Orlando City

Orlando City’s Minutes Played in 2024 and What That May Tell Us About 2025

A look back at Orlando City’s minutes played in 2024 may offer hints on what we can expect in 2025.

Published

2 months ago

February 1, 2025

S. Andrew DeSalvo

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

A few weeks ago I wrote about how the Orlando Pride were bringing back the players who scored all of their goals and played nearly all of their minutes from their amazing 2024 season. Subsequent to that article, the Pride transferred Adriana to a club in Saudi Arabia, blowing up the statistics I had cited, but still leaving the premise intact.

I was thinking about that premise when I saw an article on the MLS website about the biggest roster questions facing Eastern Conference teams, and saw a chart in that article that showed Orlando City is bringing back the fifth-highest percentage of minutes played of any club in MLS.

The Lions had 16 players who played at least 1,500 minutes in 2024 (including all competitions), and 15 of those 16 players are returning. There was a steep dropoff to the 17th player on that list, Felipe, who played only 505 minutes across all competitions, and then every other player played fewer than 500 minutes. Looking at this data purely as numbers makes it seem like there is a lot of continuity, and that a team that was successful in 2024 should be primed for success again in 2025. Here are all the players who played last year, their minutes played, and whether they are with the club in 2025:

Player	2024 Minutes	On 2025 Roster
Robin Jansson	3607	Yes
Pedro Gallese	3600	Yes
Iván Angulo	3592	Yes
Facundo Torres	3580	I Wish
César Araújo	3357	Yes
Dagur Dan Thórhallsson	3335	Yes
Wilder Cartagena	3209	Yes, but…
Rodrigo Schlegel	2972	Yes
Martín Ojeda	2719	Yes
Rafael Santos	2704	Yes
Nicolás Lodeiro	2095	Yes
Luis Muriel	1929	Yes
Duncan McGuire	1875	Yes, but…
Ramiro Enrique	1796	Yes
Kyle Smith	1631	Yes
David Brekalo	1588	Yes
Felipe	505	No
Mason Stajduhar	479	No
Jack Lynn	287	No
Michael Halliday	194	Yes
Jeorgio Kocevski	155	No
Shak Mohammed	49	Yes
Luca Petrasso	45	No
Abdi Salim	26	No
Yutaro Tsukada	25	Yes
Alex Freeman	15	Yes

Aggregating all the minutes together we get a team that is bringing back 88.8% of its minutes, although not the player (Felipe) who wore number 8 on his jersey. However, there are two “Yes, but” players listed, and that is because both Wilder Cartagena and Duncan McGuire have injuries that seem like will keep them off the field for at least the opening months of the season. While the club’s timeline would put McGuire back in training around May or so, Cartagena’s injury has not been officially announced by Orlando City, so there is no timeline on the Peruvian’s return.

Cartagena and McGuire are going to be out for a while, so that 88.8% is likely inflated, and probably closer to something like 85%, if each player is only able to play around two-thirds of the season and we pro-rate their returning status to 67% returning instead of 100% returning. Hopefully they can play more than 67% of the season, but there is also the chance that each could play less than that as well, depending on how they heal, and reports on Cartagena’s status are less favorable even than that. As a result, it feels like 85% is still a high percentage, but please allow me to put little cold water on that idea.

During the 2024 season, the Lions scored 76 goals, putting 73 in the net themselves and benefitting from three own goals by their opposition. Facundo Torres was on the field for 66 of those 76 goals, scoring 20 himself, adding nine assists, and being actively involved in the buildup for many of the other 37. One player does not make an offense in soccer, and if another player had been out on the right wing, Orlando City still would have scored some of those goals, but after three years with the club and establishing himself clearly as “The Man” for the Lions, it will be a major change to play without Torres on the field.

