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Orlando City vs. Toronto FC: Final Score 1-1 as Lions Come From Behind to Earn Road Point

Nani’s penalty wasn’t pretty but it went in and Orlando City finished the season unbeaten in three matches against Toronto.

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4 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Old nemesis Jozy Altidore came off the bench and played the hometown hero by giving Toronto FC a second-half lead. But Benji Michel won a penalty (after video review) and Nani did just enough to get his spot kick over the line as the Lions drew the Reds 1-1 at BMO Field. It was Toronto’s first home match in front of its own fans in more than a year. Still, Orlando City (6-3-4, 22 points) finished the season unbeaten in three matches against Toronto FC (2-8-3, 9 points) with two wins and a draw in the season series.

Orlando still has never won in Toronto but the draw was the team’s second straight in the Canadian city.

“I think it was a good reaction from our players today against a good rival who was playing at home again after a long time,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “I know their emotions were high and it was not easy to handle players with that energy. Just going on the road and take a point, you should be happy — happier if we would have scored in the couple of options we had at the end. ”

Pareja’s lineup welcomed back starting goalkeeper Pedro Gallese and left back Joao Moutinho, who lined up alongside Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Kyle Smith. Sebas Mendez got his first start since he left for Copa America in the central midfield with Junior Urso. Benji Michel and Mauricio Pereyra connected the attack to Nani and Tesho Akindele up top. Silvester van der Water didn’t make the trip after picking up a knock on Thursday.

Former Lion Dom Dwyer started up top for Toronto FC.

The Lions played a sloppy first half in their own end, with miscommunication and poor passes leading to possession in the attacking half for Toronto. The Reds failed to capitalize on an early miscommunication on defense between Smith and Jansson when Alejandro Pozuelo fired right at Gallese in the fourth minute. Seconds later, another turnover led to a chip from Yeferson Soteldo into the area that Gallese caught.

Three minutes later, the Reds sent a ball into the box for Dwyer that was cut out and on the recycle, there was a nervy moment when Mendez tried to clear and hit a teammate. Pozuelo fired off target in the eighth minute as Toronto kept the early pressure on.

Orlando’s first opportunity to score came in the 11th minute off a handball by Marky Delgado. Nani took the free kick from distance on the left side and smashed a shot just wide of the near post.

Seconds after the miss, Mendez was stepped on accidentally by Smith and had to be subbed off. It was the second case of friendly fire for the Ecuadorian, who had kicked Michel early in the match trying to line up a shot. Andres Perea came into the match for Mendez officially in the 14th minute.

“Things happened in the first half that obviously made us change some plans,” Pareja said, referring to the unexpected lineup change. “Sometimes one individual changes many connections and the sequence — sometimes you have to modify those. But I think the guys did a good job in that part, just adapting to the situation.”

In the 18th minute, Gallese did well to get off his line and cut off a cross intended for Dwyer on the doorstep. Auro Jr. fired in the 24th minute but it was no trouble for El Pulpo.

A turnover by Urso in the midfield led to a Pozuelo shot that sailed over the net in the 28th minute as the Lions continued to give the ball away cheaply. Urso gave it away again in the 35th minute and ignited a 3-v-1 break for Toronto. Dwyer carried into the box, changed direction, and tried to round a defender, but the touch was a bit heavy and Gallese scrambled off his line to jump on the ball before the former Lion could take a shot.

Pereyra served Nani a great square ball across the top of the six in the 41st minute, but Auro Jr. made a sliding block to force a corner. The Lions took the ensuing corner short and cycled it around the top of the box to Nani, who fired a shot right at Alex Bono in the 42nd.

Toronto fashioned a couple more chances, with Soteldo fizzing a shot wide and Michael Bradley sending a cross in that was just inches too high for Tusaba Endoh to head home in the 44th minute.

Each team had a decent chance late that was wiped out by an offside call and the teams went to the break deadlocked at 0-0. The Lions seemed fortunate to be even at the half, with Toronto creating more danger but not being clinical enough with its chances.

