Orlando City
Orlando City vs. LAFC: Final Score 6-0 as Lions Continue Club’s Worst Ever Start
Son Heung-min and Denis Bouanga destroyed Orlando City, making the Lions pay for their numerous turnovers.
Orlando City came back from the international break with no break in the difficult schedule the Lions have had to start the season. LAFC (5-0-1, 16 points) came in having surrendered no goals all season, so they were going to be at a premium. Orlando’s greatest weakness is its defense, and that shone through as the Lions (1-5-0, 3 points) surrendered five goals in the first 40 minutes on the way to a 6-0 defeat.
Denis Bouanga fired home a first-half hat trick and Son Heung-min assisted on four goals as LAFC punished Orlando repeatedly for turnovers in all sections of the BMO Stadium pitch.
“It is what it is,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “We will face it, because working is what we do and we’re waiting (for positive results).”
Much like after the Nashville game, Perelman had few answers for media questions after the match, simply repeating, “It is what it is.” What it is, so far, is the worst start to any Orlando City season, and that continued emphatically against Western Conference-leading LAFC.
Perelman rolled out a new lineup. Griffin Dorsey was unavailable due to lower back pain. Maxime Crepeau started in goal behind a five-man back line of Ivan Angulo, Iago, David Brekalo, Nolan Miller, and Braian Ojeda. Colin Guske manned the defensive midfield with Eduard Atuesta. Marco Pasalic, Martin Ojeda, and Tiago led the attack.
From the start, LAFC poured on pressure and Orlando City cracked regularly. Crepeau wiped out a one-on-one vs. Son as the defensive highlight early on. In the sixth minute, Brekalo made a tackle at the top of the box which sprung Angulo for a 4-on-2. Angulo put the ball behind Pasalic which caused him to turn it over and negate the attack.
In the seventh minute, Son was sent through past Iago down the right side and crossed it to Nathan Ordaz. Brekalo deflected the cross, but he unfortunately knocked it into the back of the net for an own goal. It was a sign of things to come.
The Lions kept finding space to counter as LAFC was hungry to score, but it was always a mishandled or missed pass that spoiled any threat. In the 20th minute, Pasalic’s poor touch was picked up by Marky Delgado. He tapped it up to Son and Atuesta went in hard but missed. Son then put Bouanga through with a great pass, and the Frenchman chipped Crepeau to double the lead. Atuesta picked up a yellow card after the goal for his poor tackle.
In the 23rd minute, Pasalic dropped the ball right to Atuesta, but the Colombian gave it away to Ordaz. He sent it backwards to Bouanga, who tapped it on to Son. The Korean fired a 50-yard through ball that Bouanga ended up on the end of, and he sent a curling shot into the top corner of the net to make it 3-0, effectively putting the game to bed early.
Bouanga did one thing wrong finally, picking up a yellow card in the 26th minute trying to pick the ball off Angulo as he went by.
Iago controlled the ball in the 28th minute with time and space to clear, but the Brazilian passed it right to Bouanga, who laid it off to Son, who returned the favor and teed up Bouanga for the final goal of his first-half hat trick.
In the 39th minute, Bouanga picked up the ball on the right side and slotted it to Son right at the goal line. Son found Sergi Palencia, who volleyed it past Crepeau. That was Son’s fourth assist, and really his fifth, because it was his ball that hit off Brekalo to open the scoring. The Lions had lost their first two road matches this year by identical 5-0 scorelines. LAFC managed that feat before halftime, furthering the Lions’ embarrassment.
Orlando City continued to scuff opportunities but also kept LAFC from finding the back of the net for the rest of the half. Crepeau went down just after added time started but was able to continue and see out stoppage time before the half mercifully ended.
Surprisingly, the possession at halftime was tied (50%-50%), which speaks to the fact that Orlando City could get the ball and possess for a while but couldn’t really put anything dangerous together. It also points to the speed at which LAFC scored on the counter when it did. LAFC led in shots (12-3) and shots on target (5-2). Orlando City led in passing accuracy (92.1%-90%) but LAFC won significantly more corners (7-2).
“We didn’t come out playing the way that we had been working towards and doing things the way that we had been working them” Martin Ojeda said. “We didn’t do that in the first half and we are and will be our biggest self-critics.”
After the half, Perelman made three changes. Tahir Reid-Brown came in for Nolan Miller, Duncan McGuire came in for Tiago, and Zakaria Taifi came in for Guske. LAFC also subbed in Mathieu Choiniere for Timothy Tillman.
That seemed to change the tenor of things as the Lions maintained possession in the attacking half for the first three minutes before another Atuesta turnover. In the 53rd, Martin Ojeda found Taifi on the right and he tried to cut it back to Angulo on the other side of the box but it was intercepted.
