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Orlando City vs. CF Montreal: Final Score 2-0 as Lions Suffer First Road Loss

Once again the Lions were simply not sharp enough with the final details as they suffered their first road defeat of the season.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

If Orlando City went to Montreal looking for revenge for last year’s road playoff loss, you’d never know it. The Lions (4-4-2, 14 points) were lethargic and sloppy as they suffered their first road loss, another 2-0 defeat to CF Montreal (4-6-0, 12 points) at Stade Saputo.

The hosts weren’t particularly good for much of the night either, but did enough in the attack to get on the board and got away with their few defensive mistakes as the Lions helped them by missing the target repeatedly on their best scoring chances. A Robin Jansson own goal and Romell Quioto’s strike moments later lifted Montreal to its third consecutive 2-0 victory.

“A game with two very different phases from our performance,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “First half, I thought we dominated the game. I thought we were very clear with our actions that the boys put on the pitch. We had enough actions to unlevel the score and surely (should) just be leading it. But we came out of the half with a zero-zero that was dangerous. The reaction from Montreal in the second half made a difference.”

Pareja’s starting lineup was the same as last Saturday’s starting XI at home against the LA Galaxy, with Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Kyle Smith, Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Michael Halliday. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena held down the central midfield behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Facundo Torres, and Martin Ojeda, with Ercan Kara up top.

The first half began a bit lively but then slowed to kind of a crawl over the final 15 minutes. The Lions were often the better side in the opening 30 minutes but Montreal found some control as the pace slowed. Orlando City failed to take the lead in the first half by missing the target on decent looks at goal and because Gallese made one good save on Montreal’s best chance.

Angulo got a good look early in the game, taking the ball in the left corner of the box and cutting across to his right, unleashing a shot near the arch. He hit his effort wide of the right post and that was the theme of the first half for the Lions.

Halliday won a foul on Ariel Lassiter in the 13th minute near the right corner. The set piece delivery found Kara in front, but it was dipping and the Austrian center forward had a defender in front of him. He still got his head to it but beat it into the ground and it bounced up easily for goalkeeper Jonathan Sirois.

One minute after that half chance, Ojeda could have put the Lions on top. Cartagena did well to turn Montreal over in its own half and Ojeda had space outside the area. He fired a rocket toward the right side of goal but it stayed wide.

In the 19th minute, Halliday sent a dangerous cross into the box but it was just a bit too far in front of Kara at the near post and the ball took a deflection before Torres arrived and whiffed on his shot attempt. Seconds later, it was Torres firing wide right, as the Lions just couldn’t dial in.

Montreal’s best look came just after that, as Halliday got a foot on Lassiter’s nutmeg attempt but the ball bounced favorable for the former Inter Miami man. he took a shot from outside the box that was labeled for just inside the left post but Gallese made a good sprawling save.

The hosts started to get into the match over the rest of the first half, moving forward up the wings and getting both Orlando City’s starting fullbacks booked. Chinonso Offor got a head to a corner kick in the 32nd minute but his shot was right at Gallese’s chest.

Kara sent a free kick over the wall in the 38th minute after Torres drew a foul in a dangerous spot, but his shot didn’t have much pace on it and asked no questions of Sirois, who made an easy catch.

That was about it for a plodding end to the first 45 minutes and the teams went to the break without any stoppage time at all.

The Lions finished the half with more possession (58.1%-41.9%), shots (8-4), and passing accuracy (82%-80.5%). Both teams got two shots on target and Montreal won more corners (3-2).

The second half began pretty much how the first ended. Neither team was doing much and Orlando couldn’t find a final product. There were a few decent crosses into the area in the first 10 minutes after the break but no Lions could get onto them. Kara had a nice knockdown for Torres in the 54th minute but the Uruguayan had his shot blocked by defender Rudy Camacho.

Montreal got its goal on the dumbest play in a dumb game. Camacho came up the pitch and no one picked him up after he passed it away, although he continued his run. Of course the ball found him in the area on the rebound of Gallese’s save on Lassiter’s shot, and the center back fired off the right post. The ball came to Aaron Herrera on the right. The winger/fullback cut inside onto his left foot and fired a shot that would have gone 10 yards wide if it hadn’t hit Jansson and bounced in for the opening goal in the 62nd minute.

