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Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in a 3-1 victory at home against the Chicago Fire?

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3 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

It was a dominating performance across the board for Orlando City’s players. With the team outshooting the Chicago Fire 19-8 and creating a number of quality chances, there was never a question in my mind if the Lions would finish with a win. It was, “by how many?” Facundo Torres and Ramiro Enrique led the way in answering that question to the tune of a 3-1 victory. Even then, the scoreline likely favors the Fire as it could have been much worse while Orlando’s defense put in a great shift keeping Kei Kamara and Fabian Herbers at bay.

Here’s how I rated Orlando City’s individual performances at Exploria Stadium.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 7.5 — When Kamara comes to town, it doesn’t matter what team he is playing for. The man just loves to score against Orlando City. For Pedro Gallese, he was sure to ruin Kamara’s night and stifle and record-chasing performances for the striker. Perhaps Gallese’s finest moment of the match came in the 51st minute, as Kamara forced a header on goal from a corner kick and the keeper made a diving save to keep it off the goal line. In total, Pedro made a couple saves across the course of 90 minutes and conceded just one — from the penalty spot — in a match that saw him face 2.2 expected goals against. His 15 passes found their mark 86.7% of the time and he was accurate on one of his three long balls when trying to spring a quick counter.

D, Rafael Santos, 7 — Santos entered the match up for the task against Chicago’s attack. The Brazilian was rarely beaten down the left side and was able to find space to swing in a few fiery passes from distance while even taking the time to complete a pair of dribbles and put a shot on frame in the 40th minute. Defensively, he recorded one tackle, one interception, and an aerial duel won, while conceding two fouls. Offensively, he found himself on the ball 61 times, completing 86% of his 44 passes. He found his man with five of his eight long balls but was inaccurate on all three of his crosses. Ultimately, he defended well against those coming down his left wing.

D, Robin Jansson, 7 — If there were such things as assists for forcing penalty kicks, Jansson would have earned himself a nice statistic on the match sheet. To be fair, Fabian Herbers should have felt hard done as the Beefy Swede clipped the ball up and into his elbow which he was trying to pull back within his body’s silhouette. Nonetheless, this attempt towards goal led to Facundo Torres’ brace, as he collected another to his tally from the spot. From a defensive standpoint, you can tell the task was to follow Kamara absolutely everywhere he went on the pitch. Early into the match, Jansson could even be spotted in the attacking third as he trailed Kamara, who was dropping deep to try to find the ball. While he recorded zero tackles or interceptions, Jansson made his presence known. He offered a clearance, a foul, and a yellow card. With his 55 touches, the center back completed 87% of his 48 passes, with two of seven long balls also being accurate, and he drew two fouls.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 7.5 — Stepping in for first-choice Antonio Carlos, Rodri once again stood tall for Papi. The Argentinian defender almost even scored one of his own in the 32nd minute as he flicked a header towards goal from a corner kick forcing Chris Brady to make a save. In total, Schlegel attempted two shots with one on target. With 48 touches, he passed at an 89% success rate across 38 attempts but was incomplete on both of his long balls. While he didn’t have a tackle or interception, he certainly made the night easier on Gallese with his six clearances and won an aerial duel.

D, Kyle Smith, 7.5 — The 31-year-old utility man from Transylvania University slotted into the right back position. As always, Smith was his usual workhorse self and was rewarded with an assist that opened the scoring for the Lions. Picking out the most unlikely Orlando player to score with his head, Smith dropped a cross right on top of Facundo Torres in the 32nd minute. Smith should have easily had another assist prior to that, as Martin Ojeda missed from a quality position in front of goal. If it weren’t for Smith getting beaten badly and conceding the penalty kick that gave the Fire their only goal of the night, he would have made a real case for my personal Man of the Match honors. With 45 touches, Smith took a shot and had two key passes in his 34 attempts (64% accuracy). He was accurate on one of three crosses, one of six long balls, one through ball, made one tackle and one clearance, and added a foul. While these stats don’t typically scream “best player on the pitch,” Smith continues to show sparks and has the intangibles that I appreciate and respect.

