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Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s win at home against the New England Revolution?

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2 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City hosted the New England Revolution and won 3-0 to claim its 11th victory of the season. Rafael Santos, Facundo Torres, and Duncan McGuire all found the back of the net, and the defense did its part to secure a shutout in front of the home fans.

It was definitely a team effort, but let’s take a look at how each Lion individually performed in another dominant win at home.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6.5 — The Peruvian goalkeeper didn’t have to come up with a save until Carles Gil tested him in the 60th minute from a free kick. Gallese was up to the task and made a phenomenal save to his right after Gil bent his shot around the wall. He also made a big stop late on Emmanuel Boateng, who got behind the defense. It was otherwise a pretty quiet night for Gallese, as he finished the match with 26 touches and just two saves, albeit very good ones. As for his distribution, he completed 89.5% of his 19 passes and two of his four long balls were successful. A clean sheet was a nice cherry on top for El Pulpo’s night.

D, Rafael Santos, 7 — The left back scored one of the best goals of Orlando’s season, curling a shot into the top left corner from distance. The opportunity came from a short corner, with Angulo teeing him up in a well-worked set piece that left him with time and space to pick out his target and beat Aljaz Ivacic. Defensively, he had two tackles and two clearances to limit New England’s attack on his side of the field for the most part. His only cross was inaccurate, two of his six long balls found their mark, and he had 46 passes at a 73.9% success rate. His goal was a game changer and future opponents will have to take him into account moving forward.

D, Robin Jansson, 7 — The Beefy Swede put out fires when needed to help secure Orlando’s clean sheet, contributing a clearance and blocking a shot. He only had 32 touches in the match, anchoring the defense while his teammates built momentum through possession. His presence kept New England from developing anything in terms of transition. Jansson attempted six long balls, completing three of them, and he was successful on 85.7% of his 28 passes overall. It wasn’t the busiest night for Jansson, but he excelled when called upon and stayed home when Orlando was on the attack, allowing his central defense partner to join in the possession higher up the pitch.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 6 — Schlegel had two clearances in this one and often cleanly got the ball out of danger without allowing rebound opportunities. There were a couple of instances in which he didn’t close down Giacomo Vrioni quickly enough, but Schlegel helped manage to keep the Italian-Albanian forward from causing too much trouble. The Argentine center back also allowed Boateng to get in behind on goal late, so it wasn’t a perfect night by any means. However, he led the Lions with eight long balls and five of them were successful, sparking some opportunities for the offense. Schlegel’s 52 passes were also the most on the team and he completed a strong 90.4% of them. It was a good overall outing for the center back, but there were a couple of lapses.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, 7 — Thorhallsson was a force up and down the wing, coming up with important stops on defense and giving the Revolution headaches when he went on the attack. He provided three key passes, including a nice lob into the box in the first half that Ramiro Enrique couldn’t bury. Defensively, he had two tackles, an interception, and a clearance. While none of his three crosses found their target, he attempted 43 passes at an excellent 95.4% success rate and one of his two long balls was accurate as well. Thorhallsson also won a foul from a good position late in the match. Neither of his two shots were on target, but it was still a dynamic performance from the right back.

MF, César Araujo, 6.5 — Araujo also had three key passes in this match, doing his part to set up opportunities for the team’s attackers to work their magic. The Uruguayan midfielder’s only attempted cross was successful, three of his six long balls found their mark, and he was successful on 87.2% of his 47 passes. His only shot in the match was deflected, but went out for a corner kick. Araujo also helped out on the defensive side of things with a pair of tackles and helped keep Gil quiet. It’s worth noting that Araujo avoided a yellow card that would have suspended him for Orlando’s next match as well.

MF, Wilder Cartagena, 6.5 — Returning from international duty with Peru, Cartagena had a strong defensive performance and rotated well to provide coverage when the team’s fullbacks joined the attack. The 29-year-old led the Lions with five tackles and had an interception as well. Cartagena had four shots, but only one of them ended up on target and it didn’t trouble Ivacic. All four of his long balls were successful and he completed 85.1% of his 47 passes. He also had a lovely key pass to slip the ball past defenders and give Torres a great opportunity in the box. Although he picked up a yellow card, it was a professional foul to cut off a potentially dangerous counterattack.

