Orlando City
Top 10 Moments of 2023: Orlando City Battles Tigres to Standstill in Champions League Debut
In our No. 4 moment, the Lions battled Liga MX giants Tigres to a 1-1 aggregate draw in their first-ever Champions League appearance.
As we count down to the new year of 2024 — which will be Orlando City’s 10th in MLS and the Orlando Pride’s ninth in the NWSL — and say goodbye to 2023, it’s time to look back at the club’s 10 best moments of the year as selected by The Mane Land staff via vote.
Orlando City could hardly have gotten a more difficult draw for its debut in Concacaf Champions League (now known as Concacaf Champions Cup). The Lions qualified for the competition by virtue of becoming the 2022 U.S. Open Cup champions, earning their spot in the continental competition. But when the draw handed the team a meeting with Liga MX giants Tigres UANL, the Lions’ path to advancement was about as tough as possible.
Liga MX teams have historically had an advantage in two-legged ties against MLS sides, because their seasons kick off earlier, allowing them to get into rhythm and better form before playing Major League Soccer clubs that have only just opened their own seasons. But Tigres is particularly difficult. The club had reached the final of the competition four previous times — all within the last eight years — winning it in 2020 and finishing as runners-up in 2016, 2017, and 2019. This year’s Tigres side entered the competition just a few points out of first place behind Monterrey in Liga MX and with lethal attacking players such as André-Pierre Gignac, Uruguayan international Fernando Gorriarán, promising Mexican attacker Sebastián Córdova, striker Nicolás Ibáñez, and Nahuel “Patón” Guzmán, one of the best goalkeepers in Liga MX.
Making the task more difficult, the Lions had to go on the road first in the two-legged tie, playing in the crazy atmosphere of Estadio Universitario (a.k.a. El Volcán) at 10 p.m. Eastern and on one fewer day of rest than their opponents. This match was supposed to set the tone for the series and Orlando needed to overcome all of that to get a result.
And that’s what happened.
The Mexican club was as good as advertised at both ends of the pitch, but Orlando City was able to grind out a 0-0 road draw. The Lions even had a few opportunities in the second half to take the lead, but they couldn’t find that final bit of quality — a common problem early in the season for this year’s squad and typical of an MLS team playing Liga MX competition early in the tournament. Orlando City got a weak effort by Ivan Angulo on frame and that was the team’s only shot on goal in the first half. Tigres attempted eight shots and put half of them on target, but Pedro Gallese was able to keep the hosts off the board.
Gallese came up huge early in the second half, denying Gignac on a half-volley shot through Rodrigo Schlegel’s legs and then deflecting a Gorriaran corner kick off the crossbar before fighting off a point-blank header from Samir.
Orlando had a decent spell around the hour mark, with Martin Ojeda forcing a Guzman save and the Lions sent in a long-distance attempt moments later that Guzman was able to save. Gaston Gonzalez had a chance to give Orlando the lead in the 62nd minute but opted to shoot rather than cross for Facundo Torres and his shot fizzed over the crossbar.
Gignac headed over the bar in the 68th minute and then Gallese made a good stop to deny Sebastián Córdova seconds later.
Ojeda failed to take advantage of a mistake by Guzman, who turned the ball over to the Orlando City Designated Player in the 87th minute. With the net empty, Ojeda tried to chip a shot back toward goal while his momentum was carrying him toward the touch line, but he couldn’t direct his effort on target. That nearly proved costly a minute later when Guido Pizarro’s header off a corner kick crashed off the right post. Samir then headed wide in the 90th minute.
That was it for the scoring chances and Orlando City held on for a road result in Mexico — a rarity for MLS sides in the competition’s history — despite the fact that Tigres dominated the stat sheet.
However, without a crucial road goal, the Lions needed to either win at home in the second leg or hold Tigres to another scoreless draw and win the ensuing penalty shootout. Although the Mexican giants failed to beat Orlando City, they advanced in the competition after fighting to a 1-1 draw at Exploria Stadium on March 15.
