Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Austin FC: Player Grades and Man of the Match
How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 2-0 win over Austin FC?

Orlando City claimed its first win of the 2024 MLS season, defeating Austin FC 2-0. It was undoubtedly the best performance of the young season by the team and an essential result after the worst start to a season in club history.
Let’s take a look at the individual performances in this much-needed win.
Starters
GK, Mason Stajduhar, 6 — Stajduhar got the start with usual starter Pedro Gallese on international duty and had little to do in this game. Austin only put one shot on target and it was right to Mason, requiring little effort to stop it. He completed 81.8% of his 11 passes and three of his five long balls while recording his third career clean sheet.
D, Rafael Santos, 6 — This was arguably Santos’ best game of the season, recording a team-high 70 touches. He completed 77.8% of his 45 passes and one of his four long balls, while his lone cross was incomplete. He attempted three shots, putting one on target. However, he was most effective on the defensive end with a team-high four interceptions, 10 recoveries, and two clearances. The left back was solid in the back and contributed to the clean sheet.
D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — It was another strong performance by the Orlando City captain, who touched the ball 48 times on the night. The center back completed 87.5% of his 40 passes, including two of his six long balls. He intercepted two Austin passes and recorded a team-high four clearances.
D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6 — Schlegel got the start in this game with David Brekalo on international duty with Slovenia. The center back has had some tough outings this year, but was solid alongside Jansson. He completed an impressive 88.4% of his 43 passes, including four of his seven long balls. The Argentinian wasn’t as active as Jansson defensively, but recorded a tackle and two clearances. He also had a shot that was off target.
D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 6.5 — Thorhallsson had a quality game, both in the attack and defense. His 66 touches were second most on the team and he completed 75.6% of his 45 passes. While he only completed one of his four crosses and one of his five long balls, he had a team-high six key passes, including his perfect cross for Jack Lynn, resulting in the opening goal. His two shots were wildly off target, but he was strong defensively with an interception, three clearances, and a team-high four tackles. He was even involved in the second goal, setting up Nico Lodeiro for the shot that resulted in a handball.
MF, Ivan Angulo, 6 — Angulo had possibly his best game of the season against Austin. He made the most of his 53 touches, completing 91.4% of his 35 passes, including three key passes. His one shot hit the frame and he had one successful dribble. He also helped out defensively, recording a tackle and a clearance.
MF, Nico Lodeiro, 7 (MotM) — Lodeiro was very involved in this game, recording a team-high 70 touches. He completed 87% of his team-high 54 passes, including a key pass and three of his six long balls. He put two of his six shots on target, including a glorious free kick goal, which was created by his shot that went off the arm of a defender. He was also involved in the buildup on the first goal, playing a 1-2 with Thorhallson before the fullback’s cross in to Lynn. He also had two tackles, contributing to the clean sheet. Overall, Lodeiro had an excellent performance and earns my Man of the Match.
MF, Kyle Smith, 6 — For the second consecutive game, Smith lined up just in front of the back line in a role usually occupied by Cesar Araujo. The long-time Orlando City defender touched the ball 47 times and completed 89.2% of his 37 passes, including a key pass and a long ball. However, his biggest impact was on defense, where he recorded three tackles, an interception, and a clearance.
MF, Martin Ojeda, 6.5 — While I gave my Man of the Match to Lodeiro, it also could’ve gone to Ojeda. The 25-year-old touched the ball 57 times and completed 97.4% of his 39 passes, including two key passes, one of seven crosses, and all eight of his long balls. Three of his five shots hit the target, though he wasn’t able to find the back of the net. He also added a tackle and came off in the 88th minute for Mikey Halliday.
F, Luis Muriel, 6 — Muriel played just behind Lynn and in front of the attacking midfield, recording 51 touches on the night. He completed 76.7% of his 30 passes, which included two key passes, and all four of his long balls. He also had three successful dribbles, but both of his shots were off target. While he didn’t help in the scoring, he caused problems for the Austin defense before being replaced in added time by Jeorgio Kocevski.
F, Jack Lynn, 6 — The absence of Duncan McGuire saw Lynn get his first start for the first team. Playing the target striker position, he had 21 touches and completed 76.9% of his 13 passes. However, his biggest contribution was his header in the 42nd minute for the opening goal. It was put on a platter by Thorhallsson, but he still handled it well, heading it down and off Brad Stuver. He had one other off-target shot before coming off in the 74th minute for Felipe.