MF, Wilder Cartagena, 8 — The Peruvian picked up right where he left off against Seattle’s attackers. This time he was challenged with the likes of Swiss international Xherdan Shaqiri. And while Shaqiri did end up on the scoresheet, it was only due to a penalty kick. Cartagena consistently puts in great defensive shifts and even made the highlight reel, clearing the ball off of the goal line in the 51st minute. While the statistics state he only made two tackles, he also won an aerial duel, had an interception, a crucial clearance, a blocked shot, and four fouls conceded, while drawing one himself. Cartagena was on the ball 52 times, completing 86% of his 43 passes. He missed his only cross but was perfect on his three long ball attempts.

MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 6.5 — With Cesar Araujo out for the match on bad behavior, El Capitan was relegated to a deep-lying position on the pitch. Similar to what we saw Head Coach Oscar Pareja experimenting with last year, it once again just didn’t do it for me. Pereyra is a maestro on the ball and in the attacking third, but when it comes to connecting from the back all the way to the front, it just isn’t his specialty. His play is much more fruitful clipping the final ball behind the back line or threading tough seams with pinpoint accuracy. Offensively in the match, he was fouled three times and gave shouts for a possible penalty but went to ground too easily and didn’t earn the call. From a defensive standpoint, he offered two interceptions and a foul. He had 43 touches, attempted 33 passes (84% accuracy), completed one of his two crossing attempts, and completed two of his four long ball attempts.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 8.5 — I love the play and tenacity of Angulo. The Colombian winger uses his pace in a way that would be utterly terrifying to line up against. This rang true for Arnaud Souquet, who had to foul Angulo twice in the same play just to stop from being embarrassed down the sideline and earned himself his first of two yellow cards on the night in the 20th minute. In the 75th minute, Enrique was about to ruin what would ultimately be his scoring play by chasing down a pass in the channel from an offside position. Instead, it was a smart play from Angulo — once again using his pace — to run over and collect the ball, then passing it to Enrique and earning the assist. Defensively, he made two tackles and an interception while conceding three fouls. Offensively, he used his 39 touches to take two shots, putting one on goal and tallying an additional two key passes. He completed two dribbles and drew three fouls. Of his 23 passes, 87% hit their marks, as did his only long ball and through ball attempts.

MF, Facundo Torres, 9 (MotM) — This match was all about the resurrection of last year’s Torres. If the whole season has been building up to this moment, I feel like the first meeting with the Chicago Fire was the tipping point. With a headed goal in the 36th minute, what could have easily been an earned penalty in the 42nd minute, converting a penalty in the 55th minute, and a couple other genuine chances throughout the match, Torres made a meal of the Fire defenders. His night finished with three of six shots on target, two key passes, two dribbles, and an aerial won on 55 touches. Torres drew two fouls and completed his long ball but missed both crossing attempts, while distributing the ball with 85% accuracy on 35 passes.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 7 — The past few matches have equated to Ojeda and Pereyra exchanging minutes in the No. 10 role. With Araujo forcing Pereyra into a deeper position, this was Ojeda’s moment to step up and show why he deserves the weekly start. Early on in the first half, Ojeda had a couple scoring opportunities and even forced a good save from Brady after rifling a strike at goal, but he also missed what should have been a tap in. Despite only putting one of two shots on target, Ojeda did create three key passes with his 44 touches. His 22 passes came at a 90% rate, and he was pinpoint on his one long ball, but he found the target on only four of 12 crosses. Defensively, Ojeda conceded a foul but also tallied an interception and a tackle.

F, Duncan McGuire, 6 — The rookie striker didn’t live up to his own high standards on the night. Don’t get me wrong though, McGuire was fine. But he wasn’t “outstanding.” There was no real danger created by the forward, and he only found himself on the ball 13 times in 66 minutes. With those touches, he only completed three of four passes, so he wasn’t exactly creating for others either. His only shot was off target, and his only defensive stat was a conceded foul.

