Connect with us

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Sacramento Republic FC, U.S. Open Cup: Final Score 3-0 as Lions Win First Major Trophy of Club’s MLS Era

Published

2 years ago

on

Orlando City won its first major trophy since the club joined Major League Soccer, beating Sacramento Republic FC 3-0 at Exploria Stadium to claim the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. Facundo Torres scored two second-half goals and set up Benji Michel’s insurance goal to lead the Lions to victory.

The Lions struggled to break down the visitors from California but eventually forced a turnover in a dangerous area and once Torres provided the lead, the Lions stomped on the Republic’s throats.

“I think it’s important to recognize that Orlando has won the first title here and we are very proud of the community, of the club, the fans, the players,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after winning his second USOC title as a head coach. “And having this opportunity to bring this trophy means a lot against a very tough rival.”

Pareja’s lineup featured Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Joao Moutinho, Rodrigo Schlegel, Antonio Carlos, and Ruan. Cesar Araujo played in central midfield with deep-lying playmaker Mauricio Pereyra behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Junior Urso, and Torres, with Ercan Kara up top.

The first half was a nervy, choppy, back-and-forth game that was exactly what the visitors wanted. Sacramento gummed up the field, wasted time whenever possible, and played a physical game that referee Ramy Touchan allowed. Pereyra was knocked down several times in the opening period without a call and Angulo was pulled back while in possession in the final third and no call was made. Touchan even allowed Orlando to play on after one foul and although the Lions lost the ball almost immediately, he didn’t pull it back for the foul.

Neither team even got into the opposing third of the field in the opening five minutes. The game’s first shot attempt came eight minutes in when Torres fired from outside the area but it was always going over the bar.

A minute later, Jack Gurr crossed a ball into Orlando’s area but Gallese came off his line to claim it.

Orlando was at its best when it moved the ball quickly and accurately. Ruan got a cross into the area in the 17th minute for Angulo but it was headed away at the last second. Three minutes later, the Lions worked a long-distance set piece that ended up on the left with Moutinho. His cross into the box found Carlos’ head but he could only direct it toward the post. Kara had a bead on it but Angulo cut across him and in the confusion the ball went out for a goal kick.

Sacramento’s best chance came in the 22nd minute when Pereyra was knocked down with no call and the Republic came forward in transition. Maalique Foster fired a shot that was just wide of the post to Gallese’s left.

Torres got a couple more shot attempts blocked down the stretch and the half ended scoreless.

Orlando finished the half with more possession (55.7%-44.3%), shots (6-1, but neither side got one on frame), passing accuracy (84%-81.3%), and corners (1-0).

The second half began much like the first half went. Orlando probed for ways through but couldn’t string together enough sharp passes to break through what was essentially a 5-4-1 formation in defense at times. Sacramento won more set pieces in the second half but Orlando was able to withstand them.

The Lions continued to press forward and had an opportunity in transition in the 53rd minute but Torres’ layoff for Ruan was a little heavy and by the time the right back got to it, he had to lunge on his cross and he overcooked it.

Urso fired a shot that was blocked in the 63rd and there were shouts for handball but none was given. Urso followed his initial shot but hit it over the bar on the second try.

Sacramento’s best chance of the second half came in the 75th minute when a cross in found Douglas Martinez, who got in front of Moutinho and headed the ball on target. Gallese was able to get over and make the save.

Seconds later, the Lions finally broke through.

Angulo won the ball in the corner with pressure, taking it from Dan Casey. Second-half sub Michel picked up the loose ball and found Torres cutting into the top of the box. The Uruguayan smashed it home to make it 1-0.

“I was really happy with everything that the guys had done to that point, but when you play against world class players, you make a mistake and you get punished,” Sacramento manager Mark Briggs said. “And unfortunately, we learned the hard way.”

“They have a defense of three that is very difficult to break,” Pareja said when asked about the decision to bring on Michel. “We knew that Ercan will give us presence in the box but there was a time in the game that we stuck (Michel) in there because we needed to stretch the field. Benji gave us that possibility to run in behind, to help us with the presence too. It was a good job by Ercan but at that point we needed more energy. And I thought Benji changed (the energy) tremendously.”

