Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Portland Timbers: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 1-0 victory over Portland?

Published

7 months ago

May 26, 2025

Nic Josey

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City returned to Major League Soccer action after exiting the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup and, more importantly, the Lions returned to their winning ways. In a battle of east vs. west, Orlando City defeated the Portland Timbers 1-0. Despite significant schedule congestion in the month of May, Orlando City has now tied a club record with a 12-game unbeaten streak.

Let’s take a look at how the individual Lions performed in this bounce-back win.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6.5 — Gallese touched the ball 37 times, completing 65.2% of his 23 passes and seven of his 15 long balls. He was credited with two saves on a night when the Timbers could only muster seven total shot attempts. Overall, Gallese was solid once again, aggressively coming out to catch or punch away crosses and helping the Lions earn another shutout, tying Dayne St. Clair of Minnesota United for the league lead in shutouts (7). He was good, but his teammates left little for him to do most of the game. On a busier night with this performance, he would have scored higher.

D, David Brekalo, 6.5 — Brekalo recorded 43 touches and completed 91.4% of his 35 passes, including one successful long ball on his only attempt. The more defensive-minded of the two outside backs, Brekalo was not afraid to get into the attacking third against Portland and completed multiple runs, which, while not overly successful, did put pressure on the Timbers’ defensive shape. He finished the game with three tackles and two clearances while being whistled for a team-high four fouls. He had one scary moment in the match when he was beaten to the end line by Ariel Lassiter, but the converted center back did well to get his right foot on the ball to knock it out for a corner rather than conceding a penalty.

D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — Orlando City defended for large periods of the second half while Portland searched for an equalizer, which put significant pressure on the center backs, including Jansson. He touched the ball a team-high 64 times and completed 83.7% of his team-high 49 passes. The captain was only accurate on one of his six long ball attempts, as the timing with Duncan McGuire appeared slightly off throughout the match when attempting to unlock passes over the top. Defensively, he contributed two tackles and a team-best nine clearances. Jansson picked up an unnecessary yellow card in the waining moments of the match for dissent.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 7 — Much like Jansson, Schlegel saw periods of extended pressure as the Timbers looked to steal a point on the road. He touched the ball 54 times and completed 92.7% of his 41 passes, but was 0/3 on his long ball attempts, again highlighting the difficulty the team had in attempting to release the attacking players with long passing attempts. Defensively, Schlegel did a little bit of everything as he recorded two tackles, one interception, five clearances, and blocked one shot. He was also shown a yellow card near the end of the match, like Jansson for dissent.

D, Alex Freeman, 7 — After seven matches in May, Freeman continues to be Orlando’s Energizer Bunny. The 20-year-old is racking up the minutes and the miles this month as he plays an integral role in both the attack and the defense. Freeman logged 53 touches against Portland and completed 93.9% of his 33 passes. He tied Eduard Atuesta with a team-high three key passes. Offensively, he recorded one successful dribble but was unable to record a shot attempt against the Timbers. He would have registered a goal contribution with an assist if Ivan Angulo had stayed onside just moments after Duncan McGuire opened the scoring for Orlando. Defensively, he logged two tackles, one interception, three clearances, and a blocked one. If he goes the distance against Atlanta and Chicago to end the month, his legs might need to be physically replaced before he joins the USMNT training camp.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 5.5 — As is usually the case, Angulo contributed his top-notch speed, considerable work rate, and pressure in the match, but struggled in key moments with his precision, wasting opportunities for the Lions to distance themselves from the visiting Timbers. Helping create those opportunities is admirable, but finishing them has been a problem throughout Angulo’s time in Orlando, and providing the final decision and/or ball has been especially problematic in 2025, as he has just two goal contributions nearly halfway through the season. Against Portland, Angulo touched the ball 42 times and completed 82.8% of his 29 passes. He was unsuccessful on his lone cross but was credited with one key pass. Angulo attempted two shots, putting one on target, but he could have done better with that one, as he had a clear-cut breakaway off a Portland corner at the other end. He would have had his first goal of the season in the 42nd minute if he had held his run for a split second. Angulo completed one successful dribble. In the 74th minute, he was careless with the ball again and gave it away in the attacking third, then committed a tactical foul to pick up a yellow card. Defensively, he contributed two tackles and one interception.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6 — Araujo was solid, bouncing back from an inconsistent performance in the midweek and helping the Lions limit the Portland attack throughout the game. He touched the ball 51 times and completed 85.7% of his 42 passes. He also completed one of his three long balls. With Atuesta back in the starting line-up, Araujo was allowed to function in his more defensive-minded role as he did not record an offensive statistic. Defensively, he recorded three tackles, and he slowed the Timbers down when necessary, committing three fouls while avoiding a booking.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 7.5 (MotM) — Welcome back to the fold, Atuesta! After battling injuries over the last month and a half, Atuesta returned to the starting lineup, played the full 90 minutes, and provided just enough offensive spark to help Orlando City secure the victory. He was also involved in helping Orlando win back the ball and prevent Portland from generating clear-cut chances. He touched the ball 59 times and completed 95.7% of his 47 passes, including a successful long ball and through ball. Atuesta tied Freeman with a team-best three key passes, including the assist on McGuire’s goal in the 39th minute. The midfielder logged one shot attempt, which was not on target, and on defense, he chipped in three tackles and one clearance.

