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Orlando City vs. Seattle Sounders: Final Score 3-2 as Lions Come from Two Down to Win

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2 years ago

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Orlando City overcame a 2-0 deficit to beat the Seattle Sounders 3-2 at Exploria Stadium. The Lions (12-10-6, 42 points) created plenty of chances but fell behind by two before the shots started going in. It was Orlando’s first-ever win against Seattle (10-15-3, 33 points) and the team’s fourth victory in a row — with the last three game-winning goals coming in the 89th minute or later.

Facundo Torres, Ercan Kara, and Kyle Smith provided the goals in the comeback after Albert Rusnak and Raul Ruidiaz had staked the Sounders to a 2-0 lead.

“I’m very proud of this group of players,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “We understand that the best teams in the world are not the ones who don’t have difficult moments, but are the ones who overcome. This gives us today a lot of optimism of what we are and how things are coming (together).”

Pareja’s lineup was heavily rotated apart from goalkeeper Pedro Gallese and the back line of Joao Moutinho, Rodrigo Schlegel, Antonio Carlos, and Ruan. Mauricio Pereyra returned from yellow card suspension and played deep alongside Cesar Araujo in central midfield. From there it was almost all new faces. Joining Junior Urso in the attacking line was Ivan Angulo and Niko Gioacchini, who both made their first Orlando City starts. Tesho Akindele started, rather than coming off the bench as a super sub.

The game started almost two hours late due to lightning in the area. When play got underway, the first half was a bit back-and-forth, with Seattle having more possession in the opening 20 minutes and Orlando coming into the game after the visitors scored.

The Lions got a look in the first half when Gioacchini headed wide off a good cross by Moutinho 10 minutes in.

The visitors had their first decent chance in the 22nd minute when Ruidiaz got down the right but fired wide. But moments later, the Sounders scored.

Carlos was called for a foul about 25 yards out from the goal line and the Lions were incensed with the call, with three players surrounding referee Alex Chilowicz. Orlando was perhaps fortunate not to pick up a yellow card for dissent. Rusnak sent the free kick into the upper left corner where Gallese couldn’t reach it, putting Seattle up 1-0 in the 26th minute.

The Lions seemed to wake up after the goal and fashioned a chance in the 27th minute off a nifty set piece from distance. The ball was sent from left to right across the field and a diagonal ball came to Schlegel to the left of goal. Whether the defender meant to head on target or back across the box is unknown, but he ended up sending his effort at goalkeeper Stefan Frei.

The Lions had a golden opportunity to tie the match moments later. Gioacchini cut back to free himself for a shot and was taken down in the box by Jimmy Medranda. Chilowicz immediately signaled for a penalty kick. Pereyra took the spot kick after a lengthy discussion — for some reason — but sent his kick way too close to the middle and Frei made the save. Moutinho got to the ball and his follow-up shot was deflected out for a corner by a sliding save by Jackson Ragen.

In the 36th minute, Frei made a huge save to preserve Seattle’s lead. Pereyra sent a ball from the left to Gioacchini on the right. The forward headed across the box to Angulo to head toward goal but Frei got his hand on it.

Orlando couldn’t do much with a late corner kick and trailed 1-0 entering halftime.

Seattle held a slight edge in possession (52.1%-47.9%) and was more accurate in the passing game (85.1%-84%). Orlando had far more shot attempts (9-3), more shots on target (3-1), and corners (4-2).

Pareja sent Torres onto the pitch to start the second half in order to get a left-footed player on that side, withdrawing Gioacchini — a move he said he didn’t want to make because of the USMNT forward’s play, but felt he had to.

The visitors doubled their lead in the 52nd minute when they broke in transition and Ruan ended up isolated on Ruidiaz. Although the Brazilian tracked Ruidiaz across the front of goal, he was unable to prevent the Designated Player from scoring to make it 2-0.

