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Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 3-1 road victory at New England?

Published

10 months ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

There is probably a more eloquent Dickensian reference out there I could use about how this match was a tale of two cities halves. The Lions looked poor initially but started to find their footing toward the end of the first half and then came out and really lived up to our great expectations and smashed New England in the second half. A final score of 3-1 means that Orlando City finally won for the first time ever at New England and has now won three games in a row and four of its last five.

The Lions have a short turnaround with a game at Nashville coming on Wednesday, but for now, let’s bask in the glow of another high-scoring win and get to work on the report card. 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 — The Peruvian international did not have a lot to do during this match, as New England did not really threaten his goal often. The Revolution only had three shots on target all game long, and the one goal they scored was from point-blank range after a defensive breakdown. I think Gallese perhaps could have collected the initial ball over the top from Esmir Bajraktarevic, but that would have been a risky play and he likely did not assume that his defenders would all ball watch and let runners go unmarked right in the middle of the box. Gallese made one save and completed seven passes on the night, but it was a mostly unremarkable game for him.

D, Kyle Smith, 5 — After two consecutive solid games starting in the back four, Smith looked almost subdued in the game Saturday night, completing a lot of short passes but not really accounting (see what I did there?) for any — for lack of a better term — oomph in Orlando City’s attack. He completed 30 passes at an 88.2% rate, but aside from one ball to Iván Angulo towards the left side of the box, there really was not a lot that was memorable about his play in the first half. In fact, he did not record a single defensive statistic, and I was not surprised that Rafael Santos was on the field in place of Smith when the second half started. This did apparently surprise Apple TV’s broadcasters, since they did not realize he was out for a few minutes, but Smith had not put on a Santos disguise, and he had indeed gone off after 45 minutes.

D, Robin Jansson, 6 — New England has an excellent striker in Giacomo Vrioni, but he really did not do a lot to threaten the center of Orlando City’s defense, to the point that neither Jansson nor Rodrigo Schlegel had a tackle. Now, the obvious counter to this is that, you know, Vrioni scored a goal (aside from that whole gunshot thing, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?), but I thought Jansson helped limit Vrioni to really only be a target and not someone that the Revolution played through. On the play that led to the goal, Jansson was marking Jack Panayotou, so I do not think he takes much culpability in that goal, even thought it happened right in front of him. As I mentioned, the Beefy Swede did not have a tackle but he led the team with four clearances and one blocked shot, and he completed 36 passes at a 90% completion rate. It was a quiet night for Jansson after his Man-of-the-Match-level performance last week against D.C. United, but I do not think the captain will mind since the Lions picked up another three points.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6.5 — I thought Schlegel was excellent for most of the game, except for the three seconds from 22:44 to 22:47. During that time, he followed the ball instead of his man, and Vrioni slipped unmarked into the center of the box and smashed a shot home to give the Revolution the lead. Ugh. However, during the rest of the game, I thought Schlegel was really good, especially around the marking of Vrioni, and he showed why even with the return of David Brekalo from the Euros that Orlando City has not made a change to the pairing of Jansson and Schlegel in the middle. Rodrigo was third on the team with 51 completed passes, compiling a 98.1% completion rate (that’s 51/52, everyone), and he even advanced forward and got two shots off, though neither were on target. He also had two clearances and blocked one shot, and led the team with 11 accurate long balls on 14 attempts.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 6.5 — I know Thorhallsson is listed as the starting right back, but I really think that D for defender should be a DD for Dagur Dan, because to call him just a defender or just a right back does not really satisfy what he brings to Orlando City. He is a Dagur Dan, and just like Tigger, he is the only one. On Saturday night, he was once again all over the field making plays, and although he did not contribute to any of the goals it was not for lack of trying, as in the first half he got himself into a great scoring position for a cross from Angulo that he just could not place properly to get by Aljaž Ivačič, and he was constantly probing and making runs off the right side of the box and helping to cause worry along the left side of the Revolution’s defense. He also completed 39 passes at an 88.9% completion rate, with one key pass among those passes, and he had one tackle and one clearance defensively. I have to ding him some early defensive mistakes. He was beaten early in the match by Panayotou but Jansson was able to intervene in the 11th minute. He was in position, but still got beat over the top on the cross into the box that led to New England’s only goal. Despite the early defensive errors, I thought on the whole his performance was solid on the evening.

