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Orlando City Behind the Numbers: At Sixes and Sevens

A look at the 2025 Orlando City season through the lens of the incredibly, and unnecessarily, popular phrase “six seven.”

Published

9 months ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

There is a phenomenon going on in this country right now, and it simply must stop. You might not be aware of this if you do not have young(er) children, but if you do, you know that two numbers come up over…and over…and over…again in conversations, to the great confusion and dismay of parents, teachers, coaches, and all other adult figures who are flummoxed by their frequent non-sensical usage.

Those numbers, of course, are six and seven, spoken in rapid succession almost like “sixsevvvven,” along with an accompanying hand motion like you are weighing something in each hand. Thank you, TikTok, for having such a good algorithm that more kids know that “six seven” is the “it” phrase of the day than who the sixth (John Quincy Adams, the rare person who is known by three names and is not an assassin) and seventh (Andrew Jackson) U.S. presidents were.

On the plus side, there may be a huge uptick in students who want to read or have their school perform Shakespeare’s Richard II, and pat yourself on the back six or seven times if you knew why without using six-letter google or seven-letter ChatGPT.

During the last two weekends I attended a birthday party for a 9-year-old and double-digit youth sports practices and games, and I am sure I heard “six seven” more than 100 times across all the different snatches of conversations happening around me. That may sound like an exaggeration, but if you have read any of my articles before, you know that I love numbers, so much so that I would give The Count a run for his money, and I promise you I am not overstating the frequency at which kids around the age of nine said “six seven” in my vicinity.

Much like when you hear a certain song and cannot get it out of your head, I cannot get that phrase out of mine, so I am going to write about Orlando City and the numbers six and seven and try to get myself all out of feeling at sixes and sevens about the use of — and this is true irony — six and seven.

Baseball and soccer are two sports that assign numbers to positions in the field, and in soccer the six is traditionally a defensive midfielder and the seven is an attacking wing player, usually on the right side. Orlando City has players who fit those definitions perfectly in both positions on this year’s team. César Araújo is one of the league’s best defensive midfielders, a player who every team hates but secretly wishes was on their team. Marco Pašalić is a right wing who has tremendous dribbling and ball-striking ability and loves to cut inside and create goal-scoring opportunities.

Both of those players are among the best ever to suit up for the Lions at the six and seven positions. Araújo has been the primary starter at the six for four of the club’s 11 seasons in MLS, and he has been among the best in the league at that position for the last three seasons. Orlando City earned at least 52 points in league play in all three of those seasons. Pašalić is in his debut season, so he does not yet have the sustained excellence, but if he puts together another few seasons like this one, he may challenge club legend Facundo Torres for the spot at the top of the seven leaderboard.

Speaking of Pašalić, he decided to wear 87 on his jersey, and as far as I know, he has not spoken publicly about why he chose that number, which means that he has not denied that he went with eight seven to troll all those kids who desperately want to have a legitimate reason to wear a jersey with six seven on it. Pašalić is not alone in having a number that is almost 67 though, several other Orlando City players also wear numbers that are nearly six seven:

  • Iván Angulo (77): Angulo joined the Lions in 2022, when Alexandre Pato was on the team and wearing the No. 7 jersey, and so he went with No. 77, and even after Pato left, he elected to stay with the double sevens. At this point, I think he is unlikely to change, even if switching that first seven to a six may dramatically increase his popularity among the kids in the stands.
  • Thomas Williams (68): Williams came up through the Orlando City Development Academy and has worn 68 since debuting with the team back in 2022. He is just a change from an eight to a seven away from being the player that kids would most want to hear being announced in the stadium (though the coaching staff is not quite yet on board with that same sentiment).
  • Gustavo Caraballo (65): The Venezuelan also came up through the academy, and in some respects still is, as he was the MVP for the U-18 team in the 2025 Generation Adidas Cup (wearing the more traditional No. 10, however). As the youngest player on the senior roster (and in club history), Caraballo is likely the player most attuned to the six seven craze, but thankfully he went with six five, and if he stays with the club for a few more years, my guess is that he will ask to move to a more traditional soccer number, possibly the seven (with an invisible six in front?) now that Ramiro Enrique is no longer with the club.

