Connect with us

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Final Score 3-1 as Shorthanded Lions Bow Out of Playoffs

An early penalty awarded to New England set the tone, and when Orlando seemed to get back into the game, things got worse with another red card.

Published

4 years ago

on

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

The New England Revolution had never won a game at Orlando City before. At some point you knew that would change, but unfortunately it happened in the postseason as the Revs beat the Lions 3-1 in the Eastern Conference semifinals at Exploria Stadium. Orlando fell behind 2-0 and battled back into it, only to see Designated Player Mauricio Pereyra sent off for an awful challenge from behind, and the Revs tacked on a late insurance goal against the shorthanded Lions.

Carles Gil’s penalty put New England up early on a fairly soft call on Uri Rosell against Tajon Buchanan in the box and Gustavo Bou added another at the end of a transition that started with what looked like Nani getting fouled in the offensive end, but no call was made. Junior Urso pulled a goal back for Orlando, but Pereyra’s red card changed the game, although the biggest talking point will be a Nani penalty that Matt Turner saved. Another talking point might be that Adam Buksa didn’t get a second yellow for taking out Brian Rowe when Daryl Dike was booked for a similar offense earlier in the match.

Whatever your favorite talking point is, it’s all academic now.

“Obviously at this moment there is a lot of pain, and there is a lot of frustration that we have been carrying in the last 10 days, probably, with things that happened and we could not apparently flush them off,” Head Coach Oscar Pareja said. “I know how hard they worked for this objecitve and now we need to grow. Certainly this will help us, for sure.”

Without the suspended Pedro Gallese or Ruan, Pareja started Rowe in goal behind a back line of Kamal Miller, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith. Central midfielders Rosell and Urso played in the middle of the park, alongside attackers Pereyra and Chris Mueller, with Nani and Dike leading the attack.

The first half started out looking like extra time, with the teams playing cautiously and perhaps a bit nervously. Nani provided good service into the area three minutes in, but the cross was just a bit high for Dike to reach.

The Revolution earned a corner in the 11th minute with their first foray into the attacking third. New England played the set piece short and the Revs were called for a foul in their attacking box, turning it over.

Buchanan came down the right a few minutes later and changed the game. Rosell, backing up Miller, attempted a tackle and Buchanan anticipated contact, leaving his feet and going down easy. Referee Alex Chilowicz saw enough to award a penalty and Video Assistant Referee Chris Penso didn’t see a clear and obvious error. Gil stepped up and hit his penalty right down the middle, past Rowe, who guessed left, and New England led 1-0 in the 17th minute.

Orlando tried to pull it right back, winning a corner after the restart. Nani played the corner short to Pereyra, who crossed in. Jansson collected at the far side but hit his shot into the outside netting in the 19th minute. Mueller tried a long-range shot three minutes later but didn’t get much on it and hit it right at Turner for the easy save.

New England doubled its lead in the 26th minute. Nani got double teamed in the attacking third and went down under contact. Chilowicz allowed the play to continue and the Revs broke in transition. Adam Buksa hit a sliding shot off the right post, but Bou reacted to it first, scoring into the empty net to make it 2-0.

“We conceded a goal early, but I think we were OK in the game,” Nani said. “We were pressing up. We were creating our chances. But there was a decision when the ref didn’t give a foul on me and then they scored the second goal. I think there was the key of the game.”

“Obviously the two goals that New England scored early put us in a difficult situation,” Pareja said. “

The Lions found some life in the 33rd minute, pulling a goal back. Nani sent a gorgeous cross to Mueller at the back post. Mueller picked up the loose ball in traffic between Turner and defender Henry Kessler, sending it back to Urso, who fired home for his first MLS playoff goal, making it 2-1.

Dike nearly freed himself up in traffic in a similar way to Mueller two minutes later but couldn’t bring it in. Rosell picked it up at the top of the area and fired over the bar.

The last chance of the half came in the 38th, when Rowe got a hand on a Buksa shot to parry it over the bar. New England took its 2-1 lead into the locker room.

Orlando had more first-half shots (6-5), while the Revs got more on target (3-2) and won more corners (3-1). The Lions held more possession (57.9%-42.1%) and were the more accurate passing team (86%-78%).

The Lions generated a chance out of the break in the 46th minute when the ball found its way to Nani on the left side. He tried to curl a shot to the back post but didn’t hit it right and it sailed well off target. Moments later, Rosell stole the ball in midfield and started the break, but Mueller’s cross into the area was between teammates and easily cut out. Nani then won a corner but the cross was a bit behind the attacking line and Carlos couldn’t do much with it.

Orlando kept coming. Mueller won a corner in the 57th minute and Nani sent a low pass that Pereyra fired on target, but it was deflected wide by the defense.

