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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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2 years ago

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Orlando City continued the 2023 MLS Regular Season campaign with a 0-0 draw against visiting FC Cincinnati. Orlando City rolled out a heavily rotated squad for the match against the Orange and Blue ahead of the first leg of the club’s Concacaf Champions League match-up Tuesday at Tigres. Let’s take a look at how each Lion performed individually in week two.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 7.5 (MotM) — Gallese made four saves to earn his second clean sheet of the season and to help salvage one point at home. Facing a trio of dangerous attackers, Gallese did well to save four shots on the night in a myriad of different ways. His best save of the night came in the 29th minute on a Luciano Acosta free kick from just outside the box. He was successful on 80.8% of his passing attempts, including six long balls. On a night when there was very little help on the offensive side of the pitch and the visitors controlled the possession for a majority of the match, El Pulpo came up big when the club needed him most.

D, Kyle Smith, 6 — Smith was inserted into the starting XI at left center back for the first half as Oscar Pareja played a three-man back line for the opening 45 minutes. He then played fullback when Robin Jansson came on to start the second half, departing when Luca Petrasso was brought on as the final substitute of the night for OCSC. Turning in a performance that one has come to expect from Smith isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but there were several times when Smith found himself beaten down the sideline. To his credit, he was often able to recover, but he did get burned badly by Luciano Acosta in the 54th minute and luckily watched the shot go wide. Smith passed at 82.7%, was accurate with two of three long balls, and was responsible for one turnover. He did not attempt a shot but did provide one key pass. He also recorded three tackles, one interception, and two clearances and won 33% of his headed duels.

D, Abdi Salim, 5.5 — MLS SuperDraft pick Salim logged his first official MLS start, going the full 90 minutes. It was a bit of a mixed bag debut for the young draft pick who started with Smith and Rodrigo Schlegel as one of the three center backs. After the break, he played a more traditional center back role on the right, paired with Jansson. A little inconsistency is to be expected from a rookie when facing a team with the attacking options that FC Cincinnati has, and at times Salim seemed to be caught off guard and out of position by the pace and explosiveness of Cincinnati’s attackers. He recorded two tackles, a team-high three interceptions, and a clearance. He passed at 87% on the night, completed his lone long ball attempt, and was responsible for one turnover.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6.5 — With an injured Antonio Carlos and a starting squad with heavy rotation, Schlegel functioned as the de facto leader of the back line in the first half and was mostly solid in his 45 minutes on the pitch. Passing at a 93% rate in the first half, Schlegel was a stead force and logged his second straight match without recording a foul. He did not record any defensive statistics but had one off-target shot attempt and completed one of his two long-ball attempts.

WB/D, Michael Halliday, 6 — Halliday logged his second straight start at right back (more of a wingback for the opening 45 minutes) and continued to show growth and development. He logged 71 minutes and his brightest moment was running onto a laser of a pass from Robin Jansson in the second half and then laying a pass off for Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, who put his shot attempt just above the bar for one of the best scoring chances of the night. At times, Halliday was caught up field and out of position, which is part of playing wingback — especially against a good transition team like Cincinnati — but he looked more comfortable than last week. Halliday logged one interception and committed one foul while passing at an 83% clip. He did not record an accurate cross on one attempt and was inaccurate with his one long ball. He finished with a team-high four tackles, an interception, and two clearances.

MF, Wilder Cartagena, 5.5 — It wasn’t a perfect night for the defensive midfielder who was inserted into the starting lineup to provide rotation and rest for Ceasar Arajuo. While Cartagena passed at a decent 88% on the night, going 0/1 on crosses and 1/2 on long balls. He had a few too many careless giveaways or simply inaccurate passes which prevented the Lions from breaking out of their own end. He was booked for a questionable yellow in the 28th minute and was successful on two of his four tackle attempts. Cartagena also recorded one interception and logged two clearances.

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 5 — The Orlando City captain logged his 100th competitive match in purple across all competitions, but the century mark match proved to be one of Pereyra’s shakier games in recent memory. The Uruguayan passed at an abysmal 74% success rate (his lowest percentage since Aug. 13. of last season against the New York Red Bulls). He recorded no key passes and was 0/1 on crosses and 3/5 on long balls. He had two shot attempts on the night, which were both blocked, including a poor attempt on a dangerous free kick chance in the 14th minute, and was only successful on one of his five tackle attempts. Ultimately, this will be a match to forget for a handful of reasons and Pereyra’s first-half effort will be among that list. The captain was subbed off at halftime for Araujo.

WB/MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 6 — Another Lion logging his first official MLS start, Dagur Dan went the distance for Orlando City in the midfield, playing out on the left and switching spots with Gaston Gonzalez often. The Icelandic midfielder passed at an 86% success rate, was inaccurate on his one cross attempt but completed his only long ball. Thorhallsson was dispossessed twice and could have done better on his one shot attempt, which sailed over the bar. He drew one foul, recorded two successful dribbles, and logged two tackles.

