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Three Lions Poised to Help Orlando City Claw their Way Back

Who can Orlando turn to as the club starts to hunt for victories?

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1 year ago

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Orlando City has had a less-than-ideal start to the season. Competing in both the Major League Soccer regular season and the Concacaf Champions Cup, meant that the team had to navigate the beginning of the year through heavy schedule congestion and a league record of 0-1-2 as well as an exit in the round of 16 in the CCC is what Orlando has to show for its efforts.

A loss to Inter Miami, as well as a subsequent heartbreaking loss in the match against Minnesota United FC, has left a foul taste in fans’ mouths, it should be acknowledged that it was nearly impossible to truly gauge what the team was capable of while the Lions were competing in both formats.

Nonetheless, Orlando is desperate to start turning in results and there are several key pieces of the roster who are poised to help break the team out of its slump. Here are my picks for the top three players that can help right the ship as Orlando heads into the meat and potatoes of its regular season.

David Brekalo

Heading into the start of the year, Orlando City’s back line had the ability to be one of the most sound units throughout MLS. Allowing eight goals through three matches has left folks scratching their heads as to what the issues may be and what needs to be done to fix it. Enter off-season signing David Brekalo. Debuting in the home opener against CF Montreal, Brekalo looked the part of an athletic center back who has the ability to complement Robin Jansson across the back line. In the next two subsequent matches against Miami and Minnesota, Brekalo failed to feature and his absence was notable, as in those two matches the opposition scored eight goals.

With less schedule congestion to deal with, Brekalo will likely become a regular starter. His presence will be a welcomed one as he continues to gel with Jansson and the defensive midfield. Not only should his athletic ability help Orlando significantly in marking players on the defensive end during set pieces, it is also just a matter of time before he makes a difference on set pieces for Orlando offensively as well. I expect the defense to improve. Frankly, there are too many quality pieces for it to not, however, the key to unlocking this unit’s full potential lies in Brekalo’s ability to command the starting role next to Jansson for the rest of the season.

Ivan Angulo

Orlando needs Angulo to unlock even more chaos than he already has in the beginning of the season. Last year, Angulo was responsible for 13 goal-scoring contributions and successfully completed 82.7% of his passing attempts. While Angulo has upped his passing percentage to 87.7% this season so far, he has failed to log a goal-scoring contribution through the first three MLS matches of the season and has only been credited for one shot on target.

Angulo’s ability to take on defenders to create his own offense is a skill that the Orlando attack will need to utilize as the offensive finishing gets sorted out. Looking back to both the opening match against CF Montreal and the most recent match against Minnesota United FC, Orlando has generated a healthy amount of opportunities but has had issues in the finishing department. Angulo’s speed and 1-v-1 ability will help the attack continue to get into dangerous positions. The next step for him this season will be to start to convert the chances that he generates.

Martin Ojeda

I am saving the best for last…or rather the individual who I think has shown the most promise to start the season. Due to the insane frequency of matches to start the year, Ojeda has been called on to do a little bit of everything. He has started matches, entered as a super sub, scored, and has logged an assist both in the MLS regular season as well as in the CCC. Ojeda has also put three of his six shot attempts on target to start the regular season.

With the addition of Nicolas Lodeiro in the off-season, many thought that once again Ojeda as a Designated Player would be relegated to a backup role. This playing time conundrum poised one of the largest question marks about the roster heading into the season. Through one month of matches, Ojeda has looked the part when he has been on the field and has constantly found his teammates in dangerous positions, as demonstrated by this great cross to Duncan McGuire in the team’s first match of the calendar year.

It looks like Ojeda is more adjusted and comfortable now in his second year in MLS, and he possesses all of the skills necessary to be a dangerous attacking piece for Orlando City. Last year, in mostly a reserve role, Ojeda tallied 16 goal-scoring contributions, and his ability to surpass that mark this year cannot be undervalued as Orlando looks to climb back up the table.

I will be watching Brekalo, Angulo, and Ojeda closely over the next several matches and am confident that they hold the keys to unlocking the rest of their teammates’ potential.

What other players do you think will step up as Orlando City looks to get back to its winning ways? Let us know in the comments below and as always, vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City at New England Revolution: Final Score 2-1 as Ojeda’s Brace Leads Lions to Road Win

Orlando City bounced back from a home loss to win an important road match against the New England Revolution.

