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Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC, U.S. Open Cup: Final Score 1-0 as Lions Crash Out of the Competition

The Lions continued to fail miserably at getting the ball on target and to avoid crippling mistakes in their own end.

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12 months ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City will not repeat as U.S. Open Cup champions. The Lions crashed meekly out of the competition in their first match without even getting one lousy shot on target in a 1-0 loss to Charlotte FC at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews, NC. Kamil Jozwiak came off the bench to score the game’s only goal off a costly giveaway deep in his own end by fullback Mikey Halliday.

Three nights after getting just two shots on frame at Montreal, the Lions couldn’t even get one out of 11 attempts within the perimeter of the goal mouth. Charlotte mustered only six attempts all night but got four of them on frame and managed to get one past Mason Stajduhar to pick up the win.

“We came with the highest intentions to defend the cup, and obviously advance, but it was not like that,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “The game was just getting us frustrated with the options that we had to tie it up and just making a mistake that was costly. We couldn’t get the result and we’re very disappointed.”

Pareja ran out a mixed starting XI, including Stajduhar in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Halliday. Cesar Araujo and Felipe played in the central midfield behind an attacking line of Gaston Gonzalez, Facundo Torres, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, with Duncan McGuire up top.

The first half was just about unwatchable from a spectator’s point of view. The game was often plodding, and neither side did much with the ball — especially Orlando. The Lions were content with trying to stay organized and looking for opportunities to counter, but then rarely moved the ball quickly or accurately enough when they regained possession. Meanwhile, the hosts were kicking the ball around a lot but not producing anything from it.

Orlando City’s best opportunity came four minutes in, when Torres slipped Thorhallsson into the area but the Icelandic midfielder took an extra touch and then was dispossessed by the arriving defense without getting a shot off.

The best chance for either side in the first half came at 13 minutes, when McKinze Gaines blew past Santos and fired from a tight angle. Stajduhar was there to make a good reaction save and the ball skipped through the six-yard box and out for a goal kick before any Charlotte attackers could arrive.

Charlotte and Orlando got a bit chippy at times, with Brandt Bronico booked for a heavy challenge on Felipe and Araujo booked for a fairly innocuous arm up on an aerial in the attacking penalty box. Former Lion Justin Meram got into a shoving match with McGuire in the aftermath of the booking but nothing came of what amounted to just a lot of bluster.

Felipe went down with a knock in the 43rd minute and took his shoe off but quickly put it back on and soldiered through to halftime while noticeably limping in order to save his team a substitution window. Wilder Cartagena came on for him after the break.

That was about it for a dull opening 45 minutes.

Charlotte finished the first half with more possession (60.2%-39.8%), passing accuracy (84.3%-80%), and shots on target (1-0), with Orlando earning more corners (3-2), and both teams attempting one shot in the opening 45 minutes. It was not the kind of game you show a friend to get them excited about the game of soccer.

The hosts came out of the locker room swarming to try to grab the lead. Jaylin Lindsey’s cross found Enzo Copetti in front of goal and Stajduhar made the save of the match to get his hand on the powerful header in the opening minute of the second half.

It took Orlando a few minutes of withstanding set pieces and recycled attacking crosses into the area before the Lions could settle into the second 45 minutes. McGuire was nearly sent in behind in the 50th minute but Kristijan Kahlina quickly came out of his box to head the ball away.

McGuire thought he’d scored in the 57th minute but the whistle blew for a foul on the Orlando rookie striker. The play came from another good long ball, as McGuire tried to get to the outside around defender Jan Sobocinski. The Charlotte center back appeared to lose his balance before any contact was made, and McGuire slotted his shot just inside the right post. McGuire did get a hand to Sobocinski’s shoulder, but hardly was able to use the defender as leverage, but that didn’t matter because the ref saw a foul there. It might have made for an interesting video review had there been VAR in the match, although it’s hard to say that there was an error that was clear and obvious (whatever that even means).

The game turned in Charlotte’s favor in the 70th minute on an unnecessary turnover. Halliday tried to head a pass backward but didn’t get any power to it and turned it over to Karol Swiderski. Schlegel tried to put out the fire by fouling Swiderski, but the ball was picked up by Kamil Jozwiak, who beat Araujo to it. Jansson stepped up and got a foot on the ball, but it took an unlucky bounce after the contact, and Jozwiak was suddenly behind the defense with the ball, chipping it over Stajduhar for the opening goal.