Despite not having Gignac available in the second leg, Tigres was dangerous again throughout the second matchup. Gallese was brilliant once again to keep his team in the game, but his attacking teammates struggled to proved much of anything at the other end with their final ball, wasting some good scoring chances.
Luis Quinones nearly opened the scoring in the ninth minute off a turnover on an attempted Orlando switch. Gallese made a diving effort to keep the game scoreless.
Gallese then bailed out his team in the 15th minute by denying Nicolas Ibanez’s header in front. Fernando Gorriaran fired just wide on the rebound off the save.
Luca Petrasso set up Orlando’s first clear-cut look in the 19th minute but Angulo sent his shot inches wide of the right post. That was an unfortunate miss, as the visitors broke through moments later.
Petrasso got caught ball watching, allowing Sebastian Cordova to drift away behind him. The Tigres attacker chested the ball down to himself and fired past Gallese from close range, giving the visitors a 1-0 advantage in the 21st minute. With a road goal in their pocket, it made the uphill climb for Orlando that much harder.
The goal unsettled the Lions for the next several minutes, leading to a couple of yellow cards and a poor pass from Michael Halliday that failed to beat the first defender on an attempted entry ball into the area with numbers forward in the attack. Ramiro Enrique had a chance to equalize late in the first half but sent his shot into Guzman’s chest from just a few yards out in front of goal.
Orlando started the second half more brightly and Enrique got the first chance after the break, only to see it blocked behind for a corner. As Orlando City pushed more numbers into the attack, the Lions became susceptible to dangerous counterattacks, forcing Gallese to do things like this:
El Pulpo made huge saves in the 67th, 73rd, and 83rd minutes to keep the Lions’ hopes alive.
Torres nearly equalized in the 80th minute, running onto a backheel from Ercan Kara and toe poking a shot toward the goal. Tigres defender Igor Lichnovsky got a touch to it, however, and deflected it up into Guzman’s belly for an easy save. Guzman then got a touch to a Dagur Dan Thorhallsson free kick in the 89th minute, tipping it over the bar for a corner.
Orlando City finally broke through on the ensuing set piece. Torres’ corner kick found Duncan McGuire at the near post and the rookie sent a header on goal. Tigres cleared the shot off the line but Kara tracked the ball in the air, turning and sending an overhead kick back toward goal and in, tying the match in the 90th minute with one of Orlando City’s best goals of 2023.
Tigres did well to see out the five minutes of stoppage time, keepin the ball and using the dark arts to waste time. Kara attempted a second bicycle kick in stoppage time and the Lions shouted for handball on the block but there was no call for a review of the play. Orlando City won a few set pieces late but couldn’t pick out a teammate with the delivery. Samir was sent off deep in stoppage time with a second yellow card, helping the Lions’ cause.
The final set piece nearly provided the moment of magic that Orlando City fans craved. Guzman came off his line to try to catch the cross into the area but could only get one hand on it in the traffic out front. McGuire got to the loose ball first and smashed a shot toward goal but his blast was always rising and missed the target with the goalkeeper well off his line. The whistle blew right after the play to end the game and Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja ran onto the pitch to argue that more stoppage time should have been given for time wasting after normal time. The coach got a red card for his troubles.
In the end, it wasn’t quite the result Orlando City and its fans wanted, but facing one of the tougest teams in Liga MX and not being bested by them across two matches in the Lions’ first trip to the competition was a moment of which to be proud. That was the message from the team afterwards as well.
“We are proud of the effort we showed during the game,” Pareja said after the match, discussing what he said to his players in the locker room. “They played against a good rival and we were there. So, we will move on, but we were upset as well.”
Tigres needed one lousy away goal to advance even though the Mexican side couldn’t notch a win across the two legs. Orlando City stood strong but simply couldn’t finish chances. Had the team found its best lineup by then, things could have been a bit different.
