Connect with us

Orlando City

2022 Orlando City Season in Review: Jake Mulraney

Published

2 years ago

on

Orlando City acquired winger Jake Mulraney from Atlanta United on May 5 in exchange for $200,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM), with half of that coming from the club’s 2022 pool of GAM and the other half coming from its allotment in 2023. There was another $75,000 in 2023 GAM potentially going Atlanta’s way if certain unnamed performance metrics were reached.

It seemed like a good idea at the time. Mulraney had a bit of a reputation in Atlanta as a super sub who could provide a spark off the bench and get down the left flank to provide service and some danger. But Mulraney ultimately didn’t add much to the Orlando City attack, and when MLS U22 Initiative signing Gaston Gonzalez injured his knee in his final match with his former club, the OCSC front office had to bring in Ivan Angulo to strengthen the position.

Let’s look back at the Dublin, Ireland native’s first season in Orlando.

Statistical Breakdown

Mulraney was cap tied to Atlanta United in the U.S. Open Cup prior to the trade to Orlando, so he did not appear in any of that competition’s matches as a Lion in 2022.

In MLS play, however, Mulraney appeared in 17 matches with Orlando (10 starts), playing 726 minutes. He didn’t play a full 90 in any match with the Lions this year. Mulraney did not contribute a goal or an assist on the year, attempting 11 shots and getting only one of them on target. His passing rate was a solid 82.5% and he contributed six key passes, but he also turned the ball over 14 times. Defensively, Mulraney contributed 17 tackles, five clearances, and three interceptions. He committed just eight fouls and drew 22 on the opposition and was booked twice.

The winger also played 13 minutes off the bench in Orlando City’s playoff match at CF Montreal. He did not contribute a goal, assist, shot, or key pass in the game and only touched the ball three times. He completed his only pass attempt and served an unsuccessful cross into the box. He did not register any defensive statistics, committed no fouls while drawing one, and was not booked.

Best Game

It’s tempting to go with the 1-0 win over Inter Miami on July 9 here. Mulraney played just 20 minutes in that match and completed all eight of his passes, but the most memorable moment was his cross in stoppage time that resulted in the Damion Lowe own goal that gave the Lions the victory. I mean, look at this beauty:

That said, let’s be a little more fair and go with his performance in Orlando City’s 2-1 home win over the Houston Dynamo on June 19. Mulraney started the match and played 65 minutes, recording a season-high four shot attempts on the evening, although none were on target. He passed at a 76.5% rate on 17 attempts — tied for his fourth most on the season. Mulraney also completed a dribble and drew two free kicks without conceding one. He may not have gotten an assist, but he was part of the buildup to Ercan Kara’s opening goal in the match, getting the ball into the corner and laying off for Joao Moutinho, which you can see on the replay in this goal video:

Mulraney also flicked a header on later in the match that deflected off a Houston defender to captain Mauricio Pereyra, who fired a shot off of Kara and in for the second Orlando goal — the eventual game winner — in the match.

Even though his performance didn’t provide the single-most memorable moment of his season with the Lions, it was his most complete and solid attacking performance. In a season in which Mulraney struggled to get involved in the Orlando attack, he was involved against the Dynamo.

2022 Final Grade

Mulraney’s composite grade from The Mane Land staff is not a good one. This is not a player the staff enjoyed watching in 2022, which is reflected in his rating of 4 out of 10. And there wasn’t much variation across the staff. The lowest grade was a 3.5 and the highest a 4.5, so members of the staff were universally unimpressed with his performance after his arrival from Atlanta United. More performances like his game against Houston would certainly have helped his rating.

The move seemed to make sense at the time — Orlando City needed wing play on the left side, and it was worth taking a shot at a veteran guy who was looking for more playing time and had previously had an 18-month stint with English Premier League side Queens Park Rangers. The Irishman had a somewhat promising start with Orlando, but toward the end of the season he was adding so little that his inclusion in the team made it seem like the Lions were playing with 10 men at times. This was reflected in his managing only three touches in 13 minutes with Orlando chasing the game at Montreal in the postseason.

2023 Outlook

The big question is what Mulraney’s contract status is at the moment. He has played two seasons in MLS since being signed by Atlanta in January of 2020. Terms of his deal were not disclosed in the signing announcement. Mulraney was announced as already being under contract for 2022 in Atlanta’s year-end roster announcements after the 2021 season. It is possible that Mulraney either has a third year or a club option year remaining on his contract (or possibly two option years). The deal with Atlanta will seem worse when Orlando City sends the $100,000 in 2023 GAM to its northern rival.

