Orlando City Struggling on Set Pieces

Orlando City currently sits in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings — tied on points with the Philadelphia Union and D.C. United, with 11. Orlando (3-2-3) has alternated wins and losses over its last four matches, winning on the road at Philadelphia and against Minnesota United FC and dropping points at home to Nashville SC and, most recently, D.C. United. Regardless of location, Orlando City has struggled finding the back of the net from one specific area this season — set pieces.

Whether the opportunities have been generated from corners or free kicks — both close to the box and from distance — the Lions are yet to convert a set piece into a goal throughout the first two months of the Major League Soccer season. Northern rival Atlanta United leads the league in goals from set-piece attempts and has converted five goals from dead ball opportunities on the season thus far. Meanwhile, Orlando City finds itself at the bottom of this statistical category, joining Austin FC, the Colorado Rapids, and Charlotte FC with zero goals scored from set pieces.

For a team that has struggled to find the back of the net throughout the first eight matches, and has only scored more than a solitary goal in two matches on the year, the ability to convert from set pieces is an integral part of the offense which has been missing thus far on the year. Orlando City finished the 2022 MLS season tied for seventh place in MLS, with 12 set-piece goals scored. With just under a quarter of the season completed, the lack of production from such opportunities looms large. Orlando City has been awarded plenty of opportunities to score from set pieces on the year thus far, averaging 3.3 set-piece attempts per match.

A notable contributing factor throughout the beginning part of the year has been the lack of a large target to play the ball towards. Fans of Orlando City started to see potential last week against D.C. United as 6-foot-2 center back Antonio Carlos was able to get on the end of two corners, which each came a few feet away from finding the back of the net. Orlando has also been without 6-foot-4 Designated Player Ercan Kara for a significant part of the early season due to injury. While Kara is dependent on service in open play to be at his most effective, he is a large target and presence in the box on set pieces for players like Facundo Torres and Mauricio Pereyra to target. Kara demonstrated this skill at home against Tigres in the Concacaf Champions League as he was able to bicycle a redirected corner into the back of the net to draw Orlando City level in the 88th minute of the match.

Heading into the match against the LA Galaxy, converting from a set piece will be an area of the match I will be following. With all-time club assist leader Pereyra set to miss the match due to an injury sustained last week, it is possible that opportunity will come knocking for Torres to either directly convert from a set piece or find one of aforementioned tall targets in the box, which could be just the type of positive momentum that he has been searching for throughout the start of the season.

Will Orlando City be able capitalize on set pieces awarded tonight against the Galaxy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.