As it was, that two-legged affair against Tigres was an important step in Orlando City’s growth as a club and it was certainly worthy of a spot on our list of top moments of 2023.
Come back through New Year’s Eve as we count down the remainder of Orlando City’s top 10 moments of 2023.
Previous Top Moments of 2023
10. The Orlando Pride select breakout stars Emily Madril and Messiah Bright in the 2023 NWSL Draft.
9. OCB draws at Chicago and then wins a shootout, clinching its first playoff spot since 2016.
8. Orlando Pride dump Portland Thorns 3-1 in June, kick-starting the team’s push for the playoffs.
7. Orlando City gets a late goal to defeat Santos Laguna 3-2 in Leagues Cup play, earning its first win over Liga MX competition.
6. Orlando Pride sign Brazilian international Adriana.
5. OCB forward Jack Lynn named MLS NEXT Pro MVP.
Orlando City
Orlando City’s Designated Players Delightfully Productive to Start the Season
A performance evaluation of Orlando City’s Designated Players through three games and how they compare to the rest of the league.
There will come a point someday in the future when Major League Soccer will stop using all its silly roster rules and allow teams to build their rosters however they would like to à la the rest of the world, but until then we must continue to live in the alphabet soup of acronyms like BAM, GAM, HAM, and TAM (two of those are actual MLS roster-building methods, one is a food often eaten with green eggs — back when eggs were affordable — and the other is onomatopoeia; I am confident you can identify the two acronyms that are MLS allocation money).
The other commonly used term, as it relates to roster-building methods in MLS, is DP, or Designated Player — a player who can be paid any amount as their salary while having a fixed amount that counts against the salary cap. The amount depends on the age of the DP. Players above the age of 24 count as $743,750 against the team’s salary budget; ages 21-23 count as $200,000; and players aged 20 or younger count as $150,000. You can read all you ever wanted to know about this subject and more by checking out the 2025 MLS Roster Rules and Regulations. Bring snacks. And a pillow.
Orlando City has three Designated Players on the 2025 roster: Luis Muriel, Martín Ojeda, and Marco Pašalić. Among the 30 teams in MLS, 11 teams, including Orlando City, have three Designated Players, 17 have two, and two teams only have one, for a total of 69 DPs on rosters as of Week 4 of the 2025 MLS season.
Only 61 of those 69 Designated Players have played thus far this season, however, as five are currently injured (CF Montréal’s Giacomo Vrioni, LA Galaxy’s Joseph Paintsil and Riqui Puig, New England’s Tomás Chancalay, and Portland’s Jonathan Rodríguez). In addition, one is on loan until June (NYCFC’s Talles Magno), one still does not have his paperwork in order to play in MLS (LAFC’s Cengiz Ünder), and one has been a healthy scratch in each game this season, as his team was actively looking to transfer him to another club (Toronto’s Lorenzo Insigne).
Most clubs use their Designated Player spots for attacking players, which makes sense considering attacking players tend to command the highest salaries, and with a DP only counting a set amount against the salary cap, teams can afford to pay high salaries to bring in attacking talent without the risk of jamming up their salary cap utilization. Only three of the 69 DPs in MLS this season are primarily defenders — Inter Miami’s Jordi Alba, Nashville SC’s Walker Zimmerman, and NYCFC’s Thiago Martins — and frankly, I am surprised it is even that many.
Orlando City has deployed 16 Designated Players since entering MLS, with all of those players in attacking roles while wearing purple. During some years, the performance by the club’s Designated Players was, shall we say, underwhelming, but through three games in 2025 (I know, I know, it is only three games), Orlando City can make a case that the performance of its DPs has been nearly the best in the league.
Let’s make that case. Right here. Right now. Bonus points if you remember this outstanding adidas commercial using Fatboy Slim’s “Right Here, Right Now.”
Ultimately, soccer matches come down to two measures: goals scored and goals allowed. Being that nearly every Designated Player plays in an attacking position, we can focus more on the goals scored as a measure of comparison. In order to score a goal, you need to create a shot, so I used Opta’s tracking on fbref.com to aggregate every Designated Player’s performance thus far in 2025 and normalize it to a per-90-minute basis.