Being that Torres played 3,580 minutes last season, there were few offensive lineups without him, and in fact, only five offensive groupings played more than 40 minutes together on the field without Torres, and those groups scored just three total goals:

Attacking Group	Minutes Played	Goals Scored
McGuire Angulo – Muriel – Ojeda Lodeiro – Smith	74	0
Lynn Angulo – Muriel – Ojeda Lodeiro – Smith	73	2
Enrique Angulo – Lodeiro – Ojeda Araújo – Cartagena	45	0
Muriel Mohammed – Ojeda – Enrique Cartagena – Felipe	45	0
McGuire Angulo – Ojeda – Enrique Araújo – Felipe	40	1

Of those five lineups, only the first and third could be used in 2025, since Lynn retired and Felipe left the club. Cartagena’s injury puts a crimp into the third, though if he does return healthy at some point in the season, I do not mind that grouping playing together. The lineup that played the most from this table is the first (McGuire, Ivan Angulo, Luis Muriel, Martin Ojeda, Nico Lodeiro, and Kyle Smith), but with Cesar Araújo as the first-choice defensive midfielder, I hope Orlando City does not have a lot of minutes when he is not on the field. It does bring me some joy to see a lineup with Smith in the midfield, though. He really is a “Smith Army Knife” out there with his ability to line up in so many different places.

I poured some cold water on the returning lineups and their effectiveness, but my expectation is that when the 2025 season ends and we are looking back, it will be an offensive lineup that did not play together in 2024 that ends up having played the most minutes in 2025. The most used offensive lineup for Orlando City in 2024 was the pairing of Araújo and Cartagena in the defensive midfield, and attacking midfield of Angulo, Ojeda, and Torres from left to right with Enrique at striker. I was not tracking the lineups in 2023 but I don’t think that lineup played together at all that season, yet by the second half of 2024 they started together in nearly every game, playing 928 minutes as a group and ending up +8 in goal differential.

There are battles taking place all over the field in preseason, and I expect that only Araújo, Ojeda, and Enrique can be confident that they have starting positions locked in for the offensive group. Angulo may as well, but I think we need to see more preseason lineups first. Multiple players will be eyeing the second defensive midfield role next to Araújo and an attacking midfield role replacing Torres, and it is possible that one or maybe even both of those roles will be filled by someone not on the roster right now, especially if Cartagena’s injury is a long-term one. The rumor mill is back on again about a wing player coming in from Croatia in a Designated Player role, but as always in MLS, nothing is official until it is announced by the club.

Orlando City also has a pipeline of young players the staff believes in and who may have shown enough improvement that they merit more first-team minutes. Colin Guske, a defensive midfielder, was selected to the MLS NEXT All-Star Game in 2024, so perhaps some of Cartagena’s minutes go to him. Tsukada played 25 minutes with the first-team in 2024 and made Honorable Mention for the 2024 MLS NEXT Best XI, and perhaps he has taken a step forward since last season. During the recent preseason FC Series match against Atletico Mineiro, the Lions started 16-year old Gustavo Caraballo out on the wing, and perhaps he is preternaturally skilled and is actually threatening to earn a place on the full roster, or perhaps they just wanted to see how he would do playing with full professionals in a game environment. First-round pick Joran Gerbet has also shown promise in the limited minutes we saw of him in the midfield.

Young players who have yet to play are easy to overhype and assume they are the next big thing, but at the same time, the club has shown belief in these players by signing them to contracts and investing in their development (except Gerbet, but rookies often sign during preseason camp once they’ve proven themselves worthy of a roster spot). We will know pretty quickly who the club really values once the games start, and it would be great if the talent pipeline is producing new starters or key reserves. Óscar Pareja’s history tells us he’s willing to give chances to young players, but as with Michael Halliday and others, the leash can be short if the performance isn’t sustained.

With the coming schedule congestion during the summer months, Pareja may have no choice but to rely on youth at times, as Orlando City will be playing in the Leagues Cup and U.S. Open Cup as well as the MLS regular season, and soccer in the summer months is a draining sport. At one point in July and August the Lions will play eight games in 29 days, or about a game every three to four days, and no matter how fit some of the starting players are, they will need a break in there to come off the bench at least once or twice.

At this point, we know that the team is bringing back a lot of players who played a good amount of minutes last season, but with two significant-looking injuries and one major departure, there are still a lot of questions around how those minutes will be replaced. A new Designated Player signing and the already completed MLS U22 Initiative signing of Nico Rodriguez may answer some of those questions, but I think there are still more questions than answers as of today at striker, winger, and defensive midfield.

