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Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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4 years ago

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Orlando City hosted FC Cincinnati and fell 2-1 after a brace from Brandon Vazquez. Junior Urso was able to score his first goal of the season to equalize after the first Vazquez goal, but the Lions couldn’t find another goal in them in the second half. It was a windy night in Orlando, making crossing even more difficult as Cincy stacked the box with bodies to earn a result on the road. Orlando’s offense looked threatening but couldn’t convert as the Lions lost their first game of 2022.

Here’s how the Lions individually performed in the loss.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6 — El Pulpo wasn’t able to come up with a save in a one-on-one against Vazquez as Orlando conceded its first goal of the season in the 13th minute. On the second goal, Gallese nearly reacted in time to get a hand to Vazquez’s quick header, but there was enough speed that it may have gone in regardless. His only save of the night was a good one against another header from Vazquez. Gallese passed at a strong 89.5% success rate and was accurate on four of his six long balls.

D, Joao Moutinho, 6 — There wasn’t too much the Portuguese left back could do to stop the first Vazquez goal, as the Cincinnati forward cut inside between defenders and Luciano Acosta’s ball in transition was inch perfect. His 106 touches were the second most on the team behind Mauricio Pereyra as he worked with Facundo Torres on the left flank to create chances. Although there were miscues here and there, the pair formed a strong connection that grew as the game went on. Although he did a good job finding open space to deliver crosses, none of his six attempts found the target due to the visitors packing the box and none of his five long balls were able to find their targets either. One of his crosses led to Orlando’s goal though, as Geoff Cameron couldn’t clear it cleanly and Torres was there to send in another for Urso to score off of. Moutinho led the Lions with four tackles and was successful on five of his attempted dribbles. He also had two clearances and a shot that went high and wide. He was strong in the air with a team-high four aerials won, and he passed at a 79% rate.

D, Robin Jansson, 5.5 — Jansson returned to the starting lineup following his one-game suspension. The Swede was beaten by Acosta’s pass on the first Vazquez goal but that’s more due to placement and timing than a positioning issue. However, he drifted too far from his mark on the second goal, allowing Vazquez an easy free header for the second goal. His 84 touches were the third most on the team, and he was successful on 86% of his 78 passes while accurate on two of his seven attempted long balls. It’s unclear how those are charted, as he connected multiple seeing-eye passes through the Cincinnati formation during the game to switch play. Jansson had a clearance and a pair of blocks, including a crucial one in stoppage time against Vazquez that kept the Lions alive. He received a yellow card for dissent as well in a frustrating night for Orlando. It was the kind of preventable booking that will end up being costly when he gets his fifth.

D, Antonio Carlos, 6 — Carlos led the Lions with three clearances and two interceptions while also adding two tackles in a decent defensive performance. He was successful on 89% of his 65 passes to help Orlando build possession and was also accurate on seven of his 10 long balls. The Brazilian center back drifted forward as the Lions searched for a goal and had two shots, one on target that forced a good save late in the game and the other blocked. Like Jansson, he foolishly received a preventable yellow card for dissent.

D, Ruan, 4.5 — Ruan’s crossing was especially poor in this match as he was only accurate on two of his 10 attempted crosses. Orlando players would often find Ruan in a good position behind enemy lines but the attack swiftly died once he tried to send the ball into the box. He either needs to improve at crossing or figure out a better way to attack, such as racing toward goal and giving a cutback pass. Things weren’t much better for him on defense, as he was shouldered off the ball on a counter attack by Dominique Badji to allow the assist on Cincy’s winner. He was caught jogging back after being upfield and could not recover to hold Badji up enough for Orlando to recover defensively. He had a chance to atone moments later but overhit what should have been an easy short cross to Kara after Pato sent him behind on the right. His only defensive stat was an interception and he was accurate on his lone long ball. He completed 35 of his 40 passes for an 88% success rate, but his crossing was a killer as he hardly worried Cincy’s defense. He had two particularly wasteful ones late, sending one into outside netting and the other was hit long for a goal kick.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6.5 — Araujo did plenty of the little things in another strong match as he won five fouls and completed 48 of his 52 passes for an impressive, team-best 92.3% success rate. His best moment came in the 51st minute when he inserted himself between Badji and an open net, walling off the attacker to win a foul after a tough save by Gallese ended up with a loose ball in front of goal. His worst moment was a bad pass that nearly ended up with Cincy scoring on the counter. Araujo understandably didn’t get involved much in the attack, although he was accurate on all three of his long balls and had one shot that was off target. Defensively, he finished with a tackle, an interception, and a clearance, and he came off in the 66th minute as the Lions hunted for goals while trailing. The 20-year-old continues to impress after joining this off-season.

