Uncategorized

Reports of Potential Spying Taint Buildup to Orlando City’s Biggest Match

Published

4 years ago

September 7, 2022

The soccer gods couldn’t just let us have one moment of excitement and pure happiness, could they?

Today should be one of the most enjoyable game days in the history of Orlando City Soccer Club. The birds should be singing a little sweeter and the sun should be shining a little brighter in the lead-up to the biggest game in the club’s existence.

Instead, what many of us are feeling on this should-be joyous day is shade — not the welcome respite from the scorching Florida sun, but a cold, black pall cast over everything, sapping some of that joy.

Television commentator Taylor Twellman broke the news Tuesday evening that a source inside the United States Soccer Federation said the organization is looking into an OCSC first-team staff member potentially spying on Sacramento Republic FC’s training session in Orlando on Monday. Other national and regional reporters confirmed the story with their sources shortly thereafter and, while some people on social media hurled misplaced vitriol at Twellman online, Paul Tenorio and Jeff Reuter of The Athletic published a story ($) that used nearly the exact same verbiage in the opening paragraph that Twellman had used in his initial tweet.

The basics are that an as-yet-unnamed member of the Orlando City first-team staff was allegedly spotted watching Sacramento Republic FC’s training session at a public park and was asked to leave, but refused to do so for at least 30 minutes. The alleged staff member’s position or level within the club has not been made public. The club released a public statement Tuesday night acknowledging the matter but not commenting beyond that.

“The Club has been made aware of the matter regarding Sacramento’s training session and is cooperating with U.S. Soccer,” Orlando City said in a statement.

It is too early for the club to say more than that at the moment, but a spokesperson for Orlando City told me this morning via text that while there isn’t anything more specific to say at the moment, updates will be provided as the club learns more.

The fact that Sacramento was training at a public park instead of renting one of the many private fields in the area is…well, let’s be honest, it’s stupid. There are many places in the area less well populated than Central Winds Park.

However, that doesn’t give Orlando City or any of the club’s employees the right to go watch tonight’s visitors — and I want to be very clear and precise here that it remains to be seen whether that has happened. At this point there has been no evidence presented publicly that it happened, just a report that it is being investigated. The court of public opinion may have already deemed the club guilty, and this certainly isn’t a good look, but the facts haven’t been made public yet.

While it may be technically legal for any citizen to be in a public park, what is technically legal isn’t necessarily right. And if a staffer did, in fact, refuse to leave the area where he or she could observe Sacramento’s training session for at least 30 minutes, that’s even worse.

The alleged incident will be investigated in due course and it will have little to no bearing on tonight’s sold-out match at Exploria Stadium. Little can be gleaned from observing training in a way that meaningfully should impact the game. Neither coach is likely to completely overhaul tactics having gotten to this point in the competition. Both coaches already know which players on the other team will be likely to take penalties in case of a draw. Set piece plays could be observed, but as late as Monday, most of the pre-match preparation is already complete (Benji Michel outlined the team’s preparation timeline for the week for us on this week’s episode of The Mane Land PawedCast, which will drop later this morning). Even if you know the other team’s likely set pieces, you still have to know when those plays will be used, and you still have to execute on defense.

Even teams stealing signals in baseball need to be able to hit that curveball, whether they know it’s coming or not.

Tonight’s match will come down to execution, concentration, and desire, whether any spying took place or not. But it suddenly doesn’t feel as fun now, and that’s the most infuriating thing. If spying really took place, that will be even more troubling, because it was completely unnecessary.

Orlando City fans are understandably upset that, if the Lions win, the public outside of the fandom will perceive the victory as tainted due to cheating. And if the opposite happens, these same fans are concerned with the perception of the club having lost to a lower level side — never mind that the same team knocked out the LA Galaxy and Sporting Kansas City in the previous two rounds and is in this match through legitimate accomplishment — and having gotten its comeuppance. I don’t think the club’s reputation is unimportant, but I also don’t concern myself with the opinions of the club by neutrals or those who already don’t like Orlando City. Life is too short to pour one’s energy into what others think.

