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Orlando City vs. St. Louis City SC: Final Score 2-1 as Lions Ride Facundo Torres Brace to Victory

Facundo Torres opened the scoring and then broke a 1-1 tie late from the penalty spot as Orlando City beat the Western Conference leaders.

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1 year ago

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Facundo Torres scored a brace, with his second goal coming late to lift Orlando City to a 2-1 win over Western Conference-leading St. Louis City tonight at Exploria Stadium in front of an announced crowd of 22,156. The Lions (12-6-7, 43 points) scored early in the second half to break the deadlock but St. Louis (14-9-2, 44 points) was awarded a goal after video review determined the assistant referee was wrong to raise his flag for the ball going over the end line prior to the crucial pass on Rasmus Alm’s equalizer. Torres then scored from the spot after a late handball was called on the visitors, which blocked a Rafael Santos shot.

Orlando City has won three straight league games for the first time in 2023 and is unbeaten at home since April 22 (5-0-3).

“Very happy for the victory, not just with the three points that are so important for us but the way they gained those points,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “I thought we played a very good game. Our fans today were terrific. They were fantastic and they brought us that energy and I just want to be grateful with them because we fed (on) that energy.”

Pareja’s lineup was the same as the one that lined up in Chicago on Sunday. Pedro Gallese started in goal behind a back line of Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena manned the central midfield behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereryra, and Torres, with Duncan McGuire up top.

The Lions started the match looking to play directly but struggled to pick out McGuire up top. Orlando City did well in the opening half to find spaces through the middle of the pitch but lazy, late, or off-line passes in the final third ruined several good opportunities to break down the aggressive St. Louis defense. The visitors were content to foul a lot anytime Orlando City threatened to break a line, but very few of those fouls were in the defensive third of the pitch.

Five minutes in, Aziel Jackson took the game’s first shot from outside the box on the right side but his shot was a good 15 to 20 yards wide of the left post. Two minutes later, Eduard Lowen sent a free kick wide of the target after Cartagena conceded a foul about 25 yards out from Gallese’s goal.

The best St. Louis City chance of the opening half came in the 13th minute when the visitors broke down the right off an Orlando turnover. Akil Watts fizzed a cross to the top of the six for former Lion Nicholas Gioacchini, who slid to meet it but it was too far in front for him to make contact. Two minutes later, Indiana Vassilev sent a shot well off target.

The Lions finally got a shot in the 15th minute when Angulo took on three defenders and predictably had his shot blocked. Santos won a corner off of that block but Roman Burki came off his line to punch away Pereyra’s delivery. The ball was recycled to Pereyra, who sent in a good cross for Jansson, but again Burki got there first to punch it away. Burki was aggressive all night in coming off his line and Orlando did little to create traffic in front of him.

Torres got onto the deflection of the third Orlando corner and smashed a shot toward goal but it was headed over by a defender in the 20th minute.

Gioacchini tried a difficult volley from about 12 yards out in the 23rd minute but couldn’t get the attempt on target.

Orlando City had a great chance in the 31st minute when McGuire got onto the ball on the right side of the box. He sent in a good cross and Pereyra got to it first but his volley attempt went just wide of the left post.

Lowen sent a shot over the bar from long range on the last chance of the half for the visitors.

Orlando’s best chance of the half came in stoppage time. Pereyra picked out McGuire but his shot was denied by Burki from close range.

Orlando City held the halftime advantage in possession (55.1%-44.9%), shots (6-5), shots on target (1-0), corners (4-1), and passing accuracy (83.8%-80.5%). Neither team was able to break down the other to great effect and Orlando City wasted too many good opportunities to create in the final third with poor passes or obvious ones that were easily defended.

“I thought we weren’t playing the right way,” Pareja said of the first half. “They came out with a different formation, so for the first 15 minutes we needed to accommodate the team again. They were very dense in the middle, and they were keeping the ball and creating some spaces that we don’t want. But then we matched that up in the middle. We corrected and we were trying to impose our ways and that happened. In the second half I thought we were more protagonists of (the game) against a very good team. I thought we had a very professional job.”

The Lions broke the deadlock just after the restart. Torres sent the ball right to Pereyra and the captain played it to Thorhallsson near the top of the box. Thorhallsson cut from right to left and thought about shooting but found Torres breaking toward goal. His pass found the Uruguayan and Torres smashed his shot, which took a slight deflection off of Jake Nerwinski and sailed past Burki in the 48th minute for his ninth goal of the season.

