Connect with us

Orlando City

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.

Published

2 years ago

on

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.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/21/25

Orlando Pride release preseason camp roster, scouting Costa Rica, women’s soccer transfer grades, and more.

Published

19 hours ago

on

January 21, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Good morning, everyone! If you had yesterday off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, then I hope you enjoyed some restful time off. If not, then I hope you got your week started off on a good and productive note. There’s a lot going on around here this week as the United States Men’s National Team is in town, and Orlando City will play its first preseason match on Saturday. That means we have plenty to discuss, so let’s dig into today’s links.

Orlando Pride Drop Preseason Roster

Monday might have been a holiday but the Orlando Pride were busy, as they announced the roster for their upcoming preseason camp. Almost all of the usual suspects from the 2024 season are back, as the Pride return 98% of the player-minutes from last season and every single scorer. Mariana Larroquette is on the list although she’s currently on loan in Argentina, and Amanda Allen is likewise included after her loan at Lexington Sporting Club was terminated due to a torn labrum. The biggest intrigue comes from the trio of non-roster invitees: goalkeeper DeAira Jackson, midfielder Aryssa Mahrt, and forward Simone Jackson.

Scouting Costa Rica

The USMNT takes on Costa Rica on Wednesday at Inter&Co Stadium to wrap up the team’s annual January camp. Like the U.S., Costa Rica is bringing a roster devoid of the majority of its important players. Costa Rica also has a new manager at the helm in Miguel Herrera, who will take charge of the team for the very first time on Wednesday. Herrera typically lines his teams up in a 5-3-2 where the wingbacks take on a very important role and the team looks to hit on the counter while staying compact at the back. This will be the last time we see the USMNT in action until the Concacaf Nations League semifinals in early March.

Women’s Soccer January Transfer Grades

January has been a busy time for transfers in the women’s soccer world, so which teams have done the best business? Well, the Orlando Pride received an A grade for signing Marta to a new two-year deal, retaining a player who helped the team win its first ever trophies. Liverpool got an A for signing Julia Bartel on loan from Chelsea. Leicester City made an interesting call by transferring goalkeeper Lize Kop to Tottenham despite just being a point above the relegation zone. The Foxes get a C for the move, while Spurs get a B+ for adding a capable netminder.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans taking part in some very important games over the course of this week. Weston McKennie, Tim Weah, and Juventus face Club Brugge today in the UEFA Champions League, while Ricardo Pepi, Richy Ledezma, Esmir Bajraktarević, Malik Tillman and PSV Eindhoven take on Crvena Zvezda in the same competition. Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, and AC Milan will play Girona in the UCL on Wednesday, while Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, and Celtic take on Young Boys. On Friday, John Tolkin could make his Bundesliga debut when his new team, Holstein Kiel, travels to face Wolfsburg.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando Pride players reported for their preseason physicals on Monday.
  • Meanwhile, Orlando City took on the dreaded beep test during Monday’s training session.

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

Continue Reading

Orlando City

Striker Suddenly a Position of Need for Orlando City

Departures and a key injury mean Orlando City needs a striker heading into the 2025 MLS season.

Published

2 days ago

on

January 20, 2025

By

Image Courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City reached the Eastern Conference Final for the first time in 2024, a milestone for the club. The core of the team was locked up through the 2025 season, so there was no reason to believe it needed to add much this off-season. Unfortunately, injuries and departures have created a serious problem for the team.

The group of forwards last year consisted of Duncan McGuire, Ramiro Enrique, and Jack Lynn. McGuire scored 15 goals in 2023 and was expected to depart for Blackburn Rovers before a clerical error allowed the Lions to keep their target man. The team’s primary striker scored 11 goals in 37 games — the same number as the previous season — but split time starting with Enrique. The Argentinian improved greatly in 2024, increasing his total goal tally from four to 12. Even Lynn showed tremendous improvement last year, playing a greater role in the team and scoring his first two MLS goals.

The future also seemed bright for the Orlando City forwards because of their ages. Lynn is the oldest of the trio at just 25 years old. Meanwhile, McGuire and Enrique are only 23, so there was no reason to believe this group couldn’t produce this coming season.

The problem at striker began in the postseason when McGuire was pulled down by Charlotte FC midfielder Djibril Diani in the final first round game of the playoffs. McGuire suffered a shoulder injury during the challenge that required surgery on Dec. 13. It’s expected that the striker could take four to five months to return to action, possibly leaving him out until May or June.

Another blow to Orlando’s attack occurred Saturday when Lynn surprisingly announced his retirement from professional soccer. In just over a month, Orlando City went from having three strikers to having just one as preseason training starts.

With McGuire injured and Lynn gone, one option would be to have Designated Player Luis Muriel play up top. However, the Colombian prefers to play a more withdrawn position and proved to be effective in that role last year. Since Head Coach Oscar Pareja prefers to play a 4-2-3-1 formation, the Lions need someone up top to control the ball and involve the midfielders in the attack. That’s not Muriel’s game.

The result of these issues is that nobody is currently behind Enrique when the season begins. If the Argentinian gets tired, hurt, or simply needs rest, Pareja is limited in his options. 

