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Orlando City B

Orlando City B vs. Carolina Core FC: Final Score 2-2 as OCB Draws Lowly Core and Claims Extra Point on Penalties

OCB came back from a poor start to draw Carolina Core FC and take two points at home.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B/Mark Thor

Orlando City B (4-4-4, 18 points) returned to action tonight, drawing Carolina Core FC (1-6-3, 8 points) 2-2 at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee. The Young Lions got off to a horrible start, conceding a penalty by Facundo Canete in the seventh minute and a Papa Ndoye goal 10 minutes later. But they dominated the second 45 minutes, with Alex Freeman converting a penalty in the 72nd minute and Imanol Almaguer equalizing in the 86th minute. They won the penalty shootout 6-5, claiming two points on the night.

OCB Head Coach Manuel Goldberg made two changes to the team that lost 3-1 to Inter Miami II Sunday evening. Yutaro Tsukada was on the bench for this one and Wilfredo Rivera wasn’t in the team. They were replaced by Yeiler Valencia and Justin Ellis. The back line in front of goalkeeper Javier Otero remained the same, featuring Manuel Cocca, Thomas Williams, Nabi Kibunguchy, and Freeman. Colin Guske and Almaguer were the defensive midfielders behind Jhon Solis, Shak Mohammed, and Valencia with Ellis as the lone striker.

Despite being one of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference, Carolina came out on the attack and put OCB on its heels. The hosts struggled to create anything offensively and didn’t even get a shot on target until the 35th minute. However, they played much better in the final 15 minutes of the first half and dominated the second 45 minutes. They were unlucky not to claim all three points and would’ve without a dreadful start to the game.

Carolina had the first attack inside the first minute when Jacob Evans played Joshua Rodriguez forward down the left. The attacker attempted a low cross into the box, but Williams was there to clear it out of play. The ensuing corner kick was towards the back post and met a Core head, but the attempt was over the crossbar.

The visitors felt as though they should’ve had a penalty in the third minute when Williams challenged Rodriguez as he entered the box. The Core attacker raised his arms, but referee Elvis Osmanovic didn’t agree.

The first chance for OCB came in the fourth minute when Valencia made a strong run along the end line and into the box. He was looking for a cross, but the ball was cleared out of play for a corner kick before he could get rid of it. The ensuing set piece by Almaguer found the head of Cocca, but the left back sent it wide of the far post.

It’s been a tough start to the season for Carolina Core, but the visitors took an unexpected lead in the seventh minute. Ndoye had the ball on the right and played it into the box for Rodriguez after Williams failed to follow his run. Otero came well off of his line, but Rodriguez got to the ball first. As a result, the OCB goalkeeper took down the attacker. Osmanovic immediately pointed to the spot and issued Otero a yellow card.

After Rodriguez was treated by the Carolina medical staff, Canete stepped up for the penalty. Otero dove to his right and Canete sent the ball the other way to give his team an early 1-0 lead.

Rodriguez continued to trouble the OCB back line in the 14th minute when he completed a nice turn to lose Kibunguchy. Dribbling towards goal, the attacker sent a low pass to the penalty spot. However, Williams was the only one there and cleared it away.

Carolina doubled its advantage in the 17th minute after Evans sent Canete down the left. Kibunguchy sprinted back to catch up with the midfielder, but Canete cut back as Kibunguchy slid past. The Argentinian played a perfect ball to the back post where Ndoye was making a run and the striker touched it in for a 2-0 Carolina lead.

The Young Lions had their second decent attack in the 20th minute when Evans fouled Guske on the Carolina side of the field. Almaguer sent the free kick into the box and Covi headed it out of play for a corner kick. The ensuing corner by Almaguer was to the top of the six-yard box where goalkeeper Alex Sutton, Cocca, and defender Christian Diaz collided. Carolina cleared but Diaz went down and required attention, resulting in a stoppage of play. In the meantime, Cocca and Covi began pushing before receiving a word from Osmanovic. No cards were given and play continued.

Mohammed looked to make something happen on his own in the 28th minute with a long run into the Carolina box. It looked as though he would get a strong shot off or set up a teammate in front of the goal, but sent a soft ball into the arms of Sutton instead.

In the 32nd minute, Solis tried to get OCB on the board with a run to the top of the box. He used a stepover to lose his defender and fired. Unfortunately, the shot was well high and wide of the target, ending the threat.

The first OCB shot on target came in the 35th minute when nobody stepped up to Valencia on the left. The midfielder decided to take a hard shot towards goal. It was a decent attempt, but was from a tough angle and distance, enabling Sutton to catch it.

OCB had another set piece attempt in the 40th minute when Solis out-muscled Derek Cuevas. The midfielder caught back up to Solis and pushed him down from behind in frustration, earning a yellow card for his trouble. Almaguer’s ensuing free kick met the head of Freeman, but the attempt was off target.

The Young Lions had another free kick in the Carolina third in the 43rd minute when Cocca made a strong run before being taken down by Canete. Almaguer sent the set piece towards the far post, but it was too strong and Sutton easily caught it.

