assists + 0.0113 (Progressive Carries + Progressive Passes)

I went into much more detail about why that is the calculation in the original article, but the quick and dirty version is that scoring goals, completing passes to players in dangerous scoring areas, and progressing the ball by dribbling and passing are core components of a strong offensive player. Think of the game score as an offensive value calculation, and think of it simply as a value for which more is better and the most is best.

Opta only tracked the last three contributing statistics (expected assists, progressive carries, and progressive passes) from 2018 onwards, and the chart below shows Orlando City’s 10 best MLS regular seasons since 2018. It also shows the season that currently ranks 11th — Martín Ojeda’s 2025 season, which, as a reminder, is only in game 18 of a 34-game regular season. This means, if you get the extrapolation machine out, Ojeda is on pace for a season-long game score of 26.5, which would rank as the highest full season game score in Orlando City history.

  • * The 2020 season contained only 23 games due to COVID-19
  • ** Ojeda’s stats are through 18 matches; MLS teams have played between 16-19 matches

Ojeda’s 14.1 currently ranks only behind Sam Surridge of Nashville (15.7), Anders Dreyer of San Diego (16.6), and some player from Miami who clearly wants to play for Orlando since he has lion as part of his first name (Messi, 16.8). During Ojeda’s first two seasons, he only accumulated 12.1 and 12.5, respectively, so this is already by far his best season in purple and it is just barely halfway complete.

Ojeda is not the only Orlando City player who is on pace to jump into the club’s all-time top 10 by the end of the season, as teammates Luis Muriel (10.76, on pace for 20.3) and Marco Pašalić (10.46, on pace for 19.8) are both in the top 30 in MLS this season. Muriel is 24th, and Pašalić is 27th. Orlando City is the only team in the league with three players in the top 30, or really the top 27 (shout out to my son, for whom 27 is his favorite number).

One last point on Ojeda: if we were to extrapolate his performance through 18 games to 38 games, his season game score would bump up to 29.6. Why did I choose 38? Well, 38 happens to be the number of games played in the world’s most popular league, England’s Premier League. I am well aware that the Premier League is a different level of competition than MLS, but just for fun I ran the numbers on the 2024-2025 Premier League season, and a season-long game score of 29.6 would coincidentally also rank Ojeda fourth in England, right behind Cole Palmer (29.7) and in front of Alexander Isak (29.2). I do not think Ojeda would actually finish fourth if he was in the Premier League, but my point is more that the frequency of Ojeda’s contributions for Orlando City thus far this season have been similar to that of Palmer for Chelsea and Isak for Newcastle, which is pretty heady company.

Speaking of heady, we also need to talk about the player who is leading Orlando City in aerial duel wins, Alex Freeman. Heady, aerial duels…you got the segue, right? Don’t answer that.

Freeman has been on a rocket ship in the last year, going from Orlando City B starter to Orlando City starter to U.S. Men’s National Team starter, and he likely will also be the MLS All-Star Game starter, too. My mention of his leading the team in aerial duel wins, while noteworthy, was really just a convenient way to cut over to talking about him and his season-long game score of 8.1.

According to Opta’s positional tracking, only two MLS defenders have accumulated game scores of more than six thus far this season — Philadelphia’s Kai Wagner at 6.88 and Freeman’s 8.1. The extrapolation machine says 8.1 through 18 games puts Freeman on pace for a final score of 15.2, which would be the second best performance by an MLS defender since tracking began in 2018. Freeman is going to miss at least a few more games due to being with the U.S. team during the Gold Cup, so that 15.2 will likely not happen, but wow, what a great first half of a season for Orlando City’s right back.

Going back to the Premier League for comparative context…actually, please sit down and buckle up first. Are you good? Ok.

Going back to the Premier League for comparative context, there is none. Freeman’s performance blows away every defender’s from that league. It will likely surprise few that the defender with the best season game score in the Premier League this season was Trent Alexander-Arnold, who accumulated a score of 13.5 during Liverpool’s championship run. That 13.5 was 15% better than the defender who finished in second place, and yet, if we extrapolate Freeman to 38 games, he would be on pace for 17.0, which is 26% better than Alexander-Arnold. Mind the gap.

Once again, I do not mean to say that Freeman is as skilled or would contribute like Alexander-Arnold did in the Premier League. It is instead that Freeman’s contributions to Orlando City’s offense are unlike that from any defenders in the Premier League. Freeman’s performance thus far this season places him 43rd in the overall MLS rankings, first among defenders, and ahead of strikers such as Christian Benteke, Emmanuel Latte Lath, and Brandon Vazquez. He ranks fourth on Orlando City, and the Lions are not only the only club with three players in the top 30, but also the only club with four players in the top 45.

Two teams had four players in the top 45 during the 2024 MLS season, and one of them was the LA Galaxy, the eventual MLS Cup champions. I am not saying that Orlando City having four players in the top 45 this season means they will win MLS Cup, but I am not not saying it either. I am saying I would like it to happen though, and saying that loudly and clearly.

