Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Final Score 2-1 as Lions Snatch Late Road Win on Tesho Akindele’s Goal

CHARLOTTE, NC — Ercan Kara opened the scoring and his replacement, Tesho Akindele, scored late as Orlando City defeated Charlotte FC in its first trip to Bank of America Stadium. Akindele’s goal in the 89th minute lifted the Lions (10-10-6, 36 points) back to the .500 mark in the standings in a much-needed win over Charlotte (10-15-2, 32 points).
McKinze Gaines scored for the hosts but Orlando City was able to sweep the season series over the new MLS side. With the other results around the league on Sunday night, Orlando climbed back into fifth in the Eastern Conference.
“An excellent game to show the character of the players,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “Excellent game to prove that these guys are working hard and the game will reward them.”
Pareja’s lineup included Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Kyle Smith, Rodrigo Schlegel, Antonio Carlos, and Ruan. Robin Jansson picked up a foot injury late this week in training and was held out to allow time for evaluation. Cesar Araujo and Mauricio Pereyra played in central midfield behind an attacking midfield line of Jake Mulraney, Junior Urso, and Facundo Torres, with Kara returning to the lineup at striker.
The hosts had a half-chance in the third minute on a long-range free kick. The ball somehow cleared everyone and caught Gallese by surprise but he managed to fight it off at the last moment and Ruan cleared.
A minute later, the Lions got a free kick in a good spot to the right of the box. Pereyra found Carlos but he couldn’t get much weight behind his header. The ball fell to Kara’s feet but his shot attempt was blocked.
Kerwin Vargas sent a curling shot wide in the seventh minute after Mulraney lost an aerial duel — due in large part because he didn’t jump — and ignited Charlotte’s break. Mulraney was booked for a foul behind the play after the ball sailed wide.
The game settled into a cagey affair for the next segment, with each team probing for a way through. Orlando sent a couple of passes out right to try to unlock Ruan but weighted them poorly.
Torres finally tested Kristijan Kahlina in the 27th minute with a shot from outside the area but he left the effort too close to the middle of goal and the goalkeeper was able to make the save.
Three minutes later, Vargas tried his luck from outside the left corner of the box, smashing a near-post effort that Gallese parried away.
Urso got his head to a Mulraney cross in the 34th minute but his shot deflected off a defender for a corner.
34' | Linking things together 🔗
0-0 | #CLTvORL pic.twitter.com/0HnUOPBA75
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) August 21, 2022
The Lions were called for a foul on the ensuing corner when there was contact with Kahlina on a 50/50 cross, wasting the opportunity. Three minutes later, Urso badly scuffed a shot attempt from distance and it rolled weakly in for Kahlina to collect.
The Lions couldn’t make a couple of late corner kicks pay off, Smith smashed a screamer off target in stoppage time, and the teams went to the break tied at 0-0.
45'+ | Kyle with some POWER from way downtown 💥
0-0 | #CLTvORL pic.twitter.com/Q7nh8kDXau
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) August 21, 2022
Orlando City finished the half with more possession (57%-43%), shots (7-3), shots on target (2-1), corners (4-0), and passing accuracy (86.5%-83.3%).
“The football that the team played in the first half was very good,” Pareja said. “We dominated the tempo. We created chances. We avoided (them) to create chances. We made superiority in the spaces that we needed. I saw a lot of discipline tactically, especially with the ball with this group of players.”
Charlotte came out of the locker room with more intensity to start the second half and the hosts’ press created some half-chances. But the half started with a good cross by Mulraney which he sent in way too early before teammates could arrive, and a weak dribbler on goal by Pereyra.
Carlos was booked in the 39th minute after conceding a dangerous free kick just outside the area. Karol Swiderski took the set piece and sent his shot into the outside netting to Gallese’s right.
Quinn McNeill fired at Gallese after a turnover in the 56th minute as Charlotte continued to attack.
But Orlando got back on the front foot and took the lead in the 62nd minute. Urso picked out Torres in the middle and the Young Designated Player sent a perfect through ball to pick out Kara, who finished calmly past Kahlina to make it 1-0. For Kara, it was his team-leading eighth goal of the MLS regular season.
Perfection down to the inch. 📏 #DaleMiAmor | #VamosOrlando pic.twitter.com/E4Wt9NuZNr
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) August 22, 2022
“It was an amazing pass from Facundo Torres,” Kara said. “I saw the space and he gave me a real good ball. I saw the long side and that’s it.”
