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Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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2 years ago

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Tesho Akindele did it again, scoring the game-winning goal with the last kick (header, anyway) of the game as Orlando City beat New York City FC 2-1 for a huge three points. It’s the third consecutive win for the Lions, who beat the New York Red Bulls 1-0 and Charlotte FC 2-1 in the two previous games. However, it’s a win at home, which has been hard to come by for this team.

Let’s take a look at how the Orlando City players did individually in this game.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 5.5 — Gallese didn’t have a lot to do in this game. NYCFC only took one shot on target and it was its goal. The Peruvian international did play seven long balls out of the back but only completed one. However, those were mostly goal kicks, which are almost always 50/50 balls. The grade being this low has more to do with how Orlando controlled the match rather than the goalkeeper not playing well. While we can’t give Gallese a grade as high as we usually do, he didn’t make any big mistakes so it was not a bad game either.

D, Joao Moutinho, 5.5 — Moutinho wasn’t as involved as you’d like to see. Defensively, he only had one tackle. On the attacking end, he attempted five crosses but none of them were successful. He did complete four of his seven long balls, which is a positive, and completed 78.4% of his 51 passes. He didn’t have a bad game but didn’t have a significant impact, as Orlando controlled the match and he wasn’t called upon often defensively.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 5.5  — For the most part, Schlegel had a pretty good game. He finished the game with two tackles, two interceptions, and one clearance. On the attacking end, he completed 85.1% of his 47 passes, including a key pass, and completed three of his five long balls. However, he got sucked into the middle on the NYCFC goal, allowing Maxi Moralez to get behind the line and even the game at 1-1.

D, Antonio Carlos, 6 — This game was almost a disaster for Antonio Carlos, who received a red card in the 47th minute, only for VAR to rightfully change it to a yellow. Instead, it was a solid performance by the Brazilian center back. Carlos had two tackles and five clearances in the back. He completed 84% of his 50 passes and five of his nine long balls. He probably was the best of the back line for the Lions in this game.

D, Ruan, 5 — Ruan had a difficult game. He ended up with two tackles, two interceptions, and one blocked shot defensively but his problems were in the attack. While he had two key passes, he only completed 67.6% of his 37 passes and neither of his crosses. His poor crossing was a problem for a team that relies on the crossing ability of its full backs. Additionally, he completed three of his five long balls and had one shot so off-target that it hit the corner flag.

MF, Wilder Cartagena, 5.5 — Cartagena had a solid but unspectacular game in his first start for Orlando City. He had three tackles defensively but failed to contain Moralez, who had control of the midfield until Cesar Araujo came on. Cartagena completed 75% of his 20 passes and took two shots with one on target.

MF, Junior Urso, 7 (MotM) — This was one of Urso’s best games of the season. The midfielder played an attacking role in this game, completing 89.7% of his 39 passes, including one key pass. He took a team-high five shots, with two on target, and scored the game’s first goal. The goal was a wonderful play by Urso, which included a good move to beat the defender, a quick one-two with Facundo Torres, a great first touch to control the ball, and a wonderful finish. While others can be considered for Man of the Match, I’ll give it to Urso because of his goal and for forcing Sean Johnson’s best save of the night with another good shot.

MF, Jake Mulraney, 5  — Mulraney wasn’t as bad as he was in Charlotte a week ago but he was barely noticeable in this game. The midfielder only had 18 touches and completed 83.3% of just 12 passes. He had one incomplete cross and didn’t take any shots. His poor pass to Cartagena was the turnover that ultimately led to NYCFC’s tying goal early in the second half. He was seemingly on a different page than his teammates much of the night. It certainly appears as though Mulraney won’t be starting much longer.

MF, Facundo Torres, 6.5 — The two best attacking starters for the Lions in this game were Urso and Torres. The midfielder completed 74.6% of his 55 passes, three of which were key passes. He completed two of his team-high nine crosses and one of his four long balls. Considering the weather, that’s not bad. He took two shots in this game but neither were on target. Additionally, his quick one-two with Urso resulted in an assist for the Uruguayan.

