Connect with us

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 5-0 home win vs. D.C. United?

Published

1 year ago

on

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

On a night when the merch of the match was a shirt showing a picture of Orlando City legend Kaká in the midst of his iconic post-goal celebration, the current iteration of the Lions celebrated five times themselves after putting goals into the net and trounced the squad from our nation’s capital, 5-0.

Thankfully, the fans in The Wall did not shoot off all of their flares and fireworks on Independence Day, as they needed them all night long in Inter&Co Stadium on Saturday night. Nine different Lions had goal contributions, and the team kept a clean sheet. Games like these are the fun ones to evaluate and grade.

I have my purple pen out, and I am ready to issue those grades, so here we go. Let’s take a look at how Orlando City’s players rated individually in their Eastern Conference matchup.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6 — It was a mostly quiet night for the Peruvian goalkeeper, especially after a red card was issued to D.C. United’s Lucas Bartlett in first-half stoppage time. Pedro recorded one save on United’s only shot on target and completed eight of his 12 pass attempts, but really was not called upon for very much after some initial action early in the match. Still, a clean sheet is a clean sheet, and he will be happy to have contributed the fifth shutout of the season for the Orlando City defense.

D, Kyle Smith, 6 — Kyle started for the second consecutive match on the left side of the defense and I thought he performed well on the night. He brings a different look to both the offense and the defense than when Rafael Santos is on the field, and on Saturday night I thought he had a good partnership with the defensive back line and also with the offense. He completed 44 passes at an 89.8% clip, and got two shots off as well, though neither were on frame. Defensively, he contributed two tackles, an interception, and three clearances before making way for Alex Freeman in the 82nd minute.

D, Robin Jansson, 9 (MotM) — I toyed with going even higher for Robin, as what more can you do as a central defender than be the captain, contribute to a clean sheet, score a goal, complete 97.3% of your passes, save a ball off the line, and basically smother a former Premier League starting striker in Christian Benteke? Jansson recorded a tackle, an interception, a blocked shot, and three clearances. His header was too powerful for Tyler Miller to stop on Orlando’s second goal, providing the Lions some breathing room early in the match, and he nearly scored a second goal in the 73rd minute off Miller’s fantastic save of Rodrigo Schlegel’s header, but the defender couldn’t make good contact with the ball while it was in the air. He helped break D.C.’s pressure with two successful dribbles, too. The only knock on Jansson was that he did not play the full 90 minutes, but when you sub out when your team is leading 4-0, is that a knock, really? The game was well in hand when he subbed off for the returning David Brekalo, and I believe the Beefy Swede was the top reason why the Lions were dominating the game, so for me he was the Man of the Match.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 8 — While the Argentinean defender’s night was a little quieter than that of his partner in central defense, he still put in an excellent shift and definitely contributed to the clean sheet. Rodrigo went the full 90 minutes, leading the team with four clearances in addition to an interception and a blocked shot. He completed 92.9% of his passes, including four of his six long balls, while nearly tucking away a header that was headed, literally, for the upper corner before a fine save by Miller kept it out. He also played a major role in keeping the aforementioned Benteke off the score sheet, something many teams have not been able to do this season, with a team-high four aerials won. His goal early was well taken, even if it didn’t count because he was well offside.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 7.5 — Dagur Dan got Orlando City going early in the match, intercepting a pass, smoking down the right side, staying on his feet despite a major shoulder bump from Christopher McVey, and then stopping on a dime to cut the ball back and play a perfect pass to Martín Ojeda for the opening goal. That was just one of 46 completed passes for the Icelandic right back on the night at a 97.9% completion rate, with three of those passes leading directly to an Orlando City shot. He also chipped in a clearance and two dribbles. Thorhallsson went the full 90, and he was still making runs up and down the field late in the game, even with the Lions clearly having the game in hand. When Smith subbed out, Thorhallsson switched over to the left side of the field and did not show any issues at all with playing in an unusual position, and he helped close out the final few minutes to earn the Lions their clean sheet.