“When I got the ball, I looked up and I saw (Pereyra) in a bit of a diagonal, and normally he likes me to play those in to his feet,” Torres said through a club translator. “So, I just kind of hit it, but thankfully once he got it, he played it to Dagur, and I just kind of made my run away from him and toward the goal. And thankfully he found me and I was able to put it away.”

Gallese was called to action in the 53rd minute, punching away a shot from a free kick from 30 yards out. Lowen sent a one-hopper at Gallese three minutes later after Pereyra appeared to cleanly win the ball and then collided with a St. Louis player. The Lions thought Torres would be in alone on goal at the other end after a quick outlet pass but referee Joe Dickerson brought the play back and booked Pereyra.

Watts and Thorhallsson exchanged shots high into the crowd over the next few minutes as St. Louis chased the game, while Orlando looked to score an insurance goal.

Cartagena committed a foul 30 yards out in front of his own goal in the 73rd minute, but Lowen sent the dangerous free kick just wide of the right post.

St. Louis coach Bradley Carnell sent on offensive reinforcements in the 77th minute, as Joao Klauss and Rasmus Alm entered the match. The move paid off two minutes later.

A ball to the end line appeared from the press box to go over the end line before St. Louis substitute Nokkvi Thorisson sent it in front for Alm to slam just inside the left post in the 79th minute. The video assistant referee looked at the play for several minutes before Dickerson went to the monitor himself. After another long look, Dickerson awarded the goal and the game was tied.

Thorhallsson had a good look at the play and said he knew the goal would count.

“I thought it was in as soon as they scored. And I kind of just went down on the ground,” Thorhallsson said. “I need to watch it again, but when I saw it, I was like, “OK, that’s gonna be a goal.”

With the match tied, Pareja sent Michael Halliday and Jack Lynn onto the pitch for Thorhallsson and Pereyra in the 85th and 86th minutes. Lynn was crucial down the stretch of the match defending in the box on set pieces and providing outlet passes to spring potential counters.

Second-half sub Ramiro Enrique earned a foul to the left of the box in the 87th minute and that led to the winning play. The free kick was played backward to Santos just outside the top of the box and the left back blasted a shot toward goal. The ball hit the arm of Anthony Markanich and went out over the end line. Orlando players pleaded with Dickerson to award a penalty for handball, but after several seconds of thought, Dickerson signaled a corner kick.

The VAR again directed Dickerson to look at the play and the referee awarded a penalty upon review. Torres stepped up to the spot and took the shot. Burki faked as if he would dive right but then went left. Had he stayed right, he might have made the save, but he didn’t, and that’s where Torres sent the shot, making it 2-1 in the 90th minute and reaching double figures in goals on the 2023 season.

“All I was thinking about was, ‘score the goal,'” Torres said. “When I stepped up, I knew this was the opportunity for us to put the game away, get the victory — obviously thinking a little bit about the goal that they scored that didn’t get taken back — so, thinking about that and just trying to bury it and secure the three points for us.”

Orlando City still had a lot to do with nine minutes of stoppage time added.

The visitors nearly stole points in the 94th minute off a cleared corner kick. The clearance went well outside the box but Vasillev struck it true on the volley and the curling shot crashed off the left post and fizzed across the front of the goal line before the Lions could clear.

The final chance fell Orlando’s way as Lynn sent Enrique in behind the defense in the 10th minute of stoppage time. He was taken down from behind just outside the box by Nerwinski, who was sent off for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity. Second-half sub Martin Ojeda took the free kick and smashed it on target but Burki fought it off. Before anyone could collect it, Dickerson blew the full-time whistle on a huge win for the Lions.

Orlando City held the advantage in possession (57.1%-42.9%), shots (11-10), shots on target (4-2), corners (8-4), and passing accuracy (83.2%-78.7%).

“It was important for us to win this one against a rival who is in the top of the Western Conference that gave us the sensation that we’re competing (at a high level),” Pareja said.

The Lions have a short turnaround as the fixture schedule gets more congested over the next week. Orlando City visits Charlotte on Wednesday before traveling to face FC Cincinnati on the road next Saturday.

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

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

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1 hour ago

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November 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Three Keys to Victory

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

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3 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

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

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

Beat Guzan

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

Cartagena is Essential

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

Overcome the Past

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

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

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Lion Links: 11/21/24

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

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7 hours ago

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November 21, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

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

Spotlight Falls On Marta in NWSL Championship

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

Ann-Katrin Berger Named NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year

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

Wilfried Nancy Named MLS Coach of the Year

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

2025 SheBelieves Cup Details Unveiled

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

Eric Quill Named FC Dallas Head Coach

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

Free Kicks

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

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

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