Connect with us

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 1-1 draw against the Columbus Crew?

Published

1 month ago

on

Image of Marco Pasalic scoring against the Columbus Crew.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City hosted the Columbus Crew and neither side was able to claim all three points in a 1-1 draw between two Eastern Conference teams that have already qualified for the postseason. Andres Herrera struck first for Columbus, but the Lions responded well and Marco Pasalic leveled things shortly after with his 12th goal of the season. Both sides had chances to win it but have to settle for a draw as the regular season nears its end.

Let’s dive into how each Lion individually performed in this home game.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 7.5 (MotM)— El Pulpo was denied a clean sheet due to poor defending once again, but he had a great game. Gallese had five saves, including a vital one on Max Arfsten right in front of goal amid a Columbus barrage of attacks near the end of the match. He also did well to come out and deny Diego Rossi early in the match to prevent a disastrous start. The goal that he did concede would’ve required an impressive reaction for him to stop Herrera’s shot while tracking the cross. As far as his distribution went, three of his eight long balls found their target and he was accurate on 78.3% of his 23 passes. Ultimately, Gallese was cool, calm, and collected in goal and helped the Lions avoid defeat at home.

D, Adrian Marin, 6 — With Rodrigo Schlegel suspended due to yellow card accumulation, Marin filled in on the back line and had a game with highs and lows. On the Crew’s goal, he allowed Herrera to cut in front of him and get goalside with ease to connect with Lassi Lappalainen’s cross, tapping it in. Marin redeemed himself soon after though by intercepting the ball and storming forward before laying it off for Luis Muriel in the buildup of Pasalic’s goal. He looked comfortable in those moments when the Lions were on the attack, contributing two key passes and a blocked header off of a corner kick. His only cross was inaccurate, but four of his seven long balls were successful. Marin won all four of his aerial duels and led the Lions with three interceptions, helping out defensively with two clearances and a tackle. His 57 touches were the second most on the Lions and he attempted 43 passes at an 81.4% success rate.

D, Robin Jansson, 6.5 — Orlando City’s captain put in a decent performance, stopping Crew attacks by getting in the way of shots and making himself difficult to get past. The Beefy Swede blocked three shots to prevent Columbus from challenging Gallese, and he also racked up four clearances and a tackle. Only one of his four long balls was successful, but he completed 93% of his 43 passes. As the game wore on and Columbus pushed for a win, the visitors had to find ways around Jansson to create chances and he kept pace when defending on breakaways.

D, David Brekalo, 6.5 — It wasn’t always pretty when going up against Rossi, but Brekalo was solid enough defensively and took care of the ball. He completed all but three of his 42 passes for an excellent 92.9% rate, but he didn’t attempt any long balls. His five clearances and two blocked shots helped put out fires. All three of his shots in the match came from corner kicks, with one saved by Patrick Schulte and the other two going off target. Like Marin, he was a force in the air and won four of his five aerial duels.

D, Alex Freeman, 6 — It was a mixed bag for Freeman, as he led the Lions with six clearances and blocked a shot but faded down the stretch. He had a tough matchup against fellow USMNT defender Max Arfsten, who beat him to a cross and put a shot on target. Gallese bailed him out, but Freeman was sluggish late in the match and the Crew went after him. Freeman didn’t have a shot in this match but did have a nice key pass by lobbing an expertly weighted ball to Martin Ojeda before halftime. His lone cross was inaccurate though, and only one of his three long balls was successful. Freeman’s 59 touches were the most on the team and he attempted 38 passes at an 89.5% success rate. Referee Victor Rivas showed him a yellow card following a foul on Arfsten near midfield, with Freeman’s dissent likely being the reason for the booking.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 6 — The highlight of Angulo’s night was his vital defending to poke the ball away from Herrera before he could take a shot late in the first half. It was nice to see that from him after Herrera raced past him to score the opening goal. Although Angulo didn’t have any shots or key passes, things opened for the Lions a bit once he started playing higher up the pitch, as he did well to stretch the defense and press when needed. He only attempted one cross, which missed its mark, but both of his long ball attempts were accurate. Subbed off in the 80th minute, Angulo finished the game with 33 touches and 19 passes at an 89.5% success rate. Defensively, he blocked a shot and also had an interception and a tackle. Angulo needlessly conceded a foul in a dangerous area, but Dylan Chambost’s shot hit the wall.

