Orlando City
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.
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.
Lion Links
Lion Links: 1/23/25
Orlando City signs Thomas Williams to new contract, Orlando Pride schedule revealed, USMNT wins against Costa Rica, and more.
I hope you all are staying warm as we deal with cold weather across Florida. It’s at least been nice to break out some of my heavier blankets and forgotten hot cocoa packets I’ve had stored away. My cat has also been curling up next to me more, which is always a plus. Still, not shivering while waiting for my car to warm up would be great. Let’s dive into today’s links!
Thomas Williams Signs New Orlando City Contract
Orlando City center back Thomas Williams signed a new contract with the club that lasts through 2026, with an option for 2027 as well. Williams joined the club’s academy back in 2015 and became the youngest Homegrown Player in club history when he signed a first-team contract at 16 years old in 2021. The 20-year-old hasn’t featured much for the first team, and he’ll likely spend most of this year with Orlando City B for consistent playing time. Hopefully Williams can take a step forward in his development and provide the Lions some helpful depth at center back in the event of injuries.
Orlando Pride 2025 Season Schedule Unveiled
The NWSL announced its 2025 season schedule Wednesday, and the Orlando Pride will start their title defense season at home against the Chicago Red Stars on March 14. Their first road game will be the following weekend on March 23 against NJ/NY Gotham FC. Decision Day returns to the schedule this year, with all 14 clubs in action on Nov. 2. The Pride will close out their regular season at home that day against the Seattle Reign, with the postseason set to begin on Nov. 7. There’s also a break in the schedule in July, with no regular-season games scheduled due to international tournaments like the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and Copa America Femenina.
USMNT Shuts Out Costa Rica in Orlando
The United States Men’s National Team beat Costa Rica 3-0 at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando Wednesday night to stay perfect at the home of the Lions and Pride at 7-0-0. Goalkeeper Zack Steffen truly earned his clean sheet, coming up with some great saves to deny Costa Rica. It was also a solid attacking performance from the Yanks, and Patrick Agyemang put a bow on what’s been a great month for him with his second goal in as many games. Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino has some time to assess things before the USMNT plays Panama in the Concacaf Nations League semifinals on March 20
Keeping Up With MLS Transfer News
San Diego FC added another Designated Player ahead of its inaugural season, signing Danish winger Anders Dreyer from Anderlecht for a transfer fee reportedly near $5 million. He recorded 31 goals and 23 assists in 87 appearances across all competitions for Anderlecht and joins San Diego on a three-year deal. Charlotte FC officially added Wilfried Zaha on loan from Galatasaray. He’ll occupy a DP spot and the loan lasts through Jan. 16, 2026, with an option to extend it through June of that year as well.
LAFC made a trade with its rival to strengthen its midfield, acquiring Mark Delgado from the LA Galaxy in exchange for $400,000 in General Allocation Money. The Portland Timbers signed Venezuelan forward Kevin Kelsy from Shakhtar Donetsk as an MLS U22 Initiative player, with FC Cincinnati receiving GAM for his discovery rights. Real Salt Lake, which signed Mason Stajduhar from Orlando City earlier this month, continued to make changes to its goalkeeping group. The club signed veteran goalkeeper Rafael Cabral as a free agent and transferred 19-year-old American Gavin Beavers to Brondby IF in Denmark.
UEFA Champions League Roundup
The penultimate round of the UEFA Champions League’s league phase wrapped up this week. Paris Saint-Germain beat Manchester City 4-2 in the heavyweight matchup of the round, with all six goals coming in the second half. Joao Neves gave PSG the lead in the 78th minute before Goncalo Ramos put the game on ice in stoppage time. City now needs to win its final game against Club Brugge on Wednesday in order to advance.
Real Madrid cruised to a 5-1 win against RB Salzburg to advance, with both Rodrygo and Vinicius Jr. scoring braces. Celtic also booked its spot in the next round after a 1-0 win against Young Boys. Feyenoord pulled off an upset by winning 3-0 against Bayern Munich as well. Elsewhere in the tournament, AC Milan won 1-0 at home against Girona, Arsenal beat Dinamo Zagreb 3-0, and RB Leipzig did well in a 2-1 victory over Sporting CP.
Free Kicks
- American goalkeeper Michelle Betos announced her retirement from professional soccer after a career that included winning the 2016 NWSL Shield with the Portland Thorns and the 2023 NWSL Championship with Gotham. Betos was also named NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year with the Thorns in 2015.
- Arsenal and Chelsea are among the multiple clubs reportedly keeping an eye on American forward Trinity Rodman, whose contract with the Washington Spirit ends after this year.
- Borussia Dortmund fired Nuri Sahin following the club’s 2-1 defeat to Bologna in the Champions League. Dortmund has lost all four of its matches so far in 2025 and is 10th in the Bundesliga standings.
- Some of the notable matches in today’s Europa League action include Manchester United hosting Rangers, Tottenham taking on Hoffenheim, and AS Roma traveling to face AZ Alkmaar.
- Costa Rican goalkeeper Keylor Navas has joined Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina. The 38-year-old hasn’t been with a club since departing PSG in May of 2024.
That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a great Thursday and rest of your week!
Orlando City
Orlando City Signs Defender Thomas Williams Through 2026
Orlando City signs Homegrown center back Thomas Williams to a new contract through 2026 with a club option for 2027.
Orlando City announced this morning that the club has signed defender Thomas Williams through the 2026 season with a club option for 2027. The Homegrown Player has been with the first team since 2021 and will continue for at least two more years.
“Thomas is someone whose future we’re still very excited about and we’re happy to get him locked in with us for a couple more years,” Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi said in a club press release. “He’s shown a lot of growth these last few seasons, continuing to get game action with Orlando City B and proving the importance of our development pathway, and we’re looking forward to having him with us for the foreseeable future.”