MF, César Araujo, 6 — The Uruguayan defensive midfielder had a solid game, playing his usual destroyer role in the middle of the field and helped start the offense out of the back. As he always does, César drew a few fouls (2) and completed most (90.9%) of his passes, and I was somewhat surprised it was him who made way for Luis Muriel in the 58th minute, though it was likely to protect him from yellow card accumulation. In another surprise move, it was Araujo who attempted to score off a free kick when the Lions had a golden opportunity to score from just outside the box in first-half stoppage time. His effort, while hit very hard, cannoned off the wall and nothing came of that opportunity. It was one of his two shots on the night — both off target. He added a clearance on the defensive end. It was a strong, but quiet, game for César.

MF, Wilder Cartagena, 8.5 — I thought Wilder was excellent on Saturday night, as he led the team in passes completed (77), shots (4), and shots on target (3), and was also second on the team in tackles (3). The Peruvian midfielder also had an assist on two key passes, as he took a pass from Facundo Torres and played a perfect ball right onto Jansson’s head to put the Lions up 2-0. Cartagena also played the ball over the top that led to the red card foul by Bartlett on Iván Angulo, a wonderfully weighted ball in just the right spot that could well have been his second assist had there not been a foul. It was one of nine attempted long balls by the Peruvian and he completed all nine. After Araujo subbed out, Wilder also held down the center of the park for the rest of the game, recording one clearance and putting in an excellent shift on a very hot night in Orlando.

MF, Facundo Torres, 8.5 — I feel like the Facu we loved during his first two years has returned, and Saturday night’s match was emblematic of everything he is capable of doing on the field. The Uruguayan winger had five key passes, two secondary assists, and one goal (with his right foot!), and I think he should have also created two penalty kicks with shots that looked very much like they hit arms that were in places that should have led to a handball call. Neither was called, because…Orlando City. Back to Facu though, he now has four goals in his last five matches and is creating goal-scoring opportunities all over the field for his teammates. In addition, he added three tackles and an interception defensively. He was outstanding on Saturday, and he was definitely in contention for my Man of the Match.

MF, Iván Angulo, 8 — On the other side of the field from Facu was Iván Angulo, and his performance about as impressive. He scored his third goal of the season on a looked-intentional-but-perhaps-was-slightly-unintentional-but-it-worked-out-so-we’ll-call-it-intentional give and go with Martín Ojeda (though officially Ojeda did not get the assist as it came off a defender before Angulo shot it). It was his run that drew the DOGSO (denial of a goal scoring opportunity) foul that reduced D.C. United to 10 men late in the first half and, for all intents and purposes, ensured that Orlando City would win the match. Angulo also played the through ball to Duncan McGuire that led to Facu’s goal, and had that ball come back into the middle, he was in perfect position to tap it in for a goal as well. The Colombian also led the team in tackles, with four, and completed 53 passes, third on the team, at an 84.1% rate, with three of those passes leading directly to a shot. With D.C. United down a man, it was often Angulo who stretched the defense to the limit on the left side of the field; he received 21 passes from 10 yards or more away in the attacking half of the field on Saturday night, tied for third most by any player in a MLS game in 2024. One thing he could have done better was get his crosses past the first defender, as he went 0-for-2 on attempted crosses though he did win a couple of corners out of them.

MF, Martín Ojeda, 8 — Ojeda’s cannon shot opened the scoring as he timed his run perfectly to find a huge swath of space near the top of the 18 and then absolutely smashed the cross from Thorhallsson past three defenders and the goalkeeper to put the Lions on the board. He now has two goals and one assist in the last three games, and it seems like perhaps the South American trio of he, Torres, and Angulo are starting to gel as the attacking midfield group. He would have scored a second goal on a brilliant shot later but had strayed well offside on the play. As he nearly always does, Ojeda led the team in crosses (14) and completed half of them (7), part of an overall passing completion percentage of 93.8%. He was also second on the team with four key passes and added a tackle, before making way for Nico Lodeiro in the 78th minute.

