Connect with us

Orlando City

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

Published

4 years ago

on

Orlando City managed to come back and win 3-2 at home against Atlanta United. It was far from comfortable, but the Lions took all three points after trailing twice against their rivals. It was a momentous night as Mason Stajduhar got the start in goal, Kyle Smith found the back of the net, and Nani broke an Orlando record.

Let’s dive right into how each of your favorite Lions rated in this home win.

Starters

GK, Mason Stajduhar, 6 — Stajduhar’s MLS debut got off to a rough start, but there wasn’t much he could do on Josef Martinez’ goal. His first save in MLS was a good one, going low to stop a surging Erik Lopez in on goal. It was also his only save of the match as he couldn’t reach Marcelino Moreno’s curling strike from distance. Still, Stajduhar was solid and looked comfortable directing his back line and rushing to snuff out any potential chances. In terms of distribution, he completed two of his five attempted long balls and ended up with a success rate of 83% on 18 total passes. While conceding two goals isn’t great, both are likely MLS Goal of the Week candidates and Stajduhar shouldn’t be too upset with a win in his debut.

D, Kyle Smith, 7 — Even with Ruan back in the lineup, Smith continues to start every game for Orlando this season. Playing at left back in this match, Smith proved that he’s more than a versatile, bit player on the team and scored his first goal as a Lion. Late in the first half with his team trailing, Smith got his head on the end of Nani’s corner to skip the ball into the net. It was great work from Smith. He was also solid on defense, leading the team in both tackles (three) and clearances (three). Smith was also second on the team in touches with 66 and completed 89% of 47 passes. A case can certainly be made that Smith deserves to start in every match no matter what other fullbacks are available.

D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — The masked Swede wasn’t able to make much of an impact on either of Atlanta’s goals as they were well struck and out of his area of influence. The two conceded goals will overshadow a fairly good defensive performance from him and Antonio Carlos to keep Martinez quiet. Jansson recorded no tackles or interceptions, but did have a clearance and played all 90 minutes. He completed 41 of his 45 passes for a strong 91% success rate and had 48 touches.

D, Antonio Carlos, 6.5 — Carlos came up with a big block against Lopez in the 22nd minute after a deflected cross teed up the Paraguayan forward for a shot. The center back also had a tackle, two interceptions, and a clearance in a solid defensive performance. He’s getting better on offensive set pieces as well, nearly scoring on a corner after making good contact with his head but sending it wide. Carlos had 54 touches and completed 45 of his 47 passes for an excellent 96% completion rate.

D, Ruan, 7 — Orlando City looked most dangerous when Ruan was racing down the right side. His crossing has always left something to be desired, but he did really well finding players in the box in this match. He nearly had two assists, but Benji Michel couldn’t finish one and Chris Mueller was stopped by a terrific save from Alec Kann. Ruan had two shots and put both of them on target. Although the first was from distance and aimed right at Kann, the second was from a tight angle and earned the corner that led to Orlando’s first goal. On defense, he had a tackle, an interception, and a clearance. Ruan didn’t track back in time on Atlanta’s second goal after the ball was turned over in the midfield, although Atlanta’s tempo before Moreno’s curler didn’t warrant a desperate sprint from Ruan to get back. All in all, it’s nice to have Ruan back on the field to add another dimension to the offense. The right back went the distance and had 60 touches, two key passes, and completed 81% of his 36 passes.

MF, Uri Rosell, 6 — Rosell was solid in his third consecutive start for Orlando, completing 50 of his 55 passes for a 91% success rate. He made two tackles and an interception to help out on defense. Atlanta seemed willing to give him space in the midfield, preferring to pay attention to Orlando’s more offensive players, and Rosell never really made them pay for it. Still, he did a decent job as a passing outlet for defenders and getting the ball either out wide or to Pereyra. Rosell was subbed off for Tesho Akindele in the 74th minute as Orlando was trailing and he finished with 63 touches.

