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Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Final Score 1-1 as Lions See Win Streak Snapped

It was another ugly match against Charlotte as the Lions finish 0-2-1 in three games against the North Carolina side.

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2 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

A seeing-eye goal by Martin Ojeda on a long-distance free kick late prevented Charlotte FC from sweeping three matches against Orlando City as the teams played to a 1-1 draw on a wet night at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, NC. Orlando City (12-6-8, 44 points) saw its three-game league winning streak snapped but earned a road point against a Charlotte FC team (7-9-9, 30 points) that seems to leak goals against everyone in MLS except the Lions.

Both teams scored a goal that was ruled offside, and Enzo Copetti opened the scoring late for the hosts on his own craftily earned penalty that Rodrigo Schlegel knew nothing about. The point pushed Orlando City to third in the Eastern Conference, just past the Philadelphia Union, who have played one fewer match.

“Very happy with the performance of the players, especially in the second half,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “I thought we played against a very good team, and a team who has a model that at the beginning confused us and we couldn’t stop them. That’s why I valued that reaction that we had in that first half and created some options that probably should take us to lead the game at the end of the half. The second half was more controlled.”

Pareja’s lineup offered up only two changes from the team that beat St. Louis City SC on Saturday. Wilder Cartagena’s yellow card suspension made way for Junior Urso’s first start since his return to Orlando City, while Ramiro Enrique slotted in for Ivan Angulo. Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese played behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Schlegel, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Cesar Araujo joined Urso in central midfield behind an attacking line of Enrique, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres, with Duncan McGuire up top.

Charlotte jumped on Orlando right off the opening whistle, coming out with far more energy and attacking presence. The hosts won a corner before the first minute had elapsed even though Orlando kicked off.

The home team won several early set pieces but couldn’t do much with them as the service into the box wasn’t always good and when it was, the play broke down or the Lions blocked the pass.

Charlotte should have scored in the 12th minute, as the ball found its way to Brecht Dejaegere, who stepped to his right and fired over the bar. Dejaegere, however, had pulled up lame trying a stepover moments earlier and had to sub off after the missed shot. Former Lion Justin Meram replaced him on the left wing.

The first Orlando shot didn’t come until the 29th minute and Enrique had his effort blocked by Jaylin Lindsey.

Charlotte quickly went back on the attack and Jansson had a crucial block in the 36th minute. Seconds later, Gallese made a big stop to punch away what must have been ruled a cross. He then immediately made a huge stop on Derrick Jones’ header from the top of the six on a wasteful effort by the midfielder.

Three minutes later, Ashley Westwood fired inches wide of the left post when he was wide open at the top of the box.

Orlando City came close in the 41st minute, when Enrique cut to his right and blasted a shot from outside the area, but it crashed off the right post and stayed out. Two minutes later, McGuire scored but it didn’t count.

The Lions caught Charlotte napping and too far forward and the ball was sent forward to Torres on the right. The Uruguayan had a 2-v-1 with McGuire against one defender. However, Torres had to take an extra touch to settle the wet ball on the fake surface. McGuire tried to hold his run, and Torres got the ball through to him. The rookie scored on a cannon shot inside the near post but the flag came up for offside. The video assistant referee confirmed it without sending the referee to the monitor.

McGuire had a second chance from a tight angle in stoppage time, when a great ball over the top found him. The rookie was able to bring it in but not before it squirted out in front of him. That made the angle easier to defend and his shot was saved. That was the last good look of the half and the teams went to the break scoreless.

Charlotte dominated the stat sheet at halftime, leading in possession (69.8%-30.2%), shots (7-4), passing accuracy (85.5%-73%), and corners (2-1), with each team getting one shot attempt on frame, officially — although it seemed Gallese had two saves in the opening period.

Pareja sent Ivan Angulo onto the pitch to start the second half, withdrawing Pereyra. Torres moved to the middle of the attacking midfield, with Angulo on the right and Enrique left.

Torres had a good opportunity from the left to get a cross in for a wide-open McGuire in the 47th minute but the ball sailed just over the striker’s head.

It was Charlotte’s turn to score an offside goal in the 53rd minute. A giveaway on a throw-in by Orlando in its own end got sent in from left to right but Ben Bender was already behind the last defender before the pass and although his finish over Gallese into the roof of the net was a good one, it was never going to count.

