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Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The road trip continues and the Lions will look to stop the bleeding against a tough Columbus side.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (4-4-2, 14 points) and the Columbus Crew (4-4-2, 14 points) at Lower.com Field (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+). This is the first of the two scheduled meetings between the two Eastern Conference rivals in 2023, with the Crew making the return trip to Orlando on Saturday, Sept. 16.

Here’s what you need to know about the match.

History

The Lions are 8-6-3 in the all-time league series and 6-2-2 at home. Orlando City also has a home U.S. Open Cup win back in 2015 against the Crew for a 9-6-3 overall mark in all competitions (7-2-2 at home).

These teams last met on Decision Day 2022, with Orlando City erasing a 1-0 deficit on a Derrick Etienne Jr. goal to win, 2-1, and clinch a playoff spot. Junior Urso leveled the game in the second half and Facundo Torres struck from the penalty spot late. The last meeting in Columbus took place on April 16, 2022, with the Lions winning 2-0 on goals by Rodrigo Schlegel and Ercan Kara.

The 2021 season series concluded on Oct. 27 in Columbus with the Crew winning 3-2. Columbus had lost five straight to Orlando prior to Lucas Zelarayan’s one-goal, two-assist performance. Miguel Berry and Etienne also scored for the Crew. Daryl Dike pulled a goal back from the spot and Robin Jansson struck late but it wasn’t enough.

The teams met at Exploria Stadium on Sept. 4, 2021, when the Lions won, 3-2. Orlando was cruising and built a 2-0 lead on goals by Dike and Silvester van der Water, but a bizarre own goal by Antonio Carlos threw the Crew a lifeline, and a Berry equalizer turned the game around. Urso provided the winner in the 69th minute.

City won the only meeting of 2020 when the 10-man Lions got a late Benji Michel goal to defeat the Crew 2-1 on Nov. 4. Chris Mueller gave Orlando the lead in that game but Harrison Afful was able to equalize just moments after referee Ramy Touchan had sent off Nani on a ludicrous call that was overturned by the MLS independent panel a few days later. Thanks to Michel’s goal, the officiating error didn’t end up costing the Lions, who clinched their first-ever MLS playoff spot with the win.

The Lions swept the season series in 2019, defeating the Crew 1-0 on a Michel goal on July 13, 2019, and two weeks previously getting their first road win in the series, 2-0. Nani assisted on goals by Mueller and Tesho Akindele in that one.

Orlando won 2-1 on Oct. 21, 2018 to start a five-game winning streak against the Crew on a pair of penalty kick goals. Yoshimar Yotún and Sacha Kljestan provided the spot kicks to offset Federico Higuain’s opening goal.

The last Crew win in the series prior to the Orlando winning streak was assisted by a horror call by Silviu Petrescu in the 88th minute on July 21, 2018, giving Columbus an equalizer from the penalty spot. Wil Trapp then scored the kind of goal in stoppage time that he’ll probably never score again to lift the Crew to a 3-2 victory in a game the Lions had stolen away from them on a call that Petrescu’s own organization said was an error.

Columbus got the better of Orlando in 2017, going 2-0-1. The Lions were 0-1-1 against Columbus in 2016 and 1-1-1 in the series in 2015.

Match Overview

Orlando City enters this match on a two-game losing streak in all competitions and without scoring a goal in either of them. The Lions lost 1-0 Tuesday in Charlotte in U.S. Open Cup action, staying on the road after last weekend’s 2-0 loss at CF Montreal. Both games could have gone either way but the inexplicable power outage of Orlando’s attack goes on. The team has a combined 24 shot attempts in the last two games and has put just two of them on frame — both by Kara.

The Lions are 2-1-1 on the road in league play this season after last Saturday’s loss, and 2-2-2 in all competitions away from Exploria Stadium.

Columbus enters tonight having lost two straight games as well, and the Crew are winless in three matches overall (0-2-1) in league play. The Crew did win its U.S. Open Cup third-round game during that stretch, back on April 26, squeaking past Indy Eleven, 1-0. Columbus is 3-1-1 at home this season, but that loss and the draw were in the most recent two matches — a 2-1 loss to Inter Miami and a 1-1 draw against New England.

The Crew are now coached by former CF Montreal manager Wilfried Nancy and they’ll try to play the way Montreal did under him. Expect a three-man back line with solid defensive positioning and an opportunistic attack that can win the ball in dangerous areas and exploit transition opportunities. Lucas Zelarayan and Cucho Hernandez are obvious threats but midfielder Aidan Morris has joined them as an attacking presence in 2023.

“They play with a defense of three, very aggressive wingbacks, and with three attacking players that have very technical characteristics and a lot of mobility,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said about tonight’s opponents. “A team who at home is very built on going forward, going forward, putting a lot of guys in the box, and (creating) a lot of problems defensively. They score goals. That’s pretty much what Columbus is. (This is) a game that needs a lot of concentration from us, but a lot of ambition as well. We need to go there with the mentality of ‘go win it.’ It’s a game against a tough rival, against a very aggressive rival, but we’re good. They need to be worried about us, too.”

