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Orlando City vs. Inter Miami: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 4-1 win over Inter Miami?

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9 months ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City welcomed its South Florida rival to The City Beautiful and had one of its best games of the season, dominating Inter Miami 4-1. Luis Muriel netted a brace and Martin Ojeda had a goal and an assist as the Lions claimed a huge three points, moving up to fourth in the Eastern Conference.

Let’s take a look at the individual performance in this very satisfying win.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 7 — Gallese didn’t have a whole lot to do in this game, but stood tall when called upon. The only concession was a Yannick Bright volley in the fifth minute that he couldn’t do much to stop. In the 67th minute, Luis Suarez tried to chip the goalkeeper off his line. Gallese did well to get back to the ball and punch it over the top. In the 83rd minute, Fafa Picault was sent through and Gallese came off his line to block the attempt.

Overall, Gallese saved four of the five shots he faced. He touched the ball 18 times and completed 75% of his 12 passes, including four of his seven long balls. It was a solid night and a hard-fought win for the Lions’ shot stopper.

D, David Brekalo, 6 — Brekalo took his usual position at left back, touching the ball 60 times. He completed 84% of his 50 passes and one of his four long balls. Defensively, he recorded a tackle, an interception, and four clearances. He didn’t contribute anything offensively, but he was a factor in Miami only taking two shots from inside the box.

D, Robin Jansson, 6 — Jansson captained the team again, touching the ball just 39 times. He completed 93.3% of his 30 passes, including both of his long ball attempts. His involvement in the buildup of Ojeda’s goal earned him an assist. Defensively, he recorded a tackle, five clearances, and an aerial ball won in a somewhat calmer night for the center back. He also took a shot and was booked.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 7 — Schlegel was the more active center back in this game, touching the ball 65 times and completing 92% of his 50 passes, including one of his two long balls. He recorded four tackles, two interceptions, six clearances, and two aerials won in one of his best performances this season. He even forced Oscar Ustari into a save with a shot on target.

D, Alex Freeman, 6.5 — Freeman was the starting right back in this game, touching the ball 51 times. He completed 83.8% of his 37 passes, including two key passes and three of his four long balls. Going forward, he put one of his three shots on target. His best chance to score was in the first minute of second-half stoppage time when he made a good run to beat Noah Allen and create space for a shot. But he sent the attempt straight to Ustari. Defensively, he added three tackles, a clearance, and two aerial balls won.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 6.5 — Starting on the left side of the midfield, Angulo had 63 touches and completed 87.2% of his 39 passes, but neither of his two crosses. While he put one of his two shots on target, it was defensively where he shined in this game. The midfielder used his speed to thwart the Miami attack on multiple occasions, winning the ball back in the Orlando City third of the field. On the defensive end, he recorded two tackles, two interceptions, and three clearances. The hard-working Angulo came off in the 90th minute, replaced by Tyrese Spicer.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6.5 —  Araujo had a team-high 89 touches in this game, completing 92% of his team-high 75 passes, including five of his seven long balls. He didn’t do much offensively but contributed defensively with three tackles, a clearance, and a blocked shot. Overall, it was the type of solid performance Orlando City fans have become used to from the Uruguayan. Unfortunately, he was booked breaking up a counterattack and he’ll miss the Lions’ next game due to suspension.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 6 — Atuesta also did his part in the defensive midfield in this game, touching the ball 63 times and completing 89.4% of his 47 passes. He had an interception, two clearances, and a blocked shot defensively, while winning a team-high three aerial balls. He came off for Kyle Smith in the 84th minute after a solid performance.

MF, Marco Pasalic, 7 — Pasalic had 42 touches in this game, completing 87% of his 23 passes, including a key pass, one of his four crosses, and two of his four long balls. He put two of his three shots on target, with both coming on the same play. He hit the post in the 82nd minute, making up for it in the 88th minute. The attacker forced Ustari into a save before collecting the rebound and creating a second chance. This time, he guided the ball into the corner for his team’s fourth goal of the night. The attacker also added a late clearance as the Lions saw out the game. Immediately after his goal, Pasalic was replaced by Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.

