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Orlando City vs. Toronto FC: Final Score 1-0 as Lions Earn Another Road Win

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3 years ago

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Kyle Smith’s late flicked header rescued Orlando City from a wasteful performance in the attacking third as the Lions defeated Toronto FC 1-0 at BMO Field. Orlando (6-4-2, 20 points) sent the Reds (3-7-2, 11 points) to their fifth consecutive loss and extended the Lions’ unbeaten streak against Toronto to five matches.

The Lions improved to 3-1-2 on the road in 2022. Orlando City is now 5-8-3 against Toronto FC in the all-time series and 2-4-3 in road games, but this win was the team’s first at BMO Field. The previous “road” win came at Exploria Stadium during the time Toronto was playing in exile during the pandemic last year.

“Congratulations to the players today in such an important match in a difficult place, with that personality and collectiveness that we are pursuing in this project,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “I like the way they controlled the game the whole time. I think we imposed our rhythms. We came here to win and the victory is ours and we’re very pleased and happy.”

Pareja’s lineup had just a few changes from Tuesday’s U.S. Open Cup lineup. Pedro Gallese returned to the goal behind a back line of Joao Moutinho, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Ruan. Cesar Araujo and Andres Perea took up residence in central midfield behind an attacking midfield line of Facundo Torres, Mauricio Pereyra, and Junior Urso, with Ercan Kara up top.

The Lions played the first half like a team that either played a few days ago 1,200 miles south of BMO Field or was assembled two weeks ago. Players failed to connect or read where their attacking partners would go, crosses were poor to the point of not being worthy of MLS-level players, and bad touches cost Orlando City multiple goals.

Torres fired the game’s first shot from long range in the fifth minute but missed wide to the right of goal. This was the theme of the opening 45 minutes as the Lions wasted several opportunities.

In the 12th minute, the first of Urso’s heavy touches cost the Lions a chance to score. He and Pereyra played a nice give-and-go but the first touch by the Bear was heavy and he had to make a sliding effort at a cross. The ball hit off the defender and back off of him for a harmless goal kick. It was a tough way to end a nice spell of attacking pressure set up by a great run up the field by Jansson.

Jordan Perruzza ended up with the ball after Pereyra turned it over in the corner of his own defensive half but the Toronto forward’s shot was blocked in the 15th minute.

Ruan was sent down the right by Urso moments later and had plenty of space to pick out one of his teammates in the box but instead he sent his cross lazily right at goalkeeper Alex Bono in the 17th minute. A minute later, Torres sent a cross over everyone as Orlando continued to waste opportunities in the final third.

Toronto nearly capitalized after the two poor crosses. In the 19th minute, the Reds got the ball in the right corner and a cross went through everyone in the area to find Luca Petrasso. The fullback took a shot but Ruan blocked it to keep it scoreless.

Jesus Jimenez was left all alone from long distance in the 24th minute and he got his shot on target, forcing a diving save from Gallese.

Seconds later, the Lions should have scored. A good line-breaking spell of passing ended up with Urso on the right. He led a 3-v-1 with Kara and Torres to his left and only one defender to beat. However, the Bear took a massively heavy touch and by the time he caught up with it, the chance was gone.

Three minutes later, Urso was served up a golden opportunity at the left post by a Ruan pass. All the ball needed was a touch toward net for the Lions to open the scoring. Urso, however, popped up his deflection over the net from just a few yards off the goal line, continuing the theme of Orlando letting Toronto off the hook.

The Lions lined up a dangerous set piece in the 38th minute when Torres was knocked down by Michael Bradley about 25 yards straight out from goal. Pereyra took the free kick and got it on target but left it too far from the right post and Bono did well to get a hand on it to knock it out for a corner. It was Orlando’s only shot on target of the half.

That was the last decent chance of the half for Orlando, which defended a late corner and went to the locker room tied at 0-0.

Orlando City led in most statistical categories, including possession (52.2%-47.8%), shots (7-3), corners (3-2), and passing accuracy (84%-78.8%). But both teams put just one shot on target, and that’s the only reason the Lions didn’t have at least a two-goal lead at the break.

Toronto sent on Ayo Akinola for Ralph Priso to start the second half and the last 45 minutes were much more wide open.

The Lions quickly won an early corner that was played short and sent to Jansson from about 30 yards out. The defender fired a shot on target but it didn’t have much venom in it and it was right at Bono. Orlando played corners short through most of the match and seemed more likely to concede a goal at times than score one from such set pieces, so the game-winning goal seemed a bit ironic in the end.

