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Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in a difficult 3-1 loss on the road against the New England Revolution?

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2 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

It might not have been a particularly surprising result for Orlando City to lose 3-1 on the road against the New England Revolution, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable to see. The Lions’ six-game unbeaten run and modest two-game winning streak came to an end in a game where OCSC didn’t offer very much threat going forward until it was already too late.

Here’s how I rated the Lions’ individual performance during a soggy loss in Gillette Stadium.

Starters

GK, Mason Stajduhar, 5 — It was a difficult night for Mason, and while he was largely helpless for all three Revolution goals, if three balls go in the net, then the score isn’t going to be a high one. New England put four shots on target and Mason made one save, while passing with 56% accuracy and flashing his rocket of an arm with a throw in the second half that easily cleared the center circle. Other than that, it was a night to forget, but he holds little blame for the final scoreline.

D, Rafael Santos, 5 — Santos had a busy night defensively, and recorded five tackles, four clearances and won an aerial duel. He also passed with 77% accuracy and completed a key pass. However, Gustavo Bou found it far too easy to get inside him onto his left foot for the Revs’ second goal, so he loses points for that. He also wasn’t able to do much when getting forward into the attack and he was guilty of putting more than one cross directly into the arms of Earl Edwards Jr. Overall, it was not the kind of performance he’ll want to look back on, although he did make a nice 1-v-1 defensive play in the 29th minute to dispossess Brandon Bye in the open field.

D, Robin Jansson, 5.5— All things considered, it was one of the Swede’s quieter performances. He had two tackles, two blocks and six clearances, which was the most of anyone on the team. He passed with 77% accuracy, but wasn’t able to do as much with his three completed long balls as we’ve seen at times. He suffered one foul, but managed to keep himself away from the yellow cards, which is always a nice bonus with him.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 5.5 — Stepping in for the suspended Antonio Carlos, Schlegel also had a fairly quiet night. He finished with one interception, three clearances and was fouled once. He passed with 78% accuracy and completed four long balls. It wasn’t a bad outing, but it wasn’t an especially good one either.

D, Mikey Halliday, 5.5 — It was a mixed bag from Mikey. He did some good things, like notching an assist, winning an aerial duel, and finishing with a successful tackle. Aside from one early occasion where he wasn’t making the run up the wing that Ercan Kara thought he would be, he was more than willing to get forward into the attack. The problem for much of the night was his passing, particularly his crossing of the ball. On several occasions he was in a good area but could only send his cross straight to Earl Edwards Jr. or out of play entirely. His decision to cross directly into a group of defenders when presented with a look at goal in second-half stoppage time was maddening. With that being said, he did put in a great ball to Duncan McGuire for Orlando’s goal, and was smart to not pick up another booking after receiving a yellow card early in the first half.

MF, Felipe Martins, 5 — Felipe got the start next to Cesar Araujo in defensive midfield with Wilder Cartagena on international duty. He was plenty involved and ended the night with one clearance and four shots, putting two on target, one off target and having the other one block. However, he was dispossessed twice, and dribbled five times, which is never a stat you love to see. He also drew three fouls and completed two long balls while passing with 79% accuracy.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6 — The 22-year-old picked up a yellow just minutes into the game but showed good poise to toe the line for the rest of his time on the field. He ended with two tackles, one interception, two completed dribbles, one foul drawn and took two shots, with both going off target. He also passed with 91% accuracy but committed four fouls, including the aforementioned yellow card offense, which I frankly thought was a little soft.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 5.5 — Lively and energetic as usual, Angulo was plenty willing to track back and help defend. He stopped a mazy run from Gil in the box 10 minutes into the first half. He made two tackles, two key passes, one cross, completed one long ball and drew two fouls while passing at an 82% clip. He was also dispossessed twice, dribbled three times, committed one foul and put both of his two shots off target from promising areas. It was a performance with moments of promise but ultimately not enough precision and composure when it was needed.

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 6 — His rust was evident during the first half as he had more than one moment of sloppiness. However, he did get going, particularly on the offensive end. His night finished with one foul drawn, two completed dribbles, three complete long balls and five key passes while distributing the ball with 75% accuracy. He was also guilty of being dispossessed twice and dribbled once. He ultimately wasn’t able to have the kind of impact Orlando needed him to, although he’s far from the only one in purple who that was true of in this game.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 5.5 — As we’ve come to expect, Ojeda was not shy about shooting the ball, but the problem is that he only put one of his five shots on target, with the other four going wayward. The lone effort he put on goal was an excellent one though, and he was only denied a goal by a superb stop from Edwards Jr. He passed with 83% accuracy while completing two key passes and a long ball, won an aerial duel, made one tackle and was dispossessed once. He’s willing and works hard, but it still isn’t quite clicking for him yet.

