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Orlando City B

Orlando City B vs. Inter Miami II: Final Score 6-0 as Jack Lynn Gets OCB’s First Hat Trick

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4 years ago

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Orlando City B (2-3-2, 10 points) dominated Inter Miami II (3-5-1, 10 points) on the way to a 6-0 win. It was the most goals that OCB has ever scored in a game, dating back to the team’s inaugural 2016 season. Jack Lynn scored a hat trick of goals and Moises Tablante had a hat trick of assists, while Wilfredo Rivera, Brandon Hackenberg, and Victor Yan added a goal apiece.

OCB Head Coach Martin Perelman made three changes to the team that lost 1-0 to Philadelphia Union II on Monday. Liam Guske and Ian Silva were replaced by Hackenberg and Lynn. Additionally, Neicer Acosta was out with a lower leg injury and was replaced in the starting lineup by Erick Gunera, who returned from suspension.

The Young Lions had the better start to the game. In the third minute, Rivera had Tablante making a run across the field. The Homegrown midfielder tried to play it over but there was too much bend on it and it went out of play for a goal kick.

Two minutes later, Rivera sent a free kick to the far side of the box for Alex Freeman. The right back headed it toward the penalty spot where Yan got his foot to the ball. But he was unable to get his body over it and the ball went well high of the goal.

That was the last play for a while as inclement weather entered the area. A brief alarm halted play. Then, after a brief consultation, referee Anya Voigt signaled for the two teams to return to their locker rooms and the game went into an extended delay of almost an hour.

“We played soccer tennis in the locker room,” Perelman said about how his team passed the time. “I played with them. So it’s funny, I liked that time.”

“I think that’s something everyone does a bit differently,” Lynn added. “You know, some people, like myself, I like to just kind of sit down and conserve energy because you don’t know how long it’s gonna be. You don’t want to burn yourself out. And then other people want to stay active and keep their energy up. So kind of an individual thing, but I think everyone managed themselves correctly. And when we came out, I think our energy levels were still high. So, that was good.”

The Young Lions didn’t let up when the game restarted. In the eighth minute, some slick dribbling by David Boccuzzo provided some space, but the ball was knocked away. However, it went right to Tablante, who found Lynn in front of goal. The first-team player put his first touch past Inter Miami II goalkeeper CJ dos Santos for the early lead.

OCB sent several long balls to the outside, looking to connect with Rivera or Tablante. In the 12th minute, one of those passes nearly put Rivera in on goal, but it was a bit too far and the midfielder was unable to reach it as it went out of play.

A nearly identical attempt occurred in the 20th minute when a long ball was sent for Tablante. But it was the same result, as the ball was too strong and went out of play for a Miami goal kick.

However, just a minute later, Yan found Rivera at the top right corner of the box. Rivera dribbled across the box, looking for Tablante or Lynn near goal. But the Miami players kept giving the young midfielder space, allowing him to create his own shot. His shot went into the bottom right corner of the goal, beyond the outstretched arms of dos Santos, doubling the OCB lead.

While OCB had a commanding 2-0 lead, the team didn’t let up. This effort was shown in the 24th minute when Lynn pressured a Miami goal kick. While the rookie didn’t win the ball, he made it difficult for the visitors to get out of their own box and nearly did win it back for the Young Lions.

In the 25th minute, Lynn received a long ball in the OCB box. He looked to create some space to get a shot off, but took too long and ended up dribbling the ball out of play.

Two minutes later, Boccuzzo found Freeman to the right of goal. The right back was able to get behind the Miami defense and get a shot off, but the defender did well to block it and the ball went into the side netting for a corner kick.

The ensuing corner was taken short by Rivera to Tablante. Playing his third season for OCB, Tablante carried the ball into the box and took a shot, but it hit the side of the net.

OCB finally got its third goal in the 31st minute. After a Lynn shot was blocked out of play, Tablante played the corner kick short to Rivera. His cross was to the back post where Hackenberg — in his first game back in the starting lineup — jumped over the defender and headed it in.

“It was a set piece and, especially this game, head coach was saying the number one priority was to do it on set pieces,” Hackenberg said about his goal. “So they hit one of our players and then Fredo (Rivera) just chipped the ball to the back post and I just saw the ball come in and went on and attacked it.”

Yan attempted to get in on the action by creating space to the right and shooting on goal. However, his low shot was from a difficult angle and dos Santos got down to make the stop.

In the 37th minute, Freeman found Gunera at the top of the box. The midfielder’s first shot was blocked but the ball went right back to him. He immediately fired again but that shot was also blocked and Miami was able to clear.

The OCB onslaught continued in the 38th minute when some nifty footwork by Tablante created a shot, but it was blocked. The rebound went right to Ignacio Galvan, who sent the ball way over the target.