The Reds out-shot the Lions 5-4 (2-1 on target), and held slim advantages in possession (50.3%-49.7%) and passing accuracy (84.4%-84.3%). Orlando had more corners (2-1).

Chris Mueller came on for Akindele at the break. He was able to provide energy and a bit more of an outlet for Smith on the right.

“With Soteldo on the left, in the first half we were missing some company for Kyle,” Pareja said. “He was stretching the field and the field was getting too wide there. But we corrected in the second half, bringing (in) Chris created longer sequences for us and refreshed a little bit more the defensive side. It helped us. We had more energy to take the ball back.”

Just after the break, Perea fired a shot right at Bono in the first look of the second half.

Moments later, Soteldo fired a free kick wide of goal from a dangerous position just outside the penalty area.

Smith got forward in a promising attack in the 56th minute but fired a shot right at Bono, with seemingly better options available.

Soteldo put another shot over the bar in the 57th minute, just before Orlando City fashioned its most dangerous threat of the match to that point.

Michel worked the ball into the area and sent it in front for Mueller. Justin Morrow got a foot on the ball and sent it off the left post before it ricocheted back to Bono.

Altidore came on for Dwyer in the 64th minute and it took him only eight minutes to make an impact. Smith was left to cover two players in an overload situation on Toronto’s left side (Orlando’s right) and Morrow sent a cross into the box. Jansson left Moutinho to deal with Altidore in front and the big striker just overpowered him and smashed a header through Gallese for the opener in the 72nd minute.

Smith did a solid job defending Soteldo all night and it ended up being a second player down that side that did the damage. The veteran fullback took responsibility for not switching quicker, though it would have been difficult for him to have had an effect on the play while keeping an eye on Toronto’s newest Designated Player.

“I was worried about (Soteldo) because, you know, he’s very tricky,” Smith said. “So, I was late on the switch and then the (Morrow) puts in his 2-v-1, but I should switch quicker. They got a cross in and Altidore is a big guy, so he finished it.”

“When we conceded the goal, obviously the team was a bit down,” Nani said. “But we knew we had to come back on our feet and (have) a strong mentality to get back in the game and try to score our goal, and we did well.”

Just a minute after Toronto took the lead, the game changed. Michel went forward after a long ball forward and collided with Bono in the box. The foul was initially given Toronto’s way but Michel had been trying to avoid Bono after getting to the spot first. Referee Marcos de Oliveira went to look at the replay and awarded a penalty to Orlando.

Nani stepped up to the spot, took a stutter step in his approach and smashed a ball more or less toward the middle of goal. Bono appeared to leave his line early and got a hand to the shot but it had too much power on it and it still found its way in for the tying goal in the 77th minute.

“That’s why I kicked a little bit in the middle, and I had to change a little bit at the last second,” Nani said, of seeing Bono leave his line early. “But the most important (thing) is the ball got in the goal and we scored.”

It was Nani’s seventh goal of the season to go along with his three assists in just 11 games (10 starts).

Orlando had some chances down the stretch to go on and win the game. Nani crushed a shot on target in the 79th but hit it right at Bono. A ball into the box in the 89th minute bounced perfectly for Perea, who got his head on it but pushed his shot wide. Auro Jr. did just enough to bother Perea on the play.

Ultimately, that was the last truly good look for either side and after five minutes of stoppage time that grew into more than six, the game came to an end in a 1-1 stalemate.

Orlando finished with more shots (10-9), shots on target (5-3), and corners (3-1). Toronto held more possession (51.4%-48.6%) and passed more accurately (84.9%-82.9%).

“I think it’s a fair result because both teams played well,” Nani said.

The Lions return home next for a Thursday night matchup against the Philadelphia Union.

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Orlando City

Orlando City Relies on Starters More Than Any Other MLS Team

An analysis of Óscar Pareja’s early lineup choices and substitution patterns and how that compares to the 2024 season.