Substitutes
MF, Felipe (74’), 6 — The defensive midfielder came on for Lynn in a defensive move as the Lions looked to see out the three points. He didn’t do much in the attack, only touching the ball seven times and completing all four of his passes. But he recorded a tackle and an interception in his 16 minutes on the field.
D, Mikey Halliday (88’), N/A — Halliday entered the game for Ojeda in the dying minutes in an attempt to kill some time to see the game out. He only had one touch and one clearance, without attempting any passes.
MF, Jeorgio Kocevski (90+4’), N/A — Kocevski came on for Muriel four minutes into added time, touching the ball once and completing one pass without recording any other stats.
F, Shak Mohammed (90+4’), N/A — Mohammed came on with Kocevski, replacing Lodeiro. He had two touches, but didn’t see any other action in his short time on the field.
That’s how I saw Orlando City’s huge 2-0 win over Austin FC. Let us know what you thought of the performance and vote on your Man of the Match below.
Lion Links
Lion Links: 6/24/25
Orlando City’s upward aspirations, Tim Weah reportedly set for transfer, Club World Cup roundup, and more.

Happy Tuesday, everyone. We’ve got a busy week ahead of us with the Club World Cup approaching the end of the group stage, OCB at home on Wednesday, and Orlando City back in action with a pair of games. That means we have plenty to talk about, so let’s get straight into today’s links.
Orlando City’s Lofty Goals
Kyle Smith took some time after training on Monday to speak to the media and shed some light on where OCSC is at right now. The utility player was candid in saying he believes this year’s team is the best one he’s seen since he’s been with the club, and that’s saying something considering he’s the longest-tenured player on the team. Smith said the team is focused on climbing higher in the standings and that the two recent breaks will help the team do just that. He emphasized the importance of handling extra time off between games the right way by making sure the players are taking care of their bodies, getting in the gym, and recovering afterwards. That sort of professionalism paid off in the 1-0 win over the Colorado Rapids, so hopefully the same is true of Wednesday’s game against St. Louis City.
Tim Weah Reportedly on the Move
Nottingham Forest has reportedly agreed a deal with Juventus to sign Tim Weah and fellow Juve player Samuel Mbangula for roughly €22 million. That being said, personal terms have not yet been agreed upon with Weah, and that will likely take some time, since he’s playing for them at the Club World Cup, and the Italian side is probably keen to minimize outside distractions. Weah broke out with Lille during a four-season spell with the French side, earning a move to Juventus in 2023 as a result.
Club World Cup Roundup
The Club World Cup continues to roll on, as the tournament entered its final round of group stage games on Monday. Atletico Madrid became the first big name to exit the competition, as it beat Botafogo 1-0 to finish level with the Brazilians on six points but will be going home due to having worse goal difference. Atletico needed to win by at least three in order to overtake Botafogo in the standings and might have managed it if not for some poor finishing. In Group B’s other game, Paris Saint-Germain took down the Seattle Sounders 2-0 to finish top of the group. Seattle was given a brutal draw and accounted itself as well as can be expected, but ultimately, the Sounders exit the competition without picking up a point.
Club World Cup Takeaways
Speaking of the Club World Cup, what are some of the impressions so far of the expanded tournament? There have been plenty of good things, as teams have been taking it seriously with strong lineups, and barring the outlier that is Auckland City, no one team has been consistently getting shelled. On the other hand, making the jump from six teams to 32 simply feels like too much too soon, and that’s probably contributed to fluctuating levels of interest from local fans. High ticket prices and games starting in the heat of the day haven’t helped much either, as weather conditions have been a recurring concern among both fans and players. The competition is still a net positive overall, but there are certainly some things to learn from and improve upon next time around.
Free Kicks
- Check out some of the scenes from the Lions’ training session on Monday.
- The Orlando Pride slid down to fifth in ESPN.com’s NWSL power rankings.
- Three people are dead while a further 81 have been injured following the collapse of a stand at an Algerian soccer match.
- Manchester United has reportedly submitted an improved offer for Bryan Mbuemo.
- Manchester City’s Rico Lewis has had his Club World Cup ban extended for two additional matches.