MF, Marco Pasalic, 6 — Pasalic touched the ball 44 times, completed 91.7% of his 24 passes, and was unsuccessful on both of his crosses, however, he did record two key passes. He took a team-high four shots but was only able to put one on frame. Defensively, he covered his space well and contibuted one interception and one clearance.

F, Luis Muriel, 5.5 — Muriel started up top with McGuire in a 4-4-2 but played beneath his strike partner in a role similar to what Martin Ojeda has been playing of late. Muriel’s work rate was good, but he struggled with his final decision and his final product despite working hard to create in the attacking half. There were instances of dribbling into three defenders without dropping the ball off to a nearby teammate, turning down openings to shoot, and failing to hit the target when he did fire. He touched the ball 41 times but completed only 57.1% of 28 passes. While Muriel managed to record two key passes, his overall success rate needed to be better against Portland for the Lions to run the attack through him. His three shots were all off target, but he contributed one successful dribble. Defensively, Muriel did not record a statistic.

F, Duncan McGuire, 7.5 — Orlando runs on Duncan once again! McGuire’s biggest contribution came when he found the back of the net in the 39th minute, taking Atuesta’s excellent through ball and correctly opting to turn on the ball and shoot with his first touch with multiple defenders closing. He touched the ball 29 times and completed 77.8% of his 18 passes while earning one key pass. McGuire put one of his two shots (Orlando’s lone goal) on target — narrowly missing a second goal wide late in the first half — and was credited with one successful dribble. The main knock on McGuire against the Timbers is that he was called for two offside infractions, which seemed to highlight the timing issue that I mentioned earlier, however, it’s understandable that the big striker wasn’t in rhythm, as he has been coming on late in a reserve role in recent weeks. Defensively, McGuire recorded one tackle, an interception, and a clearance. He gave fans a nervy moment on the pitch as he was sandwiched between two defenders and went down hard, holding his wrist. After an off-season shoulder procedure, the contact was enough to prompt evaluation by the training staff, but McGuire was able to continue.

Substitutes

F, Martin Ojeda (67’), 6 — Ojeda came off the bench for Muriel in an attempt to deploy fresher legs for the final 20 minutes of the match. He touched the ball 11 times and completed all seven of his passes, including both of his long balls. Offensively, he put his lone shot attempt on target, forcing a decent save in the 82nd minute. Defensively, he did not record a statistic.

F, Ramiro Enrique (67’), 5.5 — Enrique replaced McGuire up top and provided his usual spark off the bench, picking and choosing his moments to press the back line. He had great jump in his legs and should have brought the team some much-needed energy, but too often he was isolated and reduced to merely heading long balls back to the Portland defense to alleviate pressure. He logged 13 touches, completed just 57.1% of his seven passes, and won a team-high four aerial duels in the final 23 minutes, plus stoppage time. He took one shot, which was blocked by the defense on the rebound of Ojeda’s aforementioned shot on target. Enrique also added a tackle and a clearance while helping Orlando City see out the victory.

