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Orlando City vs. New York Red Bulls: Final Score 1-0 as Orlando is Shut Out Again

Offense in 2024 is simply non-existent as the Lions again get shut out.

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2 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

John Tolkin scored on a free kick that should never have been given and Orlando City’s nonexistent attack continued to be toothless in a 1-0 loss at Red Bull Arena tonight. The Lions (4-7-5, 17 points) appear headed for an early off-season after yet another shutout loss, despite New York (8-3-5, 29 points) not producing much of an attack of its own.

“A hard night for our team offensively,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “I thought that we did a lot of things that we planned towards the game, where we had control and our sequences were what we wanted but our last third is not being effective, so we paid the price.”

Pareja’s lineup switched back to the 4-2-3-1, featuring Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Rodrigo Schlegel (subbing for the suspended Robin Jansson), David Brekalo, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena took their places in the defensive midfield behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Nico Lodeiro, and Facundo Torres, with Duncan McGuire returning to the lineup up top.

Orlando City was second best throughout the first half and spent most of the opening period defending. The offense was practically non-existent and Orlando lacked any confidence going forward. At the earliest sign of pressure, the Lions played the ball back into their own half. No one seemed interested in beating the man in front of them, and the attack had zero threat.

Gallese was forced into a save early in this one. After a bad turnover by Orlando led to the game’s first corner. The ball was served into the box to Noah Eile, who was well covered but placed his header well. The Peruvian did well to get his hand to the ball in the upper corner of the goal to keep it out in the fifth minute.

Much of the rest of the half consisted of Orlando City defending and New York trying to find a way through the defense.

A soft foul call on Araujo led to a free kick in the 28th minute, giving New York a free kick from about 30 yards out. Emil Forsberg sent the set piece well over the bar.

Orlando got its lone scoring chance of the first half two minutes later. A decent buildup ended up on Angulo’s foot at the top of the box. The Colombian fizzed his shot over the crossbar and that was it for the Lions’ offense in the first 45 minutes.

An extremely generous foul call on Cartagena led to New York opening the scoring. Lewis Morgan went to ground without seemingly much (if any) contact and Drew Fischer bought what Morgan was selling, giving the Red Bulls a free kick. Jon Tolkin took the set piece and smashed a shot toward the right top corner. Gallese had set his wall up on that side, but Tolkin beat the wall with pace and the Peruvian couldn’t get over to it. It went in, making it 1-0 in the 38th minute.

That was it for the offense in the match, as neither side created much after that.

Aside from a couple of unsuccessful corners for New York, that was it for the first half.

Although the Lions had the halftime advantage in possession (52.1%-47.9%) and (83.5%-81.6%), Orlando simply consisted of 11 guys on the pitch in purple uniforms. There was no threat going forward whatsoever. New York finished the half with more shots (7-1), shots on target (2-0), and corners (3-1). The Red Bulls were never threatened or made uncomfortable in any way.

Pareja sent on Luis Muriel and Ramiro Enrique to start the second half, sacrificing McGuire and Thorhallsson.

The Lions got forward early and a Muriel cross for Enrique was punched away by Carlos Coronel at the last second. Orlando could do nothing with a couple of early second-half corners.

The Lions then wasted a couple of attacks. A good ball into the area by Muriuel found Lodeiro in the box, but the Uruguayan crossed in front to the Red Bulls defense and it was knocked away. Moments later, Muriel was sent in behind and he opted not to shoot, cutting back onto his right and losing control, but he was offside anyway. Despite the flag going up, it was the second straight game Muriel has chosen not to shoot with his left foot and failed to even get an attempt on a promising attack.

Orlando finally got a shot on target in the 57th minute. After a Santos shot through traffic was blocked out for a corner, Torres’ sent a weak shot right at Coronel. It was Coronel’s only save of the match.

A minute later, Tolkin was left alone from distance and had a go, but Gallese made the save. Frankie Amaya sent a shot well over the bar in the 63rd minute from long range and then Dante Vanzeir sent a shot wide after an Orlando turnover on the ensuing goal kick. Dennis Gjengaar sent a shot wide in the 66th minute on a New York counterattack.

Santos tried to pick out Enrique in front in the 68th minute but overshot the target, and then he was sent in behind the defense and had a shot blocked, but the flag came up anyway.

New York thought it had doubled the lead in the 71st minute when Elias Manoel put the ball in the net from distance, but Tolkin was called for holding Angulo on the play. The New York defender was injured on the play and had to come off.

Lodeiro found himself in the box with the ball in the 78th minute, but the midfielder tried to pass instead of shooting and had no teammates making a run in the area, wasting a promising attack.