But just when it appeared Orlando was on the front foot, disaster struck in the 60th minute. Matt Polster brought the ball forward and Pereyra trailed, looking for a chance to nick it back as he often does. However, when the chance came and Polster showed him too much of the ball, the Uruguayan launched himself late and his studs caught Polster’s ankle instead of the ball. It was an obvious straight red and the Lions were suddenly down to 10 men with a half an hour to play.

“I know Mauro, and I know how much he will be hurt at this moment,” Pareja said after the match, not having yet spoken with his DP midfielder. “I know how he feels, but I back him up 100% all the time, knowing that [he] made a mistake.”

“Mauricio today got a red card. He has our support. I love this guy,” Urso said.

“We’re professionals and I think we have to learn and find a way and find our character and deal with all these things that are part of the game,” Pareja said of the red cards the last two games. “And certainly today was another moment where we we lost our head. I want to be responsible for all that. It’s something that cannot happen.”

The Lions continued to try to find the equalizer. Mueller tried to split two defenders in the box in the 64th minute. He was walled off and Chilowicz ignored his plea for a penalty.

The Revs didn’t attack much but looked for opportunities to kille the game, and Bou fired a long-range shot that Rowe could only fight off for a corner. New England took the corner short, passed it back to Bou and the whole sequence repeated, as the Orlando keeper couldn’t do much but parry the shots away.

After the second corner, Buksa tried to dispossess Rowe on a passing sequence at the back and clobbered the keeper. Despite showing Dike a yellow card earlier for a play with less contact, Chilowicz kept his card in his pocket. Buksa was already on a yellow and the referee opted not to even up the two teams’ manpower on the pitch with a curious decision.

Orlando finally got its chance to level it in the 73rd when Dike was run over from behind inside the area. Chilowicz didn’t hesitate to point to the spot and Nani stepped up to take it. After going right twice last week against Sean Johnson — scoring once and seeing the other stopped on a great save — the captain opted to go left, but with the same, slow, stutter-step run-up. Turner guessed correctly and Nani didn’t get his shot far enough into the corner. Turner made the save and that seemed like the final nail in the coffin, although that was yet to come.

“Sometimes you should do better and then you must accept it was not your best. And today I couldn’t take the penalty,” Nani said. “We didn’t know what’s gonna happen at the end but I feel sorry for my teammates because the dream finishes right there.”

“Nani made a mistake. He don’t score the penalty, [but] he’s our leader. We believe in him,” said Urso.

Nani is five for 10 in penalties, including making an important one last week and against LAFC in the MLS is Back Tournament.

“Nani has had the personality. He has had the responsibility,” Pareja said. “There are always two, three people who are in charge of taking the PK. In that moment, he did it and we gave [him] the responsibility. It’s something that now obviously we may think that it should have been different…but Nani had the confidence from everybody.”

The Lions went to a three-man back line, sending Benji Michel and Tesho Akindele on to try to chase the game and, like any high-risk strategy might, it ended up costing them. After Akindele got under a free header on a free kick that might have tied the match, the Revs put it away.

With more space at the back, Gil took the ball down the left side, waited for a run, and sprung Bou through the defense. The New England DP slotted a shot right through Rowe’s legs to make it 3-1 in the 86th minute.

Orlando fashioned a couple of set pieces but couldn’t do much with them and the clock ran out on the Lions’ 2020 season.

The Lions out-shot New England (11-9) but the Revs got more on goal (6-3). Orlando had more corners (6-5), held more possession (61.2%-38.8%) and, passed more accurately (86%-77%).

“I’m very proud of this group. I’m very proud of the players,” Pareja said of his 2020 team. “Today people have seen us, the people recognize this group, the people know that they are good competitors and we’re proud of that.”

“I’m very proud of the team, of my teammates,” Nani said. “We talked a couple minutes ago. We had a team who’ve been working so hard, who’ve been improving so much, and everyone could see it on the field. In one season you can see so much difference on each player. And I’m so, so happy for what this team gave me. They made me believe we could win this league. They made me believe I could win a league again. Even at my age.”

Orlando City’s season is over. It doesn’t feel good right now, but it was a great season and any of us would have taken this if offered at the start of the year.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Opinion

Likes and Dislikes from this Week of Orlando City’s Preseason

Orlando City’s third week of preparation had some good things and some not so good things.

Published

16 hours ago

on

January 31, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

We have another week of Orlando City’s preseason in the books, and while it seems hard to believe, it’s been almost three weeks since the Lions got back in the lab and started preparing for the 2025 campaign. There have been lots of new talking points this week too, and its been a bit of a mixed bag. Let’s have a look at some of the good and bad from this past week.