F, Duncan McGuire, 6 — The effort was definitely there for Duncan during this game, and even though he did not score a goal himself, he did contribute a wonderful assist on a play he could have tried to take himself, but instead made a great pass across the box for Torres to run onto to and deposit into the back of the net. On a similar play a few minutes before, he had tried to take it himself and his timing was off and he ended up dribbling it out of bounds, but he got a second chance and he did not waste it, contributing to making the score 4-0 and effectively ending the game. He put one of his three shots on target, a flicked effort at the near post on a corner. I was unable to attend the game in person so I was watching on the AppleTV+ feed, and Duncan also led the team in getting caught on camera yelling “pass me the (inappropriate) ball” after making another run that went unrewarded, which meant he also led the team in comedic output. He only had 23 touches and only completed eight passes at a 66.7% rate, but on the whole I thought he was more positive than negative before he subbed out for Ramiro Enrique in the 77th minute.

Substitutes

MF, Luis Muriel (58′), 5 — It was a subdued performance from Muriel off the bench Saturday, as for the first time this season he did not even get a shot off, and the only real energy I saw from him was when he got into Torres’ selfie celebration. He completed 16 passes at a 94.1% rate, and he had a nutmeg while possessing the ball in the defensive end, adding a key pass and two dribbles. But on the whole, it was a rather pedestrian performance in a game where I thought he could have contributed more going against a hot and tired defense playing down a man.

F, Ramiro Enrique (75′), 6.5 — A late game sub, Ramiro made his presence felt with his first goal of the season on a glancing header in the 85th minute off a headed ball from fellow sub Alex Freeman. He provided his usual energy and hustle off the bench, and completed all five of his passes for a perfect 100% completion rate.

MF, Nico Lodeiro (77′), 6.5 — Nico only played 13 minutes plus stoppage time, but he managed to complete 19 passes (at a 90.5% rate) and have 32 touches of the ball, so he definitely came into the game like a firework. (It’s still close enough to Independence Day for this reference to work, right? Don’t answer that.) The Uruguayan also played the corner kick that Alex Freeman headed across for Enrique’s goal, made two tackles and had one interception, so I felt that even in a short performance he did earn a grade, and a good one, with how he contributed to the final portion of the game.

D, David Brekalo, (77’), N/A — The Slovenian subbed in at the same time as Lodeiro, but since he subbed in for Jansson, and D.C. United barely had the ball while he was on, I did not think there was enough there for him to earn a grade. Brekalo completed all 11 of his passes, including two long balls, but aside from that he did not have any other involvement in the game.

D, Alex Freeman (82′), 6.5 — The final Orlando City substitution of the game, Freeman came on for Smith, playing right back, which pushed Thorhallsson to the left side. In his short time on the field, he completed all nine of his passes, including a perfect flicked header across the box for his first career MLS assist. On the play, he made a run from the center of the box to beat a D.C. United defender to Lodeiro’s corner kick, sending across to Enrique, who nodded it home. This was Freeman’s longest appearance of his young MLS career, and I thought he looked very comfortable on the field.

That’s how I saw the individual performances on Saturday night. What did you think? Be sure to let us know in the comments and vote in the poll below for your Orlando City Man of the Match.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 11/12/25

Orlando Pride’s playoff picture, Marta goes off, USMNT news, and more.

Published

3 hours ago

on

November 12, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers! I hope you’ve enjoyed our Orlando City Season in Review pieces because we’re almost done with them. Fortunately, the Orlando Pride aren’t finished yet, so you’ll have to wait for the Pride Season in Review pieces. For now, let’s get to the links.

Pride Playoff Picture

The Orlando Pride will host Gotham FC Sunday with a chance to advance to the NWSL Championship match. The defending champs aren’t at the top of anyone’s list to win the whole thing, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a chance. We know for sure that the Pride have a better chance of winning back-to-back titles than the Kansas City Current have of winning the double (because they’re already eliminated). Having the Pride in the NWSL Championship match might not be very enticing for anyone but Pride supporters, but I’m not allowing that kind of negativity in my life right now.

Marta Claps Back

For those who hadn’t heard, former NWSL midfielder and commentator McCall Zerboni said the Orlando Pride have “arguably one star” on the Attacking Third podcast on the CBS Sports Golazo Network heading into the match against Gotham FC. A generous person would say she means above the crest, but since that is a fact and not “arguable,” she obviously meant that star was Marta. The GOAT took exception with the comment.