Pareja sent on offensive players Jack Lynn and Martin Ojeda in the 81st minute, and the Lions held more possession late, but they couldn’t produce any final product. Angulo broke free at the corner of the box in the 83rd minute and tried to pick out a teammate at the top of the box, but he succeeded only in passing the ball to the New York defense. Angulo then won a corner in the 86th minute but was called for a soft foul and was booked for dissent.

A through ball nearly found Enrique in the 89th minute but the Argentine couldn’t catch up to it and Coronel smothered it. Orlando then sent a corner kick straight to Coronel in the 91st minute on what was effectively the team’s final chance to score in the match.

Gallese did well to tip Lewis Morgan’s shot wide on a late counterattack, and that was that. The Lions are now winless in three (0-2-1) and are falling further adrift of the playoff places in a season that appears headed to an early conclusion. It’s simply hard to imagine this team figuring its way forward in the same manner it did last season.

Although the Lions held more possession (57.4%-42.6%), passed more accurately (85.2%-75.7%), and won more corners (5-4), but weren’t threatening at all. New York finished with more shots (13-4) and shots on target (4-1) in what may be the weakest attacking effort in a season of nonexistent offense.

“We have to keep going,” Enrique said. “We’re a very united group and we know that we have to pick our heads up and continue working to find our way back. It was a very tough and hard-working game because of the way that both teams like to play. They were able to score a goal just before halftime, and I think throughout the game we didn’t have the clarity to be able to finish, or in a lot of cases to be able to shoot on goal, but we know that there’s a lot of games left and that this group is incredibly hard-working and united, and we know that we’re going to continue to work to find our way back.”

“I think it’s a point in our analysis that we’re trying to see if we can help with the structure and trying to glue the player in a situation that they can feel more precise and closer to their best level and performances,” Pareja said. “That job belongs to the coach and you know that I assume that responsibility 100%. At this point we have to keep on searching to see if what we tried in the last five games, trying to change the structure, if it’s necessary to keep doing it. We have to find some other roads to get better in that regard. We are aware. We’re very disappoitned in not being that team that can be heavy in that last third of the field. When we arrive in the box, it seems like we don’t have that punch.”

Things won’t get any easier, as Orlando City will try to turn things around at home on June 15 against LAFC after a week off for the international break.

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Orlando City

Flashback Friday: June 10, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids

Let’s take a trip down memory lane to a booking-laden match at home that took place a little less than three years ago.

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7 hours ago

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June 12, 2026

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

The World Cup is now officially underway, and while that means Orlando City is on break, we can’t have you forgetting about the Lions while all the international action is taking place. That means its time for another edition of Flashback Friday, where we hop in the trusty time machine and reminisce on OCSC matches of yesteryear.

Last week we relived a rousing road win over the New York Red Bulls from June, 3 2023, and this week, we actually pick up right where we left off, on June 10, 2023 as the Lions returned home to take on the Colorado Rapids.

Coming off a 3-0 win over the Red Bulls in the previous match, Oscar Pareja decided to not mess with a good thing, and kept Orlando City’s same starting XI from that victory. Pedro Gallese was in net behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith. Wilder Cartagena and Cesar Araujo played the double pivot; Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres were the attacking midfielders, and Ercan Kara was deployed as the striker.

In typical June fashion for the City Beautiful, kickoff was delayed by just under an hour as the stadium was pounded by storms, and the delay did not look to have done any favors for Orlando’s sharpness. That said, OCSC did win a corner kick less than a minute into the game, and Torres had a tame shot saved in the eighth minute, but the Lions weren’t consistently sharp with their passing in the early moments of the contest.

The teams traded chances just before the 15-minute mark, with Kara sending a header too high before Cole Bassett sent a shot straight to Gallese. Carlos then picked up a yellow card in the 24th minute, which evened things out between the two teams after Lalas Abubakar was cautioned for the Rapids after just six minutes. Those two bookings proved to be a harbinger of things to come, because Colorado went down to 10 men in the 39th minute after midfielder Braian Galvan caught Angulo with a high boot while his studs were showing.

Pereyra had Orlando’s best chance of the opening 45 minutes in stoppage time but could only send his effort right at goalkeeper Marko Ilic, and that was the last significant action of the half. The Lions ended the half with an edge in possession (59.7%-40.3%), shots (7-2), shots on target (2-1), and passing accuracy (85.3%-79.4%), while both teams won two corners.

Pareja made two moves at halftime, bringing on Rodrigo Schlegel for the once-booked Carlos, and Martin Ojeda for Cartagena in an effort to go more offensive against a shorthanded Rapids side. The Lions certainly looked brighter going forward as the second half got underway and had a few dangerous moments before finally breaking the deadlock in the 55th minute.