Inter Miami II didn’t get an opportunity on goal until the 41st minute. Noah Allen received the ball on the left and quickly attempted to shoot, but he sent the ball straight instead of towards goal and it went out of play without any trouble for Javier Otero.

It went from bad to worse for Miami a minute into injury time. After getting booked in the 42nd minute, Ethan Hardin committed his second hard challenge. As a result, Voigt gave him his second yellow card, reducing the visitors to 10 men.

The ensuing free kick saw the Young Lions nearly create their final chance of the half. Lynn headed the free kick for Freeman, but he sent the ball right at dos Santos, who made the easy save.

OCB was dominant in the first half, with more possession (54.7%-45.3%), shots (14-1), shots on goal (6-0), and corners (5-0). Additionally, the Young Lions were more accurate with their passes (87%-82.2%) and more aggressive, winning more duels (29-23) and tackles (6-2).

The Young Lions continued their domination into the second half. In the 48th minute, Gunera tried to find a teammate with a long cross, but dos Santos did well to come off his line to collect it. Hackenberg then attempted a cross in the 53rd minute, but again it was too close to dos Santos.

The first shot of the half came in the 58th minute when Nick Taylor set up Lynn. The forward was able to take an accurate shot, but dos Santos was there to make the save. Lynn had another opportunity in the 61st minute when Gunera fed him the ball. This time, Lynn was unable to get his shot on target as it missed to the left.

Two minutes later, OCB made it 4-0. Tablante, who had been dangerous all night on the left, sent a low cross into the box. Lynn received it right in front of goal with no defenders in front of him. It was an easy finish for the striker, scoring his second of the game.

In the 64th minute, Taylor set up Lynn again at the top of the box. He was looking for the hat trick but the ball was blocked and went over the crossbar.

A minute later, Tablante got in behind the Miami defense. The midfielder spent most of the night setting up teammates from the left, but this time took the chance himself. However, his shot was right at dos Santos and the Miami goalkeeper made the stop.

Inter Miami II finally got a shot of its own in the 71st minute through Romeo Beckham. The midfielder attempted to shoot from the right of goal, but Hackenberg was right there. The rebound went back to Beckham, but Hackenberg made a second consecutive block, allowing the Young Lions to clear.

A minute later, Able Caputo got a shot off for Miami. It was Inter Miami II’s second shot of the second half, doubling their output in the first 45 minutes. However, like the other shots, this one was from far out and went well high of the target.

The game was well in hand for OCB but the Young Lions scored a fifth in the 74th minute. Freeman set up Yan at the top of the box and the 21-year-old Brazilian put it into the top corner. Dos Santos made his best attempt to reach the ball, but he couldn’t get anywhere near it as OCB went up 5-0.

The final 15 minutes was more about getting the game in than the result, as lightning was visible in the distance. Inter Miami II was trying to get anything it could on goal as the visitors weren’t getting good looks. Braxton Taghavi-Najib took a shot in the 79th minute from way out, but it was nowhere close, going well above the goal.

In the 81st minute, Tablante set up Hackenberg near the penalty spot but the defender’s attempt was well high. Two minutes later, Tablante set up Freeman just outside the six-yard box and the right back’s shot was just off target.

OCB got its sixth and final goal in the 85th minute. Tablante found Lynn just outside the box and the forward put it in the bottom right corner. It was a hat trick of goals for Lynn and a hat trick of assists for Tablante as the duo combined for three of the six conversions. It’s the first time any player for OCB has had three goals or three assists in a game.

The best chance of the night for Miami came in the 88th minute when Tyler Bagley found David Ruiz and the latter got a shot on goal. It beat Otero, one of only two times when the OCB goalkeeper was challenged, but Quembol Guadelupe was there to clear it off the line, keeping the clean sheet.

Despite bookings and goals, the game was well in hand when 90 minutes were up. So with a storm rushing in, the referee blew the final whistle and OCB ended its dominance over Inter Miami II, 6-0.

“We had a couple tough games. The last few games (were) kind of hard for us to get on the board,” Lynn said after the game. “So it feels great to come out and get six tonight.”

In the end, OCB had more possession (57%-43%), shots (22-5), shots on goal (10-1), corners (6-5), and crosses (13-12). The Young Lions also had a better passing accuracy (88%-81.7%), won more duels (47-37), and won more tackles (11-5).

“I’m really happy about our players,” Perelman said after the game. “They have been doing a great effort all this month. They are growing up, as I usually say, and I think they deserve this. At home, six goals, I think it’s fantastic for them. I’m really happy.”

“Coach talked to us about just continuing to build on our performances,” Lynn added. “We had the majority of the possession in the last few games but had a hard time actually creating chances. And I think that was kind of the focus of this week was how do we execute in the final third.”

