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Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew: Final Score 3-2 as Mistake-Prone Lions Flounder on Road

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3 years ago

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Orlando City lost a critical match in the MLS playoff race due to sloppy early play, falling 3-2 to the Columbus Crew at Lower.com Stadium. Lucas Zelarayan set up two goals and scored another to lead the hosts. Daryl Dike scored from the penalty spot and Robin Jansson scored a late cosmetic goal but it was a devastating result for the Lions.

The loss snapped a five-match unbeaten run overall and a five-game winning streak against Columbus, and dropped the Lions (12-9-11, 47 points) to just 1-4-1 on the road against the Crew (11-13-8, 41 points) in the all-time series. The loss, along with results elsewhere dropped Orlando City to fifth place in the Eastern Conference, just four points above the eighth-place New York Red Bulls. The Crew avoided being eliminated for the moment, but sit in 10th, three points behind D.C. United in that final playoff spot.

“I think it’s a painful result for sure,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “After those two goals that we conceded the energy got lower. Columbus started getting more enthusiasim for the game. Half of the first half we did not react well.”

Pareja went with Pedro Gallese in net behind a back line of Kyle Smith, Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Ruan. Andres Perea slotted into central midfield with Sebas Mendez as Junior Urso got a little rest. Mauricio Pereyra and Chris Mueller facilitated the attack to Nani and Dike.

The Lions were sloppy in the early going, giving the ball away cheaply in the attack and making too many mistakes in their own end, which led to both of the Crew’s first-half goals. Both of the first-half strikes by Columbus were preventable.

The first preventable goal came on the recycle of a corner kick. Zelarayan’s cross fell at Smith’s feet but he kicked it right back to the Crew’s best passer. Zelarayan sent a second cross into the area and found Berry who nodded home to make it 1-0 in the 20th minute.

The Lions generated a chance to tie things up in the 26th minute when Mueller was fouled by Pedro Santos. Pereyra’s service was perfect for Carlos but Mueller tried to get onto it and headed wide with Carlos in better position.

Four minutes later, the Crew doubled their lead on another preventable play. Ruan seemed to have a good view of the field and space to head the ball up the field and out of danger but he instead nodded behind for a corner. Zelarayan’s cross was a difficult one to the back post and Gallese couldn’t reach it. Ruan was trying to mark Derrick Etienne on the back post but was far too casual with it and allowed an easy tap-in in the 31st minute.

Etienne nearly had a second in the 38th minute, flicking on a pass from Steven Moreira. The ball skipped across the face of goal just outside the line and missed at the back post.

Jansson then made a terrific play in front to deny a cross from getting to Berry for another easy goal in the 44th minute.

The halftime stats were pretty even. Each team held 50% of the possession and each attempted four shots. Columbus, however, got two of their four on target (both goals), while the Lions didn’t hit the target. Orlando was surprisingly (to the naked eye) the more accurate passing team (85%-81.4%), while the Crew won more corners (4-2).

But where Orlando struggled was in the middle of the pitch. Pereyra sent a number of passes into too tight of a window, turning it over. Orlando struggled to get Nani involved and Darlington Nagbe and Marlon Hairston dominated the middle of the field.

Pareja made two changes at the break, sending on Tesho Akindele and Benji Michel for Nani and Mendez.

The Lions got exactly what they needed early in the second half. A shot by Michel looked to deflect out for a corner on first glance, but the attempt hit the outstretched arm of Jonathan Mensah. After going to the monitor, referee Joseph Dickerson awarded a penalty and it was clear-cut on the replay. Dike stepped to the spot and saw his shot saved by Eloy Room but Dickerson again went to the monitor and determined that the Crew keeper clearly came off his line early. Dike retook the spot kick, used the same approach, and blasted it past Room to make it 2-1 in the 52nd minute.

Dike improved to three-for-three from the spot this season and scored his eighth goal of the year. He matched his rookie season goal total in one fewer appearance and two fewer starts.

Rather than ride the momentum of getting back in the game, Orlando got sloppy again. A misplaced pass from Jansson started a counter that ended in Ruan conceding a dangerous free kick but Zelarayan hit the wall with his shot. Moments later, Perea tried to pass into traffic and ignited another Crew transition opportunity. This time Smith committed a foul just outside the box and was booked for it. Zelarayan went for goal again and Gallese made a save.

But Zelarayan got his goal moments later. Perea left Zelarayan to track Moreira on the wing with the ball and the right back sent it back to his Designated Player midfielder. Perea was caught in no man’s land, having to cover two attackers, with Michel too far up the field to help and Pereyra too far away toward the inside. No one closed Zelarayan down as a result and he did what Designated Players do, taking his time to tee it up and scoring a golazo from distance to restore the two-goal advantage.

“I thought we conceded too much space for a player with that quality,” Pareja said. “We know he has that range of shooting. He’s always just waiting to have that possibility because he’s effective in that position.”

“I think, I don’t know maybe five minutes after we scored the PK, we kind of started to slow down and that’s when they scored their (third) goal, which was kind of obviously not good for us,” Akindele said. “So I think that little five-minute dip in our energy was was kind of the killer tonight.”

The Lions could have pulled that goal right back. A ball into the box bounced up for Mueller to head toward the target but the Orlando winger couldn’t have hit his shot any straighter at the goalkeeper than he did, letting Room off the hook from point-blank range.

Orlando didn’t learn from Zelarayan’s goal because the Lions left him alone at the top of the box again in the 65th minute, but the DP couldn’t make good contact with the cross to direct his shot on goal.

As the game wound down, Orlando didn’t get many chances to climb back into it. They didn’t do much with a couple of corner kicks and Perea fired over the bar from long range in transition when he perhaps could have set up one of his forwards who were running forward with him for a better opportunity in the 78th minute.

Dickerson awarded nine minutes of stoppage time due to the lengthy reviews on the penalty and an injury to Marlon Hairston in the second half. Orlando finally pulled back to within striking distance in the 92nd minute when Akindele got the ball on the left and sent in a perfect back-post cross to a streaking Jansson, who slotted it just inside the left post to make it 3-2.

“It’s funny, because the play started with Robin winning the ball in our half,” said Akindele, who picked up his career-high sixth assist on the play. “When I cut in Robin was there and I just tried to put the ball in a dangerous area.”

But an equalizer never came. The Lions struggled to keep possession and to work the ball into dangerous areas when they did get a hold of it.

Orlando had more possession (51.7%-48.3%), more shots (12-10), and a higher passing accuracy (82.3%-81.3%), while the hosts got more shots on target (5-3) and won more corners (5-4).

The loss doesn’t eliminate Orlando’s chances of hosting a playoff match but with a tough opponent coming to Exploria Stadium Sunday and a difficult trip to Canada to face Montreal on Decision Day, the Lions seem to be more in survival mode than playing for positioning.

“Not qualifying for playoffs would be a huge failure for our team,” Akindele said. “And we know that and honestly for us, qualifying for playoffs is just step one. So, we expect that we’re going to qualify for playoffs. I think we have the quality in our team. We have a good home game coming up. And we still have two games left in the season. So I think that we’re still in good position, and we expect that we’ll qualify.”

“We have to refocus again with the proximity of these games,” Pareja said. “There’s not too much time to feel sorry for ourselves. We have to just move on and try to focus on Nashville.”

The Lions return home for their home finale of the 2021 MLS regular season when they host Nashville SC on Sunday at 4 p.m.

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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: 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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