MF, César Araujo, 7 — The Uruguayan defensive midfielder had another typical game, generally short on flash but long on making a difference in the middle of the field. Cesar was second on the team in passes completed (54), tackles (3), and shot-creating actions (3), with one of those shot-creating actions being the assist for the second goal when his header back into the middle of the box was knocked in by Ramiro Enrique in the 58th minute. The midfield pairing of Araujo and Wilder Cartagena has been excellent during the recent three-game winning streak. I do not think it is a coincidence that as soon as Cartagena returned from the Copa America tournament, the team got hot. Araujo and Cartagena know how to play with and off of one another, which showed Saturday night. I think it is instructive to look at this heatmap from whoscored.com in between the grades for Araujo and Cartagena, because you can see just how well they balanced each other with their play during the match.

MF, Wilder Cartagena, 7.5 — Saturday night’s performance was another outstanding showing from the Peruvian midfielder, as he was once again all over the field making plays and bossing the game with midfield partner Araujo. Wilder led the team with 60 completed passes at a 93.8% completion rate, and he also led the team with 16 completed passes in the attacking third, five tackles, two fouls suffered, and one (friendly) face slap of Facundo Torres, after Torres scored his second goal. I will be tracking friendly, and unfriendly, face slaps for the rest of the season, do not worry. I thought Cartagena dictated the game with his play in the center of the field, and though he did not play a major role in any of Orlando City’s three goals, he was the best two-way player on the field, and was definitely a candidate for the Man of the Match.

MF, Iván Angulo, 7.5 — During the first part of Saturday’s match it seemed like everyone wearing Orlando City colors was sluggish except one player, and that player was Angulo. As he seems to do every game, Angulo looked like he was perpetually playing on turbo mode, making runs up the sideline and getting around defenders to create opportunities. Orlando City was profligate in front of the net for most of those, but eventually his hard work paid off, as it was his driving run into the box and pass to Torres that led to the latter’s tying goal in the 51st minute. Angulo led the team in progressive carries (7), shot-creating actions (6), and key passes (4), and he completed 31 passes at an 81.7% rate. He chipped in a tackle and an interception defensively before coming off for Brekalo in the 84th minute in a defense-for-offense substitution, but the Colombian winger had well earned a few minutes of rest after another strong effort.

MF, Martín Ojeda, 6 — The Lions went with the same attacking midfield group that had been starting during the last few matches, but on Saturday night Ojeda just did not seem to have the same juice as he had brought during those other recent wins. As usual, this was not due to lack of effort, but something just was off from the Argentinean midfielder. Despite playing nearly 70 minutes, he only completed 27 passes, though he did complete them at a 96.4% rate, and he only crossed the ball four times all match, unusually low for him, completing two. He did play the corner that led to Enrique’s goal, and that was a well-placed corner kick to Araujo’s head that then came right back into the middle for the tap-in (one of Ojeda’s two key passes), but on the whole I thought it was just a muted performance by Ojeda on the night.

MF, Facundo Torres, 8 (MotM)— Facu is so hot right now, not unlike how Hansel was during Zoolander. Since the official first day of summer, Torres has five goals in five matches, and he has now moved into a tie with Nani for third all-time on the Orlando City goal-contribution list (career goals + assists = 44). On Saturday night he started slowly, but as the first half came to a close he started to pick up. Then, in the second half, he was excellent. Hmm, sounds a lot like how Orlando City’s overall game flow was, too. Coincidence? No. Facu’s two goals were absolutely perfectly hit curling balls from the right side of the box that went exactly where every soccer coach tells you to shoot — low and hard to the far corner. Torres also put a third shot on target that was saved well by Ivačič, so he put all three of his shots on frame. The Uruguayan winger completed 44 passes at a 91.7% rate with two key passes. He also compiled a dribble, a tackle, and an interception. As he goes, so will this offense, and I think there is very little that we as fans love more than to see Facu over by the corner flag with his pretend phone up doing the Selfie Celebration with his teammates.

F, Ramiro Enrique, 7 — The one change in the starting lineup from the last two matches was Enrique in for Duncan McGuire, and that was most definitely not a like-for-like swap. Enrique is not as adept at holdup play and winning long balls to create possession for the offense, but what he does bring, which showed on Saturday night, was an extra burst of quickness and shiftiness to get something on the ball and create plays. This manifested in the first goal, when Angulo slipped a pass to a cutting Ramiro who then played it back, and it eventually made its way across the box to Torres. Enrique then made the dashing run on the second goal to beat everyone to Araujo’s header back across the box, tapping it into the net for his second goal in the last two games. Enrique had no key passes or defensive stats, only had 23 touches, and only completed seven passes on the night (87.5% rate), but he still contributed majorly to Orlando City coming from behind to take the lead before he made way for Luis Muriel in the 69th minute.