F, Ercan Kara, 5.5 — It was a mostly quiet night for the Austrian target man. He often found himself isolated up top with New England having so much of the ball, and while he put in a good shift, particularly with his hold-up play, he was never able to really get going. He passed with 67% accuracy, won an aerial duel and a corner, but that was mostly it for him on the night.

Substitutes

F, Duncan McGuire (46′) 6.5 (MotM) — Brought on at halftime to give the Lions a different look. For most of the half he wasn’t able to provide too much, although he worked as hard as he always does. His moment came with just under 10 minutes remaining though, and he did a great job to put power on his header to score, giving the Lions fleeting hopes of stealing a point. He finished with two shots, one of which was on target and the other blocked, one tackle, and one corner won. He continues to be able to make an impact during limited minutes on the field and his header was an impressive piece of work. He takes Man of the Match honors for this one.

MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (79′) N/A — The Icelandic midfielder entered the game with a little over 10 minutes left as a replacement for Pereyra. He took one shot, which he put over the bar, passed with 100% accuracy and committed one foul.

D, Luca Petrasso (79′) N/A — Brought on to replace Felipe with just over 10 minutes remaining, Petrasso wasn’t super involved, as he only had seven touches of the ball. However, he passed with 83% accuracy and recorded a key pass.

MF, Juninho (90′) N/A — Brought on during stoppage time for his first appearance with the senior side, Juninho passed with 50% accuracy during his brief time on the field but did well to create a shooting opportunity for himself and flashed the ball just wide.

F, Ramiro Enrique (90′) N/A — Another stoppage time substitute, Enrique had one touch of the ball but didn’t record any other statistics during his brief time on the field.

That’s how I saw the performances in a pretty dispiriting road loss against the Revs. The absences of several key starters certainly didn’t help Orlando’s cause in this one, but that’s the way the cookie crumbles. Make sure to cast your vote for this game’s Man of the Match in the poll below, and tell us your thoughts about this one down in the comments.

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Orlando City

Orlando City Striker Duncan McGuire Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

It’s the other shoulder this time, but Big Dunc is on the shelf for awhile again after undergoing surgery.

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2 hours ago

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June 6, 2025

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City announced today that Duncan McGuire has undergone arthroscopic surgery to repair the labrum in his left shoulder. The surgery was performed by Orlando City Chief Medical Officer Dr. Craig Mintzer of the Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute performed the surgery. Mintzer previously repaired the labrum and rotator cuff in McGuire’s right shoulder back in December for an injury he sustained in Orlando City’s playoff match against Charlotte FC Nov. 9 when he was pulled down by Djibril Diani.

The club’s press release said the 24-year-old striker’s return to play is expected “later this year.” The recovery given for his right shoulder surgery in late 2024 was listed as four to five months, but McGuire was able to come back and play much earlier than expected, appearing for the first time in 2025 in Orlando’s March 15 against the New York Red Bulls — at least a month before the earliest initial projection — however, this time there was no mention of damage to the rotator cuff.

Regardless, the Lions will be without the big target striker for a considerable amount of time.

McGuire had appeared in 12 matches during the regular season in 2025, starting three and scoring one goal and adding an assist. His goal came recently, serving as the game winner in Orlando’s 1-0 home victory over the Portland Timbers on May 24. He was recently listed as questionable on the club’s availability report ahead of the team’s most recent match against the Chicago Fire.

Orlando City drafted McGuire in the first round (No. 6 overall) in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft. After a breakout rookie campaign, in which the Omaha, NE native scored 14 goals, he was courted by several teams in Europe, signing with Blackburn Rovers, only to see the transfer rejected by the English Football League due to an administrative error by the EFL Championship club. After returning to Orlando, McGuire signed a new deal on Aug. 22 to remain a Lion. The new contract runs through 2027 with a club option for 2028. McGuire scored 10 goals and added three assists in 2024. For his Orlando City career, McGuire has appeared in 88 games (46 starts) across all competitions, scoring a total of 28 goals to go along with seven assists.

What It Means for Orlando City

McGuire appeared to be just finding his form, so this injury is unfortunate. The club didn’t put a timeline on McGuire’s recovery this time, but shaving a little off his 2024 recovery estimate, it’s likely that he’ll be out until at least some time in September.

Oscar Pareja has been favoring a 4-4-2 with Luis Muriel and Martin Ojeda up top in recent weeks, with Ramiro Enrique — who is also finding his form — typically spelling one of them when needed. Not having McGuire will affect Pareja’s late-game substitution pattern when Orlando is trailing, as he likes to put Enrique and McGuire both on the field when chasing the game. It also takes the team’s best target striker option out of the lineup when dealing with back lines with lots of height.

