Orlando City B
Alex Freeman Looks Ready to Make the Jump to MLS
An analysis of Alex Freeman’s 2024 season and what it could mean for him next year.
Among the major men’s sports leagues in the United States, soccer is unique in that the best league in our country is not the best league in the world. This fact makes the entry process into MLS different than what most of us are accustomed to from following other sports, where every youth and adult player in our country and around the world is working towards playing in the NFL, NHL, NBA, or MLB. When it comes to soccer, however, players mostly have a dream of playing in one of the leading European leagues, which makes looking at players on affiliated teams like Orlando City B a little different than looking at players in minor leagues like the NBA’s G League, minor league baseball or any of the minor league hockey leagues.
That said, while reaching MLS may not be the longterm goal of some, or even all, of OCB’s players, for most, their immediate short-term goal will be to be first-team players for Orlando City. And by players, I mean players who play, and not just players who are on the first-team roster. One player who has already slightly kicked the door open on this goal is Alex Freeman, the right back who made brief cameo appearances in 2023 and this season for Orlando City but has played the majority of his minutes during the last two seasons for OCB.
Here is a table of Freeman’s stats from 2023 and 2024, using data from the MLS NEXT Pro website as well as fotmob.com:
I want to start by reiterating that Freeman primarily plays right back, because that number 17 in the goal contributions column for OCB in 2024 just jumps off the page, and even more so when you think about the position he plays. He is averaging 0.69 goal contributions per 90 minutes for OCB this season, and here is the complete list of every Orlando City defensive player who has ever averaged at least 0.70 in a season at the MLS level: (null set).
Cue Simon & Garfunkel playing “The Sound of Silence.” Or maybe don’t actually play it, because then it would not actually be silent, but think of the song as a metaphor. I majored in mathematics, not English; no Orlando City defender has ever averaged at least 0.70 goal contributions per 90 minutes. Let’s move on.
That silence would also have existed had I changed the value to 0.60, 0.50, or 0.40, and it is not until I looked for Orlando City defenders averaging more than 0.30 goal contributions per 90 minutes in a season that names like Dagur Dan ThĂłrhallsson, Ruan, and Scott Sutter finally showed up. The are good players, beloved by Orlando City fans, but approximately one goal contribution per every three games is not an elite attacking player. Freeman’s 0.69, however, is more akin to someone like…2024 Facundo Torres, who in fact is averaging nearly exactly that in MLS play this season (14 goals + 6 assists across 2,552 minutes = 0.71). A right back who contributes to goals like Torres? That sounds like someone who needs an entourage. Now, would that be something you might be interested in?
Yes. Hi, I’m Andrew, and I am quite interested.
Now, I know the level and the style of play is not the same in MLS NEXT Pro as it is in MLS, but it is also not so different either. MLS teams average about 1.53 goals scored per game, and MLS NEXT Pro teams average about 1.73 goals scored, so the average MLS NEXT Pro team scores around 13% more goals per game than the average MLS team. That is more, but not substantially more. OCB averaged 1.89 goals per game this season and Orlando City is averaging 1.67 goals per game with one game remaining, so OCB is averaging…wait for it…13% more goals per game than its MLS counterpart. Scoring is slightly up in MLS NEXT Pro as compared to MLS, but when taking this back to look at Freeman’s goal contributions per 90 minutes it is not like he is playing in a league or on a team that has dramatically more scoring.
Freeman himself was quoted after the Young Lions’ last match as saying, “It’s good that I’m able to go forward and I think I’m more clinical now. I’m able to go score goals and I’m feeling really good.” He had been asked specifically about his recent run of goal-scoring form, but the clinical part also applies to his passing ability and the improvements he has made there as well.
Going back to the data I showed earlier, Freeman has also improved his passing completion percentage from 76% to 79% to 86% during the past three seasons, and considering how much attacking he has been doing this season, it is not like he is just standing in the back and completing safe passes to other defensive players to jack that percentage up.
In fact, only 33% of his completed passes were short passes, so therefore, two out of every three passes completed were medium or long passes. And with an overall completion rate of 86%, that means he was indeed as clinical as he said, since it takes technique, skill, and precision to complete such a high percentage of medium and long passes. It’s almost like someone in his family may have passed on a thing or 86 about how to complete a pass.