It’s just a shame that it’s come to this, whether it happened — especially if it happened — or not.

If there was a spying incident, and let me reiterate that we still don’t know that to be the case, the staff member who did it should absolutely be fired. If that staff member’s superior asked or ordered them to do so, regardless of who it was, that person should also be fired. I would personally advocate that anyone else who knew about it and did nothing to stop it should also go. Integrity should be valued in sport and in life.

As for the penalty if the club is guilty of what is alleged, that likely depends on the extent of the incident (whether it was an employee acting alone or someone directing them to do so, for example), but it’s probably more along the lines of a fine and, in an extreme case, perhaps a suspension from the competition for a year (depending on the aforementioned extent) than any forfeiture of a match.

On the other hand, if an investigation reveals that no such incident took place, U.S. Soccer should absolutely apologize publicly on behalf of its unnamed employee that leaked this to the press less than 24 hours before Orlando City’s biggest match. It should apologize for tainting this day for us all. If that employee’s identity is known inside U.S. Soccer, they should be the one fired.

In the meantime, all we can do is try to hold onto the fact that the club we support is playing for a major trophy tonight. We will be gathering in a full Exploria Stadium to watch the Lions on their biggest stage to date.

Even if some of the fun and joy of this moment has been irrevocably stolen, this is a big moment. Enjoy it as best you can and let the investigation play out in due time.

Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 144: Gotham Rewind, Seattle Preview, and More

The Pride finished their home schedule with a loss to Gotham and hope to finish their road schedule with a win in Seattle.

Published

1 week ago

October 28, 2026

Michael Citro

Image of Solai Washington running onto a ball behind the Gotham defense.

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

The Orlando Pride tried to send their fans home happy in their regular-season home finale, but despite an impressive overall performance against the league leaders, the Pride wasted numerous chances in front of goal and paid for two big mistakes at the back in what ultimately ended as a 2-1 loss in a season filled with far too many defeats. Solai Washington did so many things well, but despite a month’s worth of chances, she could only muster one goal. Still, it was a promising outing albeit in a developing story that won’t continue much longer this year.

We discuss the key plays, players, and moments, look back at our score predictions from last week, and select our Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox asked us about Marta, the reasons for the Pride’s struggles in 2026, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

Finally, we look ahead to Sunday’s season finale at the Seattle Reign. The Pride opened their 2026 season with a home loss to the Reign but would like to close it with a road win over Seattle to enter the off-season on a positive note. It won’t be easy, as the Reign are clinging to the last playoff spot and trying to catch rival Portland as multiple teams are trying to catch them. We look at Orlando’s attempt to play spoiler, check back on the series history, compare the teams’ positions in the table, provide our key matchups, and more.

Here’s how Episode 144 went down:

0:15 – The Pride finished their home schedule with a good performance but another poor result against the league’s top team.

20:07 – Our mailbagbox has questions about the GOAT.

38:26 – Seattle was the first 2026 opponent and will be the last 2026 opponent. We preview for the last time this season.

Podcasts

SkoPurp Soccer Episode 140: Bay FC Rewind, San Diego Preview, and More

The Pride keep their playoff hopes alive by eliminating Bay FC but things get tougher with San Diego visiting Friday.

Published

1 month ago

September 30, 2026

Michael Citro

Image of Jacquie Ovalle dribbling toward the Bay FC defense.

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Justin Glatt

The Orlando Pride remained perfect on the road against Bay FC with a 3-1 win on Sunday. Deuces were wild, as Haley McCutcheon, who wears jersey No. 2, scored in the second minute of both halves, and her two goals in California gave the midfielder her second brace of both the 2026 NWSL season and her career. Barbra Banda figured heavily in pulling defenders out of position on two of the three Orlando goals and assisted on Jacquie Ovalle’s right-footed thunderbolt in stoppage time to put the game away. But make no mistake, it’s not as if the Pride played well, turning the ball over often and conceding 28 shot attempts to the hosts.