Sacramento had to open up and pursue the game at that point and it helped the Lions find space and transition chances. Michel was first to a ball over the top and gathered it in the box for a shot but he was taken down and a penalty was given in the 79th minute. One minute later, Torres fired home from the spot to double the lead.

“Very happy for the production that Facu has gave us, especially in the last month and a half when we need it the most,” Pareja said of his Young Designated Player. “I think those players that change the games and take their teams on their shoulders are difficult to find. In Facu we have found that already.”

Torres had a good opportunity for his hat trick in the 82nd minute on the counter but he fired just inches wide of the right post.

Sacramento’s Rodrigo Lopez fired just wide of the right post from long range in the 87th minute.

The fourth official signaled eight minutes of stoppage time, but the Lions didn’t dig in and absorb pressure. Instead, they moved the ball quickly and tried to possess it and stuck an insurance goal on the board.

Torres sent a ball into the area for Michel, who was making a run from left to right. Michel gathered the ball and the Homegrown and Orlando native sent a shot just inside the far post to put the game away in the 96th minute, celebrating with his signature back flip.

Moments later, the whistle blew and the Lions were USOC champions. Orlando finished with more possession (52.1%-47.9%), shots (15-5), shots on target (3-2), and passing accuracy (82.0%-79.1%). Sacramento had more corners (2-1).

“I’m really happy, I’m really proud of this team,” Pereyra said. “I said many times when we lose here in this (press) conference that I was really proud to be the captain of this team. They show a lot of energy and a lot of commitment during the whole season. And in this cup, I think we deserve to be the champions and now we are.”

The team will celebrate its U.S. Open Cup championship on the steps of City Hall on Thursday at 12 p.m. and it is open to the public at no cost. Orlando City is back to regular-season play on Saturday night when the Lions visit the first-place Philadelphia Union.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Orlando City

How Orlando City’s Offense Stacks Up Against What Atlanta Does Defensively

How Orlando City has performed against teams playing with three or four defenders, and how that may influence the playoff game against Atlanta United.

Published

18 hours ago

on

November 21, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The most famous quote about real estate is that “there are three things that matter in property: location, location, location.” Soccer coaches also like to think in threes, especially when it comes to points, but for a soccer coach, the three things that matter might be the rhyming triplet “formation, formation, formation,” as that is where they will have the biggest influence on every game that their team plays.

Throughout his tenure as head coach, Óscar Pareja has preferred to use a 4-2-3-1 as his formation (fbref.com’s lineup data shows that the Lions primarily played a 4-2-3-1 in 65% of their MLS matches this season, and 79% of their MLS matches during the last three seasons). The Lions have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 during each of their last 14 games, and my confidence level is strong to quite strong (can you believe Meet the Parents came out 24 years ago?) that they will do so once again on Sunday when they host Atlanta United.

Atlanta United also prefers to deploy a 4-2-3-1, but was less consistent than Orlando City this season during MLS play, as evidenced by the chart below that shows how Atlanta lined up this season:

The purpose of this image is a table to show how Atlanta United lined up in 2024 (mostly in a 4-2-3-1 but also in one of six other formations).

I am relying on the coders at Opta for their evaluation of the formation, as I do not watch a lot of Atlanta United matches (sounds terrible), but though Atlanta primarily played with four defenders in more than two-thirds of its matches, during the last two matches it played a 3-5-2, the only two matches all season in which interim coach Rob Valentino rolled out that formation. I suspect that the formation change was related partially to playing Inter Miami and trying to defend the Herons’ dynamic offense and partially due to an injury suffered by defender Brooks Lennon in the first game of that series. So, while Atlanta primarily played four in the back for most of the season, there is a good chance it will roll with what worked against Florida’s second-best MLS team when it plays Florida’s best MLS team this weekend.

Now, if you want to read more about Atlanta, then you can read our match preview, which will drop Sunday morning, but I want to look at how Orlando did against teams that play similar styles. Looking only at MLS games, the table below shows how Orlando City performed against different back line structures this season (the left side is how the Lions’ opponents lined up, the right side is how Orlando City performed against opponents in those formations):

Table embedded as an image showing Orlando City doing best in goal differential in 12 games against three-man back lines, second best against four-man back lines, and having played once against a five-man back line (a 1-1 draw).