MF, Benji Michel, 5.5 — Similar to Mulraney, Michel wasn’t very involved in this game. He only had 27 touches and completed 81.3% of his 16 passes. Michel started the game in the midfield but moved to the forward position when Araujo replaced Ercan Kara in the 58th minute. However, it was an unremarkable performance in both positions.

F, Ercan Kara, 5.5 — Kara had 21 touches up top in this game and only took one shot, which was a header off target with Maxime Chanot defending him well. He completed 54.6% of his 11 passes, one of which was a key pass, before being taken off in the 58th minute for Araujo.

Substitutes

MF, Cesar Araujo (58’), 6.5  — When the weather allowed, Moralez took control of the midfield for NYCFC until Araujo came on for Kara. Unquestionably the team’s best defensive midfielder, Araujo did his job well in this game, allowing the Lions to get their hold back on the game. He only had one tackle but completed 88.2% of his 34 passes. Additionally, he took one off-target shot.

MF, Andres Perea (64’), 6 — Perea came on in the 64th minute for Mulraney. While he didn’t have a memorable game, it wasn’t a bad one either. Perea had one tackle and completed 76.5% of his 17 passes, including one key pass.

MF, Ivan Angulo (65’), 7 — This was the second-longest performance for Angulo for the first team and should be the one that sees him take Mulraney’s starting spot. The midfielder was excellent in this game, completing all of his five passes, which included a pair of key passes. He completed two of his three crosses and his corner kick in the final seconds found the head of Tesho Akindele, giving him the assist on the winning goal. He also played well defensively, with one interception and a couple of good pressures to cut off New York City possession down his side.

F, Tesho Akindele (78’), 6.5 — Akindele came on with 12 minutes to go and it looked like it would be a forgettable appearance for the striker as he only had eight touches. The first seven touches were insignificant, completing three of his five passes and having one incomplete cross. However, his last touch of the game was a header to the back post off of Angulo’s corner that saw him score the game-winning goal for the second-consecutive game.

D, Kyle Smith (78’), 6 — Smith only came on with 12 minutes to go but played well in those minutes. He completed 91.7% of his 12 passes and completed two of his four crosses. He didn’t record any defensive stats as the Lions were on the attack in the final minutes. He had an opportunity to put Orlando ahead in the final 10 minutes with an open look at the back post but couldn’t put his shot on target.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in this game. While the individual player scores may seem somewhat low, the Lions played well as a team in the match. Let us know how you saw it and vote on the Man of the Match below.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Junior Urso35
Facundo Torres23
Antonio Carlos0
Cesar Araujo2
Ivan Angulo10
Other (let us know in the comments)9

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2024 Orlando City Season in Review: Pedro Gallese

The Peruvian goalkeeper had an inconsistent start to the year, but was solid throughout the team’s second-half surge.

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1 hour ago

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December 30, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City initially signed goalkeeper Pedro Gallese on Jan. 17, 2020, and the Peruvian immediately became a fixture in the Lions’ starting lineup. He led the club to its first MLS playoff appearance and was sent off during penalties in one of the most bizarre endings in league history before leading the team to the postseason again every year since joining the Lions. In the 2022 season, he started the quarterfinal, semifinal, and final of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, helping the Lions win their first major trophy. Orlando City signed Gallese to a new contract on Dec. 27, 2022, keeping him in purple through 2024 with a club option for 2025.

Let’s take a look at how Gallese played in his fifth season in Orlando.

Statistical Breakdown

Gallese was Orlando City’s first-choice goalkeeper for the fifth straight season, playing in 29 games (all starts) and recording 2,610 minutes during the regular season. He gave up 39 goals while making 72 saves for a save percentage of 64.9% and a 1.34 goals-against average. Additionally, Gallese recorded eight clean sheets and saved two of his six penalties faced. The shot stopper completed 439 of his 614 passes (71.5%) in the regular season, including 83 long balls. He also recorded his first assist for the club, setting up an attack that resulted in a Duncan McGuire goal against Charlotte FC on Sept. 18.