In the third minute of first-half stoppage time, Freeman laid the ball off for Solis, who made a strong run into the box. The midfielder attempted a cross, but Sutton did well to get his foot to the ball, knocking it out of play. The ensuing corner kick was towards the back post, but nobody could get on the end of it.

The Young Lions had one last chance in the final seconds of the first half. Valencia made a run into the box from the left and sent a low cross to Freeman just outside of the six. The right back should’ve been able to redirect it on goal, but was leaning back and sent it over the target.

OCB had more shots (5-3) and corner kicks (3-2), and better passing accuracy (87.8%-81.2%) in the first half, but didn’t threaten Sutton, only putting one shot on target. Meanwhile, Carolina put two of its three shots on frame and scored twice to take a 2-0 lead at halftime.

The start of the second half was much better for the hosts, creating a chance inside the first minute. Receiving the ball from Mohammed, Cocca sent a curling cross towards the back post. The ball continued to drift as Sutton backpedaled. It looked as though it might actually get behind him and nestle inside the far top corner of the goal, but was just over the top.

The Young Lions had a second opportunity in the 49th minute when Cocca used some quick feet to beat Canete and was taken down, earning a free kick near the top of the Carolina box. The set piece by Cocca was off the wall and over the goal, but Osmanovic missed the deflection and gave the visitors a goal kick.

In the 51st minute, Cocca’s cross attempt was blocked out for a corner kick. The set piece was short, eventually ending at the feet of Almaguer. The OCB captain’s shot was between the legs of Canete, but right into the waiting arms of Sutton.

Valencia made a good run into the box in the 58th minute, beating Jathan Juarez, before Diaz knocked it out of play. Cocca got his head to the ensuing set piece, but the header was over the crossbar again.

The Young Lions created a pair of shots in the 61st minute as they continued to pressure the visitors. First, Mohammed turned Diaz and got a shot off, but sent it straight to Sutton. OCB quickly won back possession and set up a shot for Solis. Unfortunately, the midfielder’s curling attempt went just over the crossbar.

A long ball in the 62nd minute looking for Freeman was knocked out by Cuevas for an OCB corner kick. The ensuing set piece by Almaguer was volleyed by Williams just before it hit the ground. It was a good strike, but Sutton was up to the task, getting down to make the stop.

Three minutes later, Valencia took a shot from outside of the box. The midfielder touched the ball inside, setting up an attempt with his right foot. Canete got a slight deflection on it, enabling Sutton to collect it.

After not making any second-half substitutions against Miami, Goldberg made his first two against Carolina in the 67th minute. Zakaria Taifi and Majed Abdullah entered the game for Ellis and Valencia. While Abdullah for Valencia was a like-for-like change, Taifi came in at right back with Freeman moving forward into the midfield. Meanwhile, Mohammed shifted into the striker’s role with Ellis departing.

The constant attack by OCB paid off in the 72nd minute when a shot by Guske bounced off the arm of Evans. Osmanovic didn’t hesitate to point to the spot, giving the Young Lions a penalty. Freeman stepped up to take the spot kick, sending Sutton the wrong way and cutting the deficit in half.

The visitors spent most of the second half defending, but got a chance in the 74th minute through Canete. Receiving the ball on the right side of the box, nobody closed him down and the first-half goal scorer shot. However, it was right to Otero, who made an easy save.

OCB quickly went the other way and nearly equalized. Freeman made a long run into the Carolina box and shot, but it was blocked out for a corner kick. After the initial set piece was cleared away, Guske sent the ball to the top of the box. Kibunguchy headed the ball down and Williams got a touch to it, playing it forward for Freeman who was darting in from outside of the 18. Freeman stuck his foot out to send the ball towards goal, putting it just wide.

Carolina had a chance for a third in the 80th minute when Kibunguchy blocked Johnny Bazaes’ cross attempt for a corner kick. The ensuing set piece by Conete was over Otero and met the head of Kai Thomas. However, it was a little high for him too, resulting in his header going over the crossbar.

In the 83rd minute, Taifi made a long run out of the back, getting near the end line after a give-and-go with Freeman. He found Mohammed at the top of the box, but the forward didn’t get much on the ball. Fortunately, it went right to Abdullah near the back post. The substitute tried to backheel it in, but sent the attempt wide.

OCB finally found its equalizer in the 86th minute through its captain. Guske found Freeman just inside of the box and the defender-turned-midfielder quickly shot on goal. Sutton blocked the attempt, but the ball went straight to Almaguer. The midfielder didn’t waste any time, putting the ball in to even the game at 2-2.

“They really want to fight, right? We still need to fix some things to avoid suffering through some moments, but this made it clear that they wanted it and that’s really good,” Goldberg said about his team coming back from a two-goal deficit. “That’s really positive.”

“It tells that we don’t quit, man. We’re always determined to come out whatever the score is and just keep going and going and going,” Freeman said. “And it just tells that our team is full of spirit, good individuals that come and win any game we can.”

Carolina had a chance in the 89th minute when Bazaes sent a cross towards the back post. Cocca got to the ball first and tried to keep it in play, but the assistant determined it went over the line, giving Carolina a corner kick. The set piece by Canete found the head of Aryeh Miller on the far side, but his header was wide.