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6 hours ago

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July 19, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City went into Gillette Stadium and did something very rare — the club won. Martin Ojeda provided two goals to propel the Lions to a 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution. The Lions (10-6-8, 38 points) once again opened up a 1-0 lead, and once again gave up the equalizer. This time, Orlando City got the go-ahead goal and managed to hang on to see out the match. Tomás Chancalay scored for the hosts, who extended their winless streak to eight (0-6-2).

New England (6-10-7, 23 points) didn’t go quietly, as the home side had plenty of chances to equalize. This was a badly needed three points on the road for Orlando City heading into the final third of the season.

Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja decided that the lineup that started in the loss to New York City FC was the right recipe for a visit to Gillette Stadium. Goalkeeper Pedro Gallese started behind a back line of David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Alex Freeman. Cesar Araujo and Eduard Atuesta started in central midfield with wingers Ivan Angulo and Marco Pasalic, with Ojeda and Luis Muriel in the forward positions.

Both teams were active early, pushing into the offensive areas of the pitch. New England had the first corner in the fourth minute, but Orlando cleared Carles Gil’s delivery. Two minutes later, Atuesta sent a ball in for Pasalic, but a foul by Atuesta gave the Revs a free kick. In the 10th minute, New England earned another corner but couldn’t convert the chance.

The teams traded another set of half chances, but in the 18th minute, Ojeda received a long ball from Atuesta, did just enough to get it past Aljaž Ivačič, and deftly put it into the back of the net with the outside of his left foot to give Orlando City the early lead.

“We had talked during training with teammates and the technical staff about what the best ways to hurt New England were going to be,” Ojeda said. “And I remember from the last game that they had a lot of spaces in those areas. So, as soon as Edu (Atuesta) got the ball, I knew that with the quality player that he is, all I had to do was get into the space in front of me. When the ball came, I got there about the same time as the goalkeeper, and I let it go under him. And the ball fell perfectly to me behind him, so all I had to do was finish it off. Thankfully, I was able to do that, score, and make it 1-0 at the time. And like I said, I’m just very happy.” 

Both teams continued to push forward with New England getting another corner kick in the 20th minute and Atuesta missing a shot in the 22nd minute. In the 27th minute, Angulo fouled Gil. The New England attacker went for goal, but it sailed out for an Orlando City goal kick.

By the end of the first half hour, New England had worked its way into the match. In the 30th minute, Ilay Feingold begged for a penalty after Brekalo stood him up, but there was no foul, and no call made. Three minutes later, Ojeda took a shot from distance that was on target and forced Ivačič to tip it over the bar for a corner kick.

Ojeda took the corner, which was cleared but recycled by the Lions. Ojeda ended up with it and tried for goal again, but it went out for a goal kick. New England went back on the attack in the 36th minute, earning yet another corner, but the hosts committed a foul to give the Lions a free kick.

Both sides generated more chances before the half. In the 37th minute, a Revs cross went behind Leo Campana. A corner kick from Ojeda in the 39th minute skipped off Brekalo’s head to the feet of New England. In the 42nd minute, the Revolution managed a ball across the face of goal, but there was nobody there to finish it.

The best chance of the half for New England came in the 43rd minute, when Alhassan Yusuf found the ball at his feet inside the box. Brekalo was able to block both the initial shot and the follow-up. Gil took one more long-distance shot before the half ended.

At the break, New England had the advantage in possession (56%-44%), corners (5-3), and passing accuracy (84%-79%), but the Lions had the edge in shots (6-4), shots on target (2-0), and the only goal.

At the start of the second half, Orlando was aggressive, sending the ball to a streaking Angulo, but Ivačič was able to punch the ball away. New England tried to do the same thing in the 49th minute, but Jansson was able to sweep the ball away with a perfectly timed tackle.

In the 53rd minute, Chancalay gave the ball to Gil, but the shot went just wide left of the goal. Muriel placed an exceptional ball up to Ojeda a minute later, but his shot was blocked by Ivačič. One minute later, disaster struck as Chancalay equalized for the home team. Both Freeman and Schlegel tracked Peyton Miller’s run into the box, leaving Chancalay unguarded on the back side. The cross found him, and he faked a shot to freeze Schlegel, cut to his right, and pulled a shot inside the near post to tie the match.