Likes

Victory (Kind of) vs. Atletico Mineiro

Okay, so it technically wasn’t a victory since the game ended in a scoreless draw. The Lions did get the job done from the penalty spot though, as they won the shootout 6-5 to claim whatever the Inter&Co Trophy is. More important than the result though, was the fact that OCSC played pretty well. Orlando created a good amount of opportunities, but as seems to be the fatal flaw with this team, the finishing was definitely on the rusty side. It was perhaps unlucky that some of the Lions’ best chances fell to youngsters, but the good news is that the chances were being created. It was a positive first showing that the team can hopefully build on.

Back in the U.S. Open Cup

A lot of fans, myself included, had big issues with the Lions not being a participant in the U.S. Open Cup last year. It’s a tournament that is near and dear to a lot of Orlando fans, given that OCSC has won the whole damn thing once, had other special moments like The Running of the Wall, and has generally made decent runs in the competition. It was welcome news to hear that Orlando will be back in the competition this year, along with 15 other MLS teams that will enter the competition during the Round of 32. The tournament has a charm and a special place in my heart, and it’s exactly where the Lions should be.

Two Games, Two Clean Sheets

Nic Josey has gone on the record stating that Orlando City will need strong, steady performances from its defense if the team wants to avoid a slow start to the season like we saw in 2024. It’s only preseason, and we shouldn’t get too carried away, but so far so good, as the Lions have recorded a clean sheet in each of their two preseason games. Whether that will mean a damn thing once the regular season starts is anyone’s guess, but it’s a hell of a lot better than giving up buckets of goals in the preseason.

Dislikes

Wilder Cartagena’s Injury

We still don’t have official confirmation on the injury that Wilder Cartagena suffered during Saturday’s preseason match, but all the reports point to an Achilles Tendon injury, with ESPN’s Diego Montalvan going as far to say that he’ll be undergoing surgery. If that proves to be the case then it’s a doomsday scenario indeed for the Lions, as Cartagena could miss anywhere from six months to a whole year. He’s proven to be a vital part of what makes Orlando City tick, and replacing him is going to be far from an easy task.

Summer Fixture Frenzy

Along with the U.S. Open Cup, the Lions will once again be participating in Leagues Cup, and that’s presented them with a hellish slate of matches to finish out the summer. In a stretch from mid-July to mid-August OCSC will play a positively hellish eight games in 29 days, with that number potentially rising even higher if the club goes deep in the Open Cup (unless the two competitions decide to play nice and work with each other on scheduling). Not to mention that six of those eight games will take place at home in the punishing Florida heat and humidity. Either some guys are going to need to get signed, the kids are going to get some good experience, or something is going to give. Speaking of…

The Continued Wait for Reinforcements

Orlando City has made a couple signings in the last two weeks, with the most notable of those being winger Nicolas Rodriguez, with goalkeeper Carlos Mercado getting re-signed on Thursday. That’s a start, but Cartagena needs to be replaced, Jack Lynn’s retirement and Duncan McGuire’s shoulder injury mean the striker corps is dangerously thin, and the team could use help with depth at midfield and fullback. That’s a hell of a lot of business that needs to get done, and there hasn’t been much in the way of substantive chatter in the transfer rumor mill lately. The sooner signings are made, the more time they have to get integrated with their new surroundings before the season starts, but time is fast running out for that to happen.

There you have it folks. Life is full of peaks and valleys, and this week for Orlando City was a good reflection of that. What things jumped out to you this week, and what are you hoping to see as we move into the fourth week of preseason? Be sure to have your say down in the comments. Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/31/25

Orlando Pride transfer Adriana for record fee, Orlando City re-signs Carlos Mercado, new Leagues Cup format revealed, and more.

Published

20 hours ago

on

January 31, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! Today ends the first month of 2025 and my resolutions are mostly intact. I’d like to walk a bit more in the afternoons than I currently am, but I’ll take what I can get. I don’t have too many plans lined up this weekend beyond working, catching some sports, and board games with friends. But for now, let’s dive into today’s links from around the soccer world.

Adriana Transferred For Orlando Pride Record Fee

The Orlando Pride have transferred Adriana to Al Qadsiah FC in the Saudi Women’s Premier League for a club record fee of reportedly $500,000. Adriana requested the move after two seasons with the Pride since joining in January of 2023. The versatile attacker recorded 12 goals and five assists in 46 regular-season appearances with the Pride. This move opens up an opportunity for more minutes for the team’s young players, and that transfer fee should help improve the Pride’s roster.

Carlos Mercado Re-Signs With Orlando City

Orlando City signed goalkeeper Carlos Mercado to a new contract through the upcoming 2025 season, with club options for 2026 and 2027. The club declined the option on his previous contract following the 2024 season, but he’s back in purple after Mason Stajduhar’s trade to Real Salt Lake. The 25-year-old will likely feature as Orlando City B’s starting goalkeeper this season, with Javier Otero backing up Pedro Gallese on the first team. Mercado started 20 games for the Young Lions last season, so he has some playing time and familiarity with the team under his belt ahead of the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro season.