It appeared as though the Young Lions had found a winner two minutes into second-half stoppage time when Almaguer’s free kick went over the head of Sutton and was knocked in by Freeman. Osmanovic initially awarded a goal, but put his hand to his ear as he spoke with his assistant. It was eventually determined that Freeman handled the ball while controlling it, so a free kick was awarded to Carolina instead.

The Young Lions had one last chance seven minutes into second-half stoppage time when Almaguer sent a free kick into the box. Mohammed got the back of his head to it, sending it on goal, but Sutton blocked it out of play. The ensuing set piece was cleared and the final whistle blew.

OCB dominated the game statistically with the advantage in shots (25-7), shots on target (10-3), corner kicks (9-5), crosses (5-2), and passing accuracy (89.1%-80.4%). However, the poor start enabled Carolina to grab a point from the 90 minutes.

“It was a mixture of moments, right? We went through different ups and downs in the game. Started down, then going up,” Goldberg said about the performance. “But the good thing is that we showed good character. The points to improve are the early moments of the game in this case, right?”

“Obviously, the first half was a little slow for us. But I feel like throughout the second half we were able to get chances all game. And we were obviously able to just attack, attack, attack,” Freeman added. “Obviously, I feel like we got some wrong calls, but at the end of the day, we were still able to get the extra point in penalties. So I feel like our team overall did good to come back out.”

MLS NEXT Pro rules state that games tied after 90 minutes go to penalties to determine which team gets a second point. Before the shootout could start, Osmanovic issued a straight red card to Tsukada, who didn’t appear in the game, on the OCB bench. Per MLS NEXT Pro rules, Tsukada will miss the next meeting with Carolina on July 7.

The first three shooters scored before David Polanco stepped up. The Carolina substitute sent a poor penalty towards goal and Otero guessed right, blocking it away. Freeman had the next attempt, but Sutton was up to the task, making the stop with his left hand and keeping the visitors in the shootout.

Having already scored one penalty in the game, Canete stepped up to even it, but sent his attempt over the top of the goal. Once again, OCB had a chance to take a commanding advantage. This time it was Almaguer and he sent Sutton the wrong way, but his shot hit the crossbar.

The next eight penalty takers converted their kicks and Santiago Cambindo stepped up, looking to even it at 6-6 in the eighth round. However, the attempt wasn’t far enough towards the corner, enabling Otero to get his hand to the ball. As a result, OCB earned a second point from the game.

The two points puts OCB back in a playoff position, currently sitting in seventh. They’re tied with Columbus Crew 2 for sixth and one point behind NYCFC II for fifth.


The Young Lions will continue their three-game homestand Thursday night when they host Chattanooga FC at Osceola County Stadium.

Orlando City B

Orlando City B vs. Chicago Fire FC II: Final Score 1-1 (5-4) as Young Lions Eliminated in Penalties

The teams that finished fourth and fifth in the Eastern Conference drew 1-1 and needed spot kicks to determine who advanced.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B

With both teams finishing 11-8-9 this season, the only difference between the 2024 Orlando City B and Chicago Fire FC II regular seasons was that the Fire went 5-4 in their penalty shootouts, while the Young Lions went 4-5 in theirs. That one extra point gave Chicago home-field advantage in the Eastern Conference quarterfinals for the matchup between the teams.

As a result, the two sides met at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, IL, where they battled to a hard-fought 1-1 draw through 90 minutes and extra time, before the hosts won a penalty shootout — 5-4, naturally — to send OCB home.

The Young Lions could have claimed their first-ever postseason victory thanks to a goal by Jack Lynn in the first half, but a massive mistake allowed David Poreba to equalize just before halftime.

The Fire’s lone goal should never have happened. Leading by a goal on the road — and already in first-half stoppage time — OCB center back Nabi Kibunguchy made an ill-advised decision to take a rare foray up the field, where he turned the ball over, leading to the transition goal that ultimately forced extra time and penalties.

OCB Head Coach Manuel Goldberg fielded a strong lineup, with Carlos Mercado in goal behind a back line of Luca Petrasso, Thomas Williams, Kibunguchy, and Alex Freeman. Imanol Almaguer and Colin Guske started in central midfield behind an attacking line of Yutaro Tsukada, Jhon Solis, and Shak Mohammed, with Lynn up top.

The first half was nearly all Chicago, as the Young Lions struggled to connect passes and break through the Fire’s pressure. The few times OCB got forward, the play broke down due to poor passes or heavy touches.

The first half chance fell Chicago’s way in the sixth minute on a cross in from the right. Luka Prpa did well to get his head on it but Freeman did enough defensively to prevent a clean header. Prpa’s effort sailed over the bar. Two minutes later, Kibunguchy did well to block a shot by Christian Koffi, deflecting it out for a corner. Mercado misplayed a high cross in on the set piece, but the heavy service sailed beyond everyone and bounced out for a goal kick.

The Fire put together a string of corner kicks in the middle of the opening half but OCB dealt with them, eventually using one of them to get forward in transition. The clearance of a corner kick led to a long ball forward for Tsukada. After a wayward touch, Tsukada tracked the ball down, patiently waited for support, and then sent a beautiful pass to Lynn as he was reaching the last defender. That put the striker in behind and he calmly chipped Fire keeper Jeffrey Gal to give OCB a 1-0 lead against the run of play in the 24th minute.

