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Orlando City

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

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3 years ago

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Orlando City came into Decision Day needing a result on the road against CF Montreal to clinch a playoff spot. In a tense match, both sides traded punches early before Orlando City took some control with an incredible finish from Sebas Mendez. Daryl Dike put the game on ice with a late goal after Montreal went down a man.

It was tense, but in the end it was a strong, decisive 2-0 victory that clinched back-to-back postseasons for Orlando City. How did each Lion perform in Sunday’s regular season finale?

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 7.5 — Gallese was a hero early in the game, making some big saves and securing loose balls — including what should have been an easy tap-in for Montreal — to keep a clean sheet in the first half. He wasn’t asked to do as much down the stretch, but was his usual, great self in this game. El Pulpo finished with three saves, eight ball recoveries, 20 passes at a 45% completion rate, and was successful on nine of his 19 long balls.

D, Emmanuel Mas, 6 — I wasn’t impressed with Mas’s overall performance, especially his defensive work. Montreal was routinely attacking down his side of the field, creating plenty of dangerous chances and Mas wasn’t doing much to negate it. To his credit, he was strong in possession and going forward, completing 35 of 47 passes for a 74% success rate and also completing a dribble, although he did not attempt a cross. He also finished with three tackles, an interception, a block, two clearances, and six ball recoveries.

D, Robin Jansson, 7.5 — Jansson was massive in this game, especially early. He made big plays defensively and was opportunistic going forward, even hitting the post from a long-range free kick on one of his two shots (the other was blocked). Jansson also aided in possession with a handful of line-breaking deep balls. The Swede completed 83% of his 36 passes and was huge defensively with five clearances, two tackles, two interceptions, two blocks, and two ball recoveries.

D, Antonio Carlos, 7 — It was a solid defensive performance from Carlos. He kind of struggled with the ball, completing only 15 of 27 passes for a mediocre 56% success rate, but he was a force cleaning up defensively. He had six clearances, six ball recoveries, two interceptions, and two tackles. Even if it wasn’t his strongest game, the Brazilian center back came up big on the back end, making enough plays to protect the clean sheet.

D, Ruan, 7 — The Brazilian was quiet for most of the game, with no defensive stats beyond one ball recovery. He didn’t make much of an impact on offense as he was unsuccessful on all four of his attempted crosses, but he did have an assist on Dike’s goal. Ruan ripped through Montreal’s defense and delivered a nice ball through to Dike in space for the goal that all but guaranteed Orlando’s place in the postseason. The right back was successful on 16 of his 21 passes for a 76% success rate

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 7 — Pereyra started this match very well, looking clever and quick with the ball. Even as he faded down the stretch, it was a decent outing for the Uruguayan. He led the team with three key passes and completed 36 of his 46 passes for a 78% completion rate. His only shot was from a free kick and it was taken well enough that Sebastian Breza had to make a diving save that went out for a corner. Pereyra also got it done with the ball, completing three of his four attempted dribbles. He was a touch sloppy and at times out of sync with the players around him, but it was overall a strong game. He also finished with an interception and seven ball recoveries, defensively.

MF, Sebas Mendez, 7.5 — It was a moment of absolute brilliance from Mendez that opened the scoring for Orlando City as he scored his first goal for the club. The perfectly placed curler beat the keeper from range and I didn’t know he had this shooting ability in his locker. His overall game was pretty strong, cleaning up defensively and keying possession from defense to attack. Mendez completed 47 of 49 passes for an excellent 96% completion rate and he had a tackle, two clearances, a block, and seven ball recoveries. The goal overshadowed everything else, but it was another strong performance from the Ecuadorian.

MF, Junior Urso, 6 — This was one of Urso’s quieter performances in recent weeks. He was his usual, active self, but he made some mistakes with the ball that gave Montreal opportunities that fortunately didn’t amount to much. Urso completed 85% of 34 passes and had his only shot blocked. Defensively, he had two tackles, an interception, five ball recoveries, and a clearance.

MF, Silvester van der Water, 5.5 — The Dutchman had some promising moments, but it was a lackluster half of action for van der Water. At times, he looked good on the ball and threatening going forward, but he made too many mistakes and didn’t have any shots or crosses in open play. He did have a key pass and was successful on one of his two set pieces. Van der Water completed just eight of 12 passes and had one successful dribble. He did little defensively, finishing with a tackle and one ball recovery.

F, Benji Michel, 5.5 — Maybe this is a little harsh, but Michel wasn’t particularly sharp in this game. He was gritty and had flashes, but he was consistently one of the weaker links in Orlando City’s attack. His lone shot was off target and he didn’t have any crosses. Michel completed 16 of 20 passes, had a key pass, completed two dribbles, was dispossessed twice, and also had an interception, a clearance, and three ball recoveries. His hustle defensively helped support Mas as Montreal attacked down its right side much of the game.

F, Daryl Dike, 8 (MotM) — The big highlight was the late goal, with an excellent run and finish to ice the game, but his overall impact was immense. He was a constant outlet in possession — even if his touch was inconsistent — and he was a nuisance in the press. Multiple times he was in good spots upfield, but there was nobody around him in support. By the end of the match, his hustle and physicality were too much for Montreal to match, contributing to a Montreal red card from Rudy Camacho’s slide tackle against him.

The American striker completed 13 of 18 passes for a 72% success rate and his other shot apart from the goal was a header flicked off target. Dike had a key pass, made a successful dribble, drew five fouls, and also had a tackle and a clearance. In the biggest moment of the season, Orlando’s brightest young star made a splash.

Substitutes

MF, Andres Perea (45’), 6 — Perea came in at halftime for van der Water to help shore up the midfield and I think he did a good job of that. Once Perea got on the field, Orlando felt more solid defensively and wasn’t nearly as exposed as in the first half. He only completed six of 11 passes for a 55% completion rate and also had a completed dribble. Defensively, he had three tackles, a clearance, a block, and three ball recoveries.

D, Kyle Smith (87’), N/A — The wave of substitutes came in after the second goal and nobody had to do much of anything in their cameos. Kyle Smith completed both of his passes while on the field, won a corner, and wasn’t asked to do much defensively.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel (87’), N/A — Schlegel came in to add more defensive bodies on the field and helped keep things solid in the final stages. He had a clearance, completed both of his passes, and made a ball recovery.

F, Tesho Akindele (87’), N/A — Akindele completed all four of his passes and made an interception in his brief appearance late in the match.

MF, Uri Rosell (89’), N/A — Rosell helped out in the midfield during stoppage time and had an interception and a ball recovery.

That’s how I judged things. Make sure to leave your thoughts below and vote for your Orlando City Man of the Match.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Daryl Dike17
Sebas Mendez36
Robin Jansson10
Other (Comment Below)2

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/22/25

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

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5 hours ago

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April 22, 2025

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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.

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

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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.

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1 day ago

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April 21, 2025

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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.

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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.

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1 day ago

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April 21, 2025

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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.

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

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