Leagues Cup Reveals New Format for 2025

Orlando City was one of only 18 MLS clubs to qualify for this summer’s Leagues Cup and we now know what the new format for the tournament will be. The group stage is gone and in its place is a convoluted first phase that can be simplified as there being six sets of six teams —three from MLS and three from Liga MX. Each team will play one match against the three teams from the opposing league, and then only the top four teams overall from each league will advance to the quarterfinals. This means that there will be MLS vs. Liga MX matchups every game until possibly the semifinals. One rule that stuck around though is that there will still be a penalty shootout for an additional point if two teams draw.

NWSL Awards Franchise to Denver

The NWSL officially announced that the league’s 16th franchise will be in Denver. The new club will take the field in 2026 and is finalizing plans to build a stadium for the team. Rob Cohen, who founded the Denver Sports Commission to help bring major sporting events to the city, will serve as the club’s controlling owner and governor, while Mellody Hobson will be the alternate governor. Denver’s team doesn’t have a name, colors, or a logo just yet, but I think anything other than DEN Nation FC would be a good idea.

Free Kicks

  • Former Pride player Emily van Egmond joined Birmingham City on a two-and-a-half-year contract after three years with the San Diego Wave. Birmingham is at the top of the Women’s Championship in a tight race for promotion to the Women’s Super League.
  • Manuel Cocca, whose contract with Orlando City B expired after last season, has joined Arsenal de Sarandi in Argentina’s second division.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

Continue Reading

Opinion

Orlando City’s Lack of Off-Season Signings Starting to Become a Concern

The Lions’ roster hasn’t gotten any bigger in the last few weeks, so it’s understandable if fans are getting a bit antsy.

Published

2 days ago

on

January 30, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Three weeks ago I wrote that there was no reason to panic about Orlando City’s lack of off-season signings. It was early in January, and the club typically does a lot of its business throughout the first month of the year. Since then, the club signed Nicolas Rodriguez, but the Lions also traded Mason Stajduhar, and forward Jack Lynn retired. That is more subtraction than addition for a team looking to make it to the next level. Is it now time to panic?

The departure of Stajduhar hits Orlando City supporters in the feels given how long he was with the club, but one may assume the coaches have seen enough from Javier Otero to be confident in his ability to back up Pedro Gallese. The club still needs to bring in another keeper [Editor’s note: this story was written prior to the club signing Carlos Mercado this morning], but Stajduhar’s departure isn’t as big of a problem as it might first seem.

We don’t know how long Duncan McGuire will be unavailable once the season starts. Even if he’s back sooner than expected, Orlando City will still be lacking at the striker position. Ramiro Enrique has proven he can be a starter, but with Jack Lynn’s departure, there isn’t anyone behind him. While Luis Muriel is technically a striker, he tends to play further back in a facilitator role rather than as an actual No. 9. We haven’t seen any transfer moves for a new striker.

The Lions got a big influx of cash, thanks to the Facundo Torres deal. Replacing the goal production of Orlando City’s all-time leading goal scorer is a priority. So far, the club has brought in Rodriguez as an MLS U22 Initiative player. Despite the similarities between the two, Rodriguez is not a replacement for Torres. It is unrealistic to expect the young man to score double-digit goals his first year in MLS.

I’m not even worried about the attacking midfield. As I mentioned above, Muriel is best as a facilitator, Martin Ojeda is now wearing the No. 10 jersey, and Ivan Angulo can play on either side. It’s Torres’ goal contributions I’m worried about missing. Orlando City needs to replace that production sooner rather than later or another slow start seems certain.

I’m not going to address the Wilder Cartagena injury until we know more, but that is also potentially very bad news. That brings us to today. The team is already deep into its preseason trip to Mexico. This is the trip that in the past has been the time when the team truly bonds. Any players brought in at this point will obviously miss that valuable time.

Additionally, unless a signing is someone who has already played in MLS — which is incredibly rare for this front office — it is going to take them time to adapt to the league as well as the club and their new teammates. That brings us back to the real potential for another slow start to the season.

When you have roster turnover, the idea is to bring in players that are better than the players that departed. We know that the ownership is serious about winning. The 2022 Open Cup victory and the Orlando Pride’s two 2024 trophies are a testament to that. Now, it’s time to see that commitment with some substantial signings for City. In some ways, I feel the club has left it a little late, but I’ll take what I can get at this point.

I’m not saying it’s time to panic — though I won’t tell you not to do so — but I’m definitely getting a bit concerned. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

Continue Reading

Trending