“One of their center backs got forward and that sure did create the overload,” Smith said. “And the cross came in and it was a little hectic. And then the ball popped out. I just remember the shot got off, hit the post, and then unlucky with the deflection, because I don’t think it was going to hit the target.”

“It was a moment where we lost concentration,” Pareja said. “We knew that their wingbacks are aggressive and we needed to control them. And then after that, our reaction was timid. It was not with the same intensity and the same fire that we had in the first half.”

Orlando tried to respond immediately but didn’t fashion much danger and that allowed the hosts to put the game away with a second. A ball out on the right side was played to Herrera, who ran away from Angulo and found a wide open Quioto near the penalty spot. Players of that quality don’t miss from there. Quioto didn’t, and the Montreal lead bulged to 2-0 at the 66-minute mark.

“We started probably shy. We were not the same,” Pareja said. “And then they started getting the spaces on the flanks and they were fine and precise more than us. Every team has a half, but we couldn’t score in the first and in the second Montreal did.”

Angulo could have pulled a goal right back in the 68th minute, freeing himself up nicely for a shot from the left but again he fizzed a shot just off target, slightly high and to the right.

Rather than throwing on additional attacking players, Oscar Pareja subbed off some attackers for others. Felipe, Duncan McGuire, Rafael Santos, Ramiro Enrique, and Gaston Gonzalez, but he withdrew Kara, Ojeda, and Angulo, along with Smith and Cartagena.

The substitutions made no real difference down the stretch. They did manage to win a few set pieces and get a couple of Montreal’s defenders booked, but that was the only effect they had on the proceedings.

The Lions’ best chances in the final 20 minutes resulted in Ojeda crossing to no one in particular when he seemingly had enough room to try a shot or hold the play for some runners to arrive; Halliday getting way under a half-volley effort with the goalkeeper out of position after he came out to punch away a cross; and a free kick from just outside the area that Felipe sent into low orbit. Jansson had a shout for a penalty when Herrera pulled him down from behind by his shirt but a review didn’t convince the video assistant referee to ask the on-field official to take a second look.

City’s frustration was evident in late yellow cards on Araujo, Enrique, and Felipe that were all unnecessary.

Orlando City finished with more possession (54.9%-45.1%), shots (13-7), passing accuracy (81%-79.4%), and corners (5-4), but the hosts had more shots hit the target (3-2). A lack of the final details have plagued Orlando throughout this first third of the season and this match was no different. Angulo, Ojeda, and Torres all could have hit their shots inside the goal frame, but as we’ve seen all too often in 2023, they simply couldn’t do it.

Kara put two of his four shot attempts on target and at least forced Sirois to do something, but the rest of the team went 0-for-9 in getting their shots within the goal frame.

“The game became very lazy,” Pareja said of the second half, following Montreal’s two quick goals. “Montreal started stopping the game in every second and then it was difficult for us to get back in the game.”

“I think an important piece is everyone maybe just look at themselves and what they can personally do better on,” Smith said about his team finding some consistency. “And then, if everyone just gets a little better, then the whole team gets better. And you know, once we get everyone being consistent, then as a team we’re more consistent.”


The Lions will stay on the road and pay a visit to Charlotte FC on Tuesday in U.S. Open Cup action. The next league game will be next Saturday in Columbus against the Crew.

Orlando City

Orlando City’s 2024 Offensive Blueprint (So Far)

An evaluation of how Orlando City has been trying to score goals in 2024.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

All right, now that we have pushed the limit on puns and wordplay about that album, let’s look at some numbers related to Orlando City’s offense. First, let’s start with the direction of play, because Orlando City has a very clear plan of attack in 2024, and it involves the left side. According to the tracking from whoscored.com, Orlando City attacks down the left side on nearly half of its possessions.

No team in MLS favors one side of the field as frequently as Orlando City’s 45% on the left side, and it is interesting that it is so high down the left because Facundo Torres, generally regarded as the squad’s most creative and dangerous player, plays most frequently on the right side of the field. I think there are three primary reasons for the left side favoritism:

