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Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew: Five Takeaways

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3 years ago

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Orlando City ran its MLS regular-season unbeaten streak to seven games after Saturday night’s 3-2 win over the Columbus Crew at Exploria Stadium. Despite a lack of continuity on the pitch in terms of personnel, the Lions keep finding ways to gain points and move through the schedule toward the place they really want to be — the playoffs.

But what did we learn from the team’s fifth consecutive win over the defending MLS Cup champions? I have raised my degree of difficulty for this column by using only Loverboy song titles as my section headers.

“The Kid is Hot Tonite”

Daryl Dike’s return to the lineup last weekend against Inter Miami was an uneventful one. With only 11 touches on the ball, the big striker couldn’t impact the match. And it looked like more of the same early on Saturday night. Dike managed about three touches in the first 20 or so minutes against the Crew and two of those came on a play in the 16th minute when he flicked a Ruan pass toward goal and then had the ricochet of his blocked attempt come back and hit him in the foot, bouncing back toward goal.

But Dike found his rhythm in the game and became a problem for Columbus. He overpowered Aboubacar Keita in the 26th minute, threw a couple of fakes at Vito Wormgoor to keep him off balance, then smashed a shot into the top of the net to open the scoring. He was active the rest of the night, including getting the fans to make some noise during a video review of the Crew’s second goal, helping his team get over the shock of the sudden turnaround in momentum. His layoff to Junior Urso became his second assist of the season when the Bear sent his seeing-eye shot through traffic and inside the left post for the winner. It was an all-around solid night for Dike, who looked more like himself against the Crew.

“It’s Never Easy”

For a brief, shining moment, it looked like Orlando City might win a match comfortably. That hasn’t happened since a 5-0 shellacking of San Jose back on June 22. In fact, the Lions have only won by more than one goal twice all season. Last night’s victory was more difficult than it had to be and that started with the bizarre own goal in the 52nd minute. Robin Jansson kicked the ball up in the air trying to prevent Alexandru Matan from having a scoring chance. The ball sailed high and slightly back toward the Orlando net. With Antonio Carlos and Ruan to deal with Miguel Berry, the Lions should have been in good shape and, as such, Adam Grinwis stayed on his line. But Carlos’ header unfortunately found its way inside the right post to throw Columbus a lifeline in a game it had no business being in. Two minutes later, the Crew tied it.

After Urso scored to restore Orlando’s lead, the Lions continued to look for insurance but could never get it. Chris Mueller sliced a shot just wide in the 77th minute, but that was a difficult chance from outside the area. The game should have been put away by Tesho Akindele a few minutes later. Mauricio Pereyra sent a diagonal pass behind Wormgoor that set up a breakaway down the left side of the box. Akindele’s chance to put the game to bed went just inches wide of the far post. The Crew didn’t have any clear-cut chances the rest of the way anyway, but Orlando missed another opportunity to take the late-game drama out of a match and just couldn’t do it. The game shouldn’t have been close with Columbus getting only two shots on target all evening.

“Queen of the Broken Hearts” (or…King in this case)

Mueller couldn’t buy a break right now if he won the Powerball jackpot. It’s been a rough season for the Money Badger and Saturday night was one of the roughest. If it weren’t for bad luck, Cash would seemingly have no luck at all. Mueller still works hard, does a lot of the little things Oscar Pareja needs him to do, and gets into dangerous positions, but then…something goes wrong and opportunities seem to melt away. On his first good chance Saturday, Mueller cut in from left to right, got into space, and tried to drive a shot toward goal. But he struck the ball oddly and it flew high into the air and ended up somewhere in The Wall. On his best opportunity, he found space on the left, let loose a shot from just inside the box, and it was heading toward goal…and then it hit Dike, who had somehow strayed into the ball’s flight path. That’s just terrible luck! Then there was the rocket he sent wide in the 77th minute mentioned above. One of these nights, something’s going to go in off his neck or his rear end and maybe that’ll open the floodgates.

Oh, and then to make matters worse, he took a shot in the back late in the game and needed the trainers to come on and attend to him. Hopefully it’s nothing serious, but he did sub out shortly after that.

