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Orlando City vs. Nashville SC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did the players perform in Orlando’s last-gasp victory over Nashville SC?

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12 months ago

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Image of Duncan McGuire celebrating his winning goal against Nashville SC.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

It was a match that put fans through the full gamut of emotions, but in the end, Orlando City snatched a last-gasp win against Nashville SC and picked up a vital three points in the process. The win keeps Orlando in the race for the top four places in the Eastern Conference, although the Lions have little to no room for error in their final four matches of the season if they want to secure home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Let’s take a look at how the Cardiac Cats performed in Saturday’s 3-2 victory.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 7 — While he conceded two goals, Gallese couldn’t really do much to keep either one out of the net. What he did was save Orlando’s bacon on several occasions, as he made an excellent save on a Hany Mukhtar header from close range just before halftime, and did well to keep him out again in the 60th minute. El Pulpo finished the game with four saves, 89% passing accuracy, and would have had an assist had Ivan Angulo been able to find a way past Joe Willis after Gallese played a long ball to put the Colombian in on goal after a corner kick.

D, David Brekalo, 6 — If you skim the statistics from this one, you might wonder why Brekalo’s grade isn’t higher. After all, he recorded two tackles, one interception, four clearances, and three aerial duel wins on defense while drawing two fouls, completing a dribble, playing a key pass, and passing with 88.9% accuracy on offense. However, go back and watch the video of Jacob Shaffelburg’s tying goal. The Slovenian defender allowed Shaffelburg to get goalside of him far far too easily, and once that happened, he wasn’t able to cut out the cross which the Canadian slammed into the back of the net. It was bad defending in an instance when OCSC couldn’t afford it, and so his grade suffers. If not for that error, he’s probably sitting at a seven, as he had a pretty good game otherwise.

D, Robin Jansson, 6 — Orlando City’s captain had a quieter, albeit steady and reliable performance. He held things down in the center of defense with three clearances and two interceptions, while passing with 92.7% accuracy and completing three long balls. While he wasn’t the only one, he was guilty of ball watching on Mukhtar’s goal in first-half stoppage time, as he didn’t react to the rebound and the German was able to collect his own rebound off the post and put it past Gallese. He has to lose some points for that, but otherwise it was a solid performance.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6.5 — Schlegel was largely effective in his center back partnership with Jansson. He ended the night with one tackle, two clearances, and two blocks on defense, and one aerial duel won, while taking one shot on offense that was off target, completing three long balls, and passing with 100% accuracy. He did commit two fouls and picked up a yellow card, which he has to lose some points for. The Argentine was also extremely lucky to have some questionable defending go unpunished in the 53rd minute. Shaffelburg played a cross for Sam Surridge at the back post, who lost Schlegel far too easily and had a free header in the six-yard box that he somehow contrived to miss. It was poor marking, and the Lions were fortunate to not pay the price for it.

D, Alex Freeman, 6 — There was to be no goal for Freeman in this game, but he still had an active outing. On defense, the young fullback won three aerial duels, recorded two interceptions, made one tackle, and added two clearances. Going forward, he took one shot that was blocked, completed two dribbles, drew two fouls, and passed with 84.6% accuracy while completing one cross and one long ball. On the flip side of things, he was another player who was guilty of ball watching on Mukhtar’s goal, and it was worse for him, since he was probably in the best position to get to the ball when it came back off the post. Still, it was a good game overall if not quite as buccaneering an outing as we’ve seen at times this year.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 6 — As is usually the case with Angulo, he was involved on both sides of the ball in this game. On defense, he chipped in with two tackles while also committing a foul. On the other side of the field, he completed two dribbles, drew a foul, passed with 71.4% accuracy, and took one shot which was on target and saved by Joe Willis. He could have done better on it since he was in alone on goal, but he has shown himself to be lacking in the breakaway goal department. He and Luis Muriel couldn’t quite get the timing right on an early second-half pass, as the striker was ultimately offside when Angulo played him in behind, although he failed to hit the target regardless.

MF, Kyle Smith, 7.5 — With Cesar Araujo and Joran Gerbet both unavailable, Smith got the start in midfield, and he did a little bit of everything. On defense he contributed two tackles and two interceptions, while on offense he drew a foul, completed two long balls, recorded one key pass, and distributed the ball with 81.8% accuracy. His best moment of the night however, came on Martin Ojeda’s second goal. Smith took the ball off Patrick Yazbek in midfield, played the ball to Luis Muriel, got it back, and then fed a nice ball in behind for Ojeda who dispatched it past Joe Willis. That means he also ended the game with an assist, which was the finishing touch on a well-rounded evening.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 6.5 — Atuesta partnered Smith in midfield, and while he was quieter than his counterpart, he still turned in a good performance on the defensive side of the ball with two tackles, one interception, one clearance, one aerial duel won, and one foul committed. Going forward, he drew two fouls, took one shot, which was blocked, and delivered two long balls while passing with 89.1% accuracy. It wasn’t as impactful of an offensive performance as he’s shown himself to be capable of, but it was still the sort of solid outing that we’re used to seeing from him.

