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

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4 years ago

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Well, I don’t think that went the way any of us were hoping it would. Orlando City had an excellent first half but a lapse of concentration and house of horrors error saw the Lions fighting an uphill battle all night long. The question now is, how did the men in purple grade individually in Orlando City’s 4-2 home loss to LAFC?

Let’s have a look at my player grades and Man of the Match from a night to forget for the good guys.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 5 — It was a pretty quiet game from El Pulpo. Gallese passed at a 100% rate on his 13 attempts, which was good, but he was unable to do anything about any of the four LAFC goals, finishing with zero saves on LAFC’s four shots on target. The first two he was completely helpless on, and he might have gotten a bit stranded at his near post on Brian Rodriguez’s opener for the visitors, but it’s hard to be too picky considering the defensive breakdowns in other areas. He’ll have wished he did better on Ilie Sanchez’s go-ahead goal, since it went in fairly close to him, but he didn’t see it until late as it came through a mass of bodies. Overall, a tough night for Orlando City’s netminder.

D, Joao Moutinho, 7 — This was probably one of Moutinho’s better games of recent memory. He was menacing going forward and popped up in the attack often, usually to good effect. He completed a dribble, passed at a 77% rate, made two tackles, three interceptions, a clearance, a blocked shot, and won an aerial duel. His 92 touches led the team and he also did very well to move into unoccupied space at the back post and blast his shot low into the far corner for his goal. He loses points for failing to track Rodriguez into the box on the opening goal, but it was a mostly good night for him. He led the team in shots (4) and tied for the team’s most shots on target (2), creating one scoring chance.

D, Antonio Carlos, N/A — It was not good to see Carlos go down after only 15 minutes, and even worse to see him need a stretcher to be taken off the field. Hopefully the injury is nothing more than a nasty hyperextension but only time will tell. The Brazilian was playing pretty well up until he went down, and it might not be an accident that Orlando shipped an unusually high amount of goals in a game played mostly without him. Before going off, Carlos completed all 11 of his pass attempts.

D, Robin Jansson, 6 — It was a mixed bag from Jansson. He did some really good things like winning two aerial duels and recording one tackle, two interceptions, and a clearance, passing at a 91% clip, and getting forward into the attack a couple times. Nine of his 11 long balls were accurate. Unfortunately, he and Moutinho failed to communicate in time to track Rodriguez on the first goal. It wasn’t a bad game from the Swede, but it wasn’t his best either.

D, Ruan, 5 — The good things Ruan did were recording a tackle, an interception, and a clearance, and completing a dribble. The bad is the hesitation on Carlos Vela’s ball that led to the first goal and the monstrously ill-advised back pass that gifted LAFC its second goal. He seemed to be trying to head it back for Gallese to collect, but he was in traffic and it was horribly misjudged, and the visitors couldn’t have asked for anything easier. That he was subbed out in favor of Kyle Smith while Orlando City was chasing the game was likely half due to tired legs and half due to a performance that he’ll want to put in the rearview mirror.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6 — At 89%, Araujo passed the ball well, creating two scoring chances and completing two of his four long balls, and defensively he also made two tackles. He picked up a completely needless fourth yellow card of the season for getting in Francisco Ginella’s face after he was deemed to have fouled his fellow Uruguayan, and he took umbrage with the decision. The youngster also had a couple of bad giveaways in the midfield on a night where LAFC looked dangerous on the counter to begin with.

MF, Junior Urso, 5.5 — This score maybe feels a little harsh, but the Bear’s influence on proceedings faded badly after halftime. He recorded a tackle and an interception and passed at 89% on the night. He also attempted one shot that didn’t hit the target and drew five opposition fouls, but his second half display contrasted badly with what he was able to do in the first period. Like the rest of Orlando City, he wasn’t able to get involved offensively as much during the second 45 minutes, and he also struggled to slow LAFC in transition moments.

MF, Facundo Torres, 6.5 — Torres looked lively out there, and was unlucky to not get an assist on an absolutely beautiful run of first-half play. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to hold or curl his run long enough to beat the offside trap. Still, he led the Lions with three successful dribbles, had one tackle and one interception, created two scoring chances, completed one of his two long balls, and passed at an 87% rate. He drew three fouls on LAFC with his quick movement, and all three could have been yellow cards. He looks more and more comfortable every week.