F, Martin Ojeda, 7.5 — Ojeda was great in this game, touching the ball 60 times. He completed 94.7% of his 38 passes, including four key passes, two of his six crosses, and all four long balls. Most everything went through the attacker. He assisted the opening goal in the second minute with a beautiful ball and scored in the 58th minute. The forward should’ve had a goal in the 54th minute when his first shot was blocked by Ustari right back to him. Ojeda could’ve passed it in, but sent the attempt over the top instead. Of course, he made up for it four minutes later, albeit with some help from Ustari’s poor goalkeeping. In addition to his distribution, he put three of his six shots on target, including his goal. 

F, Luis Muriel, 8 (MotM) — There’s little question about Man of the Match in this game as Muriel followed up with a hat trick against Necaxa with a brace against Miami. And it was nearly a second consecutive hat trick. He started the game off quickly by scoring in the second minute before giving his team a 2-0 lead in the 50th minute. He also assisted Ojeda’s 58th-minute goal to put his stamp on the game. He nearly scored the goal of the game in the 20th minute when he volleyed a poor Ustari clearance from near midfield. Everyone watched with bated breath as the ball rolled toward the corner of the goal. Unfortunately, it hit the outside of the post.

In all, Muriel touched the ball 32 times and completed 81.3% of his 16 passes, including three key passes and one of his two long balls. He put four of his five shots on target — both team highs in the game. Defensively, he added three tackles before being replaced by Ramiro Enrique in the 82nd minute.

Substitutes

F, Ramiro Enrique (82’), 5.5 — Enrique entered the game for a clearly exhausted Muriel in the 82nd minute. He had five touches and completed three of his four passes, all of which were short. He didn’t take any shots or record any defensive stats, but he chased Miami around the pitch to see out the game.

MF, Kyle Smith (84’), 6 — Smith entered the game in the 84th minute for Atuesta, taking over in the defensive midfield. He had 15 touches and completed 92.9% of his 14 passes, including a key pass and one of his two long balls. The versatile player also recorded a clearance as the game wound down.

D, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (90’), N/A — Thorhallsson came on for Pasalic immediately after his goal, touching the ball six times. He completed 80% of his five passes, his only stats of his short appearance.

MF, Tyrese Spicer (90’), N/A — It was an Orlando City debut for Spicer, coming on for Angulo in the 90th minute. The newbie had five touches and completed both of his passes, including a key pass. He showed some of his skill in the second minute of stoppage time, intercepting a pass, avoiding a defender, and setting up a good scoring chance for Ojeda. Despite a promising (but brief) appearance, he didn’t have enough time on the pitch to earn a grade.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in Orlando City’s 4-1 win over its in-state rivals. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments below and don’t forget to vote on your Man of the Match.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 5/1/26

Orlando City will host Atlanta United in USOC, Lions prepare for Inter Miami, Pride play the Spirit on Saturday, and more.

Published

59 minutes ago

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May 1, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to May, Mane Landers! April flew by in the blink of an eye for me and I’m hoping May goes a little slower so that I can enjoy being outside before the Florida heat really sets in. Then again, I can’t wait until the World Cup arrives in June. But for now, let’s dive into today’s links from around the soccer world.

Orlando City Will Host Atlanta United in U.S. Open Cup

The draw for the rest of the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is complete and Orlando City is set to host Atlanta United in the quarterfinals on either May 19 or 20. That match will take place just a few days after the two rivals square off in Orlando in league play on May 16. Hopefully the Lions can get the job done against an Atlanta side that has also struggled this season.

At home for the Quarterfinals 🏆

— Orlando City SC (@orlandocitysc.com) 2026-04-30T13:51:51.159Z

Should the Lions advance to the semifinals, they’ll go on the road to face the winner between the Columbus Crew and New York City FC. Whichever team wins that semifinal would have hosting rights in the final. On the other side of the bracket, the Houston Dynamo will play St. Louis City while the Colorado Rapids will host the San Jose Earthquakes.

Lions Prepare for Tropic Thunder Match

Orlando City will play against Inter Miami on Saturday at 7:15 p.m. in the first Tropic Thunder match at Nu Stadium. It’s already the second meeting between the two rivals this season, with Orlando falling 4-2 at home to Miami on March 1. Hopefully having Robin Jansson available this time around will help keep Miami’s offense in check, although the Lions are still struggling to reach full health. Although Orlando has yet to win a road game in MLS play this season, Miami has yet to win at home, so we’ll see if either trend comes to an end or if a draw is in store for us on Saturday.