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2 hours ago

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April 3, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Legendary swordsman Inigo Montoya, a man who is not lefthanded, once opened a conversation by asking the Dread Pirate Roberts if, by any chance, he had six fingers on his right hand. Nobody will need to prepare to die by the end of this column, but I will ask a similar question: I don’t mean to pry, but did you by any chance happen to realize that we are already more than one-sixth of the way through the MLS regular season? Six fingers, one-sixth of the season…close enough. Let’s go.

Time flies when you are having fun, and somehow Orlando City has already played 540 minutes of MLS soccer this season. I consider 500 minutes played to be a cutoff amount when looking at player and lineup performance, and with the conclusion of the most recent game in Los Angeles, the team has now surpassed that 500-minute threshold.

In looking at the opening 540 minutes, I was surprised to see how much continuity I found in the minutes played, considering how many injuries the Lions have had to work around during these first six games. In just the first six games, Orlando City has already had full games missed due to injury by César Araujo (1), David Brekalo (2), Robin Jansson (2), Duncan McGuire (3) and Nico Rodriguez (5). Brekalo and Pedro Gallese both missed a game for international duty as well. McGuire was not expected back during the first set of games, but all of those other players, with the possible exception of Rodriguez, were expected to contribute during the early part of the season.

These absences led to games where the substitutes list was full of players who will play big minutes for Orlando City B this year, but not players who Óscar Pareja was likely to turn to off the bench unless the game was out of hand or he was absolutely desperate. According to Opta’s tracking through the opening six games, Orlando City ranks last in MLS in the average minutes played by its substitutes, as the average amount of time per appearance for the players off the bench for the Lions is only 12 minutes. For context, 16 teams have an average amount of time per substitute appearance of 20 minutes or greater, and Inter Miami and Toronto are tied with a league-leading 27 minutes per substitute appearance.

The interesting thing about those two teams, Miami and Toronto, is that Miami leads the league in points per match with 2.6 and Toronto is second from the bottom with a scant 0.33 points per match. I think a lot of this data will even out over time, as right now there are several teams, including Miami, that are playing in multiple competitions and trying to keep players fresh for all of their matches.

When it comes to Orlando City, however, that is not the case, and thus far there has just been the standard one game per week on six consecutive Saturdays. The players are rested for each game. The issue has just been that Pareja has not had the depth and variety of players he thought he would have to bring off the bench to protect a lead or chase a deficit.

We often joke in articles or on The Mane Land PawedCast about how “Óscar gonna Óscar,” and once he finds a lineup he likes, he sticks with it. Even with all the injuries he has somehow managed to do this again this season, as you can see from the chart below. I started tracking lineup data last season, and even though the 2025 season is only six games old and there have been so many absences from key players this season, it was striking to see that the 11-man lineup that has played the most minutes together this season already outranks all but two lineups from the entire 2024 MLS season (including the five playoff games!):

Now, it is a little unfair to the one 2025 lineup on the above chart that it has such a negative goal differential per 90 minutes, because if it is only the 10 field players, with goalkeeper excluded, then that lineup has played 215 minutes together and has a +0.84 goal differential per 90 minutes. That group is +4 with Javier Otero in net in 74 minutes together, and removing the goalkeepers from the calculation turns that negative goal differential into a positive.

What that also tells us, however, is that when it comes to the 10 field players, Pareja has played the same unit in the field for 40% (215/540) of the team’s minutes already. Granted it is early in the season, but after six MLS games last season, the lineup that had played together the most had played a grand total of 74 minutes together (14% of all minutes). The top five most used lineups in last season’s opening six MLS games combined to play 302 minutes, or 56% of all minutes, and in 2025 it is 402 minutes, or 80%. My math, and everyone else’s math, says that is a much higher percentage and indicates that the team is focused on continuity early.

That continuity thus far this season has paid dividends, with the Lions earning 10 points from the first six games, twice as nice as last season’s five points after the first six games. Last year, the team was balancing midweek Concacaf Champions Cup games in addition to injuries and an international break during the opening weeks of the MLS season, so there were some good reasons for the lineup rotation and the slow start. This year’s squad will have to navigate two upcoming cup tournaments in the coming months, and so we likely will see a lot of new lineup configurations or more rotation once the U.S. Open Cup starts in May and then again when Leagues Cup starts in July.