MF, Júnior Urso, 7.5 (MotM) — The Bear’s goal counted this time as he made a great run into the box and smashed a header off the ground and past Alec Kann. It was one of Urso’s team-high four shots in the match, and he led Orlando with three shots on target while the fourth was blocked. He also had a key pass in the second half to give Benji Michel a crack at goal. On the defensive side of things, Urso had three tackles and an interception. Urso also did a nice job drawing five fouls, including three in the attacking third to set up dangerous set pieces for Orlando. He had 70 touches in 88 minutes of action and completed 86% of his 51 passes in a strong, all-around performance.

MF, Facundo Torres, 6.5 — For his first assist in MLS, Torres pounced on a loose ball near the end line and delivered a great cross for Urso to connect with. It was one of many impressive moments from the 21-year-old and Orlando looked most dangerous when he was on the ball. While his height was a mismatch at times against Cincy, his speed gave him plenty of opportunities to make runs and whip balls into the box. Of his seven crosses, four found their mark, and he led the team with five key passes. Both of his two shots were off target. Like Chicago last week, Cincy sent Facu to the ground often as he continues to get a rough welcome to the league and although Chris Penso called a tight game most of the night, he allowed the visitors to take a few liberties with the Uruguayan. As a result, he was dispossessed four times but hustled to chase after them and finished with 81 touches and 54 passes at an 85% success rate, while completing one of his three long balls.

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 6 — Orlando’s captain led the Lions with 108 touches and 81 passes, as he hustled around the field to serve as an outlet for teammates and fuel the attack. But the captain had a mixed night. His poorly placed pass ceded possession and led to the opening Cincinnati goal. He had a chance for an equalizer late in the match but he had to strike with his weak foot and sent the ball high from close range. That strike was one of two shots from him, the other sent wide from an ambitious free kick. There was another shot from long range that was well off target and perhaps so badly so that it wasn’t officially counted as a shot attempt. The Uruguayan had two key passes, completed 82% of his total passes, and was dispossessed three times. He was successful on four of his seven attempted crosses and accurate on four of his six long balls. Pereyra helped out defensively as well with two tackles, an interception, and a clearance. But he struggled at times on through-ball attempts, creating transition attempts for Cincinnati, and missed a couple of his teammates’ runs into space that could have gotten Orlando in behind the tightly packed Cincinnati defense.

MF, Alexandre Pato, 6 — The Brazilian had moments of brilliance throughout the match, including a beautiful ball right in front of goal for Kara despite a lack of vision. It was one of two key passes for Pato in the match as he tried to spark something on offense while trailing. One of his two shots on the night was a header well saved by Kann and the other was from distance but never dipped back down to get on target. He was accurate on one of his two attempted crosses as well. Pato played every minute of the match and had 50 touches while completing 82% of his 34 passes. While the series of passes between him and his teammates looked pretty at times, it wasn’t enough to put the ball in the back of the net as the final product was just never there.

F, Ercan Kara, 6 — In his first start as a Lion, he nearly scored in the 22nd minute with a diving header after Pato found him in the center of the box but Kann made a good save. It was his only official shot of the night — the statistician was a bit stingy in the game, not giving him a shot for his flick attempt off a first-half cross from Ruan, which was blocked by a defender — but he did well working himself into good positions in the center of the box. With the opposition leading much of the match and sitting back defensively, Kara was limited to 24 touches in 88 minutes. He completed 63% of his 16 passes but did create a scoring chance and his off-the-ball movement was good. He nearly had a tap-in in the first half off a good Moutinho cross but he was sandwiched between two defenders and couldn’t make contact with the ball. He tired notably in the second half and wasn’t as involved but the signs are there that Kara can be a dangerous addition to the Orlando attack.