The Titusville native joined the Orlando City Academy in 2015 and made his professional debut for the club on Aug. 7, 2020 against New England Revolution II. He played in 13 games that year with 10 starts and recorded 844 minutes. His play on the Young Lions’ back line earned him a first-team contract on June 15, 2021, at just 16 years old, making him the youngest player in club history to sign a Homegrown contract.
The 20-year-old center back made his MLS debut on April 16, 2022 in a 2-0 win over the Columbus Crew in Ohio. He made five appearances with three starts in all competitions that season, recording 271 minutes. To date, those are the only appearances he’s made with the first team.
Since joining OCB in 2021, Williams has made 69 appearances with 61 starts and recorded 5,132 minutes. He’s been booked 19 times and sent off twice, both times after receiving second yellow cards.
What It Means for Orlando City
Williams is the fourth natural center back for Orlando City on the current squad behind Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Rodrigo Schlegel. He played well early in his OCB and MLS career, but has struggled recently. Last year, he played exclusively with the second team, partnering with Nabi Kibunguchy.
While Williams hasn’t made much of an impact on the first team so far, he’s only 20 years old and still has plenty of time to develop. Extending his contact shows that the club still has faith that he can turn into a key player for the MLS side.
It’s unlikely that Williams will see any time with the first team in 2025 (barring injuries and/or suspensions), considering that he’s also been behind versatile defender Kyle Smith at the center back position. He’ll likely spend the upcoming season with OCB, continuing to develop and earn his spot with the first team. As a Homegrown Player, there isn’t much risk in signing Williams to a new contract, especially if the club’s technical staff thinks he can develop into a quality defender.
Lion Links
Lion Links: 1/22/25
Orlando City transfer rumors, Orlando Pride preseason begins, USMNT at Inter&Co, and more.
Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. Up here in Tallahassee, I’m waking up to snow/sleet, closed schools, closed government offices, and potentially icy roads. Many people will get an extra day off of work, however, I still get to go to work. I’m sure you can imagine how happy I am about that. Enough of my winter grumbling. Let’s get to the links but not until after we wish Orlando City fullback Michael Halliday a happy 22nd birthday.
Orlando City Reportedly Targeting Croatian International
While I can no longer say that Orlando City hasn’t signed any new players, the club is still moving at its traditionally slow speed as compared to other MLS clubs. We had the signing of Nicolas Rodriguez last week. Now, we have Tom Bogert report of yet another winger prospect for the club in Croatian Marco Pasalic from HNK Rijeka, though it is not a done deal. Hopefully the other targets Bogert mentions are of the striker variety.
Pride Preseason Begins
The 2024 NWSL champions are back to defend their title. The Orlando Pride returned to training on Tuesday. The club hasn’t needed to add many pieces, though some of the players already here, like Simone Charley and Grace Chanda, haven’t actually played any minutes for the Pride yet. Most of the chemistry is in place for Seb Hines, but reinforcing those bonds will be the challenge as the Pride look to repeat.
USMNT at Inter&Co Tonight
Hopefully you have tickets to the USMNT friendly match versus Costa Rica at Inter&Co Stadium tonight. The match starts at 7 p.m. and there are television and streaming options if you’re not going in person. Despite the squad having 14 players with three or fewer caps, Mauricio Pochettino does not consider this an “alternative” squad, nor does he want the players to think of themselves like that.
Girma Reportedly Nearing Completion of Chelsea Move
USWNT defender Naomi Girma is reportedly headed to Chelsea FC Women for a record $1.1 million transfer fee. That is a very big chunk of change for San Diego FC to use to try to replace one of the best defenders in the world. The deal is not complete as of Tuesday evening, but according to the original report from The Athletic, it is close to being done. Girma would be the first women’s soccer player to earn a transfer fee of over $1 million.
MLS Transfer Updates
Other MLS clubs keep on putting pen to paper when it comes to new players. The Chicago Fire are bringing in Jonathan Bamba on a Designated Player deal from La Liga side Celta de Vigo. The Luca de la Torre loan from Spain’s RC Celta de Vigo to San Diego FC is also official.
Cucho Hernandez evidently wants to stay with the Columbus Crew, though he is still waiting on a new offer.
Free Kicks
- I know you might think that Orlando City has a lot to do personnel-wise as the preseason begins, but evidently, the Lions didn’t make the Top 5.
- EUFA Champions League is in full swing, with big names Liverpool and Barcelona winning yesterday. There’s also more to come today.
- Former Orlando Pride player Alanna Kennedy signed a one-year contract with Angel City FC.
- Keep your eyes peeled later today for the NWSL schedule drop.
That will do it for today. Stay warm out there, my friends. Vamos Orlando!
A 2025 Orlando Pride Wish List
Lion Links: 1/23/25
United States vs. Costa Rica: Final Score 3-0 as Yanks Win Again in Orlando
-
Orlando City2 weeks agoOrlando City is Often Late to the Transfer Party
-
Opinion2 weeks agoThree Questions on the Eve of Orlando City’s 2025 Preseason Camp
-
Lion Links1 week agoLion Links: 1/13/25
-
Orlando City2 weeks agoEvaluating How Orlando City May Fill Its Open Designated Player Spot
-
Orlando Pride1 week agoOrlando Pride Sign Defender Zara Chavoshi to One-Year Deal
-
Orlando City B2 weeks agoOrlando City B Signs Goalkeeper Tristan Himes
-
Orlando City1 week agoA 2025 Orlando City Wish List
-
Orlando City1 week agoOrlando City Trades Goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar to Real Salt Lake