Substitutes

D, Rafael Santos (46′), 6 — Santos checked in after halftime and provided a spark that had not been there in the first half from the left back position. The raw stats show that Smith completed more passes and at a higher percentage, and that neither left back made many plays defensively, but Santos definitely looked more composed and threatening on the ball during the second half than what the Lions got from that position during the first half. His hustle to get to a ball that he nearly lost after a heavy touch led to the third goal for Orlando City, and while his passing accuracy (87%) was among the lowest on the team, the danger he brought to the field with his play during the second half definitely contributed to the second half comeback.

F, Luis Muriel (69′), 6.5 — The Colombian Designated Player had one of his best games as a Lion on Saturday night, which is both good news and bad news for Orlando City. I am writing grades specifically for this match, but it is hard not to also take a step back and consider that the fact that an appearance off the bench with one assist against a bottom of the conference team is one of the best games for Muriel this season does raise some questions. That said, I thought Muriel looked dangerous in this match and made the right decision with the ball on most of his possessions — in particular, his perfect pass to Torres for an assist on the third goal that effectively iced the game for Orlando City. He unselfishly played the ball with the outside of his foot to a sprinting Torres, and the weight of the pass allowed Facu to curl that ball in without ever breaking stride. That was the first Muriel-to-Torres combination for a goal, and I, for one, would enjoy seeing many more of those this season. I recommend they do this again on Wednesday. Muriel put his only shot attempt on target, forcing a save, had one key pass, and won an aerial duel.

MF, Nico Lodeiro (69′), 6 — I think the role of supersub off the bench fits Nico well, and he turned in another strong performance in his 21 minutes Saturday night. The Uruguayan took over for Ojeda and completed 14 passes at a 93.3% rate, including hustling to win a loose ball that he then played to Muriel that then went on to Torres for the backbreaking third goal from Orlando City in the 81st minute. Lodeiro was active throughout his minutes on the field, also making one tackle and intercepting one pass.

D, David Brekalo, (84’), N/A — The Slovenian international came on for Angulo shortly after the Lions took a two-goal lead, moving the team to a five-man back line and playing as the right center back in between the Nordic duo of Jansson and Thorhallsson. Brekalo made one interception and completed four of his five passes, including one long ball, but he did not contribute enough in his short outing to earn a grade this week.

MF, Jeorgio Kocevski (90 +2′), N/A — Jeorgio subbed in for Araujo during stoppage time to help close out the game. He was able to get four touches of the ball and complete two passes, but he was not on the field long enough to earn a grade this week.

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.

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Lion Links: 5/13/25

Martin Ojeda honored, Americans in midweek action, rivalry games on the horizon, and more.

Published

23 hours ago

on

May 13, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Tuesday, everyone. I hope you’ve been on top of things to start the week, because there’s going to be no time to catch our breath with Orlando City taking on Charlotte FC Wednesday, before facing Inter Miami on Sunday. We’ve got plenty to discuss this morning, so let’s jump right into the links.

Martin Ojeda Honored

After his starring role in Orlando City’s 3-3 draw with the New England Revolution on Saturday, Martin Ojeda has been named to the starting XI of the MLS Team of the Matchday. Ojeda was back in the starting lineup after spending the last few matches nursing a knock and he made the most of his return, scoring all three goals for just the third Orlando City hat trick in the club’s MLS existence and first since 2015. It was a shame that the defense couldn’t help him out on his historic night, but he was Sean Rollins’ clear choice for Man of the Match in his Player Grades piece, and it’s nice to see that he’s getting some much deserved wider recognition as well, even though he was snubbed for Player of the Matchday, which went to Emil Forsberg of the New York Red Bulls. Here’s hoping Ojeda’s success continues.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans who will be playing games during the working week, and we have some very high stakes at play. Things start today, when Haji Wright and Coventry City try to overturn a 2-1 first-leg deficit in the Championship promotion playoff semifinal against Sunderland. AC Milan takes on Bologna Wednesday in the Coppa Italia final, with Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah fighting for a chance to lift a trophy. Finally, Thursday has Johnny Cardoso and red-hot Real Betis visiting Rayo Vallecano in La Liga in a game that will have big ramifications on the race for European places.