Substitutes

F, Benji Michel (67’), 5.5 — Michel came on for Araujo to give Orlando another offensive weapon while trailing in the match. The Homegrown Player used his speed against Cincy’s tired legs to find himself in good positions to score, but he wasn’t able to get any of his three shots on target as two were blocked and the other — on which he was sent down the right by a good Pato pass — went wide. He had 19 touches and was dispossessed twice and halted a potential attack with a handball, while making one key pass to try to spark something. Michel didn’t have any crosses and completed seven of his nine passes for a 78% success rate. He brought needed energy to the offense and gave Cincy’s defense trouble, but ultimately couldn’t capitalize on it.

MF, Sebas Mendez (88’), N/A — It was a brief appearance for Mendez, but he had 12 touches and was successful on nine of his 11 passes for an 82% rate. The Ecuadorian also had a tackle and helped stop Vazquez from getting a hat trick in stoppage time.

F, Tesho Akindele (88’), N/A — The Canadian striker wasn’t able to replicate the success he’s had against Cincy in the past in his brief appearance. He had just three touches and only completed one of his three passes.

That’s how I saw the performances in Orlando City’s home loss to FC Cincinnati. It was a disappointing result, but the players will have to shake it off before road trips out west the next two weeks to take on the LA Galaxy and Portland Timbers. Be sure to vote in the poll below for your Man of the Match.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Junior Urso29
Facundo Torres3
Cesar Araujo3
Joao Moutinho5
Other (tell us who in the comments)9

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Lion Links: 6/16/26

Alex Freeman’s impact, World Cup results roundup, Tunisia makes coaching change, and more.

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14 hours ago

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June 16, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Good morning, everyone! I write to you from Seattle, where I touched down last night ahead of attending the United States Men’s National Team’s second group game against Australia on Friday. I’ll spend the early part of this week getting out into some nature with my family, before returning to the city on Thursday to cheer on our boys against the Aussies. We’ve got lots to talk about today, so let’s get into the links!

Alex Freeman’s Impact

By now, I’m sure you know that the USMNT opened its time at the World Cup with a rousing 4-1 shellacking of Paraguay. What you might not know is the role that former Orlando City fullback Alex Freeman played in the victory. He continued his meteoric rise since debuting for OCSC’s senior side last season, as he went the full 90 minutes against Paraguay and racked up an assist, two interceptions, and five recoveries. He also pushed forward and took up positions in the half spaces that cause plenty of problems for the opponent’s defense and was mostly sharp with his positioning defensively. Here’s hoping he continues that sort of form!

World Cup Results Roundup

It was another engrossing day of World Cup action on Monday, and things got off to a very strong start. Debutants Cape Verde played Spain to a scoreless draw in Atlanta, as the 64th-ranked team in the world picked up its first World Cup point in its first-ever match. The second game of the day saw Egypt take a surprising lead over Belgium before the introduction of Romelu Lukaku off the bench forced an own goal that leveled the score and saw the game end 1-1. Uruguay and Saudi Arabia made it three draws in three games, as the underdogs once again took the lead before Uruguay fought back well in the second half. The final game of the day between Iran and New Zealand concluded after our editorial deadline.

Tunisia Fires Head Coach

It only took four days of games for this World Cup to get its first managerial change, as Tunisia fired head coach Sabri Lamouchi on Monday morning. Tunisia wrapped up Sunday’s action by being on the wrong end of a 5-1 hammering against Sweden to open tournament play on a less-than-ideal note. The loss meant Tunisia has won just one of its last eight games, and the team has given up five goals in two straight games after slumping to a 5-0 loss to Belgium in its final pre-tournament friendly. Mondher Kebaier will take over as interim head coach and has a lot to fix before Tunisia faces Japan in its second group game on Saturday.

Global Transfer Summary

Under cover of the World Cup, transfers are still flying thick and fast around the world. We begin with Real Madrid, which announced the signing of fullback Marc Cucurella from Chelsea on Monday morning. Elsewhere, former Lens manager Pierre Sage was named Oliver Glasner’s successor as the head coach of Crystal Palace. Moving into the realm of rumor, winger Ismael Saibari is reportedly close to joining Bayern Munich from PSV Eindhoven, with a medical the only thing left standing in the way from putting pen to paper. Finally, new Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho is said to be keen on signing midfielder Felix Nmecha from Borussia Dortmund, but he will likely face stiff competition from Premier League sides and Dortmund itself.