Unlike last match, Orlando didn’t allow that goal to break them. In fact, Ojeda scored his second goal of the match. Angulo worked his way into the box, and deftly put a soft pass back for Ojeda to run onto, smashing it into the net for the goal.

“I think he’s carrying us in that matter; how important it is to have a player who is scoring goals and giving us those contributions in the moments that we need him the most,” Pareja said. “Not in any game, but in this one game, when we were all tense and we needed to produce tonight, he took that team on his shoulders. And not just what he does when he scores, but the work ethic that Martín has, that just represents the culture that we have. I’m happy for him, because I think he deserves it. And not just him, but the whole squad today. It was full energy, and everybody was willing to work and get this game. It was a good night for us.”

That did it for the scoring on the night, but not the shots or shots on target. In the 59th minute, Pasalic had an attempt go wide right. On the other end, Feingold took a shot from distance that sailed over the target in the 60th minute. One minute later, Pasalic took a long-distance shot of his own that Ivačič saved.

Orlando City had an a pair of corner kicks in the 62nd that were taken short and amounted to nothing. New England had a chance to pull level again with three shots in rapid succession. The first was blocked by Gallese, but the ball stayed in front of him. The second shot hit the right post, and the third was sent off target. Neither the second nor third would have counted had they gone in, because Campana was offside.

The teams traded yellow cards just after that, with Gallese getting one in the 66th minute for time wasting and Brayan Ceballos getting one for arguing after a foul was called. Muriel took the resulting free kick but sailed it into the crowd. Orlando started to drop deeper in defense as the pressure from New England mounted.

In the 74th minute, Miller forced Gallese to make a save on a point-blank shot to maintain the lead. Orlando continued to absorb New England’s attack. Zakaria Taifi came on for Pasalic in the 78th minute. The youngster did some good things, including sending a few crosses in front of goal that couldn’t find a teammate.

New England continued to press for a late equalizer, and referee Lukasz Szpala added six minutes of stoppage time — which turned into nine minutes. Unlike the previous couple of matches, the Lions were able to hold on for the victory.

In the end, New England had the advantage in possession (62%-38%), corners (9-6), and passing accuracy (87%-77%), but the Lions had the edge in shots (16-14) and shots on target (5-3).

“Obviously, I’m very happy with the result, but more so for the performance of the players,” Pareja said after the game. “I want to congratulate them for their responsibility, the energy, and the willingness to bounce back after the result that we had at home. They had a short period of recovery, and what we saw today was full commitment for the club, and the jersey, and getting this result away just ignited us again. So, congratulations to the players. Overall, I thought we had a very good game, very disciplined in our tactical proposal. And the times that we went forward, we looked like that team that is lethal. And that helps us to keep adding points in our search for our quality.”

In the previous two games, the Lions let a one-goal lead get away. The first against CF Montreal resulted in a 1-1 draw, and two late goals Wednesday night turned into a 2-1 loss. New England’s goal looked like it might be a repeat of those two performances, but the team did well to rebound and claim all three points.

“I think we can highlight that part of our squad and the boys tonight,” Pareja said. “The response that they had to what happened three days ago, in a game that we had and then let it go, and then to bounce back tonight with such a great performance in a very difficult place. And what they did in the game represents what they have done as well. When New England tied the game, it was a tense game. And then they kept going and Martín scored, and after that, I thought we had control of the game. So, credit to them. I see the team that we used to see in those difficult moments, guys that work hard and find a way to get the results.”

“I think the details can really test the unity of a group,” Ojeda added. “When those details don’t go your way in football, and when they actually go against you at times, as they have the last few games for us, it can test the unity of a group. And I’m really proud of how we responded tonight after those last three games. And I’m really proud to be a part of this group. When (New England) tied it up, we weren’t happy with just the one goal, and we said to ourselves that we were going to push. Thankfully, we were able to get it to 2-1 really quickly, and then, in the last portion of the game, we stayed united, stayed together, and really focused on those details that had hurt us and gone against us in those last few games so that it didn’t end like that tonight, and we were able to take the win. I think that was the key for us tonight. I think we worked really hard during the week to get those details right and get those details fixed. So, really happy for the win and to be a part of this group.”

The win keeps Orlando City in sixth in the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of Charlotte FC and three behind in-state rivals Inter Miami CF. It’s also the team’s first win since the 4-2 victory over St. Louis City FC on June 25, snapping a four-game winless slide.

