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Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in a 3-1 home loss to D.C.?

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2 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

After a late winner last week in Minnesota, Orlando City returned to Exploria Stadium to host D.C. United. Duncan McGuire scored the match winner last week and earned the start up top for this match. It started as an even affair but ultimately finished in a 3-1 home loss. Here is how we saw the Lions perform in Saturday’s home defeat.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 5 — El Pulpo gave up three goals, but none were really his own fault. His teammates put him in an unfortunate 1-v-1 situation for the first goal, he had an unmarked runner bury a corner kick header, and Christian Benteke turned on Rodrigo Schlegel from short range. Gallese faced nine shots with five of them on target. He recorded two saves in the game and was tested with an expected goals against of 1.9. Gallese completed 76.2% of his passes and two of five long balls.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 4.5 — In the 15th minute, Schlegel left his other two center backs to step up on Benteke. While it proves his work rate, it unfortunately left Robin Jansson on an island with Ruan sprinting down field on the ball and Taxi Fountas over his shoulder, leading to the first D.C. United goal. Schlegel was also the last line of defense on the third D.C. goal when Benteke chested down a ball in the box and turned on a dime, while firing a powerful strike into the back of the net. As one of three in the back, Schlegel passed at an 66.7% clip including two accurate long balls on five attempts. He committed two fouls on the night and recorded three tackles and one clearance.

D, Robin Jansson, 5 — Jansson was part of the initial error that led to the first D.C. United goal. He likely should have stayed central instead of leaving Fountas for Ruan, which ultimately let Fountas in behind and unmarked but he was only put in that position due to a turnover. Jansson went the full 90 minutes and completed 88.9% of his 36 passes on the night. The Viking played one successful long ball pass on four attempts. Jansson did not log a single defensive statistic aside from committing two fouls.

D, Antonio Carlos, 6.5 — Antonio Carlos earned his second start of the season and put in a great shift for the Lions, despite being part of a back line which conceded three goals. He was instrumental in creating the only Orlando City goal with a strong sliding tackle at midfield which fell to Ojeda, and ultimately McGuire, for the score. Carlos even fired off three shots of his own on the night, with one being dangerously close to scoring on a set piece header. Carlos completed 95.4% of his 43 passes on the night and logged an impressive six successful long balls in the match on just seven attempts. Defensively, he had one tackle and five clearances, while committing only one foul, which earned a yellow card in the 56th minute.

MF, Gaston Gonzalez, 6.5 — Gonzalez might have finally shown us what he can bring to the table for the club. He had a lively first half up and down the flank. He kept a speedy Ruan at bay, and he found himself springing a couple Orlando attacks as well. While you won’t see any groundbreaking statistics from Gonzalez, he played his role well on the night and that is all we can really ask of him. Gonzalez completed 65.2% of his 23 passes and crossed the ball accurately once out of six times. He also attempted three unsuccessful long balls. Gonzalez’s only shot for the night was on target. From a defensive standpoint, he offered three tackles, an interception, a clearance, and committed one foul. Gonzalez found himself fouled twice.

MF, Maurico Pereyra, 5.5 — The maestro found pockets of space centrally throughout the night where he was able to distribute and release the front three attackers. He took a seat on the turf in the 68th minute and left the match early for Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. He found himself on the ball 59 times and completed 77.1% of his 48 passes. He was accurate on three of six long balls and whipped in three crosses. Defensively, Pereyra logged a tackle, an interception, and a foul — drawing one of his own.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 5.5 — Araujo went down on the corner kick that became D.C. United’s second goal of the night after being overpowerd by Donovan Pines. He appealed for a foul, but it was never going to be given, and Pines buried the header into the Orlando goal. Araujo passed at a 93.2% clip on the night, recorded a key pass, and completed three of his six long balls. Additionally, Araujo drew two fouls while committing two of his own. He logged two successful tackles in the match.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 5 — Angulo continues to show his pace and ability to build the attack wide and near the end line. However, it was not enough to best Pedro Santos who proved to be a formidable defender for the speedy winger. If Orlando is going to find goals from the wing, it will need more accurate crossing from Angulo. He only had one accurate cross on eight attempts. Angulo passed at 90% rate and was accurate with his only long ball. Defensively, Angulo recorded one tackle and a foul, although he too was fouled. Angulo earned an early yellow card in the 27th minute. His giveaway put the back three in a bad spot and led to the first goal conceded.