Whether there was a lack of strikers or a lack of goals from the position previously, that problem was resolved by the club’s all-time leading goal scorer. Facundo Torres scored 20 goals in 2024, becoming the first player in Orlando City’s MLS history and the second player in club history to do so. He went on to set a new club record for total goals of 47.

However, Orlando City sold its best player to Brazilian side Palmeiras on Dec. 20. It was a gut punch to fans as Torres had signed a new contract on Jan. 10, 2024 that ran through the 2026 season. There had been talk for the last couple of years that the attacker would look for a move to Europe and rumors of a move to South America arose this off-season. Still, it created a huge gap the club has to fill.

There are players on the roster that can make up for the injury and departures. Martin Ojeda had a strong season in 2024, finishing with seven goals and 13 assists. His seven goals ranked fourth on the team and his 13 assists topped the squad alongside Nico Lodeiro. Muriel came on strong later in the season, finishing with five goals and eight assists. But those numbers are a long way from the 20 goals that Torres tallied last year.

Even if you consider all goal contributions, Ojeda and Muriel fall well short of Torres. Ojeda had a total of 20 goal contributions in 2024 while Muriel had 13. In addition to Torres’s 20 goals, he added nine assists for a team-leading 29 goal contributions.

All of this information leads to one undeniable fact — Orlando City needs to sign a striker prior to the season. And there’s not much time for Luiz Muzzi to act. The European transfer window closes on Feb. 3 and many MLS teams have already been filling similar needs. With the season starting in just over a month, the options will be limited if the Lions don’t do something soon.

After the best postseason finish in Orlando City’s MLS history, things were looking good heading into 2025. While the back line and most of the midfield is returning, McGuire’s injury and the departure of Torres and Lynn have left the Lions in a tough spot offensively. If they don’t do something in the next couple of weeks, it could be a long 2025.

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/20/25

Orlando City signs Nicolas Rodriguez, Jack Lynn announces retirement, USMNT defeats Venezuela in friendly, and more.

Published

2 days ago

on

January 20, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope you’re all having a good holiday weekend as we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Over the past week, I’ve been working and covering high school ice hockey. It will be a busy week in Orlando, with the United States Men’s National Team’s match against Costa Rica on Wednesday and Orlando City’s first preseason match against Atletico Mineiro on Saturday. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Signs Nicolas Rodriguez

Orlando City announced on Friday that the club has signed forward Nicolas Rodriguez from Fortaleza CEIF in Colombia’s top flight. The deal is through the 2027 season, with a club option for 2028, and Rodriguez will occupy a MLS U22 Initiative slot. Rodriguez made 19 appearances for Fortaleza, recording 1,607 minutes, five goals, and three assists during the 2024 Primera A Clausura season. The Lions add a young attacking player the club can develop and Rodriguez can play on the right wing, the right side of a three-man midfield, or in the No. 10 spot.

Jack Lynn Announces Retirement

Orlando City forward Jack Lynn announced his retirement from professional soccer on Saturday. Lynn was drafted by Orlando in the first round of the 2022 MLS SuperDraft. He became a regular starter for Orlando City B, scoring a team-record 38 goals in over three seasons with the MLS NEXT Pro side. Lynn also won the Golden Boot with 19 goals during the 2023 season and became the first OCB player to be named MLS NEXT Pro MVP. He played sparingly with the first team, but he scored twice last season as his role increased. The Lions will likely look to add another striker for more depth up top.

Orlando Pride Acquire Allocation Money in Trade

On Friday, the Orlando Pride announced that the club has acquired $50,000 in Allocation Money from the Washington Spirit. In exchange, the Pride sent the Spirit a 2025 international roster spot. The Pride will face the Spirit in the NWSL Challenge Cup final on March 7 at Inter&Co Stadium.

USMNT Defeats Venezuela in Friendly

The USMNT defeated Venezuela 3-1 at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale on Saturday in a friendly. Jack McGlynn and Patrick Agyemang scored in the first half to give the USMNT a 2-0 lead just before halftime. Matko Milijevic scored the third goal for the Americans in the second half, with Venezuela pulling one back thanks to a goal from Jorge Yriarte. Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino has led the USMNT to winning four out of its first five matches since he took charge last September. The USMNT’s next match will be against Costa Rica on Wednesday at Inter&Co Stadium.

Alyssa Naeher Named U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year

On Saturday, goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher was voted 2024 U.S. Soccer Female Player of the Year. Naeher won 40% of the vote, while defender Naomi Girma finished in second with 32%. In her final year with the USWNT, Naeher ended 2024 with 18 starts, playing 1,170 minutes and only conceding 11 goals. She played a crucial role with clutch saves to help the USWNT win the 2024 SheBelieves Cup, 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup, and gold at the Olympics in Paris. Naeher is the second goalkeeper to win the award since Hope Solo won it in 2009.

Free Kicks

  • Manchester City forward Erling Haaland has reached an agreement with the club on a record-breaking contract that extends his deal through 2034.

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

Continue Reading

Trending