A minute after Jansson’s shot, Deandre Kerr sent a shot on frame from distance and Gallese did well to knock it away.

Orlando nearly made a free kick pay off in the 59th minute after Ruan was fouled out on the right wing by Perruzza. Pereyra sent in a good cross on the set piece that found the foot of Perea. The first-time shot was sent just wide of the left post.

The end-to-end action continued with Ruan getting into the box in the 60th minute. The right back fired a shot toward goal but Carlos Salcedo made a sliding challenge to block it behind for a corner. Moutinho flicked a shot on goal moments later but it was blocked. The left back then fired right at Bono from distance in the 64th as Orlando continued to look for the go-ahead goal.

In the 67th minute, the Reds came close to opening the scoring against the run of play. Kerr sent a curling shot in that went just inches wide of the left post. Jansson may have gotten a sliding touch on it but a goal kick was given. Petrasso fired off target moments later as Toronto spent a spell of time simply out-hustling Orlando. That spell included yellow cards for both Moutinho and Schlegel, with the latter being forced into taking a tactical foul.

Moutinho then handed Toronto a good opportunity on a set piece. The Lions did well to clear that and counter but a poor touch by Ruan trying to cut back against a defender wrecked the transition chance.

In the 78th minute, Urso fired a volley shot just over the bar from 25 yards out after a good layoff by substitute Alexandre Pato.

Toronto nearly created something out of nothing in the 81st minute when the Lions couldn’t find the handle on a loose ball in the box. It ended up on Akinola’s foot and he sent a shot that bounced off Schlegel and went wide.

The next few minutes were frustrating ones for Orlando. Second-half sub Jake Mulraney was knocked down from behind in the box but no call was made. In the aftermath of that, Pato took a boot to the leg and again there was no set piece awarded. Moments later, Urso sent a too-heavy pass forward trying to send Ruan in behind.

Toronto got a free kick just outside the left corner of the box in the 88th when Jansson appeared to make a successful sliding challenge to break up a counter opportunity. The Beefy Swede appeared to get the ball and knock it out for a throw before contact with Paul Rothrock, but a foul was called and Jansson was booked on top of it. The Lions cleared but Urso lost control of the ball during the ensuing counter attack.

The match appeared destined to end in a 0-0 draw at that point. However, substitute Smith cracked the door open and then busted it down in stoppage time. Smith sent a good cross into the area in the 91st that was cut out for a corner kick. On the ensuing set piece, Pato sent a hard, low cross toward the near post. Smith made the run and flicked a header toward goal and the ball found inside netting to put the Lions ahead 1-0 in the 92nd minute.

“I was unmarked in the box on the corner, so I knew I wanted to make a near-post run,” Smith said. “Because Pato plays a good ball into the box. It dips. So, that’s what I did. And luckily the ball found me and I just tried to put it on frame. I’m more of a defender, so I don’t get to score often. So, it’s really fun to score goals and I feel really good right now to help the team win on the offensive side for a change.” 

Orlando did well to see out the last couple of minutes of injury time, with Ruan making a nice play to win a corner. Pato nearly scored a late insurance golazo from midfield. He sent a floating shot on target with Bono well off his line, but the Toronto keeper scrambled back to his net just in time to catch it and avoid an embarrassing late goal against in the 95th minute. That was the last action of the match.

Orlando dominated the stat sheet despite scoring just the one goal. The Lions led in possession (52.3%-47.7%), shots (17-8), shots on goal (6-2), corners (9-3), and passing accuracy (84.1%-80.9%).

It wasn’t a perfect performance due to the finishing and some misplaced passes and heavy touches, but the Lions found a way to get all three points and keep a sixth clean sheet on the season.

We accept ourselves in this moment as a team in a growing process in our attacking phase,” Pareja said. “New players, different characteristics. We would like to wait not too much for gluing us together, but the players are united and they’re working hard just to find those connections and that fineness in the final third. We need to grow up, but just knowing how to win this kind of game in a different way just makes us a very serious and important team.”

The Lions will continue their road trip next Sunday night at Austin in the first meeting between the two sides.

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Orlando City

Orlando City SC vs. Inter Miami: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions and Herons are set to begin the 2025 Tropic Thunder series in Fort Lauderdale.