MF, Facundo Torres, 6 — The Uruguayan Young Designated Player had a mixed bag of a match. He often found himself on the ball, but he never seemed to inspire much of the attack on his own in the first half. Once Ojeda and Pereyra left the match, Torres became the link the team needed but it was a little too late as the club was already playing catch up. Going the full 90 for Orlando, Torres passed at 87.9% accuracy, went 5-for-6 on crossing accuracy, 2-for-2 on long-ball accuracy, and had a team-high four key passes. He put one of his two shots on target. Torres drew one foul in the match.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 6 — As the ball fell to his feet following a Carlos tackle, Ojeda pinged a perfect through ball to McGuire for the assist on Orlando’s only goal. He likely could have had a goal of his own after receiving a pass in the six-yard box, but his feet just didn’t register with the speed of his brain and after his slick flick to free himself for the shot, the touch was heavy and bounced to the goalkeeper. He completed 73.7% of his 19 passes, had two key passes, and was accurate on one of three crossing attempts, but none of his three long balls. He was dispossessed once and had two unstable touches. Defensively, he recorded an interception and one clearance on the night. Ojeda made way for Ercan Kara late in the match as Oscar Pareja threw the kitchen sink at the attack with two fresh strikers.

F, Duncan McGuire, 7 (MotM) — All McGuire does is score against D.C. United. He did it in the first match at Audi Field and did it again in the 23rd minute at Exploria Stadium. McGuire found himself played in by Ojeda and made a clinical first touch to split the defenders and slot the ball under Tyler Miller at the top of the 18-yard box. Aside from opening the scoring for the Lions, McGuire played a pressing role and kept the D.C. back line under pressure and looked to receive long balls from the Orlando City defenders throughout the night. McGuire left the match early in the second half with what appeared to be an off-the-ball injury. He was one-for-one with his shots, as he scored on the only one he took. He completed 44.4% of his nine passes with 20 touches. He was fouled once and logged an interception and two clearances. McGuire was subbed off in the 52nd minute for Ramiro Enrique.

Substitutes

F, Ramiro Enrique (52′), 4.5 — Enrique came on for an injured McGuire early in the second half but never logged a shot. With his five touches, he completed all four of his passes and was fouled once. To have logged almost an entire half, it is disappointing that he could not find the ball more than five times while his team was attempting to find a way back into the match.

F, Ercan Kara (65′), 4.5 — Kara was brought on after the third goal to hopefully inspire some last ditch attack. But with only two touches, Kara was only able to get off one inaccurate shot. He won an aerial, committed a foul, and missed connecting on his only pass.

D, Rafael Santos (65′), 5.5 — Santos had 21 touches coming on late in the match. He took two shots and put one on target, but it wasn’t a terribly threatening one from distance. Santos offered one key pass among his 13 total and 84.6% accuracy. One of his two long balls was accurate but his only cross missed the mark. Defensively, he had one tackle and an interception.

MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (68′), 5 — Thorhallsson was a late sub replacing the captain in the 68th minute. He completed 88.9% of his nine passes on 10 touches. He intercepted the ball once and committed a foul.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in the 3-1 home defeat to D.C. United. Who was your Orlando City Man of the Match? Vote in our poll and let us know in the comments below.

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Orlando City

Orlando City Striker Duncan McGuire Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

It’s the other shoulder this time, but Big Dunc is on the shelf for awhile again after undergoing surgery.