Orlando City will be back on the road for an away game at Lower.com Field against the Columbus Crew on Friday.

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Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Orlando City looks to bounce back from throwing away points late in two straight games when the Lions visit their house of horrors, Gillette Stadium.

Published

19 hours ago

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July 19, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (9-6-8, 35 points) and the New England Revolution (6-9-7, 25 points) at Gillette Stadium (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). This is the second of the two scheduled meetings between the two MLS Eastern Conference rivals this season.

Here’s what you need to know for the match.

History

The Lions are 5-7-8 in the regular-season series against New England and 6-8-8 in all competitions. On the road, Orlando City is just 1-6-2 against the Revs in the regular season, as Gillette Stadium has been a nightmare venue for the Lions over the years.

The last meeting between the teams resulted in a wild 3-3 draw in Orlando on May 10. After recent matches, this will sound familiar, but the Lions squandered two leads in that match, including a 2-0 advantage. Martin Ojeda scored Orlando’s first hat trick since 2015 in that game, but those three goals were offset by strikes by Alhassan Yusuf, Matt Polster, and Carles Gil. One of Ojeda’s goals and Gil’s were penalties.

Prior to that, the teams met on Sept. 14, 2024, with the Lions completing their first-ever sweep of the Revs with a 3-0 win. Rafael Santos, Facundo Torres (from the penalty spot), and Duncan McGuire provided the offense in a dominant performance. The teams previously met on July 13 at Gillette Stadium, where the Lions won for the first time, handing the Revs a 3-1 home loss. Torres’ brace led the way to an Orlando comeback, with Ramiro Enrique also scoring to overturn an early 1-0 deficit provided by Giacomo Vrioni.

The teams met in Orlando on Oct. 7, 2023, with the Lions winning 3-2 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates. Orlando City clinched second in the Eastern Conference as McGuire and Torres built a 2-0 lead. Pedro Gallese gave up a soft goal from distance to Gil, but Ivan Angulo pulled that one back three minutes later. Gil added a second goal deep in stoppage time to improve the result cosmetically.

New England got the better of the Lions in the previous matchup of the 2023 season, winning 3-1 at Gillette Stadium on June 17. After a scoreless first half, the Revs went up by two with goals from Emmanuel Boateng and Gustavo Bou 18 minutes apart. McGuire pulled one back late, but Gil scored the dagger five minutes later.

These teams met at Exploria Stadium on Aug. 6, 2022, and the previously struggling Revolution whipped Orlando City, 3-0. New England got goals from unlikely sources, as central midfielders Matt Polster and Wilfrid Kaptoum and center back Henry Kessler provided the offense. The teams met at Gillette Stadium on June 15 of that year, and the Revs went ahead on a Gil goal, but the Lions pulled that back with a Robin Jansson strike en route to a 1-1 road draw.

New England went unbeaten in the 2021 season series. The teams played to a 2-2 draw at Exploria Stadium on Oct. 24, 2021. The Lions built a 2-0 lead through goals by Nani and Daryl Dike, but two late Adam Buksa goals allowed the Revs to steal a point. The teams met at Gillette Stadium just over a month prior to that draw in Orlando, with Nani’s missed penalty a costly one in a 2-1 Revs home win. The Revolution jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a goal by Buksa and an own goal off of Rodrigo Schlegel, in which the referee was quite lenient with Buksa’s treatment of the Orlando defender in the lead-up to Tajon Buchanan’s cross. Dike pulled one back for the Lions and later won a penalty, but Nani’s attempt to go down the middle was read at the last second by Matt Turner, who got his shoulder to it to preserve the lead.

The Revolution ended the Lions’ season at Exploria Stadium in the 2020 playoffs, knocking Orlando City out of MLS Cup contention in the conference semifinal round on Nov. 29, 2020. That 3-1 win by the Revs was the first road win for either side in the series in any competition. Gil put the Revs up early from the penalty spot after a call against Uri Rosell, and Bou doubled the lead eight minutes later, finishing a play that started with a Nani turnover. Junior Urso pulled a goal back before the halftime whistle, but Mauricio Pereyra was sent off for a studs-up challenge on Polster at the hour mark. Still, Nani had a chance to equalize from the spot, but a poor penalty was saved by Turner. Bou added a late insurance goal.

