Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Nashville SC: Player Grades and Man of the Match
How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando’s 1-0 victory in the Music City?
Orlando City continued its winning ways with a 1-0 businesslike road victory against Nashville SC. With shots and scoring opportunities scarce throughout the match, Orlando City made the most of its limited chances late in the first half as Duncan McGuire returned to the scoresheet. The club then put on a defensive clinic throughout the second half and turned away Nashville time and again, allowing just two second-half shots (and blocking both). The win continued to build on a record-setting season for the club for both most points (57) and most wins (16) in a season since the Lions joined MLS in 2015.
Here’s how I saw each individual performance in what may have been a preview of Orlando’s first round playoff matchup.
Starters
GK, Pedro Gallese, 6.5 — For the second match in a row, the Peruvian goalkeeper found himself with little to do, earning a clean sheet without having to make a save. Gallese faced no shots on target on the night and completed 65.4% of his 26 passes, including eight of his 16 long balls. El Pulpo set a new personal single season record for clean sheets in a season, recordeing his 10th on the year, surpassing his previous high of nine, which he set last year. He came off his line to punch away a cross or two but largely wasn’t given enough to do to earn a higher grade.
D, Rafael Santos, 7 — The Brazilian left back put in another solid effort on both ends of the pitch against a dangerous Nashville attacking front. On the offensive side of the ball, Santos logged a key pass and one successful dribble. He completed his lone crossing attempt on the night, but none of his three long balls found their target. He passed 51 times at an 88.2% rate. Santos was defensively solid, recording two tackles, making an interception, winning an aerial duel, and logging one clearance. Santos committed one foul and ultimately continued to prove his worth on the back line.
D, Robin Jansson, 7 — The Beefy Swede was cooking all night long as the heart and soul of Orlando’s defense. He also got more into the attack than in matches past, making several lung-busting runs down the field, where he logged one successful dribble. Jansson had a tackle and a team-high four clearances as he broke up plays left and right, especially when Nashville was hunting for an equalizer. Fans held their collective breaths when Jansson went down in the first half after the full weight of Sam Surridge unintentionally found the top of his boot, but after some attendance from the training staff Jansson was able to soldier on. He completed 84.4% of his 64 passes, including two of his seven long balls, committed one foul, and won an aerial duel.
D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 7 (MotM) — Schlegel did his usual Schlegel things in this match, seemingly getting under the skin of the Nashville attacking players from the jump. He logged one tackle, one interception, and three clearances while also recording a team-high three blocked shots, including a vital one on Hany Mukhtar late in the second half. The center back committed two fouls. He attempted 60 passes, completing 90% of them, but was only successful on one of his seven long balls attempted. There is something to be said about the luxury of having Rodri fill in during Antonio Carlos’ extended absence and Schlegel deserves a lot of credit for being prepared match after match.
D, Kyle Smith, 6.5 — Smith got the nod to start during the midweek fixture, replacing Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. The accountant played a solid but ultimately unremarkable game while fighting off attempts from Nashville. Smith recorded one successful dribble but was unsuccessful on both of his crossing attempts. Defensively, he had just one tackle, but two clearances, and he won an aerial duel. Smith completed 88% of his 50 passes and was accurate on four of his seven attempted long balls. He was subbed off in the 85th minute when Orlando brought on Thorhallsson and Carlos in an attempt to protect the one goal lead.
MF, Cesar Araujo, 7 — Araujo did a little bit of everything throughout the match. The 22-year-old led the Lions with a team-high 84 touches and 75 attempted passes, and completed 92% of his attempts. He earned two fouls for the Lions while committing none. Along with his defensive midfield partner, Wilder Cartagena, Araujo did a fine job of keeping former MVP Hany Mukhtar in check. The Uruguayan contributed one tackle, one interception, and one clearance while pestering Nashville.
MF, Wilder Cartagena, 6.5 — Like Araujo, the Peruvian was given the tall task of defending Mukhtar and did well to be in the right place to alter runs or stymie the buildup. Cartagena was fouled twice on the night and committed two fouls as well, picking up a yellow card. Surprisingly, he did not record a tackle, interception, or clearance but he did record one blocked shot. He won two aerial duels and completed 89.1% of his 64 passes while also connecting on one of his two long balls.
MF, Martin Ojeda, 6.5 — The Argentinian Designated Player got the start for the midweek clash. Ojeda has quietly put together a solid first year in MLS and built upon it by logging his 10th assist across all competitions on the winning goal for Orlando City. Sprung down the left side on a ball by Mauricio Pereyra, Ojeda curled a key pass to a streaking McGuire, who flicked it off the near post and in to put Orlando ahead just before halftime. Defensively, Ojeda contributed one tackle and a clearance. He was successful on 73.3% of his 30 passes and landed one of his two long balls and one of two crosses. It was a solid outing for the DP, who keeps adding to his season totals in goals and assists.