Rivalry Games on the Horizon

Major League Soccer’s rivalry week is almost upon us, which means we have some heated matchups that we can start looking forward to. First and foremost, as far as we’re concerned, is Orlando City hitting the road to face Inter Miami in a series that is dead even across the board at 5-5-5 in 15 all-time meetings. There’s plenty more though, as El Trafico is the late game on Sunday, and we also get Hell is Real between FC Cincinnati and the Columbus Crew, as well as a Hudson River River Derby that features two teams in wildly different places. The New York Red Bulls hammered the LA Galaxy on Saturday and have won three of their last four in all competitions, while New York City FC was knocked out of the U.S. Open Cup last week, and has lost three of its last four in all competitions.

Carlo Ancelotti to Coach Brazil

Brazil has officially announced that Carlo Ancelotti will take over as the newest coach of the team. The Brazilian Football Confederation announced on Monday that he will leave Real Madrid after the last league game of the season, with his first day on the job for Brazil coming on May 26. Brazil wanted to have a new coach in place for June’s World Cup qualifiers, and Ancelotti will now become the Selecao’s first foreign head coach. As far as Real Madrid is concerned, the club is reportedly finalizing a deal for former player Xabi Alonso to become the new coach as soon as possible. Madrid would ideally like for him to be on the job before the start of this summer’s Club World Cup, and Alonso has already publicly announced that he will not manage Bayer Leverkusen past the end of this season.

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

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 3-3 draw against the New England Revolution?

Published

2 days ago

on

May 12, 2025

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City saw a 2-0 lead wash away just before halftime and took the lead in the second half. It looked like the Lions were on their way to a big three points, but a late penalty and a disallowed goal resulted in a 3-3 draw. It’s a draw that feels like a loss for the Lions.

Let’s take a look at how the individual players did in this disappointing game.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6 — Gallese had a difficult night, though it wasn’t all his fault. He faced six shots and conceded three goals. However, two were primarily because of bad defending, and one was a penalty. He made three saves and blocked away a rocket late.  The Orlando City goalkeeper touched the ball 25 times and completed 77.8% of his 18 passes, including four of his eight long balls.

D, David Brekalo, 6 — Brekalo had a good game at left back, touching the ball 65 times, second most on the team. He completed 90.7% of his 43 passes, including a key pass. However, his lone cross and long ball were incomplete. The defender took two shots, putting one on target, and nearly had a goal in the 48th minute with a strong run into the box, but a defender deflected it off the woodwork. Defensively, he recorded two tackles, one interception, three clearances, and a blocked shot. He was a little late trying to deny Ignatius Ganago’s cross through the box to Ilay Feingold, and his sliding effort to do so took him out of position to deny Feingold’s centering pass for New England’s first goal. It was one of his few missteps of the match, and the effort was there if not the execution. He moved from left back to center back for the closing minutes.

D, Robin Jansson, 5 — Jansson is usually rock solid on the back line, but he was a liability in this game. He touched the ball 57 times and completed 86.3% of his 51 passes, including four of his seven long balls. He made three clearances and blocked two shots. His poor grade was due to his contribution to two New England goals. He allowed Matt Polster to get goal side in the 44th minute for the equalizer and stuck his foot out in an ill-advised challenge in the 85th minute, resulting in a game-tying penalty. It was a game the Orlando City captain would rather forget.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6.5 — Schlegel is usually the higher-risk player at center back, but he had a good game. He touched the ball 49 times and completed 91.4% of his 35 passes, including his lone long ball. He also recorded a tackle, a team-high six clearances, and two blocked shots. Most surprisingly, he managed to end the game without an unnecessary booking. Schlegel’s night ended in the 87th minute when he was replaced by Rafael Santos.