The home crowd wanted an offside call and the referee did appear to have a conversation with the video assistant referee but the goal stood. Kara said he wasn’t worried about it being pulled back.
“I saw the last man. I think it was (Christian) Fuchs,” Kara said. “In my mind, I was sure that it was clear that there was no offside.”
The lead didn’t last long, however. A cross in from Kamil Józwiak on the attacking left found Gaines, who split Schlegel and Smith and headed in from point-blank range to tie the match at 1-1 in the 66th minute.
Isn't it lovely?? pic.twitter.com/kkzzJb3HrJ
— Charlotte FC (@CharlotteFC) August 22, 2022
“Second half, we understand that just being away that sometimes you want to hold the game higher,” Pareja said. “That it’s normal that the reaction of the other team is aggressive and cost us that tied goal. But I noticed that our reaction after that goal was very professional and calm and that just made us score the second one, which is something that hasn’t happened much in this season, so we’re very proud.”
Kahlina made his best save in the 70th minute after Kara was knocked down from behind by Derrick Jones, who was booked, and the Lions got a free kick straight out from goal. Pereyra took the set piece and sent a good, accurate shot on target but couldn’t get enough oomph on it to sneak it past the diving goalkeeper.
69' Nearly some magic from Mauri 🪄
1-1 | #CLTvORL pic.twitter.com/tUJ9GcItQg
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) August 22, 2022
Down the stretch, Orlando struggled to possess the ball. Pareja made some changes to try to solidify things and take off tired players or guys on a yellow card, but Charlotte dictated play, winning set pieces and throw-ins in the Lions’ end.
Akindele put the Lions ahead out of nowhere on the counter. He raced down the right to reach a pass from Urso and sent a shot on goal that Kahlina saved. The ball caromed back to the Canadian and this time he sent his shot into the net to make it 2-1 in the 89th minute. It was Akindele’s first goal of the season.
Started and ended with Tesho Akindele 😤 @Tesho13 | #DaleMiAmor pic.twitter.com/iDGy0kd4ag
— Orlando City SC (@OrlandoCitySC) August 22, 2022
“Honestly, I don’t even remember starting to play, but the first thing I remember is Urso having the ball,” Akindele said. “And I just saw a gap and I was just like, ‘I gotta go.’ So, I just took off as fast as I could and Urso gave me the perfect pass. And you know, my first shot I should have done a little bit better, to be honest. But you’ve got to (have) short-term memory as a forward, like they say. That was the ultimate example of that. Ball came right back to me and I tried to stay calm and just place it in the corner.”
The Lions couldn’t have been too happy when the fourth official showed seven minutes of added time. There were two second-half injury stoppages but seven still seemed excessive. Orlando City was able to control the game for most of the first three or four minutes of injury time and saw out a second consecutive road win. First, the Lions had to survive a scare in the dying seconds as Brandt Bronico fired a shot just over the bar on nearly the last kick of the match.
Charlotte turned around the possession in the second half, finishing with a slight advantage (50.7%-49.3%) and even edged out Orlando in passing accuracy (82.9%-82.4%), but the Lions led in shots (13-9), shots on goal (7-3), and corners (5-2).
“We need to get better. We need to control those tempos,” Pareja said. “But suddenly, after they scored, we did that. We sustained the game and just tried to look for the second goal in transition, which is something that the boys brought — the substitutions — and we found a way to get these three points in a very difficult match, especially the second half.”
“Super important for us because, just like every other team, our goal is to win the MLS Cup, and you can’t win if you’re not in the playoffs,” Akindele said. “That’s definitely step one. The bare minimum we need to do is get into the playoffs to give ourselves the chance to win MLS Cup. And so it feels good to stay in there, give ourselves a little bit of a cushion, but it’s still tight. If you kind of fall asleep for a week or two, all of a sudden you’re out of it again and we know that and we’re going to keep our foot on the gas.”
The Lions return home next Sunday for a home meeting with New York City FC.
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Lions return home looking to bounce back from throwing points away late in Atlanta in the midweek.

Welcome to your match thread and preview for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (7-3-6, 27 points) and the Chicago Fire (5-5-4, 19 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). This is the second and final scheduled meeting between the Eastern Conference rivals in 2025, closing the season series.
