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

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8 years ago

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The depleted Lions will take a 2-2 draw in Vancouver, but they’ll feel they could have taken all three points back home. Bobby Murphy didn’t have much to work with, but his lineup made do and Orlando City played the best they have under his short tenure. But how did the team grade out on their longest road trip of the season?

Starting XI

GK, Joe Bendik: 6.5 – Bendik can’t be faulted too much for Mezquida’s rebound goal, and he might have gotten to Kudo’s free header but it needed to have been a moment of brilliance. He managed two saves and, as always, the Lions would have been worse off without him.

DF, Kevin Alston: 4 – Alston lost his footing on the set piece and his man, Masato Kudo, was free for the header for Vancouver’s second goal. He was up and down all match, either giving the ball away or jump-starting attacks. It’s been a long week as Orlando’s best-available right back.

DF, Seb Hines: 6 – Seb didn’t have a huge impact on the match but that also means he didn’t hurt the team. It’s not a bad thing if you go unnoticed as a center back. He only misplaced two passes at a reasonable distance and he had a decent amount of blocks and interceptions.

DF, David Mateos: 6.5 – Mateos almost had the winner in the dying minutes, but David Ousted made a wonderful save on his glancing header. Mateos had a lot of last-ditch efforts to deny an attempt on goal and expectedly played well with the ball at his feet. He could have had more of an impact on Vancouver’s first goal, but the defense as a whole was in shambles on the play.

DF, Luke Boden: 4.5 – Boden was poor in the sequence leading to the Whitecaps’ first goal, allowing his man to get a shot off even as Boden gave a hard foul in the area. He didn’t give the ball away too much and he assisted Baptista’s goal, but he just couldn’t manage to connect on any of his crosses.

MF, Servando Carrasco: 6 – Without Cristian Higuita in the lineup, it looked like the defensive side of the midfield would be lacking. Carrasco made up for the lack of a destroyer with some key tackles and breaking up the ‘Caps attack. He also took care of the ball on offense with an 89% pass completion percentage and sent some threatening balls into the box.

MF, Darwin Ceren: 5 – Ceren wasn’t quite his usual self, only managing to win one tackle all night. He had an even better completion percentage than Carrasco (92%) but he had a careless giveaway in his own half that set up a threatening Whitecaps attack. He was invisible at times, which is a shame when he’s been so good at controlling the midfield.

MF, Hadji Barry: 7 – Hadji had a bright start to the match, testing the Whitecaps’ right flank and creating some dangerous chances. Whether he was splitting Vancouver defenders or rounding them with his pace, he caused a lot of problems in his first MLS start. If only he’d been able to keep it up during the second half, Orlando might have come away with more.

MF, Julio Baptista: 5 – Baptista had the opening goal and earned the penalty but absolutely botched the execution. It was a black mark on a decent night for the Brazilian, but missing that poorly on a chance to take the lead is hard to overcome.

MF, Kevin Molino: 7 – Kevin gave away a needless free kick that led to Vancouver’s second, but he sent in a beautiful ball to level the score. He was his usual threatening self, even on the left side of the midfield where he’s less comfortable.

FW, Cyle Larin: 7.5 (MOTM) – Larin soared over the Vancouver defense to score Orlando’s second and tie the match. The Canadian was battling two physical defenders every time the ball came near him and still managed to get off several good chances. Molino may have played the ball in, but it was Larin’s sheer effort to get up over the ‘Caps defense to level the score. He only had three attempts on goal due to the blanketing defense, but he would have had two goals if not for a fantastic Ousted save.

Substitutes

MF, Cristian Higuita (79’): 5 – Higuita was brought on to preserve the point, and he did his job. He didn’t do anything silly and didn’t give the ball away cheaply, which is about all you can ask from him that late in the game.

MF, Antonio Nocerino (84’): 5.5 – It’s tough to ask Nocerino to be the lone offensive spark off the bench, but he made some daring runs into the box and put the ball in dangerous areas in the small time he saw the field. He gave his all on the offensive end, but it just wasn’t enough.

That’s how I graded the Lions, what do you think? Vote for your Man of the Match in our poll below.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Hadji Barry17
Joe Bendik15
Cyle Larin55
David Mateos7
Kevin Molino11
Other16

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Three Keys to Victory

What does Orlando City need to do to ensure a victory over FC Cincinnati Saturday at home?

