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Orlando City vs. Atlanta United FC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions fare in Orlando City’s 2-0 loss in Atlanta?

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2 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City continued its poor run of form with a 2-0 loss to Atlanta United FC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. The Lions only have one point in four games and have lost their last three MLS matches. It’s the fewest points an Orlando City team has had after four games in club history, dating back to 2011.

Let’s look at how each individual Lion performed in another loss.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6 β€” Neither of Atlanta’s two goals were Gallese’s fault and he had a pretty solid game. His standout moment came just before halftime when he made two one-handed saves off an Atlanta corner kick, keeping the deficit at one goal. Other than his shot stopping, Gallese completed 72.2% of his 18 passes, including five of his 10 long balls.

D, Rafael Santos, 5 β€” Santos was active in this game with 78 touches, third-most on the team. He nearly accidentally scored in the eighth minute when an inaccurate cross hit the crossbar. However, he was at the heart of both goals. In the ninth minute, he was beaten by Saba Lobjanidze for the first goal. Brooks Lennon beat him down field and caused him to hit the turf with a cutback, while setting up the second. Apart from the two goals, Santos completed 93.8% of his 64 passes, one of his five crosses, and four of his six long balls. Defensively, he had one tackle.

D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 (MotM) β€” Jansson was the most active Lions defensively in this game, recording three tackles, two clearances, and one blocked shot. He completed 91.7% of his 48 passes, including four of his seven long balls. He wasn’t at fault for either of the two Atlanta goals, though he shied away from the second in the 71st minute.

D, David Brekalo, 5.5 β€” Similar to Jansson, Brekalo had a strong game. He finished with a team-leading three clearances and one tackle. Going forward, he completed 93.2% of his 59 passes, including a key pass and four of his seven long balls. However, I knocked him down half a point because he failed to close down Giorgos Giakoumakis at the top of the box on the second.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 5.5 β€” Thorhallsson started on his usual right side of the back line, but also ventured into the central midfield. He completed 87.5% of his 40 passes, one of his three crosses, and neither of his two long balls. His only shot was off target, but he had a team-high four successful dribbles. Defensively, the fullback added two tackles and one clearance on the night. His night ended in the 87th minute when he was replaced by Mikey Halliday.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 5.5 β€” Ojeda only had 36 touches in the game, by far the lowest number in the four-man midfield. He completed 78.6% of his 28 passes and didn’t complete any of his three crosses, but connected on his one long ball and had a key pass. His only shot came in the 19th minute when he tried to beat Brad Guzan to his near post. However, the veteran goalkeeper blocked it out for a corner kick. He was replaced in the 74th minute by Facundo Torres.

MF, Nico Lodeiro, 6 β€” Lodeiro was the most active attacking midfielder, recording a team-high 85 touches. He completed 91.9% of his team-high 74 passes, but failed to connect on any of his six crosses or two long balls. Additionally, he took one off-target shot and had a tackle defensively. He was replaced by Shak Mohammed in the 87th minute.

MF, Kyle Smith, 6 β€” Smith started in the midfield in this game, usually sitting between the back line and the three attacking midfielders. His 79 touches were second-most on the team and he completed 90% of his 60 passes, also second-most on the team, including three of his five long balls. Defensively, he recorded one tackle, one interception, and one clearance in his new role.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 6 β€” Angulo had 70 touches in this game, fourth-most on the team. He completed 84.6% of his 52 passes, including a team-high two key passes, but only connected on one of his five crosses. His three successful dribbles were second on the team behind Thorhallsson and his only shot was off target.

F, Luis Muriel, 6 β€” Muriel was the most effective of the two starting forwards, recording 60 touches and putting two of his four shots on target. In the sixth minute, his shot was tipped over the crossbar by Guzan and an excellent individual effort in the 42nd minute forced the Atlanta goalkeeper into a diving stop. He completed 70.3% of his 37 passes with one key pass and one of his two crosses but failed to connect on his only cross. He also had a team-high four tackles. The forward was replaced in the 81st minute by Jeorgio Kocevski.

F, Duncan McGuire, 5.5 β€” The Lions could have used a quality performance by McGuire, but he was largely absent. He only had 29 touches in 90 minutes and failed to put either of his two shots on target. He completed 89.5% of his 19 passes and had one key pass while failing to complete his only cross. He also had two tackles on the night.

Substitutes

MF, Facundo Torres (74’), 5 β€” Torres came off the bench as he continues to return from a shoulder injury. He had 15 touches in 16 minutes, completing only 63.6% of his 11 passes. However, he had a key pass and connected on two of his three crosses. Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja was hoping for an offensive spark from the Uruguayan, but he didn’t get off any shots.

