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Orlando City at Nashville SC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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5 years ago

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Orlando City finished up their three match road trip heading into Music City to take on Nashville SC. The Lions did a good job maintaining possession to try to keep Nashville off the scoreboard, but a penalty and a counterattack made things difficult for Orlando City on the road. Possession was obviously the name of the game for Óscar Pareja, as Nashville is a team that can score in bunches. But that also plays right into Nashville’s game plan of sitting back and waiting for mistakes, too. Despite the challenges, Orlando City was able to secure a 2-2 draw, and earn a point on the road.

Just a note for those who read our player’s grades: Each staff member has their own scale on how they grade players. My grading involves not just stats and key moments, but also how the player performs against my expectations. If you disagree with how I, or any of our staff, approach our grades, I sincerely encourage you to join The Mane Land staff so you can use your own criteria. Now, let’s see how the Lions did in the come back draw against their Eastern Conference foes.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6.5 — Gallese made the initial save on the penalty, but he couldn’t contain it, and Nashville scored on the rebound. That’s just a tough position for a keeper, and one you hope he doesn’t have to deal with ever. I’m not sure what happened on Nashville’s second goal. It might be he moved late, or was second guessing. Regardless, it was a tough shot to save. Randall Leal was in the middle and had either side to choose from as the defense left him plenty of space. El Pulpo’s distribution was fine, though his teammates don’t always seem to be able to give him a quicker outlet. He did, however, make four saves, and one interception. He attempted 23 passes at an 87% passing rate and connected on seven of 10 long balls.

D, João Moutinho, 6 — Moutinho was able to contribute to the offense, as Pareja wants his fullbacks to do. He played well going forward, and was okay when Orlando City was on defense, though he did get turned around a time or two. On defense he had five tackles, three interceptions, and committed one foul. He attempted 85 passes and had a 87.1% passing rate with two key passes, while completing two of three long balls and earning one foul. He came off in the 92nd minute for Kyle Smith.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6.5 — Schlegel will miss the next match thanks to yellow card accumulation. Our own Michael Citro predicted this on The Mane Land PawedCast this week. To be fair, Schlegel spent most of the night marking Walker Zimmerman on every free kick and corner Nashville took (which was too many). He actually did a pretty good job keeping Zimmerman from impacting the match, only getting picked once by Jack Maher on several attempts to do so. His yellow hurt his overall performance, and he nearly earned a second yellow and a sending off moments later, but was spared thanks to unexpected leniency by referee Drew Fischer. Defensively, Schlegel made one tackle, two clearances, and committed three fouls. Offensively, Schlegel had two shots, with one on target. He also attempted 73 passes and had an 84.9% passing rate, while attempting three long balls.

D, Antônio Carlos, 5.5 — Having a match off didn’t do Carlos any good as he gave away the ball in Orlando City’s half at least twice. He attempted 71 passes and had an 84.5% passing rate, with one key pass, and completed six of nine long balls. He made three clearances, and committed three fouls. Remember that I base my grades on how well a player does against my expectations, which are based on his normal play. This was not the best Antônio Carlos, particularly when he allowed Hany Mukhtar to get on the wrong side of him which could have led to a second Nashville goal had the forward crossed in front rather than shooting into side netting.

D, Ruan, 6 — Ruan was able to range up and down the pitch as usual, but didn’t necessarily create chaos for Nashville in the offensive end. He did make two key passes, and completed one of four crosses. Defensively, he made one clearance. Ruan attempted 25 passes and had a 92% passing rate. He came off in the 92nd minute for Emmanuel Mas.

MF, Júnior Urso, 7 — How nice is it having a healthy Urso/Sebas Mendez combo in the midfield? Like the rest of the midfield, Urso put in the work to keep the ball away from Nashville. He also did well transitioning the ball from the defense to the offense. The Bear took one shot that was on target in the 44th minute but it had nothing on it. Otherwise, Urso had one key pass, and drew five fouls. Defensively, he had one clearance. He attempted 51 passes, had a 90.2% passing rate, and made one key pass.

MF, Sebas Mendez, 6 — Other than committing the penalty that led to the first goal for Nashville, Mendez had a pretty good match [Insert Mrs. Lincoln joke here]. Of course, that penalty was important and as such his grade is not as high as it could be. He was good in possession and made two successful dribbles. Defensively, he had one clearance, two blocked shots and committed one foul. He attempted 65 passes at a 92.3% clip. He came off in the 83rd minute for Tesho Akindele as Orlando tried to press the attack.

