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Orlando City vs. Nashville SC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 3-0 victory over Nashville SC?

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2 weeks ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City rebounded from a bad loss a week ago, defeating Nashville SC 3-0 in a big home victory. The Lions scored twice in four minutes early in the first half to change the nature of the match. Orlando City weathered Nashville’s press to get back on the winning side of the ledger.

 Let’s take a look at how Orlando City’s players rated individually in a home matchup against an Eastern Conference opponent.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6.5 — Gallese started the match with a huge one-on-one save in the eighth minute to deny Alex Muyl. He almost had a horrible giveaway when trying to chip ball past Surridge while next to the right post, but it rebounded into his arms. Fortunately, Nashville only got one shot on target, but Gallese did what was needed to keep the clean sheet.

D, Rafael Santos, 5.5 — Santos was not his worst, but he was far from his best on the night. He left Muyl alone on Nashville’s first corner. A little later he allowed Sam Surridge to beat him to the back post. Fortunately, the post made the save to keep Nashville off the scoreboard. He had a bad giveaway in 30th minute, and failed to settle an easy pass in 33rd minute ruining a promising attack. Santos also earned a yellow card to start the second half. The Brazilian led the team with 82 touches, completed 85.3% of his 61 passes, and was accurate on five of his 10 long balls, with one cross. Defensively, he made one tackle, one interception, and four clearances. He committed three fouls, including the aforementioned yellow card. He was subbed off for Kyle Smith in the 82nd minute.

D, Robin Jansson, 6 — Jansson almost got a rare goal but missed his header, which was set up by a Facundo Torres header in the 26th minute. Like plenty of others on Orlando City, he earned a dumb yellow on a bad challenge. Jansson did make a good header to clear the ball on one of Hany Mukhtar’s many free kicks. The captain had 63 touches, completed 87.7% of his 57 passes, and was accurate on two of his seven long balls. Defensively, he had two clearances and one blocked shot. His one shot was not on target, he committed one foul, and he suffered one foul. Jansson did well after his yellow card to play smart down the stretch.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 5 — Schlegel started the match with a good clearance in the fifth minute but got too high up the pitch, allowing Muyl a run at goal shortly after. He only had 22 touches, including 18 passes at a 72.2% rate, and was successful on one of his five long balls. Defensively, he made four clearances. Schlegel also earned his obligatory yellow card for kicking the ball after a foul was given against Nashville in the 17th minute. It was a bit of a forgettable night for the center back and he was subbed off at the half.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 6 — Thorhallsson reverted to form following a poor performance in the last match, though it took a bit to settle in. He fouled Muyl in the sixth minute to give Nashville a free kick. He had a bad giveaway after a good interception in the 30th minute. I know it might not sound like he had a great night, but that was most of the bad, and he provided the assist on Torres’ first goal. Thorhallsson had 54 touches and completed 80.7% of his 31 passes and two of his five long balls. He made two crosses, with one key pass, and drew two fouls. Defensively, he recorded one interception, six clearances, and one foul committed. He was one of the few Lions who didn’t earn a yellow card.

MF, César Araujo, 6 — Araujo was his normal self in the defensive midfield. He finished with one tackle, two clearances, and one foul committed, which resulted in a yellow card. Normally, defensive midfielders earn fouls and sometimes yellow cards. They also earn fouls for their team, and Araujo earned five fouls for Orlando City. He had 57 touches and completed 84.4% of his 45 passes. He made two key passes and completed one of his two long balls.

MF, Wilder Cartagena, 6 — Cartagena was a bit undisciplined in this match, though he was active with 72 touches. He and Mukhtar battled all night, with Cartagena committing four fouls, and finally earning a yellow card after several warnings. Defensively, he made five tackles, one interception, and one clearance. He completed 91.1% of his 56 passes and was successful on his one long ball. He also drew two fouls. I’m a little surprised he got away with as much as he did, but ultimately he frustrated Nashville, which is his job.

MF, Iván Angulo, 6.5 — Angulo couldn’t have started things off any better than he did, being in the right place at the right time to take Martin Ojeda’s pass inside the box, turn, and put the ball in the back of the net. It was one of his two shots on the night. He roamed up and down the pitch like his normal self. Angulo had 52 touches, completed 75% of his 40 passes, including one key pass and one cross. He was subbed off in the 82nd minute.

