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

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 4-2 away loss at NYCFC?

Published

11 months ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

It was a tale of two halves in a stadium that is designed for games played in innings, and unfortunately Orlando City’s positive second-half performance was not enough to overcome a woeful first half as the Lions lost 4-2 in Yankee Stadium. You are forgiven if you thought you were watching pinball instead of soccer for much of the game, but the Lions lacked a pinball wizard to help them overcome the Pigeons as they fell to 2-7-2 all time on the road at New York City.

I have not turned in grades since my last year teaching high school back in 2008, but I have brought my red pen out of retirement so here we go. Let’s take a look at how Orlando City’s players rated individually in an Eastern Conference road defeat.

Starters

GK, Mason Stajduhar, 6 — A nasty injury to Mason’s leg overshadowed everything else in this match, and I think I can speak for everyone when I say that I hope it looked worse than it was, but I think we are going to hear that Mason will once again have a long road to recovery ahead of him. Prior to his injury, he had been playing well. He had two saves and I do not think he was at fault for the goal, as it was a perfectly struck ball in the corner, and very few goalkeepers, if any, could have made that save. Mason only played 17 minutes in this match before his injury forced him off the field, but he did enough during those minimal minutes to earn a positive grade, even if it may be partially for sentimental reasons.

D, Rafael Santos, 4.5 — The Brazilian defender did not have one of his better games, as his 67.6% pass percentage was the lowest among all 22 starters (including NYCFC players) and he was caught ball-watching on the second goal and was a step behind as Hannes Wolf blew right past him to finish and put NYCFC up 2-0. Santos did have three tackles and made a number of aggressive attacking runs up the left side of the field, but when he did receive the ball on those runs, his crosses did not lead to anything of substance. There was time and space for Santos to set up something from the left flank in the 53rd minute but he crossed the ball straight to the goalkeeper. The Brazilian was subbed off for Kyle Smith in the 64th minute.

D, Robin Jansson, 5.5 — Jansson’s performance will not be one he remembers fondly, in particular because NYCFC’s second goal happened right in front of him and deflected off his leg into the back of the net. It is possible that Javier Otero may have saved the shot had it not deflected off of Jansson, but I do not fault the Beefy Swede fully for this goal, as it was a series of poor plays that all combined to drop the Lions behind 2-0. Jansson did lead the team in clearances (3) and blocked shots (2), and he was third on the team with 47 completed passes at a 75.8% rate, but in the end it was not one of his better performances for Orlando City.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6 — I was surprised when looking at the stats to see that Schlegel was second on the team in completed passes with 50, at an 83.3% completion rate, because for large stretches of the match I did not even think about him being out on the field. Both he and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson were caught ball-watching on NYCFC’s third goal, as they were late to react to the through ball played by Tayvon Gray, and by the time they got up to sprinting speed Agustín Ojeda had beaten them to the spot and put the ball in the net. The Argentinean finished three tackles, two interceptions and two clearances, and he made a couple of vital plays that kept the score from getting worse before halftime, with a headed clearance of a dangerously whipped in ball in the 43rd minute and a challenge that turned a would-be NYCFC scoring chance into an Orlando goal kick in first-half stoppage time. He also completed the rare game where did not get into a screaming match with any of his teammates or his opponents.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 6.5 — This match was a little bit of a trick-or-treat match for the Icelandic defender, as he was a step slow in recovery for NYCFC’s third goal and his turnover led to the Pigeons’ fourth goal, but he also put the Lions on the board with a well-placed header, and his driving run into the box led to Orlando City’s second goal, even though he probably shot have shot the ball instead of trying to pass it. For the game, he completed 88.6% of his passes and led the team in aerials won (5) and tackles (4), but that one moment of ball watching that allowed Agustín Ojeda to get behind him and tap in a cross will likely be what he remembers most from this match.

MF, César Araujo, 5.5 — The last play of the game basically amounted to an undressing of Araujo as Mounsef Bakrar just dipped a shoulder and nutmegged the Uruguayan midfielder before tucking the clinching goal into the far corner of the net. It was not emblematic of Araujo’s play all game long, but it will likely be what he remembers most about this match. For the game, Araujo was his usual engaged self, leading the team in completed passes (54), fouls earned (3), fouls committed (3), and he intercepted two passes. The partnership with César and Nico Lodeiro was just not there in this game, and on a field as small as Yankee Stadium’s I think the Lions really missed the Araujo and Wilder Cartegana pairing in the central midfield of the team’s standard 4-2-3-1.