Every blue circle in the table below is the average performance by a team’s Designated Players per 90 minutes for shot-creating actions and goals scored (example: the Houston Dynamo are the lonely circle closest to the bottom left corner; the Dynamo’s two Designated Players create, average, exactly one shot per 90 minutes and zero goals per 90 minutes, which is not ideal). The purple bullseye is Orlando City, which has DPs averaging 4.73 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes and scoring 0.57 goals per 90 minutes. The orange circle is the MLS average.
The ideal location on a chart like this would be for your team’s circle to be as far to the upper right as possible, with DPs creating lots of shots for their teammates and scoring lots of goals as well. If you had to choose one axis, you would of course prefer to be higher on the y-axis than the x-axis (your seventh grade Algebra teacher promised you that you would use the cartesian plane in real life someday), since goals scored are more important than shots created.
The Mane Land’s Ben Miller wrote a piece in our Monday newsletter, exclusively available to those who subscribe (which you can do by clicking on this hyperlink) about the goal-scoring performances of Orlando City’s three Designated Players thus far this season. Expanding on what Ben wrote, here are the per-90-minute stats for Orlando City’s three DPs thus far:
| Player | Mins Played | SCA | Goals | Assists | Goal Contributions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luis Muriel | 151 | 3.58 | 0.60 | 0.60 | 1.20 |
| Martín Ojeda | 243 | 6.67 | 0.37 | 0.37 | 0.74 |
| Marco Pašalić | 234 | 3.46 | 0.77 | 0.38 | 1.15 |
The combined averages of these players’ performances are the aforementioned 4.73 shot-creating actions and 0.57 goals scored per 90 minutes. Orlando City’s DPs rank third in the league for shot-creating actions and fifth in goals scored. Seattle’s DPs (Jordan Morris and Albert Rusnák) are the reverse — fifth in shot-creating actions and third in goals scored — tying them with Orlando City at an average of fourth. Both teams trail expansion team San Diego FC, which is off to a strong start with two wins and a draw in its first three matches, and which has DPs (Anders Dreyer and Hirving “Chucky” Lozano) who rank fourth in shot-creating actions and second in goals scored, leading all clubs with an average of third across the two measures.
Looking at this a little differently, we can use standard deviations to compare just how much better or worse each club’s Designated Players compare to the league average. The axes look flipped from the last chart, but they are not. Shot-creating actions are still on the x-axis and goals on the y-axis. In this case, on the x-axis we are comparing a team’s average per 90 minutes in shot-creating actions to the league average, and we can see that Orlando City, again located in the purple bullseye, is 1.33 standard deviations better than league average.
The Lions are also 0.99 standard deviations better than league average in goals per 90 minutes, making them one of only six clubs who have Designated Players performing better than league average in both metrics (positive values are better than league average, negative values are worse than league average), and in a smaller group of three clubs that can claim to have had the best performance in terms of both creating shots and scoring goals.
The two circles located in the vicinity of Orlando City are again Seattle and San Diego, performing better in goals per 90 minutes but not as well in shot-creating actions. The outlier on the y-axis is D.C. United, as that club’s DPs are averaging 1.04 goals per 90 minutes, nearly three standard deviations (read: a lot) more than league average. The outlier on the x-axis is Nashville, which is surprising given that Zimmerman, a central defender, is one of the team’s DPs. Nashville is averaging nearly six shot-creating actions per DP per 90 minutes — almost 2.5 standard deviations more than league average.
If you recall your statistics classes, the general rule is that 95% of data points fall within two standard deviations above or below the average, so when any person or any team is more than two standard deviations better than the average either a) they are doing incredibly well, or b) the sample may not yet be big enough to feel confident in the standard deviations. In this case, it is probably both, as the teams have only played three games.