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2 hours ago

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May 2, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City looks to bounce back from the disappointing 2-1 loss to Toronto FC Saturday night at Inter&Co Stadium. Cincinnati has twice as many points as Orlando City and more than twice as many wins. FCC has only scored one more goal than Orlando City, but with only nine goals conceded compared to Orlando City’s 17, it’s easy to see why Cincinnati is sitting in second place in the Eastern Conference.

What I’m trying to say is that the task doesn’t get any easier this weekend. What does Orlando City need to do to secure all three points at home against FC Cincinnati?

Accost Acosta

Cincinnati’s attack revolves around Luciano Acosta. The attacking midfielder has four goals and five assists so far this season. To put that into perspective, Duncan McGuire — Orlando City’s leading scorer — also has four goals but only one assist. If we look at the Lions’ attacking midfielders, Facundo Torres has one goal and one assist, Ivan Angulo and Nico Lodeiro both have one goal and two assists, and Martin Ojeda has zero goals and only one assist. Luis Muriel is still at double zeroes.

The defensive midfield and the back line must do everything possible to mark him out of the match. It’s not enough to keep him from scoring, they must also keep him from setting up chances for his teammates. Most importantly, the defense must do that for 90 minutes plus stoppage time. There is no room for the mental lapses we’ve seen throughout the first part of this season.

Break Through

Cincinnati is stingy on defense. As I mentioned above, the club has only allowed nine goals this season. The back line is formidable with the likes of Matt Miazga, Miles Robinson, and Ian Murphy. On the wings are DeAndre Yedlin and Luca Orellano. This is a tough defense, and whether it is McGuire or Muriel who gets the start, they must find the spaces in between.

Just as importantly, Torres, Angulo, Ojeda, and Lodeiro — depending on who is in at any given moment — must be able to thread the passes in for McGuire, Muriel, or each other to create quality chances. On top of that, the Lions must convert on those chances, which is not something that has been a strength so far this season. If the Orlando City defense continues to give up cheap goals, then the offense will need to one-up the competition when it comes to scoring.

Deal with an Unknown

FC Cincinnati recently signed Venezuelan forward Kevin Kelsy from Ukrainian Premier League club Shakhtar Donetsk. Kelsy comes in as an MLS U22 Initiative player and is eligible to play against Orlando City. Even though Kelsy is only 19, he has 68 professional appearances, including UEFA Champions Leagues matches. At 6-foot-3, he can be a challenge for defenders, especially in the air.

Kelsy hasn’t had much time with the team, but he could be a second-half substitution for Cincinnati. Given that Orlando City just gave up two late headers against Toronto FC, the back line will need to be careful that Kelsy doesn’t hurt the Lions in the same manner — especially if he comes on late when legs and minds are tired.

That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/2/24

The Pride win big, OCSC celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month, USMNT news, and more.

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6 hours ago

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May 2, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

It’s Thursday, Mane Landers. Of course, the name Thursday comes from Thor’s day, and as such, it isn’t a big leap for us to consider it Thorhallsson’s day. Though I suppose that is a bit of a mouthful, so we’ll just keep things the way they are, but do hold Dagur Dan close to your heart today. Also, let us wish a happy birthday to the Orlando Pride’s Luana. Despite the devastating news that dropped about her health earlier this week, we hope that her spirits are high and we wish her nothing but happiness today. It’s also Dagur Dan Thorhallsson’s birthday today, so we’re celebrating him as well. Let’s get to the links.

The Pride Dominate the Courage

The Orlando Pride defeated the North Carolina Courage 4-1 in a midweek match at Inter&Co Stadium. The Pride did indeed dominate the Courage as much as the score line indicates. It was once again the Barbra Banda show, with the Pride’s newest player contributing a brace and an assist on the night. It is the Pride’s fourth straight victory and the undefeated run continues.

OCSC Celebrates Mental Health Awareness Month

Orlando City and the Orlando Pride are doing their part this May to observe Mental Health Awareness Month. The club is sponsoring and attending events and forums available to the general public, as well as holding club staff workshops around promoting mental health. I have to say my favorite is the therapy dogs visits that will be available to the staff. There’s nothing as good for my personal mental health as the joy and unconditional love a dog can bring. If I didn’t have dogs of my own, I’d be really jealous.

