Orlando City
Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Five Takeaways
Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 3-3 draw against the Revolution.

Orlando City returned home and returned to league play after a resounding midweek victory in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Lions faced one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference heading into the matchday, as the New England Revolution entered Saturday having won four straight Major League Soccer matches in a row and five straight in all competitions. As the rain fell at Inter&Co Stadium, so did any hopes of a clean sheet for either side as the match saw six goals in total, resulting in a somewhat disappointing 3-3 draw and a splitting of the matchday points. What follows are my five takeaways for the match.
Welcome Back, Martin Ojeda
Head Coach Oscar Pareja inserted Designated Player Martin Ojeda back into the starting 11, and the decision paid off in spades for the Lions, as Ojeda was the Orlando City offense on the night. A first-half brace from the Argentine saw Orlando City take control of the match a little after the half-hour mark. Ojeda was all over the field, and for his first goal, the midfielder fired a rocket blast off the bottom of the crossbar and in, which gave Revolution goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic little reaction time and almost no chance to attempt a save. For his second, just nine minutes later, Ojeda took a beautiful pass from Joran Gerbet, into a 1-v-1 situation and did well to remain composed before picking out the inside of the right post. It was a great start for Ojeda, which saw Orlando City jump out to a 2-0 lead. His third goal of the match, which we’ll get to in a moment, came from the spot in the second half. Ojeda may have scored the team’s first hat trick since 2015, but he led the team with seven shot attempts and any of the other four could also have found the net on another night, as the Lions’ No. 10 found the holes in the Revolution defense all night.
All Good Things Must Come to an End
I had hoped to see Orlando City ride its club-best 653-minute shutout streak across all competitions for a little bit longer than a paltry five minutes after Ojeda’s second goal. If Orlando City fans had a nickel for every time an MLS player earned their first career goal against the Lions, we would all have a lot of nickels. Against the Revolution, another player opened his MLS account when Alhassan Yusuf ran onto a ball sent back across goal and calmly slotted it into the net from point-blank range. The goal cut the lead to one, pulling the Revs back into the game. To make matters worse, New England was able to level the match just before halftime with a Matt Polster header off a short corner. Polster wasn’t covered nearly well enough on the set piece. Orlando City also ended New England’s long streak without conceding, as Ojeda’s first goal Saturday night halted the Revs’ streak at 418 consecutive minutes.
Correcting a Mistake
Ten minutes into the second half, the Lions regained the lead from the penalty spot. Referee Rubiel Vazquez and the assistant referee on the east sideline both appeared well positioned to see Gerbet get kicked in the head by the high boot of Mamadou Fofana, but somehow both missed the call. Gerbet went down in the box with an apparent head injury but it took Vazquez an unacceptable amount of time to stop the match to check on the player. Once he did, there was a longer-than-necessary delay for the video assistant referee to check the play before sending Vazquez to the monitor for another look. The review correctly determined that Fofana fouled Gerbet. Ojeda stepped up to the spot and sent Ivacic the wrong way, completing his first career hat trick and Orlando City’s first hatty since Cyle Larin scored three goals on the road in a win over the Red Bulls on Sept. 25, 2015. Ojeda became the first player to notch a home hat trick in the club’s MLS era.
A Gift for the Opposition
After taking the 3-2 lead, Orlando City found was in control of the match for a good half-hour of game action despite the Revolution increasing their pressure as they hunted for the equalizer once again. The Revs found the reprieve they were searching for in the 85th minute after a head-scratching challenge from captain Robin Jansson resulted in a gifted penalty kick opportunity that Carlos Gil took full advantage of. There was no immediate need for Jansson to stick his foot out, as the attacking player for New England was running away from goal near the end-line. The contact seemed soft, but Vazquez pointed directly to the spot. This time, there was no trip to the monitor for a second look, as Orlando City continues to see inconsistencies within games on review decisions. While we’re not keeping any official records on video review, this seems like at least half a dozen times in Pareja’s time in Orlando when the match referee has gone to the monitor for one close play and not the other, with either one or both of those decisions ultimately benefitting the opposition. Either way, Jansson has to be aware of the situation and make a better decision in that moment when protecting a late lead.