MF, Facundo Torres, 6 — Unfortunately Torres’ scoring streak has now ended after two games, but he did make a good effort to extend it to three against NYCFC. The Uruguayan Designated Player led the team with four shots, putting two on target, including a dipping shot in the 77th minute that could have changed the complexion of the final minutes had he not hit it pretty much right down the middle. He also played a nice give and go with Duncan McGuire in the 61st minute but slipped on the turf as he tried to shoot and ended up hitting a weak shot right at the goalkeeper. In addition to leading the team in shots, Facundo also led the team with three key passes and was involved in the buildup to the first goal.

MF, Nico Lodeiro, 3.5 — This will be a game to forget for Lodeiro, from the first NYCFC goal, where it was his turnover that gave the ball away to start the counterattack, to the second and third goals, where on both occasions a critical pass in the buildup happened right in front of him while he stayed yards away without putting any pressure on the ball. Due to Stajduhar’s injury, Orlando City had to use a substitution window in the first half, leaving the team with only two for the second half, so Oscar Pareja chose to use halftime to take Lodeiro off for Jeorgio Kocevski. Despite only playing during the first half, Nico did complete the fourth-most passes on the team with 40, at an 87% completion percentage, but his passes did not really create any offense and the coaching staff likely felt that they had seen enough of the partnership of Araujo and Lodeiro in the middle.

MF, Iván Angulo, 4.5 — What a different game this could have been had Angulo put away that golden chance he had in the first minute of the match, but he shot it weakly right at the goalkeeper. Unfortunately for him, that was not his only mistake of the half, as in stoppage time Angulo failed to hold off Tayvon Gray on a ball that he should have seen out for a goal kick. Instead, he allowed Gray to fight through him and pass it back into the middle for NYCFC’s second goal. As always, Angulo tried to use his speed out on the flanks, but in Yankee Stadium there basically are no flanks due the fact that they are playing soccer on a baseball field, and so he did not impact the game as much as he usually does with runs up the left side. He completed 77.8% of his 27 passes, but it was not his day and Luis Muriel subbed on for him in a Colombian-for-Colombian swap in the 64th minute.

MF, Martín Ojeda, 6.5 (MotM) — I thought this match was one of the better ones I have ever seen from the Argentinean Designated Player, as from the beginning he was all over the field and aggressive on both offense and defense. I expect that he was especially excited to start after coming off of the bench in six of the last seven matches. He could have done more, especially with some of his crosses that looked remarkably similar to those of Orlando City’s legendary lefty Carlos Rivas in how they flew very high and very far away, but Ojeda did have two key passes, including a perfect cross to Dagur Dan for the first goal. He placed two of his three shots on target, including one he absolutely ripped right at Matt Freese in the second half. Jack Lynn came on for Ojeda in the dying minutes of the game as Orlando City was chasing a third goal, but if the Lions can get more performances like this from Ojeda then I expect we will see him in the starting lineup more often.

F, Duncan McGuire, 5.5 — Duncan waited until very late in the game, but he got on the scoresheet once again, smashing a ball into the net after it rebounded off of NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese in the 91st minute. I thought Duncan brought his usual high level work rate to this match but the crosses from his teammates just were not close enough for him to be able to do anything with them and his holdup play could have been better. NYCFC’s slim field likely contributed a lot to their ability to keep Duncan isolated off the ball as well, as the hosts could keep their two central defenders around him since they did not have to worry too much about the ball going wide, because there is no ‘wide’ in Yankee Stadium. Duncan played the full match but only got 25 touches of the ball in those 90 minutes, though in those 25 touches he did win three aerials and scored his seventh goal of the season on his only shot.