The goal was Lynn’s first-ever professional postseason strike and just OCB’s second playoff goal ever. It was also OCB’s first shot attempt of the match.

Seconds after the goal, Mercado got run into by Poreba after scooping up a deflected cross. The OCB goalkeeper needed several minutes of treatment before continuing. Poreba was booked for the unnecessary foul.

The goal allowed OCB to finally settle into the game more. The Young Lions started to see more of the ball, and even had some brief spells of possession in the attacking third. Freeman sent Mohammed down the right side of the box in the 34th minute, but the winger’s centering pass was deflected by a defender and dribbled in for Gal to collect it.

Omari Glasgow blasted a shot wide of the left post after an OCB turnover in its own defensive half, as no one closed him down about 25 yards out.

Mohammed sent a weak shot right at Gal in the 37th minute. OCB then couldn’t pay off a couple of set pieces. Solis had an excellent opportunity to double the lead in the 44th minute, working his way into the top of the area on the right. He blasted a shot with his left foot, but sent it right at Gal, who caught it and hung on. That missed opportunity was costly, as it allowed the Fire to pull level moments later.

Chicago pulled even just before the break on a play that shouldn’t happen in a pickup game, let alone in the playoffs. Kibunguchy decided to go wandering forward in possession and then got himself into traffic. That allowed the Fire to dispossess him from behind and break forward in transition with numbers. The ball ended up on the left with Koffi, who centered it MLS NEXT Pro Golden Boot winner Poreba, who blasted his first touch past Mercado to make it 1-1 in the first minute of first-half stoppage time.

It was an inexcusable error for a veteran defender to make and gave the Fire a goal on their first shot to hit the target.

The Young Lions got forward quickly after the restart and won a free kick near the right sideline. A player was knocked down after the delivery into the box while the ball was pinging around amongst the bodies, but the referee wasn’t interested in making a call and the Fire broke the other way. Guske ended up with the ball in his own end with plenty of space to pass back to Mercado. Instead, he seemed to think the ball might go out for a goal kick, but the young midfielder was dispossessed and compounded the problem by committing a foul, giving the hosts a dangerous free kick.

Prpa played the set piece short to Koffi in the box. Koffi quickly blasted a shot that hit the woodwork and bounced out, nearly giving his team the lead at the death of the first half. A few seconds later, the whistle for halftime blew.

At the break, Chicago had the advantage in shots (7-4), corners (6-0), and possession (56%-44%). OCB passed slightly more accurately (88.3%-87.7%) and put more shots on target (3-1).

Chicago resumed its possession dominance out of the break and fashioned a great chance in the 49th minute. Koffi had the ball on the left and sent a good ball across to Glasgow at the back post. Glasgow, who shook free from an inattentive Petrasso, blasted a shot on the volley but sent it wide of the right post.

Freeman got into the box moments later but tried to play through two defenders with an open Mohammed to his left. His first shot was blocked and the fullback’s second effort was deflected out for OCB’s first corner of the match, but the young Lions could do nothing with it.

Guske toe poked an off-line pass back to Almaguer in the 54th minute, giving the midfielder a look at goal. Almaguer blasted the shot but Jean Diouf blocked it in front. A few minutes later, a promising attack started by Petrasso ended up with a cross to Mohammed, who turned down an open shooting opportunity to try to force a pass to a well-covered Lynn. The ball was knocked away but only to Freeman, who won a corner. Kibunguchy got a head to the high service but got well under it in the 58th minute.

Chicago created some nervy moments for the OCB defense just past the hour mark as a couple of fortuitous bounces led to a shot from a bad angle that went wide and a dangerous cross that was eventually cleared. Second-half sub Wilfredo Rivera then was fouled from behind in midfield without a call, allowing the Fire to break in transition, where they won a corner. The initial set piece cross was cleared but Diego Konincks got his head to the recycled cross, flicking it well wide of the left post in the 67th minute.

Freeman won another corner in the 71st minute with a shot from a tight angle that may have been going wide, but Gal made sure. On the set piece, Gal absolutely robbed Lynn on a header in front, getting across to knock it onto the roof of the net.

The game opened up after that and each team was forced to make huge saves. The ensuing corner was cleared and Chicago broke in transition. The Fire had numbers and took a shot from the right inside the box that seemed to change directions, but Mercado made a vital save to keep the game tied.

The Fire won a corner in the 74th minute and generated two chances from close range, including a diving header by Konincks, but the OCB defense cleared both shots off the line at the near post.

A minute later, OCB broke down the left on a good play to spring Petrasso. The Young Lions had favorable numbers but Petrasso had no path to get the ball to Lynn. Instead, he cut inside onto his right foot and sent a shot on target that hit Gal’s foot and trickled wide of the left post. Gal didn’t know much about the save, looking for the shot to to to his left, but it was an important one in the 75th minute.

The Young Lions again did nothing with their corner, allowing Chicago to counter. Glasgow had space outside the area and fired wide.