Orlando’s reaction was immediate. Torres took a pass from Moutinho in the middle and found himself in space. The Uruguayan smashed a shot into the corner to pull the Ruidiaz goal right back and get the Lions back in it.

“I think he’s understanding much better the league and not just his role in the team, but I have seen too what this league is demanding,” Pareja said of Torres’ recent run of form. “I think he’s great and a fantastic moment for us that he stepped up and carried our team.”

The Lions continued attacking and looked dangerous. Angulo fired a shot but hit it right at Frei in the 62nd minute and seconds later Akindele got onto a Ruan cross but Yeimar blocked his header from point-blank range.

Second-half sub Kara tried an audacious shot from a tight angle in the 66th minute and got it on target, forcing Frei to be alert to make the save. A minute later, the Lions got their second penalty of the game when the ball hit Morris’ arm in the box. Kara took the spot kick and fired home his ninth goal of the year to tie the match at 2-2 in the 68th minute.

Orlando had two golden chances to take the lead in the 70th minute. Kara and Michel each got headers in front but Frei made a good save to deny the Austrian and the Homegrown couldn’t get much power on his and it fell into the goalkeeper’s arms.

Kara got his head to Torres’ corner kick cross in the 77th minute but his shot was just wide of the left post as the Lions continued to seek the game winner.

But the Sounders started to control the match over the final minutes, taking the ball away, keeping possession, and looking for a winner of their own. Lodeiro shook free from long range in the 82nd minute and forced a great diving save from Gallese.

Two minutes later, second-half substitute Andres Perea turned the ball over and the counter ended up with Morris, who fired wide. Lodeiro then baited Chilowicz into a soft foul call to set up a dangerous free kick but nothing came of it when Ragen popped his header over the bar and onto the roof of the net in the 86th minute.

Momentum flipped again as the end of the game approached. Smith sent a good cross to Perea at the back post but the midfielder headed his shot right at Frei in the 89th minute. Two minutes later, the Lions put the ball in the net but it initially didn’t seem to count.

Smith took a pass from Torres on the right and got into the box. He smashed a left-footed shot across the front of goal that deflected in but the flag came up as Kara was caught offside. Chilowicz went to the monitor and saw that the ball had hit Ragen and deflected past Frei and judged that Kara did not interfere with play, so the goal stood in the 91st minute and Smith had the game winner.

“ I was originally trying to get cross off,” Smith said. “But then I thought it was crowded in the box. So I chopped it back and then, at that point, I just wanted to put it on target as hard as I could. And then I hit it off the defender, I believe in the stomach and, you know, fortunately it went in.”

Smith said he originally thought he was being called for offside on the play.

After seeing out the last couple of minutes of stoppage time, the Lions had their initial win over the Sounders.

Seattle finished with more possession (54.1%-45.9%) and passing accuracy (84.2%-83.9%). The Lions had more shots (17-8), shots on target (8-3), and corners (7-3).

“We all know how good of a team we are,” Smith said of the current run of late game-winning goals. “And we all know that even if the goals don’t come in the first 60, 70 minutes, that they they still can come and very quickly. And we scored tonight three goals I think in like the last 30 minutes, maybe. So yeah, I think it’s just having confidence in ourselves to score goals.”

“One thing I like about the boys is they have their feet on the ground. They know where they are,” Pareja said of his team’s run of success with the upcoming cup final looming. “The league is still hard and we know we have a big challenge in front of us with our schedule and need to get points to qualify into the playoffs. We’re trying to live in the present today with Seattle. We didn’t want to touch the topic of playing in the final the last week or so. And after the game, I saw their faces and they said, ‘OK Oscar, we’re ready for the cup.’ Those things make you think that the team is getting mature. That’s important unity. But one day at a time. We’ll rest tomorrow. We’ll do anything that we have in our heart and in our bodies to give this trophy to Orlando in the next step — and without forgetting the commitment that we have in the league.”

