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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Inter Miami CF: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in the scoreless draw against Inter Miami?

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1 year ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Well, it wasn’t the most exciting of games, but that’s what you get when you put a rivalry game midweek. Still, Orlando City got a point against a good team, still hasn’t lost to Inter Miami at home, and looked the most defensively solid that it has in quite some time. Here’s how I graded the individual Orlando performances from an even, defensive affair.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 7.5 — This was another strong performance from Gallese, after he had a good showing in Saturday’s win over the Philadelphia Union. He was called into action mere minutes into the game, and made a great save to deny Luis Suarez in a 1-v-1 situation. He made three saves on the night, but didn’t face any real danger aside from Suarez’s early chance. His distribution wasn’t at its best, as he only passed with 65% accuracy on the night, but he’s far from the only Lion who had some trouble delivering their passes. Overall, he commanded his area well, came off his line at the right times, and made the big save when it was needed. He’s starting to look more like his old self.

D, David Brekalo, 6.5 — Like Gallese, Brekalo built off a good performance in his last game out. He made an excellent block in the seventh minute to deny Robert Taylor, although the play may have been called offside anyway (it wasn’t on the field). He was busy defensively and ended his night with three clearances, two interceptions, one block, and one aerial duel won. He popped up on the offensive end with one shot, which he put on target, and a passing accuracy of 88%.

D, Wilder Cartagena, 7 — If I didn’t know the Peruvian wasn’t a natural center back, then I never would have guessed it. He’s looked a natural at the position through two games. The play he made in the 54th minute to head a ball out for a corner while tracking back towards his own goal with Taylor draped all over him was excellent, and he made several timely interventions while generally keeping things very calm in the center of the back three. He also recorded three clearances, two interceptions, and one block on defense, as well as committing a foul. He also drew a foul of his own and delivered his passes with 80% accuracy. He gets a half-point bump over his compatriots for being a midfielder by trade and looking as good as he did back there.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6.5 — Schlegel made his return from a red card suspension, and had a much calmer game than his last time out. His four clearances led all players, and he also won an aerial duel, and recorded a tackle and two interceptions while committing a foul. Like Cartagena, he drew a foul of his own, and also took one shot (blocked), while passing with 87% accuracy. I was a bit worried about his tendency to burn a little too hot during high pressure games, but he turned in a steady and reliable performance.  

WB/F, Facundo Torres, 6.5 — Like Angulo, Torres’ defensive responsibilities at the wingback position meant he wasn’t as involved on offense as we’ve become accustomed to seeing, although he did move up to forward late in the match shortly before subbing off in stoppage time. He took one shot (off target), drew one foul, made two key passes, completed one cross, and passed the ball with 83% accuracy. On defense, he contributed a tackle, a clearance, and one aerial duel won. He’s always started slowly and the constraints of his position in the last two games are what they are, but this team needs to find a way to get him firing on all cylinders. The Lions are better when Torres is balling, and so far this year he hasn’t been.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6.5 — As the only true defensive midfielder, Araujo had his work cut out for him in this one, but he performed that work pretty well. He finished with two tackles, an interception, one completed dribble, one aerial duel won, three fouls draw, and a passing accuracy of 95% on 62 attempted passes. The big blemish on his night was from a boneheaded and unnecessary foul on Julian Gressel, which means he’ll be suspended for Saturday’s trip to San Jose. If nothing else, he’ll get a little rest after doing a bunch of running these last two games.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 5.5 — We got to see Ojeda as the no. 10 sitting behind the pair of Luis Muriel and Duncan McGuire, and it just didn’t quite work. The statistics say that he didn’t have a bad night, as he finished with two interceptions, three shots (one off target, one on target, one blocked), two key passes, two crosses, and 87% passing accuracy. The eye test says that things weren’t fully clicking though, and in a game where he was largely freed of defensive responsibilities, he didn’t have the necessary impact at the other end of the field, although Drake Callender did very well to save his low shot in the 32nd minute. Aside from that, his best opportunity to make something happen came when he had an excellent chance to put the ball on a plate for a wide-open Torres at the back post in the 69th minute, but failed to see him, and instead played a harmless low cross that was cleared out for a corner.