MF, Marco Pašalić, 7 — While he didn’t manage to make an impact on the scoresheet, Pasalic was far from quiet. He didn’t do much on defense, although he registered one interception. Instead, as expected, he put in work going forward and finished with a game-high five completed dribbles, one long ball, one foul drawn, one key pass, 81% passing accuracy, and one shot on target. He was unlucky to not score with that shot, which was a beautiful curling effort that Willis saw late and ultimately did well to save. As suggested by the dribbling stat, he was constantly looking to keep the ball at his feet and probe the Nashville defense by going on mazy runs. He’ll hope to get back on the scoresheet soon as its now been four league games without a goal.

F, Martin Ojeda, 8.5 (MotM) — Surely you had to know this was coming right? As he so often has been this year, Ojeda was the man at the center of it all for the Lions. Let’s start with the stats you probably don’t know, as he registered one tackle, one clearance, and one foul, while also playing a game-high three key passes, connecting on three crosses and one long ball, and passing with 81.8% accuracy. He took four shots and put two of them on target, and he scored from each of those two shots on target. His free kick goal for the opener was nothing short of spectacular, as he found the gap that Schlegel and Jansson created in the wall, and banged a shot in off the post. His second goal was all about pinpoint finishing, as he shot first time from Smith’s pass and unerringly hit the far corner. He’s a worthy Man of the Match, and continues to force his way into the MVP conversation.

F, Luis Muriel, 6.5 — Although it wasn’t a bad performance, it wasn’t one of the Colombian’s better outings either. He wasn’t able to impact the game with his dribbling or vision and passing range, although he contributed the secondary assist on Ojeda’s second goal. Other than that and some moments where he flashed his mind-meld understanding with his strike partner, he had a pretty quiet evening. His stat line reads two shots with one off target and one on target that forced an excellent save from Willis, two fouls drawn, and 69.2% passing accuracy.

Substitutes

F, Duncan McGuire (63′), 7 — Brought on to replace Muriel, McGuire had an effective 27 minutes on the field. He injected energy and a desire to press from the front into the team, and he managed to get on the ball in dangerous areas. He took two shots, with one off target and one on target, and played one key pass while distributing the ball with 88.9% precision. Then there was the obvious, as he scored the all-important winning goal with a fantastic first-time finish as the game was entering its final moments. It was great to see Dunc back among the goals after his injury struggles this season, and the departure of Ramiro Enrique means the Lions are going to need him if they want to make any noise in the postseason.

MF, Tyrese Spicer (72′), 7 — Like McGuire, Spicer made the most of his 18-minute substitute appearance after he came on for Angulo. Some of his dribbling wasn’t as crisp as it usually is, but he chipped in defensively with one tackle, drew a foul, passed with 100% accuracy, delivered one cross, one key pass, and had the all-important assist on the winning goal. He was brought on to help change the game and give the Lions more offensive juice and he did exactly that. If he can become a reliable weapon off the bench, then it makes OCSC a much more dangerous team as we enter the final stretch of the regular season.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (86′), N/A — With just four minutes on the field after replacing David Brekalo, it wouldn’t be fair to assign DDT a grade in this game. He contributed one tackle and two clearances in his limited minutes, and passed with 100% accuracy. It should be noted that while he was the man who fed Spicer before the winger streaked down the left flank and assisted McGuire, Thorhallsson was not credited with an official secondary assist.

MF, Colin Guske (86′), N/A — The injuries to Orlando’s other midfielders meant it was Guske who came on for Smith, but he also wasn’t on the field long enough to be assigned a fair grade. Similar to Thorhallsson, he was plenty involved though. Guske had one tackle and one clearance, while committing one foul and drawing a foul. He completed all four of his passes for an accuracy rate of 100%.

There you have it. Ojeda shone again, Smith had one of his best games of the year, and McGuire came to the rescue to prove that Orlando does in fact, still run on Duncan. Do you agree with my pick for Man of the Match, or should the honors go to someone else? Be sure to vote in our poll, and have your say down in the comments. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City vs. San Diego FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions welcome San Diego FC to Orlando for the first meeting ever between the two clubs.

