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Orlando City vs. FC Dallas: Player Grades and Man of the match

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7 years ago

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Orlando City had never beaten FC Dallas. The club hadn’t even scored a goal against the Western Conference foe. That all ended in a 2-0 win in Exploria Stadium Saturday night.

With an eye on the upcoming U.S. Open Cup match against Atlanta United, no one knew for sure what James O’Connor had up his sleeve. It turns out he had a plan to make history.

Orlando pressed high until its first goal, and then dropped back, stifling FC Dallas in the first half. The club then held on during the second half assault from FC Dallas, and eventually put the game away.

Here is how each player performed in the club’s first win over FC Dallas and my pick for Man of the Match.

Starters

GK, Brian Rowe, 6 — Rowe was not tested much in the first half. However, in the second half, FC Dallas started getting forward, and his save in the 52nd minute was a beauty. He also did well to come off his line in the 58th minute to take care of a ball making its way through the Orlando defense. Rowe had a very solid match, with some important saves. Fortunately for Orlando, he wasn’t asked to do more. Unfortunately, it means that he didn’t have a chance to earn a higher grade.

D, João Moutinho, 5 — Moutinho was the weak link in the back line, for me. He got caught flat-footed several times, giving FC Dallas its best chances of the night. His clearance header in the 60th minute barely went 10 feet. He just didn’t have a great match, and was lucky that teammates like Robin Jansson and Will Johnson were there to cover for him. He was the busier fullback as Dallas ran a lot of its attack through Michael Barrios down his side. Moutinho finished with a game-high six tackles, two interceptions, and a clearance. On the other end he created one chance. His passing was a bit off at 69%.

D, Robin Jansson, 6 — A recovery clearance in the 38th minute resulted in a corner that amounted to nothing. It seems like either Jansson or Lamine Sané will have a slightly better match than the other, but I think that the two are becoming quite a pairing, and it’s more difficult to grade them seperately. Jansson had a bit of a more difficult job, as he had Moutinho to his left. He finished with a tackle, an interception, and three clearances.

D, Lamine Sané, 6 — Sané was the clear leader on the back line, directing traffic, and generally doing a good job. He was almost called for a handball in the second half, but after video review, referee Silviu Petrescu said there was no penalty. He continued to make important clearances, especially late in the match as FC Dallas was pressing for the equalizer. He finished with two tackles, one interception, two clearances, and a blocked shot. He was the best passer on the back line (89%).

D, Ruan, 7.5 (MotM) — Early on, Ruan got forward in the attack, as he is accustomed to do. He earned a free kick, and then in the 13th minute, he put in what might have been his best pass of the season to Tesho Akindele for Orlando’s first goal of the match, and first ever against FC Dallas. Ruan also played better on defense this match, ranging up and down the right side of the field. He regularly outpaced FC Dallas attackers to get the ball up and out of Orlando’s area. Late in the game, he still had plenty of speed and continued to give FC Dallas fits with his runs up the right side. Ruan created two chances, passed at a 75% clip, had two dribbles, and drew three free kicks. On defense, the Brazilian made three tackles, three clearances, and an interception. It was his best game in over a month.

MF, Will Johnson 7 — Will Johnson continued to do his normal Energizer Bunny shift. He defended well, backing up other players like Moutinho, often dropping between the two center backs. He just missed a shot wide on a late run in first half stoppage time. He drew a game high six fouls, defended, played well in the midfield, and generally did what Will Johnson usually does. He was everywhere, made good passes, and contributed on both sides of the field. If Ruan hadn’t had maybe his best match, Will would have won MotM. He created a scoring chance, was a 94% passer, and chipped in a tackle, an interception, and two clearances.

MF, Carlos Ascues, 6.5 — It was quite a night for Carlos — especially in stoppage time, when he was in the right place at the right time to take Sacha Kljestan’s beautiful back heel pass and seal the win for Orlando City. He was part of an effective midfield for Orlando City, and he pressed higher than usual this match. It did take a while for him to take advantage of the advanced position that James O’Connor had him playing, but when he did, he scored his first goal. Ascues created one chance — setting up an Akindele opportunity that nearly doubled the lead in the second half — scored on his only shot attempt, and drew two fouls. He also finished with four tackles and two clearances. Aside from one scary back pass in the second half, he played a solid game, though his 70% passing could have been better.

MF, Sebas Méndez, 6 — Méndez had a fairly good game, as did the rest of the midfield. He passed well (90%), with most of the distribution going forward. He had some good defensive fouls, but did give up a free kick on the handball early in the match, and he earned a yellow card in the 69th minute. If not for those mistakes he would have earned a higher grade. He led the team with three interceptions and added two clearances.