In the playoffs, Gallese started all five games, recording 450 minutes. He conceded two goals while recording three clean sheets and making seven saves for a 77.8% save percentage and a 0.40 goals-against average. He completed 67 of his 97 passes (69.1%), including 14 long balls. He split his two penalty shootouts in the postseason, not making a save in Game 2 against Charlotte, but stopping the first two spot kicks in Game 3 against Pep Biel and Karol Swiderski to help Orlando City advance to the conference semifinals.

Gallese started all three Concacaf Champions Cup games, playing 270 minutes. He recorded a pair of clean sheets in a 3-0 win over Cavalry FC and a scoreless first leg against UANL Tigres before giving up four goals in the 4-2 loss to the Mexican opponent in the second leg for a 0.50 goals-against average. His 10 postseason saves resulted in a 71.4% save percentage. The starting goalkeeper completed 44 of his 59 passes for a 74.6% completion percentage.

In the Leagues Cup, Gallese started all three games, recording 270 minutes. He conceded a pair of goals with a clean sheet and made 15 saves for an 88.2% save percentage and a 0.25 goals-against average. Additionally, he saved the only penalty he faced in the competition during normal time. He completed 44 of his 69 passes for a 63.8% pass completion percentage. In Orlando City’s two penalty shootouts against Atletico San Luis and Cruz Azul, Gallese stopped Leo Bonatini to help the Lions win the former. He wasn’t able to make a save in the penalty shootout against Cruz Azul, and although Ignacio Rivero missed the net entirely, Orlando fell on penalties due to Robin Jansson and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson having their spot kicks saved.

Best Game

Gallese’s best game of the year was a game the Lions didn’t win and saw them eliminated from the Leagues Cup. On Aug. 9, he faced six shots on target in a scoreless draw against Mexican giants Cruz Azul, the third-highest number of shots he faced all season. However, he conceded four goals from nine shots in the second leg against Tigres and two goals from seven shots against Philadelphia on May 11. For this reason, I consider his clean sheet against Cruz Azul to be his best performance.

Orlando’s starting goalkeeper played all 90 minutes in that game and kept Cruz Azul off the board with his six saves. His distribution was also excellent, as he completed 21 of his 25 passes (84%). It was his only clean sheet of the tournament, as he conceded once each against CF Montreal and Atletico San Luis.

Due to the Leagues Cup format, the game went directly into penalties, which was unfortunate for Orlando City. Rivero missed the first attempt for Cruz Azul, but the other five shooters were successful. Cruz Azul goalkeeper Kevin Mier saved the two aforementioned penalties to put his team into the round of 16, but that doesn’t take away from Gallese’s strong performance against a good side from Liga MX.

2024 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gave Gallese a composite grade of 7 out of 10 for the 2024 season. It’s the lowest grade he’s received since 2020, when he received the same grade. That season was followed by an 8 in 2021, an 8 in 2022, and a 7.5 in 2023. His 39 goals conceded are his second most since joining Orlando City and his 72 saves are his fewest in a 34-game season for the club. The latter number is attributable in part to Orlando City allowing the fourth-fewest shots against per match in 2024. Gallese, like the team in general, was particularly inconsistent in the first half of the 2024 season. However, he was at his best when it mattered most, especially in the shootout against Charlotte, when he stopped two the first two penalties and guessed correctly on the third. Gallese recorded three clean sheets in five playoff games and only gave up one goal in each of the other two games. Overall, while there was a slight drop in the Peruvian’s consistency, it was a solid season for the Lions’ shot stopper.

2025 Outlook

Gallese signed a deal through the 2024 season with an option for 2025 back in 2022 and that option was triggered because he achieved the necessary performance-based metrics. As a result, he’ll be the starting goalkeeper for his sixth season in Orlando. The only way the Peruvian won’t be in net is if he’s injured or away on international duty. While he allowed some uncharacteristic goals at times in 2024, he’s still a proven shot stopper and a leader on this team. Even with a slight dip in form, his presence is necessary for Orlando City to reach its goals in 2025.

Previous Season in Review Articles (Date Posted)

This concludes our 2024 Orlando City player-by-player Season in Review series. We hope you’ve enjoyed looking back on the Lions’ performances from the past year as we move closer toward seeing what lies ahead in 2025.