Orlando City will be without Luca Petrasso (thigh), while Mauricio Pereyra (thigh) has been upgraded to questionable, a designation he shares with Felipe (lower leg). Columbus will be without Milos Degenek (ankle), Luis Diaz (back), Kevin Molino (knee), Eloy Room (knee), Will Sands (knee), and Josh Williams (ankle). Steven Moreira (thigh) is listed as questionable.

Match Content


Official Lineups:

Orlando City (3-4-2-1)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: Rodrigo Schlegel, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos.

Wingbacks / Central Midfielders: Gaston Gonzalez, Cesar Araujo, Wilder Cartagena, Ivan Angulo.

Attacking Midfielders: Martin Ojeda, Facundo Torres.

Forward: Ercan Kara.

Bench: Mason Stajduhar, Kyle Smith, Michael Halliday, Rafael Santos, Abdi Salim, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Shakur Mohammed, Ramiro Enrique, Duncan McGuire.

Columbus Crew (3-4-3)

Goalkeeper: Patrick Schulte.

Defenders: Gustavo Vallencilla, Philip Quinton, Steven Moreria.

Wingbacks / Central Midfielders: Yaw Yeboah, Darlington Nagbe, Aidan Morris, Mohamed Farsi.

Forwards: Jacen Russell-Rowe, Cucho Hernandez, Alexandru Matan.

Bench: Evan Bush, Jimmy Medranda, Malte Amundsen, Keegan Hughes, Sean Zawadski, Jake Morris, Isaiah Parente, Maximilian Arfsten, Christian Ramirez.

Referees

REF: Drew Fischer.
AR1: Kathryn Nesbitt.
AR2: Chantal Boudreau.
4TH: Brian Dunn.
VAR: Armando Villarreal.
AVAR: Tom Supple.


How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Lower.com Field — Columbus, OH.

TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+

Radio: 96.9 FM The Game (English), Acción 97.9 FM, 810 AM (Spanish).

Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow along at @TheManeLand, as well as Orlando City’s official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC).


Enjoy the match. Go City!

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New York Red Bulls: Three Keys to Victory

What does Orlando City need to do to earn a second victory in a row at home this Saturday?

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City is coming off its first win of the MLS regular season and will look to carry that momentum into Saturday night’s Eastern Conference matchup against the New York Red Bulls. The Lions will have several players back from international duty, making Oscar Pareja’s job a bit easier, although some of them will be on short rest. What does Orlando City need to do to earn all three points against the Red Bulls?

Stop Morgan

Lewis Morgan has been on a tear this season with five goals in five matches. That is more than every Orlando City player combined so far this season. The Red Bulls were held scoreless in two matches, meaning those five goals have come in three matches, with Morgan scoring a hat trick against Inter Miami. I love that he took it to the Herons like that, but I’m going to need him to cool off a bit against the Lions.

If Orlando City is to stop Morgan it will take excellent defending from the Lions’ back line and of course Pedro Gallese, who is returning from international duty. Orlando City also gets Wilder Cartagena and David Brekalo back, meaning more of the first choice lineup will be available to keep a clean sheet. With the match at home, earning a clean sheet is all the more important.

Proper Rest and Preperation

It might seem silly to say, but having more than a few days between matches is conducive to earning points. When Orlando City was participating in the Concacaf Champions Cup, the Lions never had time to properly recover or train with a game plan for the next match. Now, the Lions are able to do so, and the result against Austin FC reflects that.

Pareja is a top level MLS coach. We know that he has a plan for about the first 20 minutes of any match, and then makes adjustments throughout the remainder of the match. Even so, many of those adjustments have been planned out prior to the match. That, paired with a more rested roster, allows the Lions to be the protagonists Pareja wants them to be.

Shots, Shots, Shots

Orlando City was able to create plenty of chances against Austin FC, and will need to do so again against the Red Bulls. The Lions took 22 shots Saturday night, with eight on target, and they put two in the back of the net against Austin. Hopefully, Orlando City can be more efficient going forward, but if you don’t create opportunities, you won’t score.

The Red Bulls have some decent defenders who Orlando City will have to deal with, including fullback John Tolkin and Carlos Coronel at keeper. If the Lions can pass even close to the way they did against Austin, the opportunities will come, and if that is the case, hopefully the goals will come. Orlando City still has a sizable goal deficit, thanks to the early part of the season, that can only be corrected with more goals on the other end.


That is what I will be looking for this Saturday night at Inter&Co Stadium. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 3/28/24

Getting to know Rafael Santos, Orlando Pride prepare for Chicago, Midge Purce out for the season, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I hope the work week has been treating you well as we gear up for another weekend of soccer. March flew by for me and April is shaping up to be a pretty busy month as well. In other news, I’m looking into adopting a cat and gathering the supplies to make that happen. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Getting to Know Rafael Santos

Orlando City left back Rafael Santos was the latest Lion to field questions as part of the club’s video series for fans to learn more about its players. The 26-year-old spoke about the decision process behind joining Orlando and playing outside of Brazil for the first time in his career after five years with Cruzeiro. He’s brought his attack-minded style of play to the team, particularly in terms of providing lethal crossing from the wing. Make sure to check out the full video as Santos also shared photos of his newborn and showcased his skill with a cavaquinho.

