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Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Union?

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4 months ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City started its 2025 MLS campaign with a disappointing 4-2 loss to the Philadelphia Union. The game started well but got out of hand when the Lions fell behind by two and then three goals. The blame can be shared by some terrible defending, poor finishing, and fantastic goalkeeping by Andre Blake. The loss continues a run of poor results stemming from a winless preseason.

Let’s take a look at the individual performances in this troubling loss.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 5 — The Union didn’t have many chances in this game, but they scored plenty. They put four of their 10 shots on target and all beat Gallese, who didn’t make a single save. Much of the blame goes to the poor back line, but giving up four goals without a save is a bad night. In addition to his lack of shot-stopping, Gallese completed 70.8% of his 24 passes, including five of his 11 long balls.

D, Rafael Santos, 4.5 — Santos led the team with 108 touches on the night. He completed 82.4% of his 68 passes, including a key pass. However, he only completed two of his 10 crosses and four of his 11 long balls. He also took one off-target shot. Defensively, Santos recorded two tackles, an interception, two clearances, a blocked shot, and won two aerial duels. The left back’s most impactful moment came in the 47th minute when he let Daniel Gazdag get behind him and volley in the go-ahead goal.

D, David Brekalo, 5 — Brekalo’s 95 touches were second on the team behind Santos. He completed 91.6% of his team-high 83 passes, including four of his eight long balls. The center back took two shots but both were off target. Defensively, Brekalo had one tackle, two interceptions, four clearances, and won three aerial duels. Unfortunately, he was at fault for the equalizing goal in the 23rd when he failed to pick up the run by Tai Baribo, allowing the attacker to tap in a Kai Wagner pass. 

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 4.5 — Schlegel had 75 touches in this game while completing 91.9% of his 62 passes and two of his four long balls. Defensively, he had two tackles, four clearances, and a blocked shot. The whole defense was bad in this game, but Schlegel made the worst mistake. In the 51st minute, he misplayed a pass by Brekalo, allowing Mikael Uhre to get in on goal and make it 3-1.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallason, 5.5 — Thorhallsson had 44 touches on the night and completed 86.7% of his 30 passes. He didn’t attempt any crosses and his lone long ball was incomplete. Defensively he had a clearance and a blocked shot before being replaced by Alex Freeman in the 56th minute. I bumped him at least a half point above the other defenders despite a rather forgettable game because he was the only one on the back line not directly responsible for a goal.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 5.5 — Araujo had 71 touches in the game and completed 93% of his 57 passes, including five of his six long balls. He also drew a team-high seven fouls. Defensively, Araujo had one tackle, two clearances, and a blocked shot. However, he was partially at fault for not getting back to cover Baribo on Philadelphia’s fourth goal.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 5.5 — Atuesta had 39 touches in his debut and completed 63.3% of his 30 passes. He had one key pass in the eighth minute, playing Martin Ojeda forward in what turned out to be the opening goal, earning himself a secondary assist. The defensive midfielder also completed two of his four long balls. He took one shot in the game, but it was off-target. Defensively, Atuesta added two tackles and a clearance. He was replaced by Joran Gerbet in the 71st minute.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 4.5 — Angulo had 38 touches in this game, completing 88.9% of his 18 passes with a key pass. He only attempted one cross and it was incomplete. The left-sided midfielder was credited with both of his shots on target, but that’s generous. In the 77th minute, a good ball into the box by Freeman found a wide-open Angulo who just had to tap it in. But he scuffed his attempt, sending the ball wide. His turnover in his own defensive third allowed the Union to equalize in the first half. Defensively, Angulo had three tackles, one interception, and one clearance before being replaced by Nico Rodriguez in the 80th minute.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 6 — Ojeda was one of the few bright spots for Orlando City in this game. He finished with 57 touches and completed 79.3% of his 29 passes with a team-high seven key passes, including one assist. It was his good turn and pass forward in the eighth minute that led to Marco Pasalic’s opening goal. He also completed five of his 13 crosses, both team highs. Two of four shots were on target. In the 60th minute, he forced Blake into a very good save and an excellent free kick nearly led to a goal in the 62nd minute, but Freeman hit the crossbar. Defensively, Ojeda recorded two tackles and an interception in what was a decent game by the number 10.

