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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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2 years 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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Lion Links

Lion Links 9/22/26

Cosette Morche up for weekly honors, lessons from matchday 27, key players in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, and more.

Published

5 hours ago

on

September 22, 2026

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Image of Cosette Morche during her NWSL debut vs. Washington.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Good morning, everyone. It was a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad weekend for Orlando’s three soccer teams, as they all lost and did so by an aggregate score of 12-5. Fortunately, we’ve got lots to talk about this morning, so let’s not dwell any further on the horror show that was the weekend slate, and instead dive into today’s links.

Cosette Morche up for Weekly Honors

Despite the Orlando Pride falling at home against the Portland Thorns, a bright spot has emerged from the game in the form of Cosette Morche being nominated for the NWSL Save of the Week. She made a fantastic triple save in the 17th minute to frustrate both Sophia Wilson and Pietra Tordin and keep the score at 1-0. Unfortunately, the Pride went on to lose 4-1, but Morche continued a trend of strong performances in net since taking over for the loaned-out Anna Moorhouse. Make sure you go vote for her to win!

Lessons from Matchday 27

Matchday 27 is in the books for Major League Soccer, and there are plenty of things to be learned from the weekend’s action. A number of young players called up by the United States Men’s National Team turned in impressive performances, as Cavan Sullivan had a goal and an assist, Frankie Westfield and Neil Pierre helped Sullivan and the Union overturn a 4-3 deficit against Sporting Kansas City, and Julian Hall scored the winner in the Hudson River Derby. Elsewhere, Nashville clinched a playoff spot and did so in style by knocking off a good Chicago Fire team 3-0. Finally, St Louis City beat Toronto FC 3-1 and now has a mind-boggling 16-game unbeaten streak in the league that grows to 18 games unbeaten in all competitions.

Women’s Champions League Key Players

The UEFA Women’s Champions League kicks off today, so this is an excellent time to familiarize yourself with some of the most important players in the competition. Some of them may be familiar to you already, like Real Madrid’s Colombian attacker Linda Caicedo or Chelsea midfielder Lauren James. Midfielder Patri Guijarro will be an important piece for Barcelona following the summer departures of Alexia Putellas and Salma Paralluelo, while Annamaria Serturini, Remina Chiba, and Redondo are in a similar situation for Juventus. Finally, there are players on less heralded teams, like Uka Modesta for Austria Wien and Lowiese Seynhaeve for OH Leuven.

Granit Xhaka Dropped by Switzerland

We finish our main story section today with an odd one, as Granit Xhaka has been left out of the latest Switzerland squad after he admitted to using a fake COVID-19 vaccination certificate. Amid an investigation into a Swiss doctor who was allegedly producing false certificates for unvaccinated individuals, Xhaka has admitted to using falsified paperwork. Not only has he been left out of the Swiss squad, but he could also face legal repercussions, and the player confirmed that he is currently in the process of speaking to the authorities. Xhaka is Switzerland’s all-time leader in appearances, and has been a key member of the team for a number of years.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City somehow rose two spots to no.10 in ESPN.com’s MLS power rankings.
  • The Orlando Pride held fast at no. 12 in the same outlet’s NWSL power rankings.
  • For better or worse, Orlando City will be back in the red kits for Saturday’s match against the Philadelphia Union.

That’s all I’ve got 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 road loss to the New England Revolution?

Published

1 day ago

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September 21, 2026

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City was minutes away from drawing the New England Revolution Saturday night, which would’ve been a big point in the Lions’ quest for the postseason. But two second-half injury-time goals saw that point dissipate. Instead, they followed their U.S. Open Cup semifinal defeat with a crushing 4-2 loss.

Let’s take a look at how the individual players fared in the disappointing result.

Starters

GK, Maxime Crepeau, 5 — None of the four goals were specifically Crepeau’s fault, with one being a deflection and the other three coming from poor defense. But the goalkeeper’s four goals conceded matched his number of saves. It can also be argued he should’ve come out earlier on some of the goals to cut down the attacker’s angle. In addition to his four goals conceded and four saves, he ended the game with 39 touches and completed 74.1% of his 27 passes, including seven of his 14 long balls.

D, Bernardo Rhein, 5.5 — The teenager got the start at left back in this game, touching the ball 58 times. He completed 83.3% of his 42 passes, but neither of his two long balls nor his lone cross. Defensively, Rhein recorded a tackle and a blocked shot before being replaced in the 77th minute by Harvey Sarajian in an attacking change.