Orlando Pride Host Washington Spirit Saturday

The Orlando Pride will also be in action on Saturday when they play the Washington Spirit at 4 p.m. at Inter&Co Stadium. The Spirit are coming off of a 1-0 win at home against Racing Louisville on Wednesday, while the Pride haven’t played since losing 3-2 on the road to Louisville last Friday. While I think it’s a bit of a stretch to call these two teams rivals, they’ve played some notable games against each other in recent years and it should be a great game. Head Coach Seb Hines and midfielder Summer Yates both spoke on the matchup against one of the league’s top teams.

Las Vegas Group Bids On Vancouver Whitecaps

An investor group by Grant Gustavson made an offer to buy the Vancouver Whitecaps and move the team to Las Vegas. Gustavson, who is the grandson of the founder of Public Storage, is a Vegas resident and the offer includes a plan to build a stadium. The club has been up for sale since December of 2024 and the club released a statement on Monday that there has not been a viable offer that would keep the team in Vancouver despite talks with over 100 interested parties. Any offer would need to be accepted by the owners and approved by the MLS Board of Governors. Hopefully a better solution than moving the team to the middle of the desert presents itself.

Free Kicks

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

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New England Revolution, U.S. Open Cup: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from the Lions’ exciting U.S. Open Cup victory.

Published

21 hours ago

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April 30, 2026

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Image of Tiago and Zakaria Taifi celebrating Tiago's first MLS goal vs. the Red Bulls.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City defeated the New England Revolution 4-3 to advance to the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open Cup. Both teams played a lot of younger players, but Orlando City showed a lot of maturity coming back three times in the match before finally taking the lead in second-half stoppage time. Here are my five takeaways from a pleasantly surprising result in the midweek match.

Welcome Back, Griffin Dorsey

When Alex Freeman left, there was a sense of dread given the options available to replace him. That dread faded when Orlando City brought in MLS veteran right back Griffin Dorsey. The former Houston Dynamo fullback recently came back from injury and got the start in Wednesday’s match. He played well throughout the game, but his best moment came in the 40th minute. Dorsey combined with Justin Ellis on a nifty give-and-go before smashing the ball into the back of the net to draw the Lions even a second time in the match.

Defense? Never Heard of It.

What happens when you have Colin Guske start at center back? You give up three goals. To be clear, I’m not solely blaming Guske, especially since he is less of a center back than Kyle Smith was in his time with Orlando City. Any time a team gives up three goals you have to assume the defense was not up to par, and that was the case against a New England squad that played even more youngsters than Orlando City. Luckily, it didn’t matter in the end since, it was mostly Orlando’s kids that won the match.

Take a Bow, Justin Ellis

The lack of veteran depth, combined with various injuries, has provided the opportunity for youngsters to get some minutes. No player has made more of that opportunity than Justin Ellis. The striker had an assist and a goal in the previous two MLS matches, and matched that output against New England. He was a part of the pretty give-and-go on Dorsey’s goal, and then scored a poacher’s goal to draw Orlando even for the third time in the match. It really should have been two goals, as Ellis put the ball in the net again a few minutes after the one that counted, but either Tyrese Spicer or Ellis was called offside when neither was offside.

Spicer was Spicy

Tyrese Spicer was a literal game changer in this match. He set up two of the four goals on the night, and as I mentioned above, it should have been three if not for the ridiculously bad offside call. He was a holy terror on the left side of the attack and may have actually injured a defender’s ankles with some of his moves. He wasn’t able to score a goal himself, but he was a crucial part of Orlando City’s ability to keep coming back and ultimately win the match.

Goals on Goals

I have not yet mentioned Orlando City’s first or fourth goal. Center back Iago flew above everyone on the pitch to put a beautiful header in the back of the goal. It was the type of goal we were told to expect from the young defender, and all I can say is “thank you sir, may we have another?” The winning goal came once again from a Spicer cross, which second-half sub Zakaria Taifi finished. Taifi made a well-timed back-post run to beat his defender and score the go-ahead goal. I don’t think anyone had the Lions scoring four goals to advance, with three of those goals coming from the back line.