Substitutes

GK, Javier Otero (29′), 5 — Otero made his MLS debut, coming in for the injured Stajduhar in the 29th minute. I am sure this is not how he had imagined it, coming in after a horrific injury, but the moment did not seem too big for the young Venezuelan, and he was engaged in the game from the first minute he stepped on the field. Unfortunately for Otero, Orlando City’s defense put him in a tough position twice during first-half stoppage time, giving up two shots from close range in the first half that both were converted for NYCFC goals. Otero might have had a chance to stop the first one had it not deflected off Jansson, and the second first-half stoppage-time goal was one that no goalkeeper would have stopped. Otero held his own in the second half, collecting one cross and completing 82.3% of his passes, but was beaten on the final play of the game by a well-placed shot that curled just around his fingertips into the far corner of the net. The shot was perfect, so it’s harsh to blame Otero for any of the three goals conceded on his watch. Still, it was not the debut that Otero would have wanted, and he is still looking for his first MLS save, but this experience will surely prove invaluable to him in future matches .

MF, Jeorgio Kocevski (46’), 6.5 — The MLS rookie from Syracuse came on at halftime for Lodeiro, and I gave him some consideration for Man of the Match with how he changed the game for Orlando City in the second half. In his longest performance of the season, Kocevski played well, looking composed on the ball, completing 91.9% of his passes, and playing an incisive pass to Kyle Smith that led to the Martín Ojeda cross, allowing him to serve as provider on the first goal for Orlando City. With a midweek road game coming up at Toronto, Jeorgio may have earned himself another batch of minutes since the Lions will be on short rest, and if he can put in another performance like the one from this match, he may find himself playing more and more minutes in the second half of the season.

D, Kyle Smith (64′), 5.5 — Smith entered the game in the 64th minute for a mostly ineffective Santos, and in the most minutes he has played since April he had a solid performance. The veteran defender did not make a lot of defensive plays, only recording two blocks and one interception, but he did show his offensive abilities, completing 85.7% of his passes, including a well-placed pass to Ojeda for the secondary assist on the first Orlando City goal.

F, Luis Muriel (64′), 5.5 — The Colombian Designated Player entered the game for Angulo in the 64th minute and in his minutes on the field he provided the full Luis Muriel experience — one that I wrote about in more detail earlier this week. In less than 30 minutes on the field, he took three shots, launching two over the goal in his best Aaron-Judge-in-Yankee-Stadium impression while putting one shot on target, though that one was basically a tap after the ball bounced of the NYCFC goalkeeper. He played two key passes, including a smart ball to Torres that led to a great opportunity that Facundo unfortunately just hit too close to the goalkeeper. Muriel also completed the only through ball for the Lions, but overall he only completed 72.7% of his passes. Muriel was on the field for both of Orlando City’s goals and I believe that the offense was better with him in the game, but in my opinion he did not do as well with the ball at his feet as he could have with the Lions chasing a result.

F, Jack Lynn (90′), N/A — Lynn came on in stoppage time with the Lions chasing the game, but during his brief time on the pitch he only touched the ball twice and completed one pass.

That’s how I saw the individual performances on Friday night. What did you think? Be sure to let us know in the comments and vote in the poll below for your Orlando City Man of the Match.

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Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Final Score 3-1 as Dreadful Defending Dooms Lions

A brutal first half sent the Lions to their second straight loss and just their second home defeat of the season.

Published

8 hours ago

on

May 31, 2025

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Lane

Orlando City played a terrible first half and could not recover in a 3-1 loss to the Chicago Fire at Inter&Co Stadium. After 12 games without a loss, the Lions (7-4-6, 27 points) fell for the second straight game and just the second time at home all season. Chicago (6-5-4, 22 points) didn’t have to work terribly hard for its goals on this night as the first one went through Pedro Gallese’s hands, and the other two were wide-open looks for Fire leading scorer Hugo Cuypers, who finished both with no trouble.

After falling behind 3-0 in the first half, Alex Freeman got the Lions on the board, but other than that there was no final product on 28 other shot attempts, with only five others sent on target.

The Lions played this match without Head Coach Oscar Pareja, who was sent off in Atlanta Wednesday and had his appeal denied. Pareja served his suspension in this match, leaving his first assistant in charge on the touchline.

“The game, I think we lost in one minute,” Orlando City Assistant Coach Diego Torres said after the match. “In one minute we received two goals. But the energy with the players is amazing.”