Brekalo Settling In
Defender David Brekalo has struggled to stay healthy since his arrival in Orlando, but Saturday night was part of a recent stretch of games in which the Slovenian international has looked more and more comfortable. Still playing as a hybrid left back/left center back, not only did Brekalo stuff the stat sheet defensively with two tackles, an interception, three clearances, and a blocked shot, but he’s also starting to show more confidence in getting into the attack. He was an unfortunate in the 48th minute not to have scored a vital goal for the Lions. He started the play in the back, dribbled forward past a defender and passed, continuing his run up the pitch. He was rewarded with a return pass in the final third, taking the ball up the left side of the box and firing a shot that was ever so slightly deflected, sending it off the woodwork instead of into the net. Although he was partially culpable on the first New England goal — his sliding lunge was a tad late, allowing Ilay Feingold to get to Ignatius Ganago’s cross through the box and took him out of position to prevent the cross back in from Feingold to Yusuf — it was a good night overall for Brekalo, who seems to be finding his form. He moved to right center back late in the game when Pareja brought on Rafael Santos, hoping more attack-minded players could find a late game winner.
Those are my takeaways from a match that produced more goals than Orlando City fans have been seeing in most recent matches but didn’t produce a better result. What stood out to you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and as always, vamos Orlando!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 6/23/25
Pride fall to Racing Louisville, Seb Hines and Giles Barnes share insight on path to success in Orlando, USMNT defeats Haiti, and more.

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been busy working and catching up with friends over the past week. Before we get started, let’s wish a belated happy birthday to Orlando Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and Sporting Director Haley Carter, who turned 41 on Saturday. The Pride was the lone team in action over the weekend, while the Lions and OCB were off. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.
Pride Fall at Racing Louisville
The Orlando Pride fell to Racing Louisville 2-0 Friday at Lynn Family Stadium. Arin Wright scored the opening goal in the first half, and former Pride midfielder Taylor Flint converted a penalty kick for Racing Louisville. The Pride struggled offensively and failed to capitalize on their scoring chances. Orlando’s struggles in Louisville continue, as the club is winless in five matches at Lynn Family Stadium. The Pride will be on a long break, and their next match will be Aug. 3, taking on the Utah Royals at Inter&Co Stadium.
Seb Hines, Giles Barnes Share Insight on Path to Success in Orlando
Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines and Assistant Coach Giles Barnes were featured in an interview in The Guardian. Both Hines and Barnes shared insight into their longtime friendship, which began with playing in English youth international camps, their different paths to playing in Major League Soccer, and how they became involved in coaching. Hines discussed his time as interim manager of the Pride in 2022 and how he brought in Barnes to help change the club’s culture. Hines and Barnes helped change the perception of the club and led the Pride to winning both the NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship last season.
USMNT Defeats Haiti to Win Group D in Gold Cup
The U.S. Men’s National Team defeated Haiti 2-1 Sunday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, in their final match in the group stage of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. The USMNT finished atop its group with three wins and nine points. Orlando City defender Alex Freeman made his third consecutive start and played 90 minutes.
Malik Tillman scored the opening goal 10 minutes into the match to give the USMNT the early lead. Haiti tied the match not long after Tillman’s goal. In the second half, Patrick Agyemang pulled the USMNT back in front. The USMNT advances to the quarterfinals as the group winner and will play its next match Sunday against the Group A runner-up which was the late game Sunday night and had yet to conclude as of this writing.
Club World Cup Weekend Recap
Another weekend of matches from the FIFA Club World Cup is in the books. On Friday, Benfica crushed Auckland City FC 6-0, while Flamengo beat Chelsea 3-1. LAFC was eliminated from advancing to the knockout round after a 1-0 defeat to ES Tunis. Bayern Munich edged Boca Juniors 2-1. On Saturday, Borussia Dortmund defeated Mamelodi Sundowns 4-3. Inter Milan needed a late stoppage-time winning goal from Valentin Carboni to edge Urawa Red Diamonds 2-1. Fluminense beat Ulsan HD 4-2, and River Plate and Monterrey ended in a scoreless draw. On Sunday, Juventus cruised to a 4-1 win over Wydad Casablanca. Xabi Alonso secured his first win as manager of Real Madrid with a 3-1 victory against Pachuca. Red Bull Salzburg and Al-Hilal played to a scoreless draw, with Manchester City playing Al-Ain in the late match Sunday. Today’s matches feature Atletico Madrid facing Botafogo, the Seattle Sounders hosting Paris Saint-Germain, FC Porto vs. Al Ahly, and Inter Miami taking on Palmeiras.