In the 83rd minute, Koffi got forward on the left, cut inside, and sent a good shot toward the near post. Mercado was able to make the save.

Favian Loyola got free for a shot in the first minute of stoppage time but blasted his shot right at Gal. Two minutes later, Tahir Reid-Brown had a chance from outside the area but it was blocked by the defense.

OCB could do nothing with a couple of late set pieces, and the game headed to 30 minutes of extra time.

Chicago had the advantage in shots (18-14), passing accuracy (86.9%-84.1%) and corners (9-8). The Young Lions put more shots on target through the 90 minutes plus injury time (8-5).

The pace of the game slowed in extra time, with both teams seeming to tire but also fearing making a mistake. After a couple of speculative balls into the box from both teams, the first good look of the extra session fell to Guske on the left. The OCB midfielder tried an inside-out shot but sent it just wide of the left post and into the outside netting in the 97th minute.

The best chance of the first half of extra time fell to Chicago after a poor giveaway in the OCB end gave the Fire a transition chance. Koffi cut inside from the left onto his right foot and the Chicago winger sent a blast off the outside of the left post in the 102nd minute.

That was it for the scoring opportunities in the first 15 minutes of extra time.

After the restart, the Young Lions survived a scramble in the 111th minute after another defensive zone turnover. Chicago sent a dangerous cross through the area but OCB was able to clear.

Yeiler Valencia won a free kick near the right corner of the box in the 112th minute, giving OCB an opportunity. Loyola went for goal with a left-footed blast, but he missed the target completely. OCB was similarly wasteful with another set piece in the 116th minute. Opting to go for goal from 30 yards out, Rivera sent a bouncer on target but with little pace on it, the shot didn’t trouble Gal, who made an easy save.

Neither side mustered much more than that in the second half of extra time, and the match went to penalties to determine who advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

OCB shot first and Freeman was the first to step to the spot. David Poreba answered for Chicago, blasting it into the right bottom corner. Valencia also used a stutter-step approach and sent Gal the wrong way, restoring OCB’s advantage. However, Harold Osorio leveled the shootout again, making it 2-2 after two rounds.

Rivera pushed OCB back out in front with another goal. Mercado then guessed correctly on Peter Soudan’s attempt, but it got under his diving effort at the post to make it 3-3. Reid-Brown made it four out of four for OCB, but 16-year-old Vitaliy Hlyut held his nerve and answered, essentially sending the spot kicks to sudden death.

Loyola’s stutter-step approach turned out to be one too many for the Young Lions, who nearly all tried some kind of tricky runup rather than using precision, as his jump-stop-kick attempt hit the right post. Diouf scored to give Chicago a perfect shootout and a spot in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

OCB had its chances, and could have won this match, but Gal made some big saves and the Young Lions made a critical error at a key point in the game to give the hosts some help.


That concludes OCB’s 2024 season. It was a good second half, but the team had been one of the league’s best clubs down the stretch, so a quick playoff exit is no doubt going to sting for a while.

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Orlando City B

Alex Freeman Looks Ready to Make the Jump to MLS

An analysis of Alex Freeman’s 2024 season and what it could mean for him next year.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B / Mark Thor

Among the major men’s sports leagues in the United States, soccer is unique in that the best league in our country is not the best league in the world. This fact makes the entry process into MLS different than what most of us are accustomed to from following other sports, where every youth and adult player in our country and around the world is working towards playing in the NFL, NHL, NBA, or MLB. When it comes to soccer, however, players mostly have a dream of playing in one of the leading European leagues, which makes looking at players on affiliated teams like Orlando City B a little different than looking at players in minor leagues like the NBA’s G League, minor league baseball or any of the minor league hockey leagues.

That said, while reaching MLS may not be the longterm goal of some, or even all, of OCB’s players, for most, their immediate short-term goal will be to be first-team players for Orlando City. And by players, I mean players who play, and not just players who are on the first-team roster. One player who has already slightly kicked the door open on this goal is Alex Freeman, the right back who made brief cameo appearances in 2023 and this season for Orlando City but has played the majority of his minutes during the last two seasons for OCB.

Here is a table of Freeman’s stats from 2023 and 2024, using data from the MLS NEXT Pro website as well as fotmob.com:

I want to start by reiterating that Freeman primarily plays right back, because that number 17 in the goal contributions column for OCB in 2024 just jumps off the page, and even more so when you think about the position he plays. He is averaging 0.69 goal contributions per 90 minutes for OCB this season, and here is the complete list of every Orlando City defensive player who has ever averaged at least 0.70 in a season at the MLS level: (null set).

Cue Simon & Garfunkel playing “The Sound of Silence.” Or maybe don’t actually play it, because then it would not actually be silent, but think of the song as a metaphor. I majored in mathematics, not English; no Orlando City defender has ever averaged at least 0.70 goal contributions per 90 minutes. Let’s move on.