Pereyra played a ball across the top of the box for Torres, who took a couple of touches before sending a ball to the net that took a wicked deflection off Andreas Maxsø that carried it past Ilic.

It wasn’t the prettiest goal the Lions have ever scored, but for a team that was guilty at times of passing up good shots in favor of the perfect look at goal, it was proof that sometimes you just need to take shots in dangerous areas.

Fortunately, Orlando seemed to take that lesson to heart. Kara went close in the 65th minute despite shooting through traffic, Angulo had a shot deflected by Abubakar three minutes later, and Torres had another deflected effort go just wide of the post four minutes after that.

The game changed again in the 75th minute, when the Rapids had another player sent off. Abubakar lasted for 69 minutes on a yellow card but got burned by Angulo in midfield and hauled him down in order to prevent the Lions from potentially working a transition opportunity. He had some teammates behind him, but the referee showed him a second yellow card. Pareja smelled blood in the water and just three minutes later he brought on Ramiro Enrique for Smith, who had been given a yellow card in the 52nd minute.

Ilic made a great save on Pereyra in the 81st minute to keep the score at 1-0 and keep the Rapids in the game, but Orlando got its second goal just two minutes later. Torres had the ball on the right side of the box with a Colorado player backing off him, and that gave him ample time to get his head up and pick out a man. He played a ball to Enrique at the top of the box, who had plenty of time to take a couple of touches and send a low shot into the bottom corner past a diving Ilic for his first goal as an Orlando City player.

Somewhat surprisingly, the game started to get a little stretched after the Lions doubled their advantage. Colorado had a shot blocked in the 81st minute, Kara sent a shot very close to the post six minutes after that, and Gallese saved a Darren Yapi attempt in the 88th minute to keep his clean sheet alive. Aside from Pareja handing Alejandro Granados his MLS debut, that was the last significant action of the match, which finished 2-0 to the good guys.

Unsurprisingly, considering Colorado’s deficit in players, the Lions dominated all of the game’s most important statistics. OCSC finished with the advantage in possession (65%-35%), shots (15-4), shots on goal (6-2), corners (5-3), and passing accuracy (89.4%-81.5%).

The victory made it back-to-back wins for the first time in 2023, stretched Orlando’s unbeaten run to six, and gave El Pulpo his 100th clean sheet for the team in all competitions.

Marcus Mitchell had the helm for Player Grades in this one, and Torres got his nod for Man of the Match with a goal, an assist, and a grade of 7.5 out of 10. Several other Lions graded out at 7 out of 10, with only one player grading below a 6.

While it was a weird win, it unfortunately was the final game of the unbeaten streak, as the Lions fell to a familiar defeat at Gillette Stadium the following week, although things got back on track soon afterward. I’ll see you back here in a week for another trip down memory lane. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 6/12/26

USMNT plays Paraguay tonight, red cards rain down in World Cup opener, Sporting Kansas City linked with Yann Gboho, and more.

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10 hours ago

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June 12, 2026

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Image of Alex Freeman sliding in celebration of a goal.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! The World Cup is in full swing and the U.S. will play today, so it’s a pretty exciting Friday to say the least. I’m a bit of a bundle of nerves about how the team will do, but I’m still looking forward to catching the game. If you have any gameday rituals, be sure to share, so that we can conjure up enough luck and support for the team tonight. Let’s get to the links!

USMNT’s World Cup Campaign Begins Today

The United States Men’s National Team will take on Paraguay at 9 p.m. tonight in its first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. There’s plenty of pressure on the U.S. to perform well as one of the host nations, and this will also be Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino’s first time coaching at a World Cup. Pochettino stated that all 26 players are available for selection, including center back Chris Richards, although he may not necessarily start. Former Orlando City defender Alex Freeman, who is the youngest player on the U.S. roster, could make his World Cup debut tonight, so be sure to root for our hometown hero should he take the field. Hopefully, the Yanks can start this tournament off on the right foot with a big win in California.

World Cup Opener Features Three Red Cards

This year’s World Cup began in Mexico City, with Mexico beating South Africa 2-0 in a match that included three red cards. All three were straight red cards given in the second half in separate incidents, as Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane were sent off for South Africa before Mexico’s Cesar Montes was shown red in stoppage time. There hasn’t been a World Cup match with that many red cards since the record of four was set in 2006 in a match between Portugal and the Netherlands. As for the game’s goals, Julian Quinones pounced on a mistake by South Africa to give Mexico an early lead and Raul Jimenez doubled that lead while South Africa was reduced to 10 men.