Here’s what you need to know about the match.
History
The Lions are 8-5-8 in 21 MLS meetings with the Fire and 8-6-8 in all competitions. Orlando City is 5-2-3 against the Fire at home in the regular season. The teams met 28 days ago, kicking off a busy May against each other at Soldier Field on May 3. Despite Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady getting sent off before halftime for fouling Duncan McGuire and denying him a goal-scoring opportunity, the teams played to a 0-0 draw, as Orlando City simply couldn’t find any precision in front of goal.
These two teams last met in Orlando on June 22, 2024, with the Lions capturing a 4-2 home victory. Facundo Torres scored a brace, with Luis Muriel (from the penalty spot) and Ivan Angulo adding goals to offset a penalty by Maren Haile-Selassie (after a Rodrigo Schlegel handball in the box) and Hugo Cuypers.
The two sides clashed at Soldier Field just a few weeks prior to that on May 29, playing to a 1-1 draw. Torres opened the scoring early with a scrappy goal in traffic, and the Lions should have had a penalty late in the first half when Angulo was clipped while in alone on a goal after rounding the goalkeeper, but the video assistant referee did not overturn the no-call on the field, and referee Malik Badawi did not look at the play himself. The Fire tied the match in the final 20 minutes on a Cuypers goal.
The Lions swept the two-game season series in 2023 by identical 3-1 scorelines. On Aug. 21, Orlando City got goals from Wilder Cartagena, Angulo, and Torres (from the penalty spot) to overcome a 1-0 deficit supplied by Mauricio Pineda, winning 3-1 on the road.
When the teams met in Orlando, the Lions rode a Torres brace to a 3-1 win on July 1. Xherdan Shaqiri pulled a goal back from the penalty spot after a Kyle Smith foul in the box against Brian Gutierrez, but Ramiro Enrique added an insurance goal.
Orlando City claimed a 1-0 victory at Exploria Stadium on April 9, 2022 on Ercan Kara’s first MLS goal. The two sides met at Soldier Field just over a month prior to that match and played, officially, to a 0-0 draw on March 5. The game is another Orlando City match that will live in infamy due to the Professional Referee Organization’s statement after the game that Junior Urso’s goal should not have been overturned upon video review by Ismir Pekmic due to Kara not having clearly and obviously handled the ball in the buildup in any of the available replay angles. Alas…
The teams met in Orlando on Aug. 21, 2021, with a second-half Benji Michel strike lifting the Lions to a 1-0 victory. Tesho Akindele set up the play by forcing a turnover. In that year’s meeting at Soldier Field, the Fire got the better of the Lions to the tune of 3-1 on July 7. Andres Perea scored his first career MLS goal to open the scoring, but a defensive lapse in first-half stoppage allowed Boris Sekulic to equalize just before the break. Chicago rode that momentum, adding goals by Robert Beric and Chinonso Offor.
The Lions were 0-4-4 in the eight meetings before smashing the Fire 4-1 in Orlando on Sept. 19, 2020. Orlando City withstood two Chicago penalties and saw two Fire goals overturned by video review in that rain-soaked match. (Weird things usually happen when Chicago visits Orlando.) The Lions got goals from Chris Mueller, Nani, Urso, and Michel, while Chicago had only a Beric penalty to show for an otherwise good offensive performance.
The last meeting of 2019 was the last time the Fire won on the road in the series. It was a debacle for the Lions, who lost defender Robin Jansson to a back/neck injury early and shipped a handful of goals in a 5-2 home loss in the regular-season finale. Orlando got goals from Akindele and Michel but largely played like a team that couldn’t wait to end its season. Chicago got an own goal from Orlando’s Smith and strikes from CJ Sapong, Aleksandar Katai, and Przemyslaw Frankowski (twice) in the rout.
Orlando City was seconds away from a road win on March 9, 2019 before Sapong’s free header in the 95th minute leveled things in a 1-1 draw in Chicago. Dom Dwyer scored Orlando’s goal.
In 2018, the Fire swept the season series. Orlando fell 2-1 at home on May 26, 2018, with Alan Gordon’s wondergoal breaking a 1-1 deadlock. The return leg in Chicago that September was an abysmal performance by Orlando in a 4-0 Fire victory.