MF, Marco Pasalic, 6.5 (MotM) — Pasalic was without question the most dangerous attacker for Orlando City in this game. He made the most of his 40 touches, completing 84.2% of his 19 passes with two key passes and one of his three long balls. He put four of his seven shots on target, netting a brace, and he could’ve had a hat trick if not for excellent goalkeeping by Blake. He hit the post with an acrobatic attempt in the 79th minute and put in the rebound for his second goal of the night. He added two tackles defensively in a Man of the Match performance in his debut.

F, Ramiro Enrique, 5 — It was a pretty forgettable night for the striker, who only compiled 17 touches and didn’t take a shot. He completed 71.4% of his 14 passes and failed to complete his only cross. He had an interception defensively before being replaced by Luis Muriel in the 56th minute.

Substitutes

F, Luis Muriel (56’), 5.5 — Muriel was more effective than Enrique in a straight swap in the 56th minute. He also had 17 touches and completed 57.1% of his seven passes, including a key pass. One of his three shots was on target and he nearly scored twice. In the 69th minute, a strong header forced Blake into a diving one-handed save. He was wide open 10 minutes later right in front of the goal, but his shot was off the crossbar. On the defensive end, he had two clearances.

D, Alex Freeman (56’), 6 — Freeman replaced Thorhallsson in the 56th minute and was better than the starter. The teenager touched the ball 35 times and completed 86.4% of his 22 passes, including three key passes and his lone long ball. He nearly scored in the 62nd minute when he got his head to an Ojeda free kick, but he hit the crossbar. He was also active defensively, recording a tackle, an interception, and four clearances.

MF, Joran Gerbet (71’), 5.5 — Gerbet came on in the 71st minute for Atuesta and had 25 touches in his first professional game. He completed 89.5% of his 19 passes, including all three long balls. He also had a clearance defensively.

MF, Nico Rodriguez (80’), N/A — Rodriguez was the final substitution for the Lions, replacing Angulo in the 80th minute. He only had 10 touches and completed 88.9% of his nine passes. He didn’t take any shots nor record any defensive stats in his first 10 minutes as a Lion.

That’s how I saw the performances in Orlando City’s opening night loss to the Union. Let us know how you saw the game and don’t’ forget to vote on your Man of the Match below.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. St. Louis City: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions make their first trip to St. Louis looking to build on their win at Colorado.

Published

4 hours ago

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June 25, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread and preview for a Wednesday night matchup between Orlando City (8-4-6, 30 points) and St. Louis City SC (3-9-6, 15 points) at Energizer Park in St. Louis, MO (8:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). This is the second meeting ever between the two sides, the first in St. Louis, and the only one on the 2025 regular-season schedule.

Here’s what you need to know about the match.

History

These teams have met just once before. Orlando City won that match 2-1 on Aug. 26 at Exploria Stadium on Facundo Torres’ penalty in the first minute of stoppage time. Torres completed his brace after a handball in the box by Anthony Markanich stopped a shot by Rafael Santos. Torres opened the scoring in the second half, but Rasmus Alm equalized, with his goal being awarded after video review revealed the referee’s assistant should not have raised their flag for the ball going out of play prior to the critical pass that led to the goal. Jake Nerwinsky was sent off late in that game for a foul denying Ramiro Enrique a goal-scoring opportunity.

Overview

The Lions are 3-2-4 on the road this season after coming off a tightly contested 1-0 road win at Colorado on June 14, snapping a two-match losing streak that ended a busy May schedule. Orlando has been off since beating the Rapids but will try to continue building momentum as the month of June comes to a close. The Lions have six matches against Eastern Conference competition after visiting tonight’s Western Conference opponents in the leadup to the 2025 Leagues Cup at the end of July.

Orlando City center back Rodrigo Schlegel will serve his one-game suspension for yellow card accumulation tonight, and with Alex Freeman away with the USMNT, the Lions will be missing half of their starters on the back line for this match as the entire right half will be out. Look for David Brekalo to move to right center back. Dagur Dan Thorhallsson is the most likely candidate to take the right back spot, with either Kyle Smith or Santos slotting in at left back.