What Zerboni said may even be factual, but when talking about the defending champions, one must be prepared to face the wrath of Marta. If the Pride can win two more matches this year, then there will be two stars over the crest no matter how many stars are on the team.

USMNT News

Weston McKennie was not called up for the November USMNT camp, but it’s not what you think. Mauricio Pochettino is actually looking out for McKennie, as there is yet another new coach at Juventus. Pochettino knows McKennie’s quality but wants Juventus’ new coach, Luciano Spalletti, to keep playing the midfielder.

Matt Freese is at the camp and he is looking to secure the top goalkeeper spot for the USMNT ahead of the World Cup. Others, including Gio Reyna, are also trying to prove they should make the cut for 2026. The team plays friendlies against Paraguay and Uruguay on Nov. 15 and Nov. 18, respectively.

U-17 USMNT Wins Group at U-17 World Cup

The U-17 U.S. Men’s National Team topped its group with a 1-0 over Czech Republic. The team won all three group matches, with Mathis Albert scoring the winning goal for the U.S. in the 78th minute on Tuesday. It’s the first time in 34 years that the team has won all three group stage matches. The U.S. heads into the Round of 32 to face Morocco, which finished third in Group B.

🇺🇸 Mathis Albert scores the lone goal for the United States against Czech Republic at the U-17 World Cup for a 1-0 win.USYNT wins all three group games, the first time in program history they won out at the U-17 World Cup group stage

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert.bsky.social) 2025-11-11T16:39:54.619Z

Free Kicks

That will do it for today. I will be at Inter&Co Stadium Sunday for the Pride’s match against Gotham FC. I hope you’ll join me. Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Orlando City

2025 Orlando City Season in Review: Rodrigo Schlegel

The Argentine center back once again found himself in a starting role far more often than fans probably expected.

Published

21 hours ago

on

November 11, 2025

By

Image of Rodrigo Schlegel with the ball at his feet.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City signed center back Rodrigo Schlegel on loan from Racing Club on Dec. 30, 2019. The Argentine defender signed him to a new permanent deal on Jan. 19, 2022 and then re-signed him again a year later on Jan. 25, 2023 on a deal through that season with option years for 2024 and 2025. The club picked up his 2024 option and the 27-year-old native of Remedios de Escalada, Argentina ended up a regular in the starting XI during the team’s strong playoff push in the second half of the season. He turned in his best season in a purple kit a year ago and Orlando City picked up his 2025 option year after the 2024 season.

At 28 years old, Schlegel is in his prime years as a center back, and a continuation of the progress he made the last two years would have been welcome. He again found himself as a regular starter almost from the jump, filling in for Robin Jansson on opening day against Philadelphia when the captain suffered a knock in pregame warmups, followed by David Brekalo suffering a shoulder injury. Brekalo then slotted in at left back to provide solidity there, and from then on, Schlegel was essentially the starting right center back for the rest of the season.

Let’s take a look back at the Argentine’s sixth season in Orlando.

Statistical Breakdown

Schlegel played in all four competitions with the Lions in 2025 — the regular season, playoffs, U.S. Open Cup, and Leagues Cup. He appeared in 31 of Orlando City’s 34 games during the regular season (all starts), playing 2,686 minutes. All of those were new career highs. He did not contribute to a goal in the regular season and still sits on two career goals and no assists. Schlegel attempted 17 shots, putting just five on frame. He passed at a strong 90% rate but provided only one key pass, no accurate crosses, and 35 successful long balls. In his own end, he contributed 45 tackles, 31 interceptions, 24 blocked shots, and a team-high 176 clearances. The defender committed 37 fouls, drew 27 on the opposition, and racked up 10 yellow cards while getting sent off once.

In the only Orlando City playoff game of 2025, Schlegel started and played 76 minutes without a goal contribution or a shot attempt. He completed 94% of his 45 passes without a key pass or a cross, connecting on two long balls. Schlegel contributed three tackles, two interceptions, a block, and five clearances against the Chicago Fire that night. He committed two fouls, drew three on the Fire, and of course was shown a yellow card.