Chicago went 1-0-1 in 2017, with the teams playing to a 0-0 draw on June 4, 2017, with the Lions reduced to nine men. The previous 2017 meeting was the Fire’s 4-0 beatdown of Orlando on June 24 of that year. David Accam figured in all four goals, with a hat trick and an assist on Nemanja Nikolić’s goal.
The teams split the points in 2016, drawing both meetings. Cyle Larin and Accam traded goals in a 1-1 draw in Orlando on March 11. The Fire again came from behind to draw, 2-2 in the return leg that August.
The teams met once in Orlando in 2015, with the Lions and Fire battling to a 1-1 draw. You may recall that five-hour, weather-delayed affair with Eric Gehrig’s own-goal canceling out an Accam strike. The other three meetings came in Chicago, with City winning 3-2 and 1-0 in MLS matches and falling 3-1 in U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal action.
Overview
The Lions are coming off a brutal 3-2 come-from-ahead loss at Atlanta United on Wednesday. City led 2-1 with less than a quarter of an hour to play on goals by Cesar Araujo and Enrique, when the former lost his cool and put his hand on the neck of Mateusz Klich, who had shoved him down from behind after the whistle. Araujo was immediately sent off and Klich, who should already have been on a yellow card earlier in the match, was cautioned. Atlanta used the man advantage to turn the game around, snapping the Lions’ 12-game unbeaten run.
Orlando City is 5-1-2 at home in 2025, and will need to play tonight’s match without Araujo, as well as without Oscar Pareja, who was sent off after Atlanta tied the game for leaving his penalty area. The club appealed his red card but the appeal was denied, so the head coach will not be on the touchline for tonight’s match.
Chicago has lost its last two matches in the regular season, and the Fire are playing their fourth of five consecutive matches on the road in all competitions. The last match was a 3-1 loss to New York City FC at Yankee Stadium, with the Fire seeing two men sent off, although only one of them — Gutierrez — will miss tonight’s match after Dje D’Avilla’s appeal for his second yellow card was upheld and the suspension overturned. Chicago brings a respectable 4-4-0 road record into the proceedings tonight.
Beating Chicago means trying to contain Cuypers, who paces the Fire with eight goals to go along with two assists. Midfielders Jonathan Bamba and Philip Zinckernagel both looked dynamic in the first meeting before Bamba was sacrificed for the backup goalkeeper after Brady’s red card. Zinckernagel has five goals and four assists on the season, with Bamba chipping in two goals and six assists. Orlando City will need to maintain its recent defensive form — at least when playing with 11 men — to return to the win column and close out the month strong.
“We know that Chicago Fire’s attack is very dangerous. [Hugo] Cuypers is near the top of the league in scoring, [Jonathan] Bamba is really fast, and [Philip] Zinckernagel is good on the ball,” said Orlando City Assistant Coach Diego Torres ahead of the match. “They have more players who can play the number 10 or in the midfield. Other teams have found the focus defensively when Chicago has the ball, and that’s the same for us. Their movement and tactics are very interesting, and we worked with the players to let them know that these are their tactics. Gregg [Berhalter] is a good coach in this situation [with the ball], but he’s also prepared without the ball. Their defending has a good shape and creates good ball recovery. Chicago is dangerous and playing very well without the ball in this moment. We have to be creative to score more goals than Chicago. If we have a clean sheet again, it will be even better.”
Torres will coach the team in Pareja’s absence.
The Lions will be without Araujo (suspension), Nico Rodriguez (thigh), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee), while Gustavo Caraballo (lower leg) and Duncan McGuire (upper extremity) are listed as questionable.
In addition to Gutierrez, Chicago will be without Sam Rogers (torso), David Poreba (lower body), and Carlos Terán (lower body). Additionally, former Lion Chris Mueller has been away from the team for non-injury reasons following the birth of his second child. Chase Gasper (lower body) and Mauricio Pineda (lower body) are questionable.
Match Content
- The most recent epsiode of the PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for tonight’s match.
- Our David Rohe provided his three keys to an Orlando City victory in tonight’s match.
Official Lineups
Orlando City (4-4-2)
Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.
Defenders: David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Alex Freeman.
Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Joran Gerbet, Eduard Atuesta, Marco Pasalic.
Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Luis Muriel.
Bench: Javier Otero, Rafael Santos, Zakaria Taifi, Kyle Smith, Thomas Williams, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Gustavo Caraballo, Shak Mohammed, Ramiro Enrique.