Enrique’s departure, coupled with Wilder Cartagena (16) being on the Season Ending Injury List, means that the only way the Lions can put a six next to a seven on the field is when Robin Jansson (6) stands next to Angulo. I do not recommend that these two ever stand next to each other though, because as we all know, six is afraid of seven, because seven ate nine (Aurélien Collin ate Luis Muriel?).

Before we move off of Orlando City player numbers, we have to briefly cover former UCF Knight and Orlando City B player Nick Taylor, the last player on Orlando City or Orlando City B to wear 67. Taylor played for OCB in 2022, before packing up and heading to Asia, where he played in Cambodia for two seasons before moving to Thailand, where he now plays for PT Prachuap F.C. and still wears 67. A man ahead of his time.

Don’t worry, we only have about six or seven more paragraphs left. Just kidding. I believe I have run this into the ground. Six feet deep. Maybe seven.

Seriously though, Orlando City has three games remaining in the regular season, and considering the caliber of the Lions’ opponents, it will be a tremendous accomplishment if they can come away with six or seven points. If they do, they probably scored a decent amount of goals, and since they have scored 59 already during the regular season, they have a chance to end with…67 goals. After accomplishing such a feat, they likely would finish better than sixth or seventh place in the standings. The Lions have already clinched a playoff spot though, and while it would be nice to finish above sixth or seventh, they are in the postseason, and that is what matters the most.

Well, that, and ending the playoffs on a four-game winning streak, and if they are going to do that, then why not just extend that winning streak just a little bit, say to six or seven?




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Lion Links: 6/15/26

OCB beats Huntsville City, OCB signs Parker Amoo-Mensah, USMNT defeats Paraguay in World Cup, and more.

Published

22 hours ago

on

June 15, 2026

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Image of Matthew Belgodere of OCB against Huntsville City.
Image courtesy of Orlando City B

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been keeping myself busy at work but tried to catch as many World Cup matches as possible. I did get to check out the Mumford & Sons and Rufus Du Sol concerts at Wrigley Field up here in Chicago. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

OCB Defeats Huntsville City FC on the Road

Orlando City B completed the comeback, overturning a 1-0 deficit to beat Huntsville City FC 2-1 at Wicks Family Field Saturday. Huntsville struck first to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Matthew Belgodere buried the equalizer for the Young Lions. Jacob Ramirez scored the final goal of the match for OCB to seal the win on the road and extend its winning streak to four games. That result lifts the Young Lions to third in the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference table with 28 points. OCB will return home to face Philadelphia Union II Sunday at Osceola County Stadium.

OCB Signs Parker Amoo-Mensah

Orlando City B has signed academy defender Parker Amoo-Mensah to an MLS NEXT Pro contract. The club announced the signing Friday with the deal running through the 2028 season. Amoo-Mensah has made 12 appearances for the Young Lions during the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season, starting eight matches, and has one assist.

USMNT Defeats Paraguay in World Cup Opener

The U.S. Men’s National Team defeated Paraguay 4-1 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA, to win its opening match in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Former Lion Alex Freeman played a full 90 minutes and recorded an assist in the match, while Orlando City midfielder Braian Ojeda was on Paraguay’s bench but did not play. The USMNT’s opening goal was an own goal from Paraguay midfielder Damian Bobadilla to give the Yanks the lead in the first half. Falorin Balogun scored twice for the U.S to take a 3-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Paraguay pulled one back, but Gio Reyna added the insurance goal. The USMNT will face Australia in its second group stage match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Lumen Field in Seattle on Friday.

2026 FIFA World Cup Recap

On Friday, Canada drew Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-1. Orlando City goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau started the match and had two clutch saves while former Lions Cyle Larin and Richie Laryea were also in action. Larin scored the equalizer for the Canadian Men’s National Team, securing a draw and earning its first-ever point in a World Cup match. On Saturday, Qatar and Switzerland played to a 1-1 draw, Brazil and Morocco settled for a 1-1 draw, Scotland secured its first World Cup win in 36 years with a 1-0 victory over Haiti, and Australia defeated Turkey 2-0. On Sunday, Kai Havertz scored twice for Germany in a 7-1 win over Curacao, Japan trailed twice and fought back for a 2-2 draw against the Netherlands, Amad Diallo scored a late winner for Ivory Coast in a 1-0 win over Ecuador, and Sweden and Tunisia kicked off late. Today’s matches will feature Spain facing Cape Verde, Belgium taking on Egypt, Saudi Arabia facing Uruguay, and Iran taking on New Zealand.