The hosts got back on the front foot for the next part of the game, with Jansson making a vital challenge to deny a cross in from the right in the 56th minute and Karol Swiderski fizzing a dangerous ball through the top of the six two minutes later that none of his teammates could get to.

Torres cut across the top of the area in the 59th and sent a curling shot that didn’t quite dip enough and sizzled just high of the top left corner.

Pareja made an interesting double switch at the hour mark, sending Ojeda and Felipe on for McGuire and Urso. Enrique moved up top as the striker. Ojeda, Torres, and Angulo made up the new attacking midfield.

Moments after the substitutions, Schlegel made solid contact on a header off a corner but it was right at goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina, who fought it off in the 63rd minute. The play was offside anyway, as substitute Felipe was parked right in front of the goalkeeper, well behind the entire Charlotte defense.

Angulo forced a good diving save by Kahlina a minute later.

Jansson was having an incredible game but went down with a knock in the 77th minute. He was replaced by rookie Abdi Salim and Kyle Smith also came on for Santos.

Disaster struck a minute after the subs, when Schlegel was backing up in the box and went to play a ball directly at him. Copetti made a crafty play to come leaping in to get his leg in front of Schlegel, who knew nothing about what was going on behind him. Copetti made a meal of the slight contact and referee Rosendo Mendoza pointed to the spot. Copetti and Gallese exchanged words prior to the penalty but the Charlotte Designated Player placed an unstoppable penalty into the inside netting on the right, despite El Pulpo guessing correctly.

The play gave Charlotte a 1-0 lead in the 81st minute.

“When they scored the PK, again the braveness and the character of this group is amazing,” Pareja said of the team’s ability to fight back.

It appeared the hosts would get a clean, three-game sweep of the Lions on the season but Orlando City pulled one back in the 88th minute.

Ojeda lined up a free kick from long distance, looking to find someone at the back post. However, his delivery cleared everyone. Kahlina got a fingertip to it but could only knock it off the inside of his post and in.

“We work a lot on set pieces,” Felipe said. “Josema (Bazán), our assistant coach, is the guy that is always in charge of the set pieces. We work on those balls and it’s not by chance that we scored the goal, but it’s something from the training ground that we always work on, and we always keep improving every week. And again in tight games like this, those are the times that we need those goals and we were able to score today, so it was great for Martin and great for the team that we were able to score on a set piece that we work (on) so much.”

Orlando City had a promising attack in the third minute of stoppage time but Angulo’s pass to Enrique from the right was behind the Argentine. Ojeda tried a shot from 35 or 40 yards out a minute later that didn’t come close to troubling Kahlina.

Another controversial moment happened just as the six minutes of stoppage time were winding down. Copetti swung a forearm up and into the chin of Schlegel, who went down clutching his face. Mendoza showed Copetti a yellow card and then was directed by the VAR to go take a second look. The arm definitely swung into Schlegel’s face and the elbow was up, but Mendoza stuck with his original call. He then made Schlegel leave the field for a concussion check on a play he didn’t deem violent, confusing everyone involved.

“We don’t understand,” Pareja said of the decision to make Schlegel leave the pitch. “We were very annoyed by that, because (Mendoza) has almost five minutes to attend the player and make a test and he decided to wait five minutes and when he came out, he said that he needed to check it outside, knowing that the game was about to expire. We didn’t understand. We were frustrated but what can we say?”

Neither side got another good look and the teams split the points.

Although Orlando got more of the ball in the second half than the first, Charlotte finished with a comfortable advantage in possession (65.8%-34.2%). The hosts also led in shots (9-8), corners (4-3), and passing accuracy (83.7%-70%). Orlando City put more shots on target (4-2).

“I think it’s it’s a great result for us,” Felipe said. “It’s a point coming from behind. We always need to appreciate the point. It’s never easy to come to a place like Charlotte. So yes, it is a positive point for us and we keep building, we keep going because we are heading in the right direction.”

The Lions will come home briefly before heading back on the road to take on Supporters’ Shield-leading FC Cincinnati on Saturday.

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Orlando City

Orlando City Showing Signs of Adjusting to Eduard Atuesta’s Absence

The Lions have looked much better on offense the last two games, and there’s a couple of reasons why.

