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Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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3 years ago

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Orlando City showed good fight in its first game in over two weeks in coming back to get a road point against the New England Revolution. The Lions continue to be a pretty good team on the road, and if not for a couple good saves by Djordje Petrovic, might have even been able to sneak out of Gillette Stadium with a win. What follows is how I rated the individual performances in this one.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6.5 — It was surprising to see El Pulpo in goal for this one. He played in Peru’s loss to Australia on Monday and one long flight back from Qatar later was in between the sticks in Foxborough. He was largely helpless on Carles Gil’s goal, getting a great jump and full extension but not quite able to get fingertips on the ball as it hit the side netting. He did however, make a great point blank save in the 12th minute to keep things level, and looked assured overall. He finished with two saves, passed at a 78% rate and had 25 touches on the ball.

D, Joao Moutinho, 5.5 — It wasn’t a terrible performance from Moutinho, but it wasn’t his best in an Orlando shirt either. On a night where he was asked to be the more offensive of the two fullbacks he did some good things like completing a dribble, winning two tackles, making an interception, completing three long balls and passing with 84% accuracy while touching the ball 58 times. With that being said he didn’t attempt any crosses and his only shot attempt hit Junior Urso that started the counter on which Gil scored. Moutihno tried to get back but didn’t arrive in time to cover for Jake Mulraney’s defensive effort.

D, Robin Jansson, 7.5 (MotM) — The big Swede had a typically buccaneering performance. Jansson passed with 81% success with three long balls, completed a dribble, had six clearances, and won three aerial duels and a tackle — all while taking three shots and scoring the equalizing goal. It was a great goal too, as he did well to bring down a high ball, use a change of pace to beat the nearest defender, and slam the ball through Petrovic’s legs into the side netting. He also played almost the entire game while on a yellow card that he picked up in the sixth minute, and showed great discipline to not get another and send Orlando down to 10 men. All in all, it was a worthy Man of the Match performance after a long layoff.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6.5 — Schlegel had a solid game partnering Jansson in defense. Statistically, he won an aerial duel, made two tackles and six clearances, passed at a 78.6% clip, recorded an interception, and took two shots, which were both blocked. He even had a key pass and had some great instances of 1-v-1 defending, but picked up a yellow card in the 77th minute. He also drew three fouls, a couple of which helped relieve some pressure for the Lions. On the whole, he looked solid as usual.

D, Kyle Smith, 7 — Smith was extremely busy during this one. He passed with 77.5% accuracy and completed a dribble, while also winning two aerial duels, making three tackles, and recording a whopping eight clearances. He also had a key pass and took one shot, which he got on target and was a bit unlucky not to score from. On a long throw from Moutinho late in the game, Smith controlled the bouncing ball and shot on the half volley from a tight angle, but Petrovic got down very quickly and got a strong hand to it. Smith was the third defender to pick up a yellow card, but with as busy as he was on the night, I’m willing to let it slide.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6 — Araujo looked a little rusty at times during this one. He definitely did some good things, passing at a great 90% clip (tied for second on the Lions) making a clearance, and winning three tackles. He also committed two fouls while being fouled twice to keep things nice and even. However, he was dispossessed twice, which was tied for the most on the team, and got beaten by Gustavo Bou just after slipping a bit in the buildup to New England’s goal. Although he didn’t record any offensive stats, that isn’t really what he’s on the field to do, and didn’t have a bad game overall.

MF, Junior Urso, 6.5 — The Bear played well during this one. He did his usual boatload of running and was heavily involved as a result. Urso passed with 90% success, won an aerial duel, took two shots, and completed two dribbles. He also drew two fouls and completed two long balls. The long rest certainly seemed to do him some good as he ran hard all night and was pretty tidy for the duration of the game, something that was impressive considering he touched the ball a team-high 73 times.

