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Orlando City B

Orlando City B vs. Atlanta United 2: Final Score 3-2 as 10-Man OCB Completes Memorable Comeback

OCB came back from a red card and a one-goal deficit to beat Atlanta United 2.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B

KISSIMMEE — Orlando City B (9-7-2, 30 points) came back from a Thomas Williams red card and a one-goal deficit to beat Atlanta United 2 (6-7-5, 24 points) 3-2 tonight at Osceola County Stadium. A Noah Cobb own goal opened the scoring, but Jackson Conway equalized with a late first-half penalty. Nick Firmino gave Atlanta the lead in the second half before substitutes Cristofer Acuna and Wilfredo Rivera took advantage of a pair of bad clearances to claim all three points.

After a poor defensive performance last weekend against Huntsville City FC, OCB Head Coach Martin Perelman changed four of the team’s five defensive starters. Mason Stajduhar, Zakaria Taifi, Williams, and Moises Tablante all entered the lineup, replacing Javier Otero, Nabi Kibunguchy, Alejandro Granados, and Franco Perez. The only defender to remain in the starting lineup was right back Alex Freeman. Meanwhile, Perelman only made one attacking change, replacing Favian Loyola with Shak Mohammed.

The starting lineup consisted of Stajduhar behind a back line of Tablante, Williams, Taifi, and Freeman. Imanol Almaguer, Cristian Medina, Juninho, and Jhon Solis were in the midfield, and Mohammed partnered Jack Lynn up top.

The Young Lions dominated this game from the kickoff, controlling possession and the chances throughout the match. A late first-half red card and penalty to Atlanta looked to be a game-changer and it appeared as though the visitors would get their first win away from home when Firmino gave them the lead in the 60th minute. But OCB took advantage of some sloppy play in the back by goalkeeper Justin Garces, enabling the Young Lions to get their sixth home win of 2023.

OCB controlled possession in the opening minutes, but it took until the seventh minute to create the first chance. A throw-in into the Atlanta box was cleared out to Medina. The midfielder fired from long distance, but it was into the arms of goalkeeper Garces, who easily collected it.

The Young Lions had their second chance in the 11th minute when Conway fouled Juninho near midfield. Tablante sent the set piece long into the Atlanta box, where it found the head of Mohammed. The forward was able to redirect the ball towards goal, but put it wide.

OCB had another pair of chances in the 15th minute when Mohammed dribbled to the top of the Atlanta box. He had Freeman open on his right, but decided to take a shot himself. Erik Centeno got in front of the attempt, blocking it wide of the goal. The ensuing short corner ended up with Almaguer, who lifted the ball forward for Freeman, but his header was wide.

In the 24th minute, OCB should’ve opened the scoring when a low cross by Tablante found Mohammed just outside of the six-yard box and directly in front of the goal. Mohammed’s shot was right at Garces, who blocked it to his right. Freeman was there to collect it and put a second shot on goal, but Garces was up to the challenge again, blocking it wide for a corner kick.

The Young Lions finally broke through in the 29th minute. Tablante received the ball down the left and sent a cross into the box. Juninho was making a run, but it was too close to the goal. Cobb attempted to clear the ball with Garces right behind him, but the goalkeeper didn’t call off his center back. Cobb attempted to clear it but mishit the ball, sending it behind Garces for an own goal.

OCB had another attempt off the Atlanta kickoff, quickly pushing the other way. Almaguer sent Tablante into the box and the left back had a shot from a tight angle. Unfortunately, it hit the side netting in the last action before the first-half hydration break.

Lynn nearly took over the MLS NEXT Pro goal-scoring lead in the 38th minute when Solis sent Tablante forward into the Atlanta box. The midfielder saved the ball from going out of play and played it back for Lynn, who was wide open in front of the goal. His first touch was a shot, but Garces reacted quickly to knock it wide. The goalkeeper caught the ensuing corner kick, ending the threat.

The game took a wild turn in the 42nd minute when OCB started to fall apart. Freeman was sent behind the Atlanta defense and reached the ball before Garces, who came out of his box. The right back attempted to flick the ball over the goalkeeper, but it was blocked by Garces’ arm, but referee Emma Richards allowed play to continue. Since there’s no video review in MLS NEXT Pro, there was no review of the play.

Meanwhile, Atlanta United 2 sprinted the other way with Tyler Young sending Conway into the OCB box. Williams challenged the forward with a slide tackle and Conway went down. This time, Richards called a foul and pointed to the spot. OCB protested the call and Richards eventually issued Williams his second yellow card. Rather than Garces being sent off for denying a goal-scoring opportunity as the last man and committing a handball infraction, it was the Young Lions who had to play with 10 men for the final 48 minutes.

Conway stepped up to take the penalty, sending it past Stajduhar and into the corner to even the game at 1-1. That was the last first-half chance for either team, a disappointing ending to a dominant half by the Young Lions.