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 7 — Pererya’s pass over the top to Ercan Kara for Orlando’s opening goal was perfection. The vision to see it, the weight and accuracy to put the ball exactly where it needed to be…chef’s kiss. He then did just as well to pick out Moutinho and deliver the ball to him for Orlando’s second goal, and he had a hugely influential first half. Like most everyone else, his second half was less effective but he still finished with four chances created, one dribble, two tackles, and two assists (one primary, one secondary). He was accurate on four of six long balls. The biggest knock on his performance is that he struggled to connect with teammates in the attacking half after halftime.

MF, Alexandre Pato, 7.5 (MotM) — Man, Pato is just different gravy. He looked dangerous from the moment the ball was kicked. He combined well with Torres and Kara on the goal that was chalked out for offside and he continues to see passing lanes and runs that no one else on the field does. His volleyed goal was supremely difficult to pull off, yet he made it look easy. He waited for the ball to drop, kept his knee over it without leaning back, and fired it low into the corner where Maxime Crepeau couldn’t reach it. He was heavily involved aside from his goal with two successful dribbles, two chances created, a tackle, and he even won an aerial duel. He maybe could have done better with a late header that he didn’t place far enough away from Crepeau late, and his passing rate of 53.9% needs to be better, but he was still the Lions’ best performer on the night.

F, Ercan Kara, 7 — It was a good night from Kara. He’s still yet to open his scoring account but his awareness to head the ball back across goal for Pato to volley home — for his second MLS assist — was excellent and the quality of the header itself was also top notch. His dummy for the offside goal was very clever, and he too looks to be meshing better in the attack with every passing game. He was unlucky not to grab a late equalizer for the Lions but he couldn’t generate enough power on a well-placed header and was unable to get it past Crepeau. He had the second-most shots on the team, with three (one on frame), created a scoring chance, and it feels like a matter of time before he gets off the mark. He chipped in a pair of defensive clearances as well.

Substitutes

D, Rodrigo Schlegel (18’), 5.5 — Schlegel had a difficult task on the night, as he came in completely cold for the injured Carlos and was asked to deal with the high octane LAFC attack. For the most part, he did well. The Argentine led the team in tackles with three, won one aerial duel, recorded two interceptions, two clearances, and a block, and passed at a 95% rate. However, he got caught well up the pitch on the first LAFC goal and he could maybe have smacked the ball clear before Sanchez scored, but he didn’t, and then got picked by an LAFC player and was unable to fight through and get his body in the way. All in all, it was a typical hard-working shift from him but one he’ll want to improve upon.

D, Kyle Smith (72’) 6 — Smith had an interception, a tackle, and won an aerial duel in a little over 15 minutes on the field. Overall, he didn’t impact the game much and he wasn’t able to add anything offensively, but the numbers back up that he was his usual solid self defensively.

F, Benji Michel (72’) 6 — Benji provided a bit more verticality to the Orlando attack after coming on, and was given long balls to run onto several times. He had a decent chance to shoot or pass on the left side of the goal shortly after coming on but a heavy touch meant that Orlando had to settle for a corner. He whistled a shot very close to the far post and made an absolutely lung-busting recovery run to make a slide tackle and prevent a chance for LAFC on the counter.

F, Tesho Akindele (83’) N/A — In a brief cameo, Tesho didn’t have a ton of influence on the game with only three touches of the ball. He did win an aerial duel and pressed hard from the front as usual.

F, Silvester van der Water (83’) N/A — Van der Water had 10 touches in his brief time on the field and his deflected cross very nearly resulted in a goal for Alexandre Pato.

That’s how we saw the individual performances in this one. Feel free to share your opinions down in the comments, and make sure to vote for the Man of the Match in the poll below.

Polling Closed

Player Votes
Joao Moutinho 12
Mauricio Pereyra 4
Ercan Kara 1
Alexandre Pato 39
Other (Shout them out in the comments) 0
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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/22/26

OCB falls to Philadelphia Union II, Orlando City linked to Santiago Gimenez, USMNT defeats Australia in World Cup, and more.

Published

9 minutes ago

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June 22, 2026

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Image of Matthew Belgodere of OCB firing a shot against Philadelphia Union II.
Image courtesy of Orlando City B / Justin Glatt

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida, and belated happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there. I checked out a couple of World Cup watch parties with friends up here in Chicago over the past week while staying busy at work. Besides that, I’ve been watching plenty of World Cup matches over the last few days. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

OCB Falls to Philadelphia Union II

Orlando City B fell 2-1 to Philadelphia Union II at Osceola County Stadium Sunday, ending its four-match winning streak. After a scoreless first half, Philadelphia took a 1-0 lead in the second half. Theo Reed added another for Philadelphia, increasing the lead to 2-0 . Bernardo Rhein pulled one back for the Young Lions with a goal in stoppage time, but it was not enough as Philadelphia held on for the three points and snapped its three-match winless streak. OCB will be back in action against Columbus Crew 2 Sunday at Osceola County Stadium.