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20 hours ago

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May 16, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Much has been made of Orlando City’s difficulties in creating chances and scoring goals when Eduard Atuesta has been unavailable due to injury. It’s not hard to understand why either. The Colombian was unavailable for three of Orlando’s four scoreless draws this year, and he only played nine minutes as a substitute in the stalemate against the New York Red Bulls on April 12.

When he was healthy and got the start against Atlanta United two games later, the Lions won 3-0 and he created the most chances of anyone in the game with three. Orlando then promptly reverted to being offensively stunted in the following game against the Chicago Fire, and was only able to manage its fourth scoreless draw of the year, despite playing over a half the game with a man advantage.

There certainly seemed to be plenty of evidence pointing towards Atuesta being the missing cog in Orlando City’s offense. While he only has two assists in eight games, he does a ton of work in linking the defense to the attack and is great at finding attacking players in dangerous areas, as evidenced by his 17 key passes. In the 0-0 draws with the Philadelphia Union, CF Montreal, and the Fire, Orlando just didn’t look right without him, although the Red Bulls game was a much better performance that was ultimately derailed by Rodrigo Schlegel’s sending off.

While he hasn’t played in either of Orlando’s last two league matches, a 3-3 draw against the New England Revolution, and a 3-1 win against Charlotte FC, the offense clearly hasn’t had any problem creating chances. If anything, the Lions should have scored more goals if not for a couple instances of less-than-crisp finishing in each match.

So, why the sudden change?

Well for one thing, the Designated Players are firing on all cylinders again. Martin Ojeda scored a hat trick against New England, and he and Luis Muriel scored Orlando’s first two goals against Charlotte. Ojeda didn’t start either of the two games against Atlanta and Chicago because he was dealing with a minor injury, but now that it’s in the rearview mirror, he’s been a man possessed. Muriel probably should have had at least one goal of his own against the Revs but seemed oddly reluctant to shoot, although he still completed three dribbles and delivered three key passes. The Charlotte game was then his turn to come out of the gate swinging, as he narrowly had a goal ruled out for offside just two minutes in, before hammering a venomous shot from distance just six minutes later that gave Kristijan Kahlina all sorts of trouble and opened the scoring.

It isn’t just getting contributions from the big guns though, because we need to acknowledge the play of rookie Joran Gerbet in these last two games. He’s the man who’s been asked to fill in for Atuesta next to Cesar Araujo, and he’s getting more and more comfortable in that role. Against the Revs he had an interception, a key pass and an assist, and completed a long ball and a through ball while recording a passing accuracy of 86.5%. Against Charlotte, he recorded an interception, three clearances, a completed dribble, and two successful long balls, and he had an outstanding passing accuracy of 98%. They weren’t all simply backwards or sideways passes either. There were plenty of times when he progressed the ball upfield to an attacking player and helped keep the Lions moving forward, and that’s exactly what you want out of the guy playing that position.

He still has a way to go before reaching Atuesta’s level, but that’s to be expected for a guy that’s playing the first professional season of his career. What’s most important is that he’s getting more comfortable, contributing, and proving that he can be a legitimate option to rotate into the starting XI when Atuesta is unavailable or when fixture congestion dictates changes to the lineup.

It’s worth mentioning the caveat that the last two games haven’t been against the strongest opposition the league has to offer. The Revs were on a four-game winning streak before playing Orlando, but three of those four wins were against weak or shaky teams in Atlanta, Toronto FC, and Charlotte, while the fourth team (NYCFC) has been difficult to get a read on. I’m not saying the Revs are a paper tiger, but it’s tough to know how good they really are despite a good run of recent form. Then you have Charlotte, which was above the playoff line but also on a three-game losing streak coming into the match that has now been convincingly extended to four.

At the end of the day, you can only beat who’s in front of you, but I’d encourage us all to not get too carried away until we see the same results against sterner opposition. For better or worse, that’s exactly what we’ll get in the Lions’ next three matches, which will be against a capable, albeit flawed, Inter Miami side on the road, at home in the U.S. Open Cup against a Nashville SC team that’s fourth in the East, and at home against the Portland Timbers, who are currently fourth in the West.