McGuire brings size and strength and an ability to occupy center backs that others on the roster can’t replicate. There are times when Enrique’s game is better suited to the opponent, but without McGuire there will be no ability to pivot. With Jack Lynn’s off-season retirement, that leaves the striker pickings mighty slim on the Orlando City bench. That might change Ricardo Moreira’s approach to the MLS Secondary Transfer Window.

Losing a scorer of McGuire’s caliber is always difficult, but this season it could be the difference between finishing high in the table and simply getting into the postseason in a strong Eastern Conference field.

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Opinion

Orlando City Must Learn from May’s Mistakes

The Lions can learn some valuable lessons from the three losses they suffered in May.

Published

9 hours ago

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June 6, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City hadn’t quite achieved juggernaut status as the Major League Soccer season turned from April to May, but a 12-match unbeaten run in the league is nothing to sniff at, despite there being a healthy number of draws interspersed with the victories. Things turned sour as May drew to a close though, as the Lions lost three of their final four matches of the month and entered a two-week break with a whimper rather than a roar.

Losing is never fun, but in this case those three defeats don’t need to be entirely negative experiences, and there are plenty of lessons to be learned from those three bitter losses that will hold Orlando in good stead if it can implement the proper solutions.

More Squad Rotation

One of the biggest factors in Orlando’s rough finish to May was a lack of squad rotation. Oscar Pareja has always been a coach that likes to find his first-choice XI and stick to it almost religiously. He doesn’t normally tweak his lineups or tactics according to whatever opponent is on the slate, and very much values consistency. In periods of fixture congestion, that tendency can be to Orlando’s detriment, and that was very much the case against both Nashville SC and the Chicago Fire.

After beating Inter Miami 3-0 in an emotional rivalry match on May 18, Pareja made just one change for a U.S. Open Cup match against Nashville SC three days later. Ramiro Enrique slotted in for Luis Muriel up top, but every single other starter from the Miami game also got the nod midweek. With Nashville deploying a heavily rotated lineup mostly filled with backups, the gamble was a simple one: hope that OCSC’s A-team can open up a big first-half lead against Nashville’s B-squad before bringing mass changes in the second half to get guys some rest. Hindsight is, of course, 20/20, but the strategy backfired badly as the Lions lost 3-2. Orlando started well with Marco Pasalic’s 17th-minute strike, but the team faded badly afterwards and gave up a couple of very uncharacteristic goals to lose the game. Lapses in concentration and tired defending cost OCSC the game, and that isn’t something we can normally say about this team.

Then, after losing to Atlanta United 3-2 on May 28 due in no small part to Cesar Araujo’s red card, Pareja made two changes for a match against the Chicago Fire on May 31, with Muriel coming in for Enrique, and the other change being a forced one, as Eduard Atuesta replaced the suspended Araujo. Those starters looked noticeably gassed during the resulting 3-1 loss, and the fatigue manifested itself by players missing chances that would normally be converted or in sloppy, mistake-ridden defending.

May was a packed month with a whopping nine matches in 31 days, and most months won’t be that busy. August is set to be the busiest remaining period of the year with six games in 31 days, although that number could rise higher if the Lions make a run in Leagues Cup. The bottom line is that guys are going to need more rest as the season goes on. If the coaching staff doesn’t trust some of the guys currently available as backups, then they need to dip into the transfer market in one way or another and get some players that they do trust, because if the starting XI gets run ragged during busy periods it’s going to cost Orlando, plain and simple.

Cool Heads Usually Prevail

Orlando City has received three red cards on the season, which is tied for the second-most in the league. Unsurprisingly, the Lions are winless in games in which they’ve had a man sent off, with draws against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal and a loss to Atlanta United. The results against the Red Bulls and Atlanta were particularly difficult to swallow, as before going down to 10 men, Orlando had looked on track to get three points in each game.

Araujo’s red card against Atlanta was especially frustrating, as he allowed Mateusz Klich to get under his skin, grabbed him by the throat, and reduced his team to 10 men when OCSC was nursing a 2-1 lead on the road. It was completely unnecessary and was also the sort of thing that Orlando had looked to put in the rearview mirror after keeping its collective composure and not picking up any bookings in the 3-0 road win against Miami, while the Herons picked up four and looked noticeably rattled in the process.

It should go without saying, but the Lions can’t afford to get key players sent off. Six extra points could make a big difference in the standings at the end of the year, and that number could rise even higher if OCSC can’t put its disciplinary issues to rest once and for all.