“Emotional”

Orlando had to feel good about seeing Grinwis get a start and a win in MLS for the first time since 2018. Grinwis was a fan favorite with his heroics in City’s 2019 U.S. Open Cup run and many were sad to see his option declined after that season ended. Then the Grinch tore his ACL after becoming the Sacramento Republic’s starter the next season. It was a long road back and although it’s tough to see Mason Stajduhar suffer an injury now that he’s finally getting some games, it was great to see Grinwis come back from his ACL, make a big save in the match, and win a game with Orlando City.

Grinwis looked excited during warmups. He made a stellar save on Lucas Zelarayan for his best stop of the night in the 36th minute. He had command of his box and perhaps his only miscue was hitting Robin Jansson in the back of the head with his follow-through of a punch in the game’s early moments. After the match, Grinwis had trouble putting his thoughts into words when discussing his road back from the injury.

Coincidentally, Grinwis’ last win in an Orlando City uniform came on Oct. 21, 2018 — also against the Columbus Crew. That 2-1 victory was his first MLS win and all of his team’s offense came from the penalty spot that night. Yoshimar Yotun and Sacha Kljestan each buried a penalty to lead Orlando back after Federico Higuain had given the Crew a 1-0 lead.

“Lovin’ Every Minute of It”

There was a lot to love for Orlando City fans on Saturday. The Lions beat the Crew for the fifth consecutive time and that win gave the club its seventh straight game in league play with either a win or a draw, dating back to a 3-2 win over Atlanta United on July 30. That win jumped Orlando back over Nashville for second in the Eastern Conference by virtue of the games won tiebreaker. All of this is very good for the Lions.

Getting back to beating Columbus on Saturday…the Crew were one of the first thorns in Orlando’s side when the Lions joined MLS. Columbus was 5-2-3 against Orlando City in the team’s first four seasons in Major League Soccer. Now the Lions have the Crew’s number, and Orlando beating them feels normal somehow. Orlando seemed the likelier team to get a third goal after Miguel Berry scored and eventually did. That’s a new thing for fans who suffered through 2015 through 2019. We’ll see if that continues when the teams meet in Columbus on Oct. 27.

One other thing to love about the win over Columbus: with his 23rd victory in all competitions, Oscar Pareja passed Jason Kreis as the club’s all-time winningest coach (in 16 fewer matches — the U.S. Open Cup hasn’t been played since Pareja has been with Orlando City). Papi also tied Kreis for another club record with 21 regular-season MLS wins with Orlando (in 18 fewer matches).

That’s what caught my attention during Orlando’s victory over the Crew. What stood out to you? Do you even like any of the Loverboy songs namechecked above? Let me know in the comments.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/21/25

Orlando Pride release preseason camp roster, scouting Costa Rica, women’s soccer transfer grades, and more.

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16 hours ago

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January 21, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Good morning, everyone! If you had yesterday off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, then I hope you enjoyed some restful time off. If not, then I hope you got your week started off on a good and productive note. There’s a lot going on around here this week as the United States Men’s National Team is in town, and Orlando City will play its first preseason match on Saturday. That means we have plenty to discuss, so let’s dig into today’s links.

Orlando Pride Drop Preseason Roster

Monday might have been a holiday but the Orlando Pride were busy, as they announced the roster for their upcoming preseason camp. Almost all of the usual suspects from the 2024 season are back, as the Pride return 98% of the player-minutes from last season and every single scorer. Mariana Larroquette is on the list although she’s currently on loan in Argentina, and Amanda Allen is likewise included after her loan at Lexington Sporting Club was terminated due to a torn labrum. The biggest intrigue comes from the trio of non-roster invitees: goalkeeper DeAira Jackson, midfielder Aryssa Mahrt, and forward Simone Jackson.

Scouting Costa Rica

The USMNT takes on Costa Rica on Wednesday at Inter&Co Stadium to wrap up the team’s annual January camp. Like the U.S., Costa Rica is bringing a roster devoid of the majority of its important players. Costa Rica also has a new manager at the helm in Miguel Herrera, who will take charge of the team for the very first time on Wednesday. Herrera typically lines his teams up in a 5-3-2 where the wingbacks take on a very important role and the team looks to hit on the counter while staying compact at the back. This will be the last time we see the USMNT in action until the Concacaf Nations League semifinals in early March.