MF, Andres Perea, 6 — With Rosell playing defensively while Mauricio Pereyra was an offensive threat, Perea carved out a spot for himself in central midfield. He was a step behind Josef Martinez before the forward struck from distance, but it’s hard to pin the blame on Perea for that goal. The 20-year-old didn’t have a shot or a key pass in a pretty quiet night at home after scoring last week at home against the Philadelphia Union. He made a good run here and there, including some nice movement in the box on Smith’s goal to peel a defender and open up space. Perea was third on the team in touches with 65 and made 57 passes at an 86% success rate. Defensively, he finished with a tackle, an interception, and a clearance. With Rosell earning more playing time and the impending returns of Sebas Mendez and Junior Urso, Perea may see some of his minutes eaten up in the future. Head Coach Oscar Pareja has praised Perea’s ability to come in as a substitute and mimic the midfielder he’s replacing, so it will be interesting to see if he returns to that role in the future.

MF, Benji Michel, 6 — It was a mixed bag from the Homegrown Player. Although Michel had four shots, none were all too threatening as only two were on target and those were sent directly at Kann. While he did a good job making runs to find dangerous areas, more is expected of him to put the ball in the back of the net when it’s served to him on a silver platter. That being said, he completed all three of his attempted dribbles, won a free kick right outside the penalty area, and redeemed himself a bit with the assist on Silvester van der Water’s goal. It was his only key pass of the match, but it was a nice one as he headed the ball towards van der Water rather than trying to get a shot off. Michel was able to make more of an impact once Atlanta right back Brooks Lennon was forced off due to injury and he finished with 39 touches while completing 16 of his 17 passes for a nice 94% success rate. He didn’t attempt any crosses and often drifted in to the center of the attack while Nani had free range.

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 7 — After missing Orlando’s last game due to his suspension, it took some time for Pereyra to find his rhythm in this one. But once he did, he really started to make an impact on the match. Pereyra led the Lions with five key passes, including a hockey assist on Orlando’s second goal. The Uruguayan delivered a beautiful ball over the defense for Michel to then head towards van der Water in the middle. Not only did Pereyra lead the Lions with a total of 59 passes, but he completed them at an incredible 92% success rate. Those passes were far from walks in the park too, as he was successful on all three of his crosses and was relied upon to switch the flow of play or find players making runs forward. His only shot was off target, but it was a desperate attempt after a poor clearance from Kann while Pereyra was falling down. Pereyra also led the Lions in touches with 71 and chipped in defensively with a tackle and two interceptions. He also didn’t earn any yellow cards, so it was a pretty nice night for him, although he was responsible for the turnover that led to the second Atlanta goal by letting the ball run through the midfield while his trailing teammate (Nani) wasn’t open enough to accept it.

MF, Chris Mueller, 6.5 — Mueller benefitted from Ruan’s work down the right side and nearly scored late in the second half but his shot was saved at the goal line by Kann. It was his only shot of the match though and he didn’t have any key passes or crosses either. Overall, his passing was decent as he completed 21 of his 25 passes for an 84% success rate. Defensively, he made two tackles and two interceptions. Mueller was subbed off for van der Water in the 74th minute and finished with 41 touches.

F, Nani, 8 (MotM) — Yet again, Nani bent the game to his will, scoring the game winner to give Orlando all three points. He turned on the jets immediately after van der Water whipped the ball into the box, beating his defender and heading the ball past Kann for his eighth goal of the season. His assist on Orlando’s first goal from a corner kick was his 23rd assist as a Lion, surpassing Kaká (who was at the match) for the club record. The captain finished with 57 touches and 36 passes with an 81% completion rate, including four key passes. Of his four shots, two were on target while the others were either sent wide or blocked. Nani is our Man of the Match for providing that lethal edge to a team that lacked a true striker for most of the match. He needed to do well in this one after not playing against New York City FC and he did just that, winning the game for the Lions.

Substitutes

MF, Silvester van der Water (73’), 7.5 — What more can you want from a substitute? Van der Water only had seven touches but he made them count as he scored an equalizer and then delivered the game-winning assist. His diving header was perfectly placed, but what was even better was his quick burst of speed to get past his defender and in position. His assist was a pinpoint cross to Nani in front of goal and couldn’t have been any better. The winger was the needed spark Orlando needed to come back from a deficit and win.