That’s all I have for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 6/23/25
Pride fall to Racing Louisville, Seb Hines and Giles Barnes share insight on path to success in Orlando, USMNT defeats Haiti, and more.

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been busy working and catching up with friends over the past week. Before we get started, let’s wish a belated happy birthday to Orlando Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and Sporting Director Haley Carter, who turned 41 on Saturday. The Pride was the lone team in action over the weekend, while the Lions and OCB were off. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.
Pride Fall at Racing Louisville
The Orlando Pride fell to Racing Louisville 2-0 Friday at Lynn Family Stadium. Arin Wright scored the opening goal in the first half, and former Pride midfielder Taylor Flint converted a penalty kick for Racing Louisville. The Pride struggled offensively and failed to capitalize on their scoring chances. Orlando’s struggles in Louisville continue, as the club is winless in five matches at Lynn Family Stadium. The Pride will be on a long break, and their next match will be Aug. 3, taking on the Utah Royals at Inter&Co Stadium.
Seb Hines, Giles Barnes Share Insight on Path to Success in Orlando
Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines and Assistant Coach Giles Barnes were featured in an interview in The Guardian. Both Hines and Barnes shared insight into their longtime friendship, which began with playing in English youth international camps, their different paths to playing in Major League Soccer, and how they became involved in coaching. Hines discussed his time as interim manager of the Pride in 2022 and how he brought in Barnes to help change the club’s culture. Hines and Barnes helped change the perception of the club and led the Pride to winning both the NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship last season.
USMNT Defeats Haiti to Win Group D in Gold Cup
The U.S. Men’s National Team defeated Haiti 2-1 Sunday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, in their final match in the group stage of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. The USMNT finished atop its group with three wins and nine points. Orlando City defender Alex Freeman made his third consecutive start and played 90 minutes.
Malik Tillman scored the opening goal 10 minutes into the match to give the USMNT the early lead. Haiti tied the match not long after Tillman’s goal. In the second half, Patrick Agyemang pulled the USMNT back in front. The USMNT advances to the quarterfinals as the group winner and will play its next match Sunday against the Group A runner-up which was the late game Sunday night and had yet to conclude as of this writing.
Club World Cup Weekend Recap
Another weekend of matches from the FIFA Club World Cup is in the books. On Friday, Benfica crushed Auckland City FC 6-0, while Flamengo beat Chelsea 3-1. LAFC was eliminated from advancing to the knockout round after a 1-0 defeat to ES Tunis. Bayern Munich edged Boca Juniors 2-1. On Saturday, Borussia Dortmund defeated Mamelodi Sundowns 4-3. Inter Milan needed a late stoppage-time winning goal from Valentin Carboni to edge Urawa Red Diamonds 2-1. Fluminense beat Ulsan HD 4-2, and River Plate and Monterrey ended in a scoreless draw. On Sunday, Juventus cruised to a 4-1 win over Wydad Casablanca. Xabi Alonso secured his first win as manager of Real Madrid with a 3-1 victory against Pachuca. Red Bull Salzburg and Al-Hilal played to a scoreless draw, with Manchester City playing Al-Ain in the late match Sunday. Today’s matches feature Atletico Madrid facing Botafogo, the Seattle Sounders hosting Paris Saint-Germain, FC Porto vs. Al Ahly, and Inter Miami taking on Palmeiras.
Free Kicks
- Orlando Pride midfielder Ally Lemos and forward Simone Jackson have been called-up to the U-23 U.S. Women’s National Team. The U-23 camp will be led by Orlando Pride Assistant Coach Yolanda Thomas.
USL Championship side San Antonio FC has signed former Orlando City defender Abdi Salim to a 25-day contract.
San Diego Wave winger Maria Sanchez has reportedly reach an agreement to return to her former club, Tigres of Liga MX Femenil, on a four-year contract.
Paul Pogba is reportedly set to return to playing soccer and has signed a two-year contract with Ligue 1 side AS Monaco.
That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.
Opinion
Orlando City Has Been Better than Expected Halfway Through the Season
While there was plenty to worry about at the start of the season, Orlando has had a good first half of 2025.