D, Robin Jansson, 5.5 — The Orlando City captain had 65 touches in this game and completed 98.1% of his 53 passes, including three of his four long balls. Defensively, he had an interception, a team-high six clearances, and an aerial duel won. But his age showed as he was unable to keep up with the counterattacks the other way. While it wasn’t a bad game for Jansson, I can’t give a higher grade to a key component of a back line that conceded four times.

D, David Brekalo, 5.5 — Jansson’s center back partner had 52 touches and completed 95% of his 40 passes, including one of his two long balls. He took one shot in the game, but it was off target. Defensively, Brekalo recorded a tackle and six clearances, and won two aerial balls. Similar to Jansson, Brekalo wasn’t necessarily bad, but was part of a center back pairing that helped concede four goals.

D, Ivan Angulo, 6 — Angulo started this game at right back and moved to left wing and left back as the game progressed. As you would expect, the Colombian pushed forward quite a bit. He ended the game with 69 touches and completed 81.3% of his 48 passes, including one of his three long balls. His most impactful play came in the 62nd minute, when he shielded his defender to tuck away the Lions’ first goal, cutting the deficit to 2-1. That was his lone shot of the night. Defensively, he added five tackles and two interceptions, providing one of the team’s best performances.

MF, Tyrese Spicer, 5 — In the team’s third game in eight days, Spicer got the start in the midfield. He touched the ball 20 times and completed 72.7% of his 11 passes, including his lone long ball. Other than that, he did little offensively before being replaced by Zakaria Taifi at halftime, allowing Angulo to go forward. Defensively, he added a tackle and an interception, but the Lions could’ve used much more from the speedster.

MF, Joran Gerbet, 6 — Gerbet once again was in the lineup for the Lions, playing his typical defensive midfield role. The Frenchman had a team-high 72 touches and completed 98.5% of his 67 passes, including two key passes and both of his long balls. The midfielder’s only shot was blocked, but it bounced off Peyton Miller’s hand for a penalty. He also contributed defensively with a tackle and an interception. Gerbet was replaced by Tiago in second-half stoppage time to bring on an attacker after the team fell behind again.

MF, Luis Otavio, 5.5 — The quick turnaround gave Otavio a chance to start, though he only played 45 minutes. The Brazilian had 21 touches and completed 94.1% of his 17 passes, including one of his two long balls. He didn’t contribute any shots in the attack and only recorded a clearance defensively in what was a rather forgettable performance. His night ended at halftime when he was taken off for regular starter Eduard Atuesta.

MF, Marco Pasalic, 5.5 — With Antoine Griezmann injured, Pasalic got a rare start. He touched the ball 35 times and completed 91.7% of his 24 passes, including one of his two long balls. The attacking midfielder took two shots and put one on target. Defensively, he recorded two tackles and a clearance before being replaced by Daryl Dike in the 71st minute.

F, Martin Ojeda, 6 (MotM) — Ojeda is starting to look more like his old self since returning from injury and was the primary attacker for the Lions in this game. The Argentinian had 59 touches and completed 79.6% of his 44 passes, including a key pass, two of his three long balls, and two of his four crosses. He also put two of his three shots on target. Ojeda was instrumental in the attacking movement that ended with Angulo’s goal, working a give-and-go straight up the middle with Justin Ellis. In the 88th minute, he converted the game-tying penalty, keeping his record from the spot perfect and pulling him to within one goal of Facundo Torres for the club record. He was the best player for me and earned my Man of the Match.

F, Justin Ellis, 5.5 — Ellis was active in this game, touching the ball 67 times and completing 76.1% of his 46 passes, including one of his two long balls and one of his two crosses. His only shot was off target. The forward added two tackles in his last game before heading out on international duty.

Substitutes

D, Zakaria Taifi, 5.5 (45’) — Taifi came on at halftime for Spicer, allowing Angulo to move forward into his natural position. The Homegrown Player had 24 touches in his 45 minutes while completing 85.7% of his 14 passes. He had three key passes, completed his lone cross, and didn’t complete either of his two long balls. The defender didn’t do anything else offensively, but added a tackle and a clearance.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 5.5 (45’) — A regular starter, Atuesta got the first half off before coming on for Otavio. The Colombian touched the ball 41 times and completed 94.1% of his 34 passes, including a key pass and two of his three long balls, but neither of his two crosses. Additionally, his only shot was on target. Defensivley, Atuesta didn’t record any statistics.

