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Orlando City vs. Nashville SC: Final Score 1-0 as Lions Sweep First-Round Series

Ivan Angulo’s early goal was just enough as the Lions squeaked past Nashville into the Eastern Conference semifinals.

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1 year ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Ivan Angulo’s early goal was just enough as Orlando City turned in another defensive masterclass to nip Nashville SC 1-0 at Geodis Park. In earning their first-ever road MLS playoff win, the Lions swept Nashville and are through to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

“We’d like to start by congratulating the players and a squad that has been very responsible, very professional representing our community and our fans,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “I think we’re all very proud of what they do on the field. I thought we played a very complete match, because we were solid in both areas and probably could have scored a couple goals more, but against Nashville it’s not an easy task to do it, defending all those crosses and when they were throwing bodies up front. But we controlled the game. We’re happy. We looked more mature today.”

Pareja’s lineup was unchanged from Game 1. Pedro Gallese lined up in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena played in the central midfield behind an attacking line of Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres, with Duncan McGuire up top.

The Lions started brightly with some early possession. Pereyra fired a shot three minutes in that deflected out for a corner, but Orlando could do nothing with the set piece. Two minutes later, Torres had a go on the break from outside the box but couldn’t get his shot to dip under the bar.

Orlando grabbed the lead in the sixth minute. A poorly weighted back pass by Dax McCarty was closed down quickly by Angulo. He won a 50/50 challenge, survived a tug from behind by McCarty and then sent a shot off the Nashville midfielder that beat Joe Willis over the top to make it 1-0.

“We came out today with the with the intention to run and to really press them high and try to pin them back,” Angulo said through a club interpreter. “And so I just kind of pressed into that area in between the center backs and the holding midfielders that I really like to get in between and forced them to kind of make a bad pass. And thankfully I was able to take the ball off their foot and find myself into a nice spot in their box, and I just figured, ‘Have a hit and see where it goes,’ and thankfully it went in the back of the net.”

“Opening the (scoring) are obviously something we’ll desire, especially when you’re going away,” Pareja said. “We were waiting on reactions from Nashville and surely they were going to give us spaces in the back. We could have been probably more lethal there. But opening the game at that time, early in the game, was very important for us.”

Nashville nearly pulled the goal back in the eighth minute. A bouncing ball kept eluding Orlando’s control and it ended up on Sam Surridge’s foot. The forward turned and fired just wide of the left post. A minute later, there was a lengthy delay for Walker Zimmerman to get treated as he hit his mouth on the back of McGuire’s head and was bleeding. The defender was able to continue.

Alex Muyl fouled Gallese with heavy contact in the box after Thorhallsson’s wayward clearance attempt popped up in the air. Gallese needed treatment, but he too continued.

The game got extremely chippy in the middle stages of the first half. Nashville’s Surridge and Anibal Godoy were booked for challenges on Jansson and Araujo, respectively. Cartagena was booked moments after Godoy, and Pereyra picked one up minutes later, although his was easily the harshest of the four.

The Lions had a penalty appeal in the 30th minute when the ball came off Lukas MacNaughton’s arm, but it was his supporting arm underneath him and no penalty was given as a result.

Shaq Moore headed wide in the 34th minute after sneaking in behind an inattentive Torres at the back post.

The Lions had a golden opportunity to double their lead in the 37th minute when McGuire played Torres down the right. The Designated Player opted not to shoot with his right foot — as we’ve become accustomed to. He tried to clear his left for a shot but it was closed down, so he laid it off for Angulo. The speedy winger fired but his shot was saved by Willis.

A minute later, Mukhtar scored but the flag came up immediately. The forward was offside when Daniel Lovitz sent in the initial shot. The offside call saved Gallese, who had uncharacteristically spilled a fairly routine-looking ball in.

Nashville started creating some danger with crosses down the first half stretch run. Mukhtar headed just wide in the 41st minute off one such cross.

Pereyra went for the far right corner from the left in the third of nine minutes of first-half stoppage time but couldn’t curl it on frame.

Nashville sent a handful of crosses into Orlando’s area and the Lions did just enough to clear.

The last opportunity fell to Torres in the eighth minute of stoppage time but he missed his shot badly off target.

Orlando held halftime advantages in possesson (58.2%-41.8%), shots (7-6), shots on goal (2-1), and corners (2-0). Nashville passed more accurately (79.8%-75.9%).

Torres had a chance to double the lead just moments after the restart. He fired a shot with his right foot but hit it right at Willis.

A minute later, it was Nashville getting an early chance. Muyl got to a cross and headed it on frame but Gallese was able to range over and grab it.