The final item from Freeman’s statistics that might have jumped out was his “FotMob rating,” and the corresponding MLS NEXT Pro Rank. Freeman is now up to third in this rating, across all players in MLS NEXT Pro. FotMob.com has a rating system that grades out players in dozens of leagues and thousands of matches every week, and that system (out of 10) has Freeman averaging a score of 7.66 for the season. MLS NEXT Pro has been around for three seasons and 901 players have played enough minutes to earn a season-long FotMob grade. Freeman’s 7.66 is tied for the 17th best mark in the past three seasons, which puts his 2024 season in the 98% percentile of all MLS NEXT Pro seasons in this metric.
What makes this even more impressive is that Freeman just turned 20 in August. MLS NEXT Pro is primarily a league of young players, but of the 16 seasons that generated a FotMob rating better than Freeman’s, none were played by a player who was in his teens for most of the season and half were played by players 22 or older. Freeman is also alone among the top players as a defensive player, as nearly every other top rated player is an attacking midfielder or striker.
Most rating systems are biased (excluding The Mane Land’s player grading system, which has zero biases or flaws and is the very model of a modern major rating system) towards attacking players, since offensive plays are generally more discretely quantifiable than defensive plays, and so some of Freeman’s standing as the only defender rated highly on a data-based rating system can be explained by the fact that the model rewards attacking defenders more than center backs. However, on the qualitative side, Freeman’s coach Manuel Goldberg was quoted after the last game as saying “The key for (Freeman’s) success this season is the defensive part he is doing. Although he is contributing a lot in the offensive part, he is doing a big, big, big and important job in the defensive part, so we are happy for that for him.”
Mannie Fresh never mentioned “defensive play real big” on his list of items that were, surprise surprise, real big on his creatively named 2004 song “Real Big,” but if Goldberg were recording a 2024 remix, I feel like a line about Freeman’s defensive contributions may be included since he emphasized them as not big; not big, big; but big, big, big. He did not define whether big, big, big is defined as three big or big cubed, which hurts my feelings as a mathematician, but either way it is clear that Freeman’s play on the offensive side is not the only thing that has caught notice of his coach, and that he is contributing on both offense and defense.
With only three seasons worth of MLS NEXT Pro history, it is hard to use past seasons as concrete precedent for what an elite season could lead to, but in looking at 2022’s top 10 MLS NEXT Pro performers in FotMob rating, we can see that half of the players went on to play 500+ MLS minutes in the each of the next two seasons after their strong performance that year. The other five are split between three who are still in MLS NEXT Pro (light blue, third tier of soccer in the U.S.), one who moved to the USL Championship (light purple, second tier of soccer in the U.S.), and John Denis, who sadly has had to step away from soccer due to a cancer diagnosis.
At only 20 years old, and with three seasons of year over year improvement in MLS NEXT Pro, call-ups to the U.S. U-19 and U-23 national teams, and a few brief appearances already for Orlando City, I believe that Freeman is the best prospect the Lions have ever developed. The outside back depth chart ahead of him includes primary starters ThĂłrhallsson and Rafael Santos, with Kyle Smith as a versatile player who can play on either side. Santos and Smith have contracts that expire at the end of the season, with Smith out of contract and the club holding two option years on Santos. While it would not surprise me if both are back next season, I think they and ThĂłrhallsson are going to be pushed very hard for minutes by Freeman, and it could even result in one of the players changing positions, since all four have versatile skill sets and are comfortable attacking and defending. I am very bullish on Freeman, and I think he will approach 1,000 minutes played for Orlando City in 2025 across all competitions.
Before next season arrives though, there is still the matter of the MLS NEXT Pro playoffs, and Freeman and OCB will take on Chicago Fire FC II on Sunday. Playoff soccer is much more stressful than regular-season soccer, and I am looking forward to seeing how the Young Lions, and Freeman in particular, perform on the road at Chicago in their toughest test of the season. Freeman has six goals and three assists in his last six matches. Here’s to hoping that those numbers increase during the first round of the playoffs and that OCB advances through to the next round.
Vamos Orlando!
Orlando City B
Orlando City B vs. Crown Legacy FC: Final Score 1-0 as Young Lions Remain Undefeated
OCB continued its undefeated start to the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro season by edging Crown Legacy in North Carolina.
Orlando City B (2-0-1, 8 points) scored with their lone shot on target tonight in a 1-0 win over Crown Legacy FC (0-1-1, 1 points) at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthew, NC. Shak Mohammed’s 30th-minute goal was the difference as the Young Lions continue their hot start to the season.
