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Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew: Final Score 2-0 as 10-Man Lions Fall at Home in Extra Time

The Lions didn’t generate much offensively until they were down a man and a goal.

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12 months ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City did not look like the same team that cruised through the final weeks of the regular season and had ousted a tough Nashville team in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs on this night. The Lions were completely overrun at Exploria Stadium by the visiting Columbus Crew in normal time during tonight’s Eastern Conference semifinals match, but despite being down a man after a needless second yellow card from Rodrigo Schlegel, the Lions took the match into extra time before bowing out.

Christian Ramirez got a fortunate rebound off Pedro Gallese’s hand in extra time that hit him and trickled in to break the 0-0 deadlock. Cucho Hernandez added a late insurance goal with the Lions pressed forward, looking for an equalizer. In between, Orlando City had multiple excellent chances to equalize but couldn’t put the ball in the net.

With the loss — the Lions’ first at Exploria Stadium since April 22, a span of 15 matches in all competitions (10-0-5) — Orlando City saw its most successful season since joining Major League Soccer come to a conclusion.

“I thought we could have done much more than that and advance,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “But we have to accept that this is the result of a game that is competitive against a rival who made his case as well to advance through this series. Complicated game, especially in the first half. We felt uncomfortable and couldn’t create many sequences.”

Pareja’s starting lineup produced no surprises, with Gallese in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Schlegel, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena played central midfield behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres, with Duncan McGuire up top.

The first half was a cagey one, with Orlando seemingly reluctant to push forward much, yet Columbus applied its usual pressure and looked to counter quickly. The Crew won an early corner after it appeared Thorhallsson had been fouled out of his shoe, but referee Jon Freemon didn’t call it and Columbus took its throw-in quickly. Gallese caught the ensuing corner cross.

Moments later, Schlegel did well to break up a Crew attack in transition after Jansson lost sight of the ball. The Crew then got a free kick in a dangerous position after it appeared Mohamed Farsi was offside and Cartagena broke up the play with a foul. Instead of the flag coming up, the set piece was awarded but the wall did its job and blocked the ensuing attempt.

The Lions got their best chance of the half in the 13th minute when Angulo blazed down the left after taking a pass from Araujo. He cut a nice pass into the middle for Torres, who took an extra touch rather than firing first time. The Uruguayan then blazed a shot that was just inches high, skipping off the top of the net.

Alexandru Matan scuffed a shot attempt in the 14th minute that Gallese saved.

In the 20th minute, Angulo was sent in behind and appeared to be in on goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, but just before he could pull the trigger on his shot, Steven Moreira flew in from behind to poke it away.

Gallese made a huge save in the 23rd minute to deny Diego Rossi as the Crew continued to look dangerous in transition. Seconds later, Schlegel did well to make a sliding block of a cross, conceding a corner but preventing a scoring chance. The Crew couldn’t do anything with the set piece.

Hernandez had a shot blocked in the 26th minute for another Crew corner but again the Lions handled the set piece.

Rossi freed himself for a shot from outside the box in the 33rd minute but missed the target high and to the right. Three minutes later, Gallese had to throw out an arm to deny an Aidan Morris shot from distance that had a lot of power behind it. The Crew kept coming and Hernandez fired wide in the 41st minute.

That was the last decent look of the first half and the teams went into the break scoreless, but Columbus had to be the more confident team after the opening 45 minutes.

The Crew dominated the first half from a statistical standpoint, finishing the opening period with the edge in possession (52.6%-47.4%), shots (9-4), shots on target (3-0), corners (3-1), and passing accuracy (91.1%-84.4%).

Pareja said the Crew didn’t throw anything at them that surprised him but his team just wasn’t sharp enough.

“When we tried to put some passes in the middle third, I thought we got caught in not being precise in the passing and not occupying the spaces,” Pareja said.

If the Crew had the better of the play in the first half, that only intensified after halftime. The Lions struggled to get out of their own half and frequently lost control of the ball when they did get forward.

Jansson did well to win a vital challenge in the first minute after the restart but conceded a corner in doing so.

Orlando’s next chance came in the 48th minute when a ball fell for Thorhallsson but he fired his shot a few feet wide.

Rossi got into a dangerous spot in the 58th minute but hit his shot softly at Gallese for an easy save. Ten minutes later, Rossi was left alone in space about 25 yards out but hit his shot off target.