F, Tesho Akindele, 6.5 — The former FC Dallas player not only scored on his former team, but he also set a new career high with his eighth regular season goal of 2019. The goal came in the 13th minute from a beautiful pass from Ruan. He hit a few of his team-high five shot attempts off target throughout the match. He also had a golden chance in the 70th minute, but he knocked it right at Jesse González, who blocked it with his body. He had a chance to send in Dom Dwyer alone in the first half but put too much on the pass. He had a 69% passing rate and earned a secondary assist on the Ascues goal. He chipped in an interception and a clearance on defense.

F, Dom Dwyer, 6 — As usual, Dom was harried and fouled by the opposition, though he did get some defensive revenge with a nifty bicycle kick clearance in the second half. He did well to get out of the way when Johnson made a late run to take a shot in the first half. Dom did Dom things in the box in the 67th minute, trying to make something happen, but he couldn’t quite find that little bit of space needed to do so. He did have one shot but it went wide right. He didn’t get much service or many touches (13) but he found other ways to contribute. He had two defensive clearances and was good when he pressed.

F, Chris Mueller, 5 — Cash was largely absent from this match. His movement off the ball was good, and his passing was fine, he just wasn’t as big a part of the attack as he has been in other matches. He finished with three bad touches, no chances created, and no shot attempts, although he did pass at a 92% clip. Defensively, he added a tackle and an interception.

Substitutes

MF, Sacha Kljestan (54’), 6.5 — Kljestan was brought on to try and get control of the game back after FC Dallas dominated the first few minutes of the second half. His back heel pass to Ascues for Orlando’s second goal sealed the match for the Lions. If there was an award for Pass of the Week, or Assist of the Week, Sacha’s and Ruan’s would be neck and neck. Kljestan’s assist gave him 92 in his MLS career, passing Cobi Jones and taking eighth place among the all-time league leaders. Aside from his assist, he attempted one shot that was just over the bar. He was an 88% passer and made one interception.

F, Nani (72’), 6 — As the only Lion to have played in the MLS All-Star Game, James O’Connor left the captain on the bench until late. Nani did well to hold the ball up and help get the Lions back onto the attack in the second half, and drew defenders to him opening up the attack for his teammates. He completed two dribbles, but created no chances and took no shots.

MF, Kyle Smith (94’), N/A — Smith came on for Iron Man Will Johnson with only a few minutes to play, and wasn’t on the pitch long enough to grade fairly.

It was a great night to be in purple, and a well earned three points at home. Such points have been hard to come by. Do you agree with my choice for the game’s Man of the Match or did someone else deserved the honor? Have your say by voting in the poll or letting us know in the comments!

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Ruan58
Will Johnson19
Carlos Ascues15
Tesho Akindele6
Other (comment below)2

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Orlando City

Flashback Friday: June 10, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids

Let’s take a trip down memory lane to a booking-laden match at home that took place a little less than three years ago.

Published

4 hours ago

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June 12, 2026

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

The World Cup is now officially underway, and while that means Orlando City is on break, we can’t have you forgetting about the Lions while all the international action is taking place. That means its time for another edition of Flashback Friday, where we hop in the trusty time machine and reminisce on OCSC matches of yesteryear.

Last week we relived a rousing road win over the New York Red Bulls from June, 3 2023, and this week, we actually pick up right where we left off, on June 10, 2023 as the Lions returned home to take on the Colorado Rapids.

Coming off a 3-0 win over the Red Bulls in the previous match, Oscar Pareja decided to not mess with a good thing, and kept Orlando City’s same starting XI from that victory. Pedro Gallese was in net behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith. Wilder Cartagena and Cesar Araujo played the double pivot; Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres were the attacking midfielders, and Ercan Kara was deployed as the striker.

In typical June fashion for the City Beautiful, kickoff was delayed by just under an hour as the stadium was pounded by storms, and the delay did not look to have done any favors for Orlando’s sharpness. That said, OCSC did win a corner kick less than a minute into the game, and Torres had a tame shot saved in the eighth minute, but the Lions weren’t consistently sharp with their passing in the early moments of the contest.

The teams traded chances just before the 15-minute mark, with Kara sending a header too high before Cole Bassett sent a shot straight to Gallese. Carlos then picked up a yellow card in the 24th minute, which evened things out between the two teams after Lalas Abubakar was cautioned for the Rapids after just six minutes. Those two bookings proved to be a harbinger of things to come, because Colorado went down to 10 men in the 39th minute after midfielder Braian Galvan caught Angulo with a high boot while his studs were showing.

Pereyra had Orlando’s best chance of the opening 45 minutes in stoppage time but could only send his effort right at goalkeeper Marko Ilic, and that was the last significant action of the half. The Lions ended the half with an edge in possession (59.7%-40.3%), shots (7-2), shots on target (2-1), and passing accuracy (85.3%-79.4%), while both teams won two corners.

