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

The Lions finally put together a good performance on the road, picking up one point from a hard-fought 1-1 draw in Columbus. The Crew dominated the ball for most of the game but Orlando City had several good chances to bring home all three points, and the Lions will probably be frustrated with themselves that they did not score a second goal. One point is still better than zero points, which is what Orlando City had earned from its first three away matches, and hopefully this game will be a turning point for the Lions.

I have my purple pen out and am ready to issue some grades. Let’s take a look at how Orlando City’s players rated individually in a matchup with an Eastern Conference opponent.

Starters

GK, Maxime Crépeau, 7 — Columbus dominated the ball for the final 65 minutes of the game, and if not for the Canadian and his six saves, the Lions would have come home empty-handed. Crépeau channeled his homeland by making several hockey-like kick saves, and he also went up high to deny Diego Rossi from close range early in the second half, keeping the Lions in the lead. Eventually, the barrage of attacks overcame the defense and Rossi beat him to the far corner, but on the whole, Crépeau was among Orlando City’s best players, and one of the main reasons the Lions picked up their first road point of the season.

D, David Brekalo, 6 — Brekalo had been playing center back during the first games of 2026 after primarily playing left back in 2025. He combined the two on Sunday night by playing left center back in what was a back five every time Columbus had the ball. Like most of the Orlando City defenders, Brekalo looked much more comfortable playing alongside Robin Jansson than he had during the previous games this season, and it was one of his better games because of it. The Slovenian had three tackles, one block, and four clearances on defense, and offensively he completed 90% of his passes and made one long run up into the attack, but that his only real foray forwards. Brekalo looked a lot like he did last year during this game, which is a good thing for Orlando City.

D, Robin Jansson, 7 (MotM) — The Beefy Swede made an unexpectedly early return to the starting lineup, and it was a welcomed return. Despite having played zero minutes in 2026, Jansson immediately looked his imperial self in the middle of the Orlando City defense, calming the entire back line while commanding everyone on where to be and who to mark. It is not a coincidence that Columbus scored just minutes after he came off, as the defense looked far less organized without his leadership in the middle of the back line. He contributed one interception, two blocks, and four clearances in his return to the lineup while completing 82.3% of his passes. Jansson came off in the 78th minute after pulling up a bit gingerly, but hopefully that was just a cramp or the result of not having the stamina yet to go a full 90. I thought his contributions to the game and to his team were vitally influential, and for that he was my Man of the Match.

D, Iago, 6 — Sunday’s game against Columbus was easily the best game of Iago’s brief Orlando City career as the Brazilian center back made plays all over the field, leading the game with 13 defensive contributions even though he only played 74 minutes. Iago demonstrated his aerial prowess with six headed clearances out of his nine total clearances, and he also recorded one tackle, two interceptions, and one blocked shot. He showed some inexperience by picking up an unnecessary yellow card while in the attacking third of the field, but on the whole, he looked solid, partnering well with Jansson and Brekalo in the middle of the defense. He completed a team-leading 90.9% of his passes and he probably would have gone the full 90 minutes, but he used his head to block a wicked shot by Hugo Picard, which led to him coming off to undergo concussion protocol.

WB, Iván Angulo, 6 — After a series of games in which he was frequently among the best players for Orlando City, Angulo was not in that category on Sunday night, though he had several good moments, and had the game only been 20 minutes long, he might have found himself in the running for Man of the Match once again. The Colombian initiated the game’s opening goal with a wonderful stop-and-go move to free himself before sending a perfect left-footed pass to put Tiago in behind the Columbus defense. Angulo picked up a secondary assist after the Brazilian hit a perfect cross into the middle for Marco Pašalić to deposit into the net. After that pass though, Angulo really struggled on the offensive side, as he lost possession 18 times, with many of those turnovers coming on poorly played passes that went directly to a Columbus player. Angulo also did not move quickly enough up the field to get in line with the rest of the Orlando City defenders on the Crew’s goal, keeping Rossi onside as he made his run toward Orlando’s goal. He completed 82.7% of his passes and had a team-leading three tackles while covering more ground than most players, but his passing and decision-making was just not as crisp as it should have been, both when trying to get the ball out of the defensive third and also when he had the ball on the counterattack.

MF, Braian Ojeda, 5.5 — Defensive Ojeda may have played mostly in the defensive half of the field, but he did not contribute a lot defensively, with only one block and zero other defensive contributions. His partnership with Eduard Atuesta in the middle of the field was not a strong one, as neither of the two really disrupted the Crew’s offensive flow or created links between Orlando City’s back line and the attacking group. Ojeda completed 83.3% of his passes and hustled all over the field, but while his effort was there, it did not lead to much for the Lions. He was partly responsible for Jansson’s exit as well, with a poorly placed back pass that nearly allowed Columbus to get level, but for a great save by Crépeau.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 5.5 — Atuesta was better against Columbus than he was against LAFC, especially early in the first half when Orlando City dominated possession. As the game went on, he became less influential, however, and struggled to help the Lions hold the ball for any significant time during the latter part of the first half and early part of the second half. He finished with two tackles and one interception on defense, but too often he was just around the middle of the field without doing much. He completed 87.5% of his passes, though most were sideways or backwards, and he was the first Lion to come off, as he was replaced by Luis Otávio in the 64th minute.