Free Kicks
- Orlando Pride midfielder Ally Lemos and forward Simone Jackson have been called-up to the U-23 U.S. Women’s National Team. The U-23 camp will be led by Orlando Pride Assistant Coach Yolanda Thomas.
USL Championship side San Antonio FC has signed former Orlando City defender Abdi Salim to a 25-day contract.
San Diego Wave winger Maria Sanchez has reportedly reach an agreement to return to her former club, Tigres of Liga MX Femenil, on a four-year contract.
Paul Pogba is reportedly set to return to playing soccer and has signed a two-year contract with Ligue 1 side AS Monaco.
That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.
Opinion
Orlando City Has Been Better than Expected Halfway Through the Season
While there was plenty to worry about at the start of the season, Orlando has had a good first half of 2025.

With 18 matches in the books, we’ve moved just past the halfway point of the 2025 Major League Soccer season, and based off my feelings before Orlando City played its opening game of the season, the Lions have performed above expectations so far. There were plenty of valid reasons to be concerned heading into the year. Orlando had sold its all-time leading goal scorer, and there were questions about whether he’d been adequately replaced. There were worries about depth at multiple positions, and the defense was coming off an uncharacteristically poor year. Here we are though, with the Lions sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference, just three points out of second place and seven points out of first. So how did we get to this point?
For one thing, Marco Pasalic has been much better than I (and I think a lot of other people) expected him to be. The Croatian has six goals and four assists across 18 matches, and is second on the team in both categories. He scored 10 goals in 49 appearances in the Croatian first division before coming to Orlando and was extremely one-footed, which was enough evidence to sow real doubt about whether he could adequately replace the impact of Facundo Torres.
So far, it’s mostly been so good. His direct style of play is a good complement to the styles of Martin Ojeda and Luis Muriel, and he’s largely hit the ground running in a league that can be difficult to adapt to. It hasn’t been perfect, as he’s still very one-footed, and can sometimes disappear if he’s stringently man marked, but on the whole there’s been much more good than bad.
Speaking of Ojeda and Muriel, they’ve also had strong years. Ojeda in particular has continued his great second half of the 2024 season and has nine goals and five assists in 18 games to show for it. He looks fast, confident, and decisive and is a far cry from the player who struggled frequently during his first year as a Lion. Muriel has cooled off a little after a scorching start to 2025, but he still has six goals and three assists in 18 matches. He looks vastly improved from last year, when he looked a little off the pace of play and quickly lost the starting striker role. He still has a tendency to not be as selfish as he needs to be in front of goal, but he’s been much better than 2024.
I mentioned depth being a big concern, and not just at one position. At the beginning of the season Orlando City was, and arguably still is, thin at striker, center back, defensive midfield, and fullback. Duncan McGuire was injured to start the year and is now injured again, leaving Orlando with two true strikers in Muriel and Ramiro Enrique. There was no true backup left back, only one reliable backup center back, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson starting at right back meant that defensive midfield depth consisted of rookie Joran Gerbet and the Swiss army knife that is Kyle Smith.
Things have mostly worked out though. David Brekalo has supplanted Rafael Santos, meaning the Brazilian is now a proven backup option at the position, and Smith has filled in there as well. That means that in games in which Rodrigo Schlegel or Robin Jansson are unavailable, Brekalo fills in at center back, Santos starts at left back, and Smith is the backup for both positions, so it isn’t a flawless system. Gerbet has been playing better and better and got some valuable minutes when Eduard Atuesta and Cesar Araujo were unavailable. His emergence has been a crucial piece of the puzzle this year. So too has the rise of Alex Freeman, as his locking down the right back role has allowed Thorhallsson to fill in at defensive midfield, attacking midfield, and right back. The situation isn’t perfect, as a couple untimely injuries to the wrong guys would leave the Lions looking pretty threadbare, but so far it’s just about worked.
Another big concern was the defense. The Lions conceded 50 goals in the regular season last year, which was tied for the second-most of any Eastern Conference playoff team and fourth-most of any playoff team. With no defensive signings and the aforementioned depth concerns, there were plenty of reasons to worry about Orlando’s ability to keep the ball out of the back of the net.
Things have looked much better in 2025, though. The 22 goals OCSC has conceded are the fifth-fewest in the league, and Pedro Gallese’s eight clean sheets are tied for most in the league. Aside from a few egregious defensive performances against the Philadelphia Union, Atlanta United, and the Chicago Fire, things have mostly been tidy at the back, and when they haven’t been, El Pulpo has been around to pick up the slack. Again, things haven’t been perfect, as there have been moments where individual and collective errors have hurt the team, but it’s been better.