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 6.5 — Pereyra was another midfielder who was highly involved on the night. He passed at an 83% clip, while recording a game-high three key passes in the process. He put his lone shot on target, won a tackle, and drew two fouls. He had an excellent combination with Facundo Torres at the start of the second half to help his fellow Designated Player get off a good shot, and grew into the game well. Pereyra ended the game with 66 touches — second only to Junior Urso. Less good was the first-half free kick which was far too softly hit, as well as being dispossessed once and dribbled twice, but he also wasn’t the only guy who had a few rusty moments.

MF, Jake Mulraney, 6.5 — I was quietly surprised by how well Mulraney played in this game. He passed at an 85% rate, won a tackle, and had a shot that was blocked. He also recorded two key passes, completed a long ball, and drew five fouls. He brought a directness that was a little different than any of the other Orlando attackers and looked pretty sharp. The lone foul he committed resulted in a yellow card, and he came off with just over a quarter of an hour left to play. However he needs to do better in transition defending, as he was passve in allowing Gil lots of space to shoot on the Revs’ goal, although it was a difficult spot for him to be in.

MF, Facundo Torres, 6 — Like most of the OCSC players, Torres had a solid but not spectacular night. He had one shot, which was saved well down low by Petrovic, completed a dribble, drew three fouls, and recorded two clearances. He passed at a crisp 93% rate, which was the best on the team, and completed a long ball as well. He didn’t seem quite able to find the final ball though, and things were just a hair off when it came to unlocking the Revs’ defense, and he got dribbled twice. Still, not a bad outing by any means.

F, Alexandre Pato, 6 — The Duck had a decent, but not great game. He passed at a 79% rate, won a tackle, and drew three fouls. He also took two shots, one of which forced a great save from Petrovic early in the game. He flashed a couple instances of good hold-up play to bring his teammates into the game, but wasn’t the most involved, as he only recorded 30 touches on the night. The service into him wasn’t the best, as Orlando struggled to find the final ball for most of the night, but he’ll have wanted to be more involved regardless.

Substitutes

F, Benji Michel (72’), 5 — I don’t want to seem like I’m picking on the only sub to get a rating, but Benji looked like a guy who spent a spell on the sidelines with an injury. He did good things, like winning two tackles and an aerial duel, and did well to get behind the Revs’ defense and come close to getting in on goal, but there was also a lot of sloppiness. He was dispossessed twice, dribbled once, and passed at a 60% rate on five passes — one of which completely killed an attacking move that seemed to be developing well. Getting more game time should help him, but for now Mulraney might be ahead of him on the depth chart.

F, Ercan Kara (78’), N/A — Kara was fairly quiet in his roughly 15-minute cameo. He passed at a 33% rate on three attempts, and committed two fouls while recording six touches. He did win an aerial duel and managed to get into a good position wide in the box, but could only put the ball low into Petrovic’s chest.

MF, Andres Perea (79’), N/A — Perea also had a short appearance off the substitutes’ bench to give Mauricio Pereyra some rest. He passed with 80% accuracy, had seven touches, and won a tackle and an aerial duel.

F, Tesho Akindele (91’), N/A —Tesho had the briefest of the four substitute appearances, and that was reflected in the fact that his lone touch was the only statistic he recorded during his time on the field.

That’s how I saw the performances on Wednesday night in Massachusetts. Be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments, and don’t forget to vote for Man of the Match.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Mauricio Pereyra20
Ercan Kara37
Pedro Gallese6
Facundo Torres7
Other (Let us know who in the comments)1

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/23/25

Pride fall to Racing Louisville, Seb Hines and Giles Barnes share insight on path to success in Orlando, USMNT defeats Haiti, and more.