While most of the focus will be on the six goals, the team was also proud of its clean sheet. It’s the third shutout of the season for OCB and its first since April 24 against New England Revolution II at Exploria Stadium.

“For us, it’s so important to have a clean sheet. Always,” Perelman said. “We do too much effort for preventions and try to attack and defend with the ball. And today we were able to do it. So great job (by) our players.”

“That was what coach wanted, us to get a clean sheet, so happy about that,” Hackenberg added. “I think it was just a combination of our communication between Boccuzzo, Andrew Forth, and myself. When we were in our low block, the three of us kind of worked together to stop the production and everything. And I also think — just just putting in the work and tracking the runs and pressing to the best of our ability, and I think everyone did a good job of that tonight.”

The team also was able to defeat a rival, something that will matter to the fans. But for the players, it was getting revenge after they felt they should’ve done better in the first meeting, a 2-0 loss in Fort Lauderdale.

“Especially because they beat us earlier in the year, I think we all wanted to come in and show that we’re better,” Lynn said. “I think we all thought we were the better team that game (in Fort Lauderdale) and, again, we wanted to come out tonight and prove it on our home turf.”

The Young Lions will look to follow up their best performance of the season when they host FC Cincinnati 2 next Sunday at Osceola County Stadium.

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Orlando City B

Orlando City B vs. Chicago Fire FC II: Final Score 2-1 as Young Lions Pick Up First Win of the Season

OCB claims its first points of the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro campaign with a 2-1 win over Chicago Fire FC II.

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1 week ago

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March 8, 2026

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Image of Pedro Leao taking a shot against Chicago Fire II.
Image courtesy of Orlando City B / Justin Glatt

Orlando City B (1-1-0, 3 points) secured its first win of the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season tonight, defeating Chicago Fire FC II (0-1-1, 2 points) 2-1 at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee. Pedro Leao gave the Young Lions the lead in the 39th minute before a failed clearance allowed Jack Sandmeyer to equalize just before halftime. Justin Ellis’ rocket in the 72nd minute restored OCB’s lead and proved to be the winner.

There were four changes to the OCB team that lost 3-1 to Huntsville City FC Monday night. Javier Otero had to play Saturday for the first team after Maxime Creapeau was sent off. As a result, Tristan Himes got his first start of the season in goal. Additionally, Dylan Judelson, Jaylen Yearwood, and Yutaro Tsukada got their first starts in place of Caleb Trombino, Issah Haruna, and Gustavo Caraballo.

The back line in front of Himes was Bernardo Rhein, Titus Sandy, Jr., Zakaria Taifi, and Yearwood. Judelson and Nicolas Lasheras were the defensive midfielders behind Tsukada, Ellis, and Harvey Sarajian with Leao up top.

This was a game of missed chances for both teams. Each could have had a goal in the first half but was able to convert before halftime. However, they’ll feel they should’ve come away with more as both squads missed some big chances. Add in some quality saves by Himes and Owen Pratt and the 2-1 scoreline doesn’t tell the story of the game.

The Young Lions created the first attempt in the fifth minute when Leao was sent behind the back line. Pratt came out to cut down the striker’s angle, but he got a shot off with the keeper out of position and the net wide open. Unfortunately, it was too weak and the Fire were able to clear.

A minute later, OCB nearly got a second attempt at goal when Ellis used some nifty footwork to create space and send Leao through. However, this one was a little too far in front of the striker and Pratt was able to cover.

The first attempt for the visitors came in the eighth minute when Vitaly Hlyut took a shot from just outside the box. Taifi got in front of the attempt, deflecting it over the crossbar. Chicago couldn’t do anything on the ensuing corner kick, allowing OCB to end the threat.

Damian Nigg attempted a similar play in the 11th minute when he took a shot from just outside the box. Taifi got in front again, but this one was blocked out instead of deflected over the goal.

The Young Lions might have gotten a little lucky in the 18th minute when Trip Fleming was sent though before being taken down by Sandy. He was definitely behind Sandy and probably behind the rest of the back line, but referee Gerald Flores only gave a yellow card despite protests by the Chicago players and staff.

Himes made an easy catch on the ensuing set piece and OCB escaped with nothing more than a caution.

Chicago nearly took the lead in the 24th minute when Nigg made a run into the box and Yearwood blocked his cross out of play. Nigg’s ensuing corner kick was headed on goal by Sandmeyer. Lasheras mishit the clearance and nearly scored an own goal, but Himes was able to knock it off the line.

On the other end, OCB nearly scored when a Yearwood cross was mishit by Josue Pfrommer, forcing Pratt into a save. The block went right to Leao, who put it back on target, but Pratt blocked it out of play. The Young Lions couldn’t create anything from the corner kick and the game remained scoreless.