MF, Nico Lodeiro, 6.5 — Asked to help facilitate play from deep, Lodeiro looked lively in the first half, although his influence waned as the game went on, which was true of most of the offensively inclined Lions. He totaled one clearance, one shot (which was blocked), one completed dribble, one foul drawn, two key passes, two crosses, and 94% passing accuracy. Lodeiro wasn’t as involved on the offensive end as he probably would have liked to be, but he did some important tracking back on multiple occasions when Miami sent runners from deep during its attacks.

WB, Ivan Angulo, 5.5 — Angulo seemed to be the man Miami singled out to try to pick on, as the visitors repeatedly tested him with chipped or diagonal balls in behind him. They were tests that he failed on several occasions, as he fell asleep on Franco Negri’s back-post run in the seventh minute, and again on Jordi Alba’s run in the 74th. Both occasions required timely interventions from his teammates to spare his blushes, but the visitors went after him for a reason. His night finished with one tackle, one clearance, two interceptions, one completed dribble, and one foul drawn, while passing with 90% accuracy.

F, Luis Muriel, 7.5 (MotM) — Listen, I get being frustrated with players when they don’t hit the ground running and light the league on fire. But for the people who have been vocal online about thinking Muriel looks washed, I just don’t know what to tell you. He contributed a tackle and a clearance, took three shots (one on target, two blocked), drew a foul, won an aerial duel, and completed two crosses and three key passes while passing with 74% accuracy. Oh, and his six completed dribbles were the most of any player on the field by a country mile. Time and again he beat one or multiple Miami players and got the ball into a dangerous area, and his pass in the 32nd minute to set up Ojeda’s shot was genius, as was his run in the 69th minute to set up the same man. He drew a yellow card on Robert Taylor after stealing the ball from the Miami forward in the 65th minute. His only blemishes on the night come from the counter that he and Torres couldn’t manage to fashion a shot from (a big blemish), and the “foul” he committed, and the subsequent booking he was given (much smaller ones). Still, it was a lively, involved performance, and he gets his second straight Man of the Match award.

F, Duncan McGuire, 6.5 — Like his strike partner, Muriel, McGuire also took three shots, one of which was off target, while the other two were blocked. He also recorded two key passes, two completed dribbles, one tackle, and one clearance. I would have liked to have seen him try to stretch Miami’s back line more than he did, but Oscar Pareja may well have given him different instructions. His work tracking back defensively was impressive, but it was an indictment of Orlando’s play in the second half that he had to pop up back there as often as he did.

Substitutes

WB, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, (79′), N/A — Brought on for Muriel, Dagur Dan slotted in at right wingback and had an extended cameo appearance, which wasn’t enough to earn a fair grade. Still, he contributed one clearance and two key passes, while accurately delivering all four of the passes he attempted.

WB, Rafael Santos, (80′), N/A — Santos came on for Angulo but went over to fill the left wingback role. He didn’t record any defensive statistics but completed two dribbles and 91% of his passes, and he was involved in some half-chances for the Lions as the game wound down.

F, Jack Lynn, (85′), N/A — Lynn entered the game for McGuire as the clock ticked ever closer to the 90th minute. He wasn’t super involved, and completed two of the three passes he attempted. He’ll want to have the other one back though, as he did really well to bring down a difficult ball and hold play up, only to misplay an easy pass to Santos with his left foot, which stopped a break before it started.

F, Yutaro Tsukada, (90’+3), N/A — We got the briefest of looks at the man the Lions signed to a short-term agreement from OCB for the next two matches. Despite coming on late, he had a chance to make the biggest impact of the night, but volleyed a tricky chance over the bar and out of play with the last action of the night.