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2 days ago

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June 6, 2025

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City announced today that Duncan McGuire has undergone arthroscopic surgery to repair the labrum in his left shoulder. The surgery was performed by Orlando City Chief Medical Officer Dr. Craig Mintzer of the Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute performed the surgery. Mintzer previously repaired the labrum and rotator cuff in McGuire’s right shoulder back in December for an injury he sustained in Orlando City’s playoff match against Charlotte FC Nov. 9 when he was pulled down by Djibril Diani.

The club’s press release said the 24-year-old striker’s return to play is expected “later this year.” The recovery given for his right shoulder surgery in late 2024 was listed as four to five months, but McGuire was able to come back and play much earlier than expected, appearing for the first time in 2025 in Orlando’s March 15 against the New York Red Bulls — at least a month before the earliest initial projection — however, this time there was no mention of damage to the rotator cuff.

Regardless, the Lions will be without the big target striker for a considerable amount of time.

McGuire had appeared in 12 matches during the regular season in 2025, starting three and scoring one goal and adding an assist. His goal came recently, serving as the game winner in Orlando’s 1-0 home victory over the Portland Timbers on May 24. He was recently listed as questionable on the club’s availability report ahead of the team’s most recent match against the Chicago Fire.

Orlando City drafted McGuire in the first round (No. 6 overall) in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft. After a breakout rookie campaign, in which the Omaha, NE native scored 14 goals, he was courted by several teams in Europe, signing with Blackburn Rovers, only to see the transfer rejected by the English Football League due to an administrative error by the EFL Championship club. After returning to Orlando, McGuire signed a new deal on Aug. 22 to remain a Lion. The new contract runs through 2027 with a club option for 2028. McGuire scored 10 goals and added three assists in 2024. For his Orlando City career, McGuire has appeared in 88 games (46 starts) across all competitions, scoring a total of 28 goals to go along with seven assists.

What It Means for Orlando City

McGuire appeared to be just finding his form, so this injury is unfortunate. The club didn’t put a timeline on McGuire’s recovery this time, but shaving a little off his 2024 recovery estimate, it’s likely that he’ll be out until at least some time in September.

Oscar Pareja has been favoring a 4-4-2 with Luis Muriel and Martin Ojeda up top in recent weeks, with Ramiro Enrique — who is also finding his form — typically spelling one of them when needed. Not having McGuire will affect Pareja’s late-game substitution pattern when Orlando is trailing, as he likes to put Enrique and McGuire both on the field when chasing the game. It also takes the team’s best target striker option out of the lineup when dealing with back lines with lots of height.

McGuire brings size and strength and an ability to occupy center backs that others on the roster can’t replicate. There are times when Enrique’s game is better suited to the opponent, but without McGuire there will be no ability to pivot. With Jack Lynn’s off-season retirement, that leaves the striker pickings mighty slim on the Orlando City bench. That might change Ricardo Moreira’s approach to the MLS Secondary Transfer Window.

Losing a scorer of McGuire’s caliber is always difficult, but this season it could be the difference between finishing high in the table and simply getting into the postseason in a strong Eastern Conference field.

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Opinion

Orlando City Must Learn from May’s Mistakes

The Lions can learn some valuable lessons from the three losses they suffered in May.

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2 days ago

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June 6, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City hadn’t quite achieved juggernaut status as the Major League Soccer season turned from April to May, but a 12-match unbeaten run in the league is nothing to sniff at, despite there being a healthy number of draws interspersed with the victories. Things turned sour as May drew to a close though, as the Lions lost three of their final four matches of the month and entered a two-week break with a whimper rather than a roar.

Losing is never fun, but in this case those three defeats don’t need to be entirely negative experiences, and there are plenty of lessons to be learned from those three bitter losses that will hold Orlando in good stead if it can implement the proper solutions.