Chicago had achance to open the scoring in the 34th minute when Hlyut found Nigg with space on the left side of the OCB box. The attacker’s second touch was a shot that hit the outside of the net.

The Young Lions finally broke the deadlock in the 39th minute when Sarajian did well to shield his defender and make a long run down the right. The rookie found Leao near the top of the six-yard box, and the Brazilian guided the ball past Pratt to give his team a 1-0 lead.

In the 45th minute, Nagle used a dummy move to beat Tsukada before finding Robert Turdean. The midfielder’s first touch was to Fleming, whose shot was deflected out of play by Taifi.

Lasheras headed the ensuing corner kick over the end line, giving Chicago a second set piece. This one was chested towards goal by David Poreba. Lasheras and Himes were there and it appeared to be an easy clearance, but they were unable to do so, allowing Sandmeyer to knock in the equalizing goal in first-half stoppage time.

OCB nearly retook the lead in the fourth minute of stoppage time when Taifi played Leao forward and the striker’s first touch sent Yearwood down the right. The right back sent the ball back centrally for Leao, making a trailing run. He couldn’t get much on it, but the ball rolled to Tsukada right behind. The midfielder attempted to guide the ball inside the far post, and it appeared to be on target, but Pfrommer got there just in time to clear it away.

The final chance of the first half came in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Taifi fouled Charles Nagle, earning a yellow card and giving Chicago a free kick near the top of the OCB box. The set piece by Nigg was headed out, but only to Hlyut, who fired on goal. While Judelson got in front to block it, Chicago kept possession. It was sent down the right side of the box to Turdean, who found Hugo Berg. Fortunately, his first-touch shot was wide of the far post.

The halftime whistle blew immediately after the miss and the game went into the break at 1-1. After 45 minutes, Chicago had the edge in shots (12-6) and shots on target (2-1). While both teams had four corner kicks and two crosses, OCB had better passing accuracy (85.4%-81.9%).

OCB had the first chance of the second half and it came inside the first minute. Sarajian took possession near the top right corner of the Chicago box, laying it off for Judelson. The Canadian youth international’s first touch was a shot that forced Pratt into a good save.

In the 55th minute, Poreba sent the ball forward and continued his run, allowing him to receive it back. The attacker had space to shoot, but Taifi got in front to block it out of play. OCB cleared the ensuing corner kick and the game remained tied. Two minutes later, Poreba had another chance, this time from outside the box. It was well struck, forcing Himes to tip the ball over the crossbar. The corner kick was too close to the OCB shot stopper, who collected it.

Tsukada created a good chance in the 60th minute, finding space from Oscar Pineda and sending a hard shot toward the far post. It was on target, but Pratt did well to dive to his right and make the one-handed stop.

Just a minute later, Tsukada went down and required attention from the OCB training staff. Head Coach Manuel Goldberg took the opportunity to make his first two changes. Caraballo and Dominik Baczewski came into the game for Tsukada and Lasheras.

Shortly after the substitutions, OCB nearly retook the lead when Yearwood’s low cross was blocked to the top of the box. Baczewski took possession and played it square for Caraballo. The teenager’s shot was on target but caught by Pratt.

The visitors had a great chance in the 65th minute when a long ball was taken down well, and Dean Boltz was sent behind the back line. Himes came off his line to cut down the angle as Boltz sent his shot under the right arm and toward the far post. Fortunately, it hit the woodwork and stayed out. Boltz was sent over the top in the 69th minute as the ball glanced off Sandy’s head and in behind the back line. The attacker was in on goal as Himes came off his line and the goalkeeper did well to block the shot.

Goldberg made his third change of the game in the 71st minute, replacing Yearwood with Parker Amoo-Mensah.

A minute later, the Young Lions retook the lead. Rhein sent Ellis into the box on the left, and the attacker did well to create enough space for a shot. There wasn’t much Pratt could do about it as Ellis sent a rocket inside the far post to give his team a 2-1 lead with less than 20 minutes to play.

OCB’s high press forced a turnover in the 75th minute and it nearly turned into a third goal. Leao took possession and backheeled the ball to Baczewski, who found Ellis in the box. It looked like Ellis had enough space for a shot, but he backheeled it to Judelson instead, and the midfielder’s shot was blocked by Fleming. The Young Lions had another chance six minutes later when Tidiane Diawara fouled Amoo-Mensah in the Chicago third of the field. Caraballo took the set piece, playing it short to Ellis. The attacker shot from distance, looking for his second goal, but he sent the low shot right to Pratt.

On the other end, Chicago created a chance when Poreba played a pass to Boltz between two defenders. The substitute fired from the top of the box, but he sent the attempt wide.

