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Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did the men in purple perform during Orlando City’s 2-0 victory over Charlotte FC?

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9 months ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City played a third straight game at home and picked up a third clean sheet win, beating Charlotte FC 2-0 in a match that ended up being a pretty comfortable affair for the men in purple. Facundo Torres and Duncan McGuire got on the scoresheet again, the defense played lights out, an the Lions picked up all three points.

Let’s have a look at how the individuals performed in Wednesday night’s victory.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6.5 — It was a fairly quiet night in between the sticks for El Pulpo. Charlotte took four shots but only put two of them on target, both of which were placed comfortably close to Gallese, and were saved with no problem. At 72%, his passing accuracy could have been better, although he also completed two long balls and even picked up the secondary assist on McGuire’s goal. All in all, a nice, easy night’s work.

D, Rafael Santos, 6.5 — He was given the chance to try to replicate his stunning goal from the weekend, but Charlotte was wise to it and his shot was blocked. That was the only one the fullback took, but he also chipped in with two crosses and two long balls going forward. He had an excellent defensive night with a game-high four tackles, three clearances, one interception, and 91% passing accuracy. He’s been putting in vastly improved performances lately after a shaky start to the season, and Wednesday night was no exception.

D, Robin Jansson, 7.5 — Charlotte rarely threatened OCSC’s goal, and the Beefy Swede was a big reason why. He put in a composed and commanding performance at the back, and helped snuff out the few dangerous moments that the visitors did muster. He totaled four interceptions and five clearances, both of which were game highs, drew two fouls, and completed five long balls while passing with 89% accuracy. He did have a scary moment in the first half when he committed a silly turnover in his own half, but other than that it was the kind of performance we’re used to seeing.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 7 — Schlegel’s performance complemented Jansson’s perfectly. He stepped into the spaces the captain vacated the few times he ventured forward and did a good job marshalling his side of the back line. He recorded two tackles, one interception, three clearances, and eight long balls while passing with 93% accuracy. He’s another guy who’s been playing a lot better after having some difficult moments during the first few months of the season, and Wednesday was an example of what he can look like when he’s on form.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 6.5 — DDT provided exactly the sort of performance that won him the starting right back role, as he was steady, didn’t make mistakes, and combined well with Torres going forward, even though it didn’t show up on the stat sheet. He finished with one tackle, three clearances, four long balls, and 83% passing accuracy. He gets a black mark for picking up a yellow card, but frankly it was a soft one, so it’s hard to hold it against him too much.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6.5 — Cesar did exactly what we’ve come to expect from him, as he ran a lot, did the dirty work in midfield, and took care of the ball. He even took a shot, which isn’t something you see every day, although it was blocked and didn’t come to anything. He recorded one interception, one clearance, drew a whopping seven fouls, completed eight long balls, passed with 87% accuracy, and committed two fouls of his own. The biggest downside of his performance was picking up a yellow card, which means he’ll be suspended for this weekend’s trip to Columbus due to accumulation.

MF, Wilder Cartagena, 7 — The Peruvian isn’t exactly known for his goal scoring, but he really should have gotten things started in the fourth minute when the ball found him in the box with a clear shooting lane. He blasted the ball directly at Kristijan Kahlina though, and the chance went wanting. He played a good game otherwise though, helping Araujo control the midfield and distributing the ball well. He finished with two tackles, one clearance, two completed dribbles, three fouls drawn, three fouls committed, four long balls, and 89% passing accuracy.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 6 — His game isn’t well-suited to opponents who put men behind the ball and bunker, but he still had good moments on offense. He did well to steal the ball and start the break with 20 minutes played, and while nothing came of it that time, he played a smart pass to find Martin Ojeda in the second half and picked up the secondary assist on the opening goal as a result. He finished with two tackles, two shots that were both blocked, one completed dribble, one foul drawn, and 94% passing accuracy.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 7.5 — As has usually been the case lately, Ojeda was involved in a lot of what Orlando City did well. His Olimpico attempt landing on the roof of the net was a moment to forget, but he did a lot of creative work from open play, particularly when drifting out towards the left side of the field. That’s the area that he ultimately created the goal from, as he made a nice diagonal run into space, kept his head up after receiving the ball from Angulo, and then played a perfectly weighted ball to the back post for Facundo Torres to smash home. His night finished with two fouls committed and a yellow card, one shot that was blocked, two key passes, one assist, three crosses, and 92% passing accuracy.