St. Louis City is 2-3-4 at home this season and is coming off a wild 3-3 home draw against the LA Galaxy on June 14. Joao Klauss scored a hat trick in the match, putting his third goal of the game in the net in the fifth minute of stoppage time to steal a point against the defending champions. Tonight’s hosts are 0-1-1 in their last two matches, but they’ve been playing better lately, with five consecutive games either decided by a single goal or finishing in a draw.

Klauss may have gotten three of his five goals this season in the last game, but he can be one of the league’s most lethal finishers. It’s not the best night for Orlando to be missing half of its back line with the Brazilian rounding into form. On the other end, Roman Burki is one of the best goalkeepers in the league, so Orlando City will need to be clinical to finish chances — something that the team has struggled with at times.

“St. Louis is a team we don’t regularly play, but we’ve followed them over the last three or four games,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “They’ve changed coaches, even though it’s someone who has been within the system. We try to capture what their current modes are — how they’re structured, how they’re playing — and then merge that into our game plan. We don’t have as much context of a rivalry as we usually do, since it’s a team we don’t know very well. But we keep preparing in our way and keep insisting that imposing our style on the game is what we’re looking for.”

In addition to Schlegel (suspension) and Freeman (international duty) the Lions will be without Duncan McGuire (shoulder), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee), while Joran Gerbet (thigh) is listed as questionable. St. Louis City will be without Alm (hip), Chris Durkin (knee), Henry Kessler (hamstring), Eduard Löwen (hamstring), Joakim Nilsson (knee), and Tomáš Ostrák (lower body).

Match Content

Projected Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Cesar Araujo, Eduard Atuesta, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Luis Muriel.

St. Louis City SC (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Roman Burki.

Defenders: Jayden Reid, Timo Baumgartl, Kyle Hiebert, Tomas Totland.

Midfielders: Alfredo Morales Simon Becher, Akil Watts.

Forwards: Celio Pompeu, Joao Klauss, Marcel Hartel.

Referees

REF: Guido Gonzales, Jr.
AR1: Ryan Graves.
AR2: Walt Heatherly.
4TH: Matt Thompson.
VAR: Kevin Terry, Jr.
AVAR: TBA.

How to Watch

Match Time: 8:30 p.m.

Venue: Energizer Park — St. Louis, MO.

TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the game. Go City!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/25/25

Orlando City and OCB play tonight, the Club World Cup continues, and more.

Published

8 hours ago

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June 25, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Victor Tan / New Day

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. It is a busy week here at The Mane Land. Orlando City and Orlando City B play tonight, there are FIFA Club World Cup matches, Concacaf Gold Cup, and USWNT friendlies. It’s a lot, but it also means there’s a ton of soccer to watch, which is a good thing. Let’s get to the links.

Go West, Orlando City

Orlando City heads to Missouri to take on St. Louis City FC tonight. The Lions will be without Alex Freeman (international duty) and Rodrigo Schlegel (yellow card accumulation). Orlando City will need to deal with St. Louis City striker Joao Klauss while finding goals on the road. This is a must-watch midweek match. We will have a preview later today, and you should also listen to The Mane Land PawedCast to prepare.

Orlando City B Returns Home vs. Toronto FC II

Orlando City B hosts Toronto FC II at Osceola County Stadium tonight. Like the first team, we will have coverage for you. The Young Lions are coming off a two-week break after a loss to Carolina Core FC. It will be interesting to see which OCB shows up for the match. You can watch the match on mlsnextpro.com.

Club World Cup, Orlando-Style

There might not be as many people in the seats at the Club World Cup as FIFA would like, but Orlando is still a big part of it. The group stage finishes this week as the competition heads into the Round of 16. There’s a ton of prize money up for all the competitors no matter where they are currently in the standings. Our Michael Citro was at Camping World Stadium last night to cover LAFC vs. Flamengo in Group D.