“First of all, we have to get rid of the ball and don’t put us in situations like that,” Jansson said. Just kick the ball away and just go for the next ball. I think their striker got it and went to the center of the field. I came in, in the PK box, and I tried to do everything not to cause a penalty but then it bounced back to him — how you say, the feet against the feet — then he luckily got the bounce with him. So yeah, it’s it’s a bad one.”

Orlando City should have pulled the goal right back when Derrick Jones lost control of the ball in front of his own net moments later. The ball found McGuire in front with a ton of space to shoot but he rushed his shot, got his feet all wrong, and missed what should have been an easy sitter in the 72nd minute. Just a minute later, second-half sub Ivan Angulo lifted a cross through the area that should have given fellow substitute Martin Ojeda an easy header at the back post, but the pass was too high.

In the 82nd minute, a long throw from Araujo skipped to the feet of Torres. The Uruguayan fired wide as the inexplicable run of misses continued.

As time wound down, Angulo sent a low shot in that deflected out off of McGuire and moments later the winger fired again but sent his effort sailing over the bar on yet another wasteful attempt.

The final whistle was typical of the game. Kahlina had a goal kick, took nearly 30 seconds setting it up, and the ref blew the whistle at precisely the four minutes of stoppage time he’d given. That was the 2023 U.S. Open Cup as far as Orlando City is concerned.

Orlando finished with more possession (50.5%-49.5%), shots (11-6), and passing accuracy (80.8%-79.5%). Both teams won four corners. But the telling statistic was shots on target, where Charlotte held a 4-0 advantage, and once again the Lions are left wondering how they can at least worry a goalkeeper once in a while.

“It’s a frustrating one and yeah, it has to be better than that,” Jansson said of the team’s performance.

“At this point it is difficult with a speech to fix the things,” Pareja said when asked what he told his team after the match. “I think we have to absorb it. We are a professional soccer club and we are professionals that need to think first. We need to calm down. We have a turnaround pretty quick. We have a game in three days, and if you want it or not, we have to rescue all the good things that we had in the game.”

The Lions will continue their road trip after a brief stop home, visiting the Columbus Crew on Saturday night.

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Lion Links: 5/7/24

Barbra Banda up for NWSL Goal of the Week, Americans in midweek action, Champions League preview, and more.

Published

4 hours ago

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May 7, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Tuesday, everyone. It was a mixed bag for Orlando’s teams over the weekend, as Orlando City B drew 1-1 with Chattanooga FC and lost the subsequent shootout, Orlando City lost 1-0 to FC Cincinnati, and the Orlando Pride won 1-0 over Racing Louisville. As usual, we have a lot to talk through this morning, so let’s dig into the links.

Barbra Banda Up for Goal of the Week

Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda has been nominated for the NWSL Goal of the Week for her strike in the 77th minute against the North Carolina Courage last Wednesday. Banda controlled the ball off a throw-in, turned, and drove across the box before slotting a low shot past Casey Murphy for the Pride’s fourth and final goal of the game. She scored twice in that game and scored again in Sunday’s win over Racing Louisville. Banda now has four goals in four games — including at least one in each of her three starts since appearing off the bench in her debut — and shows no sign of slowing down. Make sure you go vote for her to win this week’s award!

Americans in Midweek Action

As usual, there are a number of Americans playing games this week, so make sure you mark down any that you want to tune in for. Wednesday has Brandon Vazquez and Monterrey traveling to El Volcan to take on Tigres in the quarterfinals of the Clausura. Moving to Friday, Tanner Tessmann, Gianluca Busio, and Venezia have a chance to gain promotion to Serie A if they beat Spezia and Como loses. On the other side of things, former Lion Nicholas Gioacchini and Como play Cosenza, and will secure automatic promotion as long as they don’t have a worse result than Venezia.