MF, Iván Angulo, 6 — Angulo earned his ninth assist of the season by setting up Santos in space off of a corner kick. He didn’t attempt any crosses or shots, but he did have two key passes in the match. His speed was most useful at stretching New England’s defense and then chasing down opposing players to win the ball back. Before coming off in the 74th minute, he had three tackles and 26 passes, but at just a 69.2% success rate. It wasn’t his best performance, but he played his role in the designed set piece and kept the Revolution on their toes with his threat on the counter.

MF, Martín Ojeda, 6.5 — Ojeda was credited with a secondary assist for his minor role in the short corner that led to Orlando’s first goal. The Designated Player played a part in Orlando’s second goal as well, with Gil committing a handball in the box while trying to defend Ojeda. He had a phenomenal switch in play that ignited the break on which Torres hit the post. He had three shots in the match, putting one of them on target and forcing a good save by Ivacic at the near post, and he also had a key pass. Ojeda led the team with six crosses, but only one of them was successful. He was accurate on two of his three long balls though, and attempted 29 passes at an 82.8% success rate. Ojeda was better in the second half and forced both attention and quick decisions from the Revolution’s defense before being subbed out in the 68th minute.

MF, Facundo Torres, 7.5 (MotM) — Torres scored his 11th goal of the season with a powerful penalty kick that Ivacic had little chance of stopping even if he didn’t guess the wrong way. He had a few other chances to score, but hit the post and just missed the target twice. Neither of his two crosses were successful. However, he still had two key passes, all three of his long balls were successful, and he completed 94.6% of his 37 passes. His role in Orlando’s third goal will be overshadowed by McGuire and Nico Lodeiro’s magic, but Torres deserves some recognition for his lobbed pass out wide for Lodeiro to get the ball in space away from the Revolution’s defense. He also made a lungbusting run on the play to provide McGuire a passing option and pull some of the defense’s attention away. Orlando looked dangerous whenever Torres was involved in the attack, but he also did well when pressing and made himself available all over the pitch for his teammates.

F, Ramiro Enrique, 6 — Enrique earned another start up top and did fairly well. He almost squeezed a ball in to Martin Ojeda at the near post early on after making a nice run on a break, but Ivacic snuffed it out. His first shot of the night was an audacious and acrobatic effort on the volley that went off target. Chesting the ball into the path of Facundo Torres was likely the smarter play, but it’s hard to put too much blame on a striker for trying his luck. His only other shot of the match was blocked. Although he didn’t win either of his two aerial duels, his hold-up play was decent and he completed 81.3% of his 16 passes. Enrique may not have scored, but he injected plenty of energy into the attack and had two key passes to go with a successful long ball.

Substitutes

F, Duncan McGuire (68’), 6.5 — McGuire scored his first goal since June in fantastic fashion. While his powerful strike that wound up in the net despite Ivacic getting contact on it was great, the most impressive part of his goal was his run from his own box that included staying onside and slipping between defenders for Lodeiro to find him. It was his only shot and he only had three touches, completing both of his attempted passes as well. He made some good runs here and there after his goal, but didn’t receive much service while the Lions enjoyed a three-goal lead.

MF, Nico Lodeiro (69’), 6.5 — Lodeiro put in a great shift off the bench, assisting on McGuire’s goal with a nice pass that slipped between defenders on a counter. His only shot was from a free kick and he sent it over the bar. The 35-year-old could have had another assist in the 85th minute, but his pass across the front of goal was deflected out for a corner before it could reach McGuire or Yutaro Tsukada. Lodeiro finished the match with 22 touches and 17 passes at an 88.2% success rate.

MF, Luis Muriel (75′), 6 — The Colombian forward’s only shot came in the final moment of the game, as he sent a free kick into the stands after he was fouled by the Revolution in what looked like a promising attack. He had a terrific switch of play to Thorhallsson that ended in Cartagena’s shot right at Ivacic in the second minute of stoppage time. Muriel had 14 touches and both of his attempted long balls found their target. He completed all but one of his 10 passes and did well carving out open space on offense.