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Lion Links: 12/30/24

Orlando City shares top goals of 2024, MLS transfer roundup, English Premier League results, and more.

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5 hours ago

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December 30, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers. I hope you all have been doing well and enjoying time with family and friends for the holidays as we close out 2024 tomorrow. I’ve been busy working at Under Armour all week. I’ll also be back at Wrigley Field to work the NHL Winter Classic tomorrow, and two Big Ten college hockey games later this week. There is plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Unveils Top Goals of 2024

Orlando City shared some of the club’s top goals of 2024 and invited fans to vote on which one was the best of the year.

The club has been slowly unveiling its top 10 goals of the season on its Instagram page. Here’s what the organization has chosen as the best so far:

10. Martin Ojeda’s goal against D.C. United on July 6.
9. Duncan McGuire’s chip goal against Charlotte FC on Sept. 18.
8. Ramiro Enrique’s volley against FC Cincinnati on Oct. 5.
7. Facundo Torres’ strike against the Chicago Fire on June 22.
6. Ramiro Enrique’s goal against Cavalry FC in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
5. Luis Muriel’s first goal as a Lion against the Philadelphia Union on May 11.

Orlando City’s top four goals of the year are still to come, but what was your favorite Orlando City goal from the 2024 season? Let me know in the comments section below.

MLS Transfer Roundup

We have some big moves in Major League Soccer to catch you up on from the weekend. FC Dallas has acquired defender Shaq Moore from Nashville SC in exchange for $50,000 in 2025 General Allocation Money (GAM) and incentive-based GAM of up to $100,000. Moore has agreed to a two-year deal through 2026 with a club option for 2027. San Diego FC signed goalkeeper Pablo Sisniega to a one-year contract for the 2025 season with club options for the 2026 and 2027 seasons. Sisniega previously played for USL Championship side San Antonio FC. Lastly, Inter Miami has reportedly signed former Vancouver Whitecaps winger Fafa Picault.

English Premier League Recap

The Premier League fixtures continue through the holidays, and there were plenty of matches on Sunday. Manchester City defeated Leicester City 2-0 to snap its run of five consecutive matches without a win. Crystal Palace defeated Southampton 2-1, while Nottingham Forest won 2-0 against Everton and moved to second in the league table. Fulham and Bournemouth battled to a 2-2 draw, while Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton’s match also ended 2-2. Liverpool cruised past West Ham United 5-0 as well. We have three more Premier League matches later today, with Aston Villa hosting Brighton, Ipswich Town facing Chelsea, and Manchester United taking on Newcastle United.

Keeping Up With the Americans Abroad

Several Americans were in action in Europe over the weekend. Brenden Aaronson scored the lone goal for Leeds United to defeat Derby County 1-0 to extend its unbeaten run to six matches and remain atop the EFL Championship table. Auston Trusty was on the bench for Celtic, but Cameron Carter-Vickers played a full 90 minutes against St. Johnstone in the Scottish Premiership. Celtic won 4-0 to extend its unbeaten run to 19 matches across all competitions. Weston McKennie played 62 minutes for Juventus before he was subbed off in the second half. Fiorentina grabbed a late equalizer for a 2-2 draw against Juventus as both sides have 32 points in Serie A and remain in fifth and sixth in the league table, respectively. Gianluca Busio played a full 90 minutes for Venezia, but his side lost 1-0 to Napoli on Sunday.

Free Kicks

  • NJ/NY Gotham FC will reportedly sign midfielder Gabi Portilho from Corinthians. Portilho won a silver medal with Brazil at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and was a Ballon d’Or finalist.
  • AC Milan forward Christian Pulisic had an injury setback and did not play in Sunday’s match against AS Roma due to an ankle injury.
  • Dani Olmo is at risk of not playing for Barcelona in the second half of the La Liga season after a court rejected the club’s lawsuit to extend his temporary registration, which expires at the end of this month.
  • Dunfermline Athletic forward Dapo Mebude gave insight into resurrecting his career in an interview with BBC Sport. He had survived a car crash earlier this year while playing for Oostende in Belgium.

