Orlando City Loses Nicholas Gioacchini in the MLS Expansion Draft

St. Louis City SC wasted no time snagging an Orlando City player in the 2022 MLS Expansion Draft. The upstarts from the Midwest swiped forward Nicholas Gioacchini from the Lions with the first of the team’s five selections in the Expansion Draft.

Orlando City signed U.S. international forward Nicholas Gioacchini on July 20 from Caen in France’s Ligue 2. The Kansas City native is going home(ish) after barely learning his teammates’ names in Orlando. He played in just seven total games across all competitions with the Lions, starting two.

Gioacchini made one U.S. Open Cup appearance, playing five minutes off the bench in Orlando City’s 5-1 drubbing of the New York Red Bulls on July 27 in his club debut. He played just five minutes and didn’t contribute a goal, assist, or shot attempt, completing 66.7% of his passes and committing one foul, which earned him a yellow card.

Appearing in six MLS regular-season games (two starts), Gioacchini tallied only 134 minutes of playing time in league play for the Lions during his time in Orlando. He did not produce any goals or assists and attempted just three shots, of which none were on target. He passed at a 67.2% rate with one key pass and contributed one tackle, one interception, and one clearance. He committed one foul while drawing five, and he was not shown a card of any color.

At Gioacchini’s age, he’s got plenty of upside, and it’s a shame that Orlando City has lost him. The Lions will be able to apply his $350,000 salary elsewhere in search of attacking depth, but with the forward’s experience and room for growth, it will be tough to watch if he succeeds in St. Louis.

St. Louis City also selected Miami’s Indiana Vassilev, New England’s Jonathan Bell, Cincinnati’s John Nelson, and New York Red Bulls forward Jake La Cava, who was then traded to Inter Miami for General Allocation Money.