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Orlando City vs. Toronto FC: Five Takeaways

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2 years ago

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After a brutal loss in Montreal a week ago and a midweek home U.S. Open Cup win against the Philadelphia Union, there was plenty of uncertainty what kind of Orlando City team would show up for a regular-season road match against Toronto FC. Prior to the Open Cup match, the Lions had a forgettable three-game stretch in which they lost twice, attempted only 12 total shots, and managed to get just five on target.

But Orlando controlled just about the entire match in Toronto during Saturday’s 1-0 win over the Reds. The goal didn’t come until stoppage time, but at least it did come.

Here are my takeaways from the match:

The Shots Returned

After attempting three, seven, and two shots in the matches against the New York Red Bulls, Charlotte FC, and Montreal, respectively, Orlando City fired 17 times, putting six of them on target. That was more shot attempts and more shots on target in one match than the Lions had in their previous three league games combined. The quality of some of those shots can certainly be debated, but it’s clear that there was a concerted effort by Orlando to send more balls at goal. Mauricio Pereyra, Junior Urso, and Joao Moutinho each attempted three shots in the match.

Suspect Crossing Quality

While it was good to see the Lions attempting more shots, that was somewhat to be expected as they controlled most of the tempo and possession. The quality of the chances created, however, was a bit suspect at times and that’s because the crossing left a lot to be desired. Orlando City attempted 22 crosses in the match, but only five of them were accurate. Fullbacks Ruan and Moutinho combined to attempt five crosses without a single connection. Facundo Torres wasn’t much better, connecting on only one of five attempts. Three of the team’s five accurate crosses came from Pereyra, who attempted seven — not a bad rate, but the wide players must be better to generate chances for Ercan Kara, who is a big, active target in the box. Kara only managed one shot attempt, owing largely to a failure to get him the ball. The Designated Player managed only 17 touches in more than an hour. Some of that is on him, but a lot of it is his teammates not getting him the ball.

The best cross of the match was the last one, when Alexandre Pato set up Kyle Smith’s winning goal with a dangerous, low ball with pace off a corner kick.

Corner Kick Follies

For some reason, Orlando City is in love with the short corner. Whether that owes to a height discrepancy in the box (aside from Kara) or some other reason, I’m not sure, but the team has been comically bad at short corners. At Toronto on Saturday, there was one short corner where the team didn’t even complete the first pass of the play and Toronto was gifted a counter-attack opportunity. I semi-jokingly rant about short corners on Twitter often (#BanShortCorners). There are certain times and opponents when they make more sense than a traditional delivery into the area. However, until the Lions get better at them, they should be shelved. Perhaps they’re coming off well in training? If so, the team has to start showing that on the pitch against opposing competition. Corner kicks should be scoring chances for your team, not the opposition. Height isn’t the only requirement to succeeding on a corner kick. Smith wasn’t the tallest Lion on the pitch for the winning set piece but he got himself free and executed, and Pato sent him a great ball. More of this, please.

Tired Bear?

I was shocked to see Junior Urso go the full 90 minutes because he was a bit off all game long after playing an outstanding full game in the midweek win over Philadelphia. For the second game in a row, Oscar Pareja deployed Urso as a winger — at least to start. The Bear still turned in his usual hard-working performance and did a lot of useful things, but his touch was off all day and it wrecked several outstanding scoring chances. One heavy touch prevented him from finding teammates during a 3-v-1 transition opportunity. Another heavy touch ruined a great buildup that started with Robin Jansson’s lung-busting run through the entire TFC squad. Urso also failed to get a sitter on target with no goalkeeper in front of him on a nice pass from Ruan. Instead of coming off, Urso instead was moved into the central midfield box-to-box role when Jake Mulraney replaced Andres Perea.

Unusual Substitution Pattern Works

Pareja’s sub pattern was a bit different in this one, but it ultimately worked well. Mulraney entering for Perea was essentially like-for-like because he took up a wing spot and Urso moved from wing to the No. 8 role. After that, things got a little less conventional. In the 76th minute, Pato and Smith came in for Kara and Torres. This was somewhat like-for-like with Ruan pushing up into a winger role, but not precisely. Pato is a much different forward than Kara and dropped deeper to get involved in the match. Ruan didn’t become a conventional winger, however. as Smith served as a de facto third center back and the two fullbacks moved up into wingback roles, changing the team’s shape. This served to calm down a game that had become more open at the start of the second half when Toronto subbed Ayo Akinola on for Ralph Priso. Other than that, not too much changed, although Pato and Smith combined on the match-winning play.