Sporting Kansas City Linked With Yann Gboho

While the World Cup roars on, the rumor mill is in full force as clubs make plans for summer reinforcements. Sporting Kansas City is reportedly pushing to sign Toulouse winger Yann Gboho, who recorded 10 goals and three assists across all competitions this past season. The surprising aspect of this pursuit would be that Toulouse values Gboho at an eye-watering $20 million transfer fee, which would be a club record by a country mile. Kansas City needs all the help it can get on offense, as it has scored just 14 goals in 14 games so far this season.

Jose Mourinho Officially Returns to Real Madrid

It’s been a bit of an open secret over the past few weeks that Jose Mourinho would become Real Madrid’s next manager and it’s now official, with the 63-year-old signing a three-year contract with the Spanish club. Mourinho helped Real Madrid win a La Liga title and the Copa del Rey over a decade ago before his departure in 2013 after three seasons with the club. Now, he joins a Real Madrid side that has finished second in the league standings and been eliminated in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League the past two seasons. I, for one, can’t wait to see how one of the biggest personalities in soccer works alongside a locker room of star players that seemed in disarray this past season.

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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: 6/11/26

Wilder Cartagena linked with move to Sporting Cristal, Orlando Pride hire Dr. Nicole Surdyka, Barbra Banda injury update, and more.

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1 day ago

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June 11, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jermey Reper

The World Cup is finally here! Today starts what should be an exciting month of international soccer featuring more teams than ever before. While I wasn’t able to part with the arm and leg necessary to afford a ticket to one of the games, I’m still looking forward to watching along when I can with the rest of the world. Let’s get to the links!

Wilder Cartagena Linked With Move to Peruvian Club

You’ll need a translation tool to check out the full details unless you are fluent in Spanish, but Sporting Cristal of Peru’s top flight is reportedly interested in signing Orlando City midfielder Wilder Cartagena. The 31-year-old is currently under contract with Orlando through 2026, with the contact also including a club option for 2027. He was a crucial part to Orlando’s success in 2024, but he missed all of last year and has only started one game so far this season due to injuries. It’s not much more than a rumor as of now, but it’ll be something to keep an eye on during this break in the league schedule.

Barbra Banda Sustained a Hamstring Injury

Zambia Head Coach Nora Hauptle stated that Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda is dealing with a hamstring strain. Banda didn’t play in either of Zambia’s matches during this international break, but Hauptle also noted that she should recover in the next week or two and will be fine for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations at the end of July. Banda was injured late in the Pride’s 3-1 win against Bay FC on May 29 and it was unclear how severe the injury was. Hopefully she’ll be good to go before the Pride’s match against Angel City FC on July 3.

Dr. Nicole Surdyka Named Orlando Pride Director of Medical & Performance

The Orlando Pride have hired Dr. Nicole Surdyka as their new director of medical and performance. She’ll oversee the Pride’s medical operations, nutrition, and more while also working with Orlando Health. Dr. Surdyka has over a decade of experience that included leadership roles with OL Reign and the LA Galaxy and has studied extensively into developing frameworks for health and performance in women’s soccer.

“Nicole is one of the most respected practitioners in our field, and her expertise in women’s football, return‑to‑play, and high‑performance systems will elevate every aspect of our medical and performance environment,” said Caitlin Carducci, Orlando Pride VP of Soccer Operations & General Manager. “Her leadership, her commitment to evidence‑based practice and her passion for supporting athletes make her an exceptional addition to the Pride.”

Analyzing Paraguay Ahead of USMNT World Cup Match

The United States Men’s National Team will play its World Cup opener on Friday when it hosts Paraguay at SoFi Stadium. It will be the 10th match between the two nations, with the USMNT most recently winning 2-1 against Paraguay in November of last year. There’s a familiar face on Paraguay’s roster in Orlando City midfielder Braian Ojeda, with Miguel Almiron and Andres Cubas as other MLS midfielders called up. Paraguay’s defense is anchored by center back Gustavo Gomez, who you may remember as the player who put former Lion Alex Freeman in a headlock during that aforementioned November friendly. As for Paraguay’s attack, the Yanks will need to keep Julio Enciso and Antonio Sanabria from wreaking havoc. Paraguay is a physical team that’s also strong in the air, so we’ll see how the USMNT deals with that on Friday.

England Beats Costa Rica 3-0 at Inter&Co Stadium

Orlando City’s Inter&Co Stadium hosted a friendly between England and Costa Rica on Wednesday, with England winning 3-0. Declan Rice gave England an early lead, but Costa Rica kept the Three Lions off the scoresheet until the substitutes came on for England in the second half, with Anthony Gordon and Ollie Watkins both scoring. England got the full Orlando experience due to a heavy storm that delayed kickoff, but Inter&Co Stadium earned praise for its drainage system that had the pitch ready to roll in no time. Enjoy this satisfying time-lapse video of the transformation provided by the stadium.

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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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