MF, Facundo Torres, 7.5 (MotM) — Another game brought another goal for Orlando’s main man, and it really could, and probably should, have been two. Headers aren’t a strong point of the little Uruguayan’s game, but he’s scored them before and he should have done better with the free one that he got in the first half. He made up for it with a venomous volley in the second though, and he once again was a source of danger throughout the game. He got a well-deserved bit of rest with a substitution as the game wound down, and his final stat line read three shots (one on target and two off target), one goal, one interception, one clearance, one foul committed, one foul drawn, three key passes, one long ball, and 80% passing accuracy. He gets the Man of the Match award, although there were several worthy candidates in this one.

F, Ramiro Enrique, 5.5 — It was a pretty quiet night for the Argentine, as he only recorded 11 touches during the 45 minutes he was on the field. His biggest moment of involvement came during the 20th minute. The Lions broke down the left hand side and Ojeda found Enrique on the edge of the box with a great pass, but the striker’s first touch was far too heavy and he lost possession of the ball. Like Angulo, this type of game doesn’t really play to his strengths, and it showed.

Substitutes

F, Duncan McGuire (45’), 7 — Dunc entered the fray after the halftime break, and put in an efficient 45 minutes. He actually had fewer touches than Enrique as he finished with seven, but it’s what he did with those touches that made all the difference. He took his goal superbly, timing his run to perfection and splitting the Charlotte center backs with ease before executing a textbook chip to beat Kahlina and double the Lions’ lead. His run pulled plenty of Charlotte’s attention away from Torres on the back side of goal on the first Orlando City strike. He finished with 83% passing accuracy, one foul committed, one clearance, one goal, and two shots (one on target, one off target). The only improvement could have come if he’d scored on his second chance of the game, a free (albeit tricky) header.

MF, Nicolas Lodeiro (63′), 6.5 — On as a second half sub for Martin Ojeda, Lodeiro offered a different look going forward than his South American counterpart. He did an excellent job taking care of the ball as he delivered all 11 of his passes accurately, and provided a key pass and a long ball as well. He took one shot which was blocked, and chipped in on defense with a tackle and an interception.

D, Kyle Smith (79′), N/A — Smith came on for Dagur Dan to give the Icelandic defender a rest and help close out the game. He turned in a steady performance and completed 80% of his passes but didn’t record any other statistics. He didn’t spend enough time on the field to earn a grade.

F, Luis Muriel (82′), N/A — Muriel entered the game to give Angulo some rest, and managed to be pretty involved during his short time on the field. On defense, he chipped in with one tackle and committed one foul, and also picked up a silly yellow card for kicking the ball away. Going forward, he completed one dribble, accurately delivered all eight of his passes, completed one key pass, and notched an assist on McGuire’s goal. He did so by bringing down Gallese’s goal kick, and played an excellent through ball to Dunc with his second touch to put his fellow striker through on goal. If Orlando can get regular goal contributions from him, it adds another dimension to an already dangerous offense.

MF, Luca Petrasso (82′), N/A — Petrasso made his first appearance of the season when he came on for Torres, as Oscar Pareja looked to simultaneously give his star man some rest while also closing down the game. Playing winger instead of fullback, Petrasso committed one foul, completed one cross, and accurately delivered the one pass he made, which was also a key pass. He was unlucky to not pick up an assist on that pass, as he picked out a great back-post ball for McGuire, who couldn’t put his stooped header in the back of the net.