Orlando City Linked with AC Milan Forward Santiago Gimenez

The latest transfer rumor links Orlando City with AC Milan forward Santiago Gimenez for a potential move to the club this summer. No official offer from the club has been made, but according to reports in Italy, Orlando City is prepared to offer a $30 million transfer fee for Gimenez for AC Milan to consider. AC Milan would be open to letting Gimenez leave the club if an appropriate offer arrives, as the club is reportedly set to pursue Paris Saint-Germain forward Goncalo Ramos.

USMNT Defeats Australia, Clinches Group

The U.S. Men’s National Team defeated Australia 2-0 at Lumen Field in Seattle Friday to win its second match in the group stage and advance to the knockout round in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Former Lion Alex Freeman played a full 90 minutes and scored his first World Cup goal. The Yanks took the lead from an own goal by Australia defender Cameron Burgess to take a 1-0 lead. Later in the first half, Freeman delivered a fantastic header that was initially ruled offside, though replay showed he was able to remain onside. After video review, the goal counted, extending the USMNT’s lead to 2-0, and the Yanks saw it out from there. The Americans held on to secure two consecutive wins in a World Cup for the first time since 1930, have clinched the top of Group D, and will face a third-place team in the Round of 32. The USMNT will face Turkey Thursday in its final group stage match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA. After Friday’s match, midfielder Tyler Adams offered his perspective on Freeman’s goal.

World Cup Roundup

On Friday, Paraguay beat Turkey 1-0 to stay alive while eliminating its opponents from advancing to the knockout round. Orlando City midfielder Braian Ojeda was on Paraguay’s bench but did not play for the second straight game. Morocco defeated Scotland 1-0, and Matheus Cunha scored twice for Brazil in a 3-0 win over Haiti. On Saturday, the Netherlands crushed Sweden 5-1, Germany overturned a 1-0 deficit to defeat Ivory Coast 2-1, and Japan beat Tunisia 4-0. Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room tied the modern FIFA World Cup saves record in regulation with former USMNT goalkeeper Tim Howard, making 15 saves in a scoreless draw against Ecuador and securing his country’s first-ever point in a World Cup match. On Sunday, Lamine Yamal started and scored his first World Cup goal for Spain in a 4-0 win against Saudi Arabia. Belgium and Iran played to a scoreless draw, Uruguay and Cape Verde settled for a 2-2 draw, and Egypt came from behind to beat New Zealand 3-1 in the late game. Today’s matches will feature Argentina facing Austria, France taking on Iraq, Norway battling Senegal, and Jordan playing Algeria.

Latest MLS Transfer News

While Major League Soccer is on break for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a few clubs have been busy finalizing moves ahead of the summer transfer window opening next month. Inter Miami is reportedly finalizing a deal to sign Fricio Caicedo.

Miami reportedly has reached a verbal agreement with former Manchester United midfielder Casemiro, although it has reportedly not yet reached a deal with the Galaxy for his Discorvery Rights.

Lastly, Robert Lewandowski has reportedly reached an agreement to join the Chicago Fire, with an announcement confirming the move is expected soon following his departure from FC Barcelona last month.

Free Kicks

  • Check out this shoutout from Orlando City on its social media pages to all the dads on the team for Father’s Day.
  • The English Premier League released its full schedule for all its clubs for the upcoming 2026-2027 season. The new season will kick off Aug. 21, with league champions Arsenal hosting Coventry City.
  • Ipswich Town is reportedly close to finalizing an agreement with RC Strasbourg manager Gary O’Neil to become the club’s new manager.

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

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Orlando City

Flashback Friday: June 18, 2022 vs. Houston Dynamo

Let’s relive a yellow-card filled match with the Dynamo that took place just over four years ago.

Published

3 days ago

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June 19, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The main event for today is, of course, the United States Men’s National Team’s second game of group play against Australia this afternoon. I’ll be fortunate enough to take that game in live, and I’ll probably report back on it during Monday’s subscriber newsletter, so keep an eye out for that if you’re signed up! If you’re not, you can do that here (the newsletter is a TAM or DP level perk).