UEFA Champions League Preview

The UEFA Champions League continues this week with the second legs of the two semifinal matchups. In this afternoon’s game, Paris Saint-Germain coach Luis Enrique has said that even Kylian Mbappe will have to work hard defensively if his team is going to progress to the final. Borussia Dortmund leads that tie 1-0, and will need to rely on a defense that has kept five clean sheets in this year’s tournament. However, the German club has a concerning record away from home, where it has lost nine of its last 11 games. In tomorrow’s game between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, this season’s La Liga winner will hope its finishing prowess continues from the first leg, when it turned two chances into two goals.

European Transfer Rumor Roundup

With European seasons drawing to a close, the transfer rumor mill is starting to heat up, which means there are several items worth discussing today. First, Manchester United will reportedly face competition to sign Crystal Palace star Michael Olise. Chelsea and PSG are said to also be interested in signing the Frenchman, who was instrumental in his side’s 4-0 drubbing of the Red Devils yesterday. Staying in the Premier League, Virgil van Dijk has said he intends to be part of the transition following Jurgen Klopp’s departure from Liverpool, confirming that he does not intend to leave in the summer. Elsewhere, Bayern Munich is said to have agreed to personal terms with AC Milan’s Theo Hernandez. David Moyes has confirmed he will leave West Ham at the end of the season, with reports suggesting that the Hammers have reached an agreement with Julen Lopetegui to be the team’s new manager.

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That’s all I have for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City

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

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s home loss to FC Cincinnati?

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1 day ago

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May 6, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City dropped yet another match at home, this time to FC Cincinnati. Despite the 1-0 loss, a couple of red card, and the all-too-familiar lack of finishing, the Lions played pretty well. Orlando City continues to give up early goals and to not be able to find the back of the net. However, the Lions do create opportunities and are usually in the match despite recent results.

Here’s how I saw the individual performances for the Lions in this injury-riddled and heartbreaking loss.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6 — Gallese didn’t have much chance on the goal and otherwise had a decent night, making the saves on Cincinnati’s other two shots on goal. There were some scary moments when he found himself outside of the box on occasion, but he acquitted himself well. Apart from his goalkeeping, Gallese completed 70.6% of his 17 passes, including four of his nine long balls.

D, Rafael Santos, 6 — Santos was active in his time on the field. He had 44 touches, completing 75.9% of his 29 passes, including one of his two long balls. Santos completed one of his five crosses, and made a key pass. He took one shot but it was not on target as it was blocked. Defensively, Santos recorded two tackles and one interception. He made an extremely good recovery run to stop the counter attack in the 49th minute but dislocated his right shoulder in the process. That ended his night as he came off for Nico Lodeiro in the 51st minute.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 4 — Schlegel had a short night due to a red card in the 23rd minute on a foul committed in the 20th minute. Originally, the referee ruled it a fair challenge, but after looking again, Ismail Elfath gave the red card for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity, which was fair. He misplayed the pass that allowed Yuya Kubo to steal it at full speed and go one-on-one with Gallese, leading to the foul. He may have kept Acosta onside on the Cincinnati goal and was also beaten by Acosta in the box. He only had 14 touches in the game and completed all of his 13 passes, including both long ball attempts. Schlegel did not record a defensive stat.

D, Robin Jansson, 6 — Jansson was mostly his usual good self this game. There was some fun to watch gamesmanship with Matt Miazga during Orlando City’s early corner kick attempts. He tied Cesar Araujo with a team-high 61 touches and completed 80% of his team-high 50 passes, including three of nine long balls. Defensively, he matched Dagur Dan Thorhallsson’s team-leading four tackles, while also adding an interception, a clearance, and a yellow card. He did get caught flat-footed on the goal by Acosta, but he wasn’t the only one.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 6.5 — Thorhallsson once again got the start at right back and had a really good night up until he had to leave the match with a concussion in first-half stoppage time. He picked up the knock when he blocked the free kick Schlegel allowed in the 24th minute with his noggin. Thorhallsson was good at being in the right place at the right time to keep Cincinnati from going forward on his side of the pitch. He recorded 23 touches, completing 69.2% of his 13 passes, but didn’t connect on either his one attempted long ball or his one attempted cross. Defensively, he made four tackles, and blocked one shot. It’s a shame that he had to go off.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6 — Araujo had a solid performance against FC Cincinnati, recording 61 touches. He completed 87.2% of his 39 passes, including three of his five long balls, and took two shots. Defensively, he added two tackles, and an interception. Araujo was his usual frustrating self for the opposition, drawing nine fouls. His free kick attempt — which he earned — went into the wall, but he did recover it as well. His second shot was well taken but deflected wide.

