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Orlando City vs. Nashville SC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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6 years ago

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In the final game of Orlando City’s 2020 MLS regular season campaign, a late collapse resulted in a 3-2 loss against Nashville SC. Despite a strong start, the defense gave way to Nashville’s second-half substitutes, conceding twice in the final two minutes of the game and four minutes of injury time. Daryl Dike continued his torrid form with another goal and we saw a moment of brilliance from Nani (who was allowed to play after his red card was rescinded by the league), but it wasn’t enough to hold onto the points.

Orlando fell to fourth in the Eastern Conference and will play bitter rivals New York City FC in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs. Here’s how the Lions performed in a very disappointing close to the season.

Starters

GK, Brian Rowe, 5 — I don’t want to put too much of the blame on Rowe for the goals, but it was far from a great performance from the veteran backup. He did make a hat trick of saves, including a very nice stop on Derrick Jones, but he did concede three goals. The first goal was simply a wonder-strike from Daniel Lovitz — nothing he could really do there — but the other two feel like maybe he could’ve done more. It would’ve been very impressive as both headers were wide open on the doorstep, but Rowe was in position to potentially make a play, but he couldn’t.

D, Kyle Smith, 5.5 — It was far from the best performance for Smith against Nashville. Going forward he was a complete non-factor with no shots and only one cross, though he did draw the free kick on which Nani scored. He struggled to contain Randall Leal, losing several duels on the outside, and also committed a team-high five fouls, including the one that set up the game-winning goal. On the bright side, he was fairly good in possession, completing 40 passes at an 83% clip, and had a solid five ball recoveries. He wasn’t horrible but it was far from a great game for the fullback.

D, Robin Jansson, 5.5 — The big Swede had a solid game leading the back line but it was a struggle at times. On the bright side, his distribution was solid with 43 completed passes at 84% and three very solid completed long balls. He also led the team in clearances with seven. Unfortunately for Orlando, he was very poor in the air, losing both of his aerial duels.

D, Antonio Carlos, 6 — It may have been a frustrating defensive performance, but Antonio Carlos was mostly impressive once again. His distribution was excellent, completing 88% of his passes, including six out of eight long balls. He nearly found his way onto the score sheet with a brilliant bit of skill off a corner in the 64th minute, but the final effort was well wide. Defensively, Carlos was the anchor of the back line with five clearances, four interceptions and five ball recoveries. But much like Jansson, his play in the air in the last few minutes of the game was poor. He wasn’t in a good position on Mukhtar for the second goal, making it far too easy for the designated player to score.

D, Ruan, 5.5 — The pacey Brazilian had his moments against Nashville, but it was a poor showing for the right back. He was solid going forward once again, registering a key pass and three crosses, but defensively things were inconsistent. He did lead the team in completed tackles with three, but down the stretch it was a struggle. He really struggled with Alex Muyl allowing the ball into the area that led to Nashville’s second goal. He also got shielded by Muyl on the third goal, leaving Cadiz to run in unmarked. Maybe it felt like it was a worse performance than it really was, but it was disappointing regardless.

MF, Chris Muelller, 7.5 — Mueller’s breakout season continued in this one as he was a force to be reckoned with going forward. It was his pressure and excellent run that led to the assist on Dike’s goal early in the first half and he created several other chances as well, finishing with a pair of key passes. His energy created a spark in transition and set the tempo for the Lions going forward. It wasn’t always the cleanest for the Money Badger, but he now sits at 17 goal contributions (goals plus assists), only behind LAFC’s Diego Rossi and Toronto’s Alejandro Pozuelo.

MF, Andres Perea, 6.5 — It wasn’t a particularly dynamic performance, but the Colombian youth international continues to look very sound in the center of midfield. He led the team in passing with 61 completed passes at an incredible 92% clip, with a team leading 10 successful long balls as well. His defense was solid as well with three interceptions and eight ball recoveries. However, he provided very little going forward, failing to register a key pass or shot on target despite getting an excellent open look from the top of the area. Even if he’s not a particularly dynamic player, he’s looking better and better every game and I really hope that his loan can be made permanent this offseason.

MF, Junior Urso, 6 — The Bear had a quiet performance in his 72-minute outing, but it was fairly effective. He was a beast winning the ball back, as per usual, with a solid seven recoveries. Against the physical Anibal Godoy and Dax McCarty it’s important to match the intensity and Urso provided that energy and strength in the middle of the park. Like Perea, he wasn’t much of a factor going forward, though he found himself with a chance at a header in the box on multiple occasions.

