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Orlando City vs. Colorado Rapids: Final Score 2-0 as Lions Extend Unbeaten Run to Six Games

Facundo Torres and Ramiro Enrique scored and the Rapids had two men sent off in an eventful match.

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1 year ago

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Facundo Torres and Ramiro Enrique scored and the Rapids had two men sent off as the Lions beat Colorado 2-0 in front of an announced crowd of 18, 711 at Exploria Stadium. Orlando City (7-4-5, 26 points) posted consecutive wins for the first time in 2023 and extended their unbeaten streak to six games (3-0-3) with the victory over the Rapids (2-9-7, 13 points).

Orlando improved to 4-0-0 at home in the all-time series and 5-1-2 overall.

“We’re very pleased and excited just to get three points in front of our fans,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “That was something that we had in our mind today — winning at home and just getting that confidence back. It’s not an easy job. I think we’re going to increase it for sure with time, but today it was very necessary to get this win and performance.”

Pareja’s starting lineup remained unchanged, with Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena played in the central midfield behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Torres, with Ercan Kara up top.

The match was delayed about 50 minutes due to inclement weather and whether it was the delay or the wet pitch, Orlando’s passing was not sharp throughout the opening half. And when the passes did arrive as intended, they weren’t handled cleanly.

The Lions started brightly, winning a corner kick just 19 seconds into the game, but the Rapids handled Orlando’s crosses well and even some dangerous-looking balls into the area never reached the target. Torres took a pass near the penalty spot in the eighth minute, turned, and fired a shot but hit his effort right at Colorado goalkeeper Marko Ilic.

Two minutes later, Cartagena sent too soft a back pass and it was picked off, but Jansson made a great open-field tackle to snuff out Colorado’s transition opportunity.

Kara headed just over the bar in the 12th minute after getting onto a good cross from Santos.

Cole Bassett took a shot from distance that was right at Gallese in the 14th minute and Colorado started to grow into the match, earning some set pieces and a yellow card on Carlos for a foul on Kevin Cabral. Carlos will miss the next match due to yellow card accumulation.

The game took a turn in the 39th minute when Braian Galvan caught Angulo with a high boot, studs first, and he was sent off.

Orlando’s best chance of the half came in stoppage time when Smith sent a cross into the box and Pereyra directed it on goal but again the shot was straight at the goalkeeper.

Orlando City finished the half with more possession (59.7%-40.3%), shots (7-2), shots on target (2-1), and passing accuracy (85.3%-79.4%). Both teams won two corners.

Pareja made a couple of changes at the break, replacing Carlos with Rodrigo Schlegel and Cartagena with Martin Ojeda. He said the defensive change was to protect Carlos due to him being on the yellow, while Ojeda’s introduction was a tactical change to move Pereyra deeper and add a forward against the shorthanded Rapids.

Those changes paid dividends, as Schlegel made three outstanding open-field tackles in his 45 minutes of work, and Enrique provided the knockout blow late in the game.

The Lions came out on the front foot in the second half, looking to take advantage of their man advantage. Kara tried to flick a cross inside the back post just after the restart but didn’t get enough of the ball and it skipped wide in the 47th minute.

After a couple of dangerous crosses fizzed through the six-yard box in the 55th minute, just needing a touch but not getting one, the Lions finally opened the scoring. Pereyra sent the ball to Torres near the top of the area. The Uruguayan international smashed a shot that deflected off defender Andreas Maxsø and in to make it 1-0 in the 56th minute. It was Torres’ team-leading fifth goal of the MLS season and his third in two matches.

“I see much more conviction of him,” Pareja said of Torres, who has three goals and two assists in the last two matches. “The responsibility that these young guys have on their shoulders, and knowing that when we don’t score goals, everybody looks at them, and they feel it, right? But they kept working and Facundo has been outstanding in the last few games, especially because scoring is obviously what we need the most. So, happy for Facu and hopefully we can keep increasing from everybody that part that we’re looking for, just being more lethal.”

Torres got to the end line in the 65th minute and cut back a pass to Kara at the near post, but the Austrian had no room to squeeze his shot between Ilic and the post and his attempt went wide anyway. Three minutes later, Angulo worked his way from the left and fired a shot but Lalas Abubakar deflected it and it popped up gently for an easy catch by Ilic.

Torres nearly had a brace in the 71st minute. He fired a shot from the top of the box that sizzled just wide of the right post after taking a slight deflection. The Lions couldn’t do anything with the ensuing corner.