  • Iván Angulo is one of the fastest players in MLS and spends most of his time on the left side of the field, so the team tries to get him into space so he can use that speed to get the defense on its heels.
  • Orlando City has three left-footed players who love a cross so much I am surprised they play for Orlando City and not Vatican City. Rafael Santos averages 5.1 crosses per 90 mins (27th in MLS), Nico Lodeiro averages 5.6 (16th), and Martín Ojeda averages 9.61 (second). Ojeda has been playing more centrally recently, but he still drifts to the left frequently. Lodeiro does the same, and Santos nearly exclusively stays on the left side. All three of them are crossing machines.
  • Torres loves to cut back into the middle from his normal slot on the right side of the field, and so crossing it from left to right gives him space to operate, as the defense has to recover on a switch of field, and a scrambling defense against a talented attacking player is advantageous for Orlando City. Torres is fifth in MLS in receiving passes from 10+ yards away in the offensive area of the field, and his per-90-minute average for those receptions has increased from 2022 (8.4) to 2023 (9.8) to 2024 (11.4). Additionally, here is Facu’s shot chart for the year, courtesy of fotmob.com, and you can see that of his seven non-penalty-kick goals, all of them come from the right half of the field (his most recent goal against New England is highlighted with the red circle, because after a few minutes I gave up on trying to figure out how to show this without having one highlighted):

Expanding a little bit off of the direction of play, but returning to the second item in the list above, Orlando City leads all of MLS with an average of 21.32 crosses per 90 minutes. The other 28 MLS teams average 16.6 crosses per 90 minutes, so Orlando City is crossing the ball 28% more frequently than the average MLS team. The Lions have a physical presence in Duncan McGuire in the middle, so this makes sense to target him with crosses into the 18, and in fact the team is fourth in MLS this season with an average of 2.4 completed crosses into the penalty areas per 90 minutes.

It is not just Duncan though, of the 36 goals Orlando City players have scored this season (the other three are own goals), nine of them have come on a header and by eight different players. That 25% of goals scored on a header is the highest percentage for any Orlando City team in fbref.com’s tracking (goes back to 2018) and ranks the team only behind Austin FC’s 29% in MLS this season.

All crosses do not necessarily end in headers, but nearly all headers come from crosses, and the irony of the fact that Orlando City is scoring a high percentage of its goals from headers is that the Lions rank, to use a technical term, DFL in the league in percentage of aerial balls won (40.1%, and the next lowest is 45.4%). It’s kind of like the tagline to those Most Interesting Man in the World beer commercials from Dos Equis — the Lions don’t often win aerial balls, but when they do, they score goals.

Flipping from balls in the air to balls that are generally played on the ground, according to the data tracked by Opta on fbref.com, Orlando City is seventh in MLS in completed through balls per 90 minutes with an average of 1.5. The Lions have been in the top third of MLS in four of the last five seasons in this statistic, as this is clearly a staple of an Óscar Pareja-coached squad.

If you look at the individual MLS players who are leading the league in completing these dangerous balls, it is a veritable who’s who of creative players across the league. Say what you will about Luis Muriel, and I wrote a whole article about him a few weeks ago, but his passing ability is excellent, and it did not surprise me at all to see him high on this list and among the other well-known names. Here are the top 15, which also includes Lodeiro, among players who have played at least 500 minutes:

I touched on the left side focus earlier and how Angulo’s speed plays a large role in why the team plays more frequently down the left side, and that comes into play here as well with Orlando City’s predilection for playing through balls. It is also now time for Dagur Dan Thórhallsson to enter the chat, because he is just as much of a through ball target as Ruan was for several years in making speed runs up the right side of the field, and he ranks 24th among defenders in goal-creating actions per 90 minutes (0.24). Coincidentally, he also ranks 24th in shot-creating actions per 90 minutes (2.0). McGuire is also a target for these through balls as he makes excellent shallow runs behind defenders to then run onto balls played in front of him, and Ramiro Enrique is also pacey enough to do the same.

The completed crosses and through balls, as well as the fact that Orlando City is in the top 10 in total completed passes per 90 minutes, contribute to the team leading MLS with 10.1 completed passes into the penalty area per 90 minutes. The rest of MLS averages only 8.4, so Orlando City’s offensive tactics puts the team 20% higher than the rest of the league in terms of its frequency of completing passes to teammates inside the box.

Now, what teams want are goals, not completed passes into the penalty area, but you can see what the Lions are trying to do offensively by looking what these numbers reveal about how they are directing their attacking play.

Orlando City has a burner on the left (Angulo) and also several left-footed players who have the ability to whip in a dangerous cross (Ojeda, Lodeiro, Santos), so the focus is more on going down the left than the middle or the right. The Lions do have a fullback (Thórhallsson) with pace on the right too, so he is a target when they go right, and as a former midfielder, he has the ability to create offense coming forward, so he does with great frequency. The best finisher (Torres) is out on the right but loves to cut back to his left, and this year there is a higher focus on getting him the ball in space as opposed to having him leading the buildup.