MF, Felipe (79′) N/A — Felipe picked up where Cesar Araujo left off in the midfield, putting in a gritty performance to help see out the game. He had 21 touches in a short amount of time on the pitch and completed 94.7% of his 19 passes. The Brazilian also had a tackle to help out defensively and worked himself into good areas when the Lions went on the attack for more goals.

MF, Yutaro Tsukada (79′), N/A — The young winger only had six touches, but he completed all four of his passes and contributed on defense with a tackle. Tsukada didn’t have any shots or key passes, but found decent areas when the Lions went on the offensive. It was a bit disappointing that he wasn’t given a crack at one of the team’s late free kicks, though it was still nice to see the rookie get some valuable minutes with the first team.

That’s how I saw the individual performances on Saturday 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. Real Salt Lake: Final Score 2-1 as Griezmann’s Brace Lifts Lions to Win

Antoine Griezmann scored twice in the second half to help Orlando City erase a 1-0 deficit and beat RSL at home.

Published

10 hours ago

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August 22, 2026

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Image of Antoine Griezmann and Justin Ellis celebrating a goal against Real Salt Lake.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Antoine Griezmann scored two second-half goals for his first Orlando City brace, leading the Lions to a 2-1 comeback win over Real Salt Lake at Inter.co Stadium tonight. After a lethargic opening 45 minutes that saw the visitors take a 1-0 lead into the half on Dominik Marczuk’s goal, an energetic trio of halftime subs injected life into the attack for Orlando (7-11-3, 24 points).

Griezmann’s two goals pushed the Lions past Real Salt Lake (8-8-4, 28 points), but it’s fair to say Orlando City wasn’t clean enough in the first half and couldn’t turn possession into attacking threat until the introduction of second-half subs Justin Ellis, Joran Gerbet, Daryl Dike, and Tyrese Spicer.

The Lions snapped an 0-2-2 winless streak in all competitions and a 0-2-1 skid in league play with tonight’s win, moving just over the playoff line into ninth spot in the Eastern Conference.

“It was a tough game,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “It wasn’t easy the first half; we tried good and sometimes it happens like that, the game. I think the team in the second half was able to to play in a very difficult moment. It’s not easy and the guys did an amazing job.”

Perelman’s lineup included Maxime Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Zakaria Taifi, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Griffin Dorsey. Luis Otavio and Eduard Atuesta started in central midfield inside of Ivan Angulo and Marco Pasalic, with Tiago joining Antoine Griezmann up top.

The first half consisted of long spells of Orlando possession that came to nothing against a heavily rotated RSL side, with former Lion Mason Stajduhar having to do nothing in goal, because the Lions couldn’t even manage one first-half shot attempt. The visitors were content to stay in their low block of five at the back and four midfielders, wait for the exhausted-looking hosts to misplace a pass or have a bad touch, and look for chances to hit on the counter or with balls over the top.

Griezmann looked the most in need of a rest, as several of his touches were heavy in the first half, but he was far from the only one.

There was a scary moment early in the game when Jansson collided with Marczuk on an attempted RSL switch of play. The Orlando City captain was fouled and stayed down to get treatment, eventually leaving the field under his own power. He was able to return moments later.

Orlando City won a few set pieces in the opening half but did nothing with them, while the visitors looked dangerous if they could stay onside, which they struggled to do early. When the Lions did manage to find space against RSL’s back line, the crosses were poor, ending up either out of play or in the goalkeeper’s hands.

The visitors broke through the dull affair in the 36th minute. Alexandros Katranis laid off a ball on the left flank for Sam Junqua behind him. Junqua picked up his head and spotted Marczuk’s well-timed run behind Taifi and delivered a nice cross. Marczuk met the ball in the air with his foot and knocked it past Crepeau to make it 1-0.

Crepeau kept things from getting worse just before halftime. Angulo turned the ball over on an attempted recycle of a failed set piece, igniting a Real Salt Lake counter. The ball ended up with Marczuk again on the right and this time Crepeau was able to get a hand on it to palm it out for a corner.