“Everybody saw what happened, right? A crazy sequence when it’s a clear red for their goalkeeper,” Perelman said after the game. “And the referee, I don’t know what did she did. Honestly, I don’t know, because it was so clear, and then from there we did the penalty and the red card, 1-1.”

After 45 minutes, OCB had more possession (57.1%-42.9%), shots (9-1), shots on target (5-1), corner kicks (5-1), and crosses (7-5), and better passing accuracy (91.6%-86.8%). The only first-half shot for Atlanta was the penalty.

Atlanta United 2 kicked off the second half and created the first chance. Jonantan Villal, who came on at halftime for Shawn Lanza, dribbled down the left and found Firmino in the box. The co-leading scorer in MLS NEXT Pro attempted to dribble through a pair of defenders, but lost control and his balance, allowing OCB to take over.

Despite being a man down, OCB created an even better chance on the other end. Juninho carried the ball down the middle and found Mohammed to his right. Lynn made a run behind Centeno and Mohammed attempted to connect with his striking partner. But the pass was a bit too far in front of the forward.

The visitors had a second chance in the 50th minute when Centeno sent a cross near the OCB penalty spot. Firmino and Kofi Twumasi both went for the ball, colliding with each other. Twumasi was the one to get his head to it, but sent the attempt over the crossbar.

In the 55th minute, Solis created another chance for OCB at the top of the Atlanta box. He used some good footwork to turn Toni Tiente, who came on for Adyn Torres in the 50th minute, opening up a shot at goal. But it was right at Garces who made the easy save.

Atlanta United 2 had a pair of chances in the 57th minute and nearly took the lead. Centeno sent a cross into the box that went just over the outstretched arm of Stajduhar and just out of the reach of Firmino. The ball ended up with Conway on the other side, and he shot on goal. It got past Stajduhar, but Medina was there to block it away.

Three minutes later, Atlanta took its first lead of the night. Luke Brennan sent a cross into the box from the right and Firmino beat a pair of OCB defenders to it. Stajduhar didn’t have a chance as the strong header flew past him to give the visitors a 2-1 lead.

Perelman began to make changes immediately after the goal. In the 61st minute, it was an attacking substitution as Rivera came on for Freeman. Three minutes later, Acuna replaced Lynn. Those changes turned out to be key as Rivera and Acuna went on to play pivotal roles in OCB’s comeback.

OCB had a chance to equalize in the 70th minute, starting with a dangerous cross through the box by Mohammed. Unfortunately, nobody was close enough to get on the end of it. The Young Lions recycled, resulting in the ball ending up with Juninho. He laid it off for Rivera for a shot, but it was just over the crossbar.

A minute later, Atlanta should’ve taken a two-goal lead and put the game away when Brennan was sent behind the OCB defense. Stajduhar came out to challenge the midfielder, but Brennan dribbled around him. Taifi caught up, forcing him to take a shot, and it was wide. It was a meaningful miss, keeping the OCB deficit at one.

In the 73rd minute, Tablante ended up with the ball on the left and sent a dangerous cross through the box. Multiple players in purple were nearby, but nobody could reach it.

The Young Lions finally found their equalizer in the 75th minute when a terrible clearance by Garces went to Rivera. It bounced off the second-half substitute to Mohammed, who sent Rivera forward. Reaching it before it went out of play, Rivera played it across for Acuna in front of goal. The forward used a nice touch to maintain possession and elude the defender, putting it past Garces to make it 2-2.

A minute later, another terrible pass by Garces gave OCB the lead. Again, it went to Rivera, but this time he went for goal himself. The attacker sent a long shot over Garces, who was well off his line, and in to give the Young Lions a shocking 3-2 lead.

“The goalkeeper obviously made a mistake and then I saw he was out of his box,” Rivera said about his goal. “And I just looked up, shot it, put it in the back of the net.”

It was the midfielder’s first goal of the season.

OCB nearly scored a fourth off of another bad giveaway by Atlanta in the 80th minute. The bad pass ended up with Acuna, who quickly took a shot at goal. This time Garces made a great diving save, tipping it wide of the post.

Right after that attempt, Perelman made his final three changes of the game. Franco Perez, Tahir Reid-Brown, and Favian Loyola came on for Tablante, Juninho, and Mohammed.

In the 87th minute, Solis used a cut and spin to beat a pair of defenders, keeping possession in the Atlanta box. He found Rivera at the top of the 18, and the first-team attacker took a shot, looking for a second-half brace. However, this time his attempt was just wide.

Brennan sent a dangerous cross into the OCB box in the 90th minute that was tipped by Stajduhar. Firmino was making a back-post run, but Rivera headed it away before Firmino could reach it.

