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Orlando City vs. Nashville SC, U.S. Open Cup: Final Score 1-1 as Lions Advance on Penalties Again

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3 years ago

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Orlando City never does anything the easy way. The Lions needed a stoppage-time goal from Rodrigo Schlegel and a save in sudden death penalties to advance to the U.S. Open Cup semifinals after a 1-1 draw against Nashville SC at Exploria Stadium. Schlegel again donned his folk hero mantle with a 94th-minute equalizer after the Lions spent much of the second half trying to overcome Hany Mukhtar’s opening goal in the 52nd minute.

Orlando scored six times in the shootout, with only Andres Perea seeing his spot kick saved, while Alex Muyl skied the first Nashville attempt over the bar and Pedro Gallese made a diving stop on Eric Miller to end the match.

“We didn’t play well in the first half, at least 35 minutes where Nashville was much better than us,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “But, after after the goal, I thought we reacted and I want to recognize that reaction from the players. I think they had the personality to be patient and go through it. And then at the end, I thought we were a fair winner.”

Pareja’s starting XI included Pedro Gallese in goal in place of the injured Mason Stajduhar, who had handled all goalkeeping duties in this year’s U.S. Open Cup to date. Joao Moutinho did not make the lineup, so Kyle Smith lined up at left back next to partners Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Ruan. Cesar Araujo and Junior Urso handled the central midfield behind an attacking line of Tesho Akindele, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres, with Ercan Kara up top.

Nashville dominated the first half from the jump, as the Lions played about like they did on Friday in Cincinnati. They were sloppy with the ball, made hopeful passes into areas where there were no teammates, and failed to create any threat to Elliot Panicco’s net. The visitors created dangerous opportunities off of needless and careless giveaways throughout the opening half.

The first of those came in the 16th minute when Pereyra turned down opportunities to pass out of pressure but instead held onto the ball until he was surrounded and dispossessed. The ball ended up with Mukhtar, who forced Gallese into a good save.

Orlando dealt with the ensuing corner and had a chance to break, but Ruan slowed as he approached the penalty area, allowing Nashville to get back into position and then made a poor pass trying to switch play to the right.

Nashville won a couple more corners and nearly scored when Walker Zimmerman got a free header. Smith was there to block the shot before it could find its way inside the right post in the 20th minute.

The Lions continued to give it away and Nashville accepted those gifts, fashioning dangerous chances. Sapong shook free in the 26th minute and fired on goal but Gallese was able to keep it out.

Moments later, Mukhtar got in close on the left side and El Pulpo did well to smother the point-blank shot.

Orlando nearly created something in the 33rd minute with the first half chance. Pereyra got into the right side of the box and cut a pass back across the six-yard box for Akindele, but his attempt to bundle it home was met with a sliding challenge by two defenders and nothing came of it.

Two minutes later, Gallese again made a big stop on Sapong to keep the game scoreless.

Randall Leal then slipped in behind the back line in transition on the right but fired his shot off target in the 37th minute.

Each team wasted a couple late set pieces and that was it for the first half.

Nashville led in possession (52.3%-47.7%), shots (6-1), shots on target (4-0), corners (4-1), and passing accuracy (77.8%-77.4%).

Orlando blew a golden opportunity to take the lead four minutes after the restart. Torres cut a ball back across from the right near the end line. The ball found Urso but the midfielder sent his shot over the bar, wasting the opportunity.

Moments later, Kara went for a bicycle kick near the top of the box but didn’t get all of it. The ball skipped over to the right and Pereyra was first to it, but it bounced just as he arrived and he couldn’t make good contact, sending it just wide.

Those misses were costly, as Nashville broke the scoreless deadlock in the 53rd minute. A harmless looking cross in from Alex Muyl found Mukhtar with Schlegel trying to wall him off. Since the defender didn’t play the ball, Mukhtar simply stuck his foot out and knocked it past Gallese to make it 1-0.

The Lions seemed to wake up at that point and had a good spell of play. Akindele got down the left in the 58th minute and found Kara in front. Panicco did well to come off his line and sprawl sideways to smother the forward’s shot.