Cartagena tried a volley shot in the 54th minute but his swerving effort stayed just over the bar.

The back-and-forth play continued moments later as Araujo did well to cover defensively, successfully winning a vital challenge in his own penalty area against Mukhtar and earning a foul on the Nashville Designated Player.

Angulo had a good look at a brace in the 61st minute when he cut inside from the left onto his right foot. However, he fired his shot right at Willis.

Again the next chance fell for Nashville. MacNaughton got forward into the attack and appeared to foul Pereyra but Allen Chapman allowed play to continue. MacNaughton picked up the loose ball and fired from outside the box. Gallese got over to make a solid save to preserve the lead. Gallese then made a good stop to deny a Jacob Shaffelburg effort in the 69th minute.

Second-half sub Martin Ojeda had a hit from outside the box in the 71st and got all of it, but Willis fought it off and the defense arrived to clear it before a teammate could pick up the loose change. Junior Urso tried his luck three minutes later but his effort was nowhere near goal.

Urso had a chance to put the game to bed in the 79th minute when he slipped in past the defense. Left 1-v-1 against Willis, he started his shot but a sliding Sean Davis got a piece of it and it deflected over the goal.

Nashville’s last gasp was a header wide from Zimmerman in the 90th minute. Neither team got a scoring chance in the four-plus minutes of injury time and the Lions did well to keep winning fouls and throws to see out most of that time. The whistle finally blew to end the series.

Orlando finished the match with the advantage in shots (16-10), shots on target (5-4), and corners (5-0). Nashville turned around the possession to finish with more of the ball (53.3%-46.7%) and passed more accurately (79.7%-78.8%).

“It’s important to know how to play these kind of games where they’re very tight, very intense,” Pareja said. “There is a lot of emotions during the game. The way we handled it today was good. Learning how to play these kinds of games made us a better team. And the boys have shown that we’re ready, but this doesn’t stop here. We’ve got to keep getting better. We have to prepare ourselves for the next one and keep learning from those moments, those games.”

[Editor’s note: the following paragraph has been edited from the original to correct an error created by Major League Soccer’s complete lack of logic.]

The game scheduled for Sunday is off. There’s no need for it. The Lions will await their next playoff opponent as the first round continues to play out. Because MLS makes zero sense whatsoever, Orlando will get the Columbus/Atlanta winner and FC Cincinnati will get either the No. 4 or No. 5 seed, even if No. 6 seed Atlanta advances.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/22/25

Pedro Gallese earns recognition, Americans in midweek action, English promotion update, and more.

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8 hours ago

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April 22, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Well it wasn’t the worst weekend that Orlando soccer has ever had, but it certainly wasn’t the best either. Fortunately, all three of Orlando’s teams will be back in action soon, so there’s no need to dwell on the past too much. Let’s take a moment to wish a happy birthday to the Orlando Pride’s Brianna Martinez, as well as to Kaká! Now, it’s time to turn our attention to today’s links.

Pedro Gallese Earns Weekly Recognition

Pedro Gallese kept a third clean sheet in a row and Orlando City’s third clean sheet of the year in the team’s scoreless draw on the road against CF Montreal. In recognition of his efforts during the match, Gallese was named to the bench of the latest edition of the MLS Team of the Matchday. El Pulpo made six saves to blank a Montreal team that intently searched for a breakthrough, and made a couple of truly excellent second half stops that kept the score level. Congrats to Pedro and keep up the good work!

Americans in Midweek Action

A number of Americans will be playing games during the working week, and there are some big matches to keep an eye on. The main event is on Wednesday, when Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, and AC Milan face Inter Milan in the second leg of the Coppa Italia semifinal, which is tied 1-1 after the first leg. Also on Wednesday, Chris Richards, Matt Turner, and Crystal Palace will play Arsenal in the Premier League. Thursday then has Malik Tillman, Richy Ledezma, and PSV Eindhoven playing FC Twente in the Eredivisie, while Johnny Cardoso and Real Betis play Valladolid in La Liga action.