In the final year of the pre-pandemic times, the Revs went 1-0-1 in the season series. The Lions and Revolution met at Exploria Stadium on Sept. 14, 2019, with Orlando overcoming a Tesho Akindele own goal and two deficits — the second by two goals — and rallying for a 3-3 draw. Shortly after Akindele’s own goal opened the scoring, Nani tied things up. Cristian Penilla and Bou scored goals five minutes apart just before halftime to seemingly give the visitors control. But Dom Dwyer pulled one back after the restart and Nani tied it up.

The teams also met at Gillette Stadium in 2019 on July 27, and the Revs put the Lions on full blast, 4-1. Bou scored within the first two minutes of the game, and the Revolution got goals from Penilla, Gil, and Diego Fagundez. Akindele scored to avoid the shutout.

The teams also met at Exploria Stadium in U.S. Open Cup action that year on June 19, with the Lions scoring twice in a 30-minute extra time session and holding on for a 2-1 victory. Benji Michel and Akindele staked Orlando to a 2-0 lead before Justin Rennicks pulled one back off a Gil back-post cross. City was able to see the game out.

The last meeting of 2018 saw the Revs top a depleted Orlando side, 2-0 in Gillette Stadium on Oct. 13. In the first matchup of 2018, the teams combined for six goals in a 3-3 draw at Orlando City Stadium on Aug. 4.

Orlando City and New England split the season series in 2017. City completed a 6-1 demolition of 10-man New England at home Sept. 27, 2017. New England won at Gillette Stadium that year by a 4-0 count.

The Lions went 1-0-2 in the series in 2016, winning 3-1 at home on July 31. The teams played a controversial 2-2 draw in Orlando on April 17, 2016. The second 2016 meeting reached the same final score on April 30 in New England.

The teams met twice in 2015, with Orlando City rallying from a 2-0 deficit in the final 17 minutes to draw 2-2 at the Citrus Bowl in April. The Sept. 5 rematch at Gillette Stadium didn’t go as well, with New England taking a 3-0 win. Fagundez, Agudelo and Chris Tierney scored for the Revolution.

Overview

Orlando City is winless in four straight (0-2-2) after throwing away a late lead Wednesday in a 2-1 home loss to New York City FC. Robin Jansson’s first-half goal had the Lions up for most of the match, but a four-minute span including an own goal by Kyle Smith that Rodrigo Schlegel kicked off of him and into the net, and a colossal blunder of a short corner (#BanShortCorners) that turned into a stoppage time winner on the counter, extended Orlando’s skid. The Lions are 4-2-5 away from home this season, but they’re 2-0-1 in their last three on the road. Orlando scored seven goals in those three road matches, which is two more than the five it has tallied in its last five home games.

The Revolution are coming off a meltdown of their own, blowing a two-goal halftime lead Wednesday and giving up five straight in the second half against the New York Red Bulls in a 5-3 road loss. New England is winless in seven matches (0-5-2) entering tonight, so the Revs will welcome a team they’ve beaten many times at home to Gillette Stadium, looking to put a halt to their skid. The Revs are an uncharacteristic 2-5-2 at Gillette Stadium this season.

The team’s weak spot has been offense, with only four teams in the Eastern Conference scoring fewer than New England’s 29 goals on the year. Former Miami striker Leo Campana had a brace in Wednesday’ game, doubling his season total to four goals. Gil, as usual, is the key to New England, as the Spaniard leads his club in goals (8) and assists (7).

“New England Revolution is a direct rival, obviously in the conference. With the change in their structure that we are aware of, we are going to prepare our team for the same, trying to take advantage of opportunities from the vulnerabilities they have and trying to be solid defensively as well,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “They have a few players up front who are good. But we are just planning like always, working out on the pitch so we can prepare the group the best we can.”

Orlando City will be without Joran Gerbet (thigh), McGuire (shoulder), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee). New England will be without Ganago (quad), while Brayan Ceballos (upper body), Ilay Feingold (ankle), and Peyton Miller (ankle) are questionable.

Match Content

Projected Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Alex Freeman.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Cesar Araujo, Eduard Atuesta, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Luis Muriel, Martin Ojeda.

New England Revolution (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Aljaz Ivacic.

Defenders/Wingbacks: Tanner Beason, Keegan Hughes, Brayan Ceballos, Brandon Bye.