In the 84th minute, Ellis found Leao with space in the box. The striker’s second touch was a shot that rolled wide of the far post. That was the last attack for both goal scorers as they were replaced in the 86th minute by Landon Okonski and Logan Tsopanoglou.

OCB had a good opportunity in the first minute of stoppage time when Sandmeyer took Sarajian down near the top corner of the Chicago box. Caraballo took the set piece, sending it right to Pratt.

Despite chasing the game, Chicago was unable to create anything in the OCB third of the field. The only chance for either team in the dying minutes was a free kick that Caraballo sent straight to Pratt from distance.

At full time, Chicago had the advantage in shots (19-16), corner kicks (7-6), and crosses (6-4). But OCB put more attempts on target (7-6) and had better passing accuracy (82.5%-80.8%).

The win gives OCB its first three points of the season as the club’s reserve side split the two-game homestand to open the year.

The Young Lions will now head out on the road as they face Carolina Core FC Saturday afternoon.

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Orlando City B

Orlando City B vs. Huntsville City FC: Final Score 3-1 as OCB Falls In Season Opener

Poor finishing and two defensive mistakes were the difference as OCB fell 3-1 to Huntsville City FC in the season opener.

Published

2 weeks ago

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March 2, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B / Justin Glatt

Orlando City B (0-1-0, 0 points) fell to Huntsville City FC (1-0-0, 3 points) at Osceola County Stadium tonight in the team’s 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season opener. Shak Mohammed netted a brace for the visitors, with the other goal coming from Jordan Knight. Harvey Sarajian scored the lone goal for the Young Lions, the first of his professional career.

The starting lineup for Manuel Goldberg’s side featured some familiar names, and some fans likely don’t know. Javier Otero was the starting goalkeeper and wore the armband behind a back line of Bernardo Rhein, Nicolas Lasheras, Titus Sandy, Jr., and Zakaria Taifi. Issah Haruna and Caleb Trombino were the defensive midfielders behind Sarajian, Justin Ellis, and Gustavo Caraballo, with Pedro Leao up top.

OCB will feel this was a game that got away. The Young Lions had multiple opportunities to score, including a sitter for Sarajian in the first half. But, in the end, it was defensive mistakes that decided the result. Miscommunication between Otero and Lasheras led to the first goal, and Otero was lobbed after coming out of his box, resulting in the third goal. Those three plays were the difference between three points and no points.

The first chance of the game was for the visitors when Sarajian tripped Chris Applewhite near the OCB box. Angel Iniguez took the set piece, finding Nick Pariano making a near-post run. However, the midfielder’s touch was wide of the post, keeping the game scoreless.

The Young Lions’ inability to clear the ball in the 11th minute gave former Lion Shak Mohammed his first chance. The attacker fired from outside the box, but Lasheras got in the way. Otero unsuccessfully tried to keep it from leaving the field, leading to the game’s first corner kick.

Mohammed took the set piece, but sent it too close to Otero, who made the catch.

Huntsville tried to play the ball out of the back in the 12th minute, but OCB’s pressure created a turnover. Sarajian found Leao, who backheeled the ball for Haruna. The 2026 MLS SuperDraft pick took the team’s first shot of the season from outside the box, sending his attempt straight to Will Mackay.

The Young Lions had another chance in the 15th minute when Caraballo brought a long ball down well and sent Taifi down the right. Gabriel Alonso took the right back down with a late challenge, earning the game’s first yellow card. Caraballo took the set piece from near the top corner of the box, but his shot was over the crossbar.

Alonso made a good run himself in the 18th minute, dribbling into the OCB third and near the top of the box. Running into traffic, he laid the ball off for Iniguez, who took a couple of touches to the side before sending his low shot wide of the far post.

A minute later, Trombino found Leao at the top of the box and the forward immediately sent it wide for Taifi. It went off a defender but straight to Taifi, whose first shot was on target and tipped wide by Mackay.

It looked like OCB might take the lead in the 28th minute when Leao was sent down the right in transition. Sarajian was making a run down the middle with nobody picking him up. Leao found his teammate and it looked like an easy tap-in, but Sarajian sent the attempt over the crossbar.

The ball was immediately sent down the field by Huntsville and it looked like OCB would handle it easily. But Lasheras and Otero just looked at each other, expecting the other to take it. Meanwhile, Mohammed took possession and passed it into the empty net to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

In the 32nd minute, Knight won the ball from Caraballo near midfield and went the other way. Lasheras slid in to tackle it away, but was unable to do so. While the ball got too far away from Knight, Maximus Ekk backheeled the ball to Knight who beat Otero, placing the ball inside the near post and giving his team a 2-0 lead.