Torres’ lineup included Gallese in goal behind the usual back line of David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Freeman. With Cesar Araujo suspended, Joran Gerbet joined Eduard Atuesta in central midfield with attacking midfielders Ivan Angulo and Marco Pasalic. Martin Ojeda and Luis Muriel operated up top as the forwards.

Orlando looked every inch the team playing on short rest against Chicago, which had full rest after not having a midweek game. The Lions were lethargic early and dug a deep hole in the first half with poor attention to detail in defending the final third. The opening goal was a terrible one for Gallese to concede, and the back line did far too little to prevent two more that the visitors tacked on to build a cushion.

The Lions never quit trying to fight their way back into the match, but the hole was far too deep for a shattered group trying to break down a defensively organized team protecting a lead. Had Orlando been able to find a second goal to put pressure on the Fire, the hill might not have proven too difficult to climb, but as it was, Chicago didn’t have to take any real risks after the 32nd minute of the game.

The Fire scored on the first shot of the match, but it wasn’t a great shot, and it was a goal that Gallese will want back, because it was right down the middle and he made a mess of it. Philip Zinckernagel’s drive from outside the box was above Gallese, who let it slip right through his hands and in for the worst goal conceded this season. Zinckernagel hardly celebrated, knowing he’d caught a huge break. The Fire led 1-0 just five minutes into the game and the air went out of the stadium.

“It’s normal (to make) one mistake, one player, but when it’s the goalkeeper, it’s more hard,” Torres said.

Orlando finally attempted a shot in the 16th minute when Angulo cut left to right outside the area, but the Colombian sent his floater well over the target.

The Fire nearly doubled their lead a minute later. Chicago cycled the ball right to left to Jonathan Bamba. Gerbet was slow to close down and Bamba’s shot from the left didn’t miss the right post by much.

Ojeda found some space for Orlando’s first truly dangerous opportunity in the 21st minute. Finding an opening, Ojeda blasted a shot from about 25 yards out. Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady fought it off with an important save.

The Lions tried to get back in the game and held a bit of possession, forcing Chicago into a couple of bookings. Muriel fired wide off a good play by Atuesta to bring the attack into the box in the 29th minute.

Two minutes later, Cuypers doubled the lead. Zinckernagel sent a cross in front to a wide-open Cuypers who had drifted away from Schlegel. The Argentine was caught ball watching as the Fire’s leading scorer pushed the game to 2-0 in the 31st minute.

The restless crowd was still grumbling about the second goal when Cuypers made it 3-0 less than a minute later. Schlegel seemed to take too long to recognize the danger, and when the Argentine tried to recover, Cuypers roasted him to get inside alone and fired home.

“Distractions. But the responsibility is mine, because the defender is discoordinated in these two situations,” Torres said of the breakdowns that led to the two Cuypers goals.

To their credit, the Lions kept fighting to get back into the game, winning a series of corners. Orlando made one pay off with Ojeda sending in a good ball for Freeman in the 40th minute. The young fullback didn’t get a lot of power on his header, but it deflected off of Romingue Kouame to catch Brady wrong-footed. Freeman’s fourth goal of the year made it 3-1.

“I think we went over that set piece a lot during training in the past week,” Freeman said. “It was just me and Rodri (Schlegel) trying to decide who goes first and goes second. Tincho played a wonderful ball and Rodri kind of blocked the guy for me, and then I kind of just headed it and got a little deflection, and it went in. Obviously I was hoping that was going to be the way that we (could) come back.”

Orlando had a couple of shouts for a penalty late, but there wasn’t anything in them. However, Pasalic had a good opportunity to make it 3-2 in the 44th minute on a great hustle play from Angulo, who tracked deep into his own end to defend and then blasted down the field to keep a ball in play at the end line, backheeling it to Muriel, who dropped it to Pasalic. The Croatian had space but sizzled his shot just over the bar.

Neither side did much in more than five minutes of stoppage time and Orlando was looking up at a two-goal deficit at the break.

Possession was split right down the middle in the first half. Orlando City held the advantage in shots (16-6), corners (5-0), and passing accuracy (88.6%-84%). Chicago put more shots on target (4-3).

“We came out too slow, and I feel like as a team, we wanted to start better and perform better,” Freeman said. “But in the second half, we kind of got our stuff together, but we weren’t able to get the goals that we wanted, and we ended up losing.”