In the 56th, Taifi won a free kick from 40 yards out. Martin Ojeda sent a dangerous ball in that LAFC cleared to the top of the box, but Taifi was waiting and rocketed a shot that forced Hugo Lloris into his first big save of the night.
Son broke free in the next minute but shot it wide. He and Bouanga were subbed off shortly after as LAFC started to empty its bench. David Martinez came in for Son and Jacob Shaffelburg took Bouanga’s place.
In the 61st minute, Tyler Boyd sent a 40-yard switch to Ordaz who volleyed it just wide. Braian Ojeda forced Shaffelburg over the goal line a minute later to negate another dangerous attack. Angulo was able to put Martin Ojeda behind in the 65th, but his ball across the goal mouth missed just wide of the right post.
McGuire came in late and high a minute later to pick up a yellow card. End-to-end action came a minute later when Shaffelburg crossed the ball to Ordaz, who forced a save from Crepeau but then the counter had Angulo find Martin Ojeda alone again down the left side of the box, but he again couldn’t put the shot on frame.
Atuesta was able to retire from a bad game when Luis Otavio came on for him in the 68th, ending Orlando City’s allotment of subs.
Shaffelburg’s precise passing finally struck home as he was left alone on the left and crossed the ball to Boyd between Brekalo and Iago in the 70th minute. Iago lost track of Boyd, who headed it home with pace to make it 6-0.
Angulo tried to answer with a curling shot a minute later, but Lloris was able to force it away for a corner. Pasalic sent a screaming corner to the far post, but Otavio couldn’t connect with the ball in front of an empty net.
The teams settled in for the next 10 minutes before Pasalic aggressively took the ball to the middle and hit Martin Ojeda, who blasted it at Lloris at the near post.
Martinez got on the end of a scramble in front of goal moments later, but Jeremy Ebobisse was offside in the scramble. Martin Ojeda challenged Lloris a minute later off a turnover but, again, it was within reach of Lloris.
Angulo took a well-earned rest and was subbed out by Yutaro Tsukada as the teams moved to close out the game. LAFC didn’t bring the same fire and heat as it did in the first half, but it had rotated a lot of players by that point. Otavio intercepted a pass in the second minute of added time and unleashed a rocket from 30 yards that Lloris had to fend off.
In the end, the game turned out as many would’ve thought before the game, with Orlando City falling 6-0 to LAFC. The lack of experience at center back and the introduction of several new players has this team out of sorts and unable to defend, especially against talented players like Son and Bouanga. The swapping out of players in the second half allowed Orlando City to put some positive notes forward but the Lions couldn’t beat Lloris.
“We’re hurt and we know our fans are as well” Ojeda said. “I’m not going to ask for patience or calm, because we know how much these results are hurting them as well.”
As befit the change in tone in the second half, Orlando City ended up with the edge in possession in the game (54.4%-45.6%) and passing accuracy (92.1%-88.1%), and closed the gap a bit in other areas. LAFC finished with more shots (18-13) and corners (8-7). Each team had put seven shots on target.
The only stat that matters, though, is the scoreline and it’s an embarrassing one.
The Lions will continue looking for their first point and first goal on the road when they head to Columbus to take on the Crew on April 12.
Orlando City
Orlando’s Loan Report: More Minutes, More Opportunities
Performances of players from Orlando City and the Pride who are currently out on loan.
With eight games remaining, Orlando City enters the homestretch of its season with a critical Saturday matchup against the surging Philadelphia Union. Philly enters having won its last five games and now sits one spot above the Lions in the Eastern Conference standings. Ugh. Thankfully, the Union will be without rising star Cavan Sullivan (goal contributions in five straight games, I would like him to stop this immediately), but he is out for the same reason that David Brekalo, Wilder Cartagena, Justin Ellis, Marco Pašalić, and Tyrese Spicer will be out, as all were called up to their respective national teams for the FIFA international window.
With those five players out, Braian Ojeda still injured, and Griffin Dorsey and Antoine Griezmann’s injury status still to be determined (please get healthy soon, gentlemen), the Lions will likely need to rely on players from OCB in order to fill out their roster for Saturday’s game. Part of the reason they will have to do so is that there are currently two players on the senior roster (Nico Rodriguez and Yutaro Tsukada) and one on the supplemental roster (Colin Guske) out on loan.
The Pride actually one-up the Lions, as they have four players out on loan: Kat Asman, Seven Castain, Simone Jackson, and Anna Moorhouse. Among the seven total loaned-out Orlando players, four are young (Castain, Jackson, Guske, and Rodriguez are 23 or younger), two are mid-20s (Asman is 26 and