Substitutes

MF, Felipe (67′), 7 — Brought on to rotate the defensive midfield with another game soon to be played, Felipe came on and helped see out the win. He likely should have done better in the dying moments as Orlando greatly outnumbered the Fire on a counter attack but he left his shot close enough to Brady for him to make a save. With 39 touches, Felipe completed his 36 passes at an astounding 97% rate and was accurate with his only long ball.

F, Ramiro Enrique (67′), 7.5 — Literally just last match I put the sentence, “There are certain truths in the world, and one of them seems to be Ramiro Enrique’s lack of real impact coming off the bench.” into Ramiro Enrique’s player grade segment. Well, the 22-year-old Argentine took it to heart because he was determined to get in behind and score against Chicago. Right from the jump, Enrique was finding balls played into the channel and speeding past the defensive line. For his efforts, Enrique found himself open at the top of the box to finesse the ball across goal and into the net in the 75th minute. We witnessed 10 touches, one of two shots on target, and a 100% passing accuracy on six attempts. Go on, Enrique. Let’s see more of this and I’ll eat my hat.

MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (88′) N/A — Dagur Dan was able to find the ball 12 times in his brief stint on the field. He fed Petrasso an exquisite cross shortly after coming on, but Petrasso blasted the volley high. Dagur Dan seemed to be begging for a card and earned himself one as time expired. Aside from that, he completed all eight passes, one of two crosses, a tackle, and two fouls conceded.

D, Luca Petrasso (88′) N/A — Aside from wasting Dagur Dan’s cross, we didn’t see much of Petrasso in his few minutes back on the pitch. He recorded seven touches, a key pass, and a clearance. He completed just 60% of his five passes.

MF, Favian Loyola (90+3′) N/A — Making the most of the nine minutes of stoppage time, Loyola made his MLS debut and ran everywhere to try and get some touches. In the dying moments, he got on the ball six times, completed all six of his passes, turned one of those into a key pass, and conceded a foul.

That’s how I saw the performances in 3-1 home win against the Chicago Fire. Congrats to Homegrown attacker Favian Loyola for making his senior team debut. The best is yet to come for you! Be 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 Trades Duncan McGuire to Houston Dynamo

The Lions send the 2023 first-round pick to Houston for a pile of Garberbucks.

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20 hours ago

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July 10, 2026

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Image of Duncan McGuire playing the ball against New York City FC.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando no longer runs on Duncan as Orlando City has traded 2023 first-round draft pick Duncan McGuire to the Houston Dynamo. The big striker with the even bigger smile and the back flips joins the Dynamo, with the Lions receiving $600,000 in 2026 General Allocation Money (GAM), $400,000 in 2027 GAM, and $250,000 in 2027-2028 GAM. The return could also include up to $1.15 million in GAM add-ons if certain performance metrics are met. OCSC will retain a percentage of any sell-on by Houston.

It became clear that something was up with McGuire, as he did not dress for Orlando City’s friendly against Tampa Bay on Wednesday.

“Duncan has meant a great deal to this club since the day he arrived in Orlando,” Orlando City General Manager and Sporting Director Ricardo Moreira said in a club press release. “His resilience, determination, and willingness to fight through challenges both on and off the field have earned the respect of everyone throughout our organization. He has played a major role in our success over the last several years, and when the opportunity arose, we wanted to ensure it was a move that made sense for both Duncan and the club. We’re grateful for everything he has given to Orlando City and wish him and his family nothing but success in this next chapter.”

The Lions selected McGuire out of Creighton with the No. 6 overall selection in the first round of the 2023 MLS SuperDraft. Although he was not a Generation Adidas player, the striker had signed a pre-draft contract with the league, meaning Orlando City didn’t need to spend time agreeing to a contract. The 6-foot-1 forward quickly became a starter for the Lions during his rookie year, and put together back-to-back, double-digit goal-scoring seasons in his first two professional seasons. Now in his fourth pro year, McGuire has appeared in 85 MLS matches (45 starts) for the Lions, scoring 29 goals and adding eight assists. In all competitions, McGuire has contributed 32 goals and nine assists in 109 appearances (55 starts).