MF, Alexander Alvarado, 6 — Alvarado was a surprise start for the Lions as Pareja seemingly wanted to give Nani more rest. The rarely seen Alvarado probably played the best he has all season, but also the most he has all season. He wasn’t exactly a force to be reckoned with, but he didn’t hurt Orlando. Alvarado had two successful dribbles, was fouled twice, and committed one foul. He attempted 22 passes with a 95.5% passing rate. Alvarado came off for Nani in the 66th minute. He didn’t create much danger but did help maintain possession in tight quarters throughout his time on the pitch.

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 7 — Pereyra wore the Captain’s armband to start the match with Nani on the bench, and he showed why he had the honor. Magic Mo pulled the strings of Orlando’s offense throughout the match. As the Lions played themselves into the match, he was able to create a more effective role for himself. He had two shots, with one on target that forced a diving save. His free kick effort deflected off a defender and went just wide in the 39th minute, so just a little more sharpness to beat the wall might have produced a stunner. Pereyra made four key passes, and suffered two fouls. Defensively, he committed one foul. He attempted 89 passes with an 83.2% passing rate and made one successful cross. He also completed two of four long balls. His biggest blemish was that he was unable to thread some of the passes he attempted and played into Nashville’s strategy of sitting back and looking to counter. This led to Leal’s goal when his pass attempt hit Moutinho in the back and jump-started the counter.

MF, Silvester van der Water, 6 — Like much of the Orlando City offense, van der Water took a bit to get going, and he had some heavy touches, but he eventually settled down and was able to contribute to Orlando City’s possession based game plan. Offensively, van der Water had one shot that wasn’t on target, was fouled once and dispossessed once. Defensively, he made three tackles, and had one clearance. He attempted 24 passes with a 79.2% passing rate, with three successful long balls out of four attempts. He came off in the 66th minute for Benji Michel.

F, Daryl Dike, 8 (MotM) — Calling Man of the Match was easy for me this time. Dike put in a shift. He earned fouls, did well in his holdup play, and once he got involved in the match, made sure that Nashville knew it. Add to that he was having to go up against Zimmerman all night and you can see how he’s coming back into form. Most importantly, he earned the penalty and then promptly put it in the back of the net. Decisively. It was that goal that gave the Lions hope, and allowed the comeback. Dike attempted two shots, with both on target. He also suffered three fouls, had one successful dribble, and was dispossessed twice. Defensively, Dike made one clearance, blocked one shot, and committed one foul. He attempted 12 passes with an 83.3% passing rate, attempted one long ball, and had one cross.

Substitutes

MF, Nani (66’), 6.5 — Nani wasted no time trying to impact the game with three shots taken and one of those on target and the other two coming close from outside the box. He had one successful dribble and suffered one foul. The captain attempted 15 passes with an 86.7% passing rate, and was successful on his one long ball. I know that people online will say his biggest contribution is that he didn’t take the penalty kick, but Dike grabbed that ball the second that the penalty was given. There was no way he wasn’t taking it. Given that Nani was on the bench to start this second consecutive important road match might mean he has a lingering knock, or it might mean nothing. Orlando City’s injury report means next to nothing, but I still feel it’s telling. That being said, the Lions did score both goals once Nani hit the pitch and his excellent corner delivery would have been an assist if Benji Michel had gotten onto it instead of the Nashville defender.

F, Benji Michel (66’), 7 — Offensively, Benji had one shot that was not on goal. Defensively he committed one foul. He attempted 4 passes with a 100% passing rate. Normally, that would mean an N/A for a grade, but he was the guy that forced the own goal on Brian Anunga to even the score and earn the point. Plus he did it without shoving Anunga or putting his forearm into the man’s neck. For that alone, he earns a good grade.

F, Tesho Akindele (83’), N/A — Tesho was brought on to help with the attack as Orlando City tried to equalize late in the match. To be fair, he did help. He maintained possession in Nashville’s half and offered himself up as another attacker that Nashville had to defend instead of just focusing on Dike. He earned the corner kick that created the tying goal and another in the 96th that might have produced a winner had Fischer not spotted some foul while the cross was in the air. He attempted six passes with a 66.7% passing rate but wasn’t on the pitch quite long enough to earn a grade.

D, Emmanuel Mas (90+2’), N/A — Mas was one of two late fullback subs that Pareja put on to spell Ruan and Moutinho as Orlando tried to ensure the club earned a point on the road. He attempted one pass and completed it.

D, Kyle Smith (90+2’), N/A — Smith was the other sub mentioned above. He did not get a touch on the ball.

That is how I saw the game. How do you feel about the individual performances? Tell us by commenting and voting on the Man of the Match below.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Mauricio Pereyra4
Daryl Dike27
Junior Urso0
Sebas Mendez2
Rodrigo Schlegel0
Other: Put answer in the comments0

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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

7 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

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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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