F, Tesho Akindele (73’), 6 — It’s baffling that Akindele was able to play in this match, considering he’d just played for Canada in Arlington, TX the night before. The big guy did what he does best, winning the ball upfield and pressing the opposition. He didn’t play much of a role in Orlando’s late goals apart from drawing the attention of defenders. Akindele had seven touches and completed three of his five passes.

D, Emmanuel Mas (84’), N/A — Although he was brought on late for Smith, Mas racked up 13 touches and completed eight of his nine passes. It wasn’t enough playing time to earn a grade, but he looks comfortable with the ball at his feet and had a couple of unsuccessful crosses.

MF, Joey DeZart (90’), N/A — The midfielder is becoming a closer of sorts for Pareja, brought on late to see out matches once Orlando has the lead. DeZart put his fresh legs to good use by chasing the ball and had four touches while completing two of his three passes

MF, Junior Urso (90’), N/A — The Bear had a tackle, four touches, and completed both of his passes in a late cameo. It’s nice to see him back on the field and hopefully he will feature more in Orlando’s next game.

That’s how I saw things play out in Orlando’s win over its rival. Make sure to weigh in on how you feel about the grades in the comments below and to vote for who you think deserved the title of Man of the Match.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Nani31
Kyle Smith76
Mauricio Pereyra13
Antonio Carlos2
Other (let us know who in the comments)1

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/22/25

Pedro Gallese earns recognition, Americans in midweek action, English promotion update, and more.

Published

1 hour ago

on

April 22, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Well it wasn’t the worst weekend that Orlando soccer has ever had, but it certainly wasn’t the best either. Fortunately, all three of Orlando’s teams will be back in action soon, so there’s no need to dwell on the past too much. Let’s take a moment to wish a happy birthday to the Orlando Pride’s Brianna Martinez, as well as to Kaká! Now, it’s time to turn our attention to today’s links.

Pedro Gallese Earns Weekly Recognition

Pedro Gallese kept a third clean sheet in a row and Orlando City’s third clean sheet of the year in the team’s scoreless draw on the road against CF Montreal. In recognition of his efforts during the match, Gallese was named to the bench of the latest edition of the MLS Team of the Matchday. El Pulpo made six saves to blank a Montreal team that intently searched for a breakthrough, and made a couple of truly excellent second half stops that kept the score level. Congrats to Pedro and keep up the good work!

Americans in Midweek Action

A number of Americans will be playing games during the working week, and there are some big matches to keep an eye on. The main event is on Wednesday, when Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, and AC Milan face Inter Milan in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semifinal, which is tied 1-1 after the first leg. Also on Wednesday, Chris Richards, Matt Turner, and Crystal Palace will play Arsenal in the Premier League. Thursday then has Malik Tillman, Richy Ledezma, and PSV Eindhoven playing FC Twente in the Eredivisie, while Johnny Cardoso and Real Betis play Valladolid in La Liga action.

English Promotion Update

Following results in the EFL Championship on Monday, Leeds United and Burnley have both secured promotion to the Premier League for next season. Both teams won their respective games and are each on 94 points, and with just two matches left, third-placed Sheffield United has no way to catch them. The other promoted side will be determined after the promotion playoffs, which would feature Sheffield United, Sunderland, Bristol City, and Coventry City if the season ended today. Meanwhile in League One, Wrexham’s 2-1 victory over Blackpool meant the Dragons retook second place and the automatic promotion spot that comes with it. If they beat Charlton on Sunday and Wycombe Wanderers drop points against Leyton Orient, then Wrexham would secure promotion to the Championship.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

Transfer rumors continue to fly thick and fast as we approach the business end of most European seasons, so let’s take a look at a few items worth catching up on. Manchester United is said to be keen on signing 17-year-old Argentine Franco Mastantuono from River Plate. Liverpool is reportedly interested in signing winger Ademola Lookman from Atalanta, although the Reds would likely face competition from several other Premier League teams. Finally, Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro has revealed that he and Xabi Alonso have a gentleman’s agreement that if a team the Spaniard used to play for is interested in hiring him as its coach, then the club will not hinder the process. The statement has led to renewed speculation that Alonso will be named Real Madrid coach if Carlo Ancelotti leaves in the summer.