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11 hours ago

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June 23, 2025

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been busy working and catching up with friends over the past week. Before we get started, let’s wish a belated happy birthday to Orlando Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and Sporting Director Haley Carter, who turned 41 on Saturday. The Pride was the lone team in action over the weekend, while the Lions and OCB were off. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Pride Fall at Racing Louisville

The Orlando Pride fell to Racing Louisville 2-0 Friday at Lynn Family Stadium. Arin Wright scored the opening goal in the first half, and former Pride midfielder Taylor Flint converted a penalty kick for Racing Louisville. The Pride struggled offensively and failed to capitalize on their scoring chances. Orlando’s struggles in Louisville continue, as the club is winless in five matches at Lynn Family Stadium. The Pride will be on a long break, and their next match will be Aug. 3, taking on the Utah Royals at Inter&Co Stadium.

Seb Hines, Giles Barnes Share Insight on Path to Success in Orlando

Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines and Assistant Coach Giles Barnes were featured in an interview in The Guardian. Both Hines and Barnes shared insight into their longtime friendship, which began with playing in English youth international camps, their different paths to playing in Major League Soccer, and how they became involved in coaching. Hines discussed his time as interim manager of the Pride in 2022 and how he brought in Barnes to help change the club’s culture. Hines and Barnes helped change the perception of the club and led the Pride to winning both the NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship last season.

USMNT Defeats Haiti to Win Group D in Gold Cup

The U.S. Men’s National Team defeated Haiti 2-1 Sunday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, in their final match in the group stage of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. The USMNT finished atop its group with three wins and nine points. Orlando City defender Alex Freeman made his third consecutive start and played 90 minutes.

Malik Tillman scored the opening goal 10 minutes into the match to give the USMNT the early lead. Haiti tied the match not long after Tillman’s goal. In the second half, Patrick Agyemang pulled the USMNT back in front. The USMNT advances to the quarterfinals as the group winner and will play its next match Sunday against the Group A runner-up which was the late game Sunday night and had yet to conclude as of this writing.

Club World Cup Weekend Recap

Another weekend of matches from the FIFA Club World Cup is in the books. On Friday, Benfica crushed Auckland City FC 6-0, while Flamengo beat Chelsea 3-1. LAFC was eliminated from advancing to the knockout round after a 1-0 defeat to ES Tunis. Bayern Munich edged Boca Juniors 2-1. On Saturday, Borussia Dortmund defeated Mamelodi Sundowns 4-3. Inter Milan needed a late stoppage-time winning goal from Valentin Carboni to edge Urawa Red Diamonds 2-1. Fluminense beat Ulsan HD 4-2, and River Plate and Monterrey ended in a scoreless draw. On Sunday, Juventus cruised to a 4-1 win over Wydad Casablanca. Xabi Alonso secured his first win as manager of Real Madrid with a 3-1 victory against Pachuca. Red Bull Salzburg and Al-Hilal played to a scoreless draw, with Manchester City playing Al-Ain in the late match Sunday. Today’s matches feature Atletico Madrid facing Botafogo, the Seattle Sounders hosting Paris Saint-Germain, FC Porto vs. Al Ahly, and Inter Miami taking on Palmeiras.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando Pride midfielder Ally Lemos and forward Simone Jackson have been called-up to the U-23 U.S. Women’s National Team. The U-23 camp will be led by Orlando Pride Assistant Coach Yolanda Thomas.

USL Championship side San Antonio FC has signed former Orlando City defender Abdi Salim to a 25-day contract.

San Diego Wave winger Maria Sanchez has reportedly reach an agreement to return to her former club, Tigres of Liga MX Femenil, on a four-year contract.

Paul Pogba is reportedly set to return to playing soccer and has signed a two-year contract with Ligue 1 side AS Monaco.

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

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Opinion

Orlando City Has Been Better than Expected Halfway Through the Season

While there was plenty to worry about at the start of the season, Orlando has had a good first half of 2025.

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3 days ago

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June 20, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

With 18 matches in the books, we’ve moved just past the halfway point of the 2025 Major League Soccer season, and based off my feelings before Orlando City played its opening game of the season, the Lions have performed above expectations so far. There were plenty of valid reasons to be concerned heading into the year. Orlando had sold its all-time leading goal scorer, and there were questions about whether he’d been adequately replaced. There were worries about depth at multiple positions, and the defense was coming off an uncharacteristically poor year. Here we are though, with the Lions sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference, just three points out of second place and seven points out of first. So how did we get to this point?

