Orlando City vs. Nashville SC: Player Grades and MotM

The Lions were on the road for the second time in as many matches, this time in the Music City facing Nashville SC in a rematch of last season’s Major League Soccer playoff series. Orlando continued its strong form on the road, picking up a 3-0 victory, and by doing so, clawed its way back to 500 on the season is are now sporting a positive goal differential.

Two different Lions found the back of the net and an own goal from the face of Alex Muyl led to a fourth straight OCSC win. Let’s take a look at how Orlando City’s players rated individually in their Eastern Conference matchup.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6.5 — For the second game in a row, the Peruvian No. 1 did not have a lot to do during the match as Nashville’s offensive woes continued and the Lions limited the hosts to just two shots on target. Gallese faced eight total shots on the night but only had to make two saves. A clean sheet is a clean sheet, though. He completed 87.5% of his 24 passes, including eight of his 11 long-ball attempts. Gallese was fouled twice in the match and required the trainers to evaluate his shoulder late in the second half but was able to continue and see out the game.

D, Rafael Santos, 6 — Santos rejoined the starting 11 after being on the bench the last several matches. It was clear during the first few minutes of game time that there was some rust that needed to be worked out, as Santos had two dangerous giveaways in the defensive third. The Brazilian also conceded two unnecessary corners in the first half. He completed 80.4% of his 46 passes, including six of 13 long balls. Defensively, Santos contributed a team-high six clearances (which bumped his grade up half a point) and one interception. On the offensive side of the pitch, Santos was mostly absent, with no cross attempts, no key passes, and no shots, and he had one unstable touch. He was substituted out of the match in the 65th minute for Kyle Smith.

D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — The captain did a little bit of everything against Nashville and was a solid presence in helping to secure the clean sheet. He completed 88.9% of his 45 passes but was only successful on two of his six long-ball attempts. Defensively, he had more of a quiet night with only one clearance, a blocked shot, and a successful aerial duel while committing one foul. Offensively, he was credited with one shot, which was off target, and he suffered a foul as well. Ultimately, statistical nights like this speak to how well Orlando controlled the midfield and stymied the Nashville attack before it reached the back line.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 7 — Schlegel continues to start and Orlando continues to win, so for the time being there seems to be no need to change up the formula. Schlegel has expereienced somewhat of a midseason renaissance while fellow center back David Brekalo was away participating in the Euros. Against Nashville, he led the Lions in both touches (64) and passing attempts (55), completing 89.1% of his passes, including four of six long balls. Schlegel also won one aerial duel and contributed two tackles and two clearances, defensively. He committed two fouls without picking up a card and had two unstable touches.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 6.5 — Thorhallsson had his hands full defensively dealing with the pace of Canadian international Jacob Shaffelburg all night long. The defensive assignment limited his effectivness in the attack. He completed 32 passes at an uncharactieristically low 75% completion rate, including two of five long balls, and was unsuccesful on his lone throughball attempt. Defensively, he contributed one tackle but did well to frustrate the previously mentioned Shaffelburg throughout the game. He was issued a yellow card in the 22nd minute of the match for a tackle that came through Shaffelburg’s body but instant replay sure appeared to show that he made clean contact with the ball before the player. Offensively, he was credited with two successful dribbles and was fouled once. Like Santos, he had no shot attempts, key passes, or cross attempts.

MF, César Araujo, 7.5 — The Uruguayan defensive midfielder opened up his 2024 MLS account with the first goal of the match in the 19th minute on a long set piece delivered by Martin Ojeda. The goal set the tone early for Orlando City on the road. Araujo completed 86.1% of his 36 pass attempts, including one of his two long balls, while failing to connect on his lone crossing attempt. Defensively, he showed great chemistry with Wilder Cartagena in putting out fires before they started and keeping former MLS MVP Hany Mukhtar in check. He contributed two tackles, one interception, a blocked shot, and a successful aerial duel while comitting two fouls. Offensively, he scored on his only shot attempt and was fouled twice while being dinged for an unstable touch.

MF, Wilder Cartagena, 7 — Once again the Peruvian defender was all over the field making plays and helping to control the midfield along with Araujo. So much of what Cartagena and Araujo do during the 90 minutes goes unrecognized because it does not show up on the stat sheet, but I thought Cartagena was instrumental in controlling the midfield against Nashville. Wilder completed 86.8% of his 32 passes and connected on all three of his long balls. Defensively, he had a team-high five tackles while adding two interceptions and a blocked shot. Impressively, Cartagena was able to have such an effective night defensively while only being whistled for two fouls. Offensively, he was credited with one shot that was way off target, and he was dispossessed three times with an unstable touch to boot.

MF, Iván Angulo, 7.5 — Angulo might as well just cameo as the Energizer Bunny at this point because the speedy Colombian just never stops moving. Against Nashville, Angulo continued to showcase his strong chemistry with his fellow attacking midfielders. Angulo completed a team-high 94.4% of his 36 passes, and tied Ojeda for most on the team with his four key passes. His speed drew a yellow card on Nashville center back Josh Bauer and set up a dangerous set piece opportunity in the 29th minute. Defensively, Angulo chipped in two tackles and one interception. Offensively, Angulo didn’t attempt a shot but was credited with an assist on the third goal of the match, finding Ramiro Enrique through traffic after picking up a loose rebound.