Women’s Soccer January Transfer Grades

January has been a busy time for transfers in the women’s soccer world, so which teams have done the best business? Well, the Orlando Pride received an A grade for signing Marta to a new two-year deal, retaining a player who helped the team win its first ever trophies. Liverpool got an A for signing Julia Bartel on loan from Chelsea. Leicester City made an interesting call by transferring goalkeeper Lize Kop to Tottenham despite just being a point above the relegation zone. The Foxes get a C for the move, while Spurs get a B+ for adding a capable netminder.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans taking part in some very important games over the course of this week. Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, and Juventus face Club Brugge today in the UEFA Champions League, while Ricardo Pepi, Richy Ledezma, Esmir Bajraktarević, Malik Tillman and PSV Eindhoven take on Crvena Zvezda in the same competition. Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, and AC Milan will play Girona in the UCL on Wednesday, while Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, and Celtic take on Young Boys. On Friday, John Tolkin could make his Bundesliga debut when his new team, Holstein Kiel, travels to face Wolfsburg.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando Pride players reported for their preseason physicals on Monday.
  • Meanwhile, Orlando City took on the dreaded beep test during Monday’s training session.

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

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Orlando City

Striker Suddenly a Position of Need for Orlando City

Departures and a key injury mean Orlando City needs a striker heading into the 2025 MLS season.

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2 days ago

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January 20, 2025

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Image Courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City reached the Eastern Conference Final for the first time in 2024, a milestone for the club. The core of the team was locked up through the 2025 season, so there was no reason to believe it needed to add much this off-season. Unfortunately, injuries and departures have created a serious problem for the team.

The group of forwards last year consisted of Duncan McGuire, Ramiro Enrique, and Jack Lynn. McGuire scored 15 goals in 2023 and was expected to depart for Blackburn Rovers before a clerical error allowed the Lions to keep their target man. The team’s primary striker scored 11 goals in 37 games — the same number as the previous season — but split time starting with Enrique. The Argentinian improved greatly in 2024, increasing his total goal tally from four to 12. Even Lynn showed tremendous improvement last year, playing a greater role in the team and scoring his first two MLS goals.

The future also seemed bright for the Orlando City forwards because of their ages. Lynn is the oldest of the trio at just 25 years old. Meanwhile, McGuire and Enrique are only 23, so there was no reason to believe this group couldn’t produce this coming season.

The problem at striker began in the postseason when McGuire was pulled down by Charlotte FC midfielder Djibril Diani in the final first round game of the playoffs. McGuire suffered a shoulder injury during the challenge that required surgery on Dec. 13. It’s expected that the striker could take four to five months to return to action, possibly leaving him out until May or June.

Another blow to Orlando’s attack occurred Saturday when Lynn surprisingly announced his retirement from professional soccer. In just over a month, Orlando City went from having three strikers to having just one as preseason training starts.

With McGuire injured and Lynn gone, one option would be to have Designated Player Luis Muriel play up top. However, the Colombian prefers to play a more withdrawn position and proved to be effective in that role last year. Since Head Coach Oscar Pareja prefers to play a 4-2-3-1 formation, the Lions need someone up top to control the ball and involve the midfielders in the attack. That’s not Muriel’s game.

The result of these issues is that nobody is currently behind Enrique when the season begins. If the Argentinian gets tired, hurt, or simply needs rest, Pareja is limited in his options. 

Whether there was a lack of strikers or a lack of goals from the position previously, that problem was resolved by the club’s all-time leading goal scorer. Facundo Torres scored 20 goals in 2024, becoming the first player in Orlando City’s MLS history and the second player in club history to do so. He went on to set a new club record for total goals of 47.

However, Orlando City sold its best player to Brazilian side Palmeiras on Dec. 20. It was a gut punch to fans as Torres had signed a new contract on Jan. 10, 2024 that ran through the 2026 season. There had been talk for the last couple of years that the attacker would look for a move to Europe and rumors of a move to South America arose this off-season. Still, it created a huge gap the club has to fill.