For one thing, Marco Pasalic has been much better than I (and I think a lot of other people) expected him to be. The Croatian has six goals and four assists across 18 matches, and is second on the team in both categories. He scored 10 goals in 49 appearances in the Croatian first division before coming to Orlando and was extremely one-footed, which was enough evidence to sow real doubt about whether he could adequately replace the impact of Facundo Torres.

So far, it’s mostly been so good. His direct style of play is a good complement to the styles of Martin Ojeda and Luis Muriel, and he’s largely hit the ground running in a league that can be difficult to adapt to. It hasn’t been perfect, as he’s still very one-footed, and can sometimes disappear if he’s stringently man marked, but on the whole there’s been much more good than bad.

Speaking of Ojeda and Muriel, they’ve also had strong years. Ojeda in particular has continued his great second half of the 2024 season and has nine goals and five assists in 18 games to show for it. He looks fast, confident, and decisive and is a far cry from the player who struggled frequently during his first year as a Lion. Muriel has cooled off a little after a scorching start to 2025, but he still has six goals and three assists in 18 matches. He looks vastly improved from last year, when he looked a little off the pace of play and quickly lost the starting striker role. He still has a tendency to not be as selfish as he needs to be in front of goal, but he’s been much better than 2024.

I mentioned depth being a big concern, and not just at one position. At the beginning of the season Orlando City was, and arguably still is, thin at striker, center back, defensive midfield, and fullback. Duncan McGuire was injured to start the year and is now injured again, leaving Orlando with two true strikers in Muriel and Ramiro Enrique. There was no true backup left back, only one reliable backup center back, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson starting at right back meant that defensive midfield depth consisted of rookie Joran Gerbet and the Swiss army knife that is Kyle Smith.

Things have mostly worked out though. David Brekalo has supplanted Rafael Santos, meaning the Brazilian is now a proven backup option at the position, and Smith has filled in there as well. That means that in games in which Rodrigo Schlegel or Robin Jansson are unavailable, Brekalo fills in at center back, Santos starts at left back, and Smith is the backup for both positions, so it isn’t a flawless system. Gerbet has been playing better and better and got some valuable minutes when Eduard Atuesta and Cesar Araujo were unavailable. His emergence has been a crucial piece of the puzzle this year. So too has the rise of Alex Freeman, as his locking down the right back role has allowed Thorhallsson to fill in at defensive midfield, attacking midfield, and right back. The situation isn’t perfect, as a couple untimely injuries to the wrong guys would leave the Lions looking pretty threadbare, but so far it’s just about worked.

Another big concern was the defense. The Lions conceded 50 goals in the regular season last year, which was tied for the second-most of any Eastern Conference playoff team and fourth-most of any playoff team. With no defensive signings and the aforementioned depth concerns, there were plenty of reasons to worry about Orlando’s ability to keep the ball out of the back of the net.

Things have looked much better in 2025, though. The 22 goals OCSC has conceded are the fifth-fewest in the league, and Pedro Gallese’s eight clean sheets are tied for most in the league. Aside from a few egregious defensive performances against the Philadelphia Union, Atlanta United, and the Chicago Fire, things have mostly been tidy at the back, and when they haven’t been, El Pulpo has been around to pick up the slack. Again, things haven’t been perfect, as there have been moments where individual and collective errors have hurt the team, but it’s been better.

I thought the Lions would struggle this year. Going into the start of the season, we were talking about a team that lost Torres, arguably didn’t do enough to strengthen the team across the board, was facing depth issues, and was dealing with a leaky defense — all while pretty much every other contender in the East got stronger on paper. Instead, OCSC tied a club-best unbeaten streak and is just three points out of second place.