I’m not ashamed to admit that I did not expect Orlando City to win this match, let alone score four goals while doing so. As such, I’m happy that this was able to be a positive article. Now, the Lions turn their attention to an MLS away match against rival Inter Miami. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 4/30/26

Orlando City advances in U.S. Open Cup, Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines earns praise, NWSL sticks with current calendar, and more.

Published

1 day ago

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April 30, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

For the third Thursday morning in a row, we are all basking in the triumph of a midweek win by Orlando City. It feels good, to say the least, and I’m a bit sad that there’s not another Wednesday match next week. Regardless, there’s plenty of Orlando soccer ahead this weekend to look forward to. Now that we have a little optimism to get us through the rest of the week, let’s get to the links!

Orlando City Wins U.S. Open Cup Thriller

Orlando City has reached the quarterfinals of the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup after winning 4-3 on the road against the New England Revolution in the round of 16. It was truly a back-and-forth affair and Orlando didn’t have the lead at any point of the match until scoring the winner in stoppage time. Just like in the previous round against FC Naples, it wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but all that matters is advancing, and the Lions are through to the quarterfinals. The draw for the rest of the bracket will take place this morning starting at 9:30 a.m.

Seb Hines Receives High Praise

Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines placed eighth in ESPN‘s rankings of the top 20 women’s club soccer coaches in the world. Orlando’s transformation with him at the helm has been historic, as he coached the Pride to winning both the NWSL Championship and the Shield in 2024. The only other current NWSL coaches above him on the list are Angel City FC’s Alex Straus and Gotham FC’s Juan Carlos Amoros. Jonatan Giraldez, who left the Washington Spirit for OL Lyonnes last summer, tops the list, while former Pride head coach Marc Skinner missed the cut.

NWSL Will Stick With Current Calendar For Now

In a league statement, the National Women’s Soccer League announced that it will continue with its spring-to-fall schedule through 2030. This news comes after evaluation by the league of making a similar move as MLS and switching to a calendar that aligns with European leagues.

An update from the NWSL on the competition calendar.

— NWSL (@nwslsoccer.com) 2026-04-29T15:01:48.017Z

This should give all parties a decent amount of time to explore long-term options. It also means we will get to enjoy domestic soccer all year long for at least a couple of years once MLS makes the switch in 2027. We’ll see what happens in the NWSL in 2031, which is also when the U.S. will cohost the Women’s World Cup that summer.

Keeping Up With Americans Abroad

European soccer is winding down and many American players will aim to finish strongly after struggling a bit this season. Fulham defender Antonee Robinson only has one assist this season, while Christian Pulisic has recorded just one goal contribution in 2026. In more positive news, former Lion Alex Freeman played every minute of Villarreal’s 2-1 win over Celta Vigo and hopefully more minutes are ahead of him to close out the season. Forward Folarin Balogun was named AS Monaco’s Player of the Month after scoring in three of his four appearances this month. Another star-spangled storyline to keep an eye on is in the EFL Championship as Aidan Morris and Middlesbrough fight for promotion.

Free Kicks

  • New York City FC’s Maxi Moralez had three assists in his team’s 3-1 win against the New York Red Bulls in the U.S. Open Cup, with all three of NYCFC’s goals coming from corner kicks.
  • Nashville SC forward Ahmed Qasam won MLS Goal of the Matchday for his strike against Charlotte FC. I’m still not sure how Tyrese Spicer’s goal wasn’t nominated.
  • Atletico Madrid and Arsenal each scored a penalty in a 1-1 draw in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal matchup. Antoine Griezmann, who will join Orlando this summer, hit the crossbar in what was likely his final Champions League game at the Metropolitano.
  • Afghan Women United, a women’s soccer team of Afghan refugees, has been allowed by FIFA to take part in international competitions.
  • FIFA is in talks over implementing a rule that would require soccer teams to field a young Homegrown player during games. The idea would make more sense to me if players didn’t already have options available to get playing time through loans or tournaments outside of league play.
  • English defender Millie Bright announced her retirement from professional soccer. The 32-year-old has played for Chelsea since 2014, but injuries have plagued her over the years and she will continue to be part of the club in the future.
  • Paris Saint-Germain right back Achraf Hakimi is out for the next few weeks due to a thigh injury sustained in the club’s wild 5-4 win over Bayern Munich in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semifinals.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

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