Jansson did well to block a Hernandez effort in the 73rd minute as the Crew kept coming.

four minutes later, the Lions had the ball forward but turned it over and the Crew sent a long ball over the top that changed the game. Schlegel may have had help from Jansson behind him as he was tracking Rossi, but he may not have known it. Concerned he’d be beaten for pace, the Argentine grabbed the Crew forward and was shown his second yellow card.

Schlegel was sent off, joining Pereyra (2020) as Orlando City players to be ejected from the conference semifinals. Antonio Carlos came off the bench as Angulo was sacrificed from the attack.

“I think it was a good foul. It was one that had to happen,” Torres said. “Obviously, it was an expulsion, but even when we had 11 players it was tough. We weren’t able to get on top of them. And so, going into the next phase of the game with 10, we knew that it was going to be even tougher and that every player was going to have to do double the running and double the effort. We just weren’t able to get it, but it’s what happens in these games.”

“After the red card I thought the boys found ways just to fight,” Pareja said. “It was probably better, I would say. Unorganized, but better in terms of possibilities, and I have big respect for that.”

Hernandez went for an audacious bicycle kick in the 82nd minute but hit it over the bar. The Lions were packed deeply into their end looking to see out normal time and hoping to find something on the counterattack.

Martin Ojeda had a chance to end the game in the sixth minute of stoppage time when Torres intercepted a wayward pass out of the back and fed the winger down the left side. Ojeda took the ball down the left and fired a shot just inches wide of the right post. It would almost certainly have lifted the Lions to an improbable victory if he could have steered it on target.

The crew held lopsided advantages in possession (59.1%-40.9%), shots (17-7), shots on target (4-0), corners (7-2), and passing accuracy (90.5%-81.9%), but the game went into 30 minutes of extra time.

Wilfried Nancy, who hadn’t subbed during normal time, sent Ramirez on for Matan to start the extra session. It paid dividends early in extra time. Freemon allowed play to continue after it appeared that Thorhallsson had been fouled near midfield, and then again after Araujo dribbled the ball out of the box and appeared to get clipped from behind. However, neither was callled and the ensuing cross in was knocked down by Gallese, but he hit it right to a charging Ramirez, who got a piece to bundle in for the opener in the 93rd minute.

Surprisingly, Orlando City, down a man and a goal in extra time, started generating scoring chances. The first of those came in the 100th minute. Substitute Junior Urso carved through the Columbus midfield and fed a pass in behind for fellow sub Kyle Smith. The fullback fired a shot on target but Schulte was able to make a big save.

Ojeda nearly had Ramiro Enrique in behind in the 103rd minute but the pass was a tad heavy and Schulte got there first.

That was the last good look of the first 15 minutes and the Crew led 1-0 at the extra time intermission.

Enrique nearly tied the game in the 106th minute when he again got in but Schulte made another vital save. Two minutes later, Gallese kept the game at 1-0 with a big stop at the other end.

Seconds later came maybe the best chance of all. Ojeda sent in a fantastic cross from the leftthat found Enrique at the near post. His header was on frame but Schulte stuck out a leg and it hit his foot for another big save.

Columbus put the match away in the 118th minute. With Gallese pushed forward as a sweeper, the Crew took possession and the ball found Hernandez, who accurately hit the target from midfield, making it 2-0 and sealing the game. Despite the overzealous MLS Twitter admin’s assertion (see embedded tweet below), it was most certainly not an incredible goal for a player of that caliber with no goalkeeper in the net. It was quite credible but oh well.

It was the third game this season that Orlando City fell behind multiple goals to Columbus but this time there were no late-game heroics to pull it back.

Columbus dominated the stat sheet, finishing with more possession (56.7%-43.3%), shots (20-13), shots on target (7-3), corners (7-6), and passing accuracy (89.5%-81.5%).

Pareja lauded his team’s effort after the match, citing the team finally being able to create some chances to win late in normal time and to equalize once Columbus took the lead.

“That heart probably needed a better reward because they had a few chances where we could equalize the game. It seems like our heart was bigger in those difficult moments but it was not enough.”

“I’m really proud of this team, to be the captain of this team,” Pereyra said. “It was such an honor for me this year. I already thanked the guys because the effort that they made today and during the whole season. They made me and Orlando City fans believe that we could fight for winning things. Today’s the end of this dream, but the effort and the way these dreams made a thing this year was great.”

That’s a wrap on Orlando City’s 2023 season, folks. It was a good one, but the Lions will be left wondering what might have been had Ojeda’s shot in stoppage time had gone in.

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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.

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2 hours 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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4 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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8 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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