MF, Martín Ojeda, 7 — Ojeda had a good night. He was elusive and proficient with the ball at his feet. He set up the first goal when he intercepted Joe Willis’ bad pass, and one-timed it to Angulo to put it in the goal. He also started the attack on the second goal when he nutmegged his defender to get the ball into the attack. He sent the ball into the box on a free kick that ultimately ended up on Jansson’s head, but not in the back of the goal. His one foul wasn’t really a foul though it resulted in a free kick for Nashville. Ojeda had 42 touches, completing 88% of his 25 passes, including one of his two long balls, and three key passes. He also took one shot that was on target, though he didn’t get the goal. He did get the assist on Angulo’s goal.

MF, Facundo Torres, 7.5 (MotM) — Scoring a brace was more than enough for Torres to earn Man of the Match honors. On his first goal, he took the pass from Ojeda, sent it forward to Thorhallsson, and then made his way to the other side of the box to receive the cross for the second goal of the match. It was Torres who gave Jansson a chance to score off the free kick with a header. He was wide open on his second goal, but he couldn’t have taken it better, putting the ball over Willis and just under the crossbar for the goal. Torres had 52 touches, completed 90.2% of his 42 passes, one of his two long balls, and two key passes. He took five shots, with three on target, and put two in the back of the net. It was an excellent night from the Designated Player.

F, Ramiro Enrique, 6 — You could tell that Enrique wanted to score in this match. He managed one shot, which was on target. Unfortunately, Willis got enough of the ball to have the shot hit the post. His tenacity resulted in a dumb yellow foul in 20th minute when he was trying to get the ball back. Enrique had 23 touches, and completed 80% of his 15 passes. Defensively, he made one tackle, had one blocked shot, and committed one foul, resulting in a yellow card. It was a good night for the youngster despite not getting a goal. He subbed off in the 68th minute.

Substitutes

D, David Brekalo (46′), 6.5 — Brekalo came on as a halftime substitute for Schlegel, who was on a yellow card. He had two chances on goal, including one on a set piece in the 61st minute, but he couldn’t direct his back heel attempt on frame. He also made a good clearance in the 67th minute. He actually didn’t commit any fouls or receive a yellow card. Brekalo had 27 touches, and completed 80% of his 15 passes. Defensively, he made two tackles, one clearance, and one interception, and he blocked two shots. He did enough to get the start in Orlando City’s next match.

F, Duncan McGuire, (68’), 6.5 — McGuire didn’t get the start, but he put in the effort once he came on. He made a good run in the 73rd minute, but couldn’t get past the defenders to get a shot, though he did win a corner kick. McGuire provided the assist on Torres’ second goal. He had 17 touches and completed 44.4% of his nine passes with one key pass.

MF, Nico Lodeiro, (69’), 6 — Lodeiro helped Orlando City see out the match after coming on for Ojeda. He had 20 touches, completing 88.2% of his 17 passes, including three key passes, including a secondary assist on the third goal. He attempted one shot, though it wasn’t on target.

MF, Luis Muriel (82′), N/A — Despite only managing 16 touches, Muriel got a shot off. The shot was from outside the box, and it sailed over the crossbar. He completed 88.1% of his 11 passes. Muriel made one tackle, committed one foul, and suffered one foul. He wasn’t on long enough to earn a grade.

D, Kyle Smith (82′), N/A — Smith finished with 18 touches in his short time on the pitch. He completed 78.6% of his 14 passes, including one successful long ball. Defensively, he made one tackle. As with Muriel, Smith’s time on the pitch was too short to warrant a grade.

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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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions look for their first-ever season sweep of the Revs.

Published

4 hours ago

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September 14, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City and the New England Revolution (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). This is the second of the two scheduled meetings between the two MLS Eastern Conference rivals this season.

Here’s what you need to know for the match.

History

The Lions are 4-7-7 in the regular-season series against New England and 5-8-7 in all competitions. At home, Orlando City is 3-1-5 against the Revs in the regular season and 4-2-5 in all competitions.