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  • Cape Verde’s goalkeeper was superb in the team’s draw against Spain and has seen his online popularity explode as a result.

Great game here today at Field

— Jon Marthaler (@jonmarthaler.com) 2026-06-15T21:34:03.199Z

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

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Lion Links: 6/15/26

OCB beats Huntsville City, OCB signs Parker Amoo-Mensah, USMNT defeats Paraguay in World Cup, and more.

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2 days ago

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June 15, 2026

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Image of Matthew Belgodere of OCB against Huntsville City.
Image courtesy of Orlando City B

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been keeping myself busy at work but tried to catch as many World Cup matches as possible. I did get to check out the Mumford & Sons and Rufus Du Sol concerts at Wrigley Field up here in Chicago. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

OCB Defeats Huntsville City FC on the Road

Orlando City B completed the comeback, overturning a 1-0 deficit to beat Huntsville City FC 2-1 at Wicks Family Field Saturday. Huntsville struck first to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Matthew Belgodere buried the equalizer for the Young Lions. Jacob Ramirez scored the final goal of the match for OCB to seal the win on the road and extend its winning streak to four games. That result lifts the Young Lions to third in the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference table with 28 points. OCB will return home to face Philadelphia Union II Sunday at Osceola County Stadium.

OCB Signs Parker Amoo-Mensah

Orlando City B has signed academy defender Parker Amoo-Mensah to an MLS NEXT Pro contract. The club announced the signing Friday with the deal running through the 2028 season. Amoo-Mensah has made 12 appearances for the Young Lions during the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season, starting eight matches, and has one assist.

USMNT Defeats Paraguay in World Cup Opener

The U.S. Men’s National Team defeated Paraguay 4-1 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA, to win its opening match in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Former Lion Alex Freeman played a full 90 minutes and recorded an assist in the match, while Orlando City midfielder Braian Ojeda was on Paraguay’s bench but did not play. The USMNT’s opening goal was an own goal from Paraguay midfielder Damian Bobadilla to give the Yanks the lead in the first half. Falorin Balogun scored twice for the U.S to take a 3-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Paraguay pulled one back, but Gio Reyna added the insurance goal. The USMNT will face Australia in its second group stage match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Lumen Field in Seattle on Friday.

2026 FIFA World Cup Recap

On Friday, Canada drew Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-1. Orlando City goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau started the match and had two clutch saves while former Lions Cyle Larin and Richie Laryea were also in action. Larin scored the equalizer for the Canadian Men’s National Team, securing a draw and earning its first-ever point in a World Cup match. On Saturday, Qatar and Switzerland played to a 1-1 draw, Brazil and Morocco settled for a 1-1 draw, Scotland secured its first World Cup win in 36 years with a 1-0 victory over Haiti, and Australia defeated Turkey 2-0. On Sunday, Kai Havertz scored twice for Germany in a 7-1 win over Curacao, Japan trailed twice and fought back for a 2-2 draw against the Netherlands, Amad Diallo scored a late winner for Ivory Coast in a 1-0 win over Ecuador, and Sweden and Tunisia kicked off late. Today’s matches will feature Spain facing Cape Verde, Belgium taking on Egypt, Saudi Arabia facing Uruguay, and Iran taking on New Zealand.

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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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Orlando City

Flashback Friday: June 10, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids

Let’s take a trip down memory lane to a booking-laden match at home that took place a little less than three years ago.

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4 days ago

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June 12, 2026

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

The World Cup is now officially underway, and while that means Orlando City is on break, we can’t have you forgetting about the Lions while all the international action is taking place. That means its time for another edition of Flashback Friday, where we hop in the trusty time machine and reminisce on OCSC matches of yesteryear.

Last week we relived a rousing road win over the New York Red Bulls from June, 3 2023, and this week, we actually pick up right where we left off, on June 10, 2023 as the Lions returned home to take on the Colorado Rapids.

Coming off a 3-0 win over the Red Bulls in the previous match, Oscar Pareja decided to not mess with a good thing, and kept Orlando City’s same starting XI from that victory. Pedro Gallese was in net behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith. Wilder Cartagena and Cesar Araujo played the double pivot; Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres were the attacking midfielders, and Ercan Kara was deployed as the striker.