Pareja made two moves at halftime, bringing on Rodrigo Schlegel for the once-booked Carlos, and Martin Ojeda for Cartagena in an effort to go more offensive against a shorthanded Rapids side. The Lions certainly looked brighter going forward as the second half got underway and had a few dangerous moments before finally breaking the deadlock in the 55th minute.

Pereyra played a ball across the top of the box for Torres, who took a couple of touches before sending a ball to the net that took a wicked deflection off Andreas Maxsø that carried it past Ilic.

It wasn’t the prettiest goal the Lions have ever scored, but for a team that was guilty at times of passing up good shots in favor of the perfect look at goal, it was proof that sometimes you just need to take shots in dangerous areas.

Fortunately, Orlando seemed to take that lesson to heart. Kara went close in the 65th minute despite shooting through traffic, Angulo had a shot deflected by Abubakar three minutes later, and Torres had another deflected effort go just wide of the post four minutes after that.

The game changed again in the 75th minute, when the Rapids had another player sent off. Abubakar lasted for 69 minutes on a yellow card but got burned by Angulo in midfield and hauled him down in order to prevent the Lions from potentially working a transition opportunity. He had some teammates behind him, but the referee showed him a second yellow card. Pareja smelled blood in the water and just three minutes later he brought on Ramiro Enrique for Smith, who had been given a yellow card in the 52nd minute.

Ilic made a great save on Pereyra in the 81st minute to keep the score at 1-0 and keep the Rapids in the game, but Orlando got its second goal just two minutes later. Torres had the ball on the right side of the box with a Colorado player backing off him, and that gave him ample time to get his head up and pick out a man. He played a ball to Enrique at the top of the box, who had plenty of time to take a couple of touches and send a low shot into the bottom corner past a diving Ilic for his first goal as an Orlando City player.

Somewhat surprisingly, the game started to get a little stretched after the Lions doubled their advantage. Colorado had a shot blocked in the 81st minute, Kara sent a shot very close to the post six minutes after that, and Gallese saved a Darren Yapi attempt in the 88th minute to keep his clean sheet alive. Aside from Pareja handing Alejandro Granados his MLS debut, that was the last significant action of the match, which finished 2-0 to the good guys.

Unsurprisingly, considering Colorado’s deficit in players, the Lions dominated all of the game’s most important statistics. OCSC finished with the advantage in possession (65%-35%), shots (15-4), shots on goal (6-2), corners (5-3), and passing accuracy (89.4%-81.5%).

The victory made it back-to-back wins for the first time in 2023, stretched Orlando’s unbeaten run to six, and gave El Pulpo his 100th clean sheet for the team in all competitions.

Marcus Mitchell had the helm for Player Grades in this one, and Torres got his nod for Man of the Match with a goal, an assist, and a grade of 7.5 out of 10. Several other Lions graded out at 7 out of 10, with only one player grading below a 6.

While it was a weird win, it unfortunately was the final game of the unbeaten streak, as the Lions fell to a familiar defeat at Gillette Stadium the following week, although things got back on track soon afterward. I’ll see you back here in a week for another trip down memory lane. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 6/12/26

USMNT plays Paraguay tonight, red cards rain down in World Cup opener, Sporting Kansas City linked with Yann Gboho, and more.

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8 hours ago

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June 12, 2026

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Image of Alex Freeman sliding in celebration of a goal.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! The World Cup is in full swing and the U.S. will play today, so it’s a pretty exciting Friday to say the least. I’m a bit of a bundle of nerves about how the team will do, but I’m still looking forward to catching the game. If you have any gameday rituals, be sure to share, so that we can conjure up enough luck and support for the team tonight. Let’s get to the links!

USMNT’s World Cup Campaign Begins Today

The United States Men’s National Team will take on Paraguay at 9 p.m. tonight in its first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. There’s plenty of pressure on the U.S. to perform well as one of the host nations, and this will also be Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino’s first time coaching at a World Cup. Pochettino stated that all 26 players are available for selection, including center back Chris Richards, although he may not necessarily start. Former Orlando City defender Alex Freeman, who is the youngest player on the U.S. roster, could make his World Cup debut tonight, so be sure to root for our hometown hero should he take the field. Hopefully, the Yanks can start this tournament off on the right foot with a big win in California.

World Cup Opener Features Three Red Cards

This year’s World Cup began in Mexico City, with Mexico beating South Africa 2-0 in a match that included three red cards. All three were straight red cards given in the second half in separate incidents, as Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane were sent off for South Africa before Mexico’s Cesar Montes was shown red in stoppage time. There hasn’t been a World Cup match with that many red cards since the record of four was set in 2006 in a match between Portugal and the Netherlands. As for the game’s goals, Julian Quinones pounced on a mistake by South Africa to give Mexico an early lead and Raul Jimenez doubled that lead while South Africa was reduced to 10 men.