The Rapids went down another man in the 75th minute. Abubakar, who was booked early in the match, was beaten by Angulo about 35 yards out from goal. The big defender grabbed Angulo and brought him down to prevent a transition opportunity, despite having decent coverage behind him. Referee Rosendo Mendoza showed him a second yellow and Colorado was down to nine men.

“For us, it’s more pressure (being up a man or two), because we know that we were leading the game, and we have one more player and then two,” Pereyra said. “We know we cannot concede a goal, but that’s our responsiblity.”

Pareja bolstered his attack moments later by bringing on Enrique for Smith, moving Angulo to right back against the outnumbered Rapids.

Pereyra nearly put the game away in the 81st, smashing a shot from outside the area that was headed for the upper left corner. Ilic made an outstanding save to tip it wide of his post.

The insurance goal came only two minutes later. Araujo brought the ball up through the middle and sent it wide to Torres on the right. Torres dribbled toward the corner of the box and with Kara dragging defenders toward the six-yard box, the Uruguayan found Enrique at the top of the area. Enrique took a step to his right to improve his angle and fired a blast into the bottom right corner. The Lions led 2-0 in the 83rd minute.

Enrique called the goal “a great moment.”

“Facu was out on the wing with the ball and we were just trying to bring into the area,” Enrique said through a club interpreter. “I saw the forwards go up and take the focus of the center backs, so I just kind of dropped back and hoped that Facu was going to play the ball there. And thankfully he did, and I hit it, and thankfully it went in, and just a lot of joy in that moment for it to finally come.”

The game started to open up unexpectedly after the second goal. Colorado fashioned a chance to pull back a goal in the 85th minute, getting the ball in front of goal but the defense deflected the ball out for a Rapids corner. Kara tried a shot from distance in the 87th that didn’t miss the left post by much and had Ilic diving on the play. Gallese made a save a minute later on Darren Yapi to preserve the shutout.

From there, the Lions saw out the match. Pareja subbed Alejandro Granados on late for his first MLS appearance. The OCB midfielder was signed Friday to a short-term agreement and in just a few minutes on the pitch managed nine touches, a shot attempt (which was blocked), and completed six of his seven pass attempts.

Orlando City had 70% of the second-half possession to finish with the advantage (65%-35%). The Lions also had more shot attempts (15-4), shots on goal (6-2), corners (5-3), and passing accuracy (89.4%-81.5%).

Gallese kept a clean sheet in his 100th game with Orlando City across all competitions. About the only thing that went wrong in the second half was Smith picking up a yellow card and he’ll be suspended for accumulation for the next match.

“The second half we could have been probably more aggressive, but the boys were were cautious about just closing the game,” Pareja said. “And this is something that we carry on our shoulders, and I understand that. Even me. We needed to win today and that happened, so we’re happy. We’ll keep increasing and getting our performances better. That’s what we’re aiming for.”

The Lions will head north next Saturday to face the New England Revolution for the first time this season. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

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Orlando City

How Orlando City’s Offense Stacks Up Against What Atlanta Does Defensively

How Orlando City has performed against teams playing with three or four defenders, and how that may influence the playoff game against Atlanta United.

Published

17 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The most famous quote about real estate is that “there are three things that matter in property: location, location, location.” Soccer coaches also like to think in threes, especially when it comes to points, but for a soccer coach, the three things that matter might be the rhyming triplet “formation, formation, formation,” as that is where they will have the biggest influence on every game that their team plays.

Throughout his tenure as head coach, Óscar Pareja has preferred to use a 4-2-3-1 as his formation (fbref.com’s lineup data shows that the Lions primarily played a 4-2-3-1 in 65% of their MLS matches this season, and 79% of their MLS matches during the last three seasons). The Lions have lined up in a 4-2-3-1 during each of their last 14 games, and my confidence level is strong to quite strong (can you believe Meet the Parents came out 24 years ago?) that they will do so once again on Sunday when they host Atlanta United.

Atlanta United also prefers to deploy a 4-2-3-1, but was less consistent than Orlando City this season during MLS play, as evidenced by the chart below that shows how Atlanta lined up this season:

The purpose of this image is a table to show how Atlanta United lined up in 2024 (mostly in a 4-2-3-1 but also in one of six other formations).

I am relying on the coders at Opta for their evaluation of the formation, as I do not watch a lot of Atlanta United matches (sounds terrible), but though Atlanta primarily played with four defenders in more than two-thirds of its matches, during the last two matches it played a 3-5-2, the only two matches all season in which interim coach Rob Valentino rolled out that formation. I suspect that the formation change was related partially to playing Inter Miami and trying to defend the Herons’ dynamic offense and partially due to an injury suffered by defender Brooks Lennon in the first game of that series. So, while Atlanta primarily played four in the back for most of the season, there is a good chance it will roll with what worked against Florida’s second-best MLS team when it plays Florida’s best MLS team this weekend.