In typical June fashion for the City Beautiful, kickoff was delayed by just under an hour as the stadium was pounded by storms, and the delay did not look to have done any favors for Orlando’s sharpness. That said, OCSC did win a corner kick less than a minute into the game, and Torres had a tame shot saved in the eighth minute, but the Lions weren’t consistently sharp with their passing in the early moments of the contest.

The teams traded chances just before the 15-minute mark, with Kara sending a header too high before Cole Bassett sent a shot straight to Gallese. Carlos then picked up a yellow card in the 24th minute, which evened things out between the two teams after Lalas Abubakar was cautioned for the Rapids after just six minutes. Those two bookings proved to be a harbinger of things to come, because Colorado went down to 10 men in the 39th minute after midfielder Braian Galvan caught Angulo with a high boot while his studs were showing.

Pereyra had Orlando’s best chance of the opening 45 minutes in stoppage time but could only send his effort right at goalkeeper Marko Ilic, and that was the last significant action of the half. The Lions ended the half with an edge in possession (59.7%-40.3%), shots (7-2), shots on target (2-1), and passing accuracy (85.3%-79.4%), while both teams won two corners.

Pareja made two moves at halftime, bringing on Rodrigo Schlegel for the once-booked Carlos, and Martin Ojeda for Cartagena in an effort to go more offensive against a shorthanded Rapids side. The Lions certainly looked brighter going forward as the second half got underway and had a few dangerous moments before finally breaking the deadlock in the 55th minute.

Pereyra played a ball across the top of the box for Torres, who took a couple of touches before sending a ball to the net that took a wicked deflection off Andreas Maxsø that carried it past Ilic.

It wasn’t the prettiest goal the Lions have ever scored, but for a team that was guilty at times of passing up good shots in favor of the perfect look at goal, it was proof that sometimes you just need to take shots in dangerous areas.

Fortunately, Orlando seemed to take that lesson to heart. Kara went close in the 65th minute despite shooting through traffic, Angulo had a shot deflected by Abubakar three minutes later, and Torres had another deflected effort go just wide of the post four minutes after that.

The game changed again in the 75th minute, when the Rapids had another player sent off. Abubakar lasted for 69 minutes on a yellow card but got burned by Angulo in midfield and hauled him down in order to prevent the Lions from potentially working a transition opportunity. He had some teammates behind him, but the referee showed him a second yellow card. Pareja smelled blood in the water and just three minutes later he brought on Ramiro Enrique for Smith, who had been given a yellow card in the 52nd minute.

Ilic made a great save on Pereyra in the 81st minute to keep the score at 1-0 and keep the Rapids in the game, but Orlando got its second goal just two minutes later. Torres had the ball on the right side of the box with a Colorado player backing off him, and that gave him ample time to get his head up and pick out a man. He played a ball to Enrique at the top of the box, who had plenty of time to take a couple of touches and send a low shot into the bottom corner past a diving Ilic for his first goal as an Orlando City player.

Somewhat surprisingly, the game started to get a little stretched after the Lions doubled their advantage. Colorado had a shot blocked in the 81st minute, Kara sent a shot very close to the post six minutes after that, and Gallese saved a Darren Yapi attempt in the 88th minute to keep his clean sheet alive. Aside from Pareja handing Alejandro Granados his MLS debut, that was the last significant action of the match, which finished 2-0 to the good guys.

Unsurprisingly, considering Colorado’s deficit in players, the Lions dominated all of the game’s most important statistics. OCSC finished with the advantage in possession (65%-35%), shots (15-4), shots on goal (6-2), corners (5-3), and passing accuracy (89.4%-81.5%).

The victory made it back-to-back wins for the first time in 2023, stretched Orlando’s unbeaten run to six, and gave El Pulpo his 100th clean sheet for the team in all competitions.

Marcus Mitchell had the helm for Player Grades in this one, and Torres got his nod for Man of the Match with a goal, an assist, and a grade of 7.5 out of 10. Several other Lions graded out at 7 out of 10, with only one player grading below a 6.

While it was a weird win, it unfortunately was the final game of the unbeaten streak, as the Lions fell to a familiar defeat at Gillette Stadium the following week, although things got back on track soon afterward. I’ll see you back here in a week for another trip down memory lane. Vamos Orlando!

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