The Lions dealt with the set piece and the half came to an end with Orlando’s starters trailing 1-0 to an RSL B-squad that dien’t allow a single shot attempt.

At the break, Orlando City had the advantage in possession (59.4%-40.6%) and passing accuracy (89.7-84.2%), while Real Salt Lake led in shots (3-0) and shots on target (2-0) and each team won one corner.

“it was a complicated game,” Griezmann said. “It’s never easy starting off with with a negative mark like that, but we made changes at halftime and put more more guys further up the field, and we were able to to get that goal and really kind of give ourselves some time of tranquility to create more opportunities to create those occasions to go out and get the winner.”

Looking to injuct some life into the game, or at least some fresh legs, Perelman sent Gerbet, Dike, and Ellis into the game at halftime for Otavio, Tiago, and Pasalic. It took a few minutes for the subs to settle in, but it made a difference in the Lions’ energy level.

Marczuk had the first look at goal in the second half, however, firing from distance from the right side, but it caused no trouble for Crepeau in the 50th minute.

Gerbet and Atuesta worked well together in the middle, keeping the ball better and allowing Taifi to jump into the play on the left. Taifi had a shot blocked out for a corner in the 51st minute. A minute later, Atuesta played a slick through ball for Griezmann. With Stajduhar coming off his line, the Frenchman chipped a shot over him but it went inches wide of the left post.

Orlando scored seconds after Stajduhar put the ball back into play. Atuesta won the ball to Gerbet at midfield, and he turned and found Ellis on the right. Ellis sent it in front to Dike for the shot, but it was blocked to Griezmann, who cleaned up in front, making it 1-1 in the 53rd minute.

Taifi got down the left in the 55th minute and did well to cut back a cross for Griezmann entering the box. Griezmann hit his shot immediately but it fizzed just over the bar. Three minutes later, Taifi cut inside and fired but hit the outside of the left post.

Real Salt Lake sent on Diego Luna, Saba Lobjanidze, and Morgan Guilavogui to try to counter the energy Orlando’s subs had brought into the game, and things opened up a bit. Dorsey did well to stick out a foot to deny a pass that would have put Luna in on goal in the 64th minute.

Spicer came on for Taifi in the 69th minute and injected even more energy into the match. He quickly won a set piece on the left just moments after coming on near the left corner flag. Atuesta sent his delivery on target toward the near post but it was headed behind for a corner kick. The ensuing corner bounced out to Ellis near the top of the area. The Homegrown forward used some deft footwork to work his way past two defenders before getting his shot blocked out for another corner.

Real Salt Lake broke the other way after the set piece and Luna ended up with it. He fired on target but Crepeau blocked it out of play for a corner. Orlando partially cleared the set piece delivery and Katranis tried a shot from long range that was well off target.

Orlando City took the lead moments later. Jansson sent the ball long out of the back to Spicer on the left. The Trinidad & Tobago international did well to get a cross in for Griezmann in the box. The first touch got away from the Frenchman but he picked up the rebound and slotted it past Stajduhar to make it 2-1 in the 81st minute.

“I think it’s a very good cross from ‘Spice’ and I was thinking to do one touch to score but I did very bad,” Griezmann said. “The defender touched the ball and the ball came to me, and yeah I saw a lot of legs and I tried to just make a pass between the legs of the defender and here is where you need to be patient just for one or two seconds. And today I was very patient in this time and this is why I scored.”

“It’s mandatory for us to enjoy Griezmann,” Perelman said. “We are lucky to be in the moment that he’s here with us. He’s one of the best players in the history of this sport. We have the privilege to see him. It’s just about enjoying him, watching him and enjoying him.”

Real Salt Lake threw bodies forward into the attack, but aside from some corner kicks, the visitors couldn’t produce much. Any time it looked like RSL might create something in the final third, Orlando was able to block crosses or head them out of danger. Orlando City also kept the ball well for spells down the stretch, taking the pressure off and allowing the Lions to see out the game.