Free Kicks

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

Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City’s Focus On Youth Development Showing In The First Team

Orlando City is seeing more and more players promoted from the academy, through OCB, and into the first team.

Published

22 hours ago

on

April 21, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City began its academy in the USL Pro days with the goal of developing players for the first team. It took nearly a decade to begin seeing youth development bear fruit, but it’s becoming apparent early in the 2025 season.

Prior to 2019, Orlando City signed four players to Homegrown Player contracts. Tommy Redding, Tyler Turner, and Harrison Heath never played in the academy and the other, Mason Stajduhar, developed primarily at Chargers Soccer Club in Tampa.

Orlando City signed arguably its first true Homegrown Player when the club inked Benji Michel to a first-team contract. The following off-season, the Lions added David Loera and Jordan Bender. Mikey Halliday signed in July 2020. All of the players came through the academy before signing first-team deals. 

So what changed?

Part of it was the growth of the academy. It takes several years to begin producing players. Another major factor was the hiring of Luiz Muzzi on Dec. 18, 2019. Muzzi came from FC Dallas, a club known for promoting from its academy. He brought in Ricardo Moreira, who shares his vision of developing young talent for the first team.

And it’s not only Muzzi and Moreira. Former Orlando City head coach Adrian Heath rarely attended OCB games. James O’Connor only went to one, and that was to see his former teammate, Dennis Chin, who was playing with the opposing Richmond Kickers. The Orlando City boss left when Chin came off.

Oscar Pareja and other first-team coaches have been at several games, far more than their predecessors. That’s largely to do with the games’ location at the training facility, which is another factor in OCB’s development. The 2019 team trained over 40 miles away from the first team. The move to Kissimmee has the first team, OCB, and the development academy under one roof. It’s another display of the club’s more recent commitment to youth development.

Undoubtedly, the transformation of OCB under Muzzi and Moreira has also impacted Homegrown talent coming through. The team’s 2016 and 2017 rosters were primarily made up of first-team reserves and USL lifers. The 2019 team had many players from the Soccer Institute at Montverde Academy (SIMA), many of which were young but ineligible for Homegrown status.

Things began to change in 2020. The roster shifted to include more academy players and that’s only grown. This year, 15 OCB players came out of the academy, two were drafted, and eight are outside signings on MLS NEXT Pro deals. Other than Jhon Solis and first-team goalkeeper Carlos Mercado, everyone to appear for the team is 23 years old or younger.

The focus on giving OCB spots to academy graduates is now seen in the first team. Players like Thomas Williams, Javier Otero, Alex Freeman, Colin Guske, and Gustavo Caraballo have been regulars on the MLS team sheet. Injuries to first-team regulars has seen them receiving regular playing time.

The poster boy for this change is Freeman. The right back came out of the academy and spent a couple of years at OCB before signing his first-team contract. He won the starting role early in the 2025 regular season.

Many players joined the club later in their development, but we’re seeing some come through having been nearly fully developed at the Orlando City Academy. Guske and Caraballo joined at 13 years old, the youngest age group of the development academy. Both signed first-team deals for this year.

The midfield duo continue to play with OCB most games but are also on the first-team roster almost weekly. The only reason they weren’t in Montreal Saturday night is because they were helping the club’s U-18 team reach (and then win) the Generation Adidas Cup final.

With Muzzi and Moreira at the helm, more players continue to come through. U-18 captain and OCB starter Jackson Platts appears to be well on his way to a first-team contract. So does fellow U-18 and OCB starting forward Justin Ellis.

This past weekend saw another academy product make his first-team debut. Zakaria Taifi took over at right back for OCB when Freeman moved up to the first team this year. Signing a short-term deal Saturday, he came on as a late substitute to help the 10-man Lions see out the scoreless draw.

First-team absences have provided opportunities for many young players. If several weren’t at the Generation Adidas Cup, it could be more. Regardless, the last few years have shown a big step forward for the club.

The shift in recent years is more than the pride of seeing local kids representing the hometown team. They’ve been an essential part of the 2025 campaign. The club hasn’t had to use a short bench or dip into outside emergency signings. Instead, the Lions call up kids they know, making it easier to seamlessly place them into the team.