The Lions will take a break from league play now as the Inter Miami game originally scheduled for this weekend was pushed into October. Orlando City’s next match will be the U.S. Open Cup final against Sacramento Republic FC next Wednesday at Exploria Stadium.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Inter Miami CF: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions and Herons renew the Tropic Thunder rivalry series with Orlando looking to build on Saturday’s win.

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2 hours ago

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May 15, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread for a Wednesday night Tropic Thunder matchup between Orlando City (3-5-3, 12 points) and the team’s Publix Enemies, Inter Miami CF (8-2-3, 27 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+). It’s the second of the two scheduled meetings between the sides this season and the only scheduled meeting in Orlando.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

Orlando City is 5-5-4 in the series in all competitions, 5-4-3 in MLS play, 2-0-3 at home in league games, and 2-0-4 in all Orlando meetings against the Herons.

The most recent meeting was the most forgettable of all, a 5-0 loss for the Lions at Chase Stadium on March 2. Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi scored braces and Robert Taylor chipped in a goal in a match Orlando City was never in, as it was already 2-0 just 11 minutes after kickoff.

The last time the teams met in Orlando, the final result was a 1-1 draw on Sept. 24, 2023. Duncan McGuire brought Orlando back from a 1-0 deficit after David Ruiz had given the Herons a 1-0 lead early in the second half.

On Aug. 2 of last year, the teams met in Leagues Cup action. The Herons were fortunate to not see Messi sent off with a second yellow late in the first half and even more fortunate to get a soft penalty call on Antonio Carlos as they won, 3-1. Messi opened the scoring after being ignored in the box early. Cesar Araujo made up for his uncharacteristic defensive lapse by scoring 10 minutes later. Josef Martinez put Miami back on top with the Downy-soft penalty just after halftime and Messi sunk in the dagger in the final 20 minutes.

The teams also met in Fort Lauderdale in MLS play on May 20, 2023, with Orlando City winning, 3-1. Ercan Kara’s early goal was canceled out by Leonardo Campana shortly before the hour mark, but Martin Ojeda and Rafael Santos found the net in the second half to power the Lions to victory.

Inter Miami won at home, 4-1, on Oct. 5, 2022. Campana scored in the game’s first minute and Orlando City never settled in. Gonzalo Higuain added two goals — one from the spot — and Ariel Lassiter also scored before Kara pulled one back to spoil the shutout.

The first regular-season meeting of 2022 resulted in a 1-0 Orlando City win at Exploria Stadium on July 9, as a stoppage-time own goal by Damion Lowe was the difference between the Lions earning just one point or all three. The ball was sent into the box by Jake Mulraney.

The teams also met at Exploria Stadium on May 25, 2022 in U.S. Open Cup action, with the two sides needing extra time after a scoreless 90 minutes. In extra time, Miami got a goal from Jean Mota against the run of play, but Facundo Torres quickly equalized for Orlando. The match ended 1-1 and Orlando won the ensuing penalty shootout, 4-2. Bryce Duke was denied by Mason Stajduhar and DeAndre Yedlin missed the net during the spot kicks, while all four Orlando shooters scored.

The intrastate rivals played to a scoreless draw in Orlando on Aug. 27, 2021. Tesho Akindele missed a penalty in the match, but the Lions had several other good opportunities to score (but didn’t) in a wasteful performance. Orlando and Miami battled to a 1-1 draw at Exploria Stadium on Aug. 4, 2021. Carlos scored in first-half stoppage time but was knocked into concussion protocol on the play by Kelvin Leerdam. Kieran Gibbs equalized in the 66th minute on a header in front of a less-than-attentive Ruan. Akindele had a goal called back after video review for being offside and the teams split the points. Earlier in the season, the Lions came from behind in Fort Lauderdale to win 2-1 on a pair of brilliant goals by Chris Mueller and Nani on June 25, 2021.