At the final whistle, the Lions held the advantage in possession (59.6%-40.4%), shots (13-9), passing accuracy (88.8%-82%), and corners (5-4). Real Salt Lake put more shots on target (4-3). Ultimately, the Lions were sharp enough in the second half to make up for the slow start, although RSL helped out by being offside seven times to just once for Orlando.

“In the final zone, we were a lot more aggressive,” Griezmann said of the second half. “We were pressing more and more aggressive with our press, and it was a really good way to to get the win tonight.”

“The players were wanting to give us that control of the game against a team who sat back a little bit,” Perelman said. “I think the guys did a huge effort. Fortunately we could come back, win, because we really need it, and now we need to rest and think (about) the next one.”

“Just so happy to have the win at home,” Gerbet said. “It’s been like a gritty one, but a necessary one, an important one towards like the end of the season to get some momentum, because we’re going to start to go away as well, so we need to start to gain momentum, and I think that was a great way to do it.”

The Lions now get an honest-to-goodness normal work week. Their next match will be a week from tonight at Minnesota United.

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Orlando City vs. Real Salt Lake: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions look to finish their long homestand with a bounce-back performance against RSL.

Published

24 hours ago

on

August 22, 2026

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Image of the starting Orlando City lineup prior to playing a home game vs. the Chicago Fire.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Welcome to your match thread and preview for a Saturday night showdown between Orlando City (6-11-3, 21 points) and Real Salt Lake (8-7-4, 28 points) at Inter.co Stadium (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the first and only scheduled meeting between the two teams from opposing conferences and the first time they’ve met since 2023 in Utah.

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

History

The Lions are 2-2-3 in seven previous MLS meetings with RSL, including a 1-0-2 mark at home. However, Orlando City is 0-2-1 in their last three games against tonight’s visitors.

The last time the teams met, it was a forgettable result for Orlando City fans. But if you do remember, it’s not for good reasons, because it was a 4-0 beatdown that Real Salt Lake laid on the Lions on July 8, 2023. Cristian Arango, Justen Glad, Jefferson Savarino, and Anderson Julio did the damage.

During the most recent matchup in Orlando, most of us had no idea what COVID-19 was yet. The Lions and Real Salt Lake met on opening day of the 2020 MLS season, playing to a 0-0 draw at Exploria Stadium on Feb. 29. Despite it being a Leap Day, no one wanted to leap onto the scoresheet.

Orlando City lost the previous meeting, a 2-1 Real Salt Lake win in Utah on April 13, 2019. Nani scored Orlando’s only goal that day, but it came late in the match after Sam Johnson and Demir Kreilach had staked RSL to a 2-0 lead.

The May 6, 2018 meeting in Orlando was a wild 3-1 win for the Lions in which RSL missed multiple good scoring chances, hitting the woodwork and forcing Joe Bendik into some big saves. Dom Dwyer, Lamine Sané, and Yoshimar Yotún provided Orlando’s offense to offset Corey Baird’s early strike.

When the teams met in 2017 at Rio Tinto, Will Johnson provided all the offense against his old club in a 1-0 Orlando City victory. Johnson’s tally in the 17th minute was all Orlando City needed to take the first win of the series after two draws the previous two seasons.

In 2016, the teams played a memorable opening day match in which the Lions roared back with a frantic rally, as Cyle Larin and Adrian Winter pulled City level in a 2-2 draw at the Citrus Bowl. Joao Plata scored both RSL goals — one from the penalty spot — and RSL led 2-0 despite going down a man for 25 minutes, prior to Chris Penso evening things out by sending off Darwin Ceren.

Orlando drew 1-1 on the road in 2015 while down to 10 men after Kaká was sent off at the end of the first half. The captain opened the scoring. Sebastian Jaime found the equalizer in the 28th.

Match Overview

Orlando City enters on a poor run of form in a congested fixture schedule. The Lions lost 2-1 at home against the Chicago Fire on Wednesday, making it four games without a win in all competitions (0-2-2) and they haven’t won in MLS play in their last three (0-2-1). While the defense is leaking just one or two goals per game of late, the offense has been less tidy in finishing chances, which could be attributed to some players, including Antoine Griezmann, not getting much rest during this stretch of seven games in 22 days. Orlando is a pedestrian 4-4-2 at home this season and is winless in its last two home matches (0-1-1).