Now, if you want to read more about Atlanta, then you can read our match preview, which will drop Sunday morning, but I want to look at how Orlando did against teams that play similar styles. Looking only at MLS games, the table below shows how Orlando City performed against different back line structures this season (the left side is how the Lions’ opponents lined up, the right side is how Orlando City performed against opponents in those formations):

Table embedded as an image showing Orlando City doing best in goal differential in 12 games against three-man back lines, second best against four-man back lines, and having played once against a five-man back line (a 1-1 draw).

Orlando City earned slightly more points per game — the stat that matters most — against teams that played four in the back, but the Lions had a better average goal differential when teams played three in the back. Atlanta will likely deploy one of those two formations. In both games against Orlando City this season, Sunday’s visitors went with a 4-2-3-1, but as mentioned earlier, they used three in the back in each of their last two matches, so it really could be either.

Soccer is not like baseball, where players primarily stay in the same spot throughout the game, so some of these stats have to be taken with a grain of salt, as players are not always rigidly in the same position throughout a match. A team may also primarily play with four in the back but switch to three when chasing a game, or five when trying to protect against a late goal.

That said, using the data around Orlando City’s opponents’ general formations, here are the attacking groups who played the most frequently against four defenders during the 24 MLS games where Opta coded the opponents as using a defensive group of four:

Table embedded as an image showing the most frequently used lineups against teams who deploy four defenders. The most frequently used attacking group has a plus eight goal differential for the season.

It is a little ominous that the main starting group, shown in row one, has played 666 MLS minutes against back lines of four this season, but do I like that green goal differential of +8 in those minutes, which is a strong +1.08 per 90 minutes. I like that goal differential more than I like all the things that Cardi B, Bad Bunny, and J Balvin like on their song that is creatively named “I Like It.” Coincidentally, when people ask me what I think about that song, I say, “I like it.” I am very creative.

If we look at the lineups that Orlando City has used against back lines of three defenders then there are some pretty major differences in personnel groupings, but it must be noted that more than half of the games against teams playing three in the back came early in the season, when Ramiro Enrique was unavailable to play. Enrique, my presumed starter at striker, has played fewer than three games’ worth of minutes (265 total) against back lines of three this season, and only 28 minutes with the main starting group, which ranks 13th among all the attacking lineups for minutes played against three defenders. That group scored one goal in their 28 minutes together though, for a robust 3.21 goals-scored-per-90-minutes average.

While the team as a whole has been successful against three-man back lines, I do not expect any of the lineups shown in the table below to play more than a few minutes together this weekend, though the first row and the last row are strong groups and had a lot of success.

Table embedded as an image showing the most frequently used lineups against teams who deploy three defenders. The most frequently used attacking group has a plus three goal differential for the season.

I am sure that all week long the Orlando City coaching staff has been going back and forth on whether it is more likely that Atlanta reverts to its most commonly used four in the back, or if the Five Stripes try for three wins in a row with three in the back. I would prefer that Atlanta plays with zero defenders and goalkeeper Brad Guzan wears a blindfold, but I think that is unlikely to be the case.

Even though Atlanta defeated Orlando City both times while in a 4-2-3-1, based on available personnel and recent results, I believe that the team will come out in a 3-5-2 in Inter&Co Stadium in the conference semifinal. Good things come in threes, and Orlando City’s best offensive production this season has been against three defenders, so I am going to be hoping that this continues, and in the third game against Atlanta the Lions grab the three points. Three’s company!

Well, it is a playoff game, so there are no actual points at stake, but you know what I meant.

Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to get a victory to advance to the Eastern Conference final?

Published

19 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City continues its playoff journey against Atlanta United Sunday at Inter&Co Stadium. The Lions are coming off an emotional penalty shootout win over Charlotte FC in their best-of-three, first-round series. Likewise, Atlanta United stunned everyone by taking out Inter Miami to advance in its own best-of-three matchup. Now, the rivals meet in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

What does Orlando City need to do to get past Atlanta United to advance to the Easter Conference final?

Beat Guzan

Brad Guzan made 16 saves over Atlanta’s three matches against Inter Miami, including seven in the 3-2 win on the road in Game 3. The 40-year-old former USMNT keeper is in excellent form and is a big reason why the Five Stripes are facing Orlando City. Converting chances against Guzan will be crucial to earning a result. There have been times this season when the Lions have struggled to convert their chances. Despite that, the team has done enough offensively to get to this point. Facundo Torres, Martin Ojeda, Duncan McGuire, Ramiro Enrique, and others have contributed and will need to do so this weekend.