How did you see the individual performances in this game? Make your voice heard down in the comments, and be sure to vote in our Man of the Match poll. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City

Orlando City Striker Duncan McGuire Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

It’s the other shoulder this time, but Big Dunc is on the shelf for awhile again after undergoing surgery.

Published

34 minutes ago

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June 6, 2025

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City announced today that Duncan McGuire has undergone arthroscopic surgery to repair the labrum in his left shoulder. The surgery was performed by Orlando City Chief Medical Officer Dr. Craig Mintzer of the Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute performed the surgery. Mintzer previously repaired the labrum and rotator cuff in McGuire’s right shoulder back in December for an injury he sustained in Orlando City’s playoff match against Charlotte FC Nov. 9 when he was pulled down by Djibril Diani.

The club’s press release said the 24-year-old striker’s return to play is expected “later this year.” The recovery given for his right shoulder surgery in late 2024 was listed as four to five months, but McGuire was able to come back and play much earlier than expected, appearing for the first time in 2025 in Orlando’s March 15 against the New York Red Bulls — at least a month before the earliest initial projection — however, this time there was no mention of damage to the rotator cuff.

Regardless, the Lions will be without the big target striker for a considerable amount of time.

McGuire had appeared in 12 matches during the regular season in 2025, starting three and scoring one goal and adding an assist. His goal came recently, serving as the game winner in Orlando’s 1-0 home victory over the Portland Timbers on May 24. He was recently listed as questionable on the club’s availability report ahead of the team’s most recent match against the Chicago Fire.

Orlando City drafted McGuire in the first round (No. 6 overall) in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft. After a breakout rookie campaign, in which the Omaha, NE native scored 14 goals, he was courted by several teams in Europe, signing with Blackburn Rovers, only to see the transfer rejected by the English Football League due to an administrative error by the EFL Championship club. After returning to Orlando, McGuire signed a new deal on Aug. 22 to remain a Lion. The new contract runs through 2027 with a club option for 2028. McGuire scored 10 goals and added three assists in 2024. For his Orlando City career, McGuire has appeared in 88 games (46 starts) across all competitions, scoring a total of 28 goals to go along with seven assists.

What It Means for Orlando City

McGuire appeared to be just finding his form, so this injury is unfortunate. The club didn’t put a timeline on McGuire’s recovery this time, but shaving a little off his 2024 recovery estimate, it’s likely that he’ll be out until at least some time in September.

Oscar Pareja has been favoring a 4-4-2 with Luis Muriel and Martin Ojeda up top in recent weeks, with Ramiro Enrique — who is also finding his form — typically spelling one of them when needed. Not having McGuire will affect Pareja’s late-game substitution pattern when Orlando is trailing, as he likes to put Enrique and McGuire both on the field when chasing the game. It also takes the team’s best target striker option out of the lineup when dealing with back lines with lots of height.

McGuire brings size and strength and an ability to occupy center backs that others on the roster can’t replicate. There are times when Enrique’s game is better suited to the opponent, but without McGuire there will be no ability to pivot. With Jack Lynn’s off-season retirement, that leaves the striker pickings mighty slim on the Orlando City bench. That might change Ricardo Moreira’s approach to the MLS Secondary Transfer Window.

Losing a scorer of McGuire’s caliber is always difficult, but this season it could be the difference between finishing high in the table and simply getting into the postseason in a strong Eastern Conference field.

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Opinion

Orlando City Must Learn from May’s Mistakes

The Lions can learn some valuable lessons from the three losses they suffered in May.

Published

7 hours ago

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June 6, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City hadn’t quite achieved juggernaut status as the Major League Soccer season turned from April to May, but a 12-match unbeaten run in the league is nothing to sniff at, despite there being a healthy number of draws interspersed with the victories. Things turned sour as May drew to a close though, as the Lions lost three of their final four matches of the month and entered a two-week break with a whimper rather than a roar.

Losing is never fun, but in this case those three defeats don’t need to be entirely negative experiences, and there are plenty of lessons to be learned from those three bitter losses that will hold Orlando in good stead if it can implement the proper solutions.