We break down a road win that may have been more exhausting to watch than to play in (although I wouldn’t bet on it), check back on our score predictions, and make our selections for Player of the Match.

This week’s mailbagbox asked us about Haley McCutcheon, where to most strongly place the blame for the Pride’s disappointing season, and more. Remember, you can ask us anything by hitting us up on Twitter at either @TheManeLand or @SkoPurpSoccer and using the hashtag #AskSkoPurp. You can use that same hashtag and hit @TheManeLand.bsky.social up on Bluesky. Or you can visit our show page, scroll down, and fill out the handy form. We’d also appreciate any ratings or reviews you can leave wherever you get your podcasts, and if you do that on Apple Podcasts, we’ll find them easily and read them on the show.

Finally, we looked ahead to Friday, when Orlando will host San Diego Wave FC, looking to both complete a season sweep and to keep its faint playoff hopes alive. We look at the series history, provide our key matchups for the contest, and make our predictions for the final score.

Here’s how Episode 140 went down:

0:15 – The Pride improved to 2-1-1 under Yolanda Thomas, but a lot of good Cosette Morche saves were required to get that second win.

20:00- The mailbagbox asks us to play the blame game.

33:36 – The Pride continue to face California-based competition, but Friday’s opponent is much higher in the table than Sunday’s was.

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Jose Earthquakes: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Orlando City restarts its 2026 MLS campaign late tonight out west at San Jose.

Published

4 months ago

July 22, 2026

Michael Citro

Image of Braian Ojeda taking a shot in a friendly against FC Dallas.

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread for a late night midweek matchup tonight between Orlando City (4-9-2, 14 points) and the San Jose Earthquakes (10-3-2, 32 points) at PayPal Park (10:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the only scheduled meeting between the teams in 2026 and the first time the teams have met since 2024.

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

History

Orlando City is 3-1-3 in the previous seven MLS meetings with the Quakes since the club joined Major League Soccer in 2015. The Lions got their only away win in the series in the last meeting and enter tonight 1-1-2 on the road against San Jose.

The teams last met on May 18, 2024, with Jack Lynn coming off the bench to score the game’s only goal. Lynn’s strike in the 89th minute broke the scoreless deadlock and lifted the Lions to a 1-0 victory.

The teams met in Orlando most recently way back on June 22, 2021, with the Lions beating the Quakes down, 5-0. Orlando got things started with an early penalty kick goal by Nani, followed by braces from Benji Michel and Daryl Dike to easily put the game away. The lasting memory from the game is Michel’s celebratory dance wearing a cowboy hat that came out of the stands.

Prior to that Orlando City romp, the last time the teams met was on Aug. 31, 2019 when the Lions got freight trained 3-0 at Avaya Stadium, giving the Quakes their first win in the series. San Jose’s offense came via a Chris Wondolowski brace and an early opening goal by Magnus Eriksson. Orlando looked flat and weary out of the gate.

The Lions were victorious in Exploria Stadium in the 2018 meeting on April 21, a 3-2 Orlando win. It was the first win in the series for either side after three straight draws. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer gave the Lions a 3-0 lead before Florian Jungwirth pulled two back in the game’s late stages.

The Lions led all of the first three matches in the second half only to see San Jose pull level, with two of those tying goals coming late. In the 2017 meeting, Carlos Rivas finally broke the scoreless tie and gave Orlando City the lead in the 81st minute, but Wondolowski spoiled the Lions’ night with an equalizer two minutes later as the teams drew at Avaya Stadium, 1-1.

In 2016, the Lions were gut-punched in the 94th minute in an emotional match that ended in a 2-2 draw. It was the first home match following the Pulse nightclub tragedy and what appeared to be a storybook ending to a cathartic win turned sour on a last-gasp equalizer by Shea Salinas. Seb Hines — now the Orlando Pride’s head coach — opened the scoring for Orlando, only to see Chad Barrett tie it up. Julio Baptista restored the lead in stoppage time, but Salinas ruined everything.