Once one of the most promising up-and-coming American strikers in any league after his 24 goals across his first two MLS campaign, Mcguire underwent surgery on both shoulders in separate procedures after the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs, which have restricted his availability, affected his form, and have limited him to just five goals and three assists in his last 29 matches. He has sat behind various other strikers starting in his place the last couple of seasons, including Ramiro Enrique, Luis Muriel, and Justin Ellis.

After his breakout rookie campaign, in which the Omaha, NE native scored 14 goals, he was courted by several teams in Europe. He signed with Blackburn Rovers in 2024, only to see the transfer rejected by the English Football League due to an administrative error by the EFL Championship club. Upon his return, the Creighton product signed his most recent contract on Aug. 22, 2024, locking him down through 2027 with a club option for 2028. That deal now belongs to the Dynamo.

McGuire’s hot start to his professional career had him climbing the U.S. Men’s National Team player pool. Gregg Berhalter called him up to the USMNT for the first time in January 2024 ahead of the team’s friendly against Slovenia. The striker made his first USMNT appearance in that match, coming off the bench to replace Brian White on Jan. 20, 2024, in a 1-0 loss. That is his only cap to date, although he had previously appeared nine times and scored one goal for the U.S. U-23 side.

The 2022 Hermann Trophy winner spent three seasons at Creighton, where he appeared in 24 games (23 starts) in his final (junior) season, logging 1,591 college minutes. McGuire scored 23 goals and added three assists in 2022.

What It Means for Orlando City

It makes sense to deal a striker making a base salary of $600,000 ($921,000 in total guaranteed compensation) if he can’t crack the starting lineup. While some of that comes down to coaching decisions and other players emerging, it didn’t help McGuire that he struggled to regain the consistent form he showed in his first two years in Orlando. In the end, this is a bit of a blow financially to the club, as the initial agreement with Blackburn was for a reported $4 million. He now departs for considerably less money, but his value understandably dropped with his production and the two shoulder surgeries.

McGuire is still just 25 years old, and sitting out after two surgeries means he has fewer miles on his legs than many players his age. He could still regain the form that saw him score 14 times in 2023 and 10 more times in 2024 and had the USMNT and European clubs paying attention. Orlando City will hope that he returns to form, because that will influence how much GAM the club eventually receives for this transaction.

A fan favorite since his arrival, McGuire will be missed, and while the Lions could perhaps have benefitted from getting a player back in return to bolster an area of need, the influx of GAM can help accomplish the same goal.

McGuire’s departure appears to solidify Justin Ellis’ position on the first team, although his play in the first half of the season likely already did that. It may also open up more minutes for Tiago. But the trade also tells us that unless a new striker is brought in, the Lions will play without a traditional target striker for the time being, allowing players who have typically either played as wingers, attacking midfielders, or false nines to have the freedom to fluidly change positions and force defenders out of their comfort zones when it comes to coverage. Martin Ojeda, Antoine Griezmann, Ellis, Ivan Angulo, Marco Pasalic, and the team’s fullbacks will be harder to keep tabs on under such a system.

Whether it will work or if it will further stress the team’s shoddy transition defense (or both) remains to be seen.

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Orlando City

Flashback Friday: July 10, 2022 vs. Inter Miami

Let’s rewind to a match against the Herons that featured the unlikeliest of heroes.

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21 hours ago

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July 10, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

With both the United States Men’s National Team and Colombia suffering World Cup exits that were both agonizing in their own right, this summer’s tournament has lost a little luster for me. Don’t get it twisted, I’m still looking forward to the rest of the games, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t going to be a little bittersweet.

Fortunately, Orlando City will be back in action before we know it, and in the meantime we can continue our practice of looking back on Lions matches from years gone by. Last week we relived a 4-0 win over Toronto FC from July 4, 2023. This week we go a little farther into the past to July 10, 2022, and a visit from Inter Miami.