OCB Head Coach Manuel Goldberg made three changes to the team that drew 2-2 with Atlanta United 2 on March 16 and took the extra point 4-1 on penalties. Carlos Mercado returned to net for Javier Otero, Gustavo Caraballo replaced Colin Guske — who is on international duty — and Dyson Clapier replaced Justin Ellis.
The back line in front of Mercado was Tahir Reid-Brown, Jackson Platts, Thomas Williams, and Zakaria Taifi. Dylan Judelson and Jhon Solis were in the defensive midfield behind Caraballo, Mohammed, and Clapier with Thalles up top.
The first chance for either team came in the seventh minute when Mohammed intercepted a poor pass in the Crown Legacy third of the field. He played it forward for Thalles, who was taken down by Baye Coulibaly.
Solis took the set piece, aiming for the near top corner. However, he was unable to get the ball to dip down enough, sending it off target.
Caraballo tried to make something happen in the 13th minute, dribbling into the Crown Legacy box. He took a shot on the run, but Jack Neeley got in front of the attempt, blocking it with his foot.
Crown Legacy got its first decent chance in the 16th minute when Nikola Petkovic received a pass near the top of the OCB box. He took a touch to get around Judelson and attempted to curl the ball into the far top corner, but it sailed off target.
The hosts nearly had another chance in the 28th minute when right back Yves Tcheuyap made a good run to the end line and sent a dangerous ball into the six-yard box for Jack Sarkos. However, Williams got in front to clear it out for a corner kick. Crown Legacy recycled the ball, forcing Williams to clear it away again. This time the Young Lions were able to clear the danger.
OCB took the lead in the 30th minute when Platts played the ball forward for Caraballo, who sent it further down the right for Taifi. The right back sent a dangerous ball into the box that was beyond the reach of Thalles and Clapier, but fell to Mohammed. The attacker didn’t make any mistakes, placing the ball past Isaac Walker to give the Young Lions a 1-0 lead.
OCB displayed some terrific breakout play in the first half. In the 32nd minute, a long ball by Mercado was flicked on by Mohammed for Clapier. The midfielder tipped the ball over Neeley and had a step on Coulibaly. The defender pushed Clapier over just before he entered the box, giving OCB a free kick in a dangerous spot.
Coulibaly was lucky to only get a yellow card for the play. Fortunately for him, another defender got back, so he wasn’t the last defender. Otherwise, it would’ve been a red card.
Taifi and Solis stood over the set piece with Solis taking the kick. The midfielder curled the ball towards the near post, just missing wide.
Crown Legacy created some danger in the 40th minute when Brian Romero sent a dangerous ball across the box. Coulibaly was making a run to the far post and the ball reached him, but the midfielder couldn’t get his foot on it.
Reid-Brown sent a good ball to the top of the six in the 44th minute. Williams was making a run between two defenders, but he wasn’t able to redirect the ball on target.
At halftime, OCB had more possession (64%-36%), shots (7-6), and shots on target (1-0). Meanwhile, Crown Legacy had more corner kicks (4-3) and crosses (6-3), with better passing accuracy (90.3%-88.4%).
Shortly after the restart, Rocket Ritarita lifted a ball near the penalty spot in the 50th minute that was chested down for Aron John. The attacker’s first touch was a shot on target that forced Mercado into a good save. The rebound ended up with Petkovic, who sent a second shot towards goal, but Platts slid in to block the attempt.
OCB nearly had a chance in the 53rd minute when Taifi made a long run down the right and sent a cross in for Thalles. The striker had position on his defender, but the cross was too strong for the striker to get his head on it.
A minute later Taiif made a similar run and took it himself. The right back fired from a tight angle, trying to lift it into the top of the net. However, Walker reacted well to block the attempt.
Crown Legacy had a golden chance to equalize in the 58th minute when a cross from the right went through the box and over the end line. Platts and Sarkos were tangling and referee Jeremy Scheer pointed to the spot.
John stepped up to take the penalty, sending it towards the left post. Mercado guessed correctly, diving to his right and making the save to keep the OCB lead and his shutout.
Goldberg made his first change of the night in the 62nd minute as Zinedine Rodriguez came into the game for Clapier.
The 70th minute brought a scary moment for OCB when Mikah Thomas sent a through ball into the OCB box for Ritarita. Mercado got to it first but couldn’t handle it. Ritarita continued his run, colliding with Mercado. The goalkeeper required some medical attention, but he was eventually able to continue.