MF, Wilder Cartagena, 6.5 — Cartagena was almost the hero of the match. His shot in the fifth minute off of Martin Ojeda’s corner kick went off the crossbar, and his rocket of a shot in the 67th minute went in, but was waved off because Facundo Torres was offside. He tracked back to try to prevent Acosta’s goal in the first minute, but the Cincinnati star did well to cut back inside when Cartagena committed to blocking the shot or cross. Otherwise, Cartagena had a pretty good match. He had the fourth most touches with 54. He matched Araujo, completing 87.2% of his 39 passes, including six of his nine long balls. He also had two key passes and the aforementioned shot. Defensively, he added one tackle, two clearances, and one interception. He also earned one yellow card.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 7 (MotM) — Angulo was active in the match, roaming where he was needed, hounding Cincinnati defensively, and being an integral part of the attack. He had 60 touches and completed 82.4% of his 34 passes, including two key passes. He completed one of his three cross attempts, had three dribbles and drew four fouls. His lone shot was on target but it was blocked by the defense after he rounded the keeper. Defensively, he made three tackles. He made the necessary switch to a more defensive posture after Schlegel’s red card, but was still a good attacking threat from the left wingback position.

MF, Facundo Torres, 5.5 — Torres wasn’t as much of a factor as he needs to be for Orlando City. He recorded 51 touches while completing 75.9% of his 29 passes. He did not connect on any of his five crosses, nor his three long balls. He had one dribble and one tackle. He made way for Luis Muriel in the 70th minute.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 6 — Ojeda was sacrificed for defense in the 27th minute after Schlegel’s departure. He only had 13 touches in his limited minutes but completed 83.3% of his six passes, including a successful long ball. Despite the limited minutes, Ojeda completed two of his five crosses and contributed a key pass.

F, Duncan McGuire, 6 — McGuire continues to show that despite all the botched trade shenanigans before the season, he wants to prove he’s a team player and a quality striker. He touched the ball 25 times and completed 77.8% of his 18 passes. Unfortunately, his one shot was not on target. Defensively, he made a clearance, and while he was the outlet player when the team went down to 10 men, he still came back to help on defense.

Substitutes

D, David Brekalo (28’), 6 — Brekalo came on in the 28th minute for Ojeda, but he really came on to replace Schlegel. He had 33 touches and completed 80.8% of his 26 passes, though he did not complete either of his two long balls. Defensively, he had one interception, one clearance, and one blocked shot. He had one decent run into the attack, although ultimately it came to nothing.

D, Michael Halliday (45’+ 4), 5.5 — Initially, it looked like Oscar Pareja would bring on Kyle Smith for the injured Thorhallsson, but instead it was Halliday. The youngster hasn’t had many minutes this season and defensively the rust showed. Halliday recorded 33 touches, completing 80% of his 15 passes, including both of his long balls. He attempted a cross but it didn’t connect. He also had a shot on goal, but it was deflected. Defensively, he had one tackle, one interception, and committed two fouls. One of those resulted in a yellow card for his foul on Kevin Kelsey. He put himself in dangerous positions repeatedly but simply couldn’t finish the play.

MF, Nico Lodeiro (52’), 6 — When Santos went off injured, Pareja brought on Lodeiro to bolster the midfield and, hopefully, the attack. He touched the ball 26 times and completed 78.6% of his 14 passes and his only long ball. The veteran also connected on two of his four crosses, and his late header nearly leveled the match, but keeper Roman Celentano got a paw on it to keep it out. Defensively, Lodeiro contributed a tackle.

F, Luis Muriel (70’), 5.5 — Muriel came on for Torres, playing under McGuire as Orlando City pushed for the equalizer. He only managed 12 touches and completed 44.4% of his nine passes, with one unsuccessful long ball attempt. He did have one dribble and drew a foul in a dangerous area but didn’t take any shots in the match.

