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

Orlando City hit the road for the first time in 2025, disappointingly dropping its first road match of the year to Eastern Conference rivals New York City FC 2-1. The small confines of Yankee Stadium proved to be too big of a stage for Orlando City on the 10th anniversary of the club’s first match in Major League Soccer.

Let’s take a look at the individual performances for Orlando City and see who impressed and who needs to improve.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6 — Gallese faced more adversity this week against NYCFC than a week ago against Toronto. He made seven saves on the night, including a brilliant reaction save on a powerful shot attempt in the second half. For the second game in a row, Gallese conceded two goals, though the first wasn’t primarily the fault of the Orlando City keeper, as he dove to stop a Maxi Moralez shot that hit off the post and ricocheted out in front. Before he could react, the defense was beaten to the ball by Alonso Martinez for the easy goal. Gallese should have done better on the second goal, in which he left a big, juicy rebound for the second easy goal of the night. The Peruvian finished with six saves, completed 46.7% of his 15 passes, and was successful on five of his 13 long balls.

D, Rafael Santos, 5.5 — Santos touched the ball 58 times and completed 68.4% of his 38 passes. He was credited with two key passes but was only accurate with one of his four crosses and two of his nine long balls. The left back was fairly active on defense, recording one interception, two clearances, and three tackles. Offensively, the Brazilian did not register a shot attempt.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 5.5 — Schlegel touched the ball 57 times and completed 81% of his 42 passes, including two of his six long balls. He wasn’t involved in the attack at all but finished with two tackles, one interception, and six clearances. His positioning seemed off to the right too far on the second goal, and he was as culpable as the rest of the back line in not tracking runners.

D, Robin Jansson, 5.5 — The captain made his season debut after missing the first two matches and had 50 touches in the game. He completed 79.6% of his 44 passes, including five of his 11 long balls. Defensively, Jansson had one tackle and four clearances and blocked a shot. As with the rest of the back line, he was responsible for making sure free runners weren’t getting in behind and that’s how both goals happened, so it was far from a great start for the Swede. Offensively, Jansson did not contribute but it is certainly a welcome sign to see the Orlando City captain back on the field.

D, Alex Freeman, 6 — Freeman got his second career and had a team-high 78 touches, completing 70.5% of his 44 passes, including two key passes. He also completed two of his six long balls and was unsuccessful on both of his crossing attempts. Offensively, he was credited with one successful dribble, was dispossessed twice, and did not record a shot. He was involved in the buildup for Orlando’s goal, however, sending the ball forward that began the give-and-go with Luis Muriel and Marco Pasalic. Defensively, Freeman recorded a tackle and had a team-high nine clearances. There are still some nervy moments defensively for Freeman as he becomes more comfortable on the field, and he was getting beaten on the flanks at times even on the small playing surface, but his activity and effort cannot be questioned.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6 — Araujo touched the ball 75 times, second only to Freeman, and completed 88.9% of his 54 passes, including a key pass and one successful long ball on two attempts. He recorded two shots, both of which were off target, and suffered a team-high four fouls. Araujo was also whistled offside once in the match, which on such a short field is impressive in its own right. Defensively, he had a team high six tackles, one interception, and two clearances. He kept Julian Fernandez onside when he dropped into the middle defensively, which helped NYCFC score the winning goal.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 6 — Atuesta slotted into his usual role in the midfield and recorded 51 touches. He completed 80% of his 30 passes, including a key pass, but only one of his four long balls. Offensively, Atuesta put one of his two shots on target and unfortunately was credited with a team-high three unstable touches. Defensively, he had one tackle, two interceptions, two clearances, and a blocked shot. Atuesta also committed a team-high four fouls in the match, a trend worth monitoring going forward as he has appeared quite foul happy over the first three matches. He was also booked.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 5.5 — Angulo had 52 touches and completed 77.4% of his 31 passes. For a player who loves to dribble 1-v-1, 1-v-2, or even 1-v-3 more than he should, Angulo was surprisingly credited with a team-high three key passes, and he completed three of his five crosses. Angulo did not attempt a shot against NYCFC and he contributed defensively with two tackles.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 6 — Ojeda touched the ball 36 times and completed 84.6% of his 26 passes, including two key passes, two of his five crosses, and all three of his long balls. Offensively, Ojeda only mustered one shot attempt, which was not on target, as he scuffed a good opportunity from the top of the area in the first half. The Argentinian did not record a meaningful defensive statistic. He was sacrificed in the 75th minute for Ramiro Enrique as Orlando looked for an equalizer.

MF, Marco Pasalic, 6.5 — Pasalic touched the ball 40 times, completing just 69.6% of his 23 passes. He had one key pass — the assist on Muriel’s goal — and was unsuccessful on his lone long ball attempt. In the early moments of the match, Pasalic looked like a footballer playing his first game on a baseball field, and unfortunately for Orlando City, he never was fully able to showcase his technical abilities in tight spaces. He put one of his three shots on target, and his pass to send Muriel in behind was perfectly executed. While Pasalic failed to find the back of the net, he did not let a sluggish offensive night keep him from contributing on the defensive end, where he was credited with one tackle, two interceptions, and two clearances.

F, Luis Muriel, 6.5 (MotM) — Starting his first game of the season, Muriel touched the ball 27 times while completing 61.5% of his 13 passes. Two of his six shots wound up on target, including his first goal of the year, as he was able to get Orlando City level on a strike in the 69th minute. The six shot attempts were a team high against NYCFC. Defensively, Muriel added a tackle. It is an encouraging sign to see the Designated Player find the back of the net, and just a little disappointing that he didn’t have more as the Colombian had a few other close attempts which either were slightly off the mark or didn’t have enough power behind the shot.

Substitutes

F, Ramiro Enrique (76’), 5 — Enrique came on for Ojeda in the 76th minute, touching the ball seven times. He completed one of his three passes and unfortunately did not log a shot attempt over the final quarter hour.

MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (80’), 6 — Thorhallsson once again entered in the waning moments of the match but was unable to recreate the magic that followed his substitution a week ago, when he scored with his second touch. Against NYCFC, Thorhallsson touched the ball 12 times, and completed all five of his passes. He did not record a shot but was credited with one tackle.

D, Kyle Smith (80′), 6 — Smith entered in place of Santos in an attempt to help Orlando City find an equalizer. He logged 12 touches and completed 90% of his 10 passes. He failed to connect on his lone crossing attempt but completed his only long ball. Defensively, Smith was credited with one tackle.

MF, Gustavo Caraballo (85′), N/A — Caraballo entered the match in the 85th minute replacing Atuesta and logged seven touches, was credited with one key pass, and recorded a shot that was off target.

That’s how I saw Orlando City’s first road loss of the 2025 season. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments below and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.