That’s how I viewed the performances from another nice win by the good guys. What did you make of the game? Have your say down in the comments and be sure to vote for your Man of the Match. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City

Orlando City Striker Duncan McGuire Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

It’s the other shoulder this time, but Big Dunc is on the shelf for awhile again after undergoing surgery.

Published

23 hours ago

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June 6, 2025

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City announced today that Duncan McGuire has undergone arthroscopic surgery to repair the labrum in his left shoulder. The surgery was performed by Orlando City Chief Medical Officer Dr. Craig Mintzer of the Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute performed the surgery. Mintzer previously repaired the labrum and rotator cuff in McGuire’s right shoulder back in December for an injury he sustained in Orlando City’s playoff match against Charlotte FC Nov. 9 when he was pulled down by Djibril Diani.

The club’s press release said the 24-year-old striker’s return to play is expected “later this year.” The recovery given for his right shoulder surgery in late 2024 was listed as four to five months, but McGuire was able to come back and play much earlier than expected, appearing for the first time in 2025 in Orlando’s March 15 against the New York Red Bulls — at least a month before the earliest initial projection — however, this time there was no mention of damage to the rotator cuff.

Regardless, the Lions will be without the big target striker for a considerable amount of time.

McGuire had appeared in 12 matches during the regular season in 2025, starting three and scoring one goal and adding an assist. His goal came recently, serving as the game winner in Orlando’s 1-0 home victory over the Portland Timbers on May 24. He was recently listed as questionable on the club’s availability report ahead of the team’s most recent match against the Chicago Fire.

Orlando City drafted McGuire in the first round (No. 6 overall) in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft. After a breakout rookie campaign, in which the Omaha, NE native scored 14 goals, he was courted by several teams in Europe, signing with Blackburn Rovers, only to see the transfer rejected by the English Football League due to an administrative error by the EFL Championship club. After returning to Orlando, McGuire signed a new deal on Aug. 22 to remain a Lion. The new contract runs through 2027 with a club option for 2028. McGuire scored 10 goals and added three assists in 2024. For his Orlando City career, McGuire has appeared in 88 games (46 starts) across all competitions, scoring a total of 28 goals to go along with seven assists.

What It Means for Orlando City

McGuire appeared to be just finding his form, so this injury is unfortunate. The club didn’t put a timeline on McGuire’s recovery this time, but shaving a little off his 2024 recovery estimate, it’s likely that he’ll be out until at least some time in September.

Oscar Pareja has been favoring a 4-4-2 with Luis Muriel and Martin Ojeda up top in recent weeks, with Ramiro Enrique — who is also finding his form — typically spelling one of them when needed. Not having McGuire will affect Pareja’s late-game substitution pattern when Orlando is trailing, as he likes to put Enrique and McGuire both on the field when chasing the game. It also takes the team’s best target striker option out of the lineup when dealing with back lines with lots of height.

McGuire brings size and strength and an ability to occupy center backs that others on the roster can’t replicate. There are times when Enrique’s game is better suited to the opponent, but without McGuire there will be no ability to pivot. With Jack Lynn’s off-season retirement, that leaves the striker pickings mighty slim on the Orlando City bench. That might change Ricardo Moreira’s approach to the MLS Secondary Transfer Window.

Losing a scorer of McGuire’s caliber is always difficult, but this season it could be the difference between finishing high in the table and simply getting into the postseason in a strong Eastern Conference field.

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Opinion

Orlando City Must Learn from May’s Mistakes

The Lions can learn some valuable lessons from the three losses they suffered in May.

Published

1 day ago

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June 6, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City hadn’t quite achieved juggernaut status as the Major League Soccer season turned from April to May, but a 12-match unbeaten run in the league is nothing to sniff at, despite there being a healthy number of draws interspersed with the victories. Things turned sour as May drew to a close though, as the Lions lost three of their final four matches of the month and entered a two-week break with a whimper rather than a roar.

Losing is never fun, but in this case those three defeats don’t need to be entirely negative experiences, and there are plenty of lessons to be learned from those three bitter losses that will hold Orlando in good stead if it can implement the proper solutions.