MF, Jordan Bender, 5 — The most interesting lineup decision made by Oscar Pareja in the regular season finale by far was giving Homegrown Player and Lake Mary native Jordan Bender his first ever MLS start. The 19-year-old attacker showed plenty of promise with a few impressive runs, but he’s clearly still a very raw prospect. Multiple times the moment got away from Bender and he took a slightly heavy touch or had a slightly late reaction that squandered a potentially lethal attack. He did make one nice cross in the 33rd minute that Dike headed on goal. It wasn’t the a dynamic introduction for the youngster, but it’s very exciting to see the him make his first start.

F, Nani, 7.5 — MLS thankfully rescinded the captain’s garbage red card against Columbus, and the Portuguese superstar delivered against Nashville. He was fairly inefficient and ineffective for much of the game, completing only 78% of his passes and only racking up a single key pass, but he still delivered a moment of brilliance when the team needed it. His 61st-minute free kick goal was the moment of the match for Orlando and looked to potentially seal the three points. Things took a turn for the worse following his substitution, but when his team needed him, the captain delivered.

F, Daryl Dike, 8 (MotM) — The rookie striker has been in impeccable form as of late and that certainly didn’t stop against Nashville. He returned to the score sheet early in the game, capitalizing on a Mueller counter attack with an excellent low drive to the far corner. It’s not a goal that will break the internet, but the class on the strike was excellent from the young man. He nearly grabbed a second with an inviting header off Bender’s cross in the 33rd minute, but a nice save by Joe Willis kept Dike from his brace. For much of the game, Nashville really struggled to contain Dike. His strength, and a surprising show of pace and skill, allowed him to easily get by defenders and put his team in dangerous positions while his holdup play continues to be superb. Dike is quickly becoming one of the better strikers in the league and could become the Lions’ best striker since Cyle Larin.

Substitutes

F, Tesho Akindele (46’), 6.5 — It was a quiet game for Tesho, who came on for Bender in the second half, but it was far from poor. He didn’t create any chances, but his ability on the ball helped Orlando transition from defense to offense. Though he’s a striker by trade, the Canadian has shown that he’s plenty capable dropping into midfield, and against Nashville that versatility was on display once again.

MF, Sebas Mendez (71’), 6.5 — For the second match in a row, Sebas came off the bench to help bolster the midfield down the stretch and he played fairly well in limited action once again. He completed all of his 11 passes including a key pass. His defensive work was solid as well, with a clearance and an interception. He couldn’t help the Lions secure the three points (or one point for that matter) but it was another solid performance from the young Ecuadorian international.

F, Benji Michel (72’), 5 — After his heroics against the Crew midweek, it would’ve been impossible to match that performance, but even so it was a slightly disappointing outing. The homegrown striker only had eight touches in his 20 minutes on the pitch and was a complete non-presence.

MF, Joey DeZart (87’), N/A — It was a cameo performance from the rookie in an attempt to secure the result, but things soured once he came on the pitch. That’s not really on DeZart but he did very little in his few minutes in this one.

F, Matheus Aias (90’), N/A — Pareja brought on Matheus in a desperate attempt to secure the three points in stoppage time, but the Lions were unable to generate any offense in injury time.

That was my take on Orlando’s disappointing end to the regular season, but how do you think the Lions played? Vote on who you thought deserved man of the match.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Daryl Dike29
Chris Mueller6
Nani3
Andres Perea0
Other (write in comments)0

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/12/26

Orlando City’s Leagues Cup continues, Orlando Pride head to Portland, OCB defeated again, and more.

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1 hour ago

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August 12, 2026

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Image of Robin Jansson, Tyrese Spicer, and Ivan Angulo celebrating Spicer's goal against Nashville.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. It’s Leagues Cup match day, and I’m sure you’re as excited as I am, right? Right?!? Despite it being a money grab of a tournament in which the Lions are unlikely to advance, it is at least an opportunity to watch the team we support, and as such, I will be watching. Let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Hosts San Luis to Close First Leagues Cup Phase

Orlando City faces Atlético de San Luis tonight at Inter.co Stadium in the team’s third Leagues Cup match. If the Lions are to advance, the team will need to win the match and get some help from other teams in the tournament if they are to advance. As I said on The Mane Land PawedCast, I hope Orlando City smartly focuses on the upcoming regular-season match against FC Cincinnati. Sadly, I believe that won’t be the case, so you can expect the team to play a mixture of starters and subs.