Orlando Pride Prepare to Host Chicago

After a pair of draws to start their season, the Orlando Pride will have a chance to claim their first win of the season when they host the Chicago Red Stars tomorrow night at 6 p.m. Head Coach Seb Hines spoke about how the Pride have shown plenty of resilience so far this young season. The team managed to secure a point in last week’s 1-1 draw with Angel City FC despite a patchwork back line due to injuries. That defense will likely have its hands full against Mallory Swanson and a Chicago team that won both of its first two games. Hines spoke about how the Pride are preparing for Chicago and how they will need the home crowd to bring the support tomorrow night.

Sophia Smith Signs Record-Breaking New Deal

American forward Sophia Smith signed a new contract with the Portland Thorns that will make her the highest-paid NWSL player, according to the club. The new deal will last through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026 as well. The 23-year-old was drafted by the Thorns with the first overall pick in the 2020 NWSL Draft and has gone on to score 34 regular-season goals. Smith re-signed with the club in 2022 and was set to become a free agent following this season, but will instead stay in Portland.

Midge Purce Out for NWSL Season

NJ/NY Gotham FC forward Midge Purce will miss the remainder of the NWSL season after tearing her ACL. The 28-year-old will undergo surgery and suffered the injury in her team’s 1-0 victory over the Portland Thorns this past weekend. She’s been with Gotham since 2020 and assisted on both goals in her team’s 2-1 win in the 2023 NWSL Championship. It’s a tough blow for the United States Women’s National Team too, as she will not be representing the U.S. during this summer’s Olympics in France.

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  • Orlando City B’s match against Carolina Core FC on April 14 has been rescheduled.

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

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 3/27/24

Bally Sports will broadcast Orlando Pride matches, Pride players called up, USWNT announces SheBelieves Cup roster, and more.

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Hello, Mane Landers. I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I attended my friend’s wedding this past weekend and have been getting myself back into work mode by covering high school tennis this week. There is plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Bally Sports Will Broadcast Select Orlando Pride Matches

Bally Sports was announced as the new local television partner for the Orlando Pride. There will be 13 select Pride matches broadcast this season across Bally Sports Florida, Bally Sports Sun, and on the Bally Sports app. The partnership will begin this Friday, with the Orlando Soccer Insider show taking place before the kickoff of the Pride’s home match against the Chicago Red Stars at 7 p.m. The show will be broadcast on Bally Sports Florida, and then you can switch to the Bally Sports app to watch Friday’s match. Below are all the select matches that will be broadcast on Bally Sports this season.

Brazilian Orlando Pride Players Called Up

The Orlando Pride’s Marta, Angelina, and Luana were all called up by Brazil for next month’s SheBelieves Cup. Brazil heads into this tournament after a solid showing in the Concacaf W Gold Cup. The format is different for this year’s SheBelieves Cup, as there will only be four matches instead of six. Brazil’s first match of the tournament will be a semifinal on April 6 against Canada in Atlanta.

USWNT Announces Roster for SheBelieves Cup

United States Women’s National Team interim head coach Twila Kilgore announced the 23-player roster for the 2024 SheBelieves Cup matches next month. The USWNT has won this competition four consecutive times since 2020, and is going for a seventh title in 2024. Of those called up, 19 players on this squad were part of the team that won the Concacaf W Gold Cup earlier this month. San Diego Wave forward Jaedyn Shaw, the Concacaf W Gold Cup’s MVP, is back on the roster after she led the USWNT with four goals. The squad also includes familiar names like former Pride forward Alex Morgan, Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman, and Olympique Lyon midfielder Lindsey Horan. Mallory Swanson and Catarina Macario return to the squad after being sidelined with injuries. The USWNT will begin its quest to defend its SheBelieves Cup title when it faces Japan on April 6 in Atlanta.

MLS Referees Agree to New CBA

After a lockout that resulted in Major League Soccer starting the season with replacement referees, the Professional Soccer Referees Association voted to ratify a new collective bargaining agreement with the Professional Referee Organization. The new CBA is a seven-year deal that runs through January of 2031. This deal will also include significant pay raises for referees, assistant referees, and video assistant referees. The PRO referees will return to the pitch for this weekend’s MLS matches.

Ukraine, Georgia, and Poland Qualify for Euro 2024

Ukraine has qualified for this summer’s Euros after edging out Iceland 2-1 in its playoff final, with Mykhaylo Mudryk scoring the winning goal in the second half. Georgia eliminated Greece 4-2 on penalties after a 2-2 draw to book a spot in the tournament as well. Georgia qualifies for its first major tournament after coming up short in 2020. Poland also needed penalties to qualify, with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny making the final save against Daniel James to beat Wales 5-4 on penalties after a scoreless draw.

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

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