With 18 matches in the books, we’ve moved just past the halfway point of the 2025 Major League Soccer season, and based off my feelings before Orlando City played its opening game of the season, the Lions have performed above expectations so far. There were plenty of valid reasons to be concerned heading into the year. Orlando had sold its all-time leading goal scorer, and there were questions about whether he’d been adequately replaced. There were worries about depth at multiple positions, and the defense was coming off an uncharacteristically poor year. Here we are though, with the Lions sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference, just three points out of second place and seven points out of first. So how did we get to this point?
For one thing, Marco Pasalic has been much better than I (and I think a lot of other people) expected him to be. The Croatian has six goals and four assists across 18 matches, and is second on the team in both categories. He scored 10 goals in 49 appearances in the Croatian first division before coming to Orlando and was extremely one-footed, which was enough evidence to sow real doubt about whether he could adequately replace the impact of Facundo Torres.
So far, it’s mostly been so good. His direct style of play is a good complement to the styles of Martin Ojeda and Luis Muriel, and he’s largely hit the ground running in a league that can be difficult to adapt to. It hasn’t been perfect, as he’s still very one-footed, and can sometimes disappear if he’s stringently man marked, but on the whole there’s been much more good than bad.
Speaking of Ojeda and Muriel, they’ve also had strong years. Ojeda in particular has continued his great second half of the 2024 season and has nine goals and five assists in 18 games to show for it. He looks fast, confident, and decisive and is a far cry from the player who struggled frequently during his first year as a Lion. Muriel has cooled off a little after a scorching start to 2025, but he still has six goals and three assists in 18 matches. He looks vastly improved from last year, when he looked a little off the pace of play and quickly lost the starting striker role. He still has a tendency to not be as selfish as he needs to be in front of goal, but he’s been much better than 2024.
I mentioned depth being a big concern, and not just at one position. At the beginning of the season Orlando City was, and arguably still is, thin at striker, center back, defensive midfield, and fullback. Duncan McGuire was injured to start the year and is now injured again, leaving Orlando with two true strikers in Muriel and Ramiro Enrique. There was no true backup left back, only one reliable backup center back, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson starting at right back meant that defensive midfield depth consisted of rookie Joran Gerbet and the Swiss army knife that is Kyle Smith.
Things have mostly worked out though. David Brekalo has supplanted Rafael Santos, meaning the Brazilian is now a proven backup option at the position, and Smith has filled in there as well. That means that in games in which Rodrigo Schlegel or Robin Jansson are unavailable, Brekalo fills in at center back, Santos starts at left back, and Smith is the backup for both positions, so it isn’t a flawless system. Gerbet has been playing better and better and got some valuable minutes when Eduard Atuesta and Cesar Araujo were unavailable. His emergence has been a crucial piece of the puzzle this year. So too has the rise of Alex Freeman, as his locking down the right back role has allowed Thorhallsson to fill in at defensive midfield, attacking midfield, and right back. The situation isn’t perfect, as a couple untimely injuries to the wrong guys would leave the Lions looking pretty threadbare, but so far it’s just about worked.
Another big concern was the defense. The Lions conceded 50 goals in the regular season last year, which was tied for the second-most of any Eastern Conference playoff team and fourth-most of any playoff team. With no defensive signings and the aforementioned depth concerns, there were plenty of reasons to worry about Orlando’s ability to keep the ball out of the back of the net.
Things have looked much better in 2025, though. The 22 goals OCSC has conceded are the fifth-fewest in the league, and Pedro Gallese’s eight clean sheets are tied for most in the league. Aside from a few egregious defensive performances against the Philadelphia Union, Atlanta United, and the Chicago Fire, things have mostly been tidy at the back, and when they haven’t been, El Pulpo has been around to pick up the slack. Again, things haven’t been perfect, as there have been moments where individual and collective errors have hurt the team, but it’s been better.
I thought the Lions would struggle this year. Going into the start of the season, we were talking about a team that lost Torres, arguably didn’t do enough to strengthen the team across the board, was facing depth issues, and was dealing with a leaky defense — all while pretty much every other contender in the East got stronger on paper. Instead, OCSC tied a club-best unbeaten streak and is just three points out of second place.
That being said, the East is so tight that Orlando is only five points above the playoff line, and injuries to the wrong guys could easily topple the fragile ecosystem that is the depth chart, but so far things are going better than I thought they would be. There are still a lot of matches to play, but this isn’t a bad position to be in at the halfway mark.
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