The fourth official showed four minutes of second-half injury time, and the visitors nearly found another equalizer in the first. The initial ball into the box was punched away by Stajduhar, but went to Tiente. The substitute attempted a long shot that went over the OCB goalkeeper and off the crossbar before leaving play.

The Young Lions did well to keep possession of the ball in the corner during the final two minutes and kept winning free kicks in the Atlanta end. The opposition was unable to create any last-minute chances and OCB came away with the win.

As expected with a man advantage, Atlanta had much more possession in the second half and ended up with more in the game (53.6%-46.4%). But the visitors couldn’t turn that possession into chances as OCB had more shots (17-6), shots on target (9-3), corner kicks (6-3), and crosses (17-13). If not for some bad refereeing at the end of the first half, the Young Lions likely would’ve won by multiple goals.

“Crazy match,” Perelman said about the game. “I think we did the first half almost perfect. We controlled the whole game. We created a whole lot of situations, we scored. When we started the second half, we never lost order. We always kept organized with a good mentality, even when we received the goal. I mean, it was a great second half from our players, playing with heart and a lot of stamina. And then the subs who came in, they did really well. And the boys turned around the game and they deserve it. They deserve it because they worked really hard.”

This was OCB’s fourth comeback win of the season and its ninth victory of the year, equaling the club’s win total from 2016. The Young Lions are now only one win away from equaling the team record for wins in a season, set in 2017.

The three points moved OCB into fourth place in MLS NEXT Pro’s Eastern Conference, tied with New York Red Bulls II. The Young Lions remain second in the Central Division, four points behind Columbus Crew 2. But most importantly, they’re four points ahead of NYCFC II for the final playoff spot with 10 games remaining in the season.


The Young Lions will look to build on this win when they welcome Chicago Fire FC II to Osceola County Stadium next Sunday night.

Orlando City B

Orlando City B vs. Chicago Fire FC II: Final Score 2-1 as Young Lions Pick Up First Win of the Season

OCB claims its first points of the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro campaign with a 2-1 win over Chicago Fire FC II.

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Image of Pedro Leao taking a shot against Chicago Fire II.
Image courtesy of Orlando City B / Justin Glatt

Orlando City B (1-1-0, 3 points) secured its first win of the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season tonight, defeating Chicago Fire FC II (0-1-1, 2 points) 2-1 at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee. Pedro Leao gave the Young Lions the lead in the 39th minute before a failed clearance allowed Jack Sandmeyer to equalize just before halftime. Justin Ellis’ rocket in the 72nd minute restored OCB’s lead and proved to be the winner.

There were four changes to the OCB team that lost 3-1 to Huntsville City FC Monday night. Javier Otero had to play Saturday for the first team after Maxime Creapeau was sent off. As a result, Tristan Himes got his first start of the season in goal. Additionally, Dylan Judelson, Jaylen Yearwood, and Yutaro Tsukada got their first starts in place of Caleb Trombino, Issah Haruna, and Gustavo Caraballo.

The back line in front of Himes was Bernardo Rhein, Titus Sandy, Jr., Zakaria Taifi, and Yearwood. Judelson and Nicolas Lasheras were the defensive midfielders behind Tsukada, Ellis, and Harvey Sarajian with Leao up top.

This was a game of missed chances for both teams. Each could have had a goal in the first half but was able to convert before halftime. However, they’ll feel they should’ve come away with more as both squads missed some big chances. Add in some quality saves by Himes and Owen Pratt and the 2-1 scoreline doesn’t tell the story of the game.

The Young Lions created the first attempt in the fifth minute when Leao was sent behind the back line. Pratt came out to cut down the striker’s angle, but he got a shot off with the keeper out of position and the net wide open. Unfortunately, it was too weak and the Fire were able to clear.

A minute later, OCB nearly got a second attempt at goal when Ellis used some nifty footwork to create space and send Leao through. However, this one was a little too far in front of the striker and Pratt was able to cover.

The first attempt for the visitors came in the eighth minute when Vitaly Hlyut took a shot from just outside the box. Taifi got in front of the attempt, deflecting it over the crossbar. Chicago couldn’t do anything on the ensuing corner kick, allowing OCB to end the threat.

Damian Nigg attempted a similar play in the 11th minute when he took a shot from just outside the box. Taifi got in front again, but this one was blocked out instead of deflected over the goal.

The Young Lions might have gotten a little lucky in the 18th minute when Trip Fleming was sent though before being taken down by Sandy. He was definitely behind Sandy and probably behind the rest of the back line, but referee Gerald Flores only gave a yellow card despite protests by the Chicago players and staff.

Himes made an easy catch on the ensuing set piece and OCB escaped with nothing more than a caution.

Chicago nearly took the lead in the 24th minute when Nigg made a run into the box and Yearwood blocked his cross out of play. Nigg’s ensuing corner kick was headed on goal by Sandmeyer. Lasheras mishit the clearance and nearly scored an own goal, but Himes was able to knock it off the line.