The final sub was definitely not like-for-like as Sebas Mendez came on for Pereyra. Without a true backup No. 10 on the team, that role was filled by a combination of Pato and Urso. It was unconventional, but it worked, and credit to Pareja for thinking a bit outside the box.

Those are the things that stuck out to me in the win in Toronto. What did you see? Let me know in the comments.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Three Keys to Victory

What does Orlando City need to do to ensure a victory over FC Cincinnati Saturday at home?

Published

10 hours ago

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May 2, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City looks to bounce back from the disappointing 2-1 loss to Toronto FC Saturday night at Inter&Co Stadium. Cincinnati has twice as many points as Orlando City and more than twice as many wins. FCC has only scored one more goal than Orlando City, but with only nine goals conceded compared to Orlando City’s 17, it’s easy to see why Cincinnati is sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference.

What I’m trying to say is that the task doesn’t get any easier this weekend. What does Orlando City need to do to secure all three points at home against FC Cincinnati?

Accost Acosta

Cincinnati’s attack revolves around Luciano Acosta. The attacking midfielder has four goals and five assists so far this season. To put that into perspective, Duncan McGuire — Orlando City’s leading scorer — also has four goals but only one assist. If we look at the Lions’ attacking midfielders, Facundo Torres has one goal and one assist, Ivan Angulo and Nico Lodeiro both have one goal and two assists, and Martin Ojeda has zero goals and only one assist. Luis Muriel is still at double zeroes.

The defensive midfield and the back line must do everything possible to mark him out of the match. It’s not enough to keep him from scoring, they must also keep him from setting up chances for his teammates. Most importantly, the defense must do that for 90 minutes plus stoppage time. There is no room for the mental lapses we’ve seen throughout the first part of this season.

Break Through

Cincinnati is stingy on defense. As I mentioned above, the club has only allowed nine goals this season. The back line is formidable with the likes of Matt Miazga, Miles Robinson, and Ian Murphy. On the wings are DeAndre Yedlin and Luca Orellano. This is a tough defense, and whether it is McGuire or Muriel who gets the start, they must find the spaces in between.

Just as importantly, Torres, Angulo, Ojeda, and Lodeiro — depending on who is in at any given moment — must be able to thread the passes in for McGuire, Muriel, or each other to create quality chances. On top of that, the Lions must convert on those chances, which is not something that has been a strength so far this season. If the Orlando City defense continues to give up cheap goals, then the offense will need to one-up the competition when it comes to scoring.

Deal with an Unknown

FC Cincinnati recently signed Venezuelan forward Kevin Kelsy from Ukrainian Premier League club Shakhtar Donetsk. Kelsy comes in as an MLS U22 Initiative player and is eligible to play against Orlando City. Even though Kelsy is only 19, he has 68 professional appearances, including UEFA Champions Leagues matches. At 6-foot-3, he can be a challenge for defenders, especially in the air.

Kelsy hasn’t had much time with the team, but he could be a second-half substitution for Cincinnati. Given that Orlando City just gave up two late headers against Toronto FC, the back line will need to be careful that Kelsy doesn’t hurt the Lions in the same manner — especially if he comes on late when legs and minds are tired.

That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/2/24

The Pride win big, OCSC celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month, USMNT news, and more.

Published

13 hours ago

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May 2, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

It’s Thursday, Mane Landers. Of course, the name Thursday comes from Thor’s day, and as such, it isn’t a big leap for us to consider it Thorhallsson’s day. Though I suppose that is a bit of a mouthful, so we’ll just keep things the way they are, but do hold Dagur Dan close to your heart today. Also, let us wish a happy birthday to the Orlando Pride’s Luana. Despite the devastating news that dropped about her health earlier this week, we hope that her spirits are high and we wish her nothing but happiness today. It’s also Dagur Dan Thorhallsson’s birthday today, so we’re celebrating him as well. Let’s get to the links.

The Pride Dominate the Courage

The Orlando Pride defeated the North Carolina Courage 4-1 in a midweek match at Inter&Co Stadium. The Pride did indeed dominate the Courage as much as the score line indicates. It was once again the Barbra Banda show, with the Pride’s newest player contributing a brace and an assist on the night. It is the Pride’s fourth straight victory and the undefeated run continues.

OCSC Celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month

Orlando City and the Orlando Pride are doing their part this May to observe Mental Health Awareness Month. The club is sponsoring and attending events and forums available to the general public, as well as holding club staff workshops around promoting mental health. I have to say my favorite is the therapy dogs visits that will be available to the staff. There’s nothing as good for my personal mental health as the joy and unconditional love a dog can bring. If I didn’t have dogs of my own, I’d be really jealous.