Even though the samples are small, it is still completely OK to feel great about the initial performances of Orlando City’s three Designated Players. The group has combined for four goals and three assists, and Muriel, Ojeda, and Pašalić have been a driving force behind a strong start to the season on the offensive end of the field.
Here’s to hoping that Orlando’s Designated Players will continue their torrid pace when the club returns back to the New York City metro area to play the Red Bulls on Saturday and their performance evokes a phrase from another Fatboy Slim song, and come Saturday, we find ourselves praising them like we should.
Vamos Orlando!
Orlando City
Orlando City at New York Red Bulls: Three Keys to Victory
What do the Lions need to do to bounce back on the road and secure a victory against the New York Red Bulls?
Orlando City heads north for the second week in a row, but this time to Red Bull…er…Sports Illustrated Stadium to take on the New York Red Bulls. The Lions are coming off a disappointing loss to New York City FC. A win gets Orlando City back to .500 before returning to Inter&Co Stadium next week.
On paper this looks like a low-scoring match, so it will probably be a barn burner. What does Orlando City need to do to earn all three points on the road against the New York Red Bulls?
Oh Captain, My Captain!
Robin Jansson is back, but the defense still gave up two goals against New York City FC. That’s eight goals shipped in three games for those who are counting. It’s not particularly surprising that Orlando City is 1-2-0 given the leaky defense. It doesn’t get any easier this Saturday with yet another road trip to play a New York team, albeit this time in New Jersey. I’m not sure if that’s better or worse, but we do know they will at least be playing on a normal-sized soccer pitch this week.
The Red Bulls aren’t exactly prolific scorers so far this season with only two goals so far — one from Emil Forsberg and one from Mohammed Sofo — but that doesn’t mean they can’t score this weekend. Now that the captain is back, the defense needs to get things sorted out. I’m hoping that the normal spacing of SI Stadium will allow the defense to refocus with Jansson back in charge.
Break on Through
New York may not score a ton of goals, but it gives up even fewer. The Red Bulls have only allowed one goal this season. It came in the match against FC Cincinnati off a long pass and off the head of Kevin Denkey. Even then, there were two defenders on him and it was a race between Denkey and keeper Carlos Coronel to see who would reach the ball first. I’m saying it’s not easy to score against them.
On the flip side, Orlando City has been able to score seven goals in its first three matches. Those goals have come from six different players. I think that there will be two players I’ll be watching in particular in the buildup. Jansson is fairly accurate at delivering long passes like the one on which Cincinnati scored. We also know that one of Eduard Atuesta’s strengths is connecting the defense to the offense. If the two can break the lines of the opposition, then the Lions have enough options up top to spread out the chances.
Use the Space
If Orlando City never plays in Yankee Stadium again it will be too soon. Luckily, the passing lanes and spacing will be back to normal standards this weekend. That should mean better passing from Orlando City, and the ability to run the offense how Oscar Pareja prefers.
As such, I want the Lions to take their time, be methodical, and strike when the time is right. That doesn’t mean they have to build out of the back all night. If the Red Bulls are creeping up, go route one. Use whatever space New York gives, but don’t let up. You can’t win if you don’t score, and one goal may determine this match.
That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 3/13/25
Getting to know Robin Jansson, Orlando Pride announce 2025 season roster, Orlando City’s watch party schedule, and more.
How’s it going, Mane Landers? Soccer in the City Beautiful is back and in full swing, with another stacked weekend ahead of us. I’ve been spending most of the week working and getting some reading done before the rest of the month really gets busier for me. For those who like contemporary romance and are looking for a recommendation, First-Time Caller has been a fantastic read so far. But enough about what you should be reading, let’s get to the links!
Getting to Know Robin Jansson
Enjoy taking a stroll with Orlando City center back Robin Jansson, who detailed his role on the team and experience in Orlando. The 33-year-old has become an MLS veteran over the years and talked about how his game has developed since moving from Sweden to the U.S., notably how he’s able to play with the ball at his feet a bit more. As the team’s captain, Jansson provides leadership both on and off the pitch and discussed how he’s fit into the verbal and intense South American culture within the club. He also spoke on how he gives back to the community by visiting kids in the hospital to help them on their journeys.