More Squad Rotation

One of the biggest factors in Orlando’s rough finish to May was a lack of squad rotation. Oscar Pareja has always been a coach that likes to find his first-choice XI and stick to it almost religiously. He doesn’t normally tweak his lineups or tactics according to whatever opponent is on the slate, and very much values consistency. In periods of fixture congestion, that tendency can be to Orlando’s detriment, and that was very much the case against both Nashville SC and the Chicago Fire.

After beating Inter Miami 3-0 in an emotional rivalry match on May 18, Pareja made just one change for a U.S. Open Cup match against Nashville SC three days later. Ramiro Enrique slotted in for Luis Muriel up top, but every single other starter from the Miami game also got the nod midweek. With Nashville deploying a heavily rotated lineup mostly filled with backups, the gamble was a simple one: hope that OCSC’s A-team can open up a big first-half lead against Nashville’s B-squad before bringing mass changes in the second half to get guys some rest. Hindsight is, of course, 20/20, but the strategy backfired badly as the Lions lost 3-2. Orlando started well with Marco Pasalic’s 17th-minute strike, but the team faded badly afterwards and gave up a couple of very uncharacteristic goals to lose the game. Lapses in concentration and tired defending cost OCSC the game, and that isn’t something we can normally say about this team.

Then, after losing to Atlanta United 3-2 on May 28 due in no small part to Cesar Araujo’s red card, Pareja made two changes for a match against the Chicago Fire on May 31, with Muriel coming in for Enrique, and the other change being a forced one, as Eduard Atuesta replaced the suspended Araujo. Those starters looked noticeably gassed during the resulting 3-1 loss, and the fatigue manifested itself by players missing chances that would normally be converted or in sloppy, mistake-ridden defending.

May was a packed month with a whopping nine matches in 31 days, and most months won’t be that busy. August is set to be the busiest remaining period of the year with six games in 31 days, although that number could rise higher if the Lions make a run in Leagues Cup. The bottom line is that guys are going to need more rest as the season goes on. If the coaching staff doesn’t trust some of the guys currently available as backups, then they need to dip into the transfer market in one way or another and get some players that they do trust, because if the starting XI gets run ragged during busy periods it’s going to cost Orlando, plain and simple.

Cool Heads Usually Prevail

Orlando City has received three red cards on the season, which is tied for the second-most in the league. Unsurprisingly, the Lions are winless in games in which they’ve had a man sent off, with draws against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal and a loss to Atlanta United. The results against the Red Bulls and Atlanta were particularly difficult to swallow, as before going down to 10 men, Orlando had looked on track to get three points in each game.

Araujo’s red card against Atlanta was especially frustrating, as he allowed Mateusz Klich to get under his skin, grabbed him by the throat, and reduced his team to 10 men when OCSC was nursing a 2-1 lead on the road. It was completely unnecessary and was also the sort of thing that Orlando had looked to put in the rearview mirror after keeping its collective composure and not picking up any bookings in the 3-0 road win against Miami, while the Herons picked up four and looked noticeably rattled in the process.

It should go without saying, but the Lions can’t afford to get key players sent off. Six extra points could make a big difference in the standings at the end of the year, and that number could rise even higher if OCSC can’t put its disciplinary issues to rest once and for all.

Focus for the Full 90

There were moments in each of Orlando’s three May losses that the team committed bad defensive lapses or mistakes. Whether it was not playing to the whistle on Nashville’s third goal, Atuesta’s bad turnover against Atlanta, or the Lions collectively allowing Chicago to stroll through midfield to score a third goal, there were plenty of examples of bad breakdowns that were largely absent during the team’s unbeaten run. Can some of that be attributed to tired minds and tired legs? Maybe so — it’s a lot harder to play crisp and focused when the minutes have piled up. Regardless, its something that can’t continue to happen going forward. It’s possible that having more rotation in the squad will help that a lot, but it’s also on the players on the field to stay as mentally sharp as they can when they’re out on the pitch.