English Promotion Update

Following results in the EFL Championship on Monday, Leeds United and Burnley have both secured promotion to the Premier League for next season. Both teams won their respective games and are each on 94 points, and with just two matches left, third-placed Sheffield United has no way to catch them. The other promoted side will be determined after the promotion playoffs, which would feature Sheffield United, Sunderland, Bristol City, and Coventry City if the season ended today. Meanwhile in League One, Wrexham’s 2-1 victory over Blackpool meant the Dragons retook second place and the automatic promotion spot that comes with it. If they beat Charlton on Sunday and Wycombe Wanderers drop points against Leyton Orient, then Wrexham would secure promotion to the Championship.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

Transfer rumors continue to fly thick and fast as we approach the business end of most European seasons, so let’s take a look at a few items worth catching up on. Manchester United is said to be keen on signing 17-year-old Argentine Franco Mastantuono from River Plate. Liverpool is reportedly interested in signing winger Ademola Lookman from Atalanta, although the Reds would likely face competition from several other Premier League teams. Finally, Bayer Leverkusen CEO Fernando Carro has revealed that he and Xabi Alonso have a gentleman’s agreement that if a team the Spaniard used to play for is interested in hiring him as its coach, then the club will not hinder the process. The statement has led to renewed speculation that Alonso will be named Real Madrid coach if Carlo Ancelotti leaves in the summer.

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That’s all I have for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City

Orlando City’s Focus On Youth Development Showing In The First Team

Orlando City is seeing more and more players promoted from the academy, through OCB, and into the first team.

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1 day ago

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April 21, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City began its academy in the USL Pro days with the goal of developing players for the first team. It took nearly a decade to begin seeing youth development bear fruit, but it’s becoming apparent early in the 2025 season.

Prior to 2019, Orlando City signed four players to Homegrown Player contracts. Tommy Redding, Tyler Turner, and Harrison Heath never played in the academy and the other, Mason Stajduhar, developed primarily at Chargers Soccer Club in Tampa.

Orlando City signed arguably its first true Homegrown Player when the club inked Benji Michel to a first-team contract. The following off-season, the Lions added David Loera and Jordan Bender. Mikey Halliday signed in July 2020. All of the players came through the academy before signing first-team deals. 

So what changed?

Part of it was the growth of the academy. It takes several years to begin producing players. Another major factor was the hiring of Luiz Muzzi on Dec. 18, 2019. Muzzi came from FC Dallas, a club known for promoting from its academy. He brought in Ricardo Moreira, who shares his vision of developing young talent for the first team.

And it’s not only Muzzi and Moreira. Former Orlando City head coach Adrian Heath rarely attended OCB games. James O’Connor only went to one, and that was to see his former teammate, Dennis Chin, who was playing with the opposing Richmond Kickers. The Orlando City boss left when Chin came off.

Oscar Pareja and other first-team coaches have been at several games, far more than their predecessors. That’s largely to do with the games’ location at the training facility, which is another factor in OCB’s development. The 2019 team trained over 40 miles away from the first team. The move to Kissimmee has the first team, OCB, and the development academy under one roof. It’s another display of the club’s more recent commitment to youth development.

Undoubtedly, the transformation of OCB under Muzzi and Moreira has also impacted Homegrown talent coming through. The team’s 2016 and 2017 rosters were primarily made up of first-team reserves and USL lifers. The 2019 team had many players from the Soccer Institute at Montverde Academy (SIMA), many of which were young but ineligible for Homegrown status.

Things began to change in 2020. The roster shifted to include more academy players and that’s only grown. This year, 15 OCB players came out of the academy, two were drafted, and eight are outside signings on MLS NEXT Pro deals. Other than Jhon Solis and first-team goalkeeper Carlos Mercado, everyone to appear for the team is 23 years old or younger.

The focus on giving OCB spots to academy graduates is now seen in the first team. Players like Thomas Williams, Javier Otero, Alex Freeman, Colin Guske, and Gustavo Caraballo have been regulars on the MLS team sheet. Injuries to first-team regulars has seen them receiving regular playing time.

The poster boy for this change is Freeman. The right back came out of the academy and spent a couple of years at OCB before signing his first-team contract. He won the starting role early in the 2025 regular season.

Many players joined the club later in their development, but we’re seeing some come through having been nearly fully developed at the Orlando City Academy. Guske and Caraballo joined at 13 years old, the youngest age group of the development academy. Both signed first-team deals for this year.

The midfield duo continue to play with OCB most games but are also on the first-team roster almost weekly. The only reason they weren’t in Montreal Saturday night is because they were helping the club’s U-18 team reach (and then win) the Generation Adidas Cup final.

With Muzzi and Moreira at the helm, more players continue to come through. U-18 captain and OCB starter Jackson Platts appears to be well on his way to a first-team contract. So does fellow U-18 and OCB starting forward Justin Ellis.

This past weekend saw another academy product make his first-team debut. Zakaria Taifi took over at right back for OCB when Freeman moved up to the first team this year. Signing a short-term deal Saturday, he came on as a late substitute to help the 10-man Lions see out the scoreless draw.