Schlegel also participated in both of Orlando City’s U.S. Open Cup matches in 2025 (both starts) and played 152 minutes in the competition. He did not tally a goal contribution or put his lone shot attempt on goal. Schlegel completed 115 of his 124 passes for a stellar 92.7% completion rate with one key pass, six complete long balls on 11 attempts (54.5%), and no cross attempts. The veteran defender logged six tackles, three interceptions, and three clearances in the tournament. He committed five fouls, suffered four, and was surprisingly not booked in either match.

In 2025 Leagues Cup play, Schlegel started and went the distance in all six of Orlando’s games, playing 540 minutes. He scored his only goal of the season in the tournament-opening 1-1 draw against Pumas on July 30, but did not register an assist, putting two of his five shots on target in the competition. The center back completed 239 of his 264 passes for a 90.5% success rate with 70.4% accuracy on long balls and one key pass, but he did not attempt a cross in the tournament. Defensively, Schlegel contributed 13 tackles, three interceptions, three blocks, and 26 clearances. He committed 11 fouls, drew eight on his opponents, and received three yellow cards but was not sent off.

Best Game

Schlegel’s highest rating in an individual game was 7 out of 10, which he accomplished six times in 2025, so there wasn’t a clear-cut top performance, although there were several solid ones. It’s tempting to take the game in which he scored his lone goal of the season — a powerful and perfectly placed header in Leagues Cup. I mean, check this out:

Instead, I’m going to focus on one of his best defensive performances of the season, and one of the aforementioned matches in which we rated him a 7 out of 10 — the 1-0 road win at Colorado on June 14, which our Sean Rollins said Schlegel “was a monster in this game.”

Schlegel started and went the distance at center back, leading the Lions with 86 touches. He did not contribute to Martin Ojeda’s winning goal in the 24th minute, but he managed to put his only shot attempt on target that night, forcing a good save from Nicholas Hansen. He also completed 88% of his passes that night, finishing second only to central defense partner Jansson (93%) among all players from both teams, although he did not contribute a key pass and connected on only one of his five long balls. Where the Argentine shone was in his own defensive third, where he did not record a tackle, but he did finish with one interception, two blocks, and an incredible 21 clearances, with 12 of those coming off his head. He committed two fouls and was booked in the match, but he one three of his six aerial duels and helped Orlando City earn a road shutout in one of the most difficult environments in MLS.

2025 Final Grade

Schlegel received a composite rating of 6 out of 10 from The Mane Land staff for his season-long performance. This is the same score he received from us back in 2020, which was his first season with the club, and equals his lowest single-season rating in his six years with the Lions. His 6/10 rating is a full point lower than he received from us in 2024 and in 2023. It’s half a point lower than the 6.5 we gave him in 2022 and in 2021. Part of the reason for his drop was the overall dip in quality of the entire team defense. Everyone suffered a bit for that. But he also played inconsistently. He’d look the part of a top tier MLS starter one week, only to follow that with a couple of poor-to-meh performances. He was also part of a couple of maddeningly poor goals that deflected into Orlando’s own net.

Schlegel continued to have moments of madness, such as the penalty he gave up to Montreal, allowing the Canadian side to salvage a draw on what turned out to be its only shot on target of the match. He was also sent off against the Red Bulls and is nearly a guarantee of a yellow card in any given match. In six seasons, he still has not curbed his tendency to be overly aggressive, getting caught up the pitch to exacerbate transition opportunities and putting his teammates in a position to take a yellow card to make up for him not being in position. As such, his season rating is in line with his average grade in our player grade pieces for the individual matches (6.02), which was one of the lowest averages among Orlando City’s regular starters.

2026 Outlook

Unless there’s an automatically triggered option year we don’t know about, Schlegel is out of contract as of this writing. The 28-year-old is in his prime years and will have interested suitors, but it’s likely up to Orlando City whether he returns or not. Schlegel is well-liked by his teammates and coaching staff and seems to be a good fit for Oscar Pareja’s culture. He was previously one of the better bench center backs in the league, but as a long-term starter, the Lions are in flux with who to put next to Jansson — that is assuming Jansson’s contract option is picked up, which might not be a foregone conclusion after the Beefy Swede seemingly lost a step this year. Brekalo has picked up periodic knocks and has yet to claim the right center back position as his own on a permanent basis. One would have to think Brekalo isn’t the best solution at left back moving forward, so the Slovenian international will likely get a long look as Jansson’s partner again in preseason camp. And all of the center back decisions might hinge on whether Alex Freeman returns in 2026 or transfers out, because he gives the club a unique weapon at right back that essentially lets Pareja play a three-man back line.