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That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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Orlando City

Flashback Friday: June 10, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids

Let’s take a trip down memory lane to a booking-laden match at home that took place a little less than three years ago.

Published

4 days ago

on

June 12, 2026

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

The World Cup is now officially underway, and while that means Orlando City is on break, we can’t have you forgetting about the Lions while all the international action is taking place. That means its time for another edition of Flashback Friday, where we hop in the trusty time machine and reminisce on OCSC matches of yesteryear.

Last week we relived a rousing road win over the New York Red Bulls from June, 3 2023, and this week, we actually pick up right where we left off, on June 10, 2023 as the Lions returned home to take on the Colorado Rapids.

Coming off a 3-0 win over the Red Bulls in the previous match, Oscar Pareja decided to not mess with a good thing, and kept Orlando City’s same starting XI from that victory. Pedro Gallese was in net behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith. Wilder Cartagena and Cesar Araujo played the double pivot; Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres were the attacking midfielders, and Ercan Kara was deployed as the striker.

In typical June fashion for the City Beautiful, kickoff was delayed by just under an hour as the stadium was pounded by storms, and the delay did not look to have done any favors for Orlando’s sharpness. That said, OCSC did win a corner kick less than a minute into the game, and Torres had a tame shot saved in the eighth minute, but the Lions weren’t consistently sharp with their passing in the early moments of the contest.

The teams traded chances just before the 15-minute mark, with Kara sending a header too high before Cole Bassett sent a shot straight to Gallese. Carlos then picked up a yellow card in the 24th minute, which evened things out between the two teams after Lalas Abubakar was cautioned for the Rapids after just six minutes. Those two bookings proved to be a harbinger of things to come, because Colorado went down to 10 men in the 39th minute after midfielder Braian Galvan caught Angulo with a high boot while his studs were showing.

Pereyra had Orlando’s best chance of the opening 45 minutes in stoppage time but could only send his effort right at goalkeeper Marko Ilic, and that was the last significant action of the half. The Lions ended the half with an edge in possession (59.7%-40.3%), shots (7-2), shots on target (2-1), and passing accuracy (85.3%-79.4%), while both teams won two corners.

Pareja made two moves at halftime, bringing on Rodrigo Schlegel for the once-booked Carlos, and Martin Ojeda for Cartagena in an effort to go more offensive against a shorthanded Rapids side. The Lions certainly looked brighter going forward as the second half got underway and had a few dangerous moments before finally breaking the deadlock in the 55th minute.

Pereyra played a ball across the top of the box for Torres, who took a couple of touches before sending a ball to the net that took a wicked deflection off Andreas Maxsø that carried it past Ilic.

It wasn’t the prettiest goal the Lions have ever scored, but for a team that was guilty at times of passing up good shots in favor of the perfect look at goal, it was proof that sometimes you just need to take shots in dangerous areas.

Fortunately, Orlando seemed to take that lesson to heart. Kara went close in the 65th minute despite shooting through traffic, Angulo had a shot deflected by Abubakar three minutes later, and Torres had another deflected effort go just wide of the post four minutes after that.

The game changed again in the 75th minute, when the Rapids had another player sent off. Abubakar lasted for 69 minutes on a yellow card but got burned by Angulo in midfield and hauled him down in order to prevent the Lions from potentially working a transition opportunity. He had some teammates behind him, but the referee showed him a second yellow card. Pareja smelled blood in the water and just three minutes later he brought on Ramiro Enrique for Smith, who had been given a yellow card in the 52nd minute.

Ilic made a great save on Pereyra in the 81st minute to keep the score at 1-0 and keep the Rapids in the game, but Orlando got its second goal just two minutes later. Torres had the ball on the right side of the box with a Colorado player backing off him, and that gave him ample time to get his head up and pick out a man. He played a ball to Enrique at the top of the box, who had plenty of time to take a couple of touches and send a low shot into the bottom corner past a diving Ilic for his first goal as an Orlando City player.

