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Orlando City vs. Nashville SC: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 3-0 home victory over Nashville SC.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The Lions returned to the City Beautiful after dropping their first match following the Leagues Cup last weekend to Sporting Kansas City. Fortunately for Orlando City, winning cures all ailments, and a home matchup against struggling Nashville SC was exactly what the soccer gods ordered. What follows are our five takeaways from a strong 3-0 rebound win at home.

Limited Rotation

Head Coach Oscar Pareja elected to change very little from the squad which lost by three goals to Sporting Kansas City. When the starting 11 was announced, the only swaps were on the back line, with center back Rodrigo Schlegel stepping in for David Brekalo and Rafael Santos starting over Kyle Smith. It is almost impossible to know what the coaching staff sees in training to warrant roster changes, but many, including our own David Rohe, spoke last week that it may be time again to shake things up in order to find a victory. I don’t expect major changes down the home stretch, with the exception of an injury or suspension, and against Nashville, Pareja tipped his hand as such that he more or less has his established squad at this point. As for effectiveness, Santos didn’t play notably better than Smith and Schlegel picked up a needless yellow card and was replaced by Brekalo at halftime.

Flirting with Disaster

Nashville opened the match on the front foot, commiting heavy numbers forward in the attack in the hopes of finding an early goal. Throughout the opening minutes, there were at least two golden opportunities for Nashville that should have seen the visitors up one or two goals. Fortunately for Orlando City, Sam Surridge hit the post with an early chance, and Pedro Gallese stood strong on a 1-v-1 situation against Alex Muyl to kept the visitors from finding success. It was a nervy opening but did not hurt the Lions in the long run.

Blink and Miss It

Any fans who had to take an early bathroom break inside Inter&Co Stadium might have returned back to their seats to find the game in a very different position than they left it as Orlando City took control of the match with two goals in the span of four minutes. Ivan Angulo and Facundo Torres made it 2-0 before the quarter-hour mark, capitalizing on a defensive mistake and then a beautiful cross. A week removed from squandering scoring opportunities with poorly placed shot attempts, it was refreshing to see Orlando capitalize early. Martin Ojeda did well to knock a wayward Joe Willis cross to Angulo (while in the air) to set up the first goal and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson provided excellent service on the second.

Yellow after Yellow

Who hurt referee Victor Rivas? While overseeing a match is a challenging job, requiring part skill and part art, it seemed as if the match got away from Rivas early with the physical nature of two teams that generally do not like one another. In a game that was fairly even in terms of number of fouls called, Rivas was quick to pull the yellow after a few scuffles to try to regain control — to the tune of three cards in the opening 45 minutes, which were all directed at Orlando City. Schlegel, Ramiro Enrique, and Robin Jansson all picked up bookings early and, fortunately for Orlando City, none of the cards came back to negatively effect the match outcome.

In the second half, three more cards were issued to Santos, Wilder Cartagena, and Cesar Araujo for various infractions. If you were keeping score at home, it took until the 68th minute for a Nashville player to get booked, and the yellow score tab ended 6-1 in sarcastic favor of Orlando. Again, Mr. Rivas…are you ok?

A Brace for Facu

With two goals against Nashville SC, Torres is now up to 10 goals on the season and 15 goal-scoring contributions for the campaign. That puts the Designated Player just four goal-scoring contributions short of his Orlando City career high of 19, which he set in his first season with the team. After a slow start to the year, Torres has now scored six goals across all competions since July 1. Orlando City will need to lean on its star player down the stretch and to see Torres bag a brace against Nashville should be a reassuring sign to all OCSC fans. A fingertip from Willis is all that prevented a hat trick, as the Nashville keeper did well to deflect a possible third goal onto the roof of the net in the second half.


Those are our takeaways from a great rebound victory. The Lions have a bye week before welcoming the New England Revolution to town on Sept. 14. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below and as always Vamos Orlando!

Orlando City

Orlando City Experiencing Its Golden Age of Offense

Facundo Torres and Duncan McGuire are leading Orlando City to its best offensive seasons.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

For most of Orlando City’s MLS history, finding multiple reliable goal scorers has been a struggle. As a result, the team has often been further down the league in goals scored, decreasing its goal difference. However, the duo of Facundo Torres and Duncan McGuire has changed that trend and provided the Lions with their best offensive seasons.