Seconds later, Ruan made a slick move to free himelf down the right channel. He looked to have some options but spotted Panicco off his line and tried to chip the goalkeeper. Unfortunately, the ball sailed on him a bit and flew over the crossbar.

Torres freed himself for a shot from outside the area in the 70th minute but he scuffed the shot and it skipped harmlessly wide.

Nashville put more defensive-minded players on the field to try to see the game out and it seemed to be working. Orlando sent in passes from deep and the defense simply waited and overlapped with each other to knock them away.

Second-half sub Alexandre Pato had a great chance in the 90th minute from outside the area when he smashed a shot toward the right post. The ball started on target but swerved outside and went just wide.

As time wound down, Pereyra was fouled near the right corner of the box, giving the Lions a free kick. The captain sent in a cross that Panicco missed and Benji Michel nodded down. Schlegel was first to the ball and knocked it in to make it 1-1 in the 94th minute.

“I just saw the ball coming in,” Schlegel said of the play. “I saw Antonio and I saw a good header created a rebound for us, and I was able to get on the rebound, and thankfully I was able to score it.”

The goal sent the ball into extra time. After 90 minutes, Orlando held more possession (55.1%-44.9%), shots (13-9), and passing accuracy (81.4%-75.5%). Nashville had more shots on target (6-4) and corners (6-3).

The first 15 minutes of extra time didn’t provide much excitement, despite Sean Davis getting sent off with a second yellow card in the 91st minute for pulling Torres back to break up a transition play. Nashville packed their area tightly and repelled crosses and passes for much of the first period of extra time.

The closest Orlando came was a header from Perea just inches over the bar on a set piece in the 98th minute. Kara fired wide in the 100th minute and that was it for the scoring chances.

Orlando had more possession at the break (56.8%-43.2%), more shots (16-9), and more passing accuracy (82.8%-75.2%). Nashville had more shots on target (6-4) and more corners (6-4).

Jansson nearly put the Lions ahead in the 105th minute, smashing a shot just wide of the right post from the left corner of the box. Torres pulled a shot just wide of the right post in the 112th minute. Orlando couldn’t do much with a few set pieces with the height of the Nashville defenders in the box and the match went to spot kicks.

After 120 minutes, Orlando had more shots (23-9), corners (7-6), passing accuracy (83.8%-72.9%), and possession (59.8%-40.2%). Nashville still had more shots on target (6-5).

“No player wants a game to go to penalties. But we’re calm now and we can analyze the game,” Pato said. “We have to be more calm when we’re up a player.”

Kara stepped up to be Orlando’s first shooter as he did in the Round of 16 against Inter Miami, and he buried his spot kick to set the tone. Muyl stepped up first for Nashville but sent his shot high over the crossbar to give the Lions the advantage.

Jansson and Ake Loba traded goals in the second round, before Perea tried a stutter-step approach and fired too close to Panicco, who made the save. Jack Maher leveled the shootout at 2-2 after three rounds. Kyle Smith and Walker Zimmerman traded goals in the fourth round and Alexandre Pato and Ethan Zubak did likewise in Round 5, sending the shootout to sudden death. Antonio Carlos pushed Orlando back in front, only to see Dave Romney roof his shot to knot things up at 5-5.

Torres stepped up and fired home to give the Lions the advantage and put pressure back on the visitors. Eric Miller went sixth for Nashville and sent his shot to Gallese’s right. The attempt was poor and El Pulpo guessed correctly, making the save to send the Lions through to the semifinals.

“Very happy, obviously, with the (shootout) victory and going to the semifinal with this group of players against a very good rival, with the possibility to keep advancing,” Pareja said. “I think it’s a very good step for us.”

“I think it’s a situation where you have to be intelligent as a team,” Schlegel said. “You have to play each of these games in a way that you don’t commit an error that could hurt the team. I think this team, specifically in these Cup games, has shown that we’ve been intelligent, we’ve played that type of game, and continue to fight with these difficult moments.

“But more than that, it’s that this team doesn’t fear extra time. It doesn’t fear going to penalties, because we have confidence in each and every one of our teammates.”

Orlando City returns to league action Monday, July 4 when D.C. United visits Exploria Stadium. The Lions will host the New York Red Bulls in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals on July 27.

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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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7 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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