MF, Jeorgio Kocevski (81’), 5.5 β€” The rookie’s 21 touches were the most of any Orlando City substitute in this game as he made his MLS debut. He completed 83.3% of his 18 passes, but failed to complete his only cross or either of his two long balls. He added a dribble and tackle to his final totals.

F, Shak Mohammed (87’), N/A β€” Mohammed had a team-low seven touches and completed 83.3% of his six passes. He was fouled once and didn’t have any other statistics.

D, Mikey Halliday (87’), N/A β€” Halliday had eight touches in his minimal minutes while completing three of his six passes. He didn’t complete his one cross and his only shot was off target. Meanwhile, the defender didn’t record any defensive stats.

This is how I saw Orlando City’s tough Sunday night loss in downtown Atlanta. Let us know what you thought of the performances and vote for your Man of the Match.

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Orlando City

Flashback Friday: July 4, 2023 vs. Toronto FC

Let’s rewind to an Independence Day affair that had plenty of offensive fireworks.

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3 days ago

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July 3, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The United States Men’s National Team picked up a gritty, resilient 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on Wednesday, and will now face Belgium in a rematch of the 2014 World Cup Round of 16 next Monday. While we patiently wait for that game, it’s time to continue our Friday tradition of revisiting some classic Orlando City games from years past.

Last week, we rewound to a high octane affair against the Chicago Fire in late June 2022, that saw the Lions douse Chicago’s flames and pick up a much-needed 4-2 victory. Today, let’s hop in the time machine and travel back to Independence Day 2023, when Toronto FC came to town.

At the time of Toronto’s visit, things were going relatively smoothly for OCSC. The team was riding a three-match unbeaten streak and had scored five goals across those three games. Oscar Pareja lined up his team in its customary 4-2-3-1, with Pedro Gallese in goal; a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith; Wilder Cartagena and Cesar Araujo in the double pivot; Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres in the attacking midfield; and Duncan McGuire up top.

Orlando very nearly got a goal a little under 10 minutes into the game. Former OCSC goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh knocked down a cross in front of the net, and while Pereyra was first to the ball, he could only blast it over the bar with the goal at his mercy. Fortunately, that miss would not come back to haunt the Lions, who bagged the game’s first goal in the 16th minute. Angulo sucked defenders toward him on the left edge of the box before releasing Santos out wide. The fullback played a peach of a first-time, curling cross to the back post, where Araujo was waiting to power a diving header into the side netting at the far post for his first league goal.

That goal broke the game open, and Orlando got another goal six minutes later to double the advantage. It initially looked like a carbon copy of the first goal, with Santos out in space on the left side of the box, sending in a curled cross. The ball deflected off a defender and came in low toward the goal. Ranjitsingh waited for the ball instead of going to claim it, and that allowed McGuire to nip in front of him and get a touch on the ball to sneak it in at the near post.

Orlando nearly got even more goals inside the half hour, with Torres and McGuire both going close in quick succession. Federico Bernardeschi smashed a shot off the post in the 28th minute, and the Lions seemed to be losing focus a little bit, with the hydration break a welcome pause in play when it came. OCSC came out of the pause well, and Pereyra put Angulo through in the 36th minute, but the Colombian couldn’t bring the ball under control and fashion a shooting chance.

Orlando led in every meaningful statistical category at halftime. The Lions had more possession (55.8%-44.2%), shots (6-2), shots on goal (2-0), corners (4-2), and passing accuracy (89.5%-85%). Most importantly, they led 2-0 on the scoreboard.

Toronto tried to change things at halftime by introducing three substitutes, but Orlando settled back into the game quickly and negated the efforts of interim TFC manager Terry Dunfield. Angulo and Torres forced Ranjitsingh into a pair of saves in the 53rd and 55th minutes, and the Lions tried to press their advantage by sending on Ramiro Enrique and Martin Ojeda in the 57th minute for McGuire and Pereyra.

The game then changed in a big way in the 62nd minute. Cartagena and Bernardeschi exchanged words after a turnover, and the Italian winger put Cartagena on the ground with the help of a little theatrics from the midfielder. Bernardeschi had already been yellow carded in the 47th minute for a foul on Smith, and the altercation with Wilder saw him receive a second yellow and his marching orders to go along with it.

With TFC down to 10 men, the Lions started to tee off at goal. Ojeda came close to getting the team’s third in the 69th minute, with Enrique doing the same in the 71st but missing just wide. When the goal finally came, it was from the unlikely foot of Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, who had been subbed into the game alongside Ercan Kara in the 68th minute.