Real Salt Lake sits eighth in the Western Conference after going 0-3-3 in its last six league matches, including a 4-3 home loss to FC Dallas on Wednesday. But, oddly enough, that stretch of matches sandwiches a 2-0-1 run in Leagues Cup, and RSL advanced to the knockout rounds, where it will play Club Leon on Tuesday, so we may see some rotation, assuming the Utah-based club is going all in on trying to win Leagues Cup or at least one of the three coveted Concacaf Champions Cup spots. Tonight’s match will be RSL’s first on the road since Aug. 1, where the team is 1-5-3 in 2026 in league play.

Sergi Solans leads tonight’s opponents in goals (9) and goal contributions (12), with Diego Luna leading in assists (6) while adding five goals for 11 total goal contributions. The departure of Zavier Gozo and his six goals and five assists is a tough break for RSL, because beyond those three, 10 goals are spread across eight different players.

The Lions must rediscover their scoring boots for this game, as the Orlando defense pitches precious few shutouts, and if RSL plays its starters, either Solans, Luna, or both could do some damage on the other end.

The Lions will be without Braian Ojeda (foot), Martin Ojeda (thigh), and Bernardo Rhein (thigh), while Adrian Marin (thigh) is questionable, so left back may be an adventure, with Zakaria Taifi, Ivan Angulo, and David Brekalo as the leading candidates to play there, and all of them are right-footed. Real Salt Lake will be without Zach Booth (hamstring), Griffin Dillon (foot), Emeka Eneli (knee), Glad (adductor), and Ariath Piol (Achilles).

Match Content

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Zakaria Taifi, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Luis Otavio, Eduard Atuesta, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Tiago, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Joran Gerbet, Gustavo Caraballo, Harvey Sarajian, Tyrese Spicer, Justin Ellis, Daryl Dike.

Real Salt Lake (5-4-1)

Goalkeeper: Mason Stajduhar.

Defenders: Alexandros Katranis, Sam Junqua, Juan Arias, Kobi Henry, Domink Marczuk.

Midfielders: Aiden Hezarkhan, Luca Moisa, Pablo Ruiz, Lineker Rodrigues.

Forward: Victor Olatunji.

Bench: Rafael Cabral, Juan Sanabria, Philip Quinton, Lukas Engel, Noel Caliskan, Colin Guske, Morgan Guilavogui, Saba Lobjanidze, Diego Luna.

Referees

REF: Fotis Bazakos.
AR1: Brian Dunn.
AR2: Jose Da Silva.
4TH: Marcos DeOliveira.
VAR: Edvin Jurisevic.
AVAR: TJ Zablocki.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter.co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Streaming: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

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 match. Go City!

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Orlando City Loans Colin Guske to Real Salt Lake

Homegrown midfielder Colin Guske is leaving on loan to Real Salt Lake, where he’ll stand a better chance of getting minutes with the first team.

Published

2 days ago

on

August 21, 2026

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Image of Colin Guske playing the ball through the midfield.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The previously reports are official as Orlando City announced today that the club has loaned Homegrown midfielder Colin Guske to Real Salt Lake for the remainder of the 2026 season in exchange for $50,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM). Real Salt Lake has the option to make the transfer permanent at the end of the loan deal.

“This is a great opportunity for Colin and an important step in his development,” Orlando City General Manager and Sporting Director Ricardo Moreira said in a club press release. “As a club, we are committed to doing right by our players and creating opportunities that help them continue to grow. Colin has worked hard throughout our development pathway and this loan gives him the chance to gain valuable experience and consistent minutes at a high level in the short term. It also reflects our continued belief in the pathway from the academy to the professional game. Every player’s journey looks different and we remain focused on providing the right opportunities to help our young players reach their potential, whether that path unfolds in Orlando or through experiences like this one.”