The game score metric is not the be-all, end-all of measuring offensive prowess, but I think it does a good job of creating a ranking system where the eye test matches the math. Most fans would point to Ojeda as the player who has driven Orlando City’s offense more than any other this season, and being that the team is on pace to have one of the best, if not the best, goal-scoring seasons in the club’s MLS history, it should track that Ojeda is also on pace to have one of the best, if not the best, individual offensive seasons in the club’s MLS history as well.

There are 16 more MLS games to go, and the great thing about sports is that in any game anything can happen, and that is why we love to watch. It is awesome that all three Designated Players and Freeman are off to great starts, but nothing is guaranteed for the back half of the season. That’s why they play the games, as the saying goes. For all we know, Ramiro Enrique could come on like gangbusters in the final games and rip off double-digit goals to end as the team’s leading scorer.

Ramiro, this is a bold strategy, and I am on board for it. The more goals the merrier. Feel free to bring us fans some goals for Christmas in July.

Orlando City does not have a game this weekend, with next match coming June 25 on the road in St. Louis. Winning that game would give the Lions their third winning streak of the season and would be something I would very much like, since I will be doling out the grades for that game. And since I have been writing about the offense this week, how about three goals and three points?

Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/19/25

Alex Freeman details his soccer journey, Orlando Pride players called up, Orlando City’s U-19 team advances to semifinals, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B

Happy Juneteenth, Mane Landers! I hope everyone has a nice holiday as we commemorate the anniversary of the end of slavery in the U.S. There’s plenty of soccer going on, and I’ve enjoyed seeing the Club World Cup and Gold Cup here and there when not working. Let’s go ahead and dive right into today’s links from around the soccer world!

Alex Freeman Details His Path to Pro Soccer

Orlando City right back Alex Freeman has been getting plenty of buzz during this breakout year, but an interview with Goal gave some great insight into how he reached this point. He made the bold decision to head to Orlando at 16 years old to chase his dream, and he detailed some of the difficulties of that move that may get overlooked as his career blooms.

“I remember my 16th birthday, it was the first birthday I ever spent without my family,” Freeman says. “It was the day after I moved to Orlando. I’ve never really talked about this, but, at first, it really took a toll on me. At 16, you really just want your family around for those important moments, and I felt like I was balancing so much without my family being there with me. I did so much of this in Orlando without my family. It’s hard for people to comprehend that.”

Freeman also talked about the pace of his development within Orlando’s organization, along with what it was like to play against Juventus winger Kenan Yildiz in his recent international debut. There are also some great quotes from Oscar Pareja and United States Men’s National Team Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino worth checking out.

Orlando Pride Players Called Up by USWNT

Orlando Pride defenders Emily Sams and Kerry Abello were both called up for the United States Women’s National Team’s training camp roster ahead of friendlies against Ireland and Canada later this June. Both players were on the USWNT roster for recent friendlies, with Abello making her international debut on June 3 against Jamaica. The only player outside the NWSL who was called up for this roster is Naomi Girma. Rose Lavelle was called up for the first time this year, and 2024 NWSL Rookie of the Year Croix Bethune is also back in the fold. Jordyn Bugg, Lilly Reale, Izzy Rodriguez, and Sam Meza were all called up for the first time, as Head Coach Emma Hayes continues to grow the player pool.

Orlando City Makes MLS NEXT Cup Semifinals

Orlando City’s U-19 team continues to impress this year and advanced to the semifinals of this year’s MLS NEXT Cup. Forward Justin Ellis was named Player of the Day for scoring twice in a 3-3 draw against Toronto FC, with Orlando coming out on top in the ensuing penalty shootout.

The U-19 team is the last Orlando academy team still playing across the tournament’s age groups. It will take on Cedar Stars Academy in the semifinals on Friday with a spot in Sunday’s final on the line. Enjoy watching the youngsters celebrate clinching a spot in the next round.

Upcoming NWSL Action Before League Break

We have another weekend of NWSL soccer to look forward to before the league pauses until August due to various international tournaments. The Pride will look to make it four straight wins when they face Racing Louisville FC on the road Friday night. Louisville has allowed 22 goals this season, so hopefully Barbra Banda and the rest of Orlando’s offense can get things going after close wins in the past two games.

Elsewhere in the league, I think Saturday’s match between NJ/NY Gotham FC and Bay FC will be an interesting showdown. Gotham forward Esther González leads the league with nine goals this season, but it’s ultimately a close Golden Boot race at this point. Sunday’s match between the San Diego Wave and Washington Spirit pits two of the league’s top four teams against each other, making it a great way to close out the weekend before the break.

USMNT Takes On Saudi Arabia Tonight

The Yanks are back in action tonight for a Concacaf Gold Cup group game against Saudi Arabia, the guest nation of this year’s tournament. After a 5-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago, the U.S. can claim the top spot in the group and all but guarantee a place in the next round with a win over Saudi Arabia. There are still some question marks regarding who will rise to the occasion in the midfield and at forward, but the USMNT has the talent to get the job done tonight at Q2 Stadium in Austin. The U.S. will then close out group play on Sunday against Haiti in Arlington, TX.