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3 hours ago

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May 18, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread for a Sunday night Tropic Thunder matchup between Orlando City (5-2-6, 21 points) and the team’s Publix Enemies, Inter Miami CF (6-2-4, 22 points) at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale (7 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). It’s the first of the two scheduled meetings between the sides this season with the Herons scheduled to make the return trip to Orlando on Aug. 10.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

Orlando City is 5-5-5 in the series in all competitions, 5-4-4 in MLS play, and 2-4-0 on the road in league games.

The most recent meeting came just a couple of days more than one year ago on May 15, 2024, when the teams played to a scoreless draw at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando. It was the last 0-0 draw in the regular season for the Lions prior to the four the team has already played to this season.

This fixture a year ago resulted in a forgettable 5-0 loss for the Lions at Chase Stadium on March 2. Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi scored braces and Robert Taylor added a goal in a match Orlando City was never in, as it was already 2-0 just 11 minutes after kickoff.

The previous meeting in Orlando, the final result was a 1-1 draw on Sept. 24, 2023. Duncan McGuire brought Orlando back from a 1-0 deficit after David Ruiz had given the Herons a 1-0 lead early in the second half.

On Aug. 2 of last year, the teams met in Leagues Cup action. The Herons were fortunate to not see Messi sent off with a second yellow late in the first half and even more fortunate to get a soft penalty call on Antonio Carlos as they won, 3-1. Messi opened the scoring after being ignored in the box early. Cesar Araujo made up for his uncharacteristic defensive lapse on the first goal by scoring 10 minutes later. Josef Martinez put Miami back on top with the Downy-soft penalty just after halftime and Messi sunk in the dagger in the final 20 minutes.

The teams also met in Fort Lauderdale in MLS play on May 20, 2023, with Orlando City winning, 3-1. Ercan Kara’s early goal was canceled out by Leonardo Campana shortly before the hour mark, but Martin Ojeda and Rafael Santos found the net in the second half to power the Lions to victory.

Inter Miami won at home, 4-1, on Oct. 5, 2022. Campana scored in the game’s first minute and Orlando City never settled in. Gonzalo Higuain added two goals — one from the spot — and Ariel Lassiter also scored before Kara pulled one back to spoil the shutout.

The first regular-season meeting of 2022 resulted in a 1-0 Orlando City win at Exploria Stadium on July 9, as a stoppage-time own goal by Damion Lowe was the difference between the Lions earning just one point or all three. The ball was sent into the box by Jake Mulraney.

The teams also met at Exploria Stadium on May 25, 2022 in U.S. Open Cup action, with the two sides needing extra time after a scoreless 90 minutes. In extra time, Miami got a goal from Jean Mota against the run of play, but Facundo Torres quickly equalized for Orlando. The match ended 1-1 and Orlando won the ensuing penalty shootout, 4-2. Bryce Duke was denied by Mason Stajduhar and DeAndre Yedlin missed the net during the spot kicks, while all four Orlando shooters scored.

The intrastate rivals played to a scoreless draw in Orlando on Aug. 27, 2021. Tesho Akindele missed a penalty in the match, but the Lions had several other good opportunities to score (but didn’t) in a wasteful performance. Orlando and Miami battled to a 1-1 draw at Exploria Stadium on Aug. 4, 2021. Carlos scored in first-half stoppage time but was knocked into concussion protocol on the play by Kelvin Leerdam. Kieran Gibbs equalized in the 66th minute on a header in front of a less-than-attentive Ruan. Akindele had a goal called back after video review for being offside and the teams split the points. Earlier in the season, the Lions came from behind in Fort Lauderdale to win 2-1 on a pair of brilliant goals by Chris Mueller and Nani on June 25, 2021.

In the final meeting of 2020, the Lions saw their 12-match unbeaten streak end on Oct. 24 in a 2-1 road loss in Fort Lauderdale. Miami defender Leandro Gonzalez Pirez’s header in the 89th minute was the difference after a Daryl Dike goal and an own goal off Robin Jansson saw the game tied up at halftime. The teams met in Orlando on Sept. 12, 2020 with Orlando battling to a 2-1 win on Mauricio Pereyra’s goal. The Lions had taken the lead on an own goal by Andres Reyes. Former Lion Brek Shea tied things up in the 65th, before Pereyra answered with a nice goal off the left post in the 69th minute.

The first meeting in Fort Lauderdale opened Phase 1 of Major League Soccer’s return to regular-season play after the MLS is Back Tournament. That one was an uncharacteristically sloppy match for the Lions, who fell 3-2 in Inter Miami’s first-ever home match. It was Miami’s first franchise win after an 0-5-0 start. Orlando trailed by more than one goal for the first time all season in that game. Dike and Nani provided the offense for Orlando, but Julian Carranza’s brace and Rodolfo Pizarro’s insurance goal were enough to lift the Herons.