Guske, 19, signed as the club’s 16th Homegrown Player on Dec. 16, 2024, on a deal through 2027 with a club option for 2028. The St. Johns native followed older brothers Owen and Liam into Orlando City’s academy, training with the first team during the 2024 preseason, including the club’s preseason training camp in Mexico. Guske became a starter with OCB during the 2024 season, making his professional debut against Atlanta United 2 on March 16 of that year.

The midfielder impressed, making 24 appearances (23 starts) with OCB in 2024, logging 2,044 minutes and scoring one goal while adding two assists, helping the Young Lions reach the playoffs. One of that season’s highlights was Guske participating in the 2024 MLS NEXT All-Star Game and signing multiple short-term loans to become available for the first team, although he did not play with the senior squad that season.

Guske made his first-team debut during the 2025 season on April 5 in a scoreless draw at Philadelphia, subbing on for Martin Ojeda in stoppage time. As an 18-year-old, Guske appeared in five MLS matches — all off the bench — playing a total of just 13 minutes in the regular season. He made his MLS playoff debut in Orlando City’s 3-1 road loss to the Chicago Fire in the wild card game, playing 15 minutes to eclipse his regular-season total. He also played in the U.S. Open Cup for 45 minutes against the Tampa Bay Rowdies on May 7, 2025, in Orlando City’s 5-0 road win. The bulk of his season was spent with OCB in 2025, playing 18 games (all starts) and logging 1,376 minutes and recording one assist. He also helped the OCSC Development Academy win the 2025 U-18 Generation Adidas Cup, assisting on Gustavo Caraballo’s game-winning goal in extra time.

The midfielder appeared in six matches in MLS play with Orlando City this season (two starts), logging a career-high 284 minutes, but is still seeking his first goal contribution. He started and played all 90 minutes in the Lions’ Aug. 12 Leagues Cup draw against San Luis and played the full 90 in the 4-3 U.S. Open Cup victory at New England on April 29. He also played 45 minutes off the bench in the team’s 1-0 win at FC Naples on April 15. With OCB, Guske started all three matches in which he appeared with the Young Lions in 2026, playing 228 minutes and providing one assist. He had started playing more center back in 2026, likely due to a logjam of central defenders ahead of him on the depth chart.

“Orlando City has been my home for a long time, and I’m thankful to everyone at the club who has supported me throughout my journey,” said Guske. “I’m grateful for the opportunity to continue my development through this move and for the trust the club has shown in helping me take this next step. My focus is on improving every day, earning opportunities on the field and helping the team however I can. I’m excited and looking forward to this next challenge.”

On the international stage, Guske has been part of the U.S. youth setup, recently helping the United States U-20 side finish second to Mexico in the 2026 Concacaf U-20 Championship. The midfielder assisted on a goal in a win over Haiti in that tournament. He has represented his country at the U-18, U-19, and U-20 levels.

What It Means for Orlando City

This move is more about what it means for Guske than the club. Guske found himself behind five other guys in the central midfield depth chart when everyone is healthy — Eduard Atuesta, Braian Ojeda, Luis Otavio, Wilder Cartagena, and Joran Gerbet. As he has progressed past playing that position in a way that will further develop him at the MLS NEXT Pro level, he was getting some minutes at center back, which he played at both levels in an area where the club lacks game-ready depth for the first team.

The question became whether the club could keep Guske around long enough for others on the club to leave. Cartagena and Atuesta are nearing their final pro seasons at age 31 and 29, respectively, but they’re by no means old, even by professional soccer standards. Ojeda is just 26 and in his prime, and he’s a player the club seems to like, even naming him a Designated Player temporarily prior to Antoine Griezmann’s arrival. Otavio has come into his own since the league returned to play after the World Cup, and has at times been one of the better players on the field in recent weeks. Gerbet has just recovered from a serious knee injury and has shown promise almost from the jump after being drafted in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft. That’s a lot of talent ahead of Guske.

The club ultimately decided the logical move was a loan deal to help the player further his career, rather than hoarding central midfielders and letting him stagnate for lack of minutes or play at a level from which he’s already graduated. Orlando City takes a minor hit in its deepest position group by making this deal, while Guske gets a better chance to get first-team minutes, so everyone wins.

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