Ramiro Enrique subbed on for Angulo at the break, although Muriel looked the most leggy of the Orlando attackers on this night.

The Lions were fortunate that a wayward pass from the right didn’t find two free Fire runners in the box shortly after the restart or it surely would have been 4-1 just moments after the restart.

The Lions continued to win corners early in the second half. The ball fell in the midst of all the bodies a couple of times but Orlando couldn’t find the handle. The closest the Lions came to finding a finish was a Brekalo shot that was blocked out front in the 51st minute. A minute later, Pasalic fired from outside the area on a recycle but Brady tipped the dipping effort over the bar. Pasalic fired again in the 55th minute from the right side, sending his shot through traffic but just wide of the left post.

Chicago nearly put the game to rest in the 57th minute when Andrew Gutman fired off the left post. The rebound came out of the box to Bamba, who fired well over the bar.

The Fire handed Orlando a dangerous free kick in the 58th minute by fouling Ojeda just outside the area on the left. Muriel took the set piece but hit the wall and popped up for Brady to gather.

Enrique’s first sight of goal came in the 62nd minute, but he had to regather after Christopher Cupps put a foot in. By the time Enrique fired, Brady was in position and made a good save from point-blank range. Three minutes later, the Lions came within inches of pulling to within a goal when Muriel fired from outside the box, crashing his effort off the crossbar in the 65th minute.

Orlando kept coming but could not find the quality on the last touch. Freeman headed over the bar in the 70th minute on the recycle of a set piece. Enrique then tried to stab home a great ball from Muriel in the 75th minute, but Brady made a terrific save. Two minutes later, Muriel tried to head it toward the back post on a set piece but it skipped wide. Enrique then got under a header in the 79th as the missed opportunities continued.

There were no major chances for Orlando after that, although second-half sub Dagur Dan Thorhallsson made a terrific effort to steal the ball and start an attack in the fourth minute of stoppage time. In a microcosm of the night, Enrique finished the play by firing over the bar and was offside on the play anyway.

The Lions were spared further blushes deep in stoppage time when Maren Haile-Selassie missed wide of the right post in transition when the Lions were caught out. The whistle finally put a mercy killing to the proceedings and the Lions were deservedly on the wrong side of the scoreline.

Orlando City finished with the advantage in possession (54.5%-45.5%), shots (29-10), shots on target (6-4), corners (13-1), and passing accuracy (89%-83.5%).

“I feel like after the game, we were all quiet. I mean, it’s not how we wanted to go to the break,” Freeman said. “I mean, it’s our home turf. This is where we’re supposed to win. We’re supposed to win for our fans, so I think that after the game all of us were disappointed in ourselves, but I think everybody shouldn’t be disappointed, we should be happy what we’ve done in the past month.”

“We had many chances. It was tough. The goalie made many good saves,” Enrique said. “We gave it our all, but at the end of the day, we leave disappointed with that result.”

The Lions finally get to rest, as Orlando City will not play again until June 14 at the Colorado Rapids.

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Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions return home looking to bounce back from throwing points away late in Atlanta in the midweek.

Published

20 hours ago

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May 31, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread and preview for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (7-3-6, 27 points) and the Chicago Fire (5-5-4, 19 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). This is the second and final scheduled meeting between the Eastern Conference rivals in 2025, closing the season series.

Here’s what you need to know about the match.

History

The Lions are 8-5-8 in 21 MLS meetings with the Fire and 8-6-8 in all competitions. Orlando City is 5-2-3 against the Fire at home in the regular season. The teams met 28 days ago, kicking off a busy May against each other at Soldier Field on May 3. Despite Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady getting sent off before halftime for fouling Duncan McGuire and denying him a goal-scoring opportunity, the teams played to a 0-0 draw, as Orlando City simply couldn’t find any precision in front of goal.

These two teams last met in Orlando on June 22, 2024, with the Lions capturing a 4-2 home victory. Facundo Torres scored a brace, with Luis Muriel (from the penalty spot) and Ivan Angulo adding goals to offset a penalty by Maren Haile-Selassie (after a Rodrigo Schlegel handball in the box) and Hugo Cuypers.