The Billionaires Clubs

Orlando City and Orlando Pride owners, the Wilf family, are not the only billionaire owners in the NWSL. There are more and more owners and ownership groups that fall into that category. The influx of more money is a growth opportunity for the league and potentially for those owners. It’s a bit of a “rising tide lifts all boats” mentality for these owners as they do better when the league as a whole does better. It’s not just the owners who think so. The NWSL was ranked No. 5 on the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2024. I’m just glad the Pride are in the club.

USMNT News

I hate starting off a section with bad news, but Sergino Dest tore his ACL in training with PSV Eindhoven and will miss the Copa America. Dest will require surgery though there is no time frame yet for when he may return. The loss of Dest is a blow to the U.S. defense heading into the competition this coming June. The USMNT plays Bolivia on June 23.

In better news, Tim Weah provided the assist for Juventus on Arkadiusz Milik’s goal against Lazio. Juventus entered the second leg of the Copa Italia semifinal up 2-0, but Lazio drew level before Milik’s goal. Juventus advanced 3-2 on aggregate and will play in the final.

Free Kicks

That will do it for today. There’s plenty more soccer to come this weekend with all three teams playing. Check back for more as we get you ready for those matches. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/1/24

Mason Stajduhar was arrested, Orlando Pride play at home tonight, Colin Guske discusses his signing, and more.

Published

2 days ago

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May 1, 2024

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,
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wednesday and welcome to May, Mane Landers. Don’t forget that the undefeated Orlando Pride are in action tonight, so check back for our match preview and the latest episode of SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast for additional pre-match coverage. In the meantime, let’s get to the links.

Mason Stajduhar Arrested Early Sunday

Orlando City goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar and his wife Tatiana Stajduhar were both arrested on disorderly conduct charges following an incident at a nightclub overnight Saturday in the early hours of Sunday morning. The couple were reportedly disrespectful to the club’s staff and got into an altercation with the security guards. Mason stated he was only resisting the security guards to re-enter the club because the bouncers allegedly hit his wife. Tatiana allegedly pushed the police officers after they arrived, and she was not charged with battery on a law enforcement officer. The couple were released Monday after posting a bond. Orlando City provided the following statement to WESH 2 News:

“The Club is aware that goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar was arrested early Sunday morning. We are currently gathering more information and will have no further comment at this time.”

Orlando Pride Host the North Carolina Courage Tonight

After a 3-2 win on the road last Friday against the Washington Spirit, the Orlando Pride are back in the City Beautiful and will take on the North Carolina Courage tonight. Unbeaten in their six games so far this season, the Pride have also won their past three games and sit fourth in the standings. They’re tied on points with a Courage team that beat the Seattle Reign Saturday. Orlando has scored at least one goal in every match this season. Forward Barbra Banda had a great performance in that win against the Spirit, so hopefully the scoring trend continues tonight for the Pride.

Orlando City/Pride Earn Golden Brick Awards

Have you enjoyed the new food options at the stadium? I know I have, and I’m looking forward to trying even more. The efforts made by Orlando City’s front office to feature more local food and beverage options did not go unnoticed, as the club won the Hospitality & Dining category in the Downtown Orlando Partnership’s 2023 Golden Brick Awards. The Orlando Pride’s 2023 Highway Woman Kit also won the award in the Arts & Culture category. The home jersey was inspired by the work of Mary Ann Carroll, the sole woman in the famed Highwaymen artists from decades ago.

Colin Guske Speaks On Signing First Pro Contract

Orlando City Development Academy player Colin Guske signed his first professional contract with the club last month and spoke on the importance of this moment in his career. The 17-year-old is now on an MLS NEXT Pro contract with Orlando City B, and he has started in nearly every game for the Young Lions this year. Both of Guske’s brothers have also played for Orlando City’s academy over the years, and he thanked his family for helping him reach this point.

“It’s awesome to represent the Guskes,” Colin said. “Thanks to my brothers for always pushing me through early mornings and late nights, always putting in the work, doing video sessions, everything. My sister as well, for always being there for me and my parents, too. They’re always helping me and what was the best for me.”

Free Kicks

  • Enjoy all of the sights and sounds from the Pride’s big win over the Spirit in the nation’s capital.
  • The Champions League semifinals are underway and Real Madrid and Bayern Munich played to a 2-2 draw in Germany. The second leg will take place on May 8 in Madrid.

That will do it for today. If you can make it out to the stadium tonight to catch the Pride in action, I strongly suggest you do so. Barbra Banda is about to take the NWSL by storm and you’ll want to see it in person. Vamos Orlando!

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