OCB won a free kick in the 81st minute when Neeley pushed Mohammed down from behind just inside the Crown Legacy third of the field. Neeley was issued a yellow card for the challenge. Caraballo took the free kick, finding an unmarked Thalles making a run to the back post. The forward’s first touch was a redirection, but it went over the top.
Thalles won a 50-50 ball in the 83rd minute, tapping it forward for Mohammed to run onto. The attacker got behind the back line and was in goal as Walker came off his line. Mohammed tried to chip the goalkeeper, but his attempt bounced wide to the right.
Immediately after the miss, Goldberg made his second change of the game. Hayden Sargis made his professional debut, coming on for Caraballo.
Crown Legacy had a great chance in the 85th minute when Ferna Ferreira used a nice touch to lose Taifi and reach the endline. He sent a dangerous cross into the six with two teammates running in, but Judelson got back to clear it away.
In the 90th minute, Ritarita sent a cross into the box that Mercado should’ve handled easily. However, it bounced off his hands. A Crown Legacy attacker was making a back post run, but it went out of play.
During the stoppage, Goldberg made his final change of the night, replacing Thalles with Juan Quevedo.
In the fourth minute of stoppage time, Mohammed broke out near midfield. Neeley, who had been booked earlier, pulled him back. The professional foul required a yellow card, his second of the night.
The final attempt of the game came in the final seconds when Ferreira twisted and turned Quevedo to create space. It looked like the attacker would have a free shot on goal, but Judelson came flying in to block it. That was the final attempt as the Young Lions held on for the 1-0 win.
At full time, Crown Legacy had the advantage in shots (16-10), shots on target (3-1), corner kicks (11-3), crosses (21-6), and passing accuracy (90%-83.1%). However, the Young Lions took advantage of their one shot on target and held on for another three points.
The Young Lions continue their strong start to the 2025 MLS NEXT Pro season. They’ve only dropped one point this year, acquiring eight points from three games. They sit atop the Eastern Conference, tied with New York City FC II.
OCB will now have an extended break, not taking the field again until April 5 when the team travels to take on Chattanooga FC in Tennessee.
Orlando City B
Orlando City B vs. Atlanta United 2: Final Score 2-2 as Young Lions Claim Extra Point in Penalties
OCB led in the second half but conceded an equalizer before claiming the extra point in the penalty shootout.
Orlando City B (1-0-1, 5 points) played to a 2-2 draw against Atlanta United 2 (0-1-1, 1 point) tonight at Osceola County Stadium in Kissimmee. Luke Brennan gave Atlanta the lead in the 30th minute before Justin Ellis equalized just before halftime. Shak Mohammed gave the Lions their first lead in the 56th minute and Ronan Wynne equalized for the visitors in the 78th minute. The Young Lions then took the extra point by winning the penalty shootout, 4-1.
OCB Head Coach Manuel Goldberg made two changes from the team that won 2-1 over Columbus Crew 2 last Sunday night. First-team backup goalkeeper Javier Otero got his first start of the season, replacing Carlos Mercado. Thalles got his first start for OCB, replacing Dyson Clapier.
The back line in front of Otero was Tahir Reid-Brown, Thomas Williams, Jackson Platts, and Zakaria Taifi. Dylan Judelson and Colin Guske were the defensive midfielders behind Mohammed, Ellis, and Jhon Solis. Thalles started alone up top.
Atlanta had the first attempt at goal in the sixth minute when former Lion Moises Tablante found Brennan near the top of the box. Reid-Brown was in front of him and the midfielder shot, but Judelson flew in to block the attempt out for a corner kick.
The ensuing set piece was knocked out for a second corner and the second attempt was caught by Otero, ending the threat.
It looked like OCB would have its first chance in the eighth minute when Taifi sent a dangerous low ball across the box. Three players in purple were making runs, with Solis closest to it. However, nobody could get to the end of the pass as it went all the way through.
The Young Lions’ first shot came in the 10th minute when Thalles knocked the ball off a defender, giving OCB its first corner kick. Solis’ set piece went through the box where it ended up with Taifi. The defender fired from outside the box, but the shot was right at Atlanta goalkeeper Jayden Hibbert.
Atlanta nearly had a chance in the 25th minute when Brennan sent a dangerous ball into the six for Rodrigo Neri. Williams was on the attacker, putting enough of his body on him to keep Neri from getting onto it.