Thorhallsson made a great run behind the defense in the 77th minute, and Araujo picked him out well. Ranjitsingh came out to try to play sweeper-keeper, but DDT beat him to the ball easily, touched it around the former Lion, and rolled it into the empty net to score his first MLS goal and make it 3-0.

Toronto had a halfway decent chance to pull one back in the 82nd minute, but Brandon Servania’s long-distance attempt at chipping Gallese ended up missing high and settling on the roof of the net. Kara then iced the game in the 84th minute. Araujo fired a pass to Ojeda at the top of the box, and even though he had trouble bringing it under control, he had the presence of mind to backheel it toward goal for the big Austrian to pounce on and fire a low, hard shot into the net for 4-0.

Ojeda nearly got a goal of his own two minutes later but had a great effort saved in what was the last truly dangerous moment of the game.

As was the case at halftime, when the final whistle blew, the Lions had created plenty of fireworks on both the scoreboard and the stat sheet. OCSC finished with more possession (59.6%-40.4%), shots (18-6), shots on target (9-0), corners (8-2), and passing accuracy (91%-84.8%).

Marcus Mitchell had Player Grades for this one, and he named Araujo the Man of the Match with a grade of 8 out of 10 for his one-goal/one-assist effort. The other high performers on the night were Antonio Carlos, and Cartagena, who each graded out at 7.5 out of 10.

That’ll do it for this week’s trip down memory lane. We’ve been getting spoiled lately, with Orlando putting up four goals in back-to-back time machine games, and it’s made for an enjoyable glimpse into years gone by. With any luck, next week’s edition will be similarly entertaining. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 7/3/26

Orlando Pride visit Angel City tonight, NWSL free agents to watch, Portugal and Spain advance, and more.

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3 days ago

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July 3, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! I don’t have many plans this holiday weekend beyond enjoying some soccer and indulging myself in a few hot dogs to celebrate. It should be a fun weekend, but make sure to stay safe out there if you plan on setting off any fireworks. For now though, let’s get to the links!

Orlando Pride Take On Angel City FC Tonight

The NWSL resumes today and the Orlando Pride will play against Angel City FC at 10 p.m. in their first match since a 3-1 win over Bay FC on May 29. That win capped off a six-game month for the Pride, including a stretch of three straight road games. Meanwhile, Angel City parted ways with Alex Straus over the break after only winning once in May, and tonight’s match will be Leif Gunnar Smerud’s first since being named interim head coach. It can be tough playing an opponent with a new coach, but hopefully the Pride can bring all three points back to Orlando.

Top NWSL Free Agents to Watch

Free agency is officially underway in the NWSL and the list of players with contracts expiring at the end of the year includes some of the league’s best players. Orlando Pride star Marta was listed as one of the top free agents to watch, though I would be pretty shocked if she plays for another NWSL club if she leaves Orlando after this season. Leicy Santos, Debinha, and Rose Lavelle are other skilled attackers who will become free agents, but Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger is sure to have plenty of clubs reaching out for her talents as well.

Portugal and Spain Advance in World Cup

This World Cup hasn’t been short on excitement and that continued with Portugal’s 2-1 win against Croatia. After a scoreless first half, Croatia took the lead thanks to a goal from Ivan Perisic, but Cristiano Ronaldo equalized from the penalty spot and the game was moments away from heading to extra time. Goncalo Ramos gave Portugal the goal it needed to advance deep in stoppage time, but Croatia nearly came back with a goal that was disallowed due to an offside call. Spain cruised to a 3-0 win against Austria to book its spot in the round of 16 as well. Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice for his second brace of the tournament, with Marc Cucurella assisting on both of his goals. Spain and Portugal will square off in the next round in what should be a fantastic match. Switzerland and Algeria kicked off late.

The round of 32 wraps up today with a trio of matches, starting with Egypt’s game against Australia. Cape Verde will then look to shock the world when it plays Argentina, and the late game will be between Colombia and Ghana.

Columbus Crew Sign New Designated Player

The Columbus Crew have signed Spanish midfielder Brais Mendez to a Designated Player contract through the 2028-2029 season with a club option for the 2029-2030 season. Mendez has spent the past four La Liga seasons with Real Sociedad, recording 33 goals and 24 assists in 166 appearances. He gives the crew some additional firepower as reports swirl regarding Diego Rossi’s departure for CF Monterrey. While maybe not in the same headline-grabbing tier of MLS summer signings like Antoine Griezmann or Robert Lewandowski, Mendez is a big addition to the league as the Eastern Conference arms race continues.