Orlando City earned slightly more points per game — the stat that matters most — against teams that played four in the back, but the Lions had a better average goal differential when teams played three in the back. Atlanta will likely deploy one of those two formations. In both games against Orlando City this season, Sunday’s visitors went with a 4-2-3-1, but as mentioned earlier, they used three in the back in each of their last two matches, so it really could be either.

Soccer is not like baseball, where players primarily stay in the same spot throughout the game, so some of these stats have to be taken with a grain of salt, as players are not always rigidly in the same position throughout a match. A team may also primarily play with four in the back but switch to three when chasing a game, or five when trying to protect against a late goal.

That said, using the data around Orlando City’s opponents’ general formations, here are the attacking groups who played the most frequently against four defenders during the 24 MLS games where Opta coded the opponents as using a defensive group of four:

Table embedded as an image showing the most frequently used lineups against teams who deploy four defenders. The most frequently used attacking group has a plus eight goal differential for the season.

It is a little ominous that the main starting group, shown in row one, has played 666 MLS minutes against back lines of four this season, but do I like that green goal differential of +8 in those minutes, which is a strong +1.08 per 90 minutes. I like that goal differential more than I like all the things that Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin like on their song that is creatively named “I Like It.” Coincidentally, when people ask me what I think about that song, I say, “I like it.” I am very creative.

If we look at the lineups that Orlando City has used against back lines of three defenders then there are some pretty major differences in personnel groupings, but it must be noted that more than half of the games against teams playing three in the back came early in the season, when Ramiro Enrique was unavailable to play. Enrique, my presumed starter at striker, has played fewer than three games’ worth of minutes (265 total) against back lines of three this season, and only 28 minutes with the main starting group, which ranks 13th among all the attacking lineups for minutes played against three defenders. That group scored one goal in their 28 minutes together though, for a robust 3.21 goals-scored-per-90-minutes average.

While the team as a whole has been successful against three-man back lines, I do not expect any of the lineups shown in the table below to play more than a few minutes together this weekend, though the first row and the last row are strong groups and had a lot of success.

Table embedded as an image showing the most frequently used lineups against teams who deploy three defenders. The most frequently used attacking group has a plus three goal differential for the season.

I am sure that all week long the Orlando City coaching staff has been going back and forth on whether it is more likely that Atlanta reverts to its most commonly used four in the back, or if the Five Stripes try for three wins in a row with three in the back. I would prefer that Atlanta plays with zero defenders and goalkeeper Brad Guzan wears a blindfold, but I think that is unlikely to be the case.

Even though Atlanta defeated Orlando City both times while in a 4-2-3-1, based on available personnel and recent results, I believe that the team will come out in a 3-5-2 in Inter&Co Stadium in the conference semifinal. Good things come in threes, and Orlando City’s best offensive production this season has been against three defenders, so I am going to be hoping that this continues, and in the third game against Atlanta the Lions grab the three points. Three’s company!

Well, it is a playoff game, so there are no actual points at stake, but you know what I meant.

Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to get a victory to advance to the Eastern Conference final?

Published

20 hours ago

on

November 21, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City continues its playoff journey against Atlanta United Sunday at Inter&Co Stadium. The Lions are coming off an emotional penalty shootout win over Charlotte FC in their best-of-three, first-round series. Likewise, Atlanta United stunned everyone by taking out Inter Miami to advance in its own best-of-three matchup. Now, the rivals meet in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

What does Orlando City need to do to get past Atlanta United to advance to the Easter Conference final?

Beat Guzan

Brad Guzan made 16 saves over Atlanta’s three matches against Inter Miami, including seven in the 3-2 win on the road in Game 3. The 40-year-old former USMNT keeper is in excellent form and is a big reason why the Five Stripes are facing Orlando City. Converting chances against Guzan will be crucial to earning a result. There have been times this season when the Lions have struggled to convert their chances. Despite that, the team has done enough offensively to get to this point. Facundo Torres, Martin Ojeda, Duncan McGuire, Ramiro Enrique, and others have contributed and will need to do so this weekend.