More Squad Rotation

One of the biggest factors in Orlando’s rough finish to May was a lack of squad rotation. Oscar Pareja has always been a coach that likes to find his first-choice XI and stick to it almost religiously. He doesn’t normally tweak his lineups or tactics according to whatever opponent is on the slate, and very much values consistency. In periods of fixture congestion, that tendency can be to Orlando’s detriment, and that was very much the case against both Nashville SC and the Chicago Fire.

After beating Inter Miami 3-0 in an emotional rivalry match on May 18, Pareja made just one change for a U.S. Open Cup match against Nashville SC three days later. Ramiro Enrique slotted in for Luis Muriel up top, but every single other starter from the Miami game also got the nod midweek. With Nashville deploying a heavily rotated lineup mostly filled with backups, the gamble was a simple one: hope that OCSC’s A-team can open up a big first-half lead against Nashville’s B-squad before bringing mass changes in the second half to get guys some rest. Hindsight is, of course, 20/20, but the strategy backfired badly as the Lions lost 3-2. Orlando started well with Marco Pasalic’s 17th-minute strike, but the team faded badly afterwards and gave up a couple of very uncharacteristic goals to lose the game. Lapses in concentration and tired defending cost OCSC the game, and that isn’t something we can normally say about this team.

Then, after losing to Atlanta United 3-2 on May 28 due in no small part to Cesar Araujo’s red card, Pareja made two changes for a match against the Chicago Fire on May 31, with Muriel coming in for Enrique, and the other change being a forced one, as Eduard Atuesta replaced the suspended Araujo. Those starters looked noticeably gassed during the resulting 3-1 loss, and the fatigue manifested itself by players missing chances that would normally be converted or in sloppy, mistake-ridden defending.

May was a packed month with a whopping nine matches in 31 days, and most months won’t be that busy. August is set to be the busiest remaining period of the year with six games in 31 days, although that number could rise higher if the Lions make a run in Leagues Cup. The bottom line is that guys are going to need more rest as the season goes on. If the coaching staff doesn’t trust some of the guys currently available as backups, then they need to dip into the transfer market in one way or another and get some players that they do trust, because if the starting XI gets run ragged during busy periods it’s going to cost Orlando, plain and simple.

Cool Heads Usually Prevail

Orlando City has received three red cards on the season, which is tied for the second-most in the league. Unsurprisingly, the Lions are winless in games in which they’ve had a man sent off, with draws against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal and a loss to Atlanta United. The results against the Red Bulls and Atlanta were particularly difficult to swallow, as before going down to 10 men, Orlando had looked on track to get three points in each game.

Araujo’s red card against Atlanta was especially frustrating, as he allowed Mateusz Klich to get under his skin, grabbed him by the throat, and reduced his team to 10 men when OCSC was nursing a 2-1 lead on the road. It was completely unnecessary and was also the sort of thing that Orlando had looked to put in the rearview mirror after keeping its collective composure and not picking up any bookings in the 3-0 road win against Miami, while the Herons picked up four and looked noticeably rattled in the process.

It should go without saying, but the Lions can’t afford to get key players sent off. Six extra points could make a big difference in the standings at the end of the year, and that number could rise even higher if OCSC can’t put its disciplinary issues to rest once and for all.

Focus for the Full 90

There were moments in each of Orlando’s three May losses that the team committed bad defensive lapses or mistakes. Whether it was not playing to the whistle on Nashville’s third goal, Atuesta’s bad turnover against Atlanta, or the Lions collectively allowing Chicago to stroll through midfield to score a third goal, there were plenty of examples of bad breakdowns that were largely absent during the team’s unbeaten run. Can some of that be attributed to tired minds and tired legs? Maybe so — it’s a lot harder to play crisp and focused when the minutes have piled up. Regardless, its something that can’t continue to happen going forward. It’s possible that having more rotation in the squad will help that a lot, but it’s also on the players on the field to stay as mentally sharp as they can when they’re out on the pitch.