MF, Martín Ojeda, 8 — Ojeda appears to have cemented his role in the starting 11 for the home stretch of the season after another strong performance. He completed 88% of his 25 passing attempts including both of his long-ball attempts and four of his seven crosses. Like Angulo, he genereated four key passes on the night to lead the team. Ojeda got back to help in the defensive midfield, contributing three tackles. Offensively, Ojeda failed to record a shot, which is probably the most shocking statistic of the entire match, as he is not afraid to pull the trigger, but he was credited with an assist for delivering a perfect ball to Araujo on the Lions’ first goal. It was another dangerous delivery from Ojeda on a set piece that resulted in an own goal from Nashville and a 2-0 lead for Orlando City, and while he won’t officially get credited with an assist, the quality of his delivery from set pieces as of late has been top notch. He also made a sick play to get around Shaq Moore in the left corner to set up a scoring chance.

MF, Facundo Torres, 6.5 — The Summer of Facu cooled off only slightly against Nashville in a sense that the DP failed to find the back of the net, but Willis robbed him blind on a 1-v-1 opportunity in the second half. He did almost everything else in the match. Torres completed 82.8% of his 29 passes and was unsuccessful on his lone long ball and lone cross. Defensively, he contributed one interception and a clearance and was issued a yellow card for blocking a Nashville restart in the 64th minute. Offensively, he led Orlando City both in shot attemps (3) and shots on target (2), and was credited with a successful dribble while suffering one foul and being dispossessed once. Of note, Facu failed to leave the field in a timely manner when he was substituted for Luis Muriel in the 77th minute, resulting in Orlando City being forced to play a man down for a brief period due to the new MLS rule.

F, Ramiro Enrique, 8 (MotM) — With the insurance goal in the 81st minute, Enrique now has three goals in three matches, and that is a great sign that the offense is clicking. His goal against Nashville was an absolute rocket, which slammed off the underside of the crossbar. He completed 71.4% of his 21 passes, including one key pass. The striker got back defensively and added one interception and two clearances on the night while committing one foul. Enrique stood out on offense with six aerial duels won and his holdup play showed maturity and composure. His lone shot attempt was the scorcher that put Orlando up 3-0, and he logged one successful dribble while being fouled twice. My only knock on his effort against Nashville was that he had three unstable touches and was called offside on what would have been a good goal-scoring opportunity if he had held his run for a second longer and then picked out a wide open Torres instead of firing the ball directly at Willis.

Substitutes

D, Kyle Smith (65′), 5.5 — Smith was swapped out of the starting 11 against Nashville and replaced Santos in the late stages of the match. The human Swiss Army knife played well in a reserve role but could have done better controlling the ball, where the Accountant only completed 60% of his 15 passes. To his credit, Smith did connect on two of his three long-ball attempts. Defensively, it was a quite night statistically, as Smith did not record a defensive stat. His best moment of the match came on his pass down the line to Angulo, which sprung the Colombian into the attack prior to the third goal of the match.

MF, Nico Lodeiro (65′), 6 — Lodeiro is starting to embrace the super substitute role more, and for a player of his historical quality, I would much rather have 20-30 minutes of fresh legs than see the elder statesman slug his way through an hour plus of game time. Against Nashville, Nico completed 63.6% of his 11 passes, and he recorded a shot attempt which was saved after a nice run into the box. Defensively, he did not conrtibute a measureable statistic.

F, Luis Muriel (75′), 5.5 — The Colombian entered the match with Orlando up by two goals and worked to help see out the result. Unfortunately, Muriel could not capitalize on the momentum that he generated against New England off the bench the match before and largely was ineffective with the ball at his feet in this one. He completed both of his passes, which included a long ball, and was off target with his lone shot attempt, which was blocked in the buildup to Enrique’s goal, while being whistled for offside. Muriel had two unstable touches and was dispossessed once. Defensively, he did not contribute a statistic. It would be nice to see more from the Colombian on a consistent basis.

D, David Brekalo, (87’), N/A — The Slovenian international came on with the Lions up by three goals and helped to ensure a clean sheet. At this point, Brekalo is healthy and has been back from the Euros for a few matches, but I suspect that Head Coach Oscar Pareja’s reason for not starting him has much to do with not wanting to disturb the current chemistry between Jansson and Schlegel. In short reserve action, Brekalo completed all four of his passes, which included one long ball. It will be interesting to monitor the center back pairing moving forward during Leagues Cup and down the stretch of the regular season.

MF, Jeorgio Kocevski (87′), N/A — Jeorgio subbed in alongside Brekalo and was able to get a few minutes of cardio in, but was not on the field long enough to earn a grade. He completed both of his passes.

That’s how I saw the individual performances on Wednesday 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.