That silence would also have existed had I changed the value to 0.60, 0.50, or 0.40, and it is not until I looked for Orlando City defenders averaging more than 0.30 goal contributions per 90 minutes in a season that names like Dagur Dan Thórhallsson, Ruan, and Scott Sutter finally showed up. The are good players, beloved by Orlando City fans, but approximately one goal contribution per every three games is not an elite attacking player. Freeman’s 0.69, however, is more akin to someone like…2024 Facundo Torres, who in fact is averaging nearly exactly that in MLS play this season (14 goals + 6 assists across 2,552 minutes = 0.71). A right back who contributes to goals like Torres? That sounds like someone who needs an entourage. Now, would that be something you might be interested in?

Yes. Hi, I’m Andrew, and I am quite interested.

Now, I know the level and the style of play is not the same in MLS NEXT Pro as it is in MLS, but it is also not so different either. MLS teams average about 1.53 goals scored per game, and MLS NEXT Pro teams average about 1.73 goals scored, so the average MLS NEXT Pro team scores around 13% more goals per game than the average MLS team. That is more, but not substantially more. OCB averaged 1.89 goals per game this season and Orlando City is averaging 1.67 goals per game with one game remaining, so OCB is averaging…wait for it…13% more goals per game than its MLS counterpart. Scoring is slightly up in MLS NEXT Pro as compared to MLS, but when taking this back to look at Freeman’s goal contributions per 90 minutes it is not like he is playing in a league or on a team that has dramatically more scoring.

Freeman himself was quoted after the Young Lions’ last match as saying, “It’s good that I’m able to go forward and I think I’m more clinical now. I’m able to go score goals and I’m feeling really good.” He had been asked specifically about his recent run of goal-scoring form, but the clinical part also applies to his passing ability and the improvements he has made there as well.

Going back to the data I showed earlier, Freeman has also improved his passing completion percentage from 76% to 79% to 86% during the past three seasons, and considering how much attacking he has been doing this season, it is not like he is just standing in the back and completing safe passes to other defensive players to jack that percentage up.

In fact, only 33% of his completed passes were short passes, so therefore, two out of every three passes completed were medium or long passes. And with an overall completion rate of 86%, that means he was indeed as clinical as he said, since it takes technique, skill, and precision to complete such a high percentage of medium and long passes. It’s almost like someone in his family may have passed on a thing or 86 about how to complete a pass.

The final item from Freeman’s statistics that might have jumped out was his “FotMob rating,” and the corresponding MLS NEXT Pro Rank. Freeman is now up to third in this rating, across all players in MLS NEXT Pro. FotMob.com has a rating system that grades out players in dozens of leagues and thousands of matches every week, and that system (out of 10) has Freeman averaging a score of 7.66 for the season. MLS NEXT Pro has been around for three seasons and 901 players have played enough minutes to earn a season-long FotMob grade. Freeman’s 7.66 is tied for the 17th best mark in the past three seasons, which puts his 2024 season in the 98% percentile of all MLS NEXT Pro seasons in this metric.

What makes this even more impressive is that Freeman just turned 20 in August. MLS NEXT Pro is primarily a league of young players, but of the 16 seasons that generated a FotMob rating better than Freeman’s, none were played by a player who was in his teens for most of the season and half were played by players 22 or older. Freeman is also alone among the top players as a defensive player, as nearly every other top rated player is an attacking midfielder or striker.

Most rating systems are biased (excluding The Mane Land’s player grading system, which has zero biases or flaws and is the very model of a modern major rating system) towards attacking players, since offensive plays are generally more discretely quantifiable than defensive plays, and so some of Freeman’s standing as the only defender rated highly on a data-based rating system can be explained by the fact that the model rewards attacking defenders more than center backs. However, on the qualitative side, Freeman’s coach Manuel Goldberg was quoted after the last game as saying “The key for (Freeman’s) success this season is the defensive part he is doing. Although he is contributing a lot in the offensive part, he is doing a big, big, big and important job in the defensive part, so we are happy for that for him.”

Mannie Fresh never mentioned “defensive play real big” on his list of items that were, surprise surprise, real big on his creatively named 2004 song “Real Big,” but if Goldberg were recording a 2024 remix, I feel like a line about Freeman’s defensive contributions may be included since he emphasized them as not big; not big, big; but big, big, big. He did not define whether big, big, big is defined as three big or big cubed, which hurts my feelings as a mathematician, but either way it is clear that Freeman’s play on the offensive side is not the only thing that has caught notice of his coach, and that he is contributing on both offense and defense.

With only three seasons worth of MLS NEXT Pro history, it is hard to use past seasons as concrete precedent for what an elite season could lead to, but in looking at 2022’s top 10 MLS NEXT Pro performers in FotMob rating, we can see that half of the players went on to play 500+ MLS minutes in the each of the next two seasons after their strong performance that year. The other five are split between three who are still in MLS NEXT Pro (light blue, third tier of soccer in the U.S.), one who moved to the USL Championship (light purple, second tier of soccer in the U.S.), and John Denis, who sadly has had to step away from soccer due to a cancer diagnosis.