Orlando Pride Announce Roster for 2025 Season
With the NWSL season only a few days away, the Orlando Pride announced their start-of-season roster. There aren’t too many changes from the team that won both the NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship last year, although Adriana’s transfer to Saudi Arabian club Al Qadsiah FC is notable. New additions acquired this off-season include Zambian forward Prisca Chilufya, World Cup winner Oihane Hernández, and rookie defender Zara Chavoshi. Luana, Simone Charley, and Amanda Allen are the players on the season-ending injury list heading into the 2025 season as well.
Orlando City Reveals 2025 Watch Party Schedule
The schedule for this year’s Orlando City watch parties was announced and fans will be able to watch seven away games at different local pubs. The first will be Saturday at Burton’s Thornton Park for Orlando’s road game against the New York Red Bulls. This should create a nice atmosphere for Orlando’s road rivalry games in May too, as the game against Inter Miami on May 18 will fittingly be watched at Rivals, while the watch party for the game against Atlanta United on May 28 will be at The Hideaway. Orlando’s Decision Day match with Toronto FC will be hosted at Kiwi’s Pub & Grill to close out the regular season. As part of the club’s partnership with the pubs, each one will have access to MLS Season Pass for all of the Lions’ games this year as well.
New NWSL Players to Watch in 2025
Pride fans are well aware that NWSL newcomers played a major role in the league last season, as Barbra Banda was a major reason behind the club’s historic year. This year’s new faces include many players who could impress in their first year in the NWSL, like aforementioned Pride defender Oihane Hernandez. The right back helped Spain win the 2023 Women’s World Cup and bronze at the 2024 Olympics and joined the Pride after two seasons with Real Madrid. She’s skilled on both sides of the ball and gives opponents another obstacle to overcome this season.
OCB Lands in MLS NEXT Pro’s Top 10
The first power rankings of the MLS NEXT Pro season are out and Orlando City B placed sixth. The Young Lions kicked off their season at home on Sunday with a 2-1 win over Columbus Crew 2. A late rally by Columbus nearly spoiled things, but OCB did well to hold onto its lead and secure all three points. Orlando’s next match will be Sunday at Osceola Heritage Park against Atlanta United 2, which lost 1-0 to New York Red Bulls II during the opening weekend.
Free Kicks
- Chicago Stars forward Mallory Swanson won’t be with the team when it takes on the Pride this Friday due to personal reasons.
- Although she’s focused on this NWSL season, Washington Spirit forward Trinity Rodman stated that it’s just a matter of when in regards to her making the move to Europe.
- Seattle Sounders midfielder Paul Arriola was carted off due to a left knee injury during his team’s 4-1 loss to Cruz Azul. It’s tough news for Arriola, who tore his right ACL in 2020.
- Charlotte FC bolstered its defense by adding left back Souleyman Doumbia on loan from Standard Liège for the 2025 season.
- The Kansas City Current signed forward Flora Marta Lacho to a two-year contract, making her the first Angolan player in league history. She heads to the U.S. after helping TP Mazembe win the 2024 CAF Women’s Champions League last year.
- The UEFA Champions League quarterfinals are set and each matchup looks to be a good one. Arsenal will take on Real Madrid, Bayern Munich will face Inter Milan, Borussia Dortmund will play Barcelona, and Aston Villa will square off against Paris Saint-Germain.
- Bos Nation FC hired Amina Bulman as its chief revenue officer. Bulman led the Washington Commanders’ revamp as the NFL team’s chief brand and strategy officer, so a similar brand reset is hopefully on the horizon for the NWSL club.
That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!
Orlando City’s Designated Players Delightfully Productive to Start the Season
Orlando City at New York Red Bulls: Three Keys to Victory
Lion Links: 3/13/25
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