Looking back at 2024’s minutes is somewhat instructive as to how 2025’s minutes will play out, especially with so many veteran players returning, but I think when the dust settles on the 2025 season there will be several players high on the list of minutes played who were not at the top in 2024. Between replacing the club’s all-time leading scorer, covering for injuries, and players improving or declining from last season, 2025 will likely look a lot different than 2024, even with so many players returning. Different does not mean bad, it just means different, and I am excited to see the lineups used in the next few preseason games and then to see the big reveal on opening night.

To paraphrase Rick Pitino and his famous quote about the Boston Celtics, “Facundo Torres will not be walking through that door. Mauricio Pereyra will not be walking through that door. Cyle Larin will not be walking through that door.” An Orlando City starting lineup will be walking through that door though, and I cannot wait to cheer them on.

Vamos Orlando!

Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/3/25

Martin Ojeda in the MLS MVP mix early, Orlando Pride players won’t play for Zambia this window, Tierna Davidson out for the NWSL season, and more.

Published

4 hours ago

April 3, 2025

Marcus Mitchell

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I hope this week has been going well for you as we gear up for a busy Saturday filled to the brim with soccer to enjoy. Despite my blender’s protests, I’ve finally figured out how to make frozen coconut mojitos and plan on having those get me through the rest of the week. Before we dive into today’s links, let’s all wish a happy 28th birthday to Orlando City legend Rodrigo Schlegel!

Martin Ojeda’s MVP Credentials

Orlando City’s Martin Ojeda placed second in Sacha Kljestan’s MLS MVP power rankings this week. With four goals and three assists so far this season, Ojeda leads the league in goal contributions and is a major reason why the Lions have scored a league-high 15 goals. It’s great to see the 26-year-old take the reins of the offense after Facundo Torres’ departure. Inter Miami’s Luis Suarez tops Kljestan’s rankings, despite only having a goal in five games this season. Tai Baribo, Evander, and Lionel Messi round out the top five in what could be an interesting MVP race this year.

Pride Players Won’t Join Zambia For International Duty

Zambia will be without four NWSL players when it takes part in the Yongchuan International Tournament in China this month. Along with Bay FC forward Rachael Kundananji, Orlando Pride trio Barbra Banda, Grace Chanda, and Prisca Chilufya were withdrawn from international duty, with the Football Association of Zambia stating it was due to additional travel measures by the current U.S. administration. FAZ General Secretary Reuben Kamanga expects the quartet to be available for future matches and both Banda and Kundananji played in friendlies in Zambia in February. Restrictions like this may limit the appeal of the NWSL to foreign players in the future.

Fan Banned For Hateful Language Towards Banda

NJ/NY Gotham FC announced that the fan who directed hateful language towards Banda has been banned following an investigation that included interviewing witnesses and reviewing security footage. The incident took place at the Pride’s match against Gotham on March 23 at Sports Illustrated Stadium. The fan was found to be in violation of the NWSL Code of Conduct and their season ticket was revoked as well. Gotham also encouraged fans to report inappropriate behavior through the team’s encrypted text message service to inform the stadium’s incident management team.

USWNT Defender Tierna Davidson Out for the NWSL Season

American center back Tierna Davidson will miss the remainder of the 2025 NWSL season after tearing the ACL in her left knee in the club’s draw against the Houston Dash. It’s tough news for her, Gotham, and the United States Women’s National Team, as she captains the NWSL club and featured heavily in the Olympics last year. Davidson sustained an ACL injury in her right knee back in 2022, which contributed to her missing out on the 2023 World Cup. Gisele Thompson replaced Davidson for the USWNT’s upcoming friendlies with Brazil, and Pride defender Emily Sams will likely receive more playing time as the team prepares for the 2027 World Cup.

Free Kicks

Orlando City received $100,000 in General Allocation Money in exchange for former academy goalkeeper Zack Campagnolo’s Homegrown Player rights. The Lions will receive another $100,000 in GAM if conditions are met, and they retain a sell-on percentage if Campagnolo is transferred.
San Diego FC added Milan Iloski on loan from FC Nordsjaelland in Denmark through July of this year. Iloski is a San Diego native and won the USL Golden Boot for Orange County SC in 2022.
New England Revolution midfielder Carles Gil won MLS Goal of the Matchday for his free kick against the New York Red Bulls.
El Farolito SC, which is named after a burrito chain and bar local to San Francisco, has reached the third round of the U.S. Open Cup for the second straight year. The National Premier Soccer League side took down Monterey Bay FC to reach this point of the tournament.
Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 to book its ticket to the Copa del Rey final, where it will face rival Real Madrid on April 26.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a terrific Thursday and rest of your week!

Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/2/25

Orlando Pride players on International duty, NWSL power rankings, USWNT friendlies, and more.

Published

1 day ago

April 2, 2025

David Rohe

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. There is plenty of Orlando Pride news today, which is good considering we’re heading into an international break. That means we can look forward to some women’s international matches in addition to Orlando City’s next bout against the Philadelphia Union. Before we jump into today’s news, please join us in wishing Orlando City midfielder Cesar Araujo a happy 24th birthday. Let’s get to the links.

International Duty, Pride Edition

Four players from the Orlando Pride have been called up for international duty. Anna Moorhouse (England), Angelina (Brazil), Emily Sams (U.S.), and Zara Chavoshi (U.S. U-23 training camp) will all head to their respective national teams. Moorhouse’s England will compete in the UEFA Women’s Nations League, while Angelina and Sams will face off in a pair of friendlies between the USWNT and the Brazil Women’s National Team.

Pride Still on Top

It seems that there are more outlets providing NWSL power rankings every week, but as long as they keep the Pride on top, I’ll keep letting you know about it. Given that the Pride are undefeated, with the most goals scored and the best goal differential, it isn’t surprising that the club is sitting atop the official standings along with these “highly scientific” power rankings. Goal.com, Sports Illustrated, and All For IX all rank the Pride in first place just above the Kansas City Current. I suppose even power rankings are occasionally correct.

Orlando’s Various World Cup Ties

You probably know that Orlando wasn’t selected to be one of the host cities for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. As disappointing as that was, there’s still a chance that the city, and Orlando City SC’s training grounds at Osceola Heritage Park will host team training during the event. The top notch facilities, plus the relatively close proximity to host cities Miami and Atlanta, make Orlando a good option.

On a more positive note, Orlando was chosen as a host city for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup. Camping World Stadium will see Club León vs. CR Flamengo, and Juventus vs. Manchester City. The Group H runner-up vs. Group G winner match and one of the quarterfinal round matches will also be in Orlando. There’s plenty to see and do in the City Beautiful, including some great soccer.

USWNT Youth Movement

Sams won’t be the only younger player in Emma Hayes’ lineup for the friendlies against Brazil. Hayes wants to deepen the player pool, which means bringing in players with an average age of just over 25 years old, and the average number of appearances is less than 35. Hayes also believes this is a chance for the younger players who appeared in the loss to Japan in the SheBelieves Cup. The first of the two matches is this Saturday at 5 p.m., with the second coming up Tuesday at 10:30 p.m.

Free Kicks

The NWSL is looking to expand its media rights deals to include Sunday nights beginning next year. It’s a growth league and a growth market, and I’m all for Sunday night matches.
Power rankings have now made their way down to MLS NEXT Pro. Spoiler alert, Orlando City B comes in at fifth. Still, it’s nice to see a little love given to the development league. Maybe I should write a power rankings for the various power rankings.
I’m always for more soccer, and we now know the USL Women’s Super League eight-team playoff dates and format.
I know it can be hard to feel bad for people who make quite a bit money playing soccer, but I still side with them over the billionaire owners that pay them. Or don’t pay them in the case of Sheffield Wednesday’s owner, Dejphon Chansiri.
Barcelona is trying to bring the NFL to Spain. If successful, it might be the Kansas City Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes who make an appearance at Camp Nou. This will allow a bunch of Barcelona supporters the opportunity to ask if Taylor Swift will make an appearance.
If you’re not watching the German Cup — and to be fair, I haven’t been either — you are missing some massive cupsets, including third-tier Arminia Bielefeld taking down Bundesliga champs Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 to advance to the German Cup final.

That will do it for today. Check back as we get you ready for the Orlando City and OCB matches this weekend. Hopefully, you have two screens since the match start times overlap. Vamos Orlando!

Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/1/25

Barbra Banda’s continued importance, Americans in midweek action, USWNT announces friendly, and more.

Published

2 days ago

April 1, 2025

Ben Miller

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Good morning everyone! It was a great weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams as Orlando City and the Orlando Pride both won, meaning that we got treated to a six-point weekend (OCB was off). As always we have plenty to talk through this morning, so let’s get into today’s links.

Barbra Banda Keeps Rolling in 2025

After a wildly successful debut season with the Orlando Pride in 2024, Barbra Banda has showed no signs of slowing down this year. A brace in the season opener meant that she picked up right where she left off last year, and the team has continued to be successful too. The Pride have made it three wins from three to start the 2025 season, and while Banda hasn’t scored since the opener, her blend of pace, power, dribbling, passing, and movement have continuously helped open things up for her teammates, and she drew a penalty that led to the Pride’s game-winning goal Saturday. She isn’t the Pride’s only offensive weapon, but the team clicks into a different gear when she’s at her best.

Americans in Midweek Action

There are a number of Americans who will be playing in games during the working week, and there are some very important clashes on hand. Things get going later today when Antonee Robinson and Fulham visit Arsenal in Premier League play as the Cottagers are in hot pursuit of a coveted European place. Wednesday has Chris Richards, Matt Turner and Crystal Palace facing Southampton, while Tyler Adams and Bournemouth take on Manchester City. Also on Wednesday, Christian Pulisic, Yunus Musah, and AC Milan will face Inter Milan in a Coppa Italia semifinal. Things finish up on Friday as Aidan Morris and Middlesborough travel to Blackburn Rovers in the EFL Championship.

USWNT Announces Canada Match

The United States Women’s National Team has announced another friendly taking place this summer, as the team will face Canada on July 2 in Washington, D.C. The match will be the third that the USWNT will play during the window, following a pair of friendlies against Ireland in late June. The neighboring countries will meet at Audi Field with the match designated as the Allstate Continental Clasico, with this being the first time that the match will feature the USWNT. The U.S. faced Canada twice in 2024, with both matches ending in 2-2 draws and the USWNT emerging victorious in shootouts.

Concacaf Champions Cup Preview

The Concacaf Champions Cup returns this week, with the first legs of the four quarterfinal matches set to be played today and tomorrow. Things get started tonight with what should be an exciting match between Club America and Cruz Azul, with the crosstown rivals two of the winningest teams in the competition. Cruz Azul’s Angel Sepulveda leads the CCC’s golden boot race with four tallies. The late game sees the LA Galaxy taking on Tigres as the Galaxy will try to distract themselves from a difficult start to their MLS Cup title defense. Wednesday’s slate has the Vancouver Whitecaps taking on Pumas UNAM in Canada in what will be the second-ever meeting between the two teams. The late game will be an all-MLS affair as LAFC hosts Inter Miami in the first meeting between the two sides in CCC play.

Sporting Kansas City Fires Peter Vermes

The longest-tenured coach in Major League Soccer is out of work, as Sporting Kansas City announced the firing of Peter Vermes on Monday morning. It’s an end of an era in Kansas City, as Vermes was the head coach since 2009, back when the team was still called the Kansas City Wizards, and he had been named the club’s technical director three years earlier in 2006. He guided the team to an MLS Cup win in 2013; claimed U.S. Open Cup titles in 2012, 2015, and 2017; and helped the team be consistently competitive for a majority of his tenure. Despite all of that, SKC missed the playoffs in two of the last three seasons and was mired in the midst of a 13-game winless streak in all competitions that stretched back to Sept. 18 of last year. After being an assistant on Vermes’ staff, Kerry Zavagnin will take over as interim head coach.

Free Kicks

Orlando City jumped eight places to no. 11 in ESPN.com’s MLS power rankings.
Meanwhile the Orlando Pride continue to hold sway at no. 1 in ESPN.com’s NWSL power rankings.
Germany great Thomas Muller has reportedly received offers from MLS teams.
Tierna Davidson will not play in the USWNT’s upcoming games against Brazil due to a knee injury, with Gisele Thompson replacing her on the roster.

That’s all I have for this morning. Vamos Orlando!