The last meeting between the teams took place on July 13 at Gillette Stadium, where the Lions won for the first time, handing the Revs a 3-1 home loss. Facundo Torres’ brace led the way to an Orlando comeback, with Ramiro Enrique also scoring to overturn an early 1-0 deficit provided by Giacomo Vrioni.

The teams last met in Orlando on Oct. 7, 2023, with the Lions winning 3-2 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates. Orlando City clinched second in the Eastern Conference as Duncan McGuire and Torres built a 2-0 lead. Pedro Gallese gave up a soft goal from distance to Carles Gil, but Ivan Angulo pulled that one back three minutes later. Gil added a second deep in stoppage time to improve the result cosmetically.

New England got the better of the Lions in the previous matchup of the 2023 season, winning 3-1 at Gillette Stadium on June 17. After a scoreless first half, the Revs went up by two with goals from Emmanuel Boateng and Gustavo Bou 18 minutes apart. McGuire pulled one back late but Gil scored the dagger five minutes later.

These teams met at Exploria Stadium on Aug. 6, 2022 and the previously struggling Revolution whipped Orlando City, 3-0. New England got goals from unlikely sources, as central midfielders Matt Polster and Wilfrid Kaptoum and center back Henry Kessler provided the offense. The teams met at Gillette Stadium on June 15 of that year, and the Revs went ahead on a Gil goal, but the Lions pulled that back with a Robin Jansson strike en route to a 1-1 road draw.

New England went unbeaten in the 2021 season series. The teams played to a 2-2 draw at Exploria Stadium on Oct. 24, 2021. The Lions built a 2-0 lead through goals by Nani and Daryl Dike, but two late Adam Buksa goals allowed the Revs to steal a point. The teams met at Gillette Stadium just over a month prior to that draw in Orlando, with Nani’s missed penalty a costly one in a 2-1 Revs home win. The Revolution jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a goal by Buksa and an own goal off of Rodrigo Schlegel, in which the referee was quite lenient with Buksa’s treatment of the Orlando defender in the lead-up to Tajon Buchanan’s cross. Dike pulled one back for the Lions and won a penalty, but Nani’s attempt to go down the middle was read at the last second by Matt Turner, who got his shoulder to it to preserve the lead.

The Revolution ended the Lions’ season at Exploria Stadium in the 2020 playoffs, knocking Orlando City out of MLS Cup contention in the conference semifinal round on Nov. 29, 2020. That 3-1 win by the Revs was the first road win for either side in the series in any competition. Gil put the Revs up early from the penalty spot after a call against Uri Rosell, and Bou doubled the lead eight minutes later, finishing a play that started with a Nani turnover. Junior Urso pulled a goal back before the halftime whistle, but Mauricio Pereyra was sent off for a studs-up challenge on Polster at the hour mark. Still, Nani had a chance to equalize from the spot, but a poor penalty was saved by Turner. Bou added a late insurance goal.

In the final year of the pre-pandemic times, the Revs went 1-0-1 in the season series. The Lions and Revolution met at Exploria Stadium on Sept. 14, 2019, with Orlando overcoming a Tesho Akindele own goal and two deficits — the second by two goals — and rallying for a 3-3 draw. Akindele’s own goal opened the scoring 15 minutes in, but Nani tied things up less than 10 minutes later. Cristian Penilla and Bou scored goals five minutes apart just before halftime to seemingly give the visitors control. But Dom Dwyer pulled one back after the restart and Nani tied it up with more than a half hour to play.

The teams also met at Gillette Stadium in 2019 on July 27, and the Revs put the Lions on full blast, 4-1. Bou scored within the first two minutes of the game, and the Revolution got goals from Penilla, Gil, and Diego Fagundez. Akindele scored to avoid the shutout.

The teams also met at Exploria Stadium in U.S. Open Cup action that year on June 19, with the Lions scoring twice in a 30-minute extra time session and holding on for a 2-1 victory. Benji Michel and Akindele staked Orlando to a 2-0 lead before Justin Rennicks pulled one back off a Gil back-post cross. City was able to see the game out.