In the meantime though, let’s continue our reminiscence on some memorable Orlando City games from years gone by. Last week we relived a shutout win over the Colorado Rapids that took place a little over two years ago, and today we’ll be going a little farther into the archives to June 18, 2022 and a home match against the Houston Dynamo.

The Lions were in slightly uneven form going into the match. They were on a three-game winless run (0-1-2) in league play, a four-game winless run in all competitions (0-1-3 with a shootout win after a U.S. Open Cup draw against Inter Miami), and hadn’t picked up three points in just over a month. Changing that wasn’t going to be the easiest task due to Rodrigo Schlegel being unavailable for selection due to a suspension for yellow card accumulation.

That meant that Oscar Pareja’s team consisted of Pedro Gallese in goal; Joao Moutinho, Robin Jansson, Kyle Smith, and Ruan in defense; Cesar Araujo and Junior Urso in the double pivot; Jake Mulraney, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres in attacking midfield; and Ercan Kara leading the line.

OCSC got off to a lively start and created its first chance after just two minutes, when Moutinho sent in a cross for Mulraney, whose effort was blocked. Kara sent a header straight at Houston goalkeeper Steve Clark shortly afterward, before Corey Baird sent a shot of his own into Gallese’s chest four minutes later.

Jansson then picked up a yellow for dissent in the 14th minute, which meant he’d miss the next game due to yellow card accumulation. The Dynamo seemingly took inspiration from his booking, as Robert Avila, Adam Lundqvist, and Matias Vera all picked up yellows of their own in the space of the next seven minutes.

Orlando finally provided a non-discipline-related event in the 25th minute, when it broke the deadlock. Pereyra played a delightful stabbed ball over the top of the defense with his first touch, which fell perfectly into the path of an onrushing Torres. He then used his own first touch to play the ball hard and low across the top of the six-yard box, where Kara was on hand to put it home from close range.

The next notable moment came in the form of — you guessed it — another yellow card, as Zeca picked up Houston’s fourth of the game in just the 32nd minute. Orlando responded by Mulraney carving out a good chance for Torres four minutes later, but his effort was blocked by defender Tim Parker. Pereyra then cut Orlando’s yellow card deficit in half in the 39th minute, as he fouled Baird and paid the price.

The closing moments of the half saw a flurry of activity. Pereyra got behind the defense in the 44th minute but could only send his shot directly at Clark. Just as the clock struck 45 minutes, the Lions thought they had a penalty after the ball hit Avila on the arm, but video review rightfully changed the call to a free kick on the edge of the box. Kara nearly scored as he was somewhat surprisingly the man to take the ensuing set piece, but Clark once again made a save to keep his team in the game.

Oh, and Teenage Hadebe picked up a yellow card in the 45th minute.

At halftime, the Lions boasted more possession (52.9%-47.1%), shots (9-3), and shots on goal (4-1), but just had the 1-0 lead to show for it. The Dynamo had a vastly superior lead in yellow cards (5-2).

Houston made a couple of changes at halftime, with Darwin Quintero coming on for Avila, and Daniel Steres coming on for Parker, but Orlando started the second half as hot as it had finished the first.

Clark saved from Urso in the 48th minute after the midfielder was set up well by Torres, but the game then entered a bit of a lull as both teams tried to adjust to the Dynamo substitutions. Fortunately for Orlando, things sprang back into life in the 57th minute. Moutinho put a ball into the box that Mulraney flicked on, and while Hadebe tried to clear it, he could only get it as far as Pereyra. The captain lashed the ball on the half-volley with his left foot, and it took the slightest of deflections off Kara and ended up in the net for the Austrian’s second of the night.

It took Houston less than a minute to cut Orlando’s 2-0 lead in half, though. Zeca sent a dangerous ball into the box from the right wing, and Carlos Ferreira was able to beat Smith to it. He stuck a great header into the far corner beyond a fully stretched Gallese, and the Dynamo had life at 2-1.

The Lions nearly got their own response just a minute after conceding, but Kara’s snapshot attempt at the top of the six-yard box flashed just wide, denying the big striker a hat trick.

The 64th minute saw Gallese come off his line to try to clear the danger during a Dynamo break, but he got none of the ball and all of Ferreira. Fortunately, referee Rosendo Mendoza was content to give El Pulpo a yellow card and the Lions managed to keep all 11 men on the field.

Pareja made a series of changes to try to keep Orlando fresh and in control, but Houston kept carving out good chances. The Dynamo hit the post with the free kick that was awarded for Gallese’s foul, and substitute Tyler Pasher forced El Pulpo into saves in the 72nd and 76th minutes to preserve OCSC’s slim advantage.