MF, Joran Gerbet, N/A — The rookie’s night came to an unfortunate end early due to an injury. There wasn’t much contact involved in the incident, which usually isn’t a good sign. Gerbet wasn’t stretchered off and left the field with the assistance of the team’s trainers in the fifth minute. Kyle Smith came on to replace him as Orlando’s injury woes in the midfield continued.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 6.5 — It was another solid performance from Atuesta, who fought hard on defense and delivered some nice passes to spark counter attacks for the Lions. He was accurate on six of his eight long ball attempts and completed 93% of his 43 passes in this match. Defensively, Atuesta had a tackle, an interception, and two clearances, but the stats don’t reflect just how much of a pain in the Crew’s side he was in the midfield. There was a chance for him to get an assist on a counter, but Nicolas Rodriguez got closed down quickly after receiving the pass with a heavy touch. Atuesta also sent a lovely ball over the top for Muriel to go score, but that chance was squandered as well. Regardless, Orlando needed Atuesta to have a good game after Gerbet’s injury and he delivered.

MF, Marco Pasalic, 7 — After a fairly quiet start to the match, Pasalic made his presence known by scoring Orlando’s only goal of the match. Muriel fired a low, driven shot at Schulte from distance and the goalkeeper couldn’t handle it, with Pasalic darting toward goal to put away the rebound. His only other shot in the match was blocked, but that talented left foot of his still generated some good chances. Pasalic had a key pass, was accurate on his one attempted cross, and was successful on three of his five long balls. He was subbed out for fresher legs in the 80th minute, but momentum shifted in the Crew’s favor once he was off the pitch. Of his 21 passes, 71.4% of them were successful and he contributed defensively with two interceptions. Orlando looked dangerous when Pasalic was on the ball and forcing Crew defenders into tough decisions, it just didn’t happen often enough for him to really bend the game to his will beyond the goal.

F, Luis Muriel, 5.5 — He reasonably won’t be credited with an assist on Pasalic’s goal, but his shot created the chance, and it was a nice effort from distance that Schulte couldn’t deal with. Muriel showcased his skill by being able to quickly control the ball and set up the shot before the Crew could do anything about it. Unfortunately, it was his only shot of the night, despite a pair of great opportunities to score in the second half. He lost a duel in the box to Sean Zawadski by trying to outfox the defender and later tried to slip a pass through to Ojeda rather than just smashing the ball towards goal from pretty close range. The Designated Player was subbed out shortly after that chance. He didn’t have any key passes in the match and had just 13 passes at a 61.5% success rate. It wasn’t exactly the performance one would expect from a star forward, but he did make an impact. It was his reluctance to shoot that leaves fans wondering what could have been.

F, Martin Ojeda, 6 — It was an off night for Ojeda, who only completed 63.9% of his 36 passes and had three unstable touches. Of his three shots, two were blocked and the one on target was comfortably saved by Schulte on a free kick. Ojeda could have given Orlando the lead on a breakaway, but decided to pass instead of shoot and his pass missed an open Duncan McGuire charging towards goal. All of that being said, an off night for Ojeda is still a pretty productive one. He led the Lions with four key passes and four of his eight crosses were accurate. Of his four long balls, two were successful as well. The Argentine playmaker also had a team-high three tackles to help win the ball back for Orlando. The opportunities for goals and assists were there, Ojeda just needed to be a bit more clinical in this one.

Substitutes

MF, Kyle Smith, (5’), 6 — Smith came on much earlier than expected to replace Gerbet due to his injury. He did well enough, completing 94.1% of his 34 touches and chipping in defensively with a tackle and an interception. He didn’t block any shots or kickstart counter attacks with long balls, but Smith was there to help out with the little things and stabilize things at a position ravaged by injuries this year. Smith was subbed out himself in the 80th minute for some fresher legs.

F, Duncan McGuire (64′), 5 — The American came on for Muriel and had a couple of chances to score a winner but the final product just wasn’t there. The first was on a breakaway with Ojeda, with McGuire open in the box but just unable to get on the end of the pass. He had a similar opportunity later with Tyrese Spicer, but McGuire’s attempt at chesting down the pass sent it skidding away from him for Arfsten to knock away for a corner. In the end, McGuire finished without any shots or key passes and had just six touches while completing two of his three passes.

MF, Tyrese Spicer, (80′), 6 — Spicer was once again electric off the bench, driving Orlando’s attack forward in the latter stages of the match and nearly recording his third assist in as many games after finding McGuire open in the box. He didn’t have any shots himself, but was successful on both of his long ball attempts and had two successful dribbles while completing all three of his passes. For a player who only had five touches in the match, he was impactful.

MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, (80′), N/A — Thorhallsson only had one touch in the match, blocking a shot by Herrera in stoppage time. The versatile player mostly served as fresh legs and another body for the Crew to have to work around when attacking. It was the latest in a series of late cameos for Thorhallsson in recent weeks, and he didn’t play long enough to warrant a grade.

MF, Nico Rodriguez, (80′), N/A — The MLS U22 Initiative player came on and had two touches in the match. The most notable one was unfortunately a heavy one, as Atuesta got him the ball in the box, but Darlington Nagbe saw it out of play for a corner before he could shoot. Rodriguez also conceded a foul at the end of the game while trying to win back possession, earning a yellow card for angrily booting the ball away after the whistle and giving the Crew a set piece to work with. Thankfully nothing came of it and the whistle blew shortly after. Like Thorhallsson, Rodriguez wasn’t on long enough to evaluate.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s 1-1 draw at home against the Columbus Crew. 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:
Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 11/18/25

Orlando City roster update, a USMNT vs. Uruguay preview, World Cup qualifying galore, and more.

Published

20 hours ago

on

November 18, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Good morning, everyone. All three of Orlando’s soccer teams have now finished their seasons, but that doesn’t mean things slow down around here. Off-season machinations are in full swing, the United States Men’s National Team plays later today, and World Cup qualifying is still ongoing. That means we have a lot of things to talk through today, so let’s get into the links. But first, let’s wish Orlando City goalkeeper Javier Otero a happy birthday.

Orlando City Announces Roster Decisions

Orlando City announced its end-of-season roster decisions on Monday afternoon. For the most part, things look as expected, as we already knew the two biggest departures in the out-of-contract duo of Pedro Gallese and Cesar Araujo. The most surprising bit of news was Robin Jansson’s contract option being declined, although the team is in negotiations with both he and Kyle Smith regarding their returns. Another eyebrow-raising choice was Ivan Angulo’s option year being picked up, particularly after a season in which he did not score a single league goal despite having multiple breakaway opportunities. Currently there are 22 players under contract, although some of those are clear backups, youth players, or currently injured, so the front office is going to have a lot of work to do during the off-season.

Previewing USMNT vs. Uruguay

The United States Men’s National Team will play its final game of 2025 later today, when it takes on Uruguay at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. It will be the 10th meeting between the two teams and the first since Uruguay’s 1-0 win knocked the USMNT out of the 2024 Copa America in the group stage. The mercurial Marcelo Bielsa manages the side and helped guide Uruguay to a fourth-place finish in World Cup qualifying earlier this fall. Uruguay will be without big names like Darwin Nunez, Federico Valverde, and Nicolas Fonseca, but the side still has plenty of star power with the likes of Ronald Araujo, Rodrigo Bentancur, Manuel Ugarte, and of course, former Lion Facundo Torres. Look for Bielsa to use a 4-3-3 with an energetic press and either the fullbacks or wingers inverting.

World Cup Qualifying Results

UEFA’s World Cup qualifying continued on Monday and there were several eye-catching results. Germany dismantled Slovakia 6-0 to secure a first-place finish in Group A and the World Cup spot that comes with it. Not to be outdone, Czechia beat Gibraltar by the same score but only managed to finish second in Group L. The Netherlands beat Lithuania 4-0 to finish top of Group G and also punch a ticket to next summer’s tournament, while Orlando City’s Marco Pasalic was an unused substitute in Croatia’s dramatic 3-2 comeback win over Montenegro, which ensured his team finished an undefeated run through Group L.

World Cup Qualifying Preview

There’s even more qualifiers taking place today, with both UEFA and Concacaf in action and big stakes on the line. Scotland faces Denmark, and needs to win at home in order to leapfrog the Danes into first and the automatic qualifying spot, while a draw for the Danes will be enough for them to retain the top spot. Austria vs. Bosnia and Herzegovina is a similar situation, as a draw or win will see Austria stay in first, while Bosnia and Herzegovina must win to overtake the Austrians. In Concacaf, Group C has a ton of drama with three teams still able to secure automatic qualification. Honduras is currently top with eight points and better goal differential than Haiti, which also has eight points, while Costa Rica is in third with six. Costa Rica will play Honduras, while Haiti takes on Nicaragua, and there’s any number of ways this could all shake out.

Free Kicks

That’s all I’ve got for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City Announces Roster Update Following 2025 MLS Season

The club has announced the roster decisions and contract statuses following the 2025 campaign.