More Squad Rotation

One of the biggest factors in Orlando’s rough finish to May was a lack of squad rotation. Oscar Pareja has always been a coach that likes to find his first-choice XI and stick to it almost religiously. He doesn’t normally tweak his lineups or tactics according to whatever opponent is on the slate, and very much values consistency. In periods of fixture congestion, that tendency can be to Orlando’s detriment, and that was very much the case against both Nashville SC and the Chicago Fire.

After beating Inter Miami 3-0 in an emotional rivalry match on May 18, Pareja made just one change for a U.S. Open Cup match against Nashville SC three days later. Ramiro Enrique slotted in for Luis Muriel up top, but every single other starter from the Miami game also got the nod midweek. With Nashville deploying a heavily rotated lineup mostly filled with backups, the gamble was a simple one: hope that OCSC’s A-team can open up a big first-half lead against Nashville’s B-squad before bringing mass changes in the second half to get guys some rest. Hindsight is, of course, 20/20, but the strategy backfired badly as the Lions lost 3-2. Orlando started well with Marco Pasalic’s 17th-minute strike, but the team faded badly afterwards and gave up a couple of very uncharacteristic goals to lose the game. Lapses in concentration and tired defending cost OCSC the game, and that isn’t something we can normally say about this team.

Then, after losing to Atlanta United 3-2 on May 28 due in no small part to Cesar Araujo’s red card, Pareja made two changes for a match against the Chicago Fire on May 31, with Muriel coming in for Enrique, and the other change being a forced one, as Eduard Atuesta replaced the suspended Araujo. Those starters looked noticeably gassed during the resulting 3-1 loss, and the fatigue manifested itself by players missing chances that would normally be converted or in sloppy, mistake-ridden defending.

May was a packed month with a whopping nine matches in 31 days, and most months won’t be that busy. August is set to be the busiest remaining period of the year with six games in 31 days, although that number could rise higher if the Lions make a run in Leagues Cup. The bottom line is that guys are going to need more rest as the season goes on. If the coaching staff doesn’t trust some of the guys currently available as backups, then they need to dip into the transfer market in one way or another and get some players that they do trust, because if the starting XI gets run ragged during busy periods it’s going to cost Orlando, plain and simple.

Cool Heads Usually Prevail

Orlando City has received three red cards on the season, which is tied for the second-most in the league. Unsurprisingly, the Lions are winless in games in which they’ve had a man sent off, with draws against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal and a loss to Atlanta United. The results against the Red Bulls and Atlanta were particularly difficult to swallow, as before going down to 10 men, Orlando had looked on track to get three points in each game.

Araujo’s red card against Atlanta was especially frustrating, as he allowed Mateusz Klich to get under his skin, grabbed him by the throat, and reduced his team to 10 men when OCSC was nursing a 2-1 lead on the road. It was completely unnecessary and was also the sort of thing that Orlando had looked to put in the rearview mirror after keeping its collective composure and not picking up any bookings in the 3-0 road win against Miami, while the Herons picked up four and looked noticeably rattled in the process.

It should go without saying, but the Lions can’t afford to get key players sent off. Six extra points could make a big difference in the standings at the end of the year, and that number could rise even higher if OCSC can’t put its disciplinary issues to rest once and for all.

Focus for the Full 90

There were moments in each of Orlando’s three May losses that the team committed bad defensive lapses or mistakes. Whether it was not playing to the whistle on Nashville’s third goal, Atuesta’s bad turnover against Atlanta, or the Lions collectively allowing Chicago to stroll through midfield to score a third goal, there were plenty of examples of bad breakdowns that were largely absent during the team’s unbeaten run. Can some of that be attributed to tired minds and tired legs? Maybe so — it’s a lot harder to play crisp and focused when the minutes have piled up. Regardless, its something that can’t continue to happen going forward. It’s possible that having more rotation in the squad will help that a lot, but it’s also on the players on the field to stay as mentally sharp as they can when they’re out on the pitch.