First-team absences have provided opportunities for many young players. If several weren’t at the Generation Adidas Cup, it could be more. Regardless, the last few years have shown a big step forward for the club.

The shift in recent years is more than the pride of seeing local kids representing the hometown team. They’ve been an essential part of the 2025 campaign. The club hasn’t had to use a short bench or dip into outside emergency signings. Instead, the Lions call up kids they know, making it easier to seamlessly place them into the team.

There will be times where several injuries will occur to experienced players. Orlando City is prepared for this more now than ever before, and it’s because of the players coming through the academy and playing with OCB. We’re already seeing it early in this 2025 season.

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Lion Links: 4/21/25

Another scoreless draw for Orlando City, a home loss for the Pride, a championship for the OCSC U-18 squad, and more.

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1 day ago

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April 21, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope you all had a great holiday weekend with family and friends. I managed to watch a few soccer games while work kept me busy. Our Lions picked up another draw for the third week in a row, the Pride lost, and OCB was off this weekend. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Draw CF Montreal on the Road

Orlando City and CF Montreal split the points in a scoreless draw at Stade Saputo on Saturday. It’s the third consecutive week that the Lions could not get a win with another scoreless draw. It’s the second straight match that Orlando had to play down a man as Rafael Santos was sent off in the second half after receiving a second yellow card. Still, the Lions extended their unbeaten run to six matches and are seventh in the Eastern Conference table with 13 points. After the match, Major League Soccer issued a statement after being informed a fan used discriminatory language towards a player during the match.

Orlando City will return to Inter&Co Stadium Saturday to take on Atlanta United.

Orlando City Signs Two Players to Short-Term Deals

Before Saturday’s match against CF Montreal, Orlando City announced the club had signed defender Zakaria Taifi and midfielder Riyon Tori to short-term contracts. Both players were on the bench for Saturday’s match. Tori did not play, but Taifi came off the bench late in the second half to make his MLS debut. Tori has played with OCB and has made three appearances. Taifi has made 42 appearances, starting 21 matches for OCB, scoring one goal and adding three assists.

Orlando City Signs Four Assistant Coaches to New Contracts

Orlando City announced on Friday that the club has renewed the contracts of First Assistant Coach Diego Torres, Second Assistant Coach Martin Perelman, Goalkeeper Coach Cesar Baena, and Fitness & Performance Coach Fabian Bazan. This news comes just days after the club announced that Head Coach Oscar Pareja will remain with the Lions under a new three-year contract through the 2028 MLS season. Together, the coaching staff has played a key part in the recent success of the Lions over the last five seasons, making five consecutive MLS Playoff appearances, two appearances in the Concacaf Champions Cup, and winning the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Lions also set club records for wins and points, scoring 308 goals across all competitions with a plus-44 goal differential in 202 competitive matches.

Pride Fall to Washington Spirit at Home

The Orlando Pride fell to the Washington Spirit 1-0 at Inter&Co Stadium Saturday to suffer their first loss of the season. The Pride dominated most of the match, but in the 63rd minute, Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse gave the ball away in front of the goal, and Gift Monday capitalized to score the winning goal for the Spirit. Late in the second half, it looked like the Pride had scored the equalizer; however, after video review, it was determined that Kylie Nadaner backed into Aubrey Kingsbury on the play, impeding the goalkeeper from catching the ball, and the tying goal was waved off. With the Kansas City Current’s win over the Houston Dash over the weekend, Orlando drops to second in the NWSL table. The Pride will return to action Friday at Inter&Co Stadium to face Angel City FC.

Orlando City U-18 Team Wins Generation Adidas Cup Championship

The Orlando City U-18 and U-16 squads played over the weekend in playoff matches in the Generation Adidas Cup at IMG Academy. In the quarterfinals on Friday, Omar Robbana scored the lone goal in the U-18 squad’s 1-0 win over Real Salt Lake.

The U-18 squad followed that up by defeating Santos Laguna 3-0 in the semifinals. Justin Ellis scored twice and Gustavo Caraballo added a goal.

On Sunday, Caraballo scored the winning goal in extra time to seal a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Rapids in the U-18 Championship final.

On Friday, the U-16 team defeated Bayern Munich 1-0 in the quarterfinals.

The U-16 squad defeated the New England Revolution 4-3 on penalties after a scoreless draw in the semifinals on Saturday.

The U-16 squad’s run for a championship trophy came to an end with a 3-1 loss to Inter Miami in the U-16 Championship final on Sunday.

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That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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