Published

8 hours ago

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September 5, 2026

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Image of Joran Gerbet playing against Minnesota United.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match preview and live thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (7-11-4, 25 points) and San Diego FC (8-8-6, 30 points) at Inter.co Stadium in Orlando (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). It’s the first-ever meeting between these two teams from different conferences

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

As mentioned above, tonight’s meeting between the Lions and San Diego is the first in the series history, so there is no history. The Lions are 2-2-1 against Western Conference teams this season, which means little to nothing in this particular match, and San Diego is going to be Orlando City’s final opponent from the opposite conference in MLS regular-season play this season.

Overview

The Lions are coming off a wild 3-3 road draw at Minnesota United a week ago, in which Daryl Dike and Antoine Griezmann scored on either side of halftime on Orlando’s first two shot attempts to put their team up 2-0 in the 64th minute. Minnesota stormed back with three goals off defensive errors in a four-minute span to take a late 3-2 lead. Just when the Loons appeared to be headed for all three points, Tyrese Spicer scored in stoppage time, forcing Minnesota to split the points. Orlando has a modest 1-0-1 unbeaten streak entering tonight, and the Lions are 5-4-2 at home in 2026.

San Diego is coming off a 3-1 home win over the LA Galaxy despite having Jeppe Tverskov sent off. Tonight’s visitors have won two straight games, but both were at home. They lost their last home game 3-1 at Portland on Aug. 19 and are 2-5-3 away from home this season.

The key for Orlando City tonight will be to mark Anders Dreyer, which is far easier said than done, as he has emerged as one of the league’s best playmakers. His eight goals and 11 assists give him 19 total goal contributions to lead his team. Marcus Ingvartsen is Dreyer’s favorite teammate to combine with, as the Danish forward has converted 11 times, leading San Diego in goals, and has added five assists. However, Ingvartsen is listed as out with a lower body injury. Midfielder Onni Valakari has chipped in four goals and seven assists.

“We respect San Diego, but as well we prepare our game,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said ahead of the match. “We know how strong we are, especially at home, so now we go.”

Orlando City will be without Braian Ojeda (foot) and Adrian Marin (thigh), while Bernardo Rhein (thigh), has been upgraded to questionable. San Diego will be without the aforementioned Ingvartsen (lower body) and Tverskov (suspension).

Match Content

Projected Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Zakaria Taifi, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Joran Gerbet, Eduard Atuesta, Antoine Griezmann.

Forwards: Justin Ellis, Daryl Dike.

San Diego FC (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: C.J. dos Santos.

Defenders: Kieran Sargeant, Ian Murphy, Manu Duah, Oscar Verhoeven.

Midfielders: Gabriel Pirani, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Anibal Godoy.

Forwards: Elias Achouri, Onni Valakari, Anders Dreyer.

Referees:

REF: Joe Dickerson.
AR1: Corey Parker.
AR2: Justin Howard.
4TH: Rodrigo Albuquerque.
VAR: Daniel Radford.
AVAR: Jeff Muschik.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter.co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Streaming: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

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 match. Go City!

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Diego FC: Three Keys to Victory

Here’s what Orlando needs to do in order to return to winning ways against San Diego.

Published

1 day ago

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September 4, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

After the disappointment of two dropped points against Minnesota on Saturday, Orlando City is back home with an opportunity to get things back on track. The Lions need to keep picking up points if they want to keep pace in an increasingly crowded Eastern Conference, and Saturday’s game is a good chance to start September off on the right note. San Diego FC stands in the way of that good start, and what follows are three things that I believe Orlando needs to do in order to emerge victorious from this game.

Stay Strong on the Left

The left side of the defense has been a question mark for the Lions for much of the year. Adrian Marin, Bernardo Rhein, and Zakaria Taifi have all spent time at left back lately and have done so with varying degrees of success. Regardless of who suits up there on Saturday, that area of the field will be under scrutiny once again, since they’ll be tasked with stopping San Diego right winger Anders Dreyer. He has eight goals and 11 assists in 21 appearances this year, has played 60 key passes during that time, and is generally the lynchpin through which the San Diego offense operates. He hasn’t quite been on the same pace that saw him bag 19 goals and 19 assists in the regular season last year, but with four goal contributions in his last three MLS appearances, he’s extremely capable of wreaking havoc from the wing. A lot of the goals OCSC has conceded lately have come down the left side of the defense, and if that area of the field can’t be taken care of better, the Lions will likely be in for a difficult night.

Do Damage in Transition

Orlando’s current style of positionless, fluid, attacking soccer is at its best when it comes up against teams that want to come out and play. It struggles mightily against defensive bunkers but shines when the Lions can get out and run, target open spaces, and combine with teammates in unexpected areas. Fortunately for OCSC (in theory), San Diego is a team that likes to have the ball, as it has the highest average possession in the league. That means the Lions will have opportunities to force turnovers and break the other way at pace. In order to make that happen though, OCSC will need to be both disciplined and effective when it comes to applying its press. Then, if/when the Lions win the ball, correct decision-making and clinical execution in the final third will be key to avoid letting any chances slip through their fingers (paws?).