That being said, the East is so tight that Orlando is only five points above the playoff line, and injuries to the wrong guys could easily topple the fragile ecosystem that is the depth chart, but so far things are going better than I thought they would be. There are still a lot of matches to play, but this isn’t a bad position to be in at the halfway mark.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/20/25

Orlando Pride take on Racing Louisville FC tonight, Orlando Pride players called up by Zambia, USMNT beats Saudi Arabia, and more.

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3 days ago

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June 20, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday! June continues to fly by as we enjoy the buffet of soccer here in the U.S. this month. I’ll be spending most of the weekend working, but I am hoping to get some reading done after being gifted some books for my birthday. But enough about me, let’s jump right into today’s links!

Orlando Pride Face Racing Louisville Tonight

The Orlando Pride are on the road tonight for a match against Racing Louisville FC at 8 p.m. in the final game before a league break until August. Going into the break with four straight wins would be nice for the Pride, but they’ve struggled at Lynn Family Stadium over the years. Louisville enters this match following a 4-2 loss to the league-leading Kansas City Current and has scored eight goals over the past three games. Orlando’s defense has been phenomenal this year, conceding just eight goals this season and only one during this win streak. Midfielder Cori Dyke spoke on how the team is finding its groove and shutting out opponents.

Zambia Calls Up Orlando Pride Trio

Barbra Banda, Grace Chanda, and Prisca Chilufya were all called up for Zambia’s CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations roster ahead of this summer’s tournament. Banda has eight goals this season with the Pride and had four goals at last year’s Olympics, including a hat trick against Australia. The Copper Queens claimed third place in the 2022 edition of this tournament, and they’ll need to be at their best to win this summer against tough opponents like South Africa and Nigeria. Zambia’s tournament campaign will kick off on July 5 against the host nation, Morocco.

USMNT Beats Saudi Arabia to Qualify for Quarterfinals

The United States Men’s National Team won 1-0 against Saudi Arabia to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals of this year’s Concacaf Gold Cup. After a scoreless first half, the Yanks broke through in the 63rd minute thanks to a free kick. Sebastian Berhalter served the ball on a silver platter to Chris Richards, who buried it for the crucial goal. The defense did well to secure its second shutout of the tournament, with Orlando City’s Alex Freeman starting at right back yet again. The USMNT will play Haiti on Sunday and should be able to win the group for a smoother path in the knockout stage.

FIFA Club World Cup Roundup

An MLS club finally won a game during this year’s FIFA Club World Cup, with Inter Miami beating Porto 2-1 in Atlanta. Lionel Messi scored the winner from a free kick to complete the comeback after conceding an early goal. The Seattle Sounders had a rougher day, falling 3-1 to Atletico Madrid, with Pablo Barrios scoring a brace. Former Lion Facundo Torres started for Palmeiras in the Brazilian club’s 2-0 win over Egypt’s Al Ahly.

Today’s action features more soccer at Inter&Co Stadium, with Benfica and Auckland City squaring off in the City Beautiful. Our Michael Citro will be on hand to report on it. Elsewhere in the U.S., Chelsea will take on Flamengo, LAFC will face ES Tunis, and Bayern Munich will play Boca Juniors.

Free Kicks

  • Canada Head Coach Jesse Marsch, who is already serving a suspension for misconduct during the Nations League, is under investigation by Concacaf for incidents during this Gold Cup. Reports detail that Marsch disregarded regulations and used offensive language toward match officials.
  • Kylian Mbappe was discharged from the hospital after suffering from a case of gastroenteritis. It’s unclear if or when he’ll play for Real Madrid during the Club World Cup.
  • Carlos Cuesta was hired as Parma’s next head coach after five years with Arsenal as an assistant coach. The 29-year-old becomes the second-youngest coach in Serie A history.
  • Manchester City was fined over $1 million by the English Premier League for repeated delays regarding kickoff times.

That’s all I have for you all today. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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