Chicago Fire (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper: Chris Brady.
Defenders: Andrew Gutman, Jack Elliott, Christopher Cupps, Jonathan Dean.
Midfielders: Mauricio Pineda, Rominigue Kouame, Sergio Oregel.
Forwards: Jonathan Bamba, Hugo Cuypers, Philip Zinckernagel.
Bench: Jeff Gal, Omar Gonzalez, Kellyn Acosta, Maren Haile-Selassie, Leonardo Barroso, Sam Williams, Dje D’Avilla, Tom Barlow, Omari Glasgow.
Referees
Ref: Ricardo Fierro.
AR1: Ian McKay.
AR2: Ben Pilgrim.
4th: Joshua Encarnacion.
VAR: Shawn Tehini.
AVAR: Craig Lowry.
How to Watch
Match Time: 7:30 p.m.
Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.
TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).
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 game. Go City!
Opinion
Predicting Orlando City’s June Results
It’s time to take a glimpse into the future and predict how Orlando City will fare during the month of June.

We’re almost to the end of what’s been an extremely packed month of May for Orlando City. After the conclusion of Saturday’s match against the Chicago Fire, the Lions will have played nine matches in the span of 28 days. OCSC has basically played a match every three days, which is an absurd pace. Other than two recent blemishes, Orlando has mostly handled it exceedingly well though, and June presents a much lighter schedule for our brave heroes.
The Lions play just three games next month and will have two weeks off between Saturday’s match against the Fire and their next game. Without any further ado, I will now attempt to peer into the crystal ball and predict the results of Orlando’s three games in June.
Saturday, June 14 — at Colorado Rapids
Orlando will return to action after a two-week layoff by hopping on the purple plane and flying west to take on Colorado. The Rapids are currently eighth in a crowded Western conference table with 22 points, and they are 10 points off the Vancouver Whitecaps at the top of the table. They’ve put together a pretty even season so far with a record of 6-6-4 (W-L-D). The biggest problem for Colorado has been scoring goals, as the Rapids only have 18 goals in 16 games and have been held scoreless five times in the league. They have this week off, and won’t return to action until June 7, when they host Austin FC. I give Orlando City the edge in this match, and hopefully that extra rest will help the good guys hang tough at altitude. The Lions have been defensively sound recently — when they’ve had all 11 men on the field — while also still being able to put the ball in the back of the net several times a game. Shutting down Djordje Mihailovic is going to be key, but I like Orlando’s chances given its recent form and the fact that the Lions will be well rested.
Prediction: Orlando City 3-1 Colorado Rapids.
Wednesday, June 25 — at St. Louis City
I refuse to capitalize every letter in “City” in St. Louis City’s name, because frankly I think it’s a ridiculous stylistic choice. The team also hasn’t been very good this year, so it doesn’t deserve me catering to it in that manner. St. Louis is currently 2-8-5 and only truly woeful campaigns by CF Montreal and the LA Galaxy are saving it from leading the Wooden Spoon race with 11 points. It makes Colorado look like an offensive juggernaut, as it’s only scored 11 goals in 15 games. St. Louis isn’t bad defensively, as it’s only conceded 20 goals, but it’s always going to be a struggle when you average scoring just 0.73 goals a game. Its form was enough to get Head Coach Olof Mellberg fired, and he lasted just over six months on the job. The club hasn’t won since a March 15 match against the Galaxy and has a tricky upcoming slate, with a home match against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, an away game against the Portland Timbers on June 8, and a home match against the Galaxy on June 14. With a week and a half between the Colorado match and this one, I once again like Orlando City in this game. Unless St. Louis can find its shooting boots, I don’t see it offering much threat against a rested Orlando defense that has come on strong since a shaky start to the year.
Prediction: Orlando City 2-0 St. Louis City.
Saturday, June 28 — vs. FC Cincinnati
OCSC wraps up June by returning home to play one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference on short rest. It isn’t ideal, but it isn’t the worst thing in the world either. Cincy has been good this year, compiling a record of 9-4-3 and 30 points to sit second in the East. New signings Evander and Kevin Denkey have been as good as you would expect, as Evander has seven goals and five assists in 14 appearances, and Denkey has nine goals in 15 games. As a team, Cincinnati has scored 24 goals and conceded 22, so it’s been a balanced campaign to this point. It’ll be coming to the end of a stretch of three straight road games, as Cincy will be away to the New England Revolution on June 14 and then at CF Montreal on June 25, so it’ll also be traveling on short rest. That said, aside from the Philadelphia Union, Cincy is the toughest team the Lions will have faced in MLS play, and stopping both Evander and Denkey is far from an easy task. This reeks of a draw that has a couple of goals for each team, so that’s what I’ll be going with.