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

Top 10 Moments of 2024: Orlando City Advances to First Conference Final

In our No. 3 moment, the Lions advance further in the MLS playoffs than ever before at the expense of rival Atlanta United.

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1 day ago

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December 29, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

As we count down to the new year of 2025 — which will be Orlando City’s 11th in MLS, the Orlando Pride’s 10th in the NWSL, and OCB’s third in MLS NEXT Pro — and say goodbye to 2024, it’s time to look back at the club’s 10 best moments of the year as selected by The Mane Land staff via vote.

Since Atlanta United rode Arthur Blank’s considerable checkbook into Major League Soccer, the club up north and MLS have been trying to create a rivalry between the Lions and the Five Stripes that would likely have developed anyway without any artificiality. Late drama in some of the earliest meetings and the overall unlikeability of Josef Martinez would likely have taken care of it without any billboards or hyperbole from the league.

But the rivalry did grow, even though it has largely been a one-sided one over the years. Since 2017, Atlanta had gotten the better of Orlando City, racking up eight wins against just four for the Lions entering the 2024 season, with the teams also playing to seven draws over the years. That didn’t improve for Orlando this year, as the Lions lost both regular-season meetings against Atlanta United, including a Decision Day game that saw the Five Stripes pounce early, building a 2-0 lead inside the first 16 minutes. Orlando outplayed Atlanta the rest of the way, but could only pull one of the two goals back, ending the regular season on a sour note and somehow allowing their rivals an improbable path into the postseason.

Yet, in a strange way, Orlando letting Atlanta get into the postseason changed the trajectory of the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs. In the first round, the Five Stripes shocked Supporters’ Shield-winning Inter Miami, Orlando’s bigger current bogeyman team and the bane of all people sick of hearing about Lionel Messi and tired of seeing ugly pink uniforms plastered to everything related to MLS.

It wasn’t only Miami that succumbed to the upset bug in the best-of-three first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs. Top-three seeds Columbus and Cincinnati also crumbled, while fourth-seeded Orlando needed a Game 3 stoppage-time penalty and shootout win to advance, which handed the Lions an improbable home-field advantage for the rest of the conference’s postseason. That’s how Orlando ended up drawing nemesis Atlanta as an opponent in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Atlanta had to feel confident after knocking mighty Miami and its ex-Barcelona brigade out of the playoffs. The fact that United swept the season series from Orlando City also likely had the visitors feeling good entering the Eastern Conference semifinal match at Inter&Co Stadium Nov. 24.

On the plus side for Orlando, the Lions no doubt still felt a bit of anger over the Decision Day loss, which could serve as some extra motivation for Oscar Pareja’s team. In addition, this was the first time Orlando City would have its starting central midfield duo against Atlanta in 2024. Wilder Cartagena had missed both regular-season meetings with United due to suspension, while double-pivot partner Cesar Araujo missed the match in Atlanta with an ankle injury. Both booking-prone midfielders managed to get through Charlotte in three matches without earning a suspension. Atlanta had to face a first-choice Pareja lineup for the first time in the year’s three matches.

The winner of the match was going to the Eastern Conference final — in Orlando’s case, it would host the match if it could get past Atlanta. As an added bonus, the victor would also end its rival’s season. The stakes had never been higher throughout the series.

Both teams entered with momentum. Atlanta was no doubt still riding the high of knocking Messi and Miami out of the playoffs. Orlando could hardly have turned its fortunes around any later against Charlotte in stoppage time and then dominated the ensuing penalty shootout against perhaps the league’s best shootout goalkeeper.

In front of a sellout crowd of 25,046, the game on Nov. 24 quickly revealed itself. From the opening kickoff, it seemed Orlando City wanted to have the ball and look for an opening in Atlanta’s defense, while the visitors, coached by former USL Lion Rob Valentino, appeared content to wait for the Lions to make a mistake that they could turn into a transition goal.

Orlando tried to jump on Atlanta early, but the usual nerves of such a big game were showing. Facundo Torres sent a free header from Martin Ojeda’s gorgeous cross over the bar in the opening minutes. Dagur Dan Thorhallsson hit the post on a play that was eventually flagged offside anyway moments later. Ramiro Enrique sent a header straight at goalkeeper Brad Guzan in the 10th minute. It was the same lack of sharpness in front of goal that plagued the team early in the year, but at least the Lions were creating chances against a team that hardly seemed to consider posing a scoring threat at all.