Going into the match with the Herons, OCSC was badly in need of a result. The Lions were in the midst of a summer slump and had won just one of eight matches since squeaking by Toronto FC 1-0 back on May 14. To try to turn things around, Oscar Pareja sent out a lineup of Pedro Gallese in goal; a back line of Kyle Smith, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Ruan; Junior Urso and Cesar Araujo in the double pivot; Benji Michel, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres in attacking midfield; and Ercan Kara up top.

Orlando’s effort to try to pick up a win had to wait a little longer than originally planned, as kickoff was postponed by close to two and a half hours due to lightning in the area. Once the game eventually started, both Orlando City’s fans and players probably wished it had been delayed a little longer. The Lions came out of the starting blocks slow and were guilty of a number of bad passes and miscommunication that made it difficult to get going offensively.

The bad start nearly cost the home side early, as Pereyra played a bad back pass in the seventh minute that was snagged by Indiana Vasilev, who promptly broke toward goal. Fortunately, his shot smashed into Gallese’s face and went wide of the net to spare Mauricio’s blushes. Speaking of the Uruguayan, Miami seemed to have keyed on him as a player to stop at all costs, because whenever the Lions started to get a rhythm in the final third, the Herons promptly fouled him to break up the flow of things.

It took half an hour for the first decent chances to finally surface for Orlando City. When those opportunities arrived, it was in the form of Urso taking a pop from outside the box that got blocked on the way through, and Michel nearly getting on the end of a training ground corner kick routine, only to be let down by a bad first touch.

That was mostly everything of note in a largely quiet first half. Miami had the more dangerous chances, but there wasn’t much to separate the teams in the end. Miami had a slim lead in possession (50.6%-49.4%), and also had more shots (6-3), shots on target (1-0), and corners (3-2). Orlando City was a shade more accurate in its passing (84.5%-83.6%).

Once the second half started, Miami very nearly got an early goal once again, but Robert Taylor didn’t get good contact on a header attempt and the ball went out harmlessly for a goal kick. Vassilev had a much more dangerous effort in the 49th minute, but he put his shot over the bar and wasted a nice passage of play from the visitors.

Orlando carved out an excellent chance of its own nine minutes later. Ruan played a clever cutback for Michel, but like Taylor, he didn’t get good contact on his shot and sent it tamely right to goalkeeper Drake Callender. Torres and Urso sent shots wide and high shortly afterward, before Miami really should have scored from a 72nd-minute corner kick. Aime Mabika found himself all alone in front of goal after the initial ball was played short, but he put his header wide right.

Tesho Akindele was one of the substitutes brought on, and he flashed his fresh legs by getting on a couple of chances as the game wound towards the 90th minute. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to convert either one, and things looked sure to end in a scoreless draw. Enter an extremely unlikely hero: Jake Mulraney.

In the second of four minutes of stoppage time, the winger sent a hopeful cross into the box with just two men in purple to aim for. The ball had relatively little chance of reaching Akindele, who was bracketed by two defenders, but Damion Lowe tried to clear it and instead sliced it off the underside of the crossbar and into the Miami net making it 1-0 to the good guys.

Unsurprisingly, given the state of the game up to that point, neither team managed to muster any real chances after that, and Orlando narrowly came away with three much-needed points.

OCSC ended the game with more possession (54.7%-45.3%) and better passing accuracy (96.6%-82.9%), while Miami took more shots (10-8) and won more corners (6-2). Both sides put just one shot on target, making the final score somewhat unsurprising.

Marcus Mitchell was at the helm for Player Grades in this game, and he gave the outstanding Cesar Araujo the Man of the Match award, with a grade of 7.5 out of 10. The midfielder racked up eight tackles, drew nine fouls, and played a key pass while snuffing out a lot of Miami’s danger before it could truly develop.

Those three points didn’t exactly galvanize the Lions in the short term, as they won just one of their next six games in all competitions, not counting a friendly loss to Arsenal. Fortunately, better times lay ahead in the U.S. Open Cup.