The last meeting of 2018 saw the Revs top a depleted Orlando side, 2-0 in Gillette Stadium on Oct. 13. Penilla and Fagundez provided the offense. In the first matchup of 2018, the teams combined for six goals in a 3-3 draw at Orlando City Stadium on Aug. 4. Orlando battled back from a 2-0 deficit after Juan Agudelo and Penilla found the net. Dwyer scored the first, and Amro Tarek added his first MLS goal to level things. Teal Bunbury restored the Revolution’s lead, but Scott Sutter headed home a Yoshimar Yotún set piece delivery in stoppage time to rescue a point for the Lions.

Orlando City and New England split the season series in 2017. City completed a 6-1 demolition of 10-man New England at home Sept. 27, 2017. Kaká scored a brace, with Dwyer getting his first home goal as an MLS Lion and Yotún and Antonio Nocerino each scoring their first-ever goal with OCSC. Seb Hines also scored for Orlando and  Lee Nguyen got the Revs’ only tally on a free kick. New England won at Gillette Stadium that year by a 4-0 count and it could have been worse. Kei Kamara netted a hat trick and Bunbury also scored, with Nguyen assisting on all four goals to tie an MLS record. Jose Aja was sent off after receiving two yellow cards.

The Lions went 1-0-2 in the series in 2016, winning 3-1 at home on July 31. The teams played a controversial 2-2 draw in Orlando on April 17, 2016. The second 2016 meeting reached the same final score on April 30 in New England.

The teams met twice in 2015, with Orlando City rallying from a 2-0 deficit in the final 17 minutes to draw 2-2 at the Citrus Bowl in April. The Sept. 5 rematch at Gillette Stadium didn’t go as well, with New England taking a 3-0 win. Fagundez, Agudelo and Chris Tierney scored for the Revolution.

Overview

Orlando City hasn’t played in two weeks since defeating Nashville SC 3-0 at home Sept. 7. The Lions are 6-1-3 across all competitions in their last 10 matches. In league play, Orlando is 1-1-0 since the restart after Leagues Cup, and the Lions are just 4-5-4 at home in 2024, but tonight presents an opportunity to pull back to .500 at Inter&Co Stadium on the season.

The Revolution sit 12th in the Eastern Conference entering tonight but New England is just five points out of a spot in the postseason play-in game. The Revs have taken just one point from their last two matches (0-1-1) after a 2-2 draw last weekend at home against St. Louis City. New England is 4-8-0 on the road this year.

Having any success against New England usually demands that the opposition keeps tabs on Gil, one of the league’s most lethal playmakers and a guy who can score goals of his own as well. Gil has six goals — just three behind Revs’ leading scorer Giacomo Vrioni’s nine — and leads New England with eight assists. Vrioni is the key focal point for the Orlando defense to stop up top, and he’s already got a goal against Orlando this season. New England will be without suspended Head Coach Caleb Porter tonight after he criticized the officiating in his team’s recent draw against St. Louis.

“We have tried to keep the players in competition mode, and our training has been just exactly what we do normally when we are competing, whether it’s a weekend game or in between the week,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “We’re good. The work has been normal, and now we have the national team players here, so we’re ready.”

Orlando City will be without Mason Stajduhar (lower leg). New England will be without Thomas Chancalay (knee).

Match Content

Projected Lineups

Orlando City (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: Kyle Smith, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.

Defensive Midfielders: Cesar Araujo, Wilder Cartagena.

Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Martin Ojeda, Facundo Torres.

Forwards: Ramiro Enrique.

New England Revolution (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Aljaz Ivacic.

Defenders: Will Sands, Dave Romney, Xavier Arreaga, Nick Lima.

Defensive Midfielders: Mark-Anthony Kaye, Matt Polster.

Attacking Midfielders: Emmanuel Boateng, Carles Gil, Esmir Bajraktarevic.

Forward: Giacomo Vrioni.

Referees

REF: Tori Penso.
AR1: Brooke Mayo.
AR2: Kathryn Nesbitt.
4TH: Rosendo Mendoza.
VAR: Geoff Gamble.
AVAR: Jeff Muschik.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30p.m. ET.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Radio: Real Radio 104.1 FM (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow along at @TheManeLand, as well as Orlando City’s official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC).

