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Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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3 years ago

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Well, that was a game to forget. Orlando City lost 1-0 to the Philadelphia Union on Saturday night, and while the Lions almost certainly should have had a chance to level things from the spot in extra time, the home team also failed to take advantage of several good chances and only has itself to blame for the final score.

Let’s take a look at how each Lion performed individually in the loss.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6 — It was a quiet night in net for Pedro. He wasn’t actually credited with any saves, although I think the corner that he punched away was going in if he didn’t touch it. He passed with 96% accuracy, including two completed long balls, and also completed one dribble way out of his box as time was winding down. He was helpless to do anything about Gazdag’s goal and can probably feel a little aggrieved that the offside call was overturned.

D, Joao Moutinho, 7 (MotM) — It was great to have Moutinho back and he did a little bit of everything out there. Defensively he had a team-high five tackles, a game-high four aerial duels won, one clearance, completed both dribbles he attempted, and completed 80% of his passes with two successful long balls. Oh and he also had a team-high 83 touches. The Lions have missed his presence both at the back and going forward, and it was nice to see him back out there. His only blemish on the night came when he picked up a needless yellow card for kicking the ball away after a foul call went Philadelphia’s way.

D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — The Swede had a typically good performance in this one. He had two tackles, four interceptions, drew a foul, caught his man offside twice, and completed a dribble — all while passing with 96% accuracy and completing seven long balls. On more than one occasion he flashed his recovery speed to snuff out dangerous balls attempted behind the Lions’ back line, and it’s a credit to him and the rest of the defense that Philadelphia’s only good chance of the night didn’t come from open play.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6.5 — Like his counterpart at center back, Schlegel also had a good game. Defensively he won three aerial duels, made three tackles, and recorded four clearances and a block. Offensively, he took one shot and drew a lone foul while passing at a 92% rate and completing three long balls. He seems to grow a little more with every game he plays, and it was really nice to see how vocal he was with his teammates after several worrying passages of play.

D, Ruan, 5 — Ruan had a quiet night. Defensively, his only stat on the night was one clearance, and his most noticeable moment on defense was failing to step up in time, which kept Daniel Gazdag onside to score the game’s only goal. While he’s not really out there for his defending, and shouldn’t be marking the opponent’s top scorer on set pieces, he didn’t generate anything on offense either, although he did pass at a 91% rate. Unfortunately, most of the passes he didn’t complete were important ones in the final third. He got into good areas out wide on more than one occasion, but none of his balls into the box found a teammate, and his lack of accuracy on crossing has become a real problem. Teams have figured out that they just need to stand off him and not let him dribble past them, and they’ll probably be fine.

MF, Andres Perea, 6 — It was a better game for Perea than some he’s had in recent weeks. He passed with 86% accuracy, including a key pass and two long balls, and had one tackle, two interceptions, and two blocks, while his lone shot of the night was blocked. He was dispossessed once but was generally pretty good in possession and helped drive the team forward when the ball came to him.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6.5 — Like a lot of guys whose main job is to defend, Araujo had a pretty good game. He was the best passer on the night with a 97% completion rate, and he had four long balls as well. He also had two tackles, an interception, drew a foul, won an aerial duel, and took two shots, one of which left Andre Blake massaging his wrist it was hit so venomously. His main blemish on the night was the one foul he committed, for which he also received a yellow card. Outside of the raw numbers, he had a couple very good passages of play to help Orlando break Philadelphia’s press and one very bad moment where he was far too slow picking up Julian Carranza on a corner, with Orlando very fortunate not to pay the price for it. He also made a mistake near midfield that Carranza tried to turn into a golazo but missed the target with Gallese pulled out. His long throw-in created a scoring chance that Torres missed wide. He did much more good than bad and continues to look like an excellent find.

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 5.5 — Like the rest of Orlando’s attacking players it wasn’t a great night for him. His passing accuracy of 83% wasn’t his best, although he did register a key pass and a long ball. He also took one shot which was volleyed over, drew three fouls, and had two instances where his control let him down — one of which killed a promising attack very early in the game. He also chipped in one tackle defensively. The Orlando attack as a whole hasn’t looked very good in recent weeks and unfortunately that was the case for much of tonight. There were several instances where Orlando’s captain maybe should have shot but opted for a pass instead, although he wasn’t the only one guilty of that crime.