Ultimately, we can only judge this team on what we’ve seen from it, and over the last two games we’ve seen a side that’s had no trouble creating chances. Despite the continued absence of the important Atuesta, the Lions are adjusting thanks to contributions from their heavy hitters and the improving play of the rookie Gerbet. Only time will tell if those improvements are sustainable, but for now its a hell of a lot of fun to enjoy.

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Lion Links: 5/16/25

Orlando City players make MLS Team of the Matchday, Luis Muriel focused, Orlando Pride plays tonight, and more.

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24 hours ago

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May 16, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Happy Friday! I’ve had a pretty good week so far and am looking forward to three straight days of Orlando soccer. The Orlando Pride will get us started tonight and then we have Orlando City B on Saturday before Orlando City plays on Sunday. It should be a fun next few days, and hopefully one filled with celebrations too. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Lions Make MLS Team of the Matchday

There’s plenty of purple in the latest MLS Team of the Matchday following Orlando City’s 3-1 win over Charlotte FC. Martin Ojeda and David Brekalo were both selected, while Oscar Pareja was chosen as the top coach from the midweek slate. Ojeda’s strike in the first half is also up for Goal of the Matchday as his strong run of form continues. The only outfield player on this Team of the Matchday that didn’t score is Brekalo, who had two assists, so it’s nice to see him receive deserved recognition for an excellent performance that included a great setup on Orlando’s third goal. Pareja has the Lions on an 11-game unbeaten streak across all competitions and is managing things well so far during this busy May.

Luis Muriel Staying Focused in Sophomore Season

With five goals so far this season, Orlando City forward Luis Muriel has already mirrored his scoring total from all of last season. Staying mentally prepared has been key for the 34-year-old in his second year with Orlando, and he spoke about what’s changed for him after not quite reaching expectations in his first year.

“Coming to a league like this isn’t easy. A lot of times from the outside, you aren’t able to measure up or really see what the league is. Sometimes you can underestimate things, thinking it’s easy,” Muriel said. “That leads you to take things on in a different way, the work, the matches.

“When you go into ‘MLS Mode’ you realize how good the league is, how competitive it is, how demanding the league is to be able to do things well. That’s when things start to flow, to go well. I think that’s the difference between this year and last.”

He’s finding his footing in the league now and was a force to be reckoned with against Charlotte on Wednesday. Muriel is aware that the Lions will need him to be at his best when they travel to take on Inter Miami on Sunday for an important rivalry clash.

Diving Into Justin Ellis’s Ascent

Victor Olorunfemi of Top Drawer Soccer gave a great profile on Orlando City B forward Justin Ellis and his growth with the club. Ellis, who just celebrated his 18th birthday on Wednesday with his MLS debut, is having a great year after a solid season with OCB last year. The high school senior was the top scorer at this year’s Generation Adidas Cup with six goals to help Orlando’s U-18 team win the tournament. He can create chances just as well as he can convert them and is quick to give credit to the coaches and staff that have helped him develop. The U.S. youth pool is deep, but Ellis could be a name to keep an eye out for ahead of the U-20 World Cup in September.

Orlando Pride Match Headlines NWSL Weekend

The Orlando Pride’s match tonight against the Kansas City Current is the premier matchup this week in the NWSL. While I wouldn’t call it a rivalry just yet, these two teams had great games last year. The Current are still out for revenge after Orlando beat them while shorthanded last summer and won again in the NWSL playoffs in Orlando before winning the NWSL Championship in Kansas City. First place in the league is on the line and it should be a thrilling match featuring the league’s top two defenses and attacking threats like Barbra Banda, Temwa Chawinga, Marta, and Debinha.

NWSL Contenders and Underperformers

We’re about a third of the way into the NWSL season and ESPN‘s Jeff Kassouf dove into how each team is meeting its expectations so far. Despite their stumbles in recent weeks, the Pride are near the top of the table and have plenty of time to get things firing on all cylinders. Two of the California teams are enjoying surprising success so far, with the San Diego Wave up in fourth while Angel City FC is in fifth and could become a real contender once Alexander Straus takes over as head coach. NJ/NY Gotham FC and the North Carolina Courage are sleeping giants of sorts, so it will be interesting to see when they start climbing up the table.