Pride Proceed to Portland’s Providence Park

The Orlando Pride travel across the country to take on the Portland Thorns Saturday evening. The Pride are coming off a 3-1 loss to Racing Louisville, and let’s just say that the metrics were not good. As if bad form and traveling across the nation were not enough, the Thorns will be holding a celebration for former Portland and USWNT defender Meghan Klingenberg prior to the match. I don’t think the Thorns needed any extra motivation, but there it is.

Orlando City B Defeated…Again

Orlando City B continued its slide down the MLS NEXT Pro table after losing 3-0 to New York City FC II. With so many Young Lions covering for injuries with the first team, OCB Head Coach Eddie Wilding made five changes to the starting lineup. There were also four academy players who made their professional debuts. NYCFC II scored two goals in the the first 13 minutes and added a third in the second half. OCB will face Chicago Fire FC II on the road Saturday.

NWSL Accolades

If you didn’t watch other NWSL matches after being demoralized by how the Pride played Friday, I won’t blame you. That being said, there were matches played and things happened in those matches. I believe that Kerry Abello should have been up for Goal of the Week, but alas she wasn’t and instead the honor went to Ashley Sanchez from the North Carolina Courage. Don’t get me wrong it was a good goal, but Abello’s shot was better.

Anna Moorhouse was never in the discussion for Save of the Week. Instead it was won by Portland’s Mackenzie Arnold.

Arnold also won Assist of the Week on Pietra Tordin’s second goal.

Finally, Tordin won Player of the Week for her hat trick against Boston Legacy FC. She gets to face the Pride’s defense and Moorhouse on Saturday night.

Leaving her mark ⭐️Pietra Tordin is your Player of the Week presented by AT&T!

— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 2026-08-11T17:33:02.135Z

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That will do it for today. You can follow The Mane Land on Bluesky for match updates and we will also have a recap of the match. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/11/26

Leagues Cup preview, Americans in midweek action, open letter addressing Gianni Infantino, and more.

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1 day ago

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August 11, 2026

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Good morning, everyone. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, but fortunately, opportunities to change the vibes are right around the corner. Orlando City B plays NYCFC II in a few hours, Orlando City plays San Luis tomorrow and FC Cincinnati on Saturday, and the Orlando Pride are in action against the Portland Thorns on Saturday night as well. We’ve got lots to talk over this morning, so let’s get into it.

Leagues Cup Preview

Leagues Cup will begin its final round of group stage games later today, and there are several storylines to keep an eye on. Most prominent among them is the match between Austin FC and Club America, as each team currently sits first in its respective table. Myrto Uzuni’s hat trick helped Austin bury Puebla in its second match, and the Verde and Black are now in great position to advance. Before we get to that match on Thursday though, FC Cincinnati plays Atlas this evening to kick off the last round of games. Cincy sits fourth in the MLS table and therefore has plenty to play for, while Atlas has no points and has already been eliminated from contention. With Cincy visiting the City Beautiful on Saturday, Orlando fans should be hoping for FCC’s key players to rack up a lot of minutes tonight.

Americans in Midweek Action

Plenty of Americans will be taking part in matches during the working week, so make sure you’ve got everything noted down on your calendar. Tanner Tessmann and Lyon kick things off later today as they try to overturn a 2-1 first leg deficit against Sparta Prague in UEFA Champions Leauge qualifying. Things continue with Brenden Aaronson and Leeds playing Manchester United in a friendly on Wednesday, while Malik Tillman and Bayer Leverkusen have a friendly of their own against Nottingham Forest. Things wrap up with some American-on-American violence on Friday, as Johnny Cardoso and Atletico Madrid play Marseille in a friendly, while Folarin Balogun and Monaco face Haji Wright and Coventry in a tune-up game.