The two sides clashed at Soldier Field just a few weeks prior to that on May 29, playing to a 1-1 draw. Torres opened the scoring early with a scrappy goal in traffic, and the Lions should have had a penalty late in the first half when Angulo was clipped while in alone on a goal after rounding the goalkeeper, but the video assistant referee did not overturn the no-call on the field, and referee Malik Badawi did not look at the play himself. The Fire tied the match in the final 20 minutes on a Cuypers goal.

The Lions swept the two-game season series in 2023 by identical 3-1 scorelines. On Aug. 21, Orlando City got goals from Wilder Cartagena, Angulo, and Torres (from the penalty spot) to overcome a 1-0 deficit supplied by Mauricio Pineda, winning 3-1 on the road.

When the teams met in Orlando, the Lions rode a Torres brace to a 3-1 win on July 1. Xherdan Shaqiri pulled a goal back from the penalty spot after a Kyle Smith foul in the box against Brian Gutierrez, but Ramiro Enrique added an insurance goal.

Orlando City claimed a 1-0 victory at Exploria Stadium on April 9, 2022 on Ercan Kara’s first MLS goal. The two sides met at Soldier Field just over a month prior to that match and played, officially, to a 0-0 draw on March 5. The game is another Orlando City match that will live in infamy due to the Professional Referee Organization’s statement after the game that Junior Urso’s goal should not have been overturned upon video review by Ismir Pekmic due to Kara not having clearly and obviously handled the ball in the buildup in any of the available replay angles. Alas…

The teams met in Orlando on Aug. 21, 2021, with a second-half Benji Michel strike lifting the Lions to a 1-0 victory. Tesho Akindele set up the play by forcing a turnover. In that year’s meeting at Soldier Field, the Fire got the better of the Lions to the tune of 3-1 on July 7. Andres Perea scored his first career MLS goal to open the scoring, but a defensive lapse in first-half stoppage allowed Boris Sekulic to equalize just before the break. Chicago rode that momentum, adding goals by Robert Beric and Chinonso Offor.

The Lions were 0-4-4 in the eight meetings before smashing the Fire 4-1 in Orlando on Sept. 19, 2020. Orlando City withstood two Chicago penalties and saw two Fire goals overturned by video review in that rain-soaked match. (Weird things usually happen when Chicago visits Orlando.) The Lions got goals from Chris Mueller, Nani, Urso, and Michel, while Chicago had only a Beric penalty to show for an otherwise good offensive performance.

The last meeting of 2019 was the last time the Fire won on the road in the series. It was a debacle for the Lions, who lost defender Robin Jansson to a back/neck injury early and shipped a handful of goals in a 5-2 home loss in the regular-season finale. Orlando got goals from Akindele and Michel but largely played like a team that couldn’t wait to end its season. Chicago got an own goal from Orlando’s Smith and strikes from CJ Sapong, Aleksandar Katai, and Przemyslaw Frankowski (twice) in the rout.

Orlando City was seconds away from a road win on March 9, 2019 before Sapong’s free header in the 95th minute leveled things in a 1-1 draw in Chicago. Dom Dwyer scored Orlando’s goal.

In 2018, the Fire swept the season series. Orlando fell 2-1 at home on May 26, 2018, with Alan Gordon’s wondergoal breaking a 1-1 deadlock. The return leg in Chicago that September was an abysmal performance by Orlando in a 4-0 Fire victory.

Chicago went 1-0-1 in 2017, with the teams playing to a 0-0 draw on June 4, 2017, with the Lions reduced to nine men. The previous 2017 meeting was the Fire’s 4-0 beatdown of Orlando on June 24 of that year. David Accam figured in all four goals, with a hat trick and an assist on Nemanja Nikolić’s goal.

The teams split the points in 2016, drawing both meetings. Cyle Larin and Accam traded goals in a 1-1 draw in Orlando on March 11. The Fire again came from behind to draw, 2-2 in the return leg that August.

The teams met once in Orlando in 2015, with the Lions and Fire battling to a 1-1 draw. You may recall that five-hour, weather-delayed affair with Eric Gehrig’s own-goal canceling out an Accam strike. The other three meetings came in Chicago, with City winning 3-2 and 1-0 in MLS matches and falling 3-1 in U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal action.