There will be times where several injuries will occur to experienced players. Orlando City is prepared for this more now than ever before, and it’s because of the players coming through the academy and playing with OCB. We’re already seeing it early in this 2025 season.

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/21/25

Another scoreless draw for Orlando City, a home loss for the Pride, a championship for the OCSC U-18 squad, and more.

Published

1 day ago

on

April 21, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope you all had a great holiday weekend with family and friends. I managed to watch a few soccer games while work kept me busy. Our Lions picked up another draw for the third week in a row, the Pride lost, and OCB was off this weekend. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Draw CF Montreal on the Road

Orlando City and CF Montreal split the points in a scoreless draw at Stade Saputo on Saturday. It’s the third consecutive week that the Lions could not get a win with another scoreless draw. It’s the second straight match that Orlando had to play down a man as Rafael Santos was sent off in the second half after receiving a second yellow card. Still, the Lions extended their unbeaten run to six matches and are seventh in the Eastern Conference table with 13 points. After the match, Major League Soccer issued a statement after being informed a fan used discriminatory language towards a player during the match.

Orlando City will return to Inter&Co Stadium Saturday to take on Atlanta United.

Orlando City Signs Two Players to Short-Term Deals

Before Saturday’s match against CF Montreal, Orlando City announced the club had signed defender Zakaria Taifi and midfielder Riyon Tori to short-term contracts. Both players were on the bench for Saturday’s match. Tori did not play, but Taifi came off the bench late in the second half to make his MLS debut. Tori has played with OCB and has made three appearances. Taifi has made 42 appearances, starting 21 matches for OCB, scoring one goal and adding three assists.

Orlando City Signs Four Assistant Coaches to New Contracts

Orlando City announced on Friday that the club has renewed the contracts of First Assistant Coach Diego Torres, Second Assistant Coach Martin Perelman, Goalkeeper Coach Cesar Baena, and Fitness & Performance Coach Fabian Bazan. This news comes just days after the club announced that Head Coach Oscar Pareja will remain with the Lions under a new three-year contract through the 2028 MLS season. Together, the coaching staff has played a key part in the recent success of the Lions over the last five seasons, making five consecutive MLS Playoff appearances, two appearances in the Concacaf Champions Cup, and winning the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Lions also set club records for wins and points, scoring 308 goals across all competitions with a plus-44 goal differential in 202 competitive matches.

Pride Fall to Washington Spirit at Home

The Orlando Pride fell to the Washington Spirit 1-0 at Inter&Co Stadium Saturday to suffer their first loss of the season. The Pride dominated most of the match, but in the 63rd minute, Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse gave the ball away in front of the goal, and Gift Monday capitalized to score the winning goal for the Spirit. Late in the second half, it looked like the Pride had scored the equalizer; however, after video review, it was determined that Kylie Nadaner backed into Aubrey Kingsbury on the play, impeding the goalkeeper from catching the ball, and the tying goal was waved off. With the Kansas City Current’s win over the Houston Dash over the weekend, Orlando drops to second in the NWSL table. The Pride will return to action Friday at Inter&Co Stadium to face Angel City FC.

Orlando City U-18 Team Wins Generation Adidas Cup Championship

The Orlando City U-18 and U-16 squads played over the weekend in playoff matches in the Generation Adidas Cup at IMG Academy. In the quarterfinals on Friday, Omar Robbana scored the lone goal in the U-18 squad’s 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake.

The U-18 squad followed that up by defeating Santos Laguna 3-0 in the semifinals. Justin Ellis scored twice and Gustavo Caraballo added a goal.

On Sunday, Caraballo scored the winning goal in extra time to seal a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids in the U-18 Championship final.

On Friday, the U-16 team defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 in the quarterfinals.

The U-16 squad defeated the New England Revolution 4-3 on penalties after a scoreless draw in the semifinals on Saturday.

The U-16 squad’s run for a championship trophy came to an end with a 3-1 loss to Inter Miami in the U-16 Championship final on Sunday.

Free Kicks

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

Continue Reading

Trending