On the other end, OCB nearly scored when a Yearwood cross was mishit by Josue Pfrommer, forcing Pratt into a save. The block went right to Leao, who put it back on target, but Pratt blocked it out of play. The Young Lions couldn’t create anything from the corner kick and the game remained scoreless.

Chicago had achance to open the scoring in the 34th minute when Hlyut found Nigg with space on the left side of the OCB box. The attacker’s second touch was a shot that hit the outside of the net.

The Young Lions finally broke the deadlock in the 39th minute when Sarajian did well to shield his defender and make a long run down the right. The rookie found Leao near the top of the six-yard box, and the Brazilian guided the ball past Pratt to give his team a 1-0 lead.

In the 45th minute, Nagle used a dummy move to beat Tsukada before finding Robert Turdean. The midfielder’s first touch was to Fleming, whose shot was deflected out of play by Taifi.

Lasheras headed the ensuing corner kick over the end line, giving Chicago a second set piece. This one was chested towards goal by David Poreba. Lasheras and Himes were there and it appeared to be an easy clearance, but they were unable to do so, allowing Sandmeyer to knock in the equalizing goal in first-half stoppage time.

OCB nearly retook the lead in the fourth minute of stoppage time when Taifi played Leao forward and the striker’s first touch sent Yearwood down the right. The right back sent the ball back centrally for Leao, making a trailing run. He couldn’t get much on it, but the ball rolled to Tsukada right behind. The midfielder attempted to guide the ball inside the far post, and it appeared to be on target, but Pfrommer got there just in time to clear it away.

The final chance of the first half came in the fifth minute of stoppage time. Taifi fouled Charles Nagle, earning a yellow card and giving Chicago a free kick near the top of the OCB box. The set piece by Nigg was headed out, but only to Hlyut, who fired on goal. While Judelson got in front to block it, Chicago kept possession. It was sent down the right side of the box to Turdean, who found Hugo Berg. Fortunately, his first-touch shot was wide of the far post.

The halftime whistle blew immediately after the miss and the game went into the break at 1-1. After 45 minutes, Chicago had the edge in shots (12-6) and shots on target (2-1). While both teams had four corner kicks and two crosses, OCB had better passing accuracy (85.4%-81.9%).

OCB had the first chance of the second half and it came inside the first minute. Sarajian took possession near the top right corner of the Chicago box, laying it off for Judelson. The Canadian youth international’s first touch was a shot that forced Pratt into a good save.

In the 55th minute, Poreba sent the ball forward and continued his run, allowing him to receive it back. The attacker had space to shoot, but Taifi got in front to block it out of play. OCB cleared the ensuing corner kick and the game remained tied. Two minutes later, Poreba had another chance, this time from outside the box. It was well struck, forcing Himes to tip the ball over the crossbar. The corner kick was too close to the OCB shot stopper, who collected it.

Tsukada created a good chance in the 60th minute, finding space from Oscar Pineda and sending a hard shot toward the far post. It was on target, but Pratt did well to dive to his right and make the one-handed stop.

Just a minute later, Tsukada went down and required attention from the OCB training staff. Head Coach Manuel Goldberg took the opportunity to make his first two changes. Caraballo and Dominik Baczewski came into the game for Tsukada and Lasheras.

Shortly after the substitutions, OCB nearly retook the lead when Yearwood’s low cross was blocked to the top of the box. Baczewski took possession and played it square for Caraballo. The teenager’s shot was on target but caught by Pratt.

The visitors had a great chance in the 65th minute when a long ball was taken down well, and Dean Boltz was sent behind the back line. Himes came off his line to cut down the angle as Boltz sent his shot under the right arm and toward the far post. Fortunately, it hit the woodwork and stayed out. Boltz was sent over the top in the 69th minute as the ball glanced off Sandy’s head and in behind the back line. The attacker was in on goal as Himes came off his line and the goalkeeper did well to block the shot.

Goldberg made his third change of the game in the 71st minute, replacing Yearwood with Parker Amoo-Mensah.

A minute later, the Young Lions retook the lead. Rhein sent Ellis into the box on the left, and the attacker did well to create enough space for a shot. There wasn’t much Pratt could do about it as Ellis sent a rocket inside the far post to give his team a 2-1 lead with less than 20 minutes to play.

OCB’s high press forced a turnover in the 75th minute and it nearly turned into a third goal. Leao took possession and backheeled the ball to Baczewski, who found Ellis in the box. It looked like Ellis had enough space for a shot, but he backheeled it to Judelson instead, and the midfielder’s shot was blocked by Fleming. The Young Lions had another chance six minutes later when Tidiane Diawara fouled Amoo-Mensah in the Chicago third of the field. Caraballo took the set piece, playing it short to Ellis. The attacker shot from distance, looking for his second goal, but he sent the low shot right to Pratt.