The two teams also drew in the first meeting, a 1-1 affair at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with the Lions down to 10 men after Brek Shea was sent off in the first half. Kaká and Wondolowski each scored from the penalty spot four minutes apart in that initial meeting.

Overview

The teams meet tonight to get their post-World Cup portion of the season started. Orlando City has been terrible on the road all season long, keeping only one MLS opponent under two goals all year away from home and allowing five goals twice (at New York City FC and Nashville) and six goals twice (at LAFC and in the team’s most recent match away at FC Cincinnati just before the break).

Orlando City is a putrid 1-6-1 on the road this season, and now the Lions must face the Western Conference co-leaders tonight before coming home to face Supporters’ Shield-leading Nashville SC at home on Saturday. They’ll have to play at least tonight’s game without Martin Ojeda, who is out with a thigh injury sustained some time between his first-half goal a week ago in a friendly against FC Dallas and the time the availability report dropped on Tuesday.

But it isn’t all bad news for the Lions, who should have both Antoine Griezmann and Dike in the lineup. Griezmann was the club’s highly prized and widely publicized summer Designated Player signing, while Dike’s return to Orlando came together more recently, following his departure from West Bromwich Albion. They’ll help the club’s offense, but the attack hasn’t been the issue in 2026 — it’s been the historically porous defense, which is on pace to shatter the MLS record for goals conceded.

Meanwhile, San Jose is one of the first half of the season’s biggest surprises, as the Quakes have been outstanding in 2026. Scoring 34 goals while conceding just 15, San Jose is among the league leaders in goals scored (tied for third), goals conceded (third), and goal differential (+19, third).

The Earthquakes are 4-2-1 at home and are coming off a 3-1 road win at Portland in their last game prior to the World Cup break. San Jose boasts Golden Boot challenger Preston Judd, who leads the Quakes with 11 goals, adding two assists in his 15 appearances. Ousseni Bouda has chipped in five goals and three assists. Niko Tsakiris leads the team with seven assists to go along with his two goals, but he’s still recovering from a lower body injury and is not available tonight. However, the arrival of Timo Werner (four goals and five assists in just seven games) has truly elevated Bruce Arena’s Quakes, and he’ll need to be one of the main focal points for the Orlando defense.

To have any shot at taking something from this game, the Lions will need to play better road defense than they have all season. Orlando can score goals, but with Ojeda out, Griezmann will need to adapt quickly, and someone other than the team’s leading scorer will need to find the net.

The Lions will play without Ojeda (thigh), Joran Gerbet (knee), Nolan Miller (knee), Colin Guske (international duty), and Clovis Archage (international duty). In addition, Marco Pasalic may or may not have returned to the team after the World Cup. He was not in training Monday, although interim head coach Martin Perelman said he expected the Croatian back soon. The Earthquakes will be without Nonso Adimabua (lower body), former Lion Earl Edwards Jr. (lower body), DeJuan Jones (lower body), and Tsakiris (you guessed it, lower body…come on, San Jose).

Match Content

Our most recent PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for tonight’s match.

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Bernardo Rhein, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer

San Jose Earthquakes (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Angus Gunn.

Defenders: Jamar Ricketts, Reid Roberts, Daniel Munie, Benjamin Kikanovic.

Defensive Midfielders: Beau Lerouox, Ronaldo Vieira.

Attacking Midfielders: Timo Werner, Nick Fernandez, Ousseni Bouda.

Forwards: Preston Judd.

Bench: Jonathan Gonzalez, Dave Romney, Paul Marie, Jack Skahan, Jack Jasinski, Ian Harkes, Francesco Montali, Max Floriani, Darius Johnson.

Referees

REF: Elijio Arreguin.
AR1: Adam Wienckowski.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Timothy Ford.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 10:30 p.m.

Venue: PayPal Park — San Jose, CA.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!