I thought the Lions would struggle this year. Going into the start of the season, we were talking about a team that lost Torres, arguably didn’t do enough to strengthen the team across the board, was facing depth issues, and was dealing with a leaky defense — all while pretty much every other contender in the East got stronger on paper. Instead, OCSC tied a club-best unbeaten streak and is just three points out of second place.
That being said, the East is so tight that Orlando is only five points above the playoff line, and injuries to the wrong guys could easily topple the fragile ecosystem that is the depth chart, but so far things are going better than I thought they would be. There are still a lot of matches to play, but this isn’t a bad position to be in at the halfway mark.
Lion Links
Lion Links: 6/20/25
Orlando Pride take on Racing Louisville FC tonight, Orlando Pride players called up by Zambia, USMNT beats Saudi Arabia, and more.

Happy Friday! June continues to fly by as we enjoy the buffet of soccer here in the U.S. this month. I’ll be spending most of the weekend working, but I am hoping to get some reading done after being gifted some books for my birthday. But enough about me, let’s jump right into today’s links!
Orlando Pride Face Racing Louisville Tonight
The Orlando Pride are on the road tonight for a match against Racing Louisville FC at 8 p.m. in the final game before a league break until August. Going into the break with four straight wins would be nice for the Pride, but they’ve struggled at Lynn Family Stadium over the years. Louisville enters this match following a 4-2 loss to the league-leading Kansas City Current and has scored eight goals over the past three games. Orlando’s defense has been phenomenal this year, conceding just eight goals this season and only one during this win streak. Midfielder Cori Dyke spoke on how the team is finding its groove and shutting out opponents.
Zambia Calls Up Orlando Pride Trio
Barbra Banda, Grace Chanda, and Prisca Chilufya were all called up for Zambia’s CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations roster ahead of this summer’s tournament. Banda has eight goals this season with the Pride and had four goals at last year’s Olympics, including a hat trick against Australia. The Copper Queens claimed third place in the 2022 edition of this tournament, and they’ll need to be at their best to win this summer against tough opponents like South Africa and Nigeria. Zambia’s tournament campaign will kick off on July 5 against the host nation, Morocco.
USMNT Beats Saudi Arabia to Qualify for Quarterfinals
The United States Men’s National Team won 1-0 against Saudi Arabia to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals of this year’s Concacaf Gold Cup. After a scoreless first half, the Yanks broke through in the 63rd minute thanks to a free kick. Sebastian Berhalter served the ball on a silver platter to Chris Richards, who buried it for the crucial goal. The defense did well to secure its second shutout of the tournament, with Orlando City’s Alex Freeman starting at right back yet again. The USMNT will play Haiti on Sunday and should be able to win the group for a smoother path in the knockout stage.
FIFA Club World Cup Roundup
An MLS club finally won a game during this year’s FIFA Club World Cup, with Inter Miami beating Porto 2-1 in Atlanta. Lionel Messi scored the winner from a free kick to complete the comeback after conceding an early goal. The Seattle Sounders had a rougher day, falling 3-1 to Atletico Madrid, with Pablo Barrios scoring a brace. Former Lion Facundo Torres started for Palmeiras in the Brazilian club’s 2-0 win over Egypt’s Al Ahly.
Today’s action features more soccer at Inter&Co Stadium, with Benfica and Auckland City squaring off in the City Beautiful. Our Michael Citro will be on hand to report on it. Elsewhere in the U.S., Chelsea will take on Flamengo, LAFC will face ES Tunis, and Bayern Munich will play Boca Juniors.
Free Kicks
- Canada Head Coach Jesse Marsch, who is already serving a suspension for misconduct during the Nations League, is under investigation by Concacaf for incidents during this Gold Cup. Reports detail that Marsch disregarded regulations and used offensive language toward match officials.
- Kylian Mbappe was discharged from the hospital after suffering from a case of gastroenteritis. It’s unclear if or when he’ll play for Real Madrid during the Club World Cup.
- Carlos Cuesta was hired as Parma’s next head coach after five years with Arsenal as an assistant coach. The 29-year-old becomes the second-youngest coach in Serie A history.
- Manchester City was fined over $1 million by the English Premier League for repeated delays regarding kickoff times.
That’s all I have for you all today. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!
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