MF, Jake Mulraney, 4.5 — Getting the start out wide on the left, it was a difficult outing for Mulraney. Just several minutes into the game he had a bad giveaway in Orlando’s midfield that the Lions were very fortunate to not have punished. Worse though, was when he had trouble corralling the ball on the edge of the Philadelphia box following a turnover that Pereyra forced, with the giveaway torpedoing a great chance for the Lions. Outside of that, he passed with 75% accuracy, made a tackle, was dispossessed once and caught offside once. His effort can’t be questioned but it wasn’t a good performance and it was unsurprising to see him come off at halftime.

MF, Facundo Torres, 5.5 — Torres did some good things on the night. He had two key passes, completed two dribbles, drew a foul, and passed with 91% accuracy while completing three long balls and a cross. He also wasn’t afraid to shoot, registering five attempts on the night. Less good was the fact that he also missed OCSC’s best chance of the night in the first half after doing well to cut back on his defender and get the ball on his left foot. Speaking of his left foot, the other thing that’s becoming apparent is that he’s extremely one-footed. Teams have picked up on his lack of confidence with his right and do everything they can to show him away from his left. He was also dispossessed once and had three unstable touches in a frustrating night for the Lions on offense.

F, Ercan Kara, 5 — It was a very tough night for Orlando’s big Austrian striker. He was extremely isolated for the 89 minutes that he was on the field, with little to no service to speak of. His stats for the night speak to that as he finished with a meager 21 touches in almost a full game’s worth of action. He did have a clearance and a block while also passing with 77% accuracy and completing two key passes. His flick on for Pereyra from a long ball by Gallese set up Torres’ golden chance in the first half. He committed one foul which he received a yellow card for, and was also dispossessed twice and had three unstable touches, which hurts more considering how little he saw of the ball. He and the rest of Orlando’s offense need to figure out how to get him more involved.

Substitutes

MF, Benji Michel (45’), 5.5 — Benji got pretty involved in his half on the pitch and did some good stuff, such as recording three key passes, while distributing the ball with 91% accuracy, completing a cross, and drawing a foul. Some of the less good things were getting dispossessed three times, having two unstable touches, and committing two fouls. He had a better outing than the man he replaced, but with his speed it would be nice to see him try to take on his man 1-v-1 a bit more often.

MF, Alexandre Pato (61’), 5 — Pato wasn’t able to make much of an impact in his half hour on the field. His passing rate of 60% left a bit to be desired, although he did complete a long ball. Outside of that, he drew two fouls and committed one, while he hit his lone shot of the night wildly off target. He has not looked as dangerous after a good start to the season, and while it can be tough to get involved in the game as a substitute, he currently isn’t making a good enough case to start either.

MF, Junior Urso (75’), 5.5 — Upon entering the match, Urso did what he does and worked his butt off. The Bear completed a long ball while passing with 93% accuracy. He also completed a dribble and drew a foul. Unfortunately, his hard work didn’t have much of an impact on proceedings, although he was asked to play a more creative role than he’s used to with Pereyra exiting the field in his place. He’ll likely need a stitch or two after a clash of heads opened up his forehead mere moments after coming on.

F, Tesho Akindele (75’), 5.5 — Tesho flashed some good hold-up play in his time on the field, which is a strong suit of his. He only completed 50% of his passes, but also notched an interception and won an aerial duel. He had a chance to equalize for the Lions but couldn’t get over top of the ball with his header and it sailed over the bar. It wasn’t the easiest chance with a softly floating cross and a Philly player doing well to put him off, but he’ll have wanted to do better with it. He was also dispossessed once and was ultimately unable to spark Orlando’s sputtering offense.

D, Antonio Carlos (81’), N/A — Brought on for Joao Moutinho, AC won a pair of aerial duels, passed at a 71% clip with a completed long ball and committed two fouls while recording one unstable touch. He was the player pulled down by Gazdag in the box in stoppage time and might have had a chance at goal on the cross if not for the foul, but that’s not the way the referee saw it. It’s been good to see him back on the field, and if nothing else he got some minutes to help build his fitness.

F, Jack Lynn (89’), N/A — Lynn came on for Ercan Kara but was unable to get meaningfully involved in the game. He did have a great cushioned touch out of the air to help build an Orlando attack, but didn’t do much outside of that. Still, given Orlando’s woes up front it might be worth giving him some extended time on the field to see if he can help spark something.

That’s ultimately how I saw the individual performances in this one. You’ll notice that defenders and defensive oriented players tended to score higher than the offensive guys, and that’s because other than a couple lapses during set pieces, the defense played very well. The same cannot be said for the other end of the field. Let us know your thoughts in the comments and be sure to vote for your Man of the Match below.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Robin Jansson6
Rodrigo Schlegel2
Joao Moutinho13
Cesar Araujo10
Someone else (Tell us 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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2 hours ago

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June 23, 2025

By

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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