Somewhat surprisingly, the game started to get a little stretched after the Lions doubled their advantage. Colorado had a shot blocked in the 81st minute, Kara sent a shot very close to the post six minutes after that, and Gallese saved a Darren Yapi attempt in the 88th minute to keep his clean sheet alive. Aside from Pareja handing Alejandro Granados his MLS debut, that was the last significant action of the match, which finished 2-0 to the good guys.

Unsurprisingly, considering Colorado’s deficit in players, the Lions dominated all of the game’s most important statistics. OCSC finished with the advantage in possession (65%-35%), shots (15-4), shots on goal (6-2), corners (5-3), and passing accuracy (89.4%-81.5%).

The victory made it back-to-back wins for the first time in 2023, stretched Orlando’s unbeaten run to six, and gave El Pulpo his 100th clean sheet for the team in all competitions.

Marcus Mitchell had the helm for Player Grades in this one, and Torres got his nod for Man of the Match with a goal, an assist, and a grade of 7.5 out of 10. Several other Lions graded out at 7 out of 10, with only one player grading below a 6.

While it was a weird win, it unfortunately was the final game of the unbeaten streak, as the Lions fell to a familiar defeat at Gillette Stadium the following week, although things got back on track soon afterward. I’ll see you back here in a week for another trip down memory lane. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 6/12/26

USMNT plays Paraguay tonight, red cards rain down in World Cup opener, Sporting Kansas City linked with Yann Gboho, and more.

Published

4 days ago

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June 12, 2026

By

Image of Alex Freeman sliding in celebration of a goal.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! The World Cup is in full swing and the U.S. will play today, so it’s a pretty exciting Friday to say the least. I’m a bit of a bundle of nerves about how the team will do, but I’m still looking forward to catching the game. If you have any gameday rituals, be sure to share, so that we can conjure up enough luck and support for the team tonight. Let’s get to the links!

USMNT’s World Cup Campaign Begins Today

The United States Men’s National Team will take on Paraguay at 9 p.m. tonight in its first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. There’s plenty of pressure on the U.S. to perform well as one of the host nations, and this will also be Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino’s first time coaching at a World Cup. Pochettino stated that all 26 players are available for selection, including center back Chris Richards, although he may not necessarily start. Former Orlando City defender Alex Freeman, who is the youngest player on the U.S. roster, could make his World Cup debut tonight, so be sure to root for our hometown hero should he take the field. Hopefully, the Yanks can start this tournament off on the right foot with a big win in California.

World Cup Opener Features Three Red Cards

This year’s World Cup began in Mexico City, with Mexico beating South Africa 2-0 in a match that included three red cards. All three were straight red cards given in the second half in separate incidents, as Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane were sent off for South Africa before Mexico’s Cesar Montes was shown red in stoppage time. There hasn’t been a World Cup match with that many red cards since the record of four was set in 2006 in a match between Portugal and the Netherlands. As for the game’s goals, Julian Quinones pounced on a mistake by South Africa to give Mexico an early lead and Raul Jimenez doubled that lead while South Africa was reduced to 10 men.

Sporting Kansas City Linked With Yann Gboho

While the World Cup roars on, the rumor mill is in full force as clubs make plans for summer reinforcements. Sporting Kansas City is reportedly pushing to sign Toulouse winger Yann Gboho, who recorded 10 goals and three assists across all competitions this past season. The surprising aspect of this pursuit would be that Toulouse values Gboho at an eye-watering $20 million transfer fee, which would be a club record by a country mile. Kansas City needs all the help it can get on offense, as it has scored just 14 goals in 14 games so far this season.

Jose Mourinho Officially Returns to Real Madrid

It’s been a bit of an open secret over the past few weeks that Jose Mourinho would become Real Madrid’s next manager and it’s now official, with the 63-year-old signing a three-year contract with the Spanish club. Mourinho helped Real Madrid win a La Liga title and the Copa del Rey over a decade ago before his departure in 2013 after three seasons with the club. Now, he joins a Real Madrid side that has finished second in the league standings and been eliminated in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League the past two seasons. I, for one, can’t wait to see how one of the biggest personalities in soccer works alongside a locker room of star players that seemed in disarray this past season.

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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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