Taifi sent a great ball to the back post for Sarajian in the 37th minute, but Malachi Molina got his head to it first, knocking it out of play. Taifi took the set piece and it found Sarajian’s head at the far post. The midfielder headed it straight down where Mackay made the stop.

Two minutes later, Mohammed tried to create his second goal of the game when he made a long run into the OCB box. The attacker found enough space for a shot, sending his attempt into Otero’s arms.

In the 44th minute, Lasheras intercepted a long pass out of the back by Huntsville City. His touch let the ball get away, but Taifi was there to take possession. After a brief touch forward, the right back took a hard, low shot from distance that skipped just wide of the far post.

Huntsville had a good chance to make it 3-0 in the first minute of first-half stoppage time when Iniguez sent Ekk down the right. The attacker got behind Sandy and took a shot from a tight angle, but Otero got down to make the stop.

Two minutes later, the Young Lions finally broke through. It started when Mohammed drove down the left and his low cross was blocked out for a corner kick. OCB intercepted the set piece and went the other way. Ellis took possession and sent a beautiful ball for Caraballo, who split two defenders before sending it to Sarajian all alone. Molina came sliding in, but Sarajian used a nice touch to avoid the defender, putting it under Mackay’s arm and cutting the deficit in half.

That was the last good chance for either team as OCB entered the break down 2-1. Huntsville had the edge in shots (9-7), shots on target (4-3), and passing percentage (87%-80.3%) in the first 45 minutes. OCB had more corner kicks (4-3) and both teams attempted four crosses.

Things got a little feisty in the 49th minute when Taifi and Knight got tangled up. Knight grabbed Taifi’s arm and Taifi threw him down. As a result, both players were booked. The ensuing set piece by Caraballo ended up with Ellis on the far side. The attacker sent a curling cross into the box, but Sandy was unable to get over the ball, allowing Mackay to make an easy catch.

On the other end, Alonso found Knight near the top corner of the box. The forward took a shot that continued to sail high and wide, giving little concern to Otero.

In the 52nd minute, Haruna received a pass near the top of the Huntsville box and continued it to the right for Caraballo. The youngest signing in Orlando City’s MLS history fired on target, forcing Mackay into a save with his foot.

Huntsville had a great chance to extend its lead back to two goals in the 53rd minute when Molina made a run to the end line and crossed the ball. Lasheras got in front of the attempt, but it was deemed to go off his arm. Elvis Osmanovic immediately pointed to the spot, awarding the visitors a penalty. After winning the penalty, Molina stepped up to the spot. Otero guessed correctly, diving to his left and blocking the attempt out of play.

Leao nearly equalized for the Young Lions in the 58th minute after making a long run and firing from outside the box. It was a rocket shot and appeared to be heading inside the near post, but the ball was just wide.

Four minutes later, the visitors doubled their lead. Otero came outside of his box to clear the ball, but sent it right to Mohammed. The former OCB leading goal scorer sent the ball over Otero and into the goal to make it 3-1.

Goldberg made his first two changes of the game in the 70th minute. Dominik Baczewski and Matthew Belgodere came on for Trombino and Caraballo.

OCB had a good chance to cut the deficit back to one when Ellis was fouled by Jayvin Van Deventer near the top of the Huntsville box. Taifi’s free kick was into the wall, but OCB kept possession. Baczewski collected the ball and played it back for Sarajian, who quickly found Ellis at the top of the box. The Orlando City Homegrown product fired a shot that sailed just over the crossbar.

In the 78th minute, Baczewski played a beautiful ball forward for Taifi behind the Huntsville back line. The right back did well to bring it down with his chest and sent his shot toward the far post. Unfortunately, it went just wide.

Goldberg made his third change in the 80th minute as Jaylen Yearwood came into the game for Haruna.

Huntsville nearly scored a fourth in the 90th minute when Iniguez fired from long distance. The ball appeared to be heading just under the crossbar, so Otero was forced to tip it over for a corner kick. The ensuing set piece was cleared by Rhein, but only to Alonso. With space, Alonso took a shot from distance that traveled wide of the near post.

Despite OCB chasing a two-goal deficit, it was Huntsville creating the chances. The visitors had another opportunity in the first minute of stoppage time when Iniguez cut inside before firing a shot for the far post. However, the ball sailed wide.

The final chance of the game came in the dying seconds when Belgodere found Taifi in the box. The right back got his head to the ball and put it on frame, but Mackay made a great save, tipping it over the crossbar.

Leao got his head to the ensuing corner kick, but he couldn’t get much on it. Molina cleared the ball and Huntsville was able to see out the 3-1 win.

At full time, both teams had 17 shots and Huntsville put one more on frame (7-6). While OCB had more crosses (8-5), Huntsville held the advantage in corner kicks (8-7) and passing accuracy (85.6%-82.5%).