Overview

The Lions are coming off a brutal 3-2 come-from-ahead loss at Atlanta United on Wednesday. City led 2-1 with less than a quarter of an hour to play on goals by Cesar Araujo and Enrique, when the former lost his cool and put his hand on the neck of Mateusz Klich, who had shoved him down from behind after the whistle. Araujo was immediately sent off and Klich, who should already have been on a yellow card earlier in the match, was cautioned. Atlanta used the man advantage to turn the game around, snapping the Lions’ 12-game unbeaten run.

Orlando City is 5-1-2 at home in 2025, and will need to play tonight’s match without Araujo, as well as without Oscar Pareja, who was sent off after Atlanta tied the game for leaving his penalty area. The club appealed his red card but the appeal was denied, so the head coach will not be on the touchline for tonight’s match.

Chicago has lost its last two matches in the regular season, and the Fire are playing their fourth of five consecutive matches on the road in all competitions. The last match was a 3-1 loss to New York City FC at Yankee Stadium, with the Fire seeing two men sent off, although only one of them — Gutierrez — will miss tonight’s match after Dje D’Avilla’s appeal for his second yellow card was upheld and the suspension overturned. Chicago brings a respectable 4-4-0 road record into the proceedings tonight.

Beating Chicago means trying to contain Cuypers, who paces the Fire with eight goals to go along with two assists. Midfielders Jonathan Bamba and Philip Zinckernagel both looked dynamic in the first meeting before Bamba was sacrificed for the backup goalkeeper after Brady’s red card. Zinckernagel has five goals and four assists on the season, with Bamba chipping in two goals and six assists. Orlando City will need to maintain its recent defensive form — at least when playing with 11 men — to return to the win column and close out the month strong.

“We know that Chicago Fire’s attack is very dangerous. [Hugo] Cuypers is near the top of the league in scoring, [Jonathan] Bamba is really fast, and [Philip] Zinckernagel is good on the ball,” said Orlando City Assistant Coach Diego Torres ahead of the match. “They have more players who can play the number 10 or in the midfield. Other teams have found the focus defensively when Chicago has the ball, and that’s the same for us. Their movement and tactics are very interesting, and we worked with the players to let them know that these are their tactics. Gregg [Berhalter] is a good coach in this situation [with the ball], but he’s also prepared without the ball. Their defending has a good shape and creates good ball recovery. Chicago is dangerous and playing very well without the ball in this moment. We have to be creative to score more goals than Chicago. If we have a clean sheet again, it will be even better.”

Torres will coach the team in Pareja’s absence.

The Lions will be without Araujo (suspension), Nico Rodriguez (thigh), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee), while Gustavo Caraballo (lower leg) and Duncan McGuire (upper extremity) are listed as questionable.

In addition to Gutierrez, Chicago will be without Sam Rogers (torso), David Poreba (lower body), and Carlos Terán (lower body). Additionally, former Lion Chris Mueller has been away from the team for non-injury reasons following the birth of his second child. Chase Gasper (lower body) and Mauricio Pineda (lower body) are questionable.

Match Content

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

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

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Joran Gerbet, Eduard Atuesta, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Luis Muriel.

Bench: Javier Otero, Rafael Santos, Zakaria Taifi, Kyle Smith, Thomas Williams, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Gustavo Caraballo, Shak Mohammed, Ramiro Enrique.

Chicago Fire (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Chris Brady.

Defenders: Andrew Gutman, Jack Elliott, Christopher Cupps, Jonathan Dean.

Midfielders: Mauricio Pineda, Rominigue Kouame, Sergio Oregel.

Forwards: Jonathan Bamba, Hugo Cuypers, Philip Zinckernagel.

Bench: Jeff Gal, Omar Gonzalez, Kellyn Acosta, Maren Haile-Selassie, Leonardo Barroso, Sam Williams, Dje D’Avilla, Tom Barlow, Omari Glasgow.

Referees

Ref: Ricardo Fierro.
AR1: Ian McKay.
AR2: Ben Pilgrim.
4th: Joshua Encarnacion.
VAR: Shawn Tehini.
AVAR: Craig Lowry.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Streaming: 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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Opinion

Predicting Orlando City’s June Results

It’s time to take a glimpse into the future and predict how Orlando City will fare during the month of June.