WB, Griffin Dorsey, 6 — Dorsey returned from the injured list to get the start, and the right back/right wingback frequently found himself in the right place at the right time defensively in the first half, though his clearances often left something to be desired. He was aggressive offensively as well, getting most of his touches in the opposing half of the field, and his cross into the middle generated one of only a handful of shots for the Lions. He completed 88.9% of his passes while stuffing the defensive stat sheet with two tackles, two interceptions, one block, and three clearances before making way for Zakaria Taifi in a like-for-like swap in the 68th minute.

MF, Marco Pašalić, 6.5 — Only two Lions took shots during the game — Pašalić and Tiago — and the Croatian was the only one to put a shot on frame, with his perfectly placed shot in the 15th minute giving Orlando City its first road goal (and first road lead) of the season. He took that first chance well but was unable to threaten again, as on his other two best chances he had his shot blocked and then took a touch too far wide and was unable to even get a shot off on the second. Pašalić played far more in the middle and even on the left side than he had in the past, playing more of a distributor role than his normal winger role, and he frequently also was at the top of the defense alongside Tiago when Columbus had the ball. He completed 72% of his passes and added two clearances on defense, and went the full 90 for the third consecutive game, though he was clearly tired at the end and probably would have come off had the Lions had more available attacking options on the bench.

MF, Martín Ojeda, 5.5 — The Argentine played out on the left wing for most of this game, and delivered a muted performance. He dropped much deeper than he had in recent games, and aside from a few touches on the right side of the field, he played nearly exclusively in the left channel, just slightly in front of Angulo. Ojeda completed 77.4% of his passes, including one key pass on a long ball over the top to Tiago, but he brought little else to the table as he was held without a shot for the second time this season.

F, Tiago, 6.5 — Duncan McGuire was unable to dress due to injury, so Tiago started and went the full 90 minutes. The off-season acquisition was active throughout, especially on the left side of the attack. He picked up his first assist of the season on a cutback pass to Pašalić, and he took a team-leading three shots, though he was unable to put any on target. The positive part of that was he made excellent runs to put himself into threatening positions, but between his off-target shots and several turnovers on counterattacks, he gave away chances for the Lions to score a second goal, which would have given them some breathing room in a game in which they were under pressure for most of the final 65 minutes. On the defensive side, he was excellent, making one tackle, blocking one shot, and winning three aerial balls to clear them away with his head. Overall it was a solid game from the young Brazilian, and one to build on for the rest of the season.

Substitutes

MF, Luis Otávio, (64′), 4.5 — It was a bit surprising to see Otávio, rather than Colin Guske, come on with Orlando City holding a 1-0 lead, but the Brazilian was coming off a good performance against LAFC, so perhaps the coaching staff was going with the hot foot, as it were. Otávio did not make it two strong games in a row, as despite playing for more than 30 minutes, including stoppage time, he barely contributed to the game, completing only five of his eight pass attempts and making one tackle. He was involved in the Crew’s goal as well, failing to pressure Taha Habroune and allowing the Columbus player to scoop a pass over the defense to Rossi — a pass he likely could not have made with a defender closer to him.

D, Zakaria Taifi, (68′), 5 — Taifi came on for Dorsey and took over on the right side, playing aggressively, just like the man he replaced. He got up the right flank on attack, suffering a foul and earning the Lions a free kick, and defensively he impacted the game with one interception, one block, and two clearances. He only completed one of his five pass attempts, but calling two of them pass attempts is a bit unfair to the young defender because they were part pass attempt and part long clearance attempt, as the Lions were just trying to get the ball out of the defensive zone. It was a solid appearance by Taifi, who continues to show that he can contribute to the senior team.

D, Adrián Marin (75′), 5 — The Spaniard came on for Iago and played as the left center back briefly, before moving to the center of the five man back line when Jansson had to go off just moments later. He did well in that central role, hustling to make a diving attempt to block a shot to help Crépeau on a Columbus counterattack and making one important tackle and winning two headed clearances in the final minutes. Marin was a step late to get to Rossi on the Crew’s goal, although it was not his fault Angulo kept the attacker onside, and he was subsequently unable to recover to stop Rossi from getting his shot off. It will be interesting to see if Marin will start to be used more as a center back or a wingback if Orlando City continues to go with this defensive shape.

D, Tahir Reid-Brown, (78′), 4.5 — Reid-Brown entered for Jansson, and was thrust right into the fire as Columbus was pouring on the attack. Unfortunately, he overcommitted right away, coming out one step too far to try to defend Rossi and losing the Uruguayan as he cut toward the goal after passing the ball to Habroune. Reid-Brown paid for the momentary lapse as Rossi put the ball into the far corner and tied the game. After that, he settled into the game and played well as the left center back on a makeshift back line, logging one tackle, one clearance, and four loose-ball recoveries. He also came forward out of the back, showing some confidence with the ball at his feet, and completed two of his four pass attempts while earning the Lions a free kick after suffering a foul.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s 1-1 draw with Columbus. 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.