The loss ends a four-season streak in which the Young Lions won their season opener. The last time they fell in their first contest was in 2020 when they lost 2-0 to South Georgia Tormenta FC away from home.

The boys in purple have just under a week to shake this one off before they take the field again. They’ll host Chicago Fire FC II Sunday night as they look for their first points of the season.

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Orlando City B

Four Young Lions To Fall For This Valentine’s Day

A look at four players poised to make the leap from OCB to Orlando City, possibly as soon as this season.

Published

4 weeks ago

on

February 14, 2026

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

In the spirit of Sunday’s Daytona 500, just a short drive down I-4 from my location here in Oviedo, let me also say “start your engines” to the 2026 MLS season, as we are now finally just one week away from Orlando City’s season opener on Feb. 21. The final preseason game is today, and you can expect a lot of coverage on our site and on The Mane Land PawedCast next week in advance of Red Bull New York, a.k.a. the New York Red Bulls, a.k.a. the team that used to be called the MetroStars, coming to Inter&Co Stadium to get the season started.

Orlando City B’s season will start a few weeks later, on March 2. Just like with the senior club, we do not yet have a full and final roster for the Young Lions, but we can celebrate Valentine’s Day today by looking at a few OCB players who deserve some love this year, as they have overperformed their age level and, if they stay with the club, will be pushing for minutes with Orlando City as early as this season.

In early January our Sean Rollins wrote about four OCB players who might make their Orlando City debuts this season, and here in mid-February I still agree with his thought that Tahir Reid-Brown is the OCB player most likely to make his senior debut, as Orlando City has not signed any new outside backs, so the depth chart, even with some experimentation with Iván Angulo moving the to back line, remains thin on both the right and left.

That depth chart is especially thin due to the departure of former OCB standout Alex Freeman, who was transferred to Villarreal in Spain a few weeks ago, so while Óscar Pareja may go with a back line using veterans Adrián Marín on the left and Angulo on the right to start the season, Zakaria Taifi will be battling with Angulo to fill Freeman’s shoes on the right. If Taifi is able to wrest away the starting position from Angulo, then he would be closely following Freeman’s path, as when Freeman moved up to the senior team in 2025 it was Taifi who took over at right back with OCB. Now, with Freeman departing Orlando City to wear Villarreal yellow, Taifi is again in line to replace him, wearing Orlando City’s new yellow gold ‘Sunken Treasure’ kit (at least when away from home).

Freeman and Taifi both played with OCB for three seasons, primarily at right back, and going into this year they had ranked third (Freeman) and 14th (Taifi) in minutes played in that club’s history. Taifi is almost exactly one year younger than Freeman, and while he was solid for OCB and made nine appearances for the senior club in 2025, he did not play as many minutes or perform as well as Freeman did while in MLS NEXT Pro (all data from fotmob.com, because the MLS NEXT Pro website, for some reason, does not have any data for the 2022 season):

SeasonAge on July 1Minutes PlayedAvg. FotMob Rating
Alex Freeman: 202217.91,3926.98
Alex Freeman: 202318.91,9447.02
Alex Freeman: 202419.92,3327.64
Zakaria Taifi: 202317.71,1226.58
Zakaria Taifi: 202418.75136.48
Zakaria Taifi: 202519.71,3266.84

A player’s FotMob rating is not the be-all, end-all of ranking methodology, but to the site’s credit, FotMob tracks thousands of games and uses the same formula to create its rankings, so you can easily compare the ratings of two players at the same position in the same league. In the comparison above, Freeman’s final OCB season outperformed Taifi’s by a wide margin. Freeman finished as the top-ranked fullback that season, while Taifi finished 33rd in 2025, though in fairness to Taifi, he often dressed for Orlando City and probably practiced with the first team a lot as well, so he may not have had been able to develop the same chemistry with the OCB team in 2025 that Freeman did in 2024.

While Taifi may not have the same trajectory as Freeman, he still ranked 33rd among fullbacks, and among the 32 who ranked ahead of him 25 were at least one year older, including more than 10 who were at least three years older. Age and performance level are huge in “minor” leagues like MLS NEXT Pro, the NBA G League, and Minor League Baseball, and during the last four years the top 25 players in FotMob Rating each year have an average age of 21.9 with an average rating of 7.58. Taifi is still two years younger than those players, and while 6.84 is a bit shy of 7.58, he would be expected to improve during each of the next two years. If he were to improve by only 3% each year, for example, he would go from 6.84 to 7.26, which would have put him sixth among MLS NEXT Pro fullbacks.

I do not think he will be in MLS NEXT Pro for two more years, or maybe even that frequently this season, and two other players who also are knocking on the door of a permanent move to the senior Lions are midfielder Colin Guske and attacker Justin Ellis. I wrote about Ellis in July of 2025, and while he cooled off a little bit in the second half of the season, he still ended up as the third-ranked attacking midfielder in MLS NEXT Pro, finishing only behind players who are two and six years older than he is (18, turning 19 in May).