The first Tropic Thunder match went Orlando City’s way, with Nani scoring late to lift the Lions to a 2-1 win over the upstarts from South Florida in the opening match of the MLS is Back Tournament. Despite it being a tournament match, it was also a league game. Juan Agudelo opened the scoring for the Herons, but Mueller equalized, setting the stage for Nani’s 97th-minute winner.

Overview

The Lions are coming off a comfortable 3-0 home win over Charlotte FC on Wednesday, extending the club’s unbeaten run to 10 games in MLS (4-0-6) and 11 in all competitions (5-0-6). that streak includes a mark of 1-0-4 on the road in league play and 2-0-4 away in all competitions. The Lions are 1-1-4 in road games in the regular season and 2-1-4 in all competitive matches away from home in 2025.

Ojeda has been red hot for Orlando City, scoring four goals in the last two matches, including a hat trick against the New England Revolution. Beyond those goals, he’s also generating scoring chances and getting more shots of late.

Inter Miami is coming off a 3-3 road draw against the Earthquakes in San Jose in the midweek. The Herons have just one win in their last six games in all competitions (1-4-1), but they are unbeaten (1-0-2) in the last three league meetings and four games in all competitions (2-0-2) in this in-state rivalry series.

The Lions must do what they can to limit Messi’s involvement as much as possible, while keeping a defender glued to Suarez (if he plays — he’s missed the last few games but returned to full training earlier this week) whenever he arrives near the penalty area. Miami’s attack is formidable enough that it helps the team’s defense, as it is often difficult to dispossess the Herons and maintain extended spells of possession long enough to get at Inter Miami’s back line. Orlando should look to get forward quickly in transition tonight to take advantage of the Herons pushing up in support of the attack.

It’s a rivalry game, so anything can happen.

“I’m expecting a game with character. The rivalry is growing very genuinely,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “I’m expecting an intense game with the protagonists of both teams that know what it means to play in this derby. For us, we are coming from a positive result and some very good performances lately. We have confidence to go in there and try to win that game. It would be very important, so that’s the game mode that we are in now.”

The Lions will be without Eduard Atuesta (neck), Nico Rodriguez (thigh), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee). Inter Miami will be without Drake Callender (sports hernia), Baltasar Rodríguez (hamstring), and David Ruiz (hamstring).

Match Content

Projected Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Alex Freeman.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Cesar Araujo, Joran Gerbet, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Luis Muriel, Martin Ojeda.

Inter Miami (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Oscar Ustari.

Defenders: Jordi Alba, Noah Allen, Maximiliano Falcon, Marcelo Weigandt.

Defensive Midfielders: Sergio Busquets, Yannick Bright.

Attacking Midfielders: Benjamin Cremaschi, Lionel Messi, Tadeo Allende.

Forward: Luis Suarez.

Referees:

Ref: Guido Gonzales Jr.
AR1: Jeremy Kieso.
AR2: Chris Elliott.
4th: Marcos DeOliveira.
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero.
AVAR: Tom Supple.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7 p.m.

Venue: Chase Stadium — Fort Lauderdale.

TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the game. Go City!

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Orlando City

Orlando City Showing Signs of Adjusting to Eduard Atuesta’s Absence

The Lions have looked much better on offense the last two games, and there’s a couple of reasons why.

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2 days ago

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May 16, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Much has been made of Orlando City’s difficulties in creating chances and scoring goals when Eduard Atuesta has been unavailable due to injury. It’s not hard to understand why either. The Colombian was unavailable for three of Orlando’s four scoreless draws this year, and he only played nine minutes as a substitute in the stalemate against the New York Red Bulls on April 12.

When he was healthy and got the start against Atlanta United two games later, the Lions won 3-0 and he created the most chances of anyone in the game with three. Orlando then promptly reverted to being offensively stunted in the following game against the Chicago Fire, and was only able to manage its fourth scoreless draw of the year, despite playing over a half the game with a man advantage.

There certainly seemed to be plenty of evidence pointing towards Atuesta being the missing cog in Orlando City’s offense. While he only has two assists in eight games, he does a ton of work in linking the defense to the attack and is great at finding attacking players in dangerous areas, as evidenced by his 17 key passes. In the 0-0 draws with the Philadelphia Union, CF Montreal, and the Fire, Orlando just didn’t look right without him, although the Red Bulls game was a much better performance that was ultimately derailed by Rodrigo Schlegel’s sending off.