MF, Kyle Smith (78’), 5.5 — The human Swiss Army knife was deployed in the midfield, replacing Angulo. Smith touched the ball nine times and completed 83.3% of his six passes, including a well-placed ball which unlocked Ojeda behind the defense. He contributed three clearances on defense. He was solid, but wasn’t able to have much impact on the match at the left wing spot, as the Lions struggled to maintain any possession or break out of their own end in the second half.

MF, Joran Gerbet (78’), 6 — After playing admirably over the last several matches, the 2025 MLS SuperDraft pick came off the bench for Araujo for the final minutes. He touched the ball nine times and completed all eight of his passes. He also contributed one clearance and helped clog up the middle to prevent Portland from creating much danger while chasing the game.

MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (86’), N/A — Thorhallsson was the final sub of the match, replacing Pasalic in the midfield. He touched the ball eight times, completed all four of his passes and logging one interception. The energy he brought was noticeable, and he could perhaps have been brought on a bit earlier.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s 1-0 win over the Portland Timbers. Let us know what you thought of the game in the comments below, and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.

Related Topics:Featured Orlando City Player Grades

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Lion Links: 5/26/25

Opinion

Encouraging Early Signs in Orlando City’s Off-Season

It’s early, but Orlando seems determined to reshape its roster for the better after a disappointing 2025 season.

Published

3 days ago

December 12, 2025

Ben Miller

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

We still have a long way to go until opening day of the 2026 Major League Soccer season, and a lot of work needs to be completed on Orlando City’s roster between now and Feb. 21, but there have been some encouraging developments so far.

For starters, the club inked captain Robin Jansson to a new deal. That takes care of at least one of the starting center back positions, potentially two if David Brekalo partners him, with Adrian Marin or someone else sliding in at left back. Aside from filling an obvious positional need, it also returns a veteran who (if Kyle Smith isn’t re-signed) is the longest-tenured player on the team and is someone who has experience coming out of his ears. For a roster that is going to experience a fair amount of overhaul this offseason, having a constants is important, especially when it comes to leadership both on the field and in the locker room.

That brings to an end the confirmed news when it comes to incoming/returning players, but there have been plenty of rumors gaining traction when it comes to Orlando City making signings. Tom Bogert has had a lot to say about incoming Lions transfers this week, and all of them should be encouraging to Orlando fans. Mr. Scoops reported that OCSC is finalizing a deal to sign 20-year-old Brazilian winger Tiago as an MLS U22 Initiative player, while also mentioning that a deal to sign 18-year-old midfielder Luis Otavio is still in the works.

Those would both be welcome signings, as Orlando needs capable bodies in central midfield behind presumable starters Eduard Atuesta and Wilder Cartagena. The fact that the Lions are reportedly shelling out $3.5 million to land Otavio suggests that if he can adapt well to his new surroundings, he might well push for more than just backup minutes before too long; and with Cartagena set to turn 32 in September, it’s good that Orlando is looking to find a young (eventual) replacement.

Then there’s Tiago, who will reportedly cost $4 million and is set to take up a valuable U22 Initiative slot. It’s no secret that the Lions badly needed more offensive production from the left winger position in 2025, and if/when Tiago does arrive, it presumably spells the end of Ivan Angulo’s time in Orlando while leaving the Brazilian and Tyrese Spicer to duke things out for a starting role.

That brings us to departures from the club. This week alone has seen young center back Thomas Williams traded to Nashville SC for the Coyotes’ first-round pick in the upcoming MLS SuperDraft, while Dagur Dan Thorhallson was traded to CF Montreal on Wednesday. The Lions got a tidy $500,000 in General Allocation Money for Dagur Dan, and while there was no player who immediately came the other way in the deal, that GAM will be very helpful in getting the club roster compliant for 2026. It’s no secret that the Lions are in the market for a new goalkeeper, and although Dayne St. Clair is probably too expensive, a guy like Carlos Coronel is a good fit on paper with Orlando City’s overwhelmingly South American stylings, but GAM will be needed to pay down a new face between the sticks.