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Orlando City

Intelligence Report: Orlando City vs. New England Revolution

Get the inside scoop on the Revs, courtesy of someone who knows them best.

Published

1 day ago

on

September 13, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

After a two-week break between matches, Orlando City is back in action Saturday and will try to make it two wins on the bounce after handily dispatching Nashville SC 3-0 during the team’s last outing. This week sees the Lions play their second game of the season against the New England Revolution, following the first meeting back in July when Orlando grabbed a first-ever victory at Gillette Stadium.

A date with the Revs means I caught up with Jake Catanese of the always excellent independent site The Blazing Musket. As usual, Jake was very helpful in getting us up to speed on New England, and I also answered some of his questions about OCSC, so make sure you check those out over at their place.

The Revs have tallied a perfectly balanced record of 1-1-1 since Leagues Cup ended. What’s been your general impression of the team’s play during those games?

Jake Catanese: About what the record has said, a true mixed bag. A blowout win in Montreal, where the Revs just hammered the counter and scored in bunches, a tough loss at RSL where they got outplayed but gave away goals on silly mistakes, and then a really interesting draw against St. Louis last time out that I think a lot of people heard about.

Overall, the Revs have really improved as the season has gone on, and a lot of that has to do with health but also a drastic shift in aggression. When the Revs are forced to sit in their own half and ping the ball around, they look really ineffective when they eventually do get the ball into the attacking half. But when New England catches you backpedaling, it’s only a matter of time before they find someone open in and around the box for a good shooting chance. I think New England is one of the best countering/transition teams in the league, but there’s still long stretches of play where they choose not to push the ball forward and that is usually playing into their weakness.

New England has conceded 51 goals in 26 games, which is third most in the Eastern Conference. Is there concern about the defense, and if so, how has coach Caleb Porter gone about addressing it?

JC: The defense has largely been fine. The goal difference makes things seem a lot worse because the New England just had a lot of trouble generating anything offensively in the first month or two of the season. There’s been a handful of blowouts where the Revs were dealing with heavy squad rotation and injuries, and playing without Carles Gil really hampers the Revs in the transition game, so largely when the Revs are playing at full strength they’ve been competitive. There have been a lot of glaring individual errors leading to goals, but a lot of those occur when the Revs are pinned back and passing amongst themselves, which as we’ve already stated, is a bad thing.

The Revs are facing a dilemma at center back though, with the Henry Kessler trade to St. Louis. He was their only CB under a guaranteed deal for 2025. That means they have decisions to make on Tim Parker, Dave Romney, and Xavier Arreaga, as well as veterans Matt Polster and Nick Lima, among others. Newcomer Alhassan Yusuf has yet to make his debut (international duty with Nigeria as soon as his visa cleared) and could add a lot of help from the central defensive midfield position. Right now there should be enough playing time down the stretch for the three center backs in particular to show what they can do and perhaps force the Revs into some tough decisions. 

Despite any defensive shakiness, statistical or otherwise, the Revs are only five points out of the last play-in place and have at least one game in hand on all of the teams in the East besides Columbus. What needs to happen for New England to get into the playoffs, and how far do you think they could go if they get there?

JC: Well, kind of a lot. The Revs only have three home games remaining and they dropped points to a not great St. Louis team at home that they really needed. Their final two games are at Columbus and at Miami, where they might force Messi to pry their 2021 Shield campaign single-season points record from their cold, dead hands. At this point, dropping any more points at home could be the final nail in the playoff coffin and the Revs are going to have to win probably two of their upcoming road games against Orlando, Charlotte, and Houston, which are all solidly in the midtable. 

At best, the Revs can get into the play-in game, but then they’re more than likely going to face Miami as the top-seed in a three-game series if they even advance in the one-off match. If the Revs get hot and Gil goes on a 2021 MVP-level heater and Luca Langoni and/or Giacomo Vrioni are finding the back of the net every week, they can absolutely scare someone, but I don’t see them getting past Miami or Columbus in the first round. So that means the Revs need to jump up 10+ points into Orlando/Charlotte range to be one of the middle seeds to make a deep run, and they’re just too far back to make up that ground, barring a massive win streak and probably a catastrophic collapse from a team or two ahead of them.