In the final meeting of 2020, the Lions saw their 12-match unbeaten streak end on Oct. 24 in a 2-1 road loss in Fort Lauderdale. Miami defender Leandro Gonzalez Pirez’s header in the 89th minute was the difference after a Daryl Dike goal and an own goal off Robin Jansson saw the game tied up at halftime. The teams met in Orlando on Sept. 12, 2020 with Orlando battling to a 2-1 win on Mauricio Pereyra’s goal. The Lions had taken the lead on an own goal by Andres Reyes. Former Lion Brek Shea tied things up in the 65th, before Pereyra answered with a nice goal off the left post in the 69th minute.

The first meeting in Fort Lauderdale opened Phase 1 of Major League Soccer’s return to regular-season play after the MLS is Back Tournament. That one was an uncharacteristically sloppy match for the Lions, who fell 3-2 in Inter Miami’s first-ever home match. It was Miami’s first franchise win after an 0-5-0 start. Orlando trailed by more than one goal for the first time all season in that game. Dike and Nani provided the offense for Orlando, but Julian Carranza’s brace and Rodolfo Pizarro’s insurance goal were enough to lift the Herons.

The first Tropic Thunder match went Orlando City’s way, with Nani scoring late to lift the Lions to a 2-1 win over the upstarts from South Florida in the opening match of the MLS is Back Tournament. Despite it being a tournament match, it was also a league game. Juan Agudelo opened the scoring for the Herons, but Mueller equalized, setting the stage for Nani’s 97th-minute winner.

Overview

The Lions are coming off a 3-2 win on the road over the Philadelphia Union on Saturday. Mikael Uhre opened the scoring for the Union, but McGuire pulled the Lions level and Luis Muriel scored his first two MLS goals, lifting Orlando to a 3-1 lead. Timothy Ford awarded Philadelphia two penalties — one legit and one softer than Eiderdown. Daniel Gazdag took both, scoring on the first but getting denied by Pedro Gallese late in the game on the second. That snapped the Lions’ two-game losing streak and a three-match winless run.

Orlando City is just 1-3-2 at home this season, has lost its last two games at Inter&Co Stadium, and has gone unbeaten in its last three matches on its home patch.

Inter Miami is coming off a 3-2 road win at CF Montreal Saturday after falling behind 2-0 in the opening 32 minutes. Montreal conceded twice on the brink of halftime and Miami carried that momentum to a win. The Herons are 4-1-1 on the road in 2024 and have won three straight away from home since a 4-0 beatdown they suffered at New York Red Bulls on March 23.

Miami is one of the heavy favorites in 2024 to win MLS Cup. That’s not surprising, given the influx of former Barcelona stars. If we’re being honest with ourselves, Messi is playing in a league multiple levels below the talent of a guy widely considered the greatest of all time and who is still producing, so anything he accomplishes shouldn’t be terribly surprising. It’s like putting LeBron James on a team in the sixth-best basketball league and letting him bring some of his NBA teammates with him, who somehow don’t quite count as much as they should against the salary cap, but I digress…

The Lions must do what they can to limit Messi’s involvement as much as possible, while keeping a defender glued to Suarez whenever he arrives near the penalty area. Miami’s attack is formidable enough that it helps the team’s defense, as it is often difficult to dispossess the Herons and maintain extended spells of possession long enough to get at Inter Miami’s back line. Orlando should look to get forward quickly in transition as it did in Philadelphia. That’s what the Lions will have to do to have a shot at a victory.

It’s a rivalry game, so anything can happen.

“There’s always a way to prepare the games. Normally, we just make more relevancy in the way we think and how we can affect them,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “Obviously, we have to have references on the other teams and how, with our strategy, do we decide to impose our model or try and control them? In this case with Miami, we have a game that we played. We’ll try to make less mistakes than we did that day.”