Free Kicks

  • CF Montreal sent $2.1 million in General Allocation Money to Austin FC in exchange for midfielder Dani Pereira. Selected with the first overall pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft, Pereira has contributed six goals and 23 assists in 165 appearances across all competitions for Austin.
  • Real Salt Lake reportedly rejected a transfer bid around $3.5 million from CF Monterrey for midfielder Diego Luna.
  • American winger Emma Sears reportedly requested a trade from Racing Louisville, although the club is not reportedly interested in a midseason transfer.
  • The United States Men’s National Team’s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina had record viewership. Understandably so, too, as I spent most of the match pacing around my living room.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 7/2/26

USMNT shuts out Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kat Asman loaned to Denver Summit FC, MLS transfer news, and more.

Published

4 days ago

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July 2, 2026

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Image of Pride goalkeeper Kat Asman
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

Wednesday nights are starting to feel magical. Orlando City has thrived this year when playing on Wednesdays, and now the United States Men’s National Team has provided us with a reason to tackle this Thursday at full force. Before we dive into that result and the rest of today’s links, let’s all wish a happy birthday to Orlando City defender Tahir Reid-Brown!

USMNT Survives Red Card to Advance

The U.S. won 2-0 against Bosnia and Herzegovina in an emotional rollercoaster of a match in the World Cup’s round of 32. Folarin Balogun got the U.S. on the board at a crucial time right before halftime by scoring his third goal of the tournament. But the game flipped on its head in the second half when Balogun was shown a harsh red card by the referee after video review for a foul when he accidentally came down on the back of an opponent’s foot. The Yanks fought hard to make up for the difference of being down a player and doubled their lead after earning a free kick right outside the box. Malik Tillman’s shot went up and over the wall and into the net for a goal U.S. fans will be replaying over and over again.

The U.S. did well to grind out the win after that second goal, with former Lion Alex Freeman doing his part on defense to help shut out Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was a memorable win, and now the U.S. will turn its focus to its round-of-16 matchup against Belgium on Monday.

Pride Loan Goalkeeper Kat Asman to Denver Summit

The Orlando Pride loaned goalkeeper Kat Asman to the Denver Summit for the remainder of the 2026 NWSL season. Asman is coming off of a loan with Lexington SC in the Gainbridge Super League, where she played every minute of the season to help Lexington win the title. She posted 11 clean sheets with Lexington last season and won the league’s Golden Glove as well. Asman has yet to make an appearance for the Pride since joining prior to the 2025 season, and her contract expires at the end of the season. She now heads to Denver, where Abby Smith has done well in goal as the expansion team’s starter.

MLS Transfer News Roundup

Real Salt Lake sent $625,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) to Atlanta United in exchange for winger Saba Lobjanidze and a third-round pick in the 2028 MLS SuperDraft, with another $100,000 in GAM going Atlanta’s way if he re-signs with Real Salt Lake. The Columbus Crew fully acquired defender Andres Herrera from River Plate after an extended loan, signing him to a contract through the 2028-2029 season. The LA Galaxy transferred defender Mauricio Cuevas to Santos Laguna, the New England Revolution added forward Wilson Harris, and Sporting Kansas City signed center back Moises Mosquera from FC Juarez. The San Jose Earthquakes are reportedly close to signing Scottish goalkeeper Angus Gunn, with Daniel heading to FC Dallas in a trade if that happens. It’s somewhat surprising considering Daniel has done well to help San Jose only concede 15 goals this season.

🏴󠁧󠁒󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Sources: San Jose Earthquakes closing in on a deal to sign Scotland int'l GK Angus Gunn.πŸ‡§πŸ‡· Sources: FC Dallas has agreed to a deal to acquire GK Daniel from San Jose.βž• Daniel trade is contingent on Gunn signing being formalized.

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert.bsky.social) 2026-07-01T16:34:02.297Z

European Nations Move On After Dramatic Comebacks

This World Cup continues to deliver thrilling games during this new round-of-32 phase. Senegal looked certain to go through to the next round until Belgium scored a pair of goals after the 85th minute to knot the game at 2-2 and send it into extra time. The game was decided by a penalty, but not in a shootout, as a foul in the box resulted in Youri Tielemans scoring from the spot to give Belgium the victory. In Atlanta, Harry Kane scored twice to rescue England in a 2-1 win over the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Brian Cipanga gave the Congo an early lead, but Kane struck twice in the second half, with his winner being one of the best goals of the tournament so far.

England is now set to face Mexico at the Azteca on Sunday in what should be a great game. As for today’s action, Orlando City winger Marco Pasalic and Croatia will take on Portugal in a matchup between European heavyweights. The winner of that match will face whoever prevails today between Spain and Austria, with Switzerland and Algeria squaring off in the late night match.

Free Kicks

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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