Are there any players who will be unavailable due to injury, suspension, etc.? What is your projected starting XI and score prediction?

JC: Hehehe, well, we have a head coach who’s not available due to suspension, but I think everyone knows that. It was kind of hard to miss.

On the injury front, Tomas Chancalay is out for the year which is a bummer. Brandon Bye missed last week’s game but might be fit to be on the bench this week. Esmir Bajraktarevic, Arreaga, and Yusuf all return from international duty.

4-2-3-1: Aljaz Ivacic; Peyton Miller, Xavier Arrega, Tim Parker, Nick Lima; Matt Polster, Ian Harkes; Luca Langoni, Carles Gil, Dylan Borrero; Giacomo Vrioni.
About as solid of a starting group as the Revs can do, with Will Sands possibly starting again at fullback over Lima. If Yusuf is ready to start, he could feature next to Polster, and at some point Esmir should appear. Since he subbed on for Bosnia and had an assist to some guy named Edin Dzeko on his debut for them, I think he’s in good form.

The Revs need this one but the PawedCast gods demand their usual 2-2 draw.

Thank you to Jake for the helpful insight into the Revolution. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 9/13/24

Orlando City prepares for the New England Revolution, Morgan Gautrat signs new contract, Orlando Pride play tonight, and more.

Published

1 day ago

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September 13, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

It’s Friday the 13th, so make sure to stay away from black cats and broken mirrors. I’ll be a bit festive today and grab some early Halloween decorations and a costume for my cat that he will definitely despise me for. Let’s jump into today’s links!

Orlando City Gets Ready for New England

After getting last weekend off, Orlando City is back in action Saturday with a home game against the New England Revolution at 7:30 p.m. The Lions are coming off of a dominant 3-0 win over Nashville SC and are seventh in the Eastern Conference. Meanwhile, the Revolution played during the international break and had to settle for a 2-2 draw against St. Louis City. Orlando Head Coach Oscar Pareja spoke on how the Lions have been trying to maintain momentum during the break to get another win against the Revolution this season.

Morgan Gautrat Signs New Contract

Orlando Pride midfielder Morgan Gautrat has signed a new deal with the club that will last through the 2025 season, with an option for 2026 as well. The Pride traded for Gautrat in January of this year and she’s made 14 appearances across all competitions so far. The 31-year-old has provided important depth for the Pride’s midfield, filling in when needed to cover for injuries and international absences. She’s the latest player to sign a new deal with the club, as Orlando aims to keep most of its roster for next year.

Orlando Pride Game Headlines NWSL Slate

Although tonight’s match between the Orlando Pride and Kansas City Current won’t be a battle of undefeated teams like the last time they squared off in July, it’s still a heavyweight matchup. The Current will likely have revenge on their minds, as they have an opportunity to do what the Pride did earlier this year and snap their opponent’s unbeaten streak. It will also be another duel between two of the league’s top scorers in Barbra Banda and Temwa Chawinga.

Elsewhere in the league this weekend, the North Carolina Courage will host Bay FC in an intriguing match as both teams jockey for playoff position. Pride fans will also likely be keeping an eye on the Washington Spirit’s match Sunday against the Houston Dash. The Spirit are currently six points behind the Pride with just six games left this season.

Gauging the MLS Playoff Race

The MLS playoff picture is becoming clearer and clearer each week, and Andrew Wiebe assessed where each team stands. Orlando was grouped alongside the New York Red Bulls, New York City FC, and Charlotte FC as Eastern Conference sides who should qualify for the playoffs and have a chance at hosting in the first round. Another strong summer by the Lions has put a gap between them and a playoff bubble that includes teams that have underperformed but have the talent to make some noise this postseason.

As for the Western Conference, the Portland Timbers have established themselves as a potential dark horse amid a strong run of form, while FC Dallas, Minnesota United, and Austin FC are poised to fight for the last playoff spot. It should all make for an exciting final stretch of the season.

Free Kicks

  • The cooking competition between Nico Lodeiro and Morgan Gautrat continued with a pair of chicken dishes. The video also includes handy recipes in case you want to try making them yourself.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a smooth Friday the 13th!

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