The 87th minute had hearts in mouths for the Orlando City faithful, as Thorleifur Ulfarsson went down in the box under pressure from Smith, and there were immediately questions about a foul. The Accountant was proven innocent by the replays though, and when Mendoza went to his pocket it was to show Ulfarsson a yellow card for simulation.

Orlando had a chance to put the game to bed as the clock ticked into the 90th minute, but Benji Michel put his shot over the bar from about seven yards away, and it looked to be a hugely consequential miss when Quintero put the ball into the net for Houston in the final minute of added time. The assistant referee rightfully pulled the play back for offside though, and the Lions managed to escape with a welcome three points.

The final stats saw Houston with the edge in possession (53.8%-46.2%) but the Lions with an edge in shots (18-13), shots on target (6-5), and duels won (52-45). Perhaps most crucially, the Dynamo finished with a whopping six yellow cards to Orlando’s pitiful (by comparison) three.

Ryan Smith handled our Player Grades for this one, and he gave Pereyra the Man of the Match nod with a grade of 8 out of 10. Other high earners were Kara with a 7.5, and Gallese and Torres, who each received a 7.

That’ll do it for today’s glimpse into the past. I’ll see you right back here next Friday for another trip down memory lane. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/19/26

USMNT takes on Australia today, Christian Pulisic’s availability still in question, Canada wins big, and more.

Published

3 days ago

on

June 19, 2026

By

Image of Maxime Crepeau taking a goal kick against Atlanta.
Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Happy Friday! Last Friday, we all got to enjoy the U.S. kicking off its World Cup campaign with an emphatic win. Hopefully, the Yanks can replicate that performance in today’s game. It should be a fun start to a weekend filled with soccer, including an Orlando City B home game on Sunday. If the soccer bug has bitten you this month, make sure to go out and support the Young Lions!

USMNT Hosts Australia Today in World Cup

The United States Men’s National Team returns to action this afternoon with a match against Australia in Seattle — the team’s second game of this year’s World Cup. Both teams won their first games of the tournament, with the U.S. dominating Paraguay 4-1 and Australia beating Turkiye 2-0. American forward Folarin Balogun scored a brace in that win and the U.S. will look to keep the attacking momentum flowing against a formidable Australian defense. A win tonight by either side would go a long way towards winning Group D, which would notably face one of the third-place teams to start the knockout stage.

Christian Pulisic’s Availability Up in the Air

It’s still unclear if American star Christian Pulisic will play for the USMNT today as he works his way back from injury. The 27-year-old notched an assist in the win against Paraguay but had to exit at halftime after aggravating a calf injury picked up in training. Sebastian Berhalter came on for him in that match, but it will be interesting to see if USMNT Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino opts for Giovanni Reyna or Tim Weah instead. Pochettino did state that he’ll be available for the game against Turkiye if he doesn’t play today, so that’s good at least.

Canada Cruises to Big Win Over Qatar

Orlando City goalkeeper Maxine Crepeau started in goal but had little to do in Canada’s 6-0 win over Qatar, which was its first-ever win at a World Cup. Former Lion Cyle Larin got the scoring started for Canada in the 16th minute with his second goal of the tournament and Jonathan David scored a hat trick. Qatar was reduced to 10 men when Homam Al-Amin was shown a straight red in the 32nd minute, and then Assim Madibo was sent off early in the second half for a tackle that resulted in a gruesome leg injury to Ismael Kone. The Canadian midfielder was stretchered off, and his replacement, Nathan Saliba, scored from a free kick and raised Kone’s shirt in celebration. Canada now sits atop Group B with a better goal differential than Switzerland, meaning it will win the group with a win or draw against the Swiss on Wednesday.

Keeping Up With the World Cup

As for the other Group B game, Switzerland beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 4-1 by scoring four times in the second half after the hydration break. Substitute Johan Manzambi scored twice, but Bosnia’s consolation goal from Ermin Mahmic could play a role in goal-differential tiebreakers. In Group A, South Africa kept its hopes alive thanks to a late penalty that Teboho Mokoena converted in a 1-1 draw against Czechia.

Along with the U.S. game, today’s action includes Morocco taking on Scotland and Brazil playing against Haiti in Group C. We’ll also get to see if Orlando City midfielder Braian Ojeda takes the field when Paraguay faces Turkiye late tonight.

Free Kicks

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

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