Free Kicks

  • You’ll need a paid subscription for the full details, but Orlando City right back Alex Freeman continues to impress this season. Freeman is finding success in a way different from his father Antonio Freeman, who led the NFL in receiving yards for the Green Bay Packers in 1998.
  • This year’s MLS pre-match jerseys to celebrate Pride month are out and they’re a vibrant and funky design.

Love lifts us up 💜The new 2025 Pride Pre-Match Jerseys are here!🛒 orlsoccer.co/fbpri

— Orlando City SC (@orlandocitysc.com) 2025-05-15T18:56:08.764Z
  • Esther Gonzalez leads the NWSL with seven goals this season and has agreed to a contract extension with Gotham FC that will last through 2027.
  • FIFA representatives, including FA Chair Debbie Hewitt and UEFA President Alexander Ceferin, walked out of FIFA’s annual congress in protest of FIFA President Gianni Infantino arriving three hours late. Infantino has spent this week in the Middle East visiting leaders in Saudi Arabia and Qatar with Donald Trump.
  • FC Barcelona officially won this year’s La Liga title after a 2-0 win over Espanyol. Phenom Lamine Yamal scored a sensational goal in the match, which is fitting considering how crucial he was to Barcelona winning the league this year.
  • Predictable names like Luis Enrique and Antonio Conte are on the list of top European coaches this year, but this article also shines a light on coaches who navigated tough waters in small boats. Alexander Blessin has St. Pauli on the verge of survival in the Bundesliga and Filippo Inzaghi improved Pisa by 30 points in Serie B to secure promotion.

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

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Orlando City vs. Inter Miami: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to secure a victory in Sunday’s edition of Tropic Thunder?

Published

2 days ago

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May 15, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City / Mark Thor

The first Tropic Thunder match of the season is here. As I recently said on The Mane Land PawedCast, I am both looking forward to and dreading this match. I think that is an appropriate feeling. Orlando City is in the midst of a congested May schedule, but every match matters.

Inter Miami tops my list of hated teams at this point. As such, I very much want the Lions to win and for Florida to be purple. What does Orlando City need to do to earn all three points on the road against their in-state rivals?

Pocket Messi

Orlando City must keep Lionel Messi from having too big of an impact on the match. There are plenty of other players that the defense will need to worry about, and I’ll get to them. What I’m looking for is a frustrated Messi — Messi that feels he should be getting calls on the lightest of touches but is not.

The pair of players that I’m expecting to keep an eye on Messi are Cesar Araujo and Rodrigo Schlegel. The lion’s share of that burden will fall to Araujo. I want him to be hounding Messi every time he gets the ball. If Messi is able to get past Araujo, I want Schlegel to be right in his face. We’re all sick of MLS and Apple TV putting his smug mug in our faces at every opportunity. It’s time for two of Orlando’s defenders to take the shine off of Messi.

Deal with the Rest

Assuming Araujo can limit Messi, Orlando City still has to deal with Miami’s talented attacking players not named Messi. Miami and Orlando entered Wednesday night’s game with the same number of goals scored (21) and allowed (15) this season, although the Herons conceded more at San Jose (3) than the Lions (1) did at home against Charlotte. Each scored three times on Wednesday. However, the memory of the last time the Lions faced Miami at Chase Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale is a 5-0 loss. That isn’t something we want to see again.

Theoretically, no match is more important than another, although an argument could be made that Tropic Thunder is no mere match. I fully expect a starting back line of Alex Freeman, Schlegel, Robin Jansson, and David Brekalo in front of Pedro Gallese to stop Miami’s attack. A clean sheet is the objective.

Alex vs. Alba

As you can tell, this is a very defensive heavy Three Keys, but given what happened in this fixture last year, I don’t think it’s out of line. Alex Freeman has been good this season. He has secured the starting spot at right back and seems unlikely to give it back. One of the things he is good at is getting into the attack with Marco Pasalic. That isn’t what I’m looking for from him this weekend.

Miami’s Jordi Alba is a dangerous player that Freeman will be expected to help contain. Alba has five assists, seven successful crosses, and 13 key passes so far this season. If Freeman is still getting up the pitch to assist in the attack, he will need to make sure he isn’t allowing Alba free rein to get behind him and serve as a provider in Orlando’s half of the field.

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

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