That’s how I saw the performances for Orlando City in its 1-0 loss to FC Cincinnati Saturday night. Let us know how you saw the game and vote for your Man of the Match below.

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Lion Links: 5/6/24

Lions lose at home, Orlando Pride win, OCB draws Chattanooga FC, and more.

Published

1 day ago

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May 6, 2024

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers. I hope all is well with you down in Florida. It was another mixed weekend for our teams as the Lions lost, the Pride won, and OCB drew. As for me, I’ve been busy managing the broadcast operations for the NISA league’s matches this weekend and also got a chance to cover high school soccer, softball, and badminton. There is plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Lose at Home to FC Cincinnati

Orlando City lost at home for the second straight weekend with a 1-0 defeat to FC Cincinnati at Inter&Co Stadium on Saturday. Luciano Acosta scored the lone goal for Cincinnati just seconds into the match. Orlando City went down to 10 men when defender Rodrigo Schlegel received a red card in the first half. The Lions had some chances to get back in this one, including a free kick opportunity in the second half when Wilder Cartagena scored what would have been the equalizer, but Facundo Torres was ruled offside, and the goal was waved off. Cincinnati also dropped to 10 men late in the second half as defender Bret Halsey received his second yellow for a foul on Ivan Angulo and knocked the ball out to waste time. Still, FC Cincinnati found a way to hang on for the victory, securing its third win in a row. Orlando City will look to rebound on Saturday as it takes on the Philadelphia Union at Suburu Park.  

Orlando Pride Win at Home Against Racing Louisville FC

The Orlando Pride defeated Racing Louisville FC on Sunday, 1-0, at Inter&Co Stadium, winning their fifth straight game. Barbra Banda scored the lone goal of the match and now has four goals for the Pride this season. The Pride remain undefeated in league play, keeping their unbeaten streak alive at eight matches (5-0-3). Orlando also moved up to first in the NWSL table with 18 points. The Pride will be back home on Saturday to face Bay FC. 

OCB Draws Chattanooga FC

Orlando City B drew 1-1 on the road against Chattanooga FC on Saturday. The Young Lions trailed early in the first half as Mehdi Ouamri put Chattanooga FC in front 1-0. Later in the first half, OCB got an equalizer, with forward Shak Mohammed finding the back of the net to score his second goal of the season. The match went to penalties after 90 minutes of action, where Chattanooga FC won the extra point with a 5-4 win over OCB. Despite not getting the extra point in penalties, the Young Lions still keep their road unbeaten streak alive at five. OCB will have a quick turnaround with its next match at Osceola County Stadium on Wednesday against New York Red Bulls II.

European Soccer Roundup

Real Madrid clinched the La Liga title on Saturday, defeating Cadiz 3-0, while their rivals Barcelona dropped points in a 4-2 loss to Girona over the weekend. Madrid has now won La Liga for the 36th time and still has a shot of adding another trophy if it gets past Bayern Munich in the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday to reach the final next month. Elsewhere, we had plenty of drama in England. Let’s start in the EFL Championship, where Ipswich Town joined Leicester City, getting promoted to the Premier League after a 2-0 victory against Huddersfield Town. Leeds United, Southhampton, West Brom, and Norwich City will go to the playoffs to determine the third club to secure promotion. Arsenal won 3-0 over Bournemouth, while Manchester City cruised to a 5-1 win over Wolves to keep the EPL title race tight. Arsenal is in first with 83 points, with two matches remaining, while Manchester City is just behind in second with 82 points and three matches left to play.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando Pride midfielder Ally Lemos gave insight on her first NWSL start for the Pride after their match against Racing Louisville FC on Sunday.
  • PSV Eindhoven clinched the Eredivisie title on Sunday with a 4-2 win over Sparta Rotterdam. American Malik Tillman played for 90 minutes, while Ricardo Pepi came off the bench and added an assist. 
  • USMNT midfielder Christian Pulisic put on a solid performance and contributed an assist for AC Milan in a 3-3 draw against Genoa on Saturday.
  • USWNT forward Catarina Macario came off the bench for Chelsea in the second half and made WSL history by adding two assists in 10 minutes in an 8-0 win over Bristol City.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday and I’ll see you next time.

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