A minute later, Mohammed was called for a foul on Brennan just outside the box and to the right of goal. The short set piece between Cooper Sanchez and Tablante resulted in a Brennan shot from distance, but Platts was in position to block it.
The visitors finally got their goal in the 30th minute after a pair of clearances. Ryan Carmichael sent a long cross to the back of the six-yard box where Salvatore Mazzaferro headed it towards goal. The ball went past Otero and Brennan ran onto it to knock it in, giving Atlanta a well-deserved 1-0 lead.
The Young Lions had their best first-half opportunity in the 40th minute when Taifi was sent long on the right behind the back line. The defender dribbled into the box as Hibbert came off his line, making a good save.
On the other end, a short corner kick resulted in Tablante sending a ball into the box. Mazzaferro got his head to the ball, flicking it towards the far post, but sent it wide.
The Young Lions got their equalizer in the 44th minute when Ellis received a throw-in and played a quick give-and-go with Solis to beat three defenders. The forward’s first touch after receiving the ball back from Solis was past Hibbert and off the far post to even the game at 1-1.
Atlanta was the better team in the first 45 minutes with the advantage in shots (10-4), crosses (7-0), corner kicks (6-1), and passing accuracy (87%-79.3%). However, OCB put three of its four shots on target while Atlanta only put one of 10 on frame.
Atlanta got off to an aggressive start to the second half and nearly scored in the 46th minute. While OCB attempted to clear an Atlanta corner kick, Solis got caught playing with the ball in his own box. Neri came in from behind and shoved Solis to the ground, taking possession. The attacker tried to beat Otero to his near post, but hit the outside of the net.
The Young Lions got their first second-half attempt in the 55th minute when Ellis found Reid-Brown near the top of the box. The left back cut inside to lose his defender and shot, but Wynne got in the way, blocking it out for a corner kick.
The ensuing set piece by Taifi sailed beyond the back post where Mohammed came flying in to volley the ball past Hibbert, giving his team a 2-1 lead.
“We’ve been training for me to make the run to the second post and I happened to be there. And unbelievable delivery by Taifi and I was there to meet it,” Mohammed said. “So it’s good. It’s a good connection and hopefully many more to come.”
“Very participative, very active, very aggressive with a lot of desire,” Goldberg said about the goal scorers. “And that’s what we want. Sometimes the ball will go in. Sometimes it won’t. But the more we try to do it, it’s going to be better.”
Tablante tried to find an equalizer against his old team in the 61st minute. He ran into a defender but kept possession. A touch inside allowed him to shoot between Reid-Brown and Judelson, but he sent his shot over the crossbar.
In the 64th minute, Dominik Chong-Qui fired from the corner of the box, forcing Otero to block the ball over the crossbar at his near post. Tablante took the ensuing corner kick, but Otero was there to catch it.
Goldberg made his first two changes of the game during the next stoppage. Gustavo Caraballo and Clapier came into the game for Thalles and Judelson.
Otero was called into action in the 72nd minute when Braden Dunham’s shot from outside the box was deflected. Otero had to adjust to block the attempt, sending it wide. However, Neri was following up. Otero quickly jumped up to block that attempt as well, sending it out of play.
“Outstanding,” Goldberg said about Otero’s performance in goal. “I’m really happy for him. That he could take the chance properly for the team and for himself. And he did an outstanding job.”
Caraballo tried to double the OCB lead in the 73rd minute. The first-team midfielder took the ball to the end line before cutting back, creating space from Mazzaferro and Dunham. He was aiming for the far post, but the shot traveled wide.
The visitors found their equalizer in the 78th minute through a set piece. Guske was unable to clear Nykolas Sessock’s free kick near the top corner of the box, enabling Neri to head it back into the middle of the six-yard box. Wynne and Williams were tussling as they approached the ball, but the Atlanta attacker beat the first-team center back, evening the game at 2-2.
Goldberg was forced into another substitution in the 84th minute when Ellis went down injured. The forward received some attention before eventually being replaced by Zinedine Rodriguez.
Atlanta substitute Adyn Torres tried to be the hero in the 87th minute when he received the ball about 25 yards from goal. The attacker took a touch before firing a shot from long distance. Otero felt it was close enough to jump, but the attempt continued rising and went over the crossbar.
Torres’ attempt was the final chance for either team, as the 90 minutes ended in a 2-2 draw. Atlanta controlled the game in nearly every statistical category. Despite being on the road, the visitors had the advantage in shots (19-9), shots on target (6-5), crosses (11-2), and corner kicks (10-3). They also had better passing accuracy (85.8%-76.1%).