It of course hurts to lose Thorhallsson, who was a capable and versatile servant during his time in Orlando, but the signing of Otavio and growth of Colin Guske, combined with what the (injured) Joran Gerbet showed in 2025, means that he was going to be a backup. Likewise, the emergence of Alex Freeman means he wasn’t going to be the starting right back, and even if Smith isn’t re-signed to be a backup fullback/utility man, the front office may feel that Zakaria Taifi is primed to take a step forward. We also can’t forget that the club has a whopping four first-round draft picks to play with this year and may look to find depth in that manner as well.

If you didn’t closely read the Bogert social media post earlier in this article, you may have missed the blurb at the end about OCSC closing in on a sale of Rodrigo Schlegel to Liga MX side Atlas. The fee is said to be in the neighborhood of $600,000, which means that Orlando will turn a profit on the center back. It’ll be a bittersweet parting if/when his departure becomes official. Schlegel has been an extremely capable backup center back for this team and has showed flashes of consistent starter-level play during the last several seasons, not to mention that save in a penalty shootout so many years ago.

The hard facts though, are that at 28 years of age, the Argentine defender isn’t likely to reach a significantly higher level of play than he’s at now, and his current level of play isn’t consistently at the required quality for a team with true championship aspirations. While it’ll be hard to say goodbye, the right decision at this point is probably to collect on your investment, and try to find either a young player that can be developed or an established veteran that’s a known MLS quantity.

Bogert has also stated that Orlando is in the mindset of wanting to move on from Luis Muriel. If the club is able to do so, it’ll free up a Designated Player spot while bringing an end to an experiment that showed plenty of promise, and wasn’t without its high points, but ultimately can’t be considered a successful one. After his hot start to 2025 faded into more of the inconsistency he displayed in 2024, it became clear that new blood at striker is needed, and it’s good to see that the front office feels the same way.

This isn’t all to say that the off-season has been a resounding success so far. After all, very little has actually been officially done to reshape the roster as of this writing. But there seem to be a number of moves nearing completion, and we’re hearing all the right things when it comes to areas of the field like goalkeeper and striker. Even if the players that get brought in don’t all work out, it’s just good to see that changes are in fact being made. The roster was mostly left intact after the 2024 season, and a lack of depth in several areas, combined with some unfortunate injury luck, doomed a once promising season.

It’s far too early to know whether or not the 2026 campaign will be better or not, but the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results. So far, the early signs point to Lions’ fans not needing to worry about any such insanity this off-season. Vamos Orlando!

Lion Links

Lion Links: 12/12/25

NWSL reportedly approves new roster mechanism, USMNT will play Senegal in May, USWNT second in FIFA rankings, and more.

Published

3 days ago

December 12, 2025

Marcus Mitchell

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! Counting today, there are just 20 days left of 2025. This year has felt like forever, but I also can’t seem to wrap my head around 2026 being just around the corner. I’m hoping to knock out a majority of my errands over the next few days to help ease into the coming weeks. Let’s get to the links!

NWSL Reportedly Approves New Roster Mechanism

The biggest storyline of the NWSL off-season so far is where Trinity Rodman will be playing next year, making the salary cap a notable talking point. The league’s NWSL Board of Governors reportedly approved a roster mechanism that would allow clubs to pay certain star players beyond the current salary cap. Clubs would be able to pay “High Impact Players” up to $1 million over the salary cap, with only a portion of that salary being a cap hit.

In order for players to qualify as a High Impact Player, they would have to meet commercial and sporting benchmarks. It’s a similar concept to Designated Players in MLS, with the limit to how much NWSL clubs can go over the cap being the biggest difference. All in all, this would help NWSL clubs compete with offers from clubs abroad for the league’s top players.

USMNT Will Face Senegal in May

The United States Men’s National Team will host Senegal on May 31 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte for its penultimate game before the World Cup. It will be the first-ever meeting between the two nations and it should be a good match between the U.S. and one of the top African teams. Senegal is currently ranked 19th in the FIFA men’s rankings and went undefeated in World Cup qualifying, winning seven games. Following this match, the USMNT will take on Germany in Chicago on June 6 for its send-off match before the tournament.