Clean Up the Self-Inflicted Errors

Orlando has dealt with more than its fair share of general defensive struggles this year, but avoidable errors have been a particular problem in recent weeks. Whether it’s been an ill-advised challenge, passing to the opposition in the defensive third, or leaving men unmarked in the box, unnecessary mistakes have cost OCSC points time and again. Against lesser opposition it hasn’t always mattered, as the Lions were able to rescue three points against Real Salt Lake, but if Orlando wants to make a playoff push, it needs to make a habit of playing cleaner games, plain and simple. San Diego is a good team with dangerous offensive players, and Saturday’s visitors will very likely take advantage of any opportunities that the Lions gift-wrap for them. Keeping things mistake-free will go a long way.

We’ve got ample proof this season that nothing is guaranteed, but if the Lions can lock down the left side of the defense, make hay in transition moments, and limit unforced errors, then they should be in a good position to take all three points from Saturday’s game. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 9/4/26

Martin Ojeda details his recovery from injury, Anna Moorhouse loaned to Manchester City, Orlando City’s U.S. Open Cup journey, and more.

Published

1 day ago

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September 4, 2026

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Image of Martin Ojeda celebrating a goal against New England.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Three straight days of Orlando soccer starts tonight with Orlando City B’s road match against Inter Miami II at 7 p.m. Hopefully, Orlando’s teams do well over the next few days as crunch time is upon us when it comes to making the playoffs, especially for MLS NEXT Pro. For now though, let’s jump right into today’s links from around the soccer world!

Orlando City Prepares for San Diego FC

Orlando City will take on San Diego FC on Saturday in the first-ever game between the two clubs, and one of the storylines to keep an eye on is how much Martin Ojeda plays as he works his way back from injury. The Designated Player came off the bench late in Orlando’s 3-3 draw against Minnesota United in his first appearance since May 23. Not often injured, Ojeda spoke on how being off the field for over a month has shifted his perspective while training to return.

“You learn to value the moment much more. You learn to value every training session because, when you’re training on your own and you’re not available to your teammates, you feel uncomfortable,” Ojeda said. “You value being healthy more. It’s like everything in life. When you feel good, you live life almost on autopilot, so to speak. You go to work, you go home, you come back, you sleep. However, when you or someone close to you goes through an illness or something like that, you value the moment much more and become more conscious of what you’re experiencing.”

Pride Loan Anna Moorhouse to Manchester City

The Orlando Pride loaned goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse to Manchester City through January of 2027. Moorhouse joined the Pride prior to the 2022 season and helped the club win both the NWSL Championship and Shield in 2024. However, she has struggled this year alongside the rest of the Pride’s defense. Moorhouse hasn’t played in the past two games for the Pride, with Cosette Morche starting in her place. Her current contract with the Pride lasts through the 2027 NWSL season, so we’ll have to wait and see what her future with the club is when the loan ends.

Orlando City’s U.S. Open Cup Journey

Between the World Cup, regular season, and Leagues Cup this summer, it can be easy to forget that Orlando City is still in contention to win this year’s U.S. Open Cup. The Lions are in the semifinals of the tournament after crushing Atlanta United 4-1 in the quarterfinals back on May 19. The Lions won much tighter affairs prior to that win, with Javier Otero coming up with seven saves in a 1-0 win over FC Naples and Zakaria Taifi scoring in stoppage time to beat the New England Revolution 4-3 in the following match. Orlando will be on the road for its semifinal match against the Columbus Crew on Sept. 16, but the offense has received a boost due to the arrivals of Antoine Griezmann and Daryl Dike this summer.

MLS Transfer News Roundup

MLS signings continue to pour in as teams look to improve their squads for the rest of this season and beyond. The Colorado Rapids signed Ghanaian winger Ibrahim Sadiq from AZ Alkmaar, where he recorded 18 goals and seven assists in 85 appearances across three seasons with the Dutch club. San Diego also added an attacker by signing forward Cedric Bakambu, who joins as a free agent after playing at Real Betis. As for other notable moves from across the league, Real Salt Lake signed winger Dusan Zagar as an MLS U22 Initiative player, forward Lyle Foster joined the Houston Dynamo on loan, and the Columbus Crew continued to improve on offense by signing Moroccan winger Anass Zaroury on loan from Panathinaikos.

Free Kicks

  • Former Orlando Pride player Christina Burkenroad is retiring from professional soccer and Monterrey will have Saturday’s game against Toluca be a send-off match for her.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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