“I agree it was tough. We didn’t find ourselves very comfortable in the first half, and that put us there a little uncomfortable in the game,” Goldberg said. “We scored a goal in a very good moment of the match. It was at the end of the first half. And in the second half we were a little bit better. We’ve got a lot of things to work on to get better. But the good news is at least we got those two points and that’s something to look on.”
“I think on the balance of the game, it was a fair point that we got. We got the two points at home and we’re still undefeated at home,” Mohammed added. “So that’s big. It’s good to start the season that way. Two games and undefeated. So it was good. There’s still a lot of ways for us to improve and we’re going to do that. It’s just the second game of the season. So we’re looking forward to the season and it’s good that we started this way.”
Per MLS NEXT Pro rules, the teams had to shoot penalties to see who would get the extra point.
The Young Lions were perfect in the shootout, with goals by Guske, Solis, Platts, and Clapier. Carmichael hit the post on the first Atlanta attempt and Otero saved Mazzaferro’s shot on the second. Neri scored the third to keep the game alive before Clapier ended it.
OCB ends the two-game season-opening homestand with five points. The Young Lions will have to wait 10 days before they take the field again, taking on Crown Legacy FC in North Carolina on March 26.
Orlando City B
Orlando City B vs. Columbus Crew 2: Final Score 2-1 as Young Lions Win Season Opener
OCB opened its 2025 season with a victory, scoring twice before holding on for dear life in the second half.
Orlando City B (1-0-0, 3 points) opened its 2025 MLS NEXT Pro season with a 2-1 win over Columbus Crew 2 (0-1-0, 0 points) tonight at Osceola County Stadium. Newcomer Dyson Clapier gave the Young Lions the lead in the 10th minute and Zakaria Taifi doubled the advantage just after the break. Crew 2 dominated possession after that and pulled a goal back late through Keesean Ferdinand, but it wasn’t enough, as OCB took all three points.
The first starting lineup of the season for the Young Lions consisted of Carlos Mercado in goal behind a back line of Tahir Reid-Brown, Thomas Williams, Jackson Platts, and Taifi. Dylan Judelson and Colin Guske were the defensive midfielders behind Clapier, Jhon Solis, and Shak Mohammed, with Justin Ellis up top.
OCB got off to an attacking start, trying to send Taifi down the right multiple times. But it was a Crew 2 throw-in that opened the scoring. In the 10th minute, Chase Adams received the throw and played a soft pass to Ferdinand in the Columbus box. Ellis jumped on the play, tipping the ball off of Ferdinand’s foot to Clapier, whose first touch was a rocket past Luke Pruter for the opening goal.
Columbus had its first decent attack in the 14th minute when Owen Presthus made a long run down the right. He sent a hard cross through the box looking for Tristan Brown, but it went all the way through.
It looked like OCB had a penalty in the 18th minute when Taifi did well to control a long pass and was taken down at the edge of the box. The referee initially pointed to the spot but ended up changing it to a free kick just outside of the 18, which was the correct decision.
Solis hit the free kick into the wall, and the ball bounced back to Taifi, who had been standing over it as well. His first touch was another shot, but it too was blocked.
A minute later, Solis found Taifi on the right and the defender sent a dangerous cross into the box. Clapier ran onto it and tried to turn it on goal with his first touch. However, he mishit the ball, ending the threat.
The visitors finally got their first shot of the game in the 27th minute when Austin Su sent a hard, low shot towards goal. Fortunately, he sent it straight to Mercado, who had no trouble collecting it.
The Young Lions created a good buildup in the 37th minute when Ellis received the ball near midfield and sent it down the left for Reid-Brown. The left back found Clapier in the middle, who laid it back for Ellis making the trailing run. The striker’s first touch was a shot, but he didn’t hit it well, and it skipped wide.
It looked like Crew 2 might find an equalizer in the second minute of first-half stoppage time when Presthus sent Brent Adu-Gyamfi behind the back line and into the OCB box. His second touch was a shot, but Mercado did well to get down and block it, making a vital save.
After 45 minutes, OCB had more shots (5-4). However, Crew 2 had the advantage in attempts on target (2-1), corner kicks (2-0), crosses (5-2), and passing accuracy (89.2%-84.7%).