At only 20 years old, and with three seasons of year over year improvement in MLS NEXT Pro, call-ups to the U.S. U-19 and U-23 national teams, and a few brief appearances already for Orlando City, I believe that Freeman is the best prospect the Lions have ever developed. The outside back depth chart ahead of him includes primary starters Thórhallsson and Rafael Santos, with Kyle Smith as a versatile player who can play on either side. Santos and Smith have contracts that expire at the end of the season, with Smith out of contract and the club holding two option years on Santos. While it would not surprise me if both are back next season, I think they and Thórhallsson are going to be pushed very hard for minutes by Freeman, and it could even result in one of the players changing positions, since all four have versatile skill sets and are comfortable attacking and defending. I am very bullish on Freeman, and I think he will approach 1,000 minutes played for Orlando City in 2025 across all competitions.

Before next season arrives though, there is still the matter of the MLS NEXT Pro playoffs, and Freeman and OCB will take on Chicago Fire FC II on Sunday. Playoff soccer is much more stressful than regular-season soccer, and I am looking forward to seeing how the Young Lions, and Freeman in particular, perform on the road at Chicago in their toughest test of the season. Freeman has six goals and three assists in his last six matches. Here’s to hoping that those numbers increase during the first round of the playoffs and that OCB advances through to the next round.

Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City B

Orlando City B vs. FC Cincinnati 2: Final Score 3-1 as Young Lions Blow Chance to Host Playoff Game

Young Lions fail in their bid to lock down a home playoff match with a poor road performance.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City B

A poor start and wasteful finishing was costly in Orlando City B’s 3-1 loss to FC Cincinnati 2 at TQL Stadium, as the Young Lions (11-8-9, 46 points) blew their opportunity to clinch a home playoff match and a chance to select their first postseason opponent. FC Cincinnati 2 (16-8-4, 54 points) clinched the Eastern Conference with the win behind a hat trick by Gerardo Valenzuela, whose third goal was a weak one but effectively ended OCB’s second-half comeback bid.

Alex Freeman continued his hot run of form with OCB’s only goal to pull his team within a goal at 2-1 early in the second half, but OCB soon gave up a soft third goal and could not climb back into the match, despite playing much better overall for the first 20 minutes or so of the second half.

With the loss, OCB handed the Southeast Division title to Inter Miami CF II and fell from third to fifth place in the Eastern Conference on Decision Day. If none of the top three teams select the Young Lions as a first-round opponent, they would travel to face fourth-place Chicago Fire FC II.

OCB Head Coach Manuel Goldberg’s lineup included Carlos Mercado in goal behind a back line of Luca Petrasso, Thomas Williams, Nabi Kibunguchy, and Freeman. Imanol Almaguer and Jeorgio Kocevski started in central midfield behind an attacking line of Yutaro Tsukada, Jhon Solis, and Shak Mohammed, with Jack Lynn up top.

Despite Orlando starting a strong lineup made largely of players on first-team contracts, FC Cincinnati dominated the game early, went up by multiple goals, and then seemed content to wait for opportunities to go forward to add to its lead. OCB put its first shot on target, but it was a wasteful high-quality opportunity, and then struggled to find any accuracy. At the other end, the Young Lions allowed far too much space at the top of the box and beyond, and didn’t mark well in their own third.

The Young Lions wasted no time in making the game more difficult. On Cincinnati’s first possession of the match, the ball cycled to Valenzuela near the left corner of the box. Kocevski was in good position to deal with the attacker but allowed Valenzeula to get clear on his preferred right foot. Valenzuela’s shot through traffic found the inside of the right post past Mercado, putting FCC 2 up 1-0 in just the second minute.

Freeman could have pulled the goal right back, getting forward up the right just a minute later. The fullback had room and time to shoot but blasted his effort straight at FC Cincinnati 2 goalkeeper Paul Walters. Freeman again shook free on the right side moments later but the defense was better positioned. The right back made a good move to free himself and dropped a ball to Kocevski just outside the top of the area, but the midfielder was slow on the ball, allowing Valenzuela to dispossess him from behind, ending the threat.

OCB won a couple of set pieces but wasn’t able to capitalize on them. In the ninth minute, Tsukada sent a good ball into the box on a free kick won by Solis. The service found Mohammed in front but his header sailed over the bar. A minute later, Freeman won a free kick on the right. The Young Lions played it quickly and Kocevski sent a curling cross behind the Cincinnati back line but it was just out of Lynn’s reach.

Valenzuela doubled the lead two minutes later. The attacker started the play by switching the ball to the right, sending Amir Daley in behind Petrasso, who was caught too far up field. Daley was alone on goal and fired, but Mercado made a huge save. The rebound found Valenzuela at the top of the area. This time, Valenzuela faked right to move Kocevski and fired in his second goal of the game with his left foot in the 11th minute, continuing the rough start to the game for the first-year pro.

Freeman again had a chance to answer a Cincinnati goal. He worked his way into the middle and then forward into the box in the 15th minute. Freeing himself for a shot with his weaker left foot, he left his shot high, as again OCB couldn’t hit the target.

Mohammed gifted FC Cincinnati 2 a scoring chance two minutes later. Taking the ball in his own end he retreated toward his own goal and then sent a wayward back pass, turning the ball over. Mercado was able to save the quick shot by pushing it off the woodwork.

OCB’s inattentiveness in its own half continued in the 23rd minute, when Stefan Chirilla was left alone in space outside the box. He attempted a shot and Mercado had to make a save. On the ensuing corner, Gael Gibert was given a free header but he missed the target.