The Billionaires Clubs

Orlando City and Orlando Pride owners, the Wilf family, are not the only billionaire owners in the NWSL. There are more and more owners and ownership groups that fall into that category. The influx of more money is a growth opportunity for the league and potentially for those owners. It’s a bit of a “rising tide lifts all boats” mentality for these owners as they do better when the league as a whole does better. It’s not just the owners who think so. The NWSL was ranked No. 5 on the World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2024. I’m just glad the Pride are in the club.

USMNT News

I hate starting off a section with bad news, but Sergino Dest tore his ACL in training with PSV Eindhoven and will miss the Copa America. Dest will require surgery though there is no time frame yet for when he may return. The loss of Dest is a blow to the U.S. defense heading into the competition this coming June. The USMNT plays Bolivia on June 23.

In better news, Tim Weah provided the assist for Juventus on Arkadiusz Milik’s goal against Lazio. Juventus entered the second leg of the Copa Italia semifinal up 2-0, but Lazio drew level before Milik’s goal. Juventus advanced 3-2 on aggregate and will play in the final.

Free Kicks

That will do it for today. There’s plenty more soccer to come this weekend with all three teams playing. Check back for more as we get you ready for those matches. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/1/24

Mason Stajduhar was arrested, Orlando Pride play at home tonight, Colin Guske discusses his signing, and more.

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1 day ago

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May 1, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

Welcome to Wednesday and welcome to May, Mane Landers. Don’t forget that the undefeated Orlando Pride are in action tonight, so check back for our match preview and the latest episode of SkoPurp Soccer: An Orlando Pride PawedCast for additional pre-match coverage. In the meantime, let’s get to the links.

Mason Stajduhar Arrested Early Sunday

Orlando City goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar and his wife Tatiana Stajduhar were both arrested on disorderly conduct charges following an incident at a nightclub overnight Saturday in the early hours of Sunday morning. The couple were reportedly disrespectful to the club’s staff and got into an altercation with the security guards. Mason stated he was only resisting the security guards to re-enter the club because the bouncers allegedly hit his wife. Tatiana allegedly pushed the police officers after they arrived, and she was not charged with battery on a law enforcement officer. The couple were released Monday after posting a bond. Orlando City provided the following statement to WESH 2 News:

“The Club is aware that goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar was arrested early Sunday morning. We are currently gathering more information and will have no further comment at this time.”

Orlando Pride Host the North Carolina Courage Tonight

After a 3-2 win on the road last Friday against the Washington Spirit, the Orlando Pride are back in the City Beautiful and will take on the North Carolina Courage tonight. Unbeaten in their six games so far this season, the Pride have also won their past three games and sit fourth in the standings. They’re tied on points with a Courage team that beat the Seattle Reign Saturday. Orlando has scored at least one goal in every match this season. Forward Barbra Banda had a great performance in that win against the Spirit, so hopefully the scoring trend continues tonight for the Pride.

Orlando City/Pride Earn Golden Brick Awards

Have you enjoyed the new food options at the stadium? I know I have, and I’m looking forward to trying even more. The efforts made by Orlando City’s front office to feature more local food and beverage options did not go unnoticed, as the club won the Hospitality & Dining category in the Downtown Orlando Partnership’s 2023 Golden Brick Awards. The Orlando Pride’s 2023 Highway Woman Kit also won the award in the Arts & Culture category. The home jersey was inspired by the work of Mary Ann Carroll, the sole woman in the famed Highwaymen artists from decades ago.

Colin Guske Speaks On Signing First Pro Contract

Orlando City Development Academy player Colin Guske signed his first professional contract with the club last month and spoke on the importance of this moment in his career. The 17-year-old is now on an MLS NEXT Pro contract with Orlando City B, and he has started in nearly every game for the Young Lions this year. Both of Guske’s brothers have also played for Orlando City’s academy over the years, and he thanked his family for helping him reach this point.

“It’s awesome to represent the Guskes,” Colin said. “Thanks to my brothers for always pushing me through early mornings and late nights, always putting in the work, doing video sessions, everything. My sister as well, for always being there for me and my parents, too. They’re always helping me and what was the best for me.”

Free Kicks

  • Enjoy all of the sights and sounds from the Pride’s big win over the Spirit in the nation’s capital.
  • The Champions League semifinals are underway and Real Madrid and Bayern Munich played to a 2-2 draw in Germany. The second leg will take place on May 8 in Madrid.

That will do it for today. If you can make it out to the stadium tonight to catch the Pride in action, I strongly suggest you do so. Barbra Banda is about to take the NWSL by storm and you’ll want to see it in person. Vamos Orlando!

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