Orlando City vs. Vancouver Whitecaps: Player Grades and Man of the Match

In its final home game of the MLS regular season, Orlando City hosted the Vancouver Whitecaps and fell 2-1 after holding onto a lead for a majority of the match. Dagur Dan Thorhallsson put the Lions in front after some good team play, but the Whitecaps rallied late to take all three points. An unlucky goal scored into his own net off Nelson Pierre by Kyle Smith leveled things and Thomas Muller found a winner deep in stoppage time.

Let’s dive into how each Lion performed in this disappointing loss at home.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6.5— Gallese had seven saves in this match, including two right on the goal line. There wasn’t much he could do about Vancouver’s first goal, as the ball smacked the post and then Smith’s attempted clearance bounced off Pierre and into the net. He got a touch on Muller’s winner in stoppage time, but it wasn’t enough to keep it out of the net. There was a scare in the second added minute when he spilled Sebastian Berhalter’s shot on the line, which may have crossed but it was called no goal on the field and video evidence was not sufficient to overturn it. In terms of distribution, he had a whopping 23 long balls and 11 were successful. His 31 passes were the second most for the Lions and he completed 61.3% of them. Gallese’s 47 touches were also notably the second most on the team, which goes to show just how pinned back the Lions were.

D, Adrian Marin, 6 — With David Brekalo on international duty, Marin started again for Orlando. He provided one of Orlando’s few shots, curling a good effort towards goal that was deflected out for a corner. Vancouver’s Edier Ocampo wreaked havoc on Marin’s side of the defense, particularly in the first half and late in the match, but Marin put out fires here and there. Ryan Gauld eased past him on Vancouver’s first goal, although Gauld’s impact on the play was mostly just getting a piece on the rebound off the post to bounce the ball in the center of the box before Smith knocked it in off Pierre. Marin’s eight clearances and four interceptions led the Lions in both categories, and he blocked a shot as well. Orlando’s inability to build possession and Jansson’s injury prevented him from getting too involved on offense and he finished with 40 touches, two unsuccessful long balls, and 22 passes at a 72.7% success rate.

D, Robin Jansson, N/A — The captain’s night unfortunately ended in the 18th minute after getting injured while stopping Daniel Rios from teeing up a shot on goal. He tried to carry on by testing his leg on the sideline but ultimately had to head to the locker room. He had four touches before coming off, completing both of his passes. Hopefully it’s a minor knock as the Lions will need him for the playoffs. However, it did not look good.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6 — Schlegel returned to the starting lineup after serving his suspension for yellow card accumulation last week. He kept Muller from dealing damage until he didn’t, as the Argentine defender was not able to close down on him in time to stop his shot while marking Gauld. It was a tough ask on tired legs as Muller breezed past Eduard Atuesta to create space. Schlegel blocked two shots and had four clearances while winning three of his four aerial duels. He picked up a yellow card for a foul in a dangerous area, but Vancouver skied the free kick. Of his 10 long balls, five were successful and he completed 76.7% of his 30 passes.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 6.5 (MotM) — With the Lions a bit shorthanded, Thorhallsson got the start at right back — moving to the midfield after Jansson’s injury — and scored Orlando’s only goal of the game. He did well to slip the ball to Ojeda with room to run on a counterattack and then raced into the box himself, getting the ball nodded back to him by Duncan McGuire and putting the ball in the net with a nice finish. He finished with seven clearances, three interceptions, and a tackle over the course of the game. In hindsight, it might be easy to say he should’ve pressured Muller before he could score, and his reaction afterwards indicated he probably thought he should have, but Thorhallsson was trying to cut off passing lanes as Muller carried the ball across the top of the box with bodies in front of him. None of his three long balls were successful, and he completed 72% of his 25 passes, but he’s our Man of the Match for starting and finishing one of Orlando’s few attacks in the game. Even though the Lions didn’t win or draw, they needed a guy like Thorhallsson to step up for a chance at points while dealing with so many absences.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 6 — Angulo didn’t have many opportunities to get involved offensively in this game, as he moved to a wingback position after Jansson’s exit. Angulo often dueled with Emmanuel Sabbi and did a pretty good job. There were hiccups here and there, but Angulo stopped a cross from reaching Sabbi in the box during a crucial moment and later won the ball off him to create an opportunity as well. Angulo’s speed is often talked about, but his physicality was notable in this game. He ended up seeing a yellow card for one of the more polite professional fouls I’ve seen as he harassed Sabbi on a counterattack. Angulo led the Lions with three tackles and added a clearance. He also took care of the ball, completing 92.3% of his 26 passes and succeeding on his lone long ball attempt. This wasn’t Angulo’s first time at wingback, and he looked solid in that role during this game, spending time on both wings.