Published

1 day ago

on

November 17, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City has finally released the club’s roster status update and let us know the decisions on contract options following the 2025 campaign — the Lions’ 11th season in Major League Soccer. The biggest news had mostly already happened with the departures of goalkeeper Pedro Gallese and midfielder Cesar Araujo, who were both out of contract after the season. The writing had been on the wall in terms of both departures.

The most surprising news from today’s announcement is that the club declined the option year on captain Robin Jansson’s contract, but the club is in negotiations with both the veteran center back and out-of-contract defender/midfielder Kyle Smith.

Orlando City already had 14 players currently under contract for the 2026 season: forwards Duncan McGuire, Luis Muriel, Marco Pašalić, and Nico Rodríguez; midfielders Gustavo Caraballo, Colin Guske, and Dagur Dan Thórhallsson; defenders David Brekalo, Adrián Marín, Tahir Reid-Brown, Rodrigo Schlegel, Zakaria Taifi, and Thomas Williams; and goalkeeper Javier Otero.

Additionally, the Lions exercised the contract options on Iván Angulo, Tyrese Spicer, and Yutaro Tsukada; midfielders Eduard Atuesta, Joran Gerbet, and Martín Ojeda; and defender Alex Freeman. The club declined Jansson’s option year, as well as options for three players who were regulars for OCB: goalkeeper Carlos Mercado, midfielder/forward Shak Mohammed, and midfielder/forward Favian Loyola.

Smith is out of contract, along with Gallese and Araujo, but it’s not surprising that the Lions are trying to bring him back as he is a versatile depth player who can fill in at a number of spots.

Midfielder Wilder Cartagena was to be out of contract as well, but he signed a new contract five days ago that will keep him in Orlando through 2026 with an option in 2027.

What It Means for Orlando City

If Jansson isn’t re-signed, the Lions will have to go shopping for a top-notch center back. Jansson may have lost a step this season, but he was still the best and most consistent defender on Orlando City’s back line when he was in the lineup. Entering 2026 with a plan to start Schlegel and Brekalo is at best a lateral step to what the club had in 2025, which wasn’t good enough, as the Lions did not record a clean sheet after June 14. The back line wasn’t solely to blame, as Gallese and the central midfield have to shoulder some of that burden, but the critical breakdowns defensively in 2025 occurred more often than in previous seasons.

The biggest surprise to me was the club picking up Angulo’s option. The Colombian didn’t score a single goal in MLS for the first time since 2022, when he only appeared in nine games at the end of the season. It’s not as if Angulo didn’t have multiple golden opportunities to score, as he failed to finish on multiple clear-cut breakaways with only the goalkeeper back throughout the season. At more than $500,000 in annual base salary, the club can afford a defensive-minded player scoring five goals a season — as he did in both 2023 and 2024 — but cannot afford to have a left wing who can’t score a single goal, given the opportunties his speed affords him.

Tsukada and Gerbet are promising young players who are coming off serious injuries, and it’s nice to see the club make a commitment to helping them get healthy and continue their development. Atuesta’s return was made more important by Araujo’s departure, and although Cartagena signed a new deal, more depth will be needed in central midfield.

The club’s biggest off-season need right now is to replace Gallese in goal.

Post-2025 Orlando City Roster Status (Current club players in italics)

  • Iván Angulo: Option exercised – Under contract through 2026
  • César Araújo: Out of contract
  • Eduard Atuesta: Option exercised – Under contract through 2026
  • David Brekalo: Under contract through 2027, with a club option in 2028
  • Gustavo Caraballo: Under contract through 2027, club option in 2028
  • Wilder Cartagena: Signed new contract through 2026, club option in 2027
  • Alex Freeman: Option exercised – Under contract through 2026
  • Pedro Gallese: Out of contract
  • Joran Gerbet: Option exercised – Under contract through 2026, club options through 2028
  • Colin Guske: Under contract through 2027, club option in 2028
  • Robin Jansson: Option declined – In negotiations
  • Favian Loyola: Option declined
  • Adrián Marín: Under contract through 2026, club option in 2027
  • Duncan McGuire: Under contract through 2027, with a club option in 2028
  • Carlos Mercado: Option declined
  • Shak Mohammed: Option declined
  • Luis Muriel: Under contract through 2026
  • Martín Ojeda: Option exercised – Under contract through 2026, club option in 2027
  • Javier Otero: Under contract through 2026, club options in 2027 and 2028
  • Marco Pašalić: Under contract through 2027, club option in 2028
  • Tahir Reid-Brown: Under contract through 2027, club option in 2028
  • Nico Rodríguez: Under contract through 2027, club option in 2028
  • Rodrigo Schlegel: Under contract through 2026, club option in 2027
  • Kyle Smith: Out of contract, in negotiations
  • Tyrese Spicer: Option exercised – Under contract through 2026, club option in 2027
  • Zakaria Taifi: Under contract through 2026, club options through 2029
  • Dagur Dan Thórhallsson: Option exercised – Under contract through 2026, club option in 2027
  • Yutaro Tsukada: Under contract through 2025, with club options in 2026 & 2027
  • Thomas Williams: Under contract through 2026, club options in 2027 and 2028

