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

James Brown once sang, “wow, I feel good, I knew that I would,” and while I feel good (duh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh nuh) after watching that 3-1 Orlando City win over FC Dallas Saturday night, I definitely cannot say that I knew that I would.

Going into that match, Orlando City had never even scored a single solitary goal in Dallas, but the Lions came out firing and put three in the net in the first 55 minutes, and then took three points after 90 minutes to get their first-ever win in Dallas. Hey Jimmy Johnson, how ’bout them Lions?

I have my purple pen out, and I am ready to issue some grades, so here we go. Let’s take a look at how Orlando City’s players rated individually in their matchup with a Western Conference opponent.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 7 — El Pulpo will probably feel hard done by that he did not pick up another clean sheet in this match, as Dallas’ one goal came on a penalty kick and the hosts were not even threatening when that foul occurred. Gallese also made several excellent saves during this match, including one on a crazy sequence, when he came way outside of the box to try to clear a ball over the top, and he then had to scramble back into the 18 and make a diving save when Dallas tried a long-range shot into what they thought was an open net. Dallas did have a goal called back during the match, as well as another ball that went in after a foul was whistled, which cannot be held against Gallese, but they are reminders of the fine line between a great night and a tough night for any goalkeeper. On this night, Gallese was more towards the great night with five saves and confident command of the box. 

D, Rafael Santos, 7.5 — Santos once again demonstrated his lethal left foot in this match, as his picture-perfect cross was headed in by Ramiro Enrique to give the Lions their first-ever goal in Dallas. The Brazilian defender led the Lions in touches (82) and was second in completed passes (53), completing those passes at an 86.9% rate. He completed five of his nine long passes and was a threat down the left side all game long. Orlando City attacked down the left side on 47% of its possessions (27% middle and 26% right made up the other two channels), and a primary reason for the left side dominance was Santos and the runs he was making up the field. Dallas countered this by attacking up its right side on 42% of its possessions, and there were some nervy moments late as the hosts did get by Santos and created some chances in his area. On this day though, Dallas did not convert any of those chances, and the overall contributions by Santos were a major reason why the Lions took all three points.

D, Robin Jansson, 7 — The Orlando City captain played his normal solid and composed match in the back on Saturday night, and the Beefy Swede should have had his first MLS assist of the season on a beautiful cross in the second half that Duncan McGuire was unable to finish. Jansson had five clearances, three recoveries, two interceptions, and one tackle, and he completed 43 passes at a 97.7% rate. Through much of the game he stayed home in the center of the field so that Rodrigo Schlegel could roam a little more forward, which was successful for the Lions in helping them own the middle horizontally and vertically.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 8 — Schlegel was everywhere during this match, and a serious contender for Man of the Match. His bullet header that doubled the lead for the Lions will be what is remembered most, but he also had three tackles, two clearances, and one interception, and his partnership with Jansson was excellent in keeping FC Dallas’ pairing of Jesus Ferreira and Petar Musa off the scoresheet. I thought Schlegel was excellent throughout the match, and his right side pairing with Kyle Smith was effective in limiting Dallas’ attacks down their left channel.

D, Kyle Smith, 6.5 — Smith once again demonstrated his trademark Kyle-of-all-trades abilities, as after a season of primarily playing left back, he stepped in at right back with Dagur Dan Thórhallsson out and delivered a solid performance. Smith was second on the team with four clearances and had one tackle, and he also completed 87.8% of his passes on the night while going the full 90 minutes. He did get turned around on during the buildup to the Dallas goal that was called back in the 90th minute, but that goal was called back, so that will not be held against him. The Accountant delivered the results in this match, and they were favorable for Orlando City.

MF, César Araujo, 7 — No offense to Jeorgio Kocevski, but having Araujo back in the lineup made a massive difference for Orlando City. The Uruguayan midfielder helped secure the middle of the field throughout the match, completing 50 passes at a 92.6% rate as a midfield fulcrum on offense and helping to force Dallas to push the ball out wide to attack rather than attempt to come down the middle on defense. Araujo did pick up another yellow card trying to slow down a Dallas counterattack in the 67th minute. That foul may have been unnecessary with multiple defenders already behind the ball, however, he was put in a bad spot by Facundo Torres’ wayward pass and decided to take no chances with the lead on the road. On the whole, Araujo showed why the Lions are a better team when he is on the field, and he was a major reason why Orlando City picked up three points in Dallas.

MF, Wilder Cartagena, 7 — Sometimes I think I should just write one grade for César Wilder Cartaraujo, as there are games when the two holding midfielders play quite similarly, just on slightly different sides of the field. The FC Dallas match was close to one of those games, but I thought Cartagena was slightly better than his midfield partner, even though he only played 73 minutes. The Peruvian led the team in completed passes, with 55, completing them at a 94.8% rate, with two of them being key passes. Cartagena also had three tackles and one interception, and unlike his midfield partner, he did not pick up a(nother) yellow card. With a midweek game coming up on Wednesday, Cartagena made way for Nico Lodeiro in the 73rd minute, but he was excellent during his time on the field and was a major reason why the Lions owned the center of the field.