On the other end, Chicago created a chance when Poreba played a pass to Boltz between two defenders. The substitute fired from the top of the box, but he sent the attempt wide.

In the 84th minute, Ellis found Leao with space in the box. The striker’s second touch was a shot that rolled wide of the far post. That was the last attack for both goal scorers as they were replaced in the 86th minute by Landon Okonski and Logan Tsopanoglou.

OCB had a good opportunity in the first minute of stoppage time when Sandmeyer took Sarajian down near the top corner of the Chicago box. Caraballo took the set piece, sending it right to Pratt.

Despite chasing the game, Chicago was unable to create anything in the OCB third of the field. The only chance for either team in the dying minutes was a free kick that Caraballo sent straight to Pratt from distance.

At full time, Chicago had the advantage in shots (19-16), corner kicks (7-6), and crosses (6-4). But OCB put more attempts on target (7-6) and had better passing accuracy (82.5%-80.8%).

The win gives OCB its first three points of the season as the club’s reserve side split the two-game homestand to open the year.


The Young Lions will now head out on the road as they face Carolina Core FC Saturday afternoon.

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Orlando City B

Orlando City B vs. Huntsville City FC: Final Score 3-1 as OCB Falls In Season Opener

Poor finishing and two defensive mistakes were the difference as OCB fell 3-1 to Huntsville City FC in the season opener.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B / Justin Glatt

Orlando City B (0-1-0, 0 points) fell to Huntsville City FC (1-0-0, 3 points) at Osceola County Stadium tonight in the team’s 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season opener. Shak Mohammed netted a brace for the visitors, with the other goal coming from Jordan Knight. Harvey Sarajian scored the lone goal for the Young Lions, the first of his professional career.

The starting lineup for Manuel Goldberg’s side featured some familiar names, and some fans likely don’t know. Javier Otero was the starting goalkeeper and wore the armband behind a back line of Bernardo Rhein, Nicolas Lasheras, Titus Sandy, Jr., and Zakaria Taifi. Issah Haruna and Caleb Trombino were the defensive midfielders behind Sarajian, Justin Ellis, and Gustavo Caraballo, with Pedro Leao up top.

OCB will feel this was a game that got away. The Young Lions had multiple opportunities to score, including a sitter for Sarajian in the first half. But, in the end, it was defensive mistakes that decided the result. Miscommunication between Otero and Lasheras led to the first goal, and Otero was lobbed after coming out of his box, resulting in the third goal. Those three plays were the difference between three points and no points.

The first chance of the game was for the visitors when Sarajian tripped Chris Applewhite near the OCB box. Angel Iniguez took the set piece, finding Nick Pariano making a near-post run. However, the midfielder’s touch was wide of the post, keeping the game scoreless.

The Young Lions’ inability to clear the ball in the 11th minute gave former Lion Shak Mohammed his first chance. The attacker fired from outside the box, but Lasheras got in the way. Otero unsuccessfully tried to keep it from leaving the field, leading to the game’s first corner kick.

Mohammed took the set piece, but sent it too close to Otero, who made the catch.

Huntsville tried to play the ball out of the back in the 12th minute, but OCB’s pressure created a turnover. Sarajian found Leao, who backheeled the ball for Haruna. The 2026 MLS SuperDraft pick took the team’s first shot of the season from outside the box, sending his attempt straight to Will Mackay.

The Young Lions had another chance in the 15th minute when Caraballo brought a long ball down well and sent Taifi down the right. Gabriel Alonso took the right back down with a late challenge, earning the game’s first yellow card. Caraballo took the set piece from near the top corner of the box, but his shot was over the crossbar.

Alonso made a good run himself in the 18th minute, dribbling into the OCB third and near the top of the box. Running into traffic, he laid the ball off for Iniguez, who took a couple of touches to the side before sending his low shot wide of the far post.

A minute later, Trombino found Leao at the top of the box and the forward immediately sent it wide for Taifi. It went off a defender but straight to Taifi, whose first shot was on target and tipped wide by Mackay.

It looked like OCB might take the lead in the 28th minute when Leao was sent down the right in transition. Sarajian was making a run down the middle with nobody picking him up. Leao found his teammate and it looked like an easy tap-in, but Sarajian sent the attempt over the crossbar.

The ball was immediately sent down the field by Huntsville and it looked like OCB would handle it easily. But Lasheras and Otero just looked at each other, expecting the other to take it. Meanwhile, Mohammed took possession and passed it into the empty net to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.

In the 32nd minute, Knight won the ball from Caraballo near midfield and went the other way. Lasheras slid in to tackle it away, but was unable to do so. While the ball got too far away from Knight, Maximus Ekk backheeled the ball to Knight who beat Otero, placing the ball inside the near post and giving his team a 2-0 lead.