While he hasn’t played in either of Orlando’s last two league matches, a 3-3 draw against the New England Revolution, and a 3-1 win against Charlotte FC, the offense clearly hasn’t had any problem creating chances. If anything, the Lions should have scored more goals if not for a couple instances of less-than-crisp finishing in each match.

So, why the sudden change?

Well for one thing, the Designated Players are firing on all cylinders again. Martin Ojeda scored a hat trick against New England, and he and Luis Muriel scored Orlando’s first two goals against Charlotte. Ojeda didn’t start either of the two games against Atlanta and Chicago because he was dealing with a minor injury, but now that it’s in the rearview mirror, he’s been a man possessed. Muriel probably should have had at least one goal of his own against the Revs but seemed oddly reluctant to shoot, although he still completed three dribbles and delivered three key passes. The Charlotte game was then his turn to come out of the gate swinging, as he narrowly had a goal ruled out for offside just two minutes in, before hammering a venomous shot from distance just six minutes later that gave Kristijan Kahlina all sorts of trouble and opened the scoring.

It isn’t just getting contributions from the big guns though, because we need to acknowledge the play of rookie Joran Gerbet in these last two games. He’s the man who’s been asked to fill in for Atuesta next to Cesar Araujo, and he’s getting more and more comfortable in that role. Against the Revs he had an interception, a key pass and an assist, and completed a long ball and a through ball while recording a passing accuracy of 86.5%. Against Charlotte, he recorded an interception, three clearances, a completed dribble, and two successful long balls, and he had an outstanding passing accuracy of 98%. They weren’t all simply backwards or sideways passes either. There were plenty of times when he progressed the ball upfield to an attacking player and helped keep the Lions moving forward, and that’s exactly what you want out of the guy playing that position.

He still has a way to go before reaching Atuesta’s level, but that’s to be expected for a guy that’s playing the first professional season of his career. What’s most important is that he’s getting more comfortable, contributing, and proving that he can be a legitimate option to rotate into the starting XI when Atuesta is unavailable or when fixture congestion dictates changes to the lineup.

It’s worth mentioning the caveat that the last two games haven’t been against the strongest opposition the league has to offer. The Revs were on a four-game winning streak before playing Orlando, but three of those four wins were against weak or shaky teams in Atlanta, Toronto FC, and Charlotte, while the fourth team (NYCFC) has been difficult to get a read on. I’m not saying the Revs are a paper tiger, but it’s tough to know how good they really are despite a good run of recent form. Then you have Charlotte, which was above the playoff line but also on a three-game losing streak coming into the match that has now been convincingly extended to four.

At the end of the day, you can only beat who’s in front of you, but I’d encourage us all to not get too carried away until we see the same results against sterner opposition. For better or worse, that’s exactly what we’ll get in the Lions’ next three matches, which will be against a capable, albeit flawed, Inter Miami side on the road, at home in the U.S. Open Cup against a Nashville SC team that’s fourth in the East, and at home against the Portland Timbers, who are currently fourth in the West.

Ultimately, we can only judge this team on what we’ve seen from it, and over the last two games we’ve seen a side that’s had no trouble creating chances. Despite the continued absence of the important Atuesta, the Lions are adjusting thanks to contributions from their heavy hitters and the improving play of the rookie Gerbet. Only time will tell if those improvements are sustainable, but for now its a hell of a lot of fun to enjoy.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/16/25

Orlando City players make MLS Team of the Matchday, Luis Muriel focused, Orlando Pride plays tonight, and more.

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2 days ago

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May 16, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Happy Friday! I’ve had a pretty good week so far and am looking forward to three straight days of Orlando soccer. The Orlando Pride will get us started tonight and then we have Orlando City B on Saturday before Orlando City plays on Sunday. It should be a fun next few days, and hopefully one filled with celebrations too. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Lions Make MLS Team of the Matchday

There’s plenty of purple in the latest MLS Team of the Matchday following Orlando City’s 3-1 win over Charlotte FC. Martin Ojeda and David Brekalo were both selected, while Oscar Pareja was chosen as the top coach from the midweek slate. Ojeda’s strike in the first half is also up for Goal of the Matchday as his strong run of form continues. The only outfield player on this Team of the Matchday that didn’t score is Brekalo, who had two assists, so it’s nice to see him receive deserved recognition for an excellent performance that included a great setup on Orlando’s third goal. Pareja has the Lions on an 11-game unbeaten streak across all competitions and is managing things well so far during this busy May.