MF, Mauricio Pereyra, 6 — The captain had little room to work most of the night but was responsible for unleashing Ojeda right before Orlando scored. He missed on both of his long ball attempts and completed 80.6% of his 36 passes. Defensively, he contributed a tackle and an interception on an otherwise pedestrian night for the leader of the squad.
MF, Facundo Torres, 6 — Speaking of quiet nights, Torres was coming off of one of his most dominant performances of the season, but he struggled to find the same impact against an aggressive Nashville defense. In defense of Torres, if would have been slightly easier to get water from a stone than to get any type of clean touch on the ball when he was constantly shoved in the back on almost every touch. Torres did not record a tackle, clearance, or interception and logged two successful dribbles while being fouled once (officially). He completed 81.8% of his 33 passes and his lone cross attempt from the endline sheepishly found the side of the net without posing much of a threat. Torres was subbed off in the 71st minute and thanks to missing out on 11 minutes of stoppage time was able to get some extra rest during a congested week.
F, Duncan McGuire, 7 — The rookie logged his 10th goal of the MLS season to provide the winning margin. There was a lot of talka bout whether he was onside, but the flag stayed down and video review showed that his run was in line with Ojeda’s pass. Besides finding the back of the net on his only shot attempt, McGuire completed seven of his 10 passes (70%) and completed one successful dribble while winning a foul and committing one. McGuire won a team-high three aerial duels.
Substitutes
MF, Ivan Angulo (65′), 5.5 — Oscar Pareja elected to bring on straight speed in the 65th minute by introducing Angulo and Ramiro Enrique into the match. While neither had a direct impact on the score sheet, their pace proved to be a issue for Nashville throughout the final half hour. Angulo completed all nine of his passes and logged one clearance and one interception. Based upon the congestion of fixtures this week, I expect Angulo to be back in the starting lineup for the home finale.
F, Ramiro Enrique (65′), 5.5 — Enrique came on alongside Angulo and brought plenty of energy with him. Enrique’s pace was a problem for the Nashville back line, but despite having at least two quality chances to go to goal, Enrique held up his attack to look for teammates, which ultimately resulted in the attack fizzling out. He completed 72.7% of his passes, won an aerial duel, and was fouled once.
MF, Junior Urso (72′), 6 — The Bear made another cameo off the bench for Orlando, this time spelling Torres. He had one successful dribble and was fouled once, and technically recorded a shot, which he tried from approximately the next county over. It was one of only two attempts all night by Orlando, though. Defensively he had one tackle and a clearance. Urso completed 72.2% of his 18 passes over the final third of the match and frustrated Nashville’s comeback efforts by winning a bunch of throw-ins and moving the ball quickly to his teammates.
D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (85′), N/A — The converted defender got some midweek rest before being called in to close out the match. Thorhallsson completed 50% of his four passes in limited action on the pitch. I would anticipate that he will be back in the starting lineup this Saturday.
D, Antonio Carlos (85′), N/A — A welcome sight for any Orlando City fan — and surely for the back line and Gallese as well — Carlos made his return to the field after an extended absence due to injury. The Brazilian center back got right to work, recording two clearances in quick succession and completed his lone pass on the night.
That’s how I saw the individual performances by the Lions. Let me know where you agree and disagree in the comments and make sure to vote for your Man of the Match in our poll below.
Lion Links
Lion Links: 11/22/24
Emily Sams wins Defender of the Year, Orlando City’s turnaround, Barbra Banda nominated for African Woman Player of the Year, and more.
Happy Friday! Beyond working and catching some soccer here and there, I don’t have many plans for the weekend. I’m also hoping to find some time to trial some cranberry and brie bites I’m trying to perfect before Thanksgiving next week. For now though, let’s jump right into today’s links from around the soccer world!
Emily Sams Awarded NWSL Defender of the Year
The Orlando Pride’s Emily Sams was named 2024 NWSL Defender of the Year after a fantastic season. The Pride only conceded 20 goals in a record-breaking season, and Sams played in all 13 of the team’s shutouts. Sams was one of the most impactful players for the Pride this year and had 163 recoveries, 76 clearances, and 16 blocks. She’s the first Pride player to win the award and it’s great to see her receive some deserved recognition in her second year in Orlando.