USWNT Remains Second in FIFA Rankings

The latest FIFA women’s rankings were released and the United States Women’s National Team maintained its spot in second place, although the gap between it and first-place Spain has widened. The U.S. won four of its five games this past window, but still lost points due to its 2-1 defeat to Portugal on Oct. 22. Spain benefitted from beating Sweden and Germany en route to winning the UEFA Nations League. Brazil, which beat England, Italy, and Portugal, moved up a spot to sixth in the rankings. Meanwhile, Canada fell to 10th after losing all four of its games.

Europa League Roundup

The latest round of Europa League action wrapped up and six teams have secured a spot in at least the knockout stage. Lyon, Midtjylland, and Aston Villa all won and are tied at the top with 15 points, while Real Betis, Freiburg, and Ferencvaros were victorious to remain unbeaten and claim spots in the next round as well. Roma edged closer to qualifying by beating Celtic 3-0, and Nottingham Forest also picked up three points after winning 2-1 against Utrecht in the Netherlands. Only two matchdays remain in the league phase and things are still far from certain for most clubs, which should set up for a fun finish next month.

Free Kicks

Goalkeeper Evan Bush re-signed with the Columbus Crew for the 2026 season. The 39-year-old was out of contract following this past season, but it looks like he’ll continue to serve as Patrick Schulte’s backup in Columbus.
Boston Legacy FC signed Japanese goalkeeper Hannah Stambaugh to a two-year contract. The 26-year-old became a free agent after two years with Angel City FC.
The Denver Summit signed defender Camryn Biegalski to a one-year contract as the expansion club continues to build its roster for 2026.
Vancouver and the Vancouver Whitecaps have signed a Memorandum of Understanding for exclusive negotiations next year in regards to building a new stadium.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday!

Orlando City

It’s The Most Wonderful Time To Wrap Up Orlando City’s 2025 Season

Let’s wrap up Orlando City’s 2025 season with a comparison to the ghosts of Lions past.

Published

4 days ago

December 11, 2025

S. Andrew DeSalvo

Michael Citro, The Mane Land

The 2025 MLS season is finally over, but another season has quickly arrived to follow it. No, I am not referring to an abbreviated spring-only MLS season; that is not happening until 2027. What I am referring to is the season that starts every year right around this time: wrapping season. Presents are getting wrapped, financial years are wrapping up, and Spotify once again is dominating social media feeds, as everyone is sharing their Spotify-curated 2025 Wrapped list of the songs they played the most this year.

I do not use Spotify (don’t tell Robin Jansson, but I’m not a fan of the Swedish product), so I do not have a list of my own to share, but I know that my 2025 was dominated by songs that my son and daughter wanted to hear over and over in the car, and so I am sure that my list would have appearances at or near the top from the Red Hot Chili Peppers (my son loves “Dani California”) and Rosé and Bruno Mars (my daughter loves the fun and upbeat “APT.”).

Orlando City players probably would not be quite as interested in hearing songs that mention California, after they had to trek to Los Angeles for two games in 11 days in August (sandwiched around additional road trips to Nashville and Miami, because why not really drive the players into the ground?), a disastrous series of games from which the team never really recovered. The trips to Los Angeles were avoidable, as the Lions did not take care of business during their Leagues Cup group stage games and thus had a low seed in the knockout rounds, but all of that travel and the disappointment of being the only team that made the final four of Leagues Cup to not earn a place in the 2026 Concacaf Champions Cup definitely played a major role in the Lions’ late-season collapse during MLS play.

Collapse they did, but despite the disappointment, the 2025 season was not a failure, something that The Mane Land’s David Rohe wrote about in this week’s TML Membership Newsletter, which you can sign up for by clicking right here (or, you can copy that link and send it to someone who might be looking for a last-second gift to give this holiday season).