Free Kicks

  • Sams, Banda, Anna Moorhouse, and Cori Dyke were all named to CBS Sports‘ NWSL Team of the Week after the Pride’s 1-0 win over Bay FC.
  • Joao Klauss won MLS Goal of the Matchday for his lethal strike on the volley from a tight angle. The goal equalized things in stoppage time against the LA Galaxy and completed Klauss’ hat trick in the 3-3 draw.
  • USWNT and Portland Thorns defender Meghan Klingenberg has officially retired from professional soccer. She won two NWSL Shields, two NWSL Championships, and the 2015 Women’s World Cup, while also making an impact off the field speaking up for equality.
  • The San Jose Earthquakes have begun the process of selling a controlling interest in the club.
  • Xabi Alonso’s tenure as Real Madrid’s new manager began with a 1-1 draw against Al Hilal at the Club World Cup. Federico Valverde had a chance to win it in stoppage time from the penalty stop, but Moroccan goalkeeper Yassine Bounou came up with the critical save.
  • Chris Wilder and Sheffield United have parted ways less than a month after the club fell 2-1 to Sunderland in the playoff final for promotion to the English Premier League. Ruben Selles, who was dismissed as Hull City’s manager last month, was named as Wilder’s replacement.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a wonderful Juneteenth and rest of your week!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/18/25

Scouting Saudi Arabia, Club World Cup summary, MLS midseason superlatives, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Happy Wednesday, everyone. I’m pretty worn out after doing some traveling for most of the last two weeks, and I’m happy to be back home in Tampa for a bit before heading out on the road again. The soccer world has not paused during my time out on the road, and if anything its only picked up in intensity. That means we have a lot to talk about, but before we get into today’s links, let’s wish Orlando Pride defender Rafaelle a happy birthday.

Scouting Saudi Arabia

The United States Men’s National Team will continue its 2025 Gold Cup campaign on Thursday when it takes on Saudi Arabia in Austin, TX. That means this is a good time to familiarize ourselves with Arabian Falcons. They’re coached by Herve Renard, who deployed the team in a 4-2-3-1 in a 1-0 victory over Haiti in the team’s first game of the tournament. He isn’t married to that formation though, and will use a variety of tactical setups depending on the situation. Across all of them, Saudi Arabia plays with an emphasis on pressing in specific areas and quickly breaking in transition once winning the ball. Like the USMNT, the Saudis are missing a few first-choice players, and the midfield battle should be a particularly interesting area to keep an eye on.

Club World Cup Roundup

The 2025 FIFA Club World Cup continued on Wednesday, so let’s take a look at the action. Fluminense and Borussia Dortmund got things started as they battled to a scoreless draw at MetLife Stadium. The Brazilian team had the better of the game overall, but Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel made five saves to preserve a point for his team. The second game of the day was much livelier, as River Plate dispatched Urawa Red Diamonds 3-1 in Seattle. The Argentinians scored after just 12 minutes and never looked back despite Urawa making it a 2-1 game with a 58th-minute penalty. The third match took place at Inter&Co Stadium, and saw Mamelodi Sundowns beat Ulsan HD 1-0. While the scoreline didn’t reflect it, the South African team mostly dominated proceedings and finished with 68% possession and 718 passes to 325 for the South Korean side. However, it was a free-flowing game that offered both sides to take more from the match. Our Michael Citro was there to recap it for you at the link above.

Midseason MLS Superlatives

As much as it seems like the 2025 Major League Soccer season just started, we’re actually just past the halfway point of the campaign, and that means it’s a good time to look at some league superlatives. In a category that will be music to the ears of Orlando City fans, Bradley Wright-Phillips named fullback the most overlooked position and specifically took some time to praise Alex Freeman. BWP previously coached against Freeman with New York Red Bulls II when Alex was still with Orlando City B, so it’s interesting to hear his input from that additional aspect. It’s no surprise that the Vancouver Whitecaps got a lot of love, as they were named biggest surprise, and Jesper Sorensen was named best coach.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

Transfer season is in full swing, so here are some of the big rumors currently flying around. Manchester United is reportedly interesting in signing Callum Hudson-Odoi from Nottingham Forest, but the Red Devils face competition from Roma and Napoli. Arsenal might hit a snag in searching for a striker, as the Gunners are balking at paying the asking prices for either Benjamin Sesko or Viktor Gyokeres, because they consider those numbers to be too high. Three different teams from the Saudi Pro League have reportedly shown interest in signing Son Heung-Min from Tottenham Hotspur, as he only has 12 months left on his current contract.

Free Kicks

  • Get a peek at the Orlando Pride putting in work on the training ground.

And that’s it for me today. Have a great rest of your week. Vamos, Orlando!

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