Taifi sent a great ball to the back post for Sarajian in the 37th minute, but Malachi Molina got his head to it first, knocking it out of play. Taifi took the set piece and it found Sarajian’s head at the far post. The midfielder headed it straight down where Mackay made the stop.

Two minutes later, Mohammed tried to create his second goal of the game when he made a long run into the OCB box. The attacker found enough space for a shot, sending his attempt into Otero’s arms.

In the 44th minute, Lasheras intercepted a long pass out of the back by Huntsville City. His touch let the ball get away, but Taifi was there to take possession. After a brief touch forward, the right back took a hard, low shot from distance that skipped just wide of the far post.

Huntsville had a good chance to make it 3-0 in the first minute of first-half stoppage time when Iniguez sent Ekk down the right. The attacker got behind Sandy and took a shot from a tight angle, but Otero got down to make the stop.

Two minutes later, the Young Lions finally broke through. It started when Mohammed drove down the left and his low cross was blocked out for a corner kick. OCB intercepted the set piece and went the other way. Ellis took possession and sent a beautiful ball for Caraballo, who split two defenders before sending it to Sarajian all alone. Molina came sliding in, but Sarajian used a nice touch to avoid the defender, putting it under Mackay’s arm and cutting the deficit in half.

That was the last good chance for either team as OCB entered the break down 2-1. Huntsville had the edge in shots (9-7), shots on target (4-3), and passing percentage (87%-80.3%) in the first 45 minutes. OCB had more corner kicks (4-3) and both teams attempted four crosses.

Things got a little feisty in the 49th minute when Taifi and Knight got tangled up. Knight grabbed Taifi’s arm and Taifi threw him down. As a result, both players were booked. The ensuing set piece by Caraballo ended up with Ellis on the far side. The attacker sent a curling cross into the box, but Sandy was unable to get over the ball, allowing Mackay to make an easy catch.

On the other end, Alonso found Knight near the top corner of the box. The forward took a shot that continued to sail high and wide, giving little concern to Otero.

In the 52nd minute, Haruna received a pass near the top of the Huntsville box and continued it to the right for Caraballo. The youngest signing in Orlando City’s MLS history fired on target, forcing Mackay into a save with his foot.

Huntsville had a great chance to extend its lead back to two goals in the 53rd minute when Molina made a run to the end line and crossed the ball. Lasheras got in front of the attempt, but it was deemed to go off his arm. Elvis Osmanovic immediately pointed to the spot, awarding the visitors a penalty. After winning the penalty, Molina stepped up to the spot. Otero guessed correctly, diving to his left and blocking the attempt out of play.

Leao nearly equalized for the Young Lions in the 58th minute after making a long run and firing from outside the box. It was a rocket shot and appeared to be heading inside the near post, but the ball was just wide.

Four minutes later, the visitors doubled their lead. Otero came outside of his box to clear the ball, but sent it right to Mohammed. The former OCB leading goal scorer sent the ball over Otero and into the goal to make it 3-1.

Goldberg made his first two changes of the game in the 70th minute. Dominik Baczewski and Matthew Belgodere came on for Trombino and Caraballo.

OCB had a good chance to cut the deficit back to one when Ellis was fouled by Jayvin Van Deventer near the top of the Huntsville box. Taifi’s free kick was into the wall, but OCB kept possession. Baczewski collected the ball and played it back for Sarajian, who quickly found Ellis at the top of the box. The Orlando City Homegrown product fired a shot that sailed just over the crossbar.

In the 78th minute, Baczewski played a beautiful ball forward for Taifi behind the Huntsville back line. The right back did well to bring it down with his chest and sent his shot toward the far post. Unfortunately, it went just wide.

Goldberg made his third change in the 80th minute as Jaylen Yearwood came into the game for Haruna.

Huntsville nearly scored a fourth in the 90th minute when Iniguez fired from long distance. The ball appeared to be heading just under the crossbar, so Otero was forced to tip it over for a corner kick. The ensuing set piece was cleared by Rhein, but only to Alonso. With space, Alonso took a shot from distance that traveled wide of the near post.

Despite OCB chasing a two-goal deficit, it was Huntsville creating the chances. The visitors had another opportunity in the first minute of stoppage time when Iniguez cut inside before firing a shot for the far post. However, the ball sailed wide.

The final chance of the game came in the dying seconds when Belgodere found Taifi in the box. The right back got his head to the ball and put it on frame, but Mackay made a great save, tipping it over the crossbar.

Leao got his head to the ensuing corner kick, but he couldn’t get much on it. Molina cleared the ball and Huntsville was able to see out the 3-1 win.