Clearly, a recurring theme here is that fresh legs and balanced squad rotation are top of my list of things I want to see change. I’m all for riding the hot hands, but tired legs make for tired minds, and tired minds make mistakes and are easier to rile up. Whether reinforcements come from the bench or an outside source, using more bodies will go a long way towards solving some of the issues that we saw in May’s three losses. All we can do now is wait and see what happens once the team returns from its break. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/6/25

Alex Freeman called up for Concacaf Gold Cup, Orlando Pride get ready for the Houston Dash, Orlando City B plays tonight, and more.

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1 day ago

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June 6, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday! I’ll be spending this weekend celebrating my birthday by beating my friends at mini golf with no mercy but still hope to catch some soccer over the next few days. I’ve also been on a bit of a movie kick and plan on catching Wes Anderson’s new flick at some point soon. But for now, let’s dive into today’s links!

Alex Freeman Called Up For Gold Cup

Orlando City defender Alex Freeman was officially called up by the United States Men’s National Team for the Concacaf Gold Cup this summer. He’s the only Lion who will be at the tournament and is one of seven uncapped USMNT players on the roster. The 20-year-old could receive more playing time than expected, as right back Sergino Dest is not on the roster so that he can recover over the summer. Left back John Tolkin was added to replace Dest, so Freeman has a real shot at making a claim for the position this month. The U.S. will take on Turkey Saturday in the first of two friendlies before its first Gold Cup match against Trinidad & Tobago on June 15.

Orlando Pride Prepares to Host the Houston Dash

With the international break for women’s soccer over, the Orlando Pride return to action Saturday with a home game against the Houston Dash. It should be a great opportunity for the Pride to ease back into the swing of things against a Dash team that’s only scored 10 goals this season. Pride midfielder Ally Lemos spoke on the benefit of being able to rest heading into this match while maintaining a winning mindset from a 3-1 victory on May 23.

Anna Moorhouse Called Up For 2025 Euros

Orlando Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was named to England’s final roster for the 2025 UEFA European Women’s Championship. She’s one of three goalkeepers on the squad following Mary Earp’s surprise retirement from international soccer, and she will likely compete with fellow uncapped player Khiara Keating for the backup position behind Hannah Hampton. Moorhouse has started in every game for the Pride this season and was an NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year finalist for her record-breaking season last year. England’s Euro run will begin July 5 against France before other group matches against the Netherlands and Wales.

Orlando City B Takes On Huntsville City FC

The Young Lions are riding high after a 2-1 win over Chattanooga FC and will take that momentum into tonight’s road match against Huntsville City FC. Midfielder Noah Levis scored his first career goal in that home win, with Justin Hylton providing the assist in his OCB debut. Orlando’s offense has been hot and cold this season but has a variety of attacking talent that can create chances in different ways. The Young Lions have only won once on the road, but a win tonight would lift them to third in the Eastern Conference.

Free Kicks

  • FIFA Club World Cup action is coming to the City Beautiful this month and Orlando City legend Kaká spoke on how it’s nice for Orlando to host games.
  • San Diego Wave Head Coach Jonas Eidevall was named NWSL Coach of the Month. The Wave were undefeated in May, winning three of their four matches to climb to second in the league standings.
  • The NWSL will allow intraleague loans for all teams, with the players needing to consent to the move in order for it to happen. Denver and Boston’s expansion teams will have access to potentially over $1 million in Allocation Money starting on July 1 to build their rosters before the 2026 season.
  • Atletico Madrid is reportedly close to signing American midfielder Johnny Cardoso from Real Betis.
  • South Korea, Uzbekistan, and Jordan all qualified for the 2026 World Cup, while China was eliminated from contention. Australia beat Japan 1-0 and will qualify so long as it doesn’t lose heavily to Saudi Arabia on June 10.
  • Spain beat France 5-4 in a wild game to reach the UEFA Nations League final against Portugal on Sunday. Lamine Yamal continues to take the world by storm, but a late rally by France nearly completed a comeback.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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