Thus far though, Pareja has been able to stick with his starters deep into matches, and has only given playing time to 20 players, which is tied for third fewest across all of MLS. Fan bases often clamor for the coach to “play the kids,” but while Pareja has had young and inexperienced players on the senior roster for every game, he really has only given significant minutes to Alex Freeman from the group of players that could be referred to as “the kids.” Gustavo Caraballo has played nine minutes, which is incredible for a 16-year-old (15-year-old Cavan Sullivan of Philadelphia is the only player younger than Caraballo to have played this season, and he has also played only nine minutes), and new signing Nico Rodriguez (20 years old) has played 11 minutes, but the next three youngest players to play are all at least 22 and were with the senior club last season (Otero and Ramiro Enrique) or came to the club after four seasons of college soccer (23-year-old, but nearly 24-year-old, Joran Gerbet).

The team’s record thus far shows that Pareja has been right to limit the minutes to the small group of players he trusts, and with one game per week for the next six weeks it will be interesting to see if the early trend of starters playing long minutes and only a few players getting all the minutes off the bench continues. The next match is on the road against Philadelphia, which so rudely came into Orlando and defeated the Lions 4-2 in the season opener, and my expectation is that while we likely will not see any players make their season debut in this game, I do think we will see a different starting lineup than the season opener and probably a different one than the game last weekend against the Galaxy.

No matter who the Lions go with, I am sure they will want to avenge the season-opening loss and bring three points back home to Orlando.

As we wish.

Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City at Philadelphia Union: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to earn all three points on the road against Philly?

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2 hours ago

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April 3, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City is on the road yet again, this time heading to Pennsylvania to take on the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park Saturday night. The Lions will look to get a second road win in a row after the smash-and-grab victory against the LA Galaxy. Things don’t get any easier with the Union sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference, but a win would catapult Orlando City above Philadelphia in the standings. Here’s what Orlando City needs to do to earn all three points against the Philadelphia Union.

Tie up Tai

Tai Baribo leads the way-too-early-to-call Golden Boot race with six goals in five matches. The Union striker has taken 13 shots, putting eight on target and the aforementioned six in the back of the net. He scored a brace in the season opener against Orlando to bag a third of those goals. It’s a pretty easy call to say stopping the league leader in goals is an important part of shutting down the Philadelphia attack.

It will be up to Cesar Araujo and whichever center back pairing we get to shut Baribo down. Of course, he’s not the only one the Lions need to worry about since the Union also have striker Mikael Uhre, and midfielders Daniel Gazdag and Jovan Lukic providing goals and assists. The point is that Philadelphia is second only to the Lions in offensive production with 13 goals compared to Orlando City’s 15 goals.

Formation Change

In the last match against the LA Galaxy, the Lions struggled to get things going with Luis Muriel up top, Ojeda at the No. 10 spot and Ivan Angulo on the left. Once Duncan McGuire came on, Muriel shifted back, Ojeda went wide, and Angulo subbed off. That really opened up the attack and allowed the Lions to get the two goals needed to secure the victory.

Perhaps Oscar Pareja could start things off like that against Philadelphia. Angulo hasn’t been great the last few matches, and perhaps some time on the bench will get his head straight. McGuire is still early in his return from injury, but Ramiro Enrique can start up top with Big Dunc coming in later as he has the last few matches. I think making this change could help Orlando City get an early goal on the road.

Vengeance is Thine

When the two teams met on opening day, the Union dropped four goals on Orlando City in Inter&Co Stadium. You would think it a completely dominating performance, but the Lions actually had more shots, more shots on target, and more possession than the Union. Philadelphia simply put each of its four shots on target past Pedro Gallese. That type of luck is unlikely to happen again.