Orlando City is at a crossroads and must decide whether to rebuild the center back position now entirely, continue with Jansson and Schlegel (or hope Brekalo rises to the challenge and takes the right CB spot), or split the difference by keeping one of Schlegel or Jansson and letting the other go, requiring a new signing before next season. Schlegel is still a solid backup center back choice, but he comes with a host of concerns as a regular starter. He made a base salary of $500,000 and total compensation of nearly $610,000 in 2025. That’s just under what Brekalo makes and well short of Jansson’s salary.

It will be interesting to see how the Lions approach central defense in the off-season and it might be the biggest area of concern in the buildup to 2026.

Previous Season in Review Articles (Date Posted)

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 11/11/25

Anna Moorhouse garners recognition, Tyrese Spicer called up, USMNT roster updates, and more.

Published

1 day ago

on

November 11, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Good morning, everyone. It was a damn good weekend, as the Orlando Pride advanced to the semifinals of the NWSL playoffs and will actually host after Gotham FC pulled the upset against the Kansas City Current! That, combined with the international break, means we have lots to talk about today, so let’s jump right into the links.

Anna Moorhouse Earns Recognition

Goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse has been rewarded for her performance in the Orlando Pride’s 2-0 quarterfinal win over the Seattle Reign with a nomination for the NWSL Player of the Week. Moorhouse was instrumental in the Pride advancing to the semifinals, as she stood tall with eight saves in the match and kept a clean sheet in a closely fought game. Congratulations to the Pride’s shot-stopper and here’s hoping that the good work continues in the semifinal.

Tyrese Spicer Called Up

Continuing a recent trend of Lions getting called up by their national teams, Tyrese Spicer is on Trinidad & Tobago’s roster for its upcoming World Cup qualifying matches. T&T will face Jamaica at home on Nov. 13 and Bermuda at home on Nov. 18. With two matches remaining in the current stage, T&T is third in Group B with five points, while Jamaica sits at the top with nine. Two wins would give T&T 11 points and a real chance of winning Group B and qualifying directly for the World Cup, while finishing on eight or nine points would give it a decent shot at being one of the three best second-place finishers and advancing to an intercontinental playoff. Spicer has been in fine form for his country lately, as he scored a goal in each of T&T’s two October qualifying matches.

United States Men’s National Team Roster Adjustments

Speaking of national teams, the USMNT has announced some adjustments to its roster for the team’s two upcoming friendlies. Midfielders Tyler Adams and Sean Zawadzki have both been removed from the roster after the suffered injuries with Bournemouth and the Columbus Crew, respectively, over the weekend. In their place, LAFC midfielder Timmy Tillman has been added to the roster and joined up with the squad in Philadelphia on Monday. Tillman changed from representing Germany to suiting up for the U.S. in 2023 and has earned one cap with the USMNT since then. The team is set to play Paraguay in Philadelphia on Nov. 15, and Uruguay in Tampa on Nov. 18.

Mexico’s World Cup Updates on Schedule

Mexico President Claudia Sheinbaum says that the country’s infrastructure projects for the 2026 World Cup are on track to be completed in time for the start of the tournament. Among the construction projects are the renovation of a pair of terminals at Mexico City International Airport and the building of a train line connecting Mexico City with another airport about 30 miles away. Additional government-sponsored projects will take place in Monterrey and Guadalajara, although details have not yet been made public. Meanwhile, Azteca Stadium has been closed for renovations that are being carried out by a private company.

Free Kicks

  • Gustavo Caraballo and Venezeula are on to the next round of the U-17 World Cup.
  • Have a look at Alex Freeman and the rest of the USMNT getting ready for the upcoming match against Paraguay.

That’s all I have for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Trending