At full time, both teams had 17 shots and Huntsville put one more on frame (7-6). While OCB had more crosses (8-5), Huntsville held the advantage in corner kicks (8-7) and passing accuracy (85.6%-82.5%).

The loss ends a four-season streak in which the Young Lions won their season opener. The last time they fell in their first contest was in 2020 when they lost 2-0 to South Georgia Tormenta FC away from home.


The boys in purple have just under a week to shake this one off before they take the field again. They’ll host Chicago Fire FC II Sunday night as they look for their first points of the season.

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Orlando City B

Four Young Lions To Fall For This Valentine’s Day

A look at four players poised to make the leap from OCB to Orlando City, possibly as soon as this season.

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

In the spirit of Sunday’s Daytona 500, just a short drive down I-4 from my location here in Oviedo, let me also say “start your engines” to the 2026 MLS season, as we are now finally just one week away from Orlando City’s season opener on Feb. 21. The final preseason game is today, and you can expect a lot of coverage on our site and on The Mane Land PawedCast next week in advance of Red Bull New York, a.k.a. the New York Red Bulls, a.k.a. the team that used to be called the MetroStars, coming to Inter&Co Stadium to get the season started.

Orlando City B’s season will start a few weeks later, on March 2. Just like with the senior club, we do not yet have a full and final roster for the Young Lions, but we can celebrate Valentine’s Day today by looking at a few OCB players who deserve some love this year, as they have overperformed their age level and, if they stay with the club, will be pushing for minutes with Orlando City as early as this season.

In early January our Sean Rollins wrote about four OCB players who might make their Orlando City debuts this season, and here in mid-February I still agree with his thought that Tahir Reid-Brown is the OCB player most likely to make his senior debut, as Orlando City has not signed any new outside backs, so the depth chart, even with some experimentation with Iván Angulo moving the to back line, remains thin on both the right and left.

That depth chart is especially thin due to the departure of former OCB standout Alex Freeman, who was transferred to Villarreal in Spain a few weeks ago, so while Óscar Pareja may go with a back line using veterans Adrián Marín on the left and Angulo on the right to start the season, Zakaria Taifi will be battling with Angulo to fill Freeman’s shoes on the right. If Taifi is able to wrest away the starting position from Angulo, then he would be closely following Freeman’s path, as when Freeman moved up to the senior team in 2025 it was Taifi who took over at right back with OCB. Now, with Freeman departing Orlando City to wear Villarreal yellow, Taifi is again in line to replace him, wearing Orlando City’s new yellow gold ‘Sunken Treasure’ kit (at least when away from home).

Freeman and Taifi both played with OCB for three seasons, primarily at right back, and going into this year they had ranked third (Freeman) and 14th (Taifi) in minutes played in that club’s history. Taifi is almost exactly one year younger than Freeman, and while he was solid for OCB and made nine appearances for the senior club in 2025, he did not play as many minutes or perform as well as Freeman did while in MLS NEXT Pro (all data from fotmob.com, because the MLS NEXT Pro website, for some reason, does not have any data for the 2022 season):

SeasonAge on July 1Minutes PlayedAvg. FotMob Rating
Alex Freeman: 202217.91,3926.98
Alex Freeman: 202318.91,9447.02
Alex Freeman: 202419.92,3327.64
Zakaria Taifi: 202317.71,1226.58
Zakaria Taifi: 202418.75136.48
Zakaria Taifi: 202519.71,3266.84

A player’s FotMob rating is not the be-all, end-all of ranking methodology, but to the site’s credit, FotMob tracks thousands of games and uses the same formula to create its rankings, so you can easily compare the ratings of two players at the same position in the same league. In the comparison above, Freeman’s final OCB season outperformed Taifi’s by a wide margin. Freeman finished as the top-ranked fullback that season, while Taifi finished 33rd in 2025, though in fairness to Taifi, he often dressed for Orlando City and probably practiced with the first team a lot as well, so he may not have had been able to develop the same chemistry with the OCB team in 2025 that Freeman did in 2024.

While Taifi may not have the same trajectory as Freeman, he still ranked 33rd among fullbacks, and among the 32 who ranked ahead of him 25 were at least one year older, including more than 10 who were at least three years older. Age and performance level are huge in “minor” leagues like MLS NEXT Pro, the NBA G League, and Minor League Baseball, and during the last four years the top 25 players in FotMob Rating each year have an average age of 21.9 with an average rating of 7.58. Taifi is still two years younger than those players, and while 6.84 is a bit shy of 7.58, he would be expected to improve during each of the next two years. If he were to improve by only 3% each year, for example, he would go from 6.84 to 7.26, which would have put him sixth among MLS NEXT Pro fullbacks.