The Lions will be without Ramiro Enrique (ankle), Michael Halliday (knee), Robin Jansson (ankle), and Tahir Reid-Brown (thigh), while Rafael Santos (shoulder) is questionable. As of this writing, the most recent availability report for Miami (dated last Friday) has the following players out: Jordi Alba (hamstring), Shanyder Borgelin (hamstring), Facundo Farias (knee), Ian Fray (knee), Diego Gomez (ankle), Federico Redondo (knee), and Robbie Robinson (knee).

Match Content

Projected Lineups:

Orlando City (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: Kyle Smith, Rodrigo Schlegel, David Brekalo, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.

Defensive Midfielders: Cesar Araujo, Wilder Cartagena.

Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Facundo Torres, Luis Muriel.

Forward: Duncan McGuire.

Inter Miami (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Drake Callender.

Defenders: Franco Negri, Nicolas Freire, Sergii Kryvtsov, Marcelo Weigandt.

Midfielders: Matias Rojas, Benjamin Cremaschi, Sergio Busquets, Julian Gressel.

Forwards: Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi.

Referees:

REF: Rosendo Mendoza.
AR1: Chris Elliott.
AR2: Jeffrey Greeson.
4TH: Elvis Osmanovic.
VAR: Fotis Bazakos.
AVAR: Tom Supple.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+.

Radio: FM 96.9 The Game (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow along at @TheManeLand, as well as Orlando City’s official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC).

Enjoy the game. Go City!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/15/24

Tropic Thunder is tonight, OCB plays away today, Americans playing abroad, and more.

Published

7 hours ago

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May 15, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wednesday Mane Landers. The next installment of the Tropic Thunder rivalry between the good guys (Orlando City) and the bad guys (Inter Miami) is tonight. I hope you can make it out to the match since there will probably be a bunch of Lionel Messi fans there and more purple in the stands is needed. To get ready for the match, you can listen to the latest edition of The Mane Land PawedCast, and check out our match preview later today . For now, let’s get to the links.

Lions Host Tropic Thunder Tonight

I don’t know why others insist on calling matches between Orlando City and Inter Miami the “Florida Derby”. Our name for the match — Tropic Thunder — is just so much better. Regardless, the Lions host the Herons tonight at Inter&Co Stadium looking to avenge the 5-0 loss from earlier in the season. The spotlight might be on Miami, but the pressure is on Orlando City. The Lions surprised me with their win over the Philadelphia Union on Saturday. Let’s hope the club can keep the momentum going.

Miami May Be Without Messi Today

While I never want anyone to get seriously injured, I’m not sorry to hear that there is a chance Messi will be unavailable for tonight’s match. It seems that Miami’s magician picked up a minor knee injury in the match against CF Montreal on Saturday. Say what you want, but he is a competitor and could still take the field tonight. Hopefully, he remembers the welcome Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena gave him when he joined the league and decides it’s not worth aggravating the knee.

OCB Back in Action On the Road

The senior squad isn’t the only team playing today as Orlando City B is in Ohio to take on Columbus Crew II at Lower.com Field. You’ll need to take a long lunch to watch this one because kickoff is set for noon. There will be plenty to watch since the two clubs are only separated by one point in the standings, with OCB sitting in sixth place (3-2-3, 13 points) and Crew II in eighth place (3-3-2, 12 points).

Keeping Up With Americans Abroad

Most of us know that Christian Pulisic had a great season with AC Milan after moving to the Serie A club from Chelsea. What I did not know is that Pulisic is the first AC Milan midfielder to score more than 10 goals in a season since former Orlando City star Kaká did it when he was there.

Things are not as bright for Giovanni Reyna at Nottingham Forest. He hasn’t played a ton of minutes for the Premier League side, and hasn’t done much when he has played. It was a loan without a purchase option, but Forest is reportedly not interested in making an offer for him regardless.