USMNT News

The USMNT will face Costa Rica Sunday in a Concacaf Gold Cup quarterfinal match in Minneapolis. Malik Tillman has been a bright spot on the roster, though Orlando City fans will be watching Freeman. The perpetual search for a consistent striker continues for the USMNT, though Patrick Agyemang may be the answer — at least for now.

Free Kicks

  • There’s nothing quite like having your number retired after playing for a team for two whole years after playing for another club for six years. It is especially special when the new club has been in existence for a whole four years. Congratulations to former Orlando Pride forward Alex Morgan.

Jesse Marsch cleared of all allegations by Concacaf.MORE: news.canadasoccer.com/jesse-marsch…

— CANMNT (@canmntofficial.bsky.social) 2025-06-24T03:22:25.639Z
  • After the Gold Cup, Agyemang may be making the move from Charlotte FC to Derby County.

🚨🐏 Excl: Derby County are closing in on deal to sign 24 year old striker Patrick Agyemang from Charlotte FC. Talks underway with player’s green light already in place.

— Fabrizio Romano (MIRROR) (@fabrizioromano.yopro20.com) 2025-06-24T23:28:28.124048+00:00
  • You may have seen that the USWNT is celebrating Pride month with rainbow numbers on the team jerseys. I am a supporter and ally, but it means even more to the players.

That will do it for today. Make sure you check back later for our match coverage. You can also follow our live coverage on Bluesky. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/24/25

Orlando City’s upward aspirations, Tim Weah reportedly set for transfer, Club World Cup roundup, and more.

Published

1 day ago

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June 24, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Tuesday, everyone. We’ve got a busy week ahead of us with the Club World Cup approaching the end of the group stage, OCB at home on Wednesday, and Orlando City back in action with a pair of games. That means we have plenty to talk about, so let’s get straight into today’s links.

Orlando City’s Lofty Goals

Kyle Smith took some time after training on Monday to speak to the media and shed some light on where OCSC is at right now. The utility player was candid in saying he believes this year’s team is the best one he’s seen since he’s been with the club, and that’s saying something considering he’s the longest-tenured player on the team. Smith said the team is focused on climbing higher in the standings and that the two recent breaks will help the team do just that. He emphasized the importance of handling extra time off between games the right way by making sure the players are taking care of their bodies, getting in the gym, and recovering afterwards. That sort of professionalism paid off in the 1-0 win over the Colorado Rapids, so hopefully the same is true of Wednesday’s game against St. Louis City.

Tim Weah Reportedly on the Move

Nottingham Forest has reportedly agreed a deal with Juventus to sign Tim Weah and fellow Juve player Samuel Mbangula for roughly €22 million. That being said, personal terms have not yet been agreed upon with Weah, and that will likely take some time, since he’s playing for them at the Club World Cup, and the Italian side is probably keen to minimize outside distractions. Weah broke out with Lille during a four-season spell with the French side, earning a move to Juventus in 2023 as a result.

Club World Cup Roundup

The Club World Cup continues to roll on, as the tournament entered its final round of group stage games on Monday. Atletico Madrid became the first big name to exit the competition, as it beat Botafogo 1-0 to finish level with the Brazilians on six points but will be going home due to having worse goal difference. Atletico needed to win by at least three in order to overtake Botafogo in the standings and might have managed it if not for some poor finishing. In Group B’s other game, Paris Saint-Germain took down the Seattle Sounders 2-0 to finish top of the group. Seattle was given a brutal draw and accounted itself as well as can be expected, but ultimately, the Sounders exit the competition without picking up a point.

Club World Cup Takeaways

Speaking of the Club World Cup, what are some of the impressions so far of the expanded tournament? There have been plenty of good things, as teams have been taking it seriously with strong lineups, and barring the outlier that is Auckland City, no one team has been consistently getting shelled. On the other hand, making the jump from six teams to 32 simply feels like too much too soon, and that’s probably contributed to fluctuating levels of interest from local fans. High ticket prices and games starting in the heat of the day haven’t helped much either, as weather conditions have been a recurring concern among both fans and players. The competition is still a net positive overall, but there are certainly some things to learn from and improve upon next time around.

Free Kicks

  • Check out some of the scenes from the Lions’ training session on Monday.

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

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