Sporting Kansas City Linked With Yann Gboho

While the World Cup roars on, the rumor mill is in full force as clubs make plans for summer reinforcements. Sporting Kansas City is reportedly pushing to sign Toulouse winger Yann Gboho, who recorded 10 goals and three assists across all competitions this past season. The surprising aspect of this pursuit would be that Toulouse values Gboho at an eye-watering $20 million transfer fee, which would be a club record by a country mile. Kansas City needs all the help it can get on offense, as it has scored just 14 goals in 14 games so far this season.

Jose Mourinho Officially Returns to Real Madrid

It’s been a bit of an open secret over the past few weeks that Jose Mourinho would become Real Madrid’s next manager and it’s now official, with the 63-year-old signing a three-year contract with the Spanish club. Mourinho helped Real Madrid win a La Liga title and the Copa del Rey over a decade ago before his departure in 2013 after three seasons with the club. Now, he joins a Real Madrid side that has finished second in the league standings and been eliminated in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League the past two seasons. I, for one, can’t wait to see how one of the biggest personalities in soccer works alongside a locker room of star players that seemed in disarray this past season.

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

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/11/26

Wilder Cartagena linked with move to Sporting Cristal, Orlando Pride hire Dr. Nicole Surdyka, Barbra Banda injury update, and more.

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1 day ago

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June 11, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jermey Reper

The World Cup is finally here! Today starts what should be an exciting month of international soccer featuring more teams than ever before. While I wasn’t able to part with the arm and leg necessary to afford a ticket to one of the games, I’m still looking forward to watching along when I can with the rest of the world. Let’s get to the links!

Wilder Cartagena Linked With Move to Peruvian Club

You’ll need a translation tool to check out the full details unless you are fluent in Spanish, but Sporting Cristal of Peru’s top flight is reportedly interested in signing Orlando City midfielder Wilder Cartagena. The 31-year-old is currently under contract with Orlando through 2026, with the contact also including a club option for 2027. He was a crucial part to Orlando’s success in 2024, but he missed all of last year and has only started one game so far this season due to injuries. It’s not much more than a rumor as of now, but it’ll be something to keep an eye on during this break in the league schedule.

Barbra Banda Sustained a Hamstring Injury

Zambia Head Coach Nora Hauptle stated that Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda is dealing with a hamstring strain. Banda didn’t play in either of Zambia’s matches during this international break, but Hauptle also noted that she should recover in the next week or two and will be fine for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations at the end of July. Banda was injured late in the Pride’s 3-1 win against Bay FC on May 29 and it was unclear how severe the injury was. Hopefully she’ll be good to go before the Pride’s match against Angel City FC on July 3.

Dr. Nicole Surdyka Named Orlando Pride Director of Medical & Performance

The Orlando Pride have hired Dr. Nicole Surdyka as their new director of medical and performance. She’ll oversee the Pride’s medical operations, nutrition, and more while also working with Orlando Health. Dr. Surdyka has over a decade of experience that included leadership roles with OL Reign and the LA Galaxy and has studied extensively into developing frameworks for health and performance in women’s soccer.

“Nicole is one of the most respected practitioners in our field, and her expertise in women’s football, return‑to‑play, and high‑performance systems will elevate every aspect of our medical and performance environment,” said Caitlin Carducci, Orlando Pride VP of Soccer Operations & General Manager. “Her leadership, her commitment to evidence‑based practice and her passion for supporting athletes make her an exceptional addition to the Pride.”

Analyzing Paraguay Ahead of USMNT World Cup Match

The United States Men’s National Team will play its World Cup opener on Friday when it hosts Paraguay at SoFi Stadium. It will be the 10th match between the two nations, with the USMNT most recently winning 2-1 against Paraguay in November of last year. There’s a familiar face on Paraguay’s roster in Orlando City midfielder Braian Ojeda, with Miguel Almiron and Andres Cubas as other MLS midfielders called up. Paraguay’s defense is anchored by center back Gustavo Gomez, who you may remember as the player who put former Lion Alex Freeman in a headlock during that aforementioned November friendly. As for Paraguay’s attack, the Yanks will need to keep Julio Enciso and Antonio Sanabria from wreaking havoc. Paraguay is a physical team that’s also strong in the air, so we’ll see how the USMNT deals with that on Friday.

England Beats Costa Rica 3-0 at Inter&Co Stadium

Orlando City’s Inter&Co Stadium hosted a friendly between England and Costa Rica on Wednesday, with England winning 3-0. Declan Rice gave England an early lead, but Costa Rica kept the Three Lions off the scoresheet until the substitutes came on for England in the second half, with Anthony Gordon and Ollie Watkins both scoring. England got the full Orlando experience due to a heavy storm that delayed kickoff, but Inter&Co Stadium earned praise for its drainage system that had the pitch ready to roll in no time. Enjoy this satisfying time-lapse video of the transformation provided by the stadium.

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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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