Ojeda just missed the corner of the goal on a 23rd-minute volley attempt. Then Araujo missed the target with a header off a good Rafael Santos cross.

The way the match was unfolding, the longer it stayed scoreless, the more it built the pressure on Orlando and helped Atlanta, and it seemed as if we’d reach halftime without a goal. Then things changed suddenly on a set piece.

Ojeda sent in a good ball on a corner kick from the left side. The service bounced off of Atlanta defender Stian Gregersen and fell in the six-yard box, landing right in front of Enrique, who was the fastest to react to the loose ball, slotting it past Guzan to make it 1-0 in the 39th minute.

Things got worse for Atlanta late in the half, when forward Jamal Thiare was forced out of the game with a knock. The Lions went to the lockerroom with a slim 1-0 lead that did not reflect their domination of the action in the first half. Orlando City led in possession (63.8%-36.2%), shots (7-3), shots on target (3-0), and passing accuracy (89.4%-74.9%) in the opening period. 

Atlanta had to come after the game in the second half, and the Five Stripes tweaked some things to get more of the ball. A decent spell of possession early in the second half saw the visitors generate a few shots, but nothing was too menacing due to the play of Orlando’s back line and midfield. The closest the team came to leveling the match was Aleksey Miranchuk’s shot into the outside netting from the left side in the 51st minute. Over the next 10 minutes, the visitors sent a couple of half chances wide of the frame.

Orlando had the better chances in the second half, but neither team managed to get a shot on frame. Pedro Gallese didn’t have to make a save all game for the Lions, but he did make a smart and athletic play to get to a potentially lethal Saba Lobjanidze cross, preventing it getting through to the back post. A flicked shot from Duncan McGuire that went wide was the closest the Lions came to doubling the lead.

Eventually, time ran out and the match was over. Orlando finished with the advantage in possession (50.6%-49.4%), shots (14-8), shots on target (4-0), corners (5-4), and passing accuracy (85.8%-83.6%). Most importantly, however, the Lions had advanced to the Eastern Conference final for the first time, and they’d done it at the expense of their rivals from the north.

“On that corner and that type of play, I always intend to be ready for that second ball, for that second play,” Enrique said after the game. “When it was hit there, thankfully I anticipated it really well and just got into that space and beat everybody to the ball and was able to convert. Happy for this team and for this club, and to be able to move on in this moment, and to have a part in that by scoring the goal, I think being able to get to the conference final, we’re just really happy.”

It was Orlando City’s first meaningful win in the rivalry, and drawing some postseason blood should only add fuel to it in the future.

The Lions didn’t ultimately reach the MLS Cup final after defeating Atlanta, switching off just once in a tightly contested match against the New York Red Bulls. That was one of the few missteps Orlando City had in the game, but it was one too many in an otherwise strong defensive Eastern Conference final. The Red Bulls went on to lose to the LA Galaxy in the title game.

But Orlando fighting its way deeper into the MLS postseason than ever before, and doing so at the expense of a troublesome Southeast rival, is worth including on our list of the club’s top moments of 2024.

Come back through New Year’s Eve as we count down the remainder of the top 10 moments of 2024 for Orlando City, the Orlando Pride, and OCB.

Previous Top Moments of 2024

10. Orlando City’s massive second-half surge clinches top-four spot in Eastern Conference.

9. The Orlando Pride sign Zambian international striker Barbra Banda ahead of the 2024 season.

8. Facundo Torres scores his 47th goal for Orlando City, breaking the Lions’ all-time goal record.

7. Marta’s magical goal pushes the Orlando Pride past Kansas City and into the NWSL Championship.

6. Orlando City wins nervy three-game MLS Cup playoff series to advance past Charlotte FC.

5. Orlando Pride pick up the club’s first-ever playoff win in their first-ever time hosting a postseason match.

4. Orlando Pride rewrite club and NWSL record books throughout 2024 season and playoffs.

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