Clearly, a recurring theme here is that fresh legs and balanced squad rotation are top of my list of things I want to see change. I’m all for riding the hot hands, but tired legs make for tired minds, and tired minds make mistakes and are easier to rile up. Whether reinforcements come from the bench or an outside source, using more bodies will go a long way towards solving some of the issues that we saw in May’s three losses. All we can do now is wait and see what happens once the team returns from its break. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/6/25

Alex Freeman called up for Concacaf Gold Cup, Orlando Pride get ready for the Houston Dash, Orlando City B plays tonight, and more.

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2 days ago

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June 6, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday! I’ll be spending this weekend celebrating my birthday by beating my friends at mini golf with no mercy but still hope to catch some soccer over the next few days. I’ve also been on a bit of a movie kick and plan on catching Wes Anderson’s new flick at some point soon. But for now, let’s dive into today’s links!

Alex Freeman Called Up For Gold Cup

Orlando City defender Alex Freeman was officially called up by the United States Men’s National Team for the Concacaf Gold Cup this summer. He’s the only Lion who will be at the tournament and is one of seven uncapped USMNT players on the roster. The 20-year-old could receive more playing time than expected, as right back Sergino Dest is not on the roster so that he can recover over the summer. Left back John Tolkin was added to replace Dest, so Freeman has a real shot at making a claim for the position this month. The U.S. will take on Turkey Saturday in the first of two friendlies before its first Gold Cup match against Trinidad & Tobago on June 15.

Orlando Pride Prepares to Host the Houston Dash

With the international break for women’s soccer over, the Orlando Pride return to action Saturday with a home game against the Houston Dash. It should be a great opportunity for the Pride to ease back into the swing of things against a Dash team that’s only scored 10 goals this season. Pride midfielder Ally Lemos spoke on the benefit of being able to rest heading into this match while maintaining a winning mindset from a 3-1 victory on May 23.

Anna Moorhouse Called Up For 2025 Euros

Orlando Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was named to England’s final roster for the 2025 UEFA European Women’s Championship. She’s one of three goalkeepers on the squad following Mary Earp’s surprise retirement from international soccer, and she will likely compete with fellow uncapped player Khiara Keating for the backup position behind Hannah Hampton. Moorhouse has started in every game for the Pride this season and was an NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year finalist for her record-breaking season last year. England’s Euro run will begin July 5 against France before other group matches against the Netherlands and Wales.

Orlando City B Takes On Huntsville City FC

The Young Lions are riding high after a 2-1 win over Chattanooga FC and will take that momentum into tonight’s road match against Huntsville City FC. Midfielder Noah Levis scored his first career goal in that home win, with Justin Hylton providing the assist in his OCB debut. Orlando’s offense has been hot and cold this season but has a variety of attacking talent that can create chances in different ways. The Young Lions have only won once on the road, but a win tonight would lift them to third in the Eastern Conference.

Free Kicks

  • FIFA Club World Cup action is coming to the City Beautiful this month and Orlando City legend Kaká spoke on how it’s nice for Orlando to host games.
  • San Diego Wave Head Coach Jonas Eidevall was named NWSL Coach of the Month. The Wave were undefeated in May, winning three of their four matches to climb to second in the league standings.
  • The NWSL will allow intraleague loans for all teams, with the players needing to consent to the move in order for it to happen. Denver and Boston’s expansion teams will have access to potentially over $1 million in Allocation Money starting on July 1 to build their rosters before the 2026 season.
  • Atletico Madrid is reportedly close to signing American midfielder Johnny Cardoso from Real Betis.
  • South Korea, Uzbekistan, and Jordan all qualified for the 2026 World Cup, while China was eliminated from contention. Australia beat Japan 1-0 and will qualify so long as it doesn’t lose heavily to Saudi Arabia on June 10.
  • Spain beat France 5-4 in a wild game to reach the UEFA Nations League final against Portugal on Sunday. Lamine Yamal continues to take the world by storm, but a late rally by France nearly completed a comeback.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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