Free Kicks

  • Let’s all give a big congratulations to Orlando City Vice President of Soccer Operations and Technical Director Ricardo Moreira. He was accepted into the third edition of the FIFA Diploma in Club Management.
  • We believe once a Lion, always a Lion, but I didn’t know MLS thought the same thing. Poor Richie Laryea getting the biggest suspension is on brand for anyone related to Orlando City.

That will do it for today. Let’s hope that the Lions can get a second win in a row. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/14/24

Orlando City players earn recognition, Luis Muriel up for Goal of the Week, Blackburn still wants Duncan McGuire, and more.

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1 day ago

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May 14, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Tuesday, everyone! Orlando’s teams were firing on all cylinders this weekend, as Orlando City and the Orlando Pride combined to take all six points on offer. Orlando City beat the Philadelphia Union on the road by a score of 3-2, while Adriana’s penalty kick saw the Pride safely to a 1-0 win over Bay FC. As usual, we have a lot to discuss today, so let’s get after it.

Three Lions Earn Recognition After Win

A trio of Lions have been recognized for their efforts in Saturday’s win, as Luis Muriel is in the starting lineup of the MLS Team of the Matchday, with Nico Lodeiro and Pedro Gallese on the bench. Muriel led the way for Orlando on the scoresheet with a brace, while also doing some creative work in addition to the scoring. Lodeiro assisted on all three Orlando City goals, as he turned in an outstanding performance in the midfield. Gallese made two big saves from open play, and stonewalled what would have been an equalizer by Daniel Gazdag from the spot to preserve all three points for Orlando City. Here’s hoping the good performances continue.

Luis Muriel Up for Weekly Honors

The recognition didn’t stop with the Team of the Matchday for Muriel though. The Colombian striker was also nominated for MLS Player of the Matchday, although the award ultimately went to Christian Benteke. While he missed out on Player of the Matchday honors, it’s hard to argue with Benteke’s hat trick that saw D.C. United beat Atlanta United 3-2, and I’m sure Muriel will take Orlando’s victory over personal honors any day of the week. Muriel also received a nomination for MLS Goal of the Week. Which goal he was nominated for should come as little surprise, with his thunderous left-footed strike to open his Orlando City account getting the nod.

Blackburn Rovers Still After Duncan McGuire

It seems that Blackburn is still interested in Duncan McGuire, as the English team is said to be sending someone stateside to scout him this week. If Orlando City has its way, that interest won’t matter, as the club has reportedly offered him a new contract (paywall) with improved terms from the last one offered to the young striker. It’ll be interesting to see how things play out after a move to England collapsed so spectacularly during the January window. If McGuire keeps scoring at the rate he has so far this season then he’ll presumably have bigger fish than Blackburn chasing his services.

Jesse Marsch Takes Canada Job

Jesse Marsch has been named the new manager of the Canadian Men’s National Team. Out of a coaching job since his time managing Leeds United ended back in 2023, Marsch will take over for John Herdman, who left the post last summer to take the reins at Toronto FC. Marsch’s appointment could add an extra level of intrigue to games between Canada and the United States Men’s National Team, as Marsch has been critical of Gregg Berhalter at times. While he will be in charge of Canada for this summer’s Copa America, the USMNT and Canada find themselves on the opposite side of the bracket, and the only way they will meet is in either the final or the third-place game.

Americans in Midweek Action

Speaking of the USMNT, a number of American players will be in action this week, so make sure you have everything noted on your calendar. On Wednesday, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Celtic will win the Scottish league if they beat or draw with Killie, while Weston McKennie, Tim Weah and Juventus square off against Atalanta in the Coppa Italia final. Thursday sees Josh Sargent and Norwich City take on Leeds United in the second leg of the Championship playoff semifinals, while Friday will see Daryl Dike’s West Brom play the second leg of its semifinal against Southampton, although Dike will miss out through injury.

Free Kicks

  • Oscar Pareja says Robin Jansson’s injury isn’t as bad as initially feared, but didn’t elaborate much more beyond that.

That’s all I have for today. Vamos Orlando!

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