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 11/17/25

Pride fall to Gotham FC in NWSL semifinals, Lions in action abroad, USMNT defeats Paraguay, and more.

Published

2 days ago

on

November 17, 2025

By

Image of Anglina preparing to take a shot against Gotham FC.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been staying busy at work and covering high school basketball. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Pride Fall to Gotham FC in NWSL Semifinals

The Orlando Pride fell 1-0 to NJ/NY Gotham FC in the NWSL semifinals Sunday at Inter&Co Stadium. The match was scoreless for 90 minutes, and it looked like it was heading for extra time. Jaedyn Shaw converted a last-minute free kick for the game-winning goal in stoppage time. The Pride had one last chance towards the end of the match to get a late equalizer when Oihane put her header on goal, but Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger made a clutch save to seal the win. Gotham FC will play in the NWSL Championship for the second time in three years. The Orlando Pride’s 2025 season ends just short of making a second consecutive NWSL Championship.

Lions in Action Abroad

Several Orlando City players were in action during the international break. Defender David Brekalo played a full 90 minutes, but Slovenia fell 2-0 to Kosovo in UEFA World Cup qualifying. Forward Marco Pasalic started and played 62 minutes as the Croatians defeated the Faroe Islands 3-1 in UEFA World Cup qualifying and qualified for the 2026 World Cup.

Croatia will be in action again later today against Montenegro. Gustavo Caraballo came off the bench late in the second half, but Venezuela fell 2-1 to North Korea in the round of 32 in the 2025 FIFA U-17 World Cup. Thomas Williams started for the U-21 U.S. Men’s National Team in its 1-1 draw against Denmark.

Fullback Tahir Reid-Brown came off the bench in the second half for the U-20 U.S. Men’s National Team in a 2-1 win against Costa Rica.

USMNT Defeats Paraguay in Friendly

The U.S. Men’s National Team defeated Paraguay 2-1 Saturday at Subaru Park in Chester, PA. Orlando City defender Alex Freeman was in action for the USMNT, coming off the bench and playing 23 minutes. Gio Reyna scored the opener in his return to the starting XI for the USMNT for the first time in 16 months to give the Yanks an early lead. Alex Arce scored the equalizer for Paraguay. In the second half, Falorin Balogun scored the winning goal to help the USMNT edge Paraguay. The Americans are unbeaten in their last four matches. The next match for the U.S. will be Tuesday against Uruguay in Tampa.

Washington Spirit Return to NWSL Championship

In the other NWSL playoff semifinal match from the weekend, the Washington Spirit returned to the NWSL Championship for the second consecutive time, securing a 2-0 win against the Portland Thorns Saturday at Audi Field. Gift Monday and Croix Bethune scored for Washington. Trinity Rodman returned to play for the first time since spraining her right MCL on Oct. 15. Before the match, multiple reports stated that Rodman had received lucrative transfer offers from European clubs as her contract expires next month. The Spirit will face Gotham FC in the NWSL Championship Saturday at PayPal Park in San Jose, CA.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja was in Europe over the weekend to watch Maro Pasalic play for the Croatia Men’s National Team, while also checking in with AFC Bournemouth to observe operations, share knowledge on coaching, and check out the club’s front office management as part of the partnership between the two clubs.
  • U.S. Soccer announced its 2026 National Soccer Hall of Fame Inductees, featuring Kevin Crow, Tobin Heath, Heather O’Reilly, Tony Sanneh, Kari Seitz, and Chris Wondolowski.
  • Erling Haaland scored twice as Norway defeated Italy 4-1, qualifying for its first World Cup since 1998.
  • Nigeria fell to Congo DR 4-3 in penalties after a 1-1 draw in the CAF World Cup playoff final and will miss a second straight World Cup.
  • One Knoxville SC defeated Spokane Velocity 2-0 to win the USL League One Championship.

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

Continue Reading

Trending