D, Alex Freeman, 6.5  — Freeman started at his usual right back position, touching the ball a team-high 66 times. He completed 76.7% of his 43 passes and his lone cross but not his long ball. His lone shot was on target and he had three key passes. The 20-year-old was also active defensively, recording two tackles, two interceptions, and four clearances.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 6 — Angulo only touched the ball 28 times in this game, but his speed caused problems for the New England back line as he pushed into the attack. The left-sided midfielder completed 82.6% of his 23 passes, including two key passes. He didn’t take any shots, because he was mainly on the wing, but he helped defensively with a tackle and two interceptions. Angulo was replaced by Ramiro Enrique in the 74th minute.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6.5 — Araujo had 57 touches in this game while completing 91.7% of his 36 passes. He had a key pass but failed to complete either of his two long balls. The defensive midfielder took four shots, putting one on target that forced Aljaz Ivacic into a good save. He nearly scored off a corner kick in the 24th minute, but hit the post. Defensively, Araujo had two tackles and a clearance.

MF, Joran Gerbet, 5.5 — Gerbet had an up and down night, making him difficult to grade. He let Alhassan Yusuf get goal side of him in the 38th minute to score New England’s first goal. But his excellent first touch sent Ojeda on a partial breakaway in the 33rd minute for the Lions’ second goal, and his fearlessness earned a penalty for Orlando City’s third goal. The rookie touched the ball 43 times and completed 88.9% of his 36 passes, including a key pass and one of his two long balls. He didn’t take any shots but added an interception defensively. He probably should get a higher grade for participating in two goals, but I can’t get over the defensive midfielder’s error that might’ve cost the Lions two points. Gerbet was replaced in the 69th minute by Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.

MF, Marco Pasalic, 6.5 — Pasalic had a solid night, touching the ball 39 times and completing 73.9% of his 23 passes. He had two key passes and completed one of his three long balls. He put one of his three shots on target, but his offensive performance will be remembered for his 20th minute shot, when Luis Muriel headed the ball down perfectly for him and the midfielder sent it over the open goal. Despite the miss, it was a good game for the attacking midfielder, who also had an interception on the defensive side.

F, Luis Muriel, 6.5 — Muriel started up top but dropped behind Ojeda as the game progressed. He had 36 touches and completed 73.3% of his 15 passes, including four key passes and three of his four crosses. He should’ve had an assist on Pasalic’s miss, and he should’ve scored, especially in the 68th minute, when he made multiple defenders miss before dribbling the ball into the arms of Ivacic instead of shooting. He added two tackles and would’ve had a higher grade if he had any desire to score.

F, Martin Ojeda, 8.5 (MotM) — There can’t be a question about who the Man of the Match was for this game. In his first league start since April 19, Ojeda led the way. He touched the ball 43 times, completing 84% of his 25 passes with two key passes. He completed two of his five crosses but didn’t connect on his long ball. However, the attacker converted on three of his team-high seven shots, scoring the club’s first hat trick since 2015. His first goal was a thing of beauty, as he rocketed a shot off the bottom of the cross bar, creating no chance for the goalkeeper. The midfielder also took his second goal well and converted the penalty that gave his team the lead in the 55th minute. Defensively, Ojeda added an interception in a clear Man of the Match performance.

Substitutes

MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (69’), 5.5 — Thorhallsson came on in the 69th minute for Gerbet in the defensive midfield. He touched the ball 13 times, completing all of his 10 passes, though they were all of the shorter variety. He picked up a yellow card late in the match.

F, Duncan McGuire (73’), 5.5 — McGuire came on for Muriel in the 73rd minute with his team up a goal. He touched the ball only five times, completing all three of his passes with a key pass and his lone cross. His only shot was off target and he didn’t add any defensive stats. He should have had an assist with a good ball into the box for Enrique, who made a mess of the shot, firing it high over the goal. Unfortunately, his game will be remembered for the 90th minute, when Enrique’s shot hit his back while the striker was in an offside position. The ball went in, and the flag went up to disallow the goal that would’ve been the game winner.

F, Ramiro Enrique (74’), 5.5 — Enrique entered the game in the 74th minute for Angulo. He touched the ball 14 times and completed 45.5% of his 11 passes without any key passes or crosses. He took one off-target shot (officially) but had a great chance to score in the 90th minute when he received a pass from Pasalic at the top of the box with no one on him. His shot hit the back of an offside McGuire, spoiling a potential late winner.

D, Rafael Santos (87’), 5.5 — Santos replaced Schlegel in the 87th minute as the Lions brought on a natural left back and moved Brekalo to his usual center back position. Despite coming on late, the 10 minutes of stoppage time gave him plenty of action. He touched the ball 12 times and completed 83.3% of his six passes, including one of his three crosses. He didn’t take any shots and didn’t record any defensive stats as the Lions pushed hard for the late winner that never came. On the defensive end, he got roasted by Luis Diaz Espinoza in the second minute of stoppage time, allowing a wicked shot on goal that Gallese was able to parry away awkwardly.