Clearly, a recurring theme here is that fresh legs and balanced squad rotation are top of my list of things I want to see change. I’m all for riding the hot hands, but tired legs make for tired minds, and tired minds make mistakes and are easier to rile up. Whether reinforcements come from the bench or an outside source, using more bodies will go a long way towards solving some of the issues that we saw in May’s three losses. All we can do now is wait and see what happens once the team returns from its break. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/6/25

Alex Freeman called up for Concacaf Gold Cup, Orlando Pride get ready for the Houston Dash, Orlando City B plays tonight, and more.

Published

10 hours ago

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June 6, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday! I’ll be spending this weekend celebrating my birthday by beating my friends at mini golf with no mercy but still hope to catch some soccer over the next few days. I’ve also been on a bit of a movie kick and plan on catching Wes Anderson’s new flick at some point soon. But for now, let’s dive into today’s links!

Alex Freeman Called Up For Gold Cup

Orlando City defender Alex Freeman was officially called up by the United States Men’s National Team for the Concacaf Gold Cup this summer. He’s the only Lion who will be at the tournament and is one of seven uncapped USMNT players on the roster. The 20-year-old could receive more playing time than expected, as right back Sergino Dest is not on the roster so that he can recover over the summer. Left back John Tolkin was added to replace Dest, so Freeman has a real shot at making a claim for the position this month. The U.S. will take on Turkey Saturday in the first of two friendlies before its first Gold Cup match against Trinidad & Tobago on June 15.

Orlando Pride Prepares to Host the Houston Dash

With the international break for women’s soccer over, the Orlando Pride return to action Saturday with a home game against the Houston Dash. It should be a great opportunity for the Pride to ease back into the swing of things against a Dash team that’s only scored 10 goals this season. Pride midfielder Ally Lemos spoke on the benefit of being able to rest heading into this match while maintaining a winning mindset from a 3-1 victory on May 23.

Anna Moorhouse Called Up For 2025 Euros

Orlando Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was named to England’s final roster for the 2025 UEFA European Women’s Championship. She’s one of three goalkeepers on the squad following Mary Earp’s surprise retirement from international soccer, and she will likely compete with fellow uncapped player Khiara Keating for the backup position behind Hannah Hampton. Moorhouse has started in every game for the Pride this season and was an NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year finalist for her record-breaking season last year. England’s Euro run will begin July 5 against France before other group matches against the Netherlands and Wales.

Orlando City B Takes On Huntsville City FC

The Young Lions are riding high after a 2-1 win over Chattanooga FC and will take that momentum into tonight’s road match against Huntsville City FC. Midfielder Noah Levis scored his first career goal in that home win, with Justin Hylton providing the assist in his OCB debut. Orlando’s offense has been hot and cold this season but has a variety of attacking talent that can create chances in different ways. The Young Lions have only won once on the road, but a win tonight would lift them to third in the Eastern Conference.

Free Kicks

  • FIFA Club World Cup action is coming to the City Beautiful this month and Orlando City legend Kaká spoke on how it’s nice for Orlando to host games.
  • San Diego Wave Head Coach Jonas Eidevall was named NWSL Coach of the Month. The Wave were undefeated in May, winning three of their four matches to climb to second in the league standings.
  • The NWSL will allow intraleague loans for all teams, with the players needing to consent to the move in order for it to happen. Denver and Boston’s expansion teams will have access to potentially over $1 million in Allocation Money starting on July 1 to build their rosters before the 2026 season.
  • Atletico Madrid is reportedly close to signing American midfielder Johnny Cardoso from Real Betis.
  • South Korea, Uzbekistan, and Jordan all qualified for the 2026 World Cup, while China was eliminated from contention. Australia beat Japan 1-0 and will qualify so long as it doesn’t lose heavily to Saudi Arabia on June 10.
  • Spain beat France 5-4 in a wild game to reach the UEFA Nations League final against Portugal on Sunday. Lamine Yamal continues to take the world by storm, but a late rally by France nearly completed a comeback.

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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