There are players on the roster that can make up for the injury and departures. Martin Ojeda had a strong season in 2024, finishing with seven goals and 13 assists. His seven goals ranked fourth on the team and his 13 assists topped the squad alongside Nico Lodeiro. Muriel came on strong later in the season, finishing with five goals and eight assists. But those numbers are a long way from the 20 goals that Torres tallied last year.

Even if you consider all goal contributions, Ojeda and Muriel fall well short of Torres. Ojeda had a total of 20 goal contributions in 2024 while Muriel had 13. In addition to Torres’s 20 goals, he added nine assists for a team-leading 29 goal contributions.

All of this information leads to one undeniable fact — Orlando City needs to sign a striker prior to the season. And there’s not much time for Luiz Muzzi to act. The European transfer window closes on Feb. 3 and many MLS teams have already been filling similar needs. With the season starting in just over a month, the options will be limited if the Lions don’t do something soon.

After the best postseason finish in Orlando City’s MLS history, things were looking good heading into 2025. While the back line and most of the midfield is returning, McGuire’s injury and the departure of Torres and Lynn have left the Lions in a tough spot offensively. If they don’t do something in the next couple of weeks, it could be a long 2025.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/20/25

Orlando City signs Nicolas Rodriguez, Jack Lynn announces retirement, USMNT defeats Venezuela in friendly, and more.

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2 days ago

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January 20, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope you’re all having a good holiday weekend as we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Over the past week, I’ve been working and covering high school ice hockey. It will be a busy week in Orlando, with the United States Men’s National Team’s match against Costa Rica on Wednesday and Orlando City’s first preseason match against Atletico Mineiro on Saturday. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Signs Nicolas Rodriguez

Orlando City announced on Friday that the club has signed forward Nicolas Rodriguez from Fortaleza CEIF in Colombia’s top flight. The deal is through the 2027 season, with a club option for 2028, and Rodriguez will occupy a MLS U22 Initiative slot. Rodriguez made 19 appearances for Fortaleza, recording 1,607 minutes, five goals, and three assists during the 2024 Primera A Clausura season. The Lions add a young attacking player the club can develop and Rodriguez can play on the right wing, the right side of a three-man midfield, or in the No. 10 spot.

Jack Lynn Announces Retirement

Orlando City forward Jack Lynn announced his retirement from professional soccer on Saturday. Lynn was drafted by Orlando in the first round of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft. He became a regular starter for Orlando City B, scoring a team-record 38 goals in over three seasons with the MLS NEXT Pro side. Lynn also won the Golden Boot with 19 goals during the 2023 season and became the first OCB player to be named MLS NEXT Pro MVP. He played sparingly with the first team, but he scored twice last season as his role increased. The Lions will likely look to add another striker for more depth up top.

Orlando Pride Acquire Allocation Money in Trade

On Friday, the Orlando Pride announced that the club has acquired $50,000 in Allocation Money from the Washington Spirit. In exchange, the Pride sent the Spirit a 2025 international roster spot. The Pride will face the Spirit in the NWSL Challenge Cup final on March 7 at Inter&Co Stadium.

USMNT Defeats Venezuela in Friendly

The USMNT defeated Venezuela 3-1 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday in a friendly. Jack McGlynn and Patrick Agyemang scored in the first half to give the USMNT a 2-0 lead just before halftime. Matko Milijevic scored the third goal for the Americans in the second half, with Venezuela pulling one back thanks to a goal from Jorge Yriarte. Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino has led the USMNT to winning four out of its first five matches since he took charge last September. The USMNT’s next match will be against Costa Rica on Wednesday at Inter&Co Stadium.

Alyssa Naeher Named U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year

On Saturday, goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher was voted 2024 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year. Naeher won 40% of the vote, while defender Naomi Girma finished in second with 32%. In her final year with the USWNT, Naeher ended 2024 with 18 starts, playing 1,170 minutes and only conceding 11 goals. She played a crucial role with clutch saves to help the USWNT win the 2024 SheBelieves Cup, 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup, and gold at the Olympics in Paris. Naeher is the second goalkeeper to win the award since Hope Solo won it in 2009.

Free Kicks

  • Manchester City forward Erling Haaland has reached an agreement with the club on a record-breaking contract that extends his deal through 2034.

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

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