Defensive Midfielders: Alhassan Yusuf, Matt Polster.

Attacking Midfielders: Peyton Miller, Carles Gil, Luca Langoni.

Forwards: Leo Campana.

Referees

Ref: Lukasz Szpala.
AR1: Jeremy Hanson.
AR2: Nick Balcer.
4th: Ricardo Montero Araya.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: Tom Supple.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Gillette Stadium — Foxborough, MA.

TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. New England Revolution

Get caught up on the New England Revolution, courtesy of someone who knows them best.

Published

20 hours ago

on

July 19, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

While Orlando City’s recent results haven’t exactly gone the way any of us had hoped they would, the good thing about this time of year is that a chance to get back to winning ways is right around the corner. It won’t be easy though, as the Lions are set to hit the road up to Massachusetts, where they’ll face the New England Revolution.

A match with the Revs means I spoke to Sam Minton, who runs the show over at the always-excellent independent site The Blazing Musket. He was very helpful in bringing us up to speed on New England, and we appreciate his assistance.

 Carles Gil has been his usual self with eight goals and seven assists in 22 games. He’s the only Revolution player with double-digit goal contributions though. Why hasn’t he been getting more help?

Sam Minton: Injuries and a lack of finishing. New England’s forwards have all struggled to stay healthy. Leo Campana, Luca Langoni, and Tomas Chancalay have all had stints on the sidelines. But even when healthy, all three players have struggled to put goals away. All three have been gifted chances from Gil and others in front of goal but failed to put the ball in the net and sometimes simply on target. 

Even though New England suffered a devastating loss to the New York Red Bulls, Campana scored his first goal since May. Langoni has worked well alongside the striker, so the Revs will be hoping that Saturday is the game where they will finally be able to put everything together.

The Revs are in the midst of a seven-game winless run, stretching back to May 31. Have there been any patterns that have emerged during this stretch of games?

SM: Besides the pattern of being unable to win, New England has struggled to close out games and its defending has been questionable. Throughout Caleb Porter’s tenure, the team has been prone to struggles towards the beginning of both halves and Wednesday’s match was a prime example of struggling to see out a win. Allowing five goals in one half is usually a fireable offense for a head coach, but here we are. 

When having a lead, the Revolution play extremely conservatively and allow opponents to rack up possession. The Red Bulls took advantage of this, and if New England grabs a lead at home, Orlando should expect to have a lot of the ball. This also opens up the defense to exploitation, and that is exactly what opponents have done. Brayan Ceballos is the lone bright spot at center back, but he could miss Saturday’s match due to an upper-body injury. That leaves Mamadou Fofana, who has struggled since playing well early on, and second-rate center backs in Tanner Beason, Keegan Hughes, and Wyatt Omsberg.

With just six points separating New England from the last playoff place, the postseason is still achievable. What’s the thing you think needs to change most for the team to make the playoffs?

SM: Honestly, the head coach. New England has talented players, so the fact that the club is struggling is really damaging to Porter. His tactical rigidity has cost New England games in both 2024 and 2025, as he now seems married to starting out matches with three center backs, even when missing a starter. New England’s struggles in the second half are emblematic of a larger problem. 

“But then, I just don’t understand from there why we stopped doing it,” Porter said after the 5-3 loss. “It wasn’t because we wanted to tactically stop doing that […] At the end of the day, we want to play the way we played in the first 30 [minutes], and we just weren’t able to do that. I have to figure out why that happened.”

This is not what you want to hear from a head coach after your seventh straight match without a win. This sounds like players tuning out a coach, but I will note that some bench players were forced to play larger roles, and so far there are no signs of discontent from the locker room.

Will any players be unavailable due to injury, suspension, etc.? What is your projected starting XI and score prediction?

SM: Ignatius Ganago is out due to injury while Peyton Miller, Ilay Feingold, and Ceballos are all questionable. Personally, I think that Ceballos will not play and Miller could come off the bench if he appears at all.

Starting XI (3-4-1-2): Aljaz Ivacic, Mamadou Fofana, Tanner Beason, Wyatt Omsberg, Ilay Feingold, Matt Polster, Alhassan Yusuf, Brandon Bye, Carles Gil, Luca Langoni, Leo Campana.

3-2 Orlando win.

Thank you again to Sam for for his information on New England. Vamos Orlando!

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