F, Daryl Dike, 4.5 (71’) — Dike came on for Pasalic in the 71st minue with the Lions looking for a goal. It was another disappointing performance for the striker, who only had six touches and completed two of his four passes. Despite coming on to score, his only shot was off target and he didn’t contribute anything defensively.

F, Harvey Sarajian, 5 (77’) — Sarajian came on for Rhein in the 77th minute, another move aimed towards finding an equalizer. The rookie had seven touches in 13 minutes while completing 83.3% of his six passes. Sarajian also didn’t contribute much in this game, failing to take a shot or build an attack.

MF, Tiago, N/A (90+5’) — Tiago came on in the dying minutes for Gerbet after Orlando CIty fell behind again. The attacker only recorded three touches, completed his lone pass, and drew a foul in his brief stint on the field.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in this disappointing loss. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments below, and don’t forget to vote on your Man of the Match.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 9/21/26

All of Orlando’s soccer teams lose, Lions unveil Vinicius Nogueira, and more.

Published

1 day ago

on

September 21, 2026

By

Image of Martin Ojeda playing the ball against Inter Miami.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been staying busy at work over the weekend. Let’s wish a happy belated birthday to Orlando Pride defender Cori Dyke, who turned 26 on Sunday, and a happy birthday to Orlando City defender Bernardo Rhein, who turns 19 today. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Concede Two Late Goals in Loss at New England

Orlando City fell 4-2 to the New England Revolution on the road on Saturday at Gillette Stadium, conceding twice in stoppage time to drop a point. After trailing 2-0, the Lions came back with second-half goals from Ivan Angulo and Martin Ojeda, with the latter from the penalty spot just before the 90 minutes were up. However, in stoppage time, the Lions imploded, with Peyton Miller and Carles Gil closing out the night with two goals each for the Revolution. The loss snapped Orlando’s five-game unbeaten streak in league play, and the Lions left Foxborough with no points instead of at least one. Orlando City will be back on the road for its next match on Saturday against the Philadelphia Union.

Lions Unveil Vinicius Nogueira

Orlando City unveiled left back Vinicius Nogueira on Friday with a photo shoot at Inter.co Stadium.

The Lions signed Nogueira on Aug. 27 on loan from Bulgarian First League side PFC Ludogorets through the end of the 2027 MLS Sprint Season, with an option to make the move permanent. The 24-year-old Brazilian was on the bench during Orlando City’s match against the New England Revolution on Saturday but did not play.

Pride Fall at home to Portland Thorns

The Orlando Pride lost 4-1 to the Portland Thorns on Saturday at Inter.co Stadium, and while the team is still mathematically alive for the postseason, the home defeat made things even more of a longshot than they were. The Pride started slowly and were down 2-0 before Ally Lemos pulled one back in the first half. Orlando missed several scoring chances, and in the second half, Portland scored two goals to put the match away. Orlando will travel to the West Coast to take on Bay FC on Sunday.

OCB Falls to Atlanta United 2 on Decision Day

Orlando City B lost 4-2 to Atlanta United 2 on Decision Day Sunday at Osceola County Stadium, falling all the way to 10th and out of the playoff places. Atlanta struck first early before Issah Haruna tied it up for the Young Lions. However, Atlanta got an own goal when Tristan Himes punched a set piece deliver in off Harvey Sarajian to retake the lead, and Ignacio Saurez-Couri added another to make it 3-1. Justin Hylton scored for OCB to cut the deficit to one before halftime. In the second half, Dominik Chong-Qui scored the final goal to secure Atlanta’s win. For the Young Lions, the season ends in disappointment again, missing the MLS NEXT Pro postseason for the second straight season.

Free Kicks

  • Just two days after Gabi Nunes and the Orlando Pride mutually agreed to part ways on Wednesday, Nunes signed with Liga F side Atletico de Madrid Femenino on Friday.
  • New York City FC is reportedly signing defender Matt Miazga after he was waived by FC Cincinnati earlier this month.

🇺🇸 BREAKING: NYCFC set to sign center back Matt Miazga, per sources.- Miazga waived by FC Cincinnati earlier this month- Miazga, 31, is former MLS Defender of the Year. Boosts defensive options for NYCFC down the stretchwww.nytimes.com/athletic/760…

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert.bsky.social) 2026-09-18T13:17:04.926Z

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

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