Since that time, the Orlando City defense has stiffened — at least a little bit — and the team has been more difficult to break down. I’m not saying the defense is as stalwart as last season, but it has improved. Orlando City needs to use that four-goal drubbing at the hands of the Union to galvanize the defense to enact revenge with a multi-goal victory of its own.

That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 4/3/25

Martin Ojeda in the MLS MVP mix early, Orlando Pride players won’t play for Zambia this window, Tierna Davidson out for the NWSL season, and more.

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7 hours ago

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April 3, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I hope this week has been going well for you as we gear up for a busy Saturday filled to the brim with soccer to enjoy. Despite my blender’s protests, I’ve finally figured out how to make frozen coconut mojitos and plan on having those get me through the rest of the week. Before we dive into today’s links, let’s all wish a happy 28th birthday to Orlando City legend Rodrigo Schlegel!

Martin Ojeda’s MVP Credentials

Orlando City’s Martin Ojeda placed second in Sacha Kljestan’s MLS MVP power rankings this week. With four goals and three assists so far this season, Ojeda leads the league in goal contributions and is a major reason why the Lions have scored a league-high 15 goals. It’s great to see the 26-year-old take the reins of the offense after Facundo Torres’ departure. Inter Miami’s Luis Suarez tops Kljestan’s rankings, despite only having a goal in five games this season. Tai Baribo, Evander, and Lionel Messi round out the top five in what could be an interesting MVP race this year.

Pride Players Won’t Join Zambia For International Duty

Zambia will be without four NWSL players when it takes part in the Yongchuan International Tournament in China this month. Along with Bay FC forward Rachael Kundananji, Orlando Pride trio Barbra Banda, Grace Chanda, and Prisca Chilufya were withdrawn from international duty, with the Football Association of Zambia stating it was due to additional travel measures by the current U.S. administration. FAZ General Secretary Reuben Kamanga expects the quartet to be available for future matches and both Banda and Kundananji played in friendlies in Zambia in February. Restrictions like this may limit the appeal of the NWSL to foreign players in the future.

Fan Banned For Hateful Language Towards Banda

NJ/NY Gotham FC announced that the fan who directed hateful language towards Banda has been banned following an investigation that included interviewing witnesses and reviewing security footage. The incident took place at the Pride’s match against Gotham on March 23 at Sports Illustrated Stadium. The fan was found to be in violation of the NWSL Code of Conduct and their season ticket was revoked as well. Gotham also encouraged fans to report inappropriate behavior through the team’s encrypted text message service to inform the stadium’s incident management team.

USWNT Defender Tierna Davidson Out for the NWSL Season

American center back Tierna Davidson will miss the remainder of the 2025 NWSL season after tearing the ACL in her left knee in the club’s draw against the Houston Dash. It’s tough news for her, Gotham, and the United States Women’s National Team, as she captains the NWSL club and featured heavily in the Olympics last year. Davidson sustained an ACL injury in her right knee back in 2022, which contributed to her missing out on the 2023 World Cup. Gisele Thompson replaced Davidson for the USWNT’s upcoming friendlies with Brazil, and Pride defender Emily Sams will likely receive more playing time as the team prepares for the 2027 World Cup.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City received $100,000 in General Allocation Money in exchange for former academy goalkeeper Zack Campagnolo’s Homegrown Player rights. The Lions will receive another $100,000 in GAM if conditions are met, and they retain a sell-on percentage if Campagnolo is transferred.
  • San Diego FC added Milan Iloski on loan from FC Nordsjaelland in Denmark through July of this year. Iloski is a San Diego native and won the USL Golden Boot for Orange County SC in 2022.
  • New England Revolution midfielder Carles Gil won MLS Goal of the Matchday for his free kick against the New York Red Bulls.
  • El Farolito SC, which is named after a burrito chain and bar local to San Francisco, has reached the third round of the U.S. Open Cup for the second straight year. The National Premier Soccer League side took down Monterey Bay FC to reach this point of the tournament.
  • Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 to book its ticket to the Copa del Rey final, where it will face rival Real Madrid on April 26.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a terrific Thursday and rest of your week!

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