This is a player who might be able to better integrate into the team with a training camp under his belt, but our staff grades clearly indicate that we feel Orlando should move on from this player as soon as possible. The winger had a base salary of $301,600 and a guaranteed compensation of $338,777 in 2022. The clubs split Mulraney’s 2022 budget charge but did not announce what percentage each team was paying. His salary is far too much money to spend on a player who had so little production and didn’t seem to mesh well with the other players on the pitch. That’s especially true if the player is likely to be, at best (assuming Angulo remains with the Lions), the third option at his position in 2023. Mulraney has fallen behind Angulo in the pecking order already and Gonzalez will be expected to jump to the front of the line when he’s healthy.

Previous Season in Review Articles (Date Posted)

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City Signs Defender Thomas Williams Through 2026

Orlando City signs Homegrown center back Thomas Williams to a new contract through 2026 with a club option for 2027.

Published

4 minutes ago

on

January 22, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City B / Mark Thor

Orlando City announced this morning that the club has signed defender Thomas Williams through the 2026 season with a club option for 2027. The Homegrown Player has been with the first team since 2021 and will continue for at least two more years.

“Thomas is someone whose future we’re still very excited about and we’re happy to get him locked in with us for a couple more years,” Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi said in a club press release. “He’s shown a lot of growth these last few seasons, continuing to get game action with Orlando City B and proving the importance of our development pathway, and we’re looking forward to having him with us for the foreseeable future.”

The Titusville native joined the Orlando City Academy in 2015 and made his professional debut for the club on Aug. 7, 2020 against New England Revolution II. He played in 13 games that year with 10 starts and recorded 844 minutes. His play on the Young Lions’ back line earned him a first-team contract on June 15, 2021, at just 16 years old, making him the youngest player in club history to sign a Homegrown contract.

The 20-year-old center back made his MLS debut on April 16, 2022 in a 2-0 win over the Columbus Crew in Ohio. He made five appearances with three starts in all competitions that season, recording 271 minutes. To date, those are the only appearances he’s made with the first team.

Since joining OCB in 2021, Williams has made 69 appearances with 61 starts and recorded 5,132 minutes. He’s been booked 19 times and sent off twice, both times after receiving second yellow cards.

What It Means for Orlando City

Williams is the fourth natural center back for Orlando City on the current squad behind Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Rodrigo Schlegel. He played well early in his OCB and MLS career, but has struggled recently. Last year, he played exclusively with the second team, partnering with Nabi Kibunguchy.

While Williams hasn’t made much of an impact on the first team so far, he’s only 20 years old and still has plenty of time to develop. Extending his contact shows that the club still has faith that he can turn into a key player for the MLS side.

It’s unlikely that Williams will see any time with the first team in 2025 (barring injuries and/or suspensions), considering that he’s also been behind versatile defender Kyle Smith at the center back position. He’ll likely spend the upcoming season with OCB, continuing to develop and earn his spot with the first team. As a Homegrown Player, there isn’t much risk in signing Williams to a new contract, especially if the club’s technical staff thinks he can develop into a quality defender.

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/22/25

Orlando City transfer rumors, Orlando Pride preseason begins, USMNT at Inter&Co, and more.

Published

4 hours ago

on

January 22, 2025

By

Dan MacDonald, The ManeLand

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. Up here in Tallahassee, I’m waking up to snow/sleet, closed schools, closed government offices, and potentially icy roads. Many people will get an extra day off of work, however, I still get to go to work. I’m sure you can imagine how happy I am about that. Enough of my winter grumbling. Let’s get to the links but not until after we wish Orlando City fullback Michael Halliday a happy 22nd birthday.

Orlando City Reportedly Targeting Croatian International

While I can no longer say that Orlando City hasn’t signed any new players, the club is still moving at its traditionally slow speed as compared to other MLS clubs. We had the signing of Nicolas Rodriguez last week. Now, we have Tom Bogert report of yet another winger prospect for the club in Croatian Marco Pasalic from HNK Rijeka, though it is not a done deal. Hopefully the other targets Bogert mentions are of the striker variety.

https://twitter.com/tombogert/status/1881755961125449765?s=46&t=pMoq7Wulqfb35D7C8ydroA

Pride Preseason Begins

The 2024 NWSL champions are back to defend their title. The Orlando Pride returned to training on Tuesday. The club hasn’t needed to add many pieces, though some of the players already here, like Simone Charley and Grace Chanda, haven’t actually played any minutes for the Pride yet. Most of the chemistry is in place for Seb Hines, but reinforcing those bonds will be the challenge as the Pride look to repeat.