That’s how I saw Orlando City 3-3 draw against the New England Revolution. Let us know what you thought of the performance in the comment below and don’t forget to vote on your Man of the Match.

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Lion Links: 5/12/25

Lions and Pride each draw, Pride wins 2024 Golden Brick Award of Excellence, MLS weekend recap, and more.

Published

2 days ago

on

May 12, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida and belated happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there. I’ve been busy at work and catching up with friends all week. Our Lions and Pride both picked up draws over the weekend, while OCB was off.  We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Draw New England Revolution at Home

Orlando City blew a lead twice and ended up settling for a 3-3 draw against the New England Revolution on Saturday at Inter&Co Stadium. The Lions got off to a great start as Martin Ojeda scored two goals in the first half. The Revolution replied with two goals to tie the match just before halftime. Ojeda added a penalty kick goal in the second half to secure his first hat trick of his career. It was also the first hat trick for Orlando in a decade, and he joins former Lion Cyle Larin as the only players in club history to score a regular-season hat trick.

However, late in the second half, the Lions conceded a penalty to New England, and Carles Gil converted from the spot to get the equalizer as the teams split the points. The Lions will have a quick turnaround with their next match on Wednesday at home against Charlotte FC.

Pride Draw North Carolina Courage on the Road

The Orlando Pride needed a late equalizer to escape WakeMed Soccer Park with a 1-1 draw against the North Carolina Courage on Saturday. The Courage struck first, but Prisca Chilufya scored her first goal of the NWSL season late in stoppage time to secure a draw and keep Orlando from losing two matches in a row. The Pride grabbed a crucial point on the road and are second in the NWSL standings. The next match for the Orlando Pride will be Friday as they face the Kansas City Current at Inter&Co Stadium.

Orlando Pride Wins 2024 Golden Brick Award of Excellence

The Orlando Pride were named winners of the Downtown Orlando Partnerships 2024 Golden Brick Award of Excellence on Friday for the club’s historic 2024 NWSL Championship season and downtown victory parade. The Pride broke the league record for the most points (60), most wins in a season (18), and most clean sheets (13), while finishing the 2024 season unbeaten at home. Orlando Pride President of Business Operations Jarrod Dillon expressed his thoughts on Pride winning this award.

“On behalf of our entire Club, I’d like to thank the Downtown Orlando Partnership and its Board of Directors for selecting our organization for this incredible award,” said Orlando Pride President of Business Operations, Jarrod Dillon. “We are incredibly honored to receive this award — a testament to the passion, dedication, and excellence that define our team. Our Club is proud to represent this city, and we hope every Orlando resident shares in this moment of pride. There’s no place we’d rather call home than downtown Orlando — the heart of our community and now the home of the best women’s soccer team in the United States.”

MLS Weekend Recap

The weekend’s slate of Major League Soccer matches ended with some notable results. Minnesota United cruised past Inter Miami with a 4-1 win. The Chicago Fire, FC Cincinnati, San Diego FC, and Nashville SC all won 2-1 matches over Atlanta United, Austin FC, St. Louis City, and Charlotte FC, respectively. Toronto FC defeated D.C. United 2-0 at home, while the San Jose Earthquakes beat the Colorado Rapids 2-0 on the road. Prince Osei Owusu scored the lone goal as CF Montreal beat New York City FC 1-0 and secured its first win of the season. Santiago Moreno scored a late goal in the second half as the Portland Timbers defeated Sporting Kansas City 1-0. Albert Rusnak scored twice as the Seattle Sounders beat the Houston Dynamo 3-1. FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake ended in a 1-1 draw, while the Philadelphia Union and Columbus Crew match ended in a 2-2 draw. The LA Galaxy remain winless through 12 matches this season after getting crushed 7-0 by the New York Red Bulls in a rematch of last year’s MLS Cup final. On Sunday, Brian White scored twice as the Vancouver Whitecaps and LAFC match ended in a 2-2 draw.

Free Kicks

  • Check out this video on Orlando City’s social media pages featuring some players giving their moms a surprise phone call on Mother’s Day.
  • Orlando Pride defender Kylie Nadaner completed 108 passes on Saturday in their match against the North Carolina Courage, which is the most in Pride history.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday and I’ll see you next time.

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