Orlando City drafted Cyle Larin with the first pick of the 2015 MLS SuperDraft and he quickly became a reliable source of goals. The Canadian international scored a team-record 18 goals across all competitions in his rookie year, and then scored 14 in the following season.

Larin’s production dipped slightly in 2017, scoring 12 goals, and the striker departed following that season. Orlando City has struggled to find someone that can provide the same scoring threat since. Over the next five years, only Nani and Chris Mueller scored double-digit goals in multiple seasons, each doing so twice. Prior to 2023, four other players scored double-digit goals in one season, as Dom Dwyer did it in 2018, Tesho Akindele in 2019, Daryl Dike in 2021, and Ercan Kara in 2022.

The lack of consistent goal production changed in 2022 when the club signed Facundo Torres from Uruguayan side Penarol. The young Designated Player made an immediate impact for his new team, scoring 13 goals in all competitions, including a brace in the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup final to lift the Lions to their first major trophy.

Torres and Kara combined for an impressive 25 goals that season. Unfortunately, the pair didn’t have much support and the Lions only scored 44 goals in 2022. However, that changed the following year when Orlando City drafted former Creighton striker and Hermann Trophy winner Duncan McGuire.

Torres increased his goal tally to 14 in his second season in Orlando and McGuire netted a team-high 15 in his rookie campaign. The 29 goals scored by the pair were the most by two Orlando City players in an MLS season, topping the 28 goals scored by Larin and Kaká in 2015.

The goal tally has increased in 2024, with Torres scoring a career-high 18 goals, McGuire adding 11, and Ramiro Enrique chipping in with 11 of his own across all competitions. It’s the first time an Orlando City team — including the USL Pro era — has had three players score double-digit goals in one year. It’s also the first time in club history Orlando has had multiple double-digit goal scorers in three consecutive years.

The production by multiple players has seen a significant increase in goals scored by the Lions over the past two seasons. After netting only 44 league goals in 2022, Orlando City scored 55 times in 2023, tying the team’s MLS record previously set in 2016. The Lions surpassed that number this year by scoring 58 goals with one game remaining in the regular season.

The club’s record-setting scoring output comes at a time when Orlando City is playing some of its best defense in its MLS history. The 2023 squad only conceded 39 goals, the fewest in a 34-game season. While it has conceded nine more this year, it’s the second-fewest goals conceded in a season, tying the 2021 team.

The past two seasons have seen Orlando City set new club records in the MLS era for highest goal difference in a 34-game season. The only two years in which the Lions had a positive goal difference prior to 2023 was in a shortened 2020 season, when they were +15 and in 2021 when they were +2. They set a new record in 2023 by finishing +16 and are +10 this year.

The increase in goals and goal difference has resulted in better performances throughout the season. The team set a new club record with 63 points last season, placing second in the Supporters’ Shield standings. Orlando has amassed 52 points so far this season, the club’s second-highest point total since joining MLS.

While the play of the back line has contributed to the team’s recent success, goal production has been the catalyst. For the first time in its history, Orlando City has two reliable goal scorers who have produced in back-to-back seasons. The result is the best back-to-back seasons in the club’s MLS history.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 10/14/24

Getting to know Martin Ojeda, Orlando Pride unbeaten run ends, USMNT beats Panama, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you over the holiday weekend. I’ve been busy working at Under Armour and finishing up stream monitoring for an NISA Playoff semifinal match in California. Let’s also wish a happy birthday to Orlando City B forward Wilfredo Rivera. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links. 

Getting to Know Martin Ojeda

Orlando City midfielder Martin Ojeda was featured as part of the club’s video series to learn more about the players. In the video, Ojeda gave insight into his beginnings playing soccer when he was three years old and playing for his neighborhood club in South America. He also discussed his style of play, focusing on the attack, creating opportunities, and stating that there is always room to improve. You can check out the rest of the video below.

Pride Unbeaten Run Ends in Loss to Thorns

The Orlando Pride suffered their first loss of the NWSL season on Friday, falling 2-0 to the Portland Thorns. Morgan Weaver and Christine Sinclair scored for the Thorns to seal the win and end Orlando’s 24-match unbeaten streak dating back to Oct. 6 of last season. Despite the loss, the Pride remain in first place in the NWSL table with 57 points after winning the NWSL Shield a week ago. The next match for the Pride will be on Sunday on the road against NJ/NY Gotham FC.