That’ll do it for this week’s edition of Flashback Friday. We’ve only got one more of these before Orlando City returns to action on July 22, so enjoy the reminiscing while you can. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 7/10/26

Duncan McGuire reportedly being traded, Orlando Pride host Kansas City tonight, Steve Cherundolo named U.S. U-23 men’s coach, and more.

Published

1 day ago

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July 10, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! The Orlando Pride are in action tonight and we also have an Orlando City B game on Sunday to look forward to. It’s been a bit of a hectic week on my end, but it’s at least helped make the U.S.’s World Cup loss feel like old news. Orlando City putting the Tampa Bay Rowdies to the sword in a friendly didn’t hurt either. Let’s get to the links!

Orlando City Reportedly Trading Duncan McGuire

Forward Duncan McGuire is reportedly being traded by Orlando City to the Houston Dynamo in exchange for $1.25 million in General Allocation Money, with another $1.15 million heading Orlando’s way if performance metrics are reached per Tom Bogert of The Athletic.

🇺🇸🟠 BREAKING: The Houston Dynamo to acquire forward Duncan McGuire from Orlando City, per sources.Orlando acquires $1.25m GAM + $1.15m GAM add-ons. ORL retains sell-on clause.Houston acquires new goal scorer, will fit seamlessly in Dynamo attack. www.nytimes.com/athletic/743…

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert.bsky.social) 2026-07-09T15:25:31.373Z

Selected by Orlando with the sixth overall pick in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft, McGuire has scored 29 goals across four seasons with the Lions. Injuries have plagued him in recent years, but let’s hope he can have a renaissance of sorts with Houston and hit those performance requirements if this move comes to pass. Orlando would be even lighter on options up top, but the money could help the club improve at a few positions.

Orlando Pride Host the Kansas City Current Tonight

Following a 2-0 loss to Angel City FC, the Orlando Pride will look to bounce back tonight when they host the Kansas City Current in the first meeting this season between the past two NWSL Shield winners. The Current are on a three-game win streak, with Michelle Cooper scoring twice in a 3-0 win over the Denver Summit last week. Temwa Chawinga also scored in that match to bring her tally to eight as she closes the distance on Pride forward Barbra Banda in the Golden Boot race. Hopefully the Pride can keep Kansas City’s offense in check and get back on track with a win at home.

Steve Cherendulo Named U.S. U-23 Men’s National Team Coach

U.S. Soccer appointed Steve Cherendulo as the head coach of the United States U-23 Men’s National Team as preparations begin for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Cherundulo is no stranger to success in the City of Angels, leading LAFC to a league title and MLS Cup victory in 2022 before winning the 2024 U.S. Open Cup as well. He represented the U.S. as a player starting at age 18 and played in three World Cups, which should be valuable experience to get these younger players ready to make an impact with the senior team. Tahir Reid-Brown, Justin Ellis, and Colin Guske are a few Orlando City players to keep an eye out for as possible Olympic roster candidates as they develop their games.

France Advances to World Cup Semifinals

France became the first team to secure its spot in the World Cup semifinals, beating Morocco 2-0. After a scoreless first half, Kylian Mbappe scored his eighth goal of the tournament to give France the lead and then provided the assist on Ousmane Dembele’s goal a few minutes later. While the offense is understandably grabbing headlines, the defense has now had a clean sheet in three straight games during this knockout phase. In the semifinals, France will take on whichever nation advances from today’s match between Spain and Belgium.

Free Kicks

  • Less than 24 hours after scoring for Orlando City in a friendly, Antoine Griezmann was in Boston for France’s World Cup match.
  • Crystal Dunn, who set records at Florida State University before her storied professional career, joined the Tallahassee Reckoning’s ownership group. The organization aims to provide more opportunities for youth soccer players and improve the pathway towards playing professionally.
  • English defender Jarell Quanash was given a two-game suspension for the serious foul play that earned him a red card against Mexico. He’ll miss Saturday’s quarterfinal against Norway and also England’s semifinal if it advances.

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

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