Cartagena is Essential

Orlando City lost twice to Atlanta United during the regular season. What is interesting, and perhaps relevant, is that Wilder Cartagena was out for both of those matches. Cartagena was shown a straight red in the match against Minnesota United prior to the first match against Atlanta way back in March. He was shown a yellow card in the match against FC Cincinnati and then served a yellow card accumulation suspension for the final match of the season against Atlanta. Fortunately for Orlando City, Cartagena will be available for the match this weekend. I’ve mentioned before the importance of Cartagena to Orlando City’s success. When he and Cesar Araujo are on the field together, the defense is simply better. Cartagena is frankly one of the better defensive midfielders in MLS. Atlanta scored five goals in the series against Miami, and Orlando will need to keep the visitors from having that kind of offensive success.

Overcome the Past

That darn international break in the middle of the playoffs is something I don’t love. More precisely, I don’t like it because Orlando City often struggles after a break. It would have been nice if Orlando City could have ridden the momentum from the penalty kick victory into the Atlanta match, but that’s not to be. Now is the time for Orlando City to break some bad habits, including turning around its historical lack of success against Atlanta, and tendency to struggle in the first match after a break. Oscar Pareja needs to have the players in the right frame of mind, and the players need to execute the plan. A full house of supporters can also make a difference. Given it’s a Sunday afternoon match, there’s no reason not to pack the house.

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

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Lion Links: 11/21/24

Marta’s chance to shine in NWSL Championship, NWSL and MLS award winners announced, 2025 SheBelieves Cup details, and more.

Published

23 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I’ve been spending most of this week plotting out some holiday shopping to make things a little less stressful for myself over the next few weeks. A big weekend filled with Orlando soccer awaits us, so make sure to get any errands or obligations out of the way sooner rather than later. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Spotlight Falls On Marta in NWSL Championship

There are plenty of storylines heading into Saturday’s NWSL Championship between the Orlando Pride and Washington Spirit, including Marta’s opportunity to put an exclamation point on what has been an excellent season for the Pride. Orlando has been enjoying the fruits of its labor this season after a rebuild over the past few years that’s included plenty of change in the City Beautiful. Marta has been a constant, however, enduring some difficult seasons since joining the Pride and adapting her game She’s scored in both of the Pride’s playoff games so far and has a chance to author a storybook ending on Saturday.

Ann-Katrin Berger Named NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year

NJ/NY Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger was named 2024 NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year, beating out the Pride’s Anna Moorhouse and Utah Royals FC’s Mandy Haught for the honor. It was Berger’s first year in the NWSL and she’s the first European player to win the award. She only conceded 16 goals across her 22 matches for Gotham this season and was a key reason behind her team’s success. I’m not too surprised that Moorhouse did not win, considering how solid the Pride’s defense was as a whole, but this won’t take anything away from a record-breaking season for her.

Wilfried Nancy Named MLS Coach of the Year

Columbus Crew Head Coach Wilfried Nancy was voted 2024 MLS Coach of the Year after a historic season in which the Crew set club records in both points and goals. The Crew also won the Leagues Cup this summer and their 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup campaign included advancing past Tigres and Monterrey en route to the final. This is Nancy’s first time being named Coach of the Year and he has been a finalist for the award every year since 2021. The Frenchman received 40.02% of the vote, winning the award over Inter Miami’s Gerardo Martino and Colorado Rapids Head Coach Chris Armas.

2025 SheBelieves Cup Details Unveiled

The 10th annual SheBelieves Cup will take place next year and the tournament will return to its usual format where each of the four teams plays each other once. The United States Women’s National Team will host Japan, Colombia, and Australia in February in what should be an exciting tournament. The U.S. will take on Colombia on Feb. 20 in Houston before facing Australia in Arizona on Feb. 23 and finishing the tournament on Feb. 26 against Japan at Snapdragon Stadium in San Diego. These games will also be the first domestic games of 2025 for the USWNT as it prepares to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil.

Eric Quill Named FC Dallas Head Coach

FC Dallas announced that Eric Quill will become the team’s next head coach. Quill joins Dallas after a great year with New Mexico United that included trips to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinals and USL Championship Western Conference semifinals. It’s also a reunion of sorts for Quill, as he previously coached North Texas SC and was named USL League One Coach of the Year with the club in 2019. Dallas missed out on the playoffs this season, with Peter Luccin coaching the team on an interim basis after the firing of Nico Estevez in June.

Free Kicks

  • District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser challenged Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer to a bet involving this weekend’s NWSL Championship, with embarrassing lightshows on the line.

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

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