Keys to Success in Orlando Pride Turnaround

The Athletic ($) took a deep dive into the process that led to the Orlando Pride turnaround this season. The article begins with the Pride joining the NWSL in 2016, their up-and-down seasons, and how recent changes in the last couple of years have set the foundation for the club’s success in 2024. It also shared some unique insights from interviews with staff and players and how the club was eager to make changes after finishing in the bottom half of the table for the last five seasons. The most interesting takeaway for me from reading the article was Head Coach Seb Hines speaking on the process of changing the culture of the club, building that underdog mindset, and how he keeps his players motivated. Although the 24-match unbeaten streak is over, the Pride are breaking records this season and won their first trophy. There’s been plenty to be excited about for the Pride this season, and hopefully they will carry this momentum into the playoffs and make a deep run.

USMNT Defeats Panama in Mauricio Pochettino’s Coaching Debut

The U.S. Men’s National Team defeated Panama 2-0 on Saturday at Q2 Stadium, securing the first win in Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino’s debut in a friendly. Yunus Musah and Ricardo Pepi scored the USMNT’s goals in the second half to secure the victory. Matt Turner started in goal, and Christian Pulisic added an assist to set up Musah’s goal. The USMNT will face Mexico in Guadalajara on Tuesday. Pulisic, Pepi, and Weston McKennie will miss the match to return to their respective European clubs. Marlon Fossey and Zack Steffen will also return to their clubs.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City goalkeeper Pedro Gallese earned a clean sheet on international duty as his Peru side defeated Uruguay 1-0 in a CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying match on Friday. Wilder Cartagena and Facundo Torres did not play in the match.
  • Orlando Pride midfielder Angelina and forward Adriana were called up to the Brazil Women’s National Team for friendlies against Colombia on Oct. 26 and Oct. 29.
  • Sports Illustrated listed five MLS players that could move abroad this off-season, mentioning Orlando City’s Facundo Torres and Duncan McGuire as potential targets.
  • Angel City FC forward Christen Press scored her first goal in 28 months over the weekend in a 1-1 draw against the North Carolina Courage. Press had been sidelined due to an ACL injury requiring four surgeries before returning to action.
  • Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga broke an NWSL record after scoring her 19th goal of the season in a 1-0 win over Bay FC over the weekend.

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

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 10/11/24

Orlando Pride in Portland, U.S. men and women news, international upsets, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Milton has finally made its way out of Florida, though many of us will be dealing with the aftermath for a while. We hope that you and yours are safe and that the damage is minimal. I know that many are still without power — which is why I’m writing Lion Links today instead of Marcus Mitchell. Fortunately, the Orlando Pride play in Portland tonight, although it will be a late one. Let’s get to the links.

Pride in Portland

The Orlando Pride may be the NWSL Shield winners, but with three matches left in the regular season, the job is not done. Now, the club will take on the Portland Thorns. The Thorns haven’t been great as of late, but Providence Park is a tough place to play. While the club is focused on the upcoming playoffs, the Pride still want to finish undefeated in the regular season. Portland, like many clubs, are fighting for a playoff spot.

USWNT Players in the News

Lindsey Horan didn’t have the best Olympics in my opinion, but she is doing very well in her start to Lyon’s season. She’s scored five goals in four matches to help Lyon top the table. Back home, Crystal Dunn is being honored by Empowerment on the East River hosted by Black Players for Change.

USMNT in Action

The USMNT plays its first match under Mauricio Pochettino Saturday night against Panama, and you can watch it on multiple platforms. There are no conflicts of interest this go-around, but next year, some players will need to choose between playing in the Club World Cup or the Gold Cup.

International Results

Orlando City, and all the other teams and leagues, aren’t playing right now due to an international break. The matches have already begun. Perhaps the biggest news was Greece’s stunning 2-1 win over England. The victory puts Greece atop Group B2 in the UEFA Nations League competition.

Over in Group A2, Italy blew a two-goal lead to draw Belgium 2-2. There were plenty of other results, including Erling Haaland becoming his country’s all-time top scorer after scoring a brace in Norway’s 3-0 win over Slovenia. If you want to catch more matches, here’s where you can watch.

Free Kicks


That will do it for today. Check back tonight for our Pride match recap, and follow The Mane Land on Twitter during the match. Vamos Orlando!

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