Published

2 days ago

on

May 30, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

We’re almost to the end of what’s been an extremely packed month of May for Orlando City. After the conclusion of Saturday’s match against the Chicago Fire, the Lions will have played nine matches in the span of 28 days. OCSC has basically played a match every three days, which is an absurd pace. Other than two recent blemishes, Orlando has mostly handled it exceedingly well though, and June presents a much lighter schedule for our brave heroes.

The Lions play just three games next month and will have two weeks off between Saturday’s match against the Fire and their next game. Without any further ado, I will now attempt to peer into the crystal ball and predict the results of Orlando’s three games in June.

Saturday, June 14 — at Colorado Rapids

Orlando will return to action after a two-week layoff by hopping on the purple plane and flying west to take on Colorado. The Rapids are currently eighth in a crowded Western conference table with 22 points, and they are 10 points off the Vancouver Whitecaps at the top of the table. They’ve put together a pretty even season so far with a record of 6-6-4 (W-L-D). The biggest problem for Colorado has been scoring goals, as the Rapids only have 18 goals in 16 games and have been held scoreless five times in the league. They have this week off, and won’t return to action until June 7, when they host Austin FC. I give Orlando City the edge in this match, and hopefully that extra rest will help the good guys hang tough at altitude. The Lions have been defensively sound recently — when they’ve had all 11 men on the field — while also still being able to put the ball in the back of the net several times a game. Shutting down Djordje Mihailovic is going to be key, but I like Orlando’s chances given its recent form and the fact that the Lions will be well rested.

Prediction: Orlando City 3-1 Colorado Rapids.

Wednesday, June 25 — at St. Louis City

I refuse to capitalize every letter in “City” in St. Louis City’s name, because frankly I think it’s a ridiculous stylistic choice. The team also hasn’t been very good this year, so it doesn’t deserve me catering to it in that manner. St. Louis is currently 2-8-5 and only truly woeful campaigns by CF Montreal and the LA Galaxy are saving it from leading the Wooden Spoon race with 11 points. It makes Colorado look like an offensive juggernaut, as it’s only scored 11 goals in 15 games. St. Louis isn’t bad defensively, as it’s only conceded 20 goals, but it’s always going to be a struggle when you average scoring just 0.73 goals a game. Its form was enough to get Head Coach Olof Mellberg fired, and he lasted just over six months on the job. The club hasn’t won since a March 15 match against the Galaxy and has a tricky upcoming slate, with a home match against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, an away game against the Portland Timbers on June 8, and a home match against the Galaxy on June 14. With a week and a half between the Colorado match and this one, I once again like Orlando City in this game. Unless St. Louis can find its shooting boots, I don’t see it offering much threat against a rested Orlando defense that has come on strong since a shaky start to the year.

Prediction: Orlando City 2-0 St. Louis City.

Saturday, June 28 — vs. FC Cincinnati

OCSC wraps up June by returning home to play one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference on short rest. It isn’t ideal, but it isn’t the worst thing in the world either. Cincy has been good this year, compiling a record of 9-4-3 and 30 points to sit second in the East. New signings Evander and Kevin Denkey have been as good as you would expect, as Evander has seven goals and five assists in 14 appearances, and Denkey has nine goals in 15 games. As a team, Cincinnati has scored 24 goals and conceded 22, so it’s been a balanced campaign to this point. It’ll be coming to the end of a stretch of three straight road games, as Cincy will be away to the New England Revolution on June 14 and then at CF Montreal on June 25, so it’ll also be traveling on short rest. That said, aside from the Philadelphia Union, Cincy is the toughest team the Lions will have faced in MLS play, and stopping both Evander and Denkey is far from an easy task. This reeks of a draw that has a couple of goals for each team, so that’s what I’ll be going with.

Prediction: Orlando City 2-2 FC Cincinnati.

There you have it. I’ve scrutinized the tea leaves and you now know what the path ahead holds for the Lions. Be sure to check back in at the end of June so you can marvel at how stunningly accurate my forecast was. Until then, feel free to either disagree or tell me how crystal clear my visions are down in the comments. Vamos Orlando!

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