We will roll out the top 10 moments of the 2025 season here on our site in the coming weeks (nota bene: those top 10 moments are across Orlando City, OCB, and the Orlando Pride), but for now, let’s bring the ghosts of Christmas past and present together to wrap up Orlando City’s 2025 MLS season, comparing this season to the previous 10 seasons during the club’s MLS era (points, goals scored, goals allowed, goal differential, and attendance are all on a per-game basis, and all data comes from Opta’s tracking on fbref.com):

Metric	2025 Performance	Rank of 11 OCSC Seasons	Best OCSC Season
Points	1.56	3	1.85 (2023)
Goals Scored	1.85	1	1.85 (2025)
Goals Allowed	1.50	5	1.09 (2020)
Goal Differential	+0.35	3	+0.65 (2020)
Supporters Shield	13th	5	2 (2023)
Leading Scorer	16 (Martín Ojeda)	2	17 (Cyle Larin)
Home Attendance	20,573	8	32,847 (2015)*

*Orlando City played in the Citrus Bowl in 2015, a stadium with significantly higher capacity than Inter&Co Stadium.

While it may have been frustrating that the team’s performance fell off late in the season, 2025 was still the third-best regular season in the club’s MLS era, and a slight improvement in points per game as compared to 2024 (1.53). The 2024 team made a deeper run in the playoffs, which made 2025 feel worse, but the Eastern Conference was better in 2025 than 2024, and Orlando City’s 1.53 points per game in 2024 would not have even qualified for the playoffs during the 2025 season.

The 2025 offense was also the best in club history, scoring nearly two goals per game during MLS play and finishing with the sixth-most goals in the league. Ojeda set the club’s single-season goal contribution record with 31, adding 15 assists to go along with his 16 goals to finish as one of only five players to reach 15 in both categories. During Ojeda’s debut season with Orlando City he started fewer than half of the games, and it seemed like perhaps he was going to be another in a long line of underperforming Designated Player acquisitions, but two years later he rewarded the team’s faith in him by setting the club record for single-season goal contributions. I am not saying it was exclusively because my son switched from wearing a Facundo Torres jersey to games to wearing an Ojeda jersey to games, but I am not not saying that either.

Ojeda was not the only offensive powerhouse this season, as Marco Pašalić’s debut season in purple was one of the best in the club’s history. The Croatian took the list of Orlando City players who had scored at least 12 goals in an MLS season from six to seven (yes, that was intentionally written that way), and his five primary assists gave him 17 direct goal contributions, which puts him into an eight-way tie (an octo-tie?) for the fourth most in a single season.

And speaking of octopi, kind of, while we did not know it at the time, we were all witnesses to the final season in purple for El Pulpo, Pedro Gallese. The 2025 campaign was not Gallese’s best season with the Lions, but he was still more than solid between the sticks, and as one of only three players to ever appear more than 200 times for the Lions, he is a club legend and definitely in contention to be on the club’s Mount Lionmore (this should be a thing, right?).

As it usually does, time has (mostly) healed my irritation and frustration with how the season ended, and as I look back now, I think more about the positive than negative, because my mind is already shifting to 2026 and how the team can build on 2025 to return the upper echelon of the league. For the most part, the team was competitive, and the Lions were among the league’s best for the first two-thirds of the season. Most of this article was about the MLS season, but they also made the final four in the Leagues Cup, and had they not been hosed by the referees in Miami, they could have advanced to the final with a chance to add a Leagues Cup to the trophy case.

The season did not end up how the team or the fans wanted, but it was still a positive year and probably the fourth-best season in the club’s MLS era behind 2022 (U.S. Open Cup champions), 2023 (second place in the Supporters’ Shield standings), and 2024 (Eastern Conference playoff finalist). The USL era, when the team had the best regular-season record in 2011, 2012, and 2014 and won the playoffs in 2011 and 2013, is not to be forgotten, but the MLS era is a different level of competition, and in recent years Orlando City has been among the best.

Among the best is great, but the goal is to match the 2024 Orlando Pride team and bring home a championship. That will not happen in 2025, but several moves that are reportedly being finalized this week show that the front office is not satisfied with the status quo. Here’s to hoping that the club unwraps some exciting new acquisitions in the next few weeks as we say goodbye to 2025 and move on to the 2026 Orlando City season.

And that’s a wrap.

Vamos Orlando!