OCB made one change at halftime as Brazilian forward Thalles made his debut in purple, coming in for Clapier.
It didn’t take long for Thalles to get involved, as he nearly scored inside the first minute of the second half. The Brazilian was sent into the Crew 2 box and it looked like he had an open chance, but 15-year-old center back Gianmarco Di Noto came in from behind to knock it away.
The Young Lions went on another attack in the 48th minute, doubling their lead. Solis sent a long ball across the field to Taifi, who was making a run on the right. The right back chested the ball down and recontrolled it after the defender tried to tap it away. His third touch was a strong shot inside the near post, giving his team a 2-0 lead.
“I scored and I didn’t even see anything. All I did was point to my parents,” Taifi said. “My dad was working all day and he came from like two hours away to come. And I just wanted to give them all the thanks for the goal. And it feels amazing to win the game from that.”
“We talked a lot during the week about bringing out their individual best,” OCB Head Coach Manuel Goldberg said about Clapier’s and Taifi’s goals. “About everything. Technically, tactically. So this is the stuff we need. They have that ambition, that desire, and that helped them with the goals.”
Crew 2 nearly pulled one back in the 54th minute when Brown received the ball on the left side of the box. The midfielder tried to hit it into the roof of the net, but hit the woodwork.
Four minutes later, the Young Lions had trouble clearing the ball and Nicolas Rincon stuck his leg out to send the ball towards goal. Mercado did very well to dive to his left and make a one-handed save. The OCB starting goalkeeper was down briefly but was able to continue.
Solis tried to make it 3-0 in the 60th minute when Crew 2 goalkeeper Luke Pruter came well off his line. The ball was cleared before it reached the goal line, but only to Thalles not far away. The Brazilian attempted a bicycle kick, sending it wide.
Reid-Brown made a good run down the left in the 70th minute before cutting it back and finding Ellis at the top of the box. The striker took a touch inside before taking a hard right-footed shot. However, Su got in front of the attempt, blocking it wide.
As the ensuing corner kick was sent into the box, the referee called a foul on OCB. As a result, the Young Lions didn’t even get a chance from the set piece.
Goldberg made his second change in the 83rd minute as Clovis Archange came on for Reid-Brown.
A Taifi corner in the 85th minute found a head near the back post and was past Pruter, but cleared off the line. The follow-up attempt was right at Pruter, who made the save to end the threat.
The visitors finally got a goal back in the 88th minute when some quick passing sent Anthony Alaouieh down the left. The midfielder sent his pass back and diagonally through the box to a wide open Ferdinand, as the entire OCB defense had shifted to the other side. With nobody closing him down, it was an easy goal for the defender, sending the ball inside the far post.
The Young Lions immediately went the other way, looking to increase their lead back to two goals. Solis took a shot in the 89th minute from just outside the box that forced Pruter to dive and knock it wide.
The ensuing corner kick found Platts, who put his attempt on goal. But it was cleared off the line. The clearance went to Solis near the top of the box and the midfielder sent the follow-up attempt high and wide.
Crew 2 had another chance in the first minute of stoppage time when Guske was unable to clear a Columbus throw-in and Su took possession. The midfielder carried the ball to the end line and played it to the top of the six-yard box where Ferdinand was waiting. However, Mercado did well to get down to collect it.
Both teams attacked in the six minutes of second-half stoppage time, but the missed opportunity by Su was the final chance and OCB held on for the 2-1 win.
While Crew 2 had much more possession in the second half, it was OCB that created most of the chances. The Young Lions ended up with more shots (15-12), shots on target (7-5), and corner kicks (7-2). Meanwhile, the visitors had the advantage in crosses (8-3) and passing accuracy (89.6%-83%).
“Of course, first of all, very happy for the guys that we could get a win. It’s not easy to start off and starting off always like this is positive,” Goldberg said about the game. “The things we propose ourselves to do this match, we did. So we’re happy about that.”
“I feel like it was a great team performance. We really held it down,” Taifi said. “Had a little lapse of concentration at the end, but it doesn’t matter. We got the three points. So, it feels great to start with a win. Let’s go!”
The Young Lions continue their streak of season-opening wins, which dates back to the start of MLS NEXT Pro in 2022, making it four in a row. That matches the streak of four straight campaigns in which they opened the season with losses, dating back to the team’s inaugural season in 2016.
OCB will continue its season-opening homestand next Sunday night when the Young Lions host rival Atlanta United 2 at Osceola County Stadium.
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