His season-ending FotMob rating of 7.43 was the fourth highest of any Young Lion during OCB’s four-season history, and if we applied that same 3% growth for his next three seasons (taking him to 21 years old), he would see his rating go all the way up to 8.12, which would match Jacen Russell-Rowe (then of Columbus Crew 2, now of Toulouse in France) for the highest rating in league history. Ellis also continues to get called up to play with the U.S. Youth National Teams, so while I think in the beginning of 2025 he will be behind quite a few attacking players on Orlando City’s senior roster — and therefore playing frequently with OCB — by the second half of the season he may well force his way into consideration for minutes at the MLS level, especially if he keeps improving like he has recently.

The other 2025 OCB standout who is worthy of your love and attention is Guske, who, like Taifi, often was on the bench during MLS games last season, especially after Joran Gerbet went down with a season ending injury. The young midfielder did not rack up a lot of minutes during the regular season, but in the playoff game he was the one who got the call to come off the bench for the final 15 minutes with Orlando City desperately trying to make a comeback.

Guske just turned 19 at the end of January, yet he already has two seasons as a starter under his belt with OCB and has already played more than 40 games and 3,500 minutes at the MLS NEXT Pro level. The story is similar for the Jacksonville native as it was for Taifi and Ellis — a young player who performed well (a combined 6.90 FotMob rating during his two seasons) at an age that is a few years younger than the average age of a player in MLS NEXT Pro.

Like Ellis, but not Taifi, however, is that Guske plays at a position that is now quite deep at the senior level, as the Lions acquired Braian Ojeda and Luis Otávio in the off-season, and Wilder Cartagena returned from injury as well. Those three, plus Eduard Atuesta, are all likely ahead of Guske on the depth chart at the moment. Gerbet may be able to return from injury later in the season, adding another player into the mix, so even though Guske also has played well enough to get called up to play for U.S. youth teams recently, he is likely going to be blocked from MLS minutes initially.

The jury is out on Otávio, as he has yet to play, but as an MLS U22 Initiative player, he probably will get a serious look at whether he is ready to play and stay mostly with the senior team. Heine Gikling Bruseth also was signed as an MLS U22 Initiative player and he never saw the field, so it is not guaranteed that Otávio is ahead of Guske on the depth chart, but all the other established players likely are, so Guske will probably mostly be with OCB to start this season with increased responsibility to run the team from the central midfield. I think Guske will see some time this year with Orlando City, especially if there are injuries, but this will be a big year for him with OCB and then he will aggressively compete for minutes next season.

That brings me to the last OCB player who deserves your love and attention, and that is Gustavo Caraballo, one of the biggest wild cards on Orlando City’s roster. Caraballo is only 17 years old (he will turn 18 in August), but last season he played in six games for the Lions and scored two goals, while also playing more than 1,000 minutes for OCB (7.04 FotMob rating) and leading Orlando City’s academy team to a win at the U-18 Generation Adidas Cup. He also scored a goal in the MLS NEXT All-Star Game, played for the Venezuela in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, and was called up to camp with the senior Venezuela team in the fall. Sounds just about like what I had accomplished by the time I turned 18.

Caraballo primarily played out on the right last season, but with Marco Pašalić ahead of him, it is unlikely he has a path into the starting lineup on the right wing. Pašalić rarely played full matches last season, however, so there are minutes to be filled behind him. The Venezuelan may be much younger than everyone else on the roster, but he is preternaturally gifted and is clearly one of the most exciting young players to ever play for the Lions.

I am interested to see if he is permanently with Orlando City this season or if they think he still needs time with OCB, but I expect that he will mostly be with the senior Lions. And, if the rumors are true that Pašalić has teams interested in him in Europe, the Croatian may depart after the World Cup, leaving a spot on the right up for grabs. Not every young player with talent can be called (insert club name here)’s Lamine Yamal, but Caraballo fits that bill on many levels.

Last season’s OCB season did go as well as anyone hoped, but that was not due to a lack of talent on the roster. One year later, many of its top players are back and pushing to move up to Orlando City, and even those who start the season with OCB I am sure will be playing with that metaphorical chip on their shoulder to show that they belong on the field at Inter&Co Stadium.

As you celebrate your Valentine’s Day weekend, make sure to give some love to OCB by taking a look at the Young Lions’ schedule and finding a game or two that you can attend or watch from home. When you see the skill level of some of the young players in the Orlando City pipeline you will be glad you made the time, and who knows…you might find a new favorite Va-lion-tine.

Vamos Orlando!

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