The Young Lions should have pulled a goal back in the 25th minute. Freeman turned the defense inside out and got to the end line in the box. Dribbling toward goal, he picked out Tsukada alone at the far post. The left winger seemed surprised the pass got through and wasn’t able to get in front of it. He scuffed his shot anyway as he was being whistled for a handball.

Almaguer took his turn firing well over the bar in the 29th minute after working his way into the area, wasting another good opportunity. Mohammed won a couple of corners, mainly by failing to find an opening for his cutback crosses, but OCB did nothing with them and in fact was called for a foul on one of them.

Kenji Mboma Dem was left with too much space outside the area in the 31st minute and sent a shot just wide of the left post.

From then on out, OCB simply couldn’t connect in the attacking end or pay off a set piece. The half ended with Tsukada badly missing a volley shot on a recycled corner kick, and the hosts took their 2-0 lead into halftime.

The halftime stats reflected the performance on the field, as FC Cincinnati 2 held the advantage in shots (9-6) and shots on target (5-1). OCB passed a bit more accurately (90.1%-88.4%), but much of that came after the hosts started dropping deeper after going up two goals and was a product of working the ball backward and side to side rather than progressing it forward. OCB won more corners (4-1), but FCC came closer with its one attempt than anything the Young Lions did with their set pieces.

Neither side made any changes at the break and after a stop-start opening 10 minutes, things got more interesting. In those first minutes of the second period, Almaguer sent yet another shot high into the stands in the 48th minute and Mercado did well to make a save to his right, knocking a second ball off the goal frame in the match to keep it a 2-0 game.

In Freeman picked up the ball outside the area on the right in the 53rd minute and worked his way past two defenders before blasting it past Walters and in to make it 2-1.

This time it was Valencia trying to pull one back after an OCB goal rather than the other way around. The attacker fired a shot wide of the right post in the 55th minute.

OCB had a good opportunity to level the match a minute later. Freeman tried to send a cross to Tsukada at the back post but it was deflected by a defender. The ball ended up with Lynn just outside the area and the striker blasted a shot. The ball hit Malik Pinto’s arm just inches outside the area, setting up a free kick rather than a penalty. Pinto was booked for the infraction.

Petrasso and Tsukada stood over the set piece and it was the left back who fired a shot that went past the wall. Walters made a good save to keep it out and it fell to Lynn on the left, but the striker made poor contact with his shot, sending it softly back to the goalkeeper in the 58th minute.

Solis sent a gorgeous ball over the top to Freeman in the 59th minute, putting the fullback in alone on goal again. This time, however, Freeman scuffed his shot attempt and it was knocked behind by the defense for a corner before an OCB attacker could get to it near the far post. The Young Lions did nothing with the set piece, ending the threat.

Valenzuela completed his hat trick moments later off an OCB turnover. The ball ended up on the left and Valenzuela sent his shot close to Mercado, but the OCB keeper was unable to make what appeared to be a routine save. That essentially put the game away in the 63rd minute, as OCB rarely challenged the Cincinnati goal falling behind by two again.

Goldberg tried sending on fresh troops, but OCB only played more disjointed soccer in possession after the changes, repeatedly giving the ball away cheaply, hindering any attempted comeback.

Instead, it was FCC 2 that had the better chances down the stretch. Daley was left too much space again in the 73rd minute and sent a blast sizzling just over the bar. After Solis flopped to try to get a free kick call that was never likely, Chirilla came down the left and fired from a tight angle in the 77th minute, forcing Mercado to knock it out for a corner.

Petrasso tried to play a ball in to an open Kocevski in the box in the 80th minute but the midfielder’s touch let him down and he couldn’t bring it in, continuing his rough afternoon.

Mercado made another emergency save on Ben Stitz in the 86th minute.

Substitute Favian Loyola struck a shot well in the 87th minute that forced Walters into a diving save. OCB had a runner at the back post but the defense deflected it off the Young Lion and out for a goal kick.

Chirilla sent Mercado scrambling to make a good save in the 88th minute, as the keeper knocked it out for a corner. Petrasso whiffed badly on a clearance attempt on the ensuing set piece and OCB was fortunate that no Cincinnati player could make solid contact with the ball as it pinged around in the six.

The remainder of the game consisted mainly of terrible OCB turnovers between the tired legs of the starters and the lack of cohesion from the subs who came on. This was epitomized when Freeman — easily OCB’s best player on this day — sent Loyola down the right to ignite the break. The Homegrown midfielder tried to center it early for fellow sub Justin Ellis, but he put his pass at least 10 yards behind his teammate, ending the counterattack.

A few minutes later, the final whistle blew on OCB’s regular season.

FC Cincinnati 2 finished the game with the advantage in shots (20-17), shots on target (11-6), and passing accuracy (91.8%-90%), while OCB won more corners (6-4).


The Young Lions have completed the regular season and will next play in the MLS NEXT Pro playoffs against an opponent and at a date to be announced. Finishing out of the top four, it’s possible that one of the top three teams will select OCB as its opponent in the first round.

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