MF, Gaston Gonzalez, 5.5— Orlando City fans were able to see Gonzalez in action for the first time as the MLS U22 Initiative signing from last season has finally rehabbed from an ACL tear. Any fitness concerns should be squelched as Gonzalez went the full 90 for Orlando City in his debut match. He connected on 19 of his 21 passing attempts for a 90% success rate, however, he was just 1/3 on crosses and did not complete his only long ball. Gonzalez committed three fouls, and won Orlando City one corner but otherwise did not log too many other meaningful stats in his inaugural match, although he had one clearance defensively. There were attempts at breaking down opponents 1-v-1, but it appears for now Gonzalez needs more time to develop chemistry with his teammates and more game time to get back to his former self, as he attempted no shots, provided no key passes, was dispossessed once, and had three unstable touches.

MF, Facundo Torres, 5.5 — It felt like watching the game live that for most of the first half, Orlando City could have done a better job at trying to find Torres in space. The Young Designated Player — and the offense as a whole — struggled for the second straight game. Torres only logged one shot, which was off target, and only recorded 47 total touches for the match. He passed at a 78.6% rate on 28 attempts, providing two key passes and went 1/2 on crosses and completede his only long ball. Torres was dispossessed once, had one unstable touch, and completed three of five total attempted dribbles, but again there seemed to be some disconnect in the attacking third. The attack needs work and Orlando City needs Torres to be a catalyst to get in back in gear. Defensively, Torres supplied one interception and one clearance.

F, Ercan Kara, 4.5 — Stop me if you have heard this one before, but Kara needs accurate service to be the most effective version of himself, and for the second match in a row Orlando City struggled to get the striker involved. Some of that is a credit to 6-foot-4 center back Matt Miazga’s play for FC Cincinnati. Kara recorded only 17 touches in the match, showing how starved for service the Lions’ center forward was on the night. His isolation limited him to 46.2% passing as he struggled to find teammates in traffic. He won two aerials but recorded no shots or key passes in 65 minutes of gameplay before being subbed off for Ivan Angulo. Defensively, he contributed a blocked shot.

Substitutes

D, Robin Jansson (46’), 6 — Coming out of the halftime break, Jansson replaced Schlegel as the team transitioned to a more traditional four-man back line. After a shaky debut match last week, Jansson seemed more settled and had the best long ball out of any player on the pitch when he sprung Halliday down the right side of the field, ultimately resulting in an open look for Dagur Dan. He passed at a 79% success rate, completed three of six long balls, won one aerial duel, and did not record a tackle but did log a vital blocked shot near the end of the match and finished with two clearances.

MF, Cesar Araujo (46’), 6.5 — Out of the starting lineup presumably to remain fresher for the upcoming trip to Mexico, Araujo entered the match after the break and demonstrated much better form than in the season opener. Araujo passed at a 91% clip in the second half and was successful on both of his attempted long balls and his one through ball. Defensively, Araujo drew two fouls on Cincinnati, recorded one successful tackle, and added an interception. Towards the end of the match, Araujo could be found drifting more into the attacking third of the match where he was credited with one shot attempt and had the Lions’ only shot on target of the evening, albeit a weak dribbler that offered no trouble to Roman Celentano. While the offense figures out that the ball is supposed to go in the back of the net, it will be imperative that Araujo continues to lock down force in the defensive midfield.

MF, Martín Ojeda (60’), 5.5 — Ojeda entered the game in the 60th minute to relieve Torres and recorded one shot in the 79th minute which was a scorcher that missed the target high and left from outside the 18 as he tried to catch Celentano off his line. He was accurate on 85.7% of his 21 passing attempts and his only long ball but his one cross attempt did not find the target. He contributed one interception. Due to player rotation in this match, very little was accomplished in terms of gaining experience and building chemistry between the three Designated Players as Ojeda replaced Torres, and Kara was subbed off five minutes after Ojeda entered the field.

MF, Ivan Angulo (65’), 5.5 — Angulo replaced Kara in the 65th minute and was largely ineffective for the final 25 minutes of the match, He was dispossessed twice, completed 86% of his passes, and did not record a shot attempt. He finished with one tackle and just 15 total touches.

D, Luca Petrasso (71’), 6 — Petrasso came into the match in the 71st minute for Halliday, which sent Kyle Smith to the right side of the pitch. There was some early aggression and concentrated efforts to get into the attacking third from Petrasso but he failed on a few occasions to link up with teammates or to send the ball into the box. He passed at 85.7%, but his only cross attempt was inaccurate. He did not record a tackle, interception, or shot attempt.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in the first draw of the season for the Lions. Let me know your thoughts in the comments and be sure to vote for your Man of the Match below.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Rodrigo Schlegel11
Robin Jansson17
Dagur Dan Thorhallsson1
Pedro Gallese139
Cesar Araujo1
Someone Else (tell us in the comments)1

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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.

Published

12 hours ago

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May 31, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

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

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!

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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.

Published

1 day ago

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May 30, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

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!

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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.

Published

2 days ago

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May 30, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

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

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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