MF, Iván Angulo, 6.5 — Despite Orlando City’s focus on attacking down the left side of the field, Angulo did not really contribute to any of the three goals or other big scoring opportunities, though he did track back well on defense and gave his trademark full effort throughout his 90 minutes. Angulo completed 41 passes at an 89.1% rate and had three interceptions, two tackles, one clearance, and one block. His contributions were more on the defensive side than the offensive side against Dallas, especially with Dallas attacking down the right more often than the left. And while the Colombian winger may not have been involved in any of the goals I do think it was one of his better recent games overall.

MF, Martín Ojeda, 7 — I have long been a fan of how hockey includes secondary and primary assists in assist totals, and although most of soccer doesn’t follow suit, MLS does. As such, Ojeda finished with two assists on the night in Dallas. His perfect pass to Santos led to the cross that produced Orlando City’s first goal, giving the Argentine a secondary assist, and his corner kick early in the second half was headed in by Schlegel for the second goal, providing him with a primary assist. What mattered most is that both goals were scored and Ojeda played a major role in each, and those passes, in addition to his skillful and creative play to hit a well-struck volley on goal in the first half, were three major highlights for the Lions in this match. Ojeda completed 32 passes on the night, with two key passes, and he was involved and dangerous on offense throughout his 65 minutes on the field.

MF, Facundo Torres, 7.5 — The hot streak continued for Torres, as he made it five goals in his last five MLS games with his well-placed finish off a through ball from Enrique to make the score 3-0 for Orlando City. Just a few minutes earlier, I will admit that I was muttering words of frustration when he had a similar breakaway opportunity on a through ball but chose to slow down to get it onto his left foot, and subsequently had his shot saved, but he took full advantage of his second chance and gave the Lions an even bigger cushion. Orlando City attacked down the left side far more often than Torres’ right side on Saturday night, but he was still able to be involved in the offense, completing 90.2% of his passes and taking 24 touches in the attacking third of the field. Torres made way for Felipe in the 81st minute in a defense-for-offense substitution, but it was another excellent match for the Uruguayan Designated Player, who is now the Orlando City record holder for career MLS goal contributions, with 50.

F, Ramiro Enrique, 8.5 (MotM) — Enrique is back in form again, and it is a wonderful thing to watch. Despite being short in stature as compared to the FC Dallas back line, it was he who opened the scoring with a header on a cross from Santos, and then later it was his tackle and steal that turned into his through ball assist to Torres for the third Orlando City goal. He also played another key pass and drew four fouls and was generally a menace all over the attacking third of the field for his entire 65-minute shift. I thought Enrique was outstanding, and despite a challenge from his fellow Argentinean Schlegel, I thought he was the Man of the Match.

Substitutes

F, Duncan McGuire (65′), 6 — On another Saturday night Big Dunc could have had multiple goals and been in contention for Man of the Match, but he was just off ever so much with his finishing touch and was unable to get any of his shots into the net. His work rate was tremendous and he put Dallas under major pressure after subbing in for Enrique, but he missed a massive chance on a ball from Jansson that was perfectly set up for him to put the game away by making it 4-0, and on two other breakaway opportunities he had a shot saved and blocked. The effort was there, the final touch just let him down during this match.

MF, Luis Muriel (65′), 6.5 — Muriel was once again excellent off the bench on Saturday night after subbing in for Ojeda, and could have had multiple assists if his teammates could have finished a little better. He was involved in three plays that McGuire didn’t finish, giving Jansson a seeing-eye pass in the 66th minute and sending McGuire behind the back line in the 71st and 97th minutes. As I was making notes on the match I was thinking about a comparison to NBA player Chris Paul, as Muriel, who was a usual starter earlier in his career, seems to have embraced a role off the bench and comes in delivering perfect passes all over the field when he does sub into the game. Muriel had two key passes and completed 92% of all of his passes, and looked dangerous every time he had the ball.

MF, Nico Lodeiro, (73’), N/A — This will not be a game that Lodeiro looks fondly upon when he reflects on the 2024 season. The headline for him will be that he gave away a penalty, and although I do believe it was a foul, I think it was harsh since the attacking player was moving away from goal in the far corner of the box, but it was a deserved penalty and it did breathe some life back into FC Dallas. He uncharacteristically only completed 75% of his passes, and did not bring his steady and positive presence off the bench as he usually has done this season.

MF, Felipe, (81’), N/A — Felipe came on as a late defensive replacement for Torres to help see the game out. He only had three touches but did complete both of his passes, and because he is Felipe and this is what he does, he also committed one foul.

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.