Luis Muriel Staying Focused in Sophomore Season

With five goals so far this season, Orlando City forward Luis Muriel has already mirrored his scoring total from all of last season. Staying mentally prepared has been key for the 34-year-old in his second year with Orlando, and he spoke about what’s changed for him after not quite reaching expectations in his first year.

“Coming to a league like this isn’t easy. A lot of times from the outside, you aren’t able to measure up or really see what the league is. Sometimes you can underestimate things, thinking it’s easy,” Muriel said. “That leads you to take things on in a different way, the work, the matches.

“When you go into ‘MLS Mode’ you realize how good the league is, how competitive it is, how demanding the league is to be able to do things well. That’s when things start to flow, to go well. I think that’s the difference between this year and last.”

He’s finding his footing in the league now and was a force to be reckoned with against Charlotte on Wednesday. Muriel is aware that the Lions will need him to be at his best when they travel to take on Inter Miami on Sunday for an important rivalry clash.

Diving Into Justin Ellis’s Ascent

Victor Olorunfemi of Top Drawer Soccer gave a great profile on Orlando City B forward Justin Ellis and his growth with the club. Ellis, who just celebrated his 18th birthday on Wednesday with his MLS debut, is having a great year after a solid season with OCB last year. The high school senior was the top scorer at this year’s Generation Adidas Cup with six goals to help Orlando’s U-18 team win the tournament. He can create chances just as well as he can convert them and is quick to give credit to the coaches and staff that have helped him develop. The U.S. youth pool is deep, but Ellis could be a name to keep an eye out for ahead of the U-20 World Cup in September.

Orlando Pride Match Headlines NWSL Weekend

The Orlando Pride’s match tonight against the Kansas City Current is the premier matchup this week in the NWSL. While I wouldn’t call it a rivalry just yet, these two teams had great games last year. The Current are still out for revenge after Orlando beat them while shorthanded last summer and won again in the NWSL playoffs in Orlando before winning the NWSL Championship in Kansas City. First place in the league is on the line and it should be a thrilling match featuring the league’s top two defenses and attacking threats like Barbra Banda, Temwa Chawinga, Marta, and Debinha.

NWSL Contenders and Underperformers

We’re about a third of the way into the NWSL season and ESPN‘s Jeff Kassouf dove into how each team is meeting its expectations so far. Despite their stumbles in recent weeks, the Pride are near the top of the table and have plenty of time to get things firing on all cylinders. Two of the California teams are enjoying surprising success so far, with the San Diego Wave up in fourth while Angel City FC is in fifth and could become a real contender once Alexander Straus takes over as head coach. NJ/NY Gotham FC and the North Carolina Courage are sleeping giants of sorts, so it will be interesting to see when they start climbing up the table.

Free Kicks

  • You’ll need a paid subscription for the full details, but Orlando City right back Alex Freeman continues to impress this season. Freeman is finding success in a way different from his father Antonio Freeman, who led the NFL in receiving yards for the Green Bay Packers in 1998.
  • This year’s MLS pre-match jerseys to celebrate Pride month are out and they’re a vibrant and funky design.

Love lifts us up 💜The new 2025 Pride Pre-Match Jerseys are here!🛒 orlsoccer.co/fbpri

— Orlando City SC (@orlandocitysc.com) 2025-05-15T18:56:08.764Z
  • Esther Gonzalez leads the NWSL with seven goals this season and has agreed to a contract extension with Gotham FC that will last through 2027.
  • FIFA representatives, including FA Chair Debbie Hewitt and UEFA President Alexander Ceferin, walked out of FIFA’s annual congress in protest of FIFA President Gianni Infantino arriving three hours late. Infantino has spent this week in the Middle East visiting leaders in Saudi Arabia and Qatar with Donald Trump.
  • FC Barcelona officially won this year’s La Liga title after a 2-0 win over Espanyol. Phenom Lamine Yamal scored a sensational goal in the match, which is fitting considering how crucial he was to Barcelona winning the league this year.
  • Predictable names like Luis Enrique and Antonio Conte are on the list of top European coaches this year, but this article also shines a light on coaches who navigated tough waters in small boats. Alexander Blessin has St. Pauli on the verge of survival in the Bundesliga and Filippo Inzaghi improved Pisa by 30 points in Serie B to secure promotion.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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