Three players (Ojeda, Lodeiro, Muriel) are sharing the 10 role and releasing through balls to the outside and inside threats, and McGuire and Enrique are essentially serving as soccer versions of a basketball rim runner, attacking the goalmouth and trying to score in any way possible.

It all sounds great on paper, but for much of the season the offense was sputtering — so much so that Orlando City has scored more goals in the last seven games (20, 2.9 goals per game) than it did in its first 18 games (19, 1.1 goals per game). The first half of the season contained several issues that I believe contributed heavily to the low goal-scoring output, with several injuries, games missed for international duty, and competing in Concacaf Champions Cup at the same time as the start of the regular season, forcing squad rotation and players playing outside of their normal positions.

There was also just some poor play during those early months as well, some self-inflicted poor performances. I believe that Orlando City has found something though in the last few weeks, and while the Lions may not score 2.9 goals per game for the rest of the season, I think that what we have seen recently is a settled team of players who know their roles and understand the strategy, and who have the ability to execute that strategy.

Just 17 years after it was released, Jay-Z’s The Blueprint was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Recording Registry for being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.” Let’s hope that 17 years from now, in 2041, we are all looking back fondly on what became an athletically significant 2024 season for Orlando City.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. CF Montreal: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to get a victory to start the Leagues Cup?

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City plays CF Montreal in its first 2024 Leagues Cup match Friday night at Inter&Co Stadium. The Lions have been on a nice five-match undefeated streak during the regular season. Oscar Pareja loves tournament play and will certainly do everything he can to win this first match.

What does Orlando City need to do to defeat CF Montreal in the Don Garber Loves Money Cup…er, the Leagues Cup?

Stop the Canucks

Montreal has scored 34 goals in the regular season. However, only four of those goals came in the last five matches. Still, Orlando City seems to have trouble with this Montreal squad no matter where the match is played. As such, I want to see the defense that shut down D.C. United and Nashville SC, not the one that allowed multiple goals against the Chicago Fire.

That means Pareja needs to get the left back position sorted. I know he wants the Rafael Santos of 2023 to show up in 2024. So far, Santos has not found the good form from a year ago. Kyle Smith has been mostly good when he’s gotten time on the left, but he’s not the first choice.

There’s also the matter of David Brekalo. I think that Pareja kept rolling with Rodrigo Schlegel because the Lions went on a run as Brekalo was on international duty. Now, he can re-insert Brekalo in the starting spot since it won’t affect the MLS standings. Whether he does or not is the real question.

Smart Rotation

I mentioned the potential options on the back line, but there are other players who could use a rest, could recover from a knock, or need some additional playing time. Of course, Pareja tends to stick with what is working, so I’m not sure how much rotation we will see to start the match. He can, however, change up how he uses his substitutes.

If Pareja decides to sit Facundo Torres to allow him to be fully healthy, he still has Martin Ojeda playing well. Jeorgio Kocevski has been effective in his limited minutes, making him a good candidate to see some more time, even if he doesn’t start. Competitions like Leagues Cup can allow the team to heal up or rest up before the regular season starts back up.

Revive the Attack

Ramiro Enrique is on a scoring streak. I’m glad he is since Duncan McGuire is with the U.S. Olympic team, but Orlando City needs more. I think the Leagues Cup is a good opportunity to try anything and everything to get Luis Muriel better integrated into the Orlando City attack. He has the talent, but something hasn’t quite clicked yet.

This is also an opportunity for others to contribute some goals. It’s been a bit since Nico Lodeiro scored one. Ojeda could use a banger to get going again, and don’t forget Jack Lynn. Montreal has given up 49 goals in the regular season and has a -15 goal differential. The Lions need to take advantage of such a defense to spark some offensive production.