MF, Kyle Smith, 5.5 — Smith started the game as a central midfielder but moved to the back line to fill in for Jansson after the Beefy Swede’s injury. It’s unfortunate that his clearance on Vancouver’s first goal only went as far as Pierre, with the deflection resulting in an equalizer for the Whitecaps. He had to deal with dangerous runs from Daniel Rios throughout the match and was bailed out by Gallese on one occasion after losing a foot race to Rios on a ball over the top. Smith managed to block Rios from close range though in a moment that would have almost certainly resulted in a goal if not for his intervention. Smith had six clearances to help see out the danger when it arose. In terms of his passing, two of his six long balls were accurate, his lone cross missed its mark, and he had 25 passes at an 80% success rate. His versatility has been helpful as Orlando deals with absences, but it showed at times that he was not in his preferred position. He has to lose some points for breaking the ice for Vancouver.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 5.5 — It was an off night for Atuesta, who led the Lions with 53 touches but struggled to build much in the way of possession. That’s not entirely on him, especially considering how deeply he and Thorhallsson were having to play at some points, but he was dispossessed five times and won just one of his three aerial duels. Muller skirted past his attempted tackle en route to scoring the winner, with an obviously fatigued Atuesta unable to get back in front of him in time. Defensively, Atuesta had two clearances and a tackle. He conceded a foul in a dangerous area, but made up for it by blocking the free kick as part of the wall. Long balls were about all he could do to create attacking opportunities, and he was successful on two of his six attempts. His 33 passes were also the most on the team, and he completed 78.8% of them. Vancouver did well to swarm him before he could find open players on counterattacks. A lack of stability in the midfield due to injuries hasn’t made Atuesta’s job any easier and he looked gassed by the end of the game.

MF, Nico Rodriguez, 5 — The MLS U22 Initiative player’s biggest impact on the match came about three minutes in as he sent a free kick towards goal. It’s not clear if it was a shot or cross, but it had enough venom behind it that goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka had to punch it clear. Rodriguez had a few other opportunities while chasing down long balls in transition and won both of his aerial duels, but seemed to fade as the match wore on. In 90 minutes of play before being subbed off, he had just 28 touches and 16 passes at an 81.3% success rate. Neither his one cross nor his two long balls were successful. Moving to more of a wingback position when Orlando changed its shape, Rodriguez helped out defensively with two clearances, a tackle, and an interception. More service may have let him break out a bit more, as he was often making runs or trying to find room to run downfield, but Orlando struggled to get much momentum going offensively.

F, Luis Muriel, 6 — Muriel’s only shot of the match was a header in the box that was on target, but he was crowded by Whitecap defenders and couldn’t get enough power or direction on it to trouble Takaoka. Muriel played every minute of the match and had 35 touches while completing 76% of his 25 passes. He dropped back as the game went on to try helping the Lions string some passes together and sparked an attack in the second half by springing Ojeda, but a heavy touch by the latter snuffed out the chance. Of his two long ball attempts, one found its target. On the defensive side of things, he contributed a tackle and a clearance as well.

F, Martin Ojeda, 6 — Ojeda didn’t have any shots in this one but was credited with an assist for his pass to find McGuire on Orlando’s goal. There was worry that his lob towards McGuire was too high or behind for him to handle, but it was perfect for McGuire to knock it into the path of Thorhallsson with his head. Ojeda had a chance to score himself in the second half after a good ball from Muriel, but he took a heavy touch instead of firing away with his left foot. The two nearly doubled Orlando’s lead later in the match, but Muriel was offside. Ojeda led the Lions with two key passes and was accurate on two of his three long balls and one of his two crosses. His pressure caused problems for the Whitecaps on a few occasions and he had two tackles and a clearance. Like the rest of the Lions, Ojeda had a hard time building possession and completed 76.9% of his 26 passes.

Substitutes

F, Duncan McGuire, (18’), 6 — The American came on in the first half following Jansson’s injury and played up top alongside Muriel. It didn’t take long for him to make an impact, as he thundered down the field on a counterattack and headed a cross from Ojeda towards Thorhallsson for his second assist of the season. It was nice to see McGuire just get the ball in a dangerous area rather than trying to bring it down himself. He didn’t have any shots himself but his sole long ball was accurate and he was accurate on 94.1% of his 17 passes. His size also helped fill the void left by Jansson, as he had three clearances and won two of his four aerial duels. He limped off as a substitute himself in the 86th minute, so hopefully that’s just the wear and tear of a long game and nothing serious.

D, Zakaria Taifi, (86′), N/A — The 20-year-old came on late as a right back to give the Lions some fresher legs. Vancouver didn’t go after him much and he had three touches and no passes. It was Taifi’s sixth appearance this season, and he didn’t feature enough in this game for us to give him a grade.

MF, Shak Mohammed, (90′), N/A — Orlando City B’s season is over and Mohammed was available as a substitute, coming on to relieve Rodriguez. His only touch of the game was collecting a loose ball and passing toward the sideline for Thorhallsson to run onto to help see out the game. Unfortunately, Vancouver succeeded on the tackle against Thorhallsson and scored shortly after.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s 2-1 loss at home to the Vancouver Whitecaps. The Lions are at risk of having to play in the wild card round of the playoffs and will wrap up their regular season on Saturday on the road against Toronto FC. Make sure to let us know your thoughts on the game in the comments and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.