Cartagena is Essential

Orlando City lost twice to Atlanta United during the regular season. What is interesting, and perhaps relevant, is that Wilder Cartagena was out for both of those matches. Cartagena was shown a straight red in the match against Minnesota United prior to the first match against Atlanta way back in March. He was shown a yellow card in the match against FC Cincinnati and then served a yellow card accumulation suspension for the final match of the season against Atlanta. Fortunately for Orlando City, Cartagena will be available for the match this weekend. I’ve mentioned before the importance of Cartagena to Orlando City’s success. When he and Cesar Araujo are on the field together, the defense is simply better. Cartagena is frankly one of the better defensive midfielders in MLS. Atlanta scored five goals in the series against Miami, and Orlando will need to keep the visitors from having that kind of offensive success.

Overcome the Past

That darn international break in the middle of the playoffs is something I don’t love. More precisely, I don’t like it because Orlando City often struggles after a break. It would have been nice if Orlando City could have ridden the momentum from the penalty kick victory into the Atlanta match, but that’s not to be. Now is the time for Orlando City to break some bad habits, including turning around its historical lack of success against Atlanta, and tendency to struggle in the first match after a break. Oscar Pareja needs to have the players in the right frame of mind, and the players need to execute the plan. A full house of supporters can also make a difference. Given it’s a Sunday afternoon match, there’s no reason not to pack the house.

That is what I will be looking for Sunday afternoon. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 11/21/24

Marta’s chance to shine in NWSL Championship, NWSL and MLS award winners announced, 2025 SheBelieves Cup details, and more.

Published

23 hours ago

on

November 21, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I’ve been spending most of this week plotting out some holiday shopping to make things a little less stressful for myself over the next few weeks. A big weekend filled with Orlando soccer awaits us, so make sure to get any errands or obligations out of the way sooner rather than later. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Spotlight Falls On Marta in NWSL Championship

There are plenty of storylines heading into Saturday’s NWSL Championship between the Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit, including Marta’s opportunity to put an exclamation point on what has been an excellent season for the Pride. Orlando has been enjoying the fruits of its labor this season after a rebuild over the past few years that’s included plenty of change in the City Beautiful. Marta has been a constant, however, enduring some difficult seasons since joining the Pride and adapting her game She’s scored in both of the Pride’s playoff games so far and has a chance to author a storybook ending on Saturday.

Ann-Katrin Berger Named NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year

NJ/NY Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was named 2024 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year, beating out the Pride’s Anna Moorhouse and Utah Royals FC’s Mandy Haught for the honor. It was Berger’s first year in the NWSL and she’s the first European player to win the award. She only conceded 16 goals across her 22 matches for Gotham this season and was a key reason behind her team’s success. I’m not too surprised that Moorhouse did not win, considering how solid the Pride’s defense was as a whole, but this won’t take anything away from a record-breaking season for her.

Wilfried Nancy Named MLS Coach of the Year

Columbus Crew Head Coach Wilfried Nancy was voted 2024 MLS Coach of the Year after a historic season in which the Crew set club records in both points and goals. The Crew also won the Leagues Cup this summer and their 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup campaign included advancing past Tigres and Monterrey en route to the final. This is Nancy’s first time being named Coach of the Year and he has been a finalist for the award every year since 2021. The Frenchman received 40.02% of the vote, winning the award over Inter Miami’s Gerardo Martino and Colorado Rapids Head Coach Chris Armas.

2025 SheBelieves Cup Details Unveiled

The 10th annual SheBelieves Cup will take place next year and the tournament will return to its usual format where each of the four teams plays each other once. The United States Women’s National Team will host Japan, Colombia, and Australia in February in what should be an exciting tournament. The U.S. will take on Colombia on Feb. 20 in Houston before facing Australia in Arizona on Feb. 23 and finishing the tournament on Feb. 26 against Japan at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. These games will also be the first domestic games of 2025 for the USWNT as it prepares to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.

Eric Quill Named FC Dallas Head Coach

FC Dallas announced that Eric Quill will become the team’s next head coach. Quill joins Dallas after a great year with New Mexico United that included trips to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals and USL Championship Western Conference semifinals. It’s also a reunion of sorts for Quill, as he previously coached North Texas SC and was named USL League One Coach of the Year with the club in 2019. Dallas missed out on the playoffs this season, with Peter Luccin coaching the team on an interim basis after the firing of Nico Estevez in June.

Free Kicks

  • District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser challenged Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer to a bet involving this weekend’s NWSL Championship, with embarrassing lightshows on the line.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

Continue Reading

Trending