That is what I will be looking for Friday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 7/25/24

Marta’s legacy, Orlando Pride get ready for Monterrey, U.S. men lose to France in Olympic soccer, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I’m settling back into the swing of things after a weekend trip to Maine that featured so many lobster rolls that I’m pretty sure my veins have more butter than blood in them at this point. All of the soccer going on takes some of the sting out of returning to work at least. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Marta’s Journey to Paris

Orlando Pride and Brazilian star Marta will begin her final international tournament today when Brazil takes on Nigeria this afternoon. Through interviews with the coaches, teammates, and opponents she’s had over the course of her career, ESPN detailed the impact she’s had on soccer. It’s a great feature that I strongly suggest you read in full, as it also touches on the instability of women’s soccer at the club level that she and many others had to battle against. From her teenage years in Brazil to becoming an outspoken ambassador for the sport, there are plenty of great vignettes into her life as a player included as well.

Orlando Pride Prepare for Monterrey

After losing a penalty shootout to the North Carolina Courage in their NWSL x Liga MX Femenil Summer Cup opener, the Orlando Pride will aim to right the ship when they take on Monterrey on Saturday. It’s been over a month since the Pride have played at home, which should give the team a boost while notable players are at the Olympics. None of the Liga MX teams beat an NWSL team in the first round of matches, and Monterrey lost 3-1 to Racing Louisville. Pride Head Coach Seb Hines spoke on how he’s excited to see how the team matches up against a team from outside the NWSL, along with how it will be a good experience for the players.

Checking In With Dennis Chin

As part of the recurring series to put a spotlight on those who have played a part in Orlando City’s history, former Lion Dennis Chin spoke on his time in Orlando during the team’s USL days. It’s been 10 years since Chin played in Orlando, where he scored 32 goals across 103 appearances and won the 2012 USL Pro Golden Boot. His family came to Orlando from Jamaica when he was young, and playing for the club gave him a chance to represent the City Beautiful.

“I felt like an extension of what everyone wanted to be,” he explained. “I felt like I was representing not just myself, but the whole city, my family and everyone. To still have that connection and to still feel that love, it just means the world to me.”

Chin tried his hand at coaching after retirement but stated he didn’t enjoy it, instead choosing to start his own player agency. He’s made strides providing player representation since then, using the lessons he learned from his own career to support players.

U.S. Olympic Men’s Team Loses to France

The United States Men’s Olympic Soccer Team had a rough first game in Paris after losing 3-0 to France. After a scoreless first half, Alexandre Lacazette gave France the lead in the 61st minute and Michael Olise scored another soon after. Orlando City forward Duncan McGuire started up top for the U.S. and was subbed off in the 86th minute, right after Loic Bade scored France’s third goal. The next match for the U.S. will be on Saturday against a New Zealand side that won 2-1 against Guinea. The Yanks will need to be sharper in that match and the group stage finale against Guinea on Tuesday if they want to advance.

MLS All-Stars Fall to Liga MX All-Stars

It was a rough night for the MLS All-Stars, who lost 4-1 to the Liga MX All-Stars in Columbus. Monterrey striker German Berterame got the scoring started in the 16th minute, but Columbus Crew duo Diego Rossi and Cucho Hernandez linked up for an equalizer a minute later. The Liga MX All-Stars scored again before halftime and then put the game to bed with a pair of back-to-back goals in the second half. The MLS All-Stars had their chances to score but lacked a finishing touch and weren’t able to claw their way back into the match. Attention now turns to the Leagues Cup, which kicks off on Friday and will pit MLS and Liga MX teams against each other.

Free Kicks

  • French winger Delphine Cascarino will join the San Diego Wave after the Olympics, signing a contract through the 2026 season. The 27-year-old has been with Lyon since making her professional debut in 2015.
  • An assistant coach and analyst for Canada were both removed from the team and sent home after New Zealand reported Canada for disrupting its Olympic training with a drone. Head Coach Bev Priestman withdrew herself from coaching the match as well.
  • The Olympic match between Argentina and Morocco had to be suspended for two hours due to fans rushing the field to protest a goal deep in stoppage time. What would have been the equalizer from Argentina was disallowed for offside upon video review after the delay, and Morocco went on to win 2-1.
  • American striker Ricardo Pepi scored a hat trick in PSV Eindhoven’s friendly against FC Eindhoven.
  • Konrad de la Fuente is headed to Switzerland after being transferred from Marseille to FC Lausanne. The American has spent the past two seasons on loan, playing for Eibar in Spain’s second division last year.
  • The Belgian Pro League kicks off on Friday and there are some Americans to keep an eye out for, including Owen Otasowie, Mark McKenzie, and Westerlo duo Bryan Reynolds and Julian Placias.

That’s all I have for you today. I hope you all have a great Thursday and rest of your week!

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