I do not think he will be in MLS NEXT Pro for two more years, or maybe even that frequently this season, and two other players who also are knocking on the door of a permanent move to the senior Lions are midfielder Colin Guske and attacker Justin Ellis. I wrote about Ellis in July of 2025, and while he cooled off a little bit in the second half of the season, he still ended up as the third-ranked attacking midfielder in MLS NEXT Pro, finishing only behind players who are two and six years older than he is (18, turning 19 in May).

His season-ending FotMob rating of 7.43 was the fourth highest of any Young Lion during OCB’s four-season history, and if we applied that same 3% growth for his next three seasons (taking him to 21 years old), he would see his rating go all the way up to 8.12, which would match Jacen Russell-Rowe (then of Columbus Crew 2, now of Toulouse in France) for the highest rating in league history. Ellis also continues to get called up to play with the U.S. Youth National Teams, so while I think in the beginning of 2025 he will be behind quite a few attacking players on Orlando City’s senior roster — and therefore playing frequently with OCB — by the second half of the season he may well force his way into consideration for minutes at the MLS level, especially if he keeps improving like he has recently.

The other 2025 OCB standout who is worthy of your love and attention is Guske, who, like Taifi, often was on the bench during MLS games last season, especially after Joran Gerbet went down with a season ending injury. The young midfielder did not rack up a lot of minutes during the regular season, but in the playoff game he was the one who got the call to come off the bench for the final 15 minutes with Orlando City desperately trying to make a comeback.

Guske just turned 19 at the end of January, yet he already has two seasons as a starter under his belt with OCB and has already played more than 40 games and 3,500 minutes at the MLS NEXT Pro level. The story is similar for the Jacksonville native as it was for Taifi and Ellis — a young player who performed well (a combined 6.90 FotMob rating during his two seasons) at an age that is a few years younger than the average age of a player in MLS NEXT Pro.

Like Ellis, but not Taifi, however, is that Guske plays at a position that is now quite deep at the senior level, as the Lions acquired Braian Ojeda and Luis Otávio in the off-season, and Wilder Cartagena returned from injury as well. Those three, plus Eduard Atuesta, are all likely ahead of Guske on the depth chart at the moment. Gerbet may be able to return from injury later in the season, adding another player into the mix, so even though Guske also has played well enough to get called up to play for U.S. youth teams recently, he is likely going to be blocked from MLS minutes initially.

The jury is out on Otávio, as he has yet to play, but as an MLS U22 Initiative player, he probably will get a serious look at whether he is ready to play and stay mostly with the senior team. Heine Gikling Bruseth also was signed as an MLS U22 Initiative player and he never saw the field, so it is not guaranteed that Otávio is ahead of Guske on the depth chart, but all the other established players likely are, so Guske will probably mostly be with OCB to start this season with increased responsibility to run the team from the central midfield. I think Guske will see some time this year with Orlando City, especially if there are injuries, but this will be a big year for him with OCB and then he will aggressively compete for minutes next season.

That brings me to the last OCB player who deserves your love and attention, and that is Gustavo Caraballo, one of the biggest wild cards on Orlando City’s roster. Caraballo is only 17 years old (he will turn 18 in August), but last season he played in six games for the Lions and scored two goals, while also playing more than 1,000 minutes for OCB (7.04 FotMob rating) and leading Orlando City’s academy team to a win at the U-18 Generation Adidas Cup. He also scored a goal in the MLS NEXT All-Star Game, played for the Venezuela in the FIFA U-17 World Cup, and was called up to camp with the senior Venezuela team in the fall. Sounds just about like what I had accomplished by the time I turned 18.

Caraballo primarily played out on the right last season, but with Marco Pašalić ahead of him, it is unlikely he has a path into the starting lineup on the right wing. Pašalić rarely played full matches last season, however, so there are minutes to be filled behind him. The Venezuelan may be much younger than everyone else on the roster, but he is preternaturally gifted and is clearly one of the most exciting young players to ever play for the Lions.

I am interested to see if he is permanently with Orlando City this season or if they think he still needs time with OCB, but I expect that he will mostly be with the senior Lions. And, if the rumors are true that Pašalić has teams interested in him in Europe, the Croatian may depart after the World Cup, leaving a spot on the right up for grabs. Not every young player with talent can be called (insert club name here)’s Lamine Yamal, but Caraballo fits that bill on many levels.

Last season’s OCB season did go as well as anyone hoped, but that was not due to a lack of talent on the roster. One year later, many of its top players are back and pushing to move up to Orlando City, and even those who start the season with OCB I am sure will be playing with that metaphorical chip on their shoulder to show that they belong on the field at Inter&Co Stadium.

As you celebrate your Valentine’s Day weekend, make sure to give some love to OCB by taking a look at the Young Lions’ schedule and finding a game or two that you can attend or watch from home. When you see the skill level of some of the young players in the Orlando City pipeline you will be glad you made the time, and who knows…you might find a new favorite Va-lion-tine.

Vamos Orlando!

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