Prediction: Orlando City 2-2 FC Cincinnati.
There you have it. I’ve scrutinized the tea leaves and you now know what the path ahead holds for the Lions. Be sure to check back in at the end of June so you can marvel at how stunningly accurate my forecast was. Until then, feel free to either disagree or tell me how crystal clear my visions are down in the comments. Vamos Orlando!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 5/30/25
Orlando City players called up, Orlando Pride sign Simone Jackson, USWNT gets ready to play China, and more.

Happy Friday! It’s been a bit of a brutal week, but we’ve made it through. Our reward is an exciting weekend of soccer to enjoy to close out the month. I’ll be spending most of the weekend working, but it should still be a nice next few days. Let’s dive right into today’s links from around the soccer world.
Lions Called Up For International Duty
Orlando City goalkeeper Pedro Gallese was predictably called up for Peru’s CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers. Peru is ninth in the standings and will take on Colombia June 6 before hosting Ecuador on June 10.
Defender David Brekalo was called up by Slovenian for a pair of friendlies against Luxembourg and Bosnia and Herzegovina. These matches will help prepare Slovenia for World Cup qualifying this fall against Sweden, Switzerland, and Kosovo.
A few Young Lions are also heading to Europe for the UEFA Friendship Cup in Switzerland. The U.S. will represent Concacaf at the U-18 tournament, and OCB players Justin Ellis, Colin Guske, and Jackson Platts were called up for it.
Orlando Pride Sign Simone Jackson
The Orlando Pride signed forward Simone Jackson to a contract through the 2028 season. Jackson played at the University of Southern California for four years, recording 22 goals and 13 assists in 75 games, and trained with the Pride during the preseason. Internationally, she’s represented the U.S. at various youth levels and scored a goal in the 2022 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup. The 22-year-old gives Orlando some helpful depth up front and can develop her game learning from some of the best attackers in the sport as well.
USWNT Prepares For Friendly Against China
The United States Women’s National Team will take on China Saturday at Allianz Field in St. Paul, MN in the first of two friendlies during this international window. Orlando Pride defenders Emily Sams and Kerry Abello were both called up to join a young roster as the team builds a foundation before the 2027 Women’s World Cup. Goalkeeper will continue to be a position to watch, as opportunity knocks for Phallon Tullis-Joyce, Mandy McGlynn, and Claudia Dickey to stake a claim as the team’s starter. Following this match, the USWNT will take on Jamaica in St. Louis on Tuesday before a pair of friendlies against Ireland later in June.
Denver’s NWSL Team Hires First General Manager
Denver’s NWSL team hired Curt Johnson to serve as the club’s first general manager. He will have the opportunity to build the team’s roster and staff from the ground up before the team takes the field as an expansion side in 2026. Johnson left the North Carolina Courage in December and was the chief soccer officer when the club dominated the league in 2018 and 2019. It looks like a solid hire in my opinion and I’m interested to see what kind of team he puts together in Denver.
Free Kicks
- Racing Louisville forward Kayla Fischer was suspended for an additional two games for pulling Madison Hammond down to the ground by her hair. As a result, she’ll miss Louisville’s game against the Pride on June 20.
- Washington Spirit Head Coach Jonatan Giraldez is reportedly in talks to manage OL Lyonnes.
- The Independent Review Panel rescinded the second yellow card Chicago Fire midfielder Dje D’Avilla received on May 25, meaning he’ll be available for the Fire’s game against Orlando on Saturday.
- AC Milan fired Sergio Conceicao after finishing eighth in the Serie A standings and losing in the Italian Cup final. The club has reportedly reached an agreement with Massimiliano Allegri for him to take over as manager.
- Angel Di Maria will return to his boyhood club of Rosario Central in Argentina’s top flight. The 37-year-old started his career at Rosario in 2005. He’ll still play for Benfica in the Club World Cup this summer.
That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!
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