Focus for the Full 90

There were moments in each of Orlando’s three May losses that the team committed bad defensive lapses or mistakes. Whether it was not playing to the whistle on Nashville’s third goal, Atuesta’s bad turnover against Atlanta, or the Lions collectively allowing Chicago to stroll through midfield to score a third goal, there were plenty of examples of bad breakdowns that were largely absent during the team’s unbeaten run. Can some of that be attributed to tired minds and tired legs? Maybe so — it’s a lot harder to play crisp and focused when the minutes have piled up. Regardless, its something that can’t continue to happen going forward. It’s possible that having more rotation in the squad will help that a lot, but it’s also on the players on the field to stay as mentally sharp as they can when they’re out on the pitch.

Clearly, a recurring theme here is that fresh legs and balanced squad rotation are top of my list of things I want to see change. I’m all for riding the hot hands, but tired legs make for tired minds, and tired minds make mistakes and are easier to rile up. Whether reinforcements come from the bench or an outside source, using more bodies will go a long way towards solving some of the issues that we saw in May’s three losses. All we can do now is wait and see what happens once the team returns from its break. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/6/25

Alex Freeman called up for Concacaf Gold Cup, Orlando Pride get ready for the Houston Dash, Orlando City B plays tonight, and more.

Published

12 hours ago

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June 6, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday! I’ll be spending this weekend celebrating my birthday by beating my friends at mini golf with no mercy but still hope to catch some soccer over the next few days. I’ve also been on a bit of a movie kick and plan on catching Wes Anderson’s new flick at some point soon. But for now, let’s dive into today’s links!

Alex Freeman Called Up For Gold Cup

Orlando City defender Alex Freeman was officially called up by the United States Men’s National Team for the Concacaf Gold Cup this summer. He’s the only Lion who will be at the tournament and is one of seven uncapped USMNT players on the roster. The 20-year-old could receive more playing time than expected, as right back Sergino Dest is not on the roster so that he can recover over the summer. Left back John Tolkin was added to replace Dest, so Freeman has a real shot at making a claim for the position this month. The U.S. will take on Turkey Saturday in the first of two friendlies before its first Gold Cup match against Trinidad & Tobago on June 15.

Orlando Pride Prepares to Host the Houston Dash

With the international break for women’s soccer over, the Orlando Pride return to action Saturday with a home game against the Houston Dash. It should be a great opportunity for the Pride to ease back into the swing of things against a Dash team that’s only scored 10 goals this season. Pride midfielder Ally Lemos spoke on the benefit of being able to rest heading into this match while maintaining a winning mindset from a 3-1 victory on May 23.

Anna Moorhouse Called Up For 2025 Euros

Orlando Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was named to England’s final roster for the 2025 UEFA European Women’s Championship. She’s one of three goalkeepers on the squad following Mary Earp’s surprise retirement from international soccer, and she will likely compete with fellow uncapped player Khiara Keating for the backup position behind Hannah Hampton. Moorhouse has started in every game for the Pride this season and was an NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year finalist for her record-breaking season last year. England’s Euro run will begin July 5 against France before other group matches against the Netherlands and Wales.

Orlando City B Takes On Huntsville City FC

The Young Lions are riding high after a 2-1 win over Chattanooga FC and will take that momentum into tonight’s road match against Huntsville City FC. Midfielder Noah Levis scored his first career goal in that home win, with Justin Hylton providing the assist in his OCB debut. Orlando’s offense has been hot and cold this season but has a variety of attacking talent that can create chances in different ways. The Young Lions have only won once on the road, but a win tonight would lift them to third in the Eastern Conference.

Free Kicks

  • FIFA Club World Cup action is coming to the City Beautiful this month and Orlando City legend Kaká spoke on how it’s nice for Orlando to host games.
  • San Diego Wave Head Coach Jonas Eidevall was named NWSL Coach of the Month. The Wave were undefeated in May, winning three of their four matches to climb to second in the league standings.
  • The NWSL will allow intraleague loans for all teams, with the players needing to consent to the move in order for it to happen. Denver and Boston’s expansion teams will have access to potentially over $1 million in Allocation Money starting on July 1 to build their rosters before the 2026 season.
  • Atletico Madrid is reportedly close to signing American midfielder Johnny Cardoso from Real Betis.
  • South Korea, Uzbekistan, and Jordan all qualified for the 2026 World Cup, while China was eliminated from contention. Australia beat Japan 1-0 and will qualify so long as it doesn’t lose heavily to Saudi Arabia on June 10.
  • Spain beat France 5-4 in a wild game to reach the UEFA Nations League final against Portugal on Sunday. Lamine Yamal continues to take the world by storm, but a late rally by France nearly completed a comeback.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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