USMNT at Inter&Co Tonight

Hopefully you have tickets to the USMNT friendly match versus Costa Rica at Inter&Co Stadium tonight. The match starts at 7 p.m. and there are television and streaming options if you’re not going in person. Despite the squad having 14 players with three or fewer caps, Mauricio Pochettino does not consider this an “alternative” squad, nor does he want the players to think of themselves like that.

Girma Reportedly Nearing Completion of Chelsea Move

USWNT defender Naomi Girma is reportedly headed to Chelsea FC Women for a record $1.1 million transfer fee. That is a very big chunk of change for San Diego FC to use to try to replace one of the best defenders in the world. The deal is not complete as of Tuesday evening, but according to the original report from The Athletic, it is close to being done. Girma would be the first women’s soccer player to earn a transfer fee of over $1 million.

MLS Transfer Updates

Other MLS clubs keep on putting pen to paper when it comes to new players. The Chicago Fire are bringing in Jonathan Bamba on a Designated Player deal from La Liga side Celta de Vigo. The Luca de la Torre loan from Spain’s RC Celta de Vigo to San Diego FC is also official.

https://twitter.com/sandiegofc/status/1881741042904350864

Cucho Hernandez evidently wants to stay with the Columbus Crew, though he is still waiting on a new offer.

https://twitter.com/tombogert/status/1881786193693823104

Free Kicks

https://twitter.com/weareangelcity/status/1881749040863588770?s=12&t=_WZBNG4ILAyRLdwBeB4mpQ
  • Keep your eyes peeled later today for the NWSL schedule drop.
https://twitter.com/nwsl/status/1881749035218042954?s=46&t=pN-YJp3s7ZQlCXqnTAgSfw

That will do it for today. Stay warm out there, my friends. Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/21/25

Orlando Pride release preseason camp roster, scouting Costa Rica, women’s soccer transfer grades, and more.

Published

1 day ago

on

January 21, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Good morning, everyone! If you had yesterday off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, then I hope you enjoyed some restful time off. If not, then I hope you got your week started off on a good and productive note. There’s a lot going on around here this week as the United States Men’s National Team is in town, and Orlando City will play its first preseason match on Saturday. That means we have plenty to discuss, so let’s dig into today’s links.

Orlando Pride Drop Preseason Roster

Monday might have been a holiday but the Orlando Pride were busy, as they announced the roster for their upcoming preseason camp. Almost all of the usual suspects from the 2024 season are back, as the Pride return 98% of the player-minutes from last season and every single scorer. Mariana Larroquette is on the list although she’s currently on loan in Argentina, and Amanda Allen is likewise included after her loan at Lexington Sporting Club was terminated due to a torn labrum. The biggest intrigue comes from the trio of non-roster invitees: goalkeeper DeAira Jackson, midfielder Aryssa Mahrt, and forward Simone Jackson.

Scouting Costa Rica

The USMNT takes on Costa Rica on Wednesday at Inter&Co Stadium to wrap up the team’s annual January camp. Like the U.S., Costa Rica is bringing a roster devoid of the majority of its important players. Costa Rica also has a new manager at the helm in Miguel Herrera, who will take charge of the team for the very first time on Wednesday. Herrera typically lines his teams up in a 5-3-2 where the wingbacks take on a very important role and the team looks to hit on the counter while staying compact at the back. This will be the last time we see the USMNT in action until the Concacaf Nations League semifinals in early March.

Women’s Soccer January Transfer Grades

January has been a busy time for transfers in the women’s soccer world, so which teams have done the best business? Well, the Orlando Pride received an A grade for signing Marta to a new two-year deal, retaining a player who helped the team win its first ever trophies. Liverpool got an A for signing Julia Bartel on loan from Chelsea. Leicester City made an interesting call by transferring goalkeeper Lize Kop to Tottenham despite just being a point above the relegation zone. The Foxes get a C for the move, while Spurs get a B+ for adding a capable netminder.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans taking part in some very important games over the course of this week. Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, and Juventus face Club Brugge today in the UEFA Champions League, while Ricardo Pepi, Richy Ledezma, Esmir Bajraktarević, Malik Tillman and PSV Eindhoven take on Crvena Zvezda in the same competition. Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, and AC Milan will play Girona in the UCL on Wednesday, while Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, and Celtic take on Young Boys. On Friday, John Tolkin could make his Bundesliga debut when his new team, Holstein Kiel, travels to face Wolfsburg.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando Pride players reported for their preseason physicals on Monday.
  • Meanwhile, Orlando City took on the dreaded beep test during Monday’s training session.

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

Continue Reading

Trending