Analyzing Orlando City’s Revitalization
It’s been a rollercoaster of a season for the Lions to say the least. There were serious concerns over whether or not the Lions would even make the playoffs back in June and now they find themselves as the highest remaining seed in the Eastern Conference this postseason. Facundo Torres’ excellent run of play is a major reason behind the club’s turnaround, but the buy-in from all of Orlando’s attackers has helped create a dynamic and unselfish offense. Although expectations are rising once more for the Lions, Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi spoke on how the team is focused on Sunday’s playoff match.
“There’s only one team that matters: Atlanta United,” Muzzi said. “The easiest way to lose a game is to look ahead. I’ll say we didn’t expect to be playing at home, but it’s welcomed. We’re focused on Atlanta, they’re playing great. They have a lot of confidence and momentum. It doesn’t matter they’re the No. 9 seed because they’re not playing like the No. 9 seed.”
Barbra Banda Up For African Woman Player of the Year
Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda was one of 10 players nominated for this year’s African Woman Player of the Year award. The 24-year-old has done well for both club and country this year. She scored 13 goals in her first regular season with the Pride and has three goals so far in the playoffs. Banda also had a hat trick for Zambia in the Summer Olympics. She’s joined by fellow NWSL players Temwa Chawinga and Racheal Kundananji on the list of nominees. Bay FC striker Asisat Oshoala, who has won the award in five of the past six years, was not nominated for the first time in a decade. The nomination list will be trimmed to a three-player shortlist before the winner is announced on Dec. 16 in Morocco.
Croix Bethune Named NWSL Midfielder of the Year
Washington Spirit rookie Croix Bethune won NWSL Midfielder of the Year after recording 10 assists and five goals in 17 matches this season. A knee injury cut her season short in September, but she still tied Tobin Heath’s record for the most assists in a season. Bethune gave plenty of NWSL teams headaches this year and also won Rookie of the Year earlier this week. She’s the first player to ever receive NWSL Midfielder of the Year and she beat out the Pride’s Marta, the North Carolina Courage’s Ashley Sanchez, and Kansas City Current duo Lo’eau LaBonta and Vanessa DiBernardo.
Eastern Conference Clubs Making Moves
FC Cincinnati officially signed striker Kevin Denkey from Cercle Brugge on a deal that will last through 2028. The 23-year-old joins as a Designated Player on a reported $16.2 million transfer, which would be a league record. He won the Golden Boot in Belgium last year after scoring 27 goals and should give Cincinnati some considerable firepower next year.
Elsewhere in the league, CF Montreal declined the option on Josef Martinez’s contract, meaning the Venezuelan forward will be a free agent once again. The 31-year-old led Montreal with 11 goals this season and we’ll see where he winds up next. Charlotte FC did not trigger the purchase option on Pep Biel’s loan, opening up a Designated Player spot. Former Lion Junior Urso’s contract option was also declined by Charlotte. The Philadelphia Union signed defender Olivier Mbaizo to a contract extension that will keep him with the club through 2026, with options for 2027 and 2028 as well.
Free Kicks
- In preparation for the 2026 World Cup, FIFA named 26 new options across the country as “base camps” for participating teams to train and rest. Orlando was included, with OCSC’s training grounds at Osceola Heritage Park pitched alongside the Lake Nona Wave Hotel.
- ESPN‘s Jeff Kassouf dove into how the NWSL stacks up to the biggest sports leagues in the U.S. Saturday’s NWSL Championship between the Pride and Spirit should showcase just how entertaining the league is to plenty of viewers.
- Pep Guardiola will stick around as Manchester City’s manager for a couple more years after signing a two-year contract extension with the club. His contract was set to expire at the end of this season.
- Here’s a cool breakdown of the seven amateur teams that have qualified for the 2025 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup so far. None are from Florida, but there are some great logos to check out if you’re looking for a team to root for in the early rounds next year. Debutants Southern Indiana FC and the Virginia Dream are my personal favorites of the bunch.
- The draw for the 2025 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations will take place today. Zambia is in the second pot, meaning it will be put in a group of four that will include one of Nigeria, South Africa, or Morocco. The tournament itself will be in July of next year.
- Arsenal, Bayern Munich, and Manchester City all clinched a spot in the Women’s Champions League quarterfinals with two games still left to play.
That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend. Go Orlando!
Orlando City
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.
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:
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):
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:
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.
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!
Orlando City
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?
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!
Lion Links: 11/22/24
Orlando Pride Center Back Emily Sams Named 2024 NWSL Defender of the Year
How Orlando City’s Offense Stacks Up Against What Atlanta Does Defensively
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