Confederations Write Letter Criticizing Gianni Infantino

Concacaf, UEFA, and AFC have written a joint open letter soccer as a whole, in which they accuse FIFA president Gianni Infantino of betraying the trust of the confederations and engaging in deceptive practices. They condemned the plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, and called both FIFA’s integrity and Infantino’s running of the organization into question. U.S. Soccer put out its own statement on Sunday in support of Concacaf’s stance. The letter also urged FIFA to conduct an independent review of the proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup, while calling for accountability and openness among Infantino and the rest of FIFA’s leadership.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

There are plenty of transfer rumors to catch up on this morning, so let’s get straight into it. We start in England, where Crystal Palace is reportedly finalizing the signing of Zavier Gozo from Real Salt Lake. In Spain, Atletico Madrid has reportedly submitted an offer in the area of €35 million to Lille for winger Matias Fernandez-Pardo. Meanwhile, Endrick will supposedly be staying at Real Madrid this season following discussions between himself, the club, and Head Coach Jose Mourinho. Barcelona ha reportedly rejected a €50 million offer for Ferran Torres from Paris Saint-Germain, as the Catalonian club wants the fee to be structured differently than PSG’s initial proposal. Finally, in a rather unexpected bit of news, Tom Bogert reports that CF Montreal is signing Alexis Sanchez as a Designated Player.

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That’s all I’ve got for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/10/26

Lions and Pride lose, Americans abroad, Latest MLS transfer roundup, and more.

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2 days ago

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August 10, 2026

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Image of Marco Pasalic dribbling the ball in the attack against Atlanta.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been keeping myself busy at work and getting ready to cover high school sports again soon. Let’s wish a belated happy birthday to former Lion Alex Freeman, who turned 22 on Sunday, and a happy birthday to former Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja, who turns 58 today. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Fall to Club Leon in Leagues Cup

Orlando City fell 2-1 to Club Leon at home in the second matchday of the 2026 Leagues Cup on Saturday. Marco Pasalic scored for the Lions in the first half as Orlando took a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Club Leon overturned the one-goal deficit, responding with goals from Juan Guevara and Daniel Arcila to take a 2-1 lead as the Liga MX side edged the Lions for the win. Orlando City will be back at home on Wednesday to face Atletico de San Luis to close out the first phase of Leagues Cup.

Pride Winless Skid Continues with Loss to Racing Louisville

The Orlando Pride fell 3-1 to Racing Louisville FC at home on Friday as the club continues to slide down the NWSL table and has lost back-to-back league matches. Louisville struck first to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Emma Sears scored twice to give Louisville a 3-0 lead. In stoppage time, Kerry Abello scored for the Pride to avoid the shutout, but Louisville secured its third win in its last four games. Meanwhile, Orlando has lost four out of its last five matches. The Pride will be on the road for their next match on Saturday, taking on the Portland Thorns.

Americans Abroad

Orlando City midfielder Colin Guske started and played a full 90 minutes for the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team against Mexico in the Concacaf U-20 Championships. The U.S. fell 2-0 to Mexico in the final on Sunday. Max Arfsten and Sebastian Berhalter made their debuts for Middlesbrough in Round 1 of the Carabao Cup against Wrexham on Friday. Berhalter notched an assist as Middlesbrough defeated Wrexham 1-0 to advance to the second round. Ricardo Pepi started and played 80 minutes for PSV Eindhoven in a 2-2 draw against Fortuna Sittard in the Eredivisie on Saturday. Austin Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers were both in action for Celtic in a 5-1 victory against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.

Latest MLS Transfer Roundup

The LA Galaxy have been busy making moves of late, signing former FC Barcelona and Como midfielder Sergi Roberto to a contract through June 2028 with an option for the 2028-2029 season. The Galaxy added winger Chucky Lozano from San Diego FC on loan through the end of the season and reached an agreement to transfer midfielder Edwin Cerrillo to Liga MX side Club America. Atlanta United has acquired midfielder Mauricio Amaro from Uruguayan top flight club Defensor Sporting. Amaro will be under contract through the 2028-2029 season with an option for 2029-2030. San Diego FC announced on Saturday that the club has transferred defender Andres Reyes to Atletico Nacional in Colombia.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City forward Yutaro Tsukada, who is on loan at Rhode Island FC, scored his first goal in the USL Championship over the weekend.
  • Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga scored for Malawi, which defeated Ghana 2-1 on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time.
  • Nigeria fell 1-0 to Cameroon in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, resulting in Cameroon qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Nigeria will face South Africa on Thursday in a play-in match to qualify for the FIFA inter-confederation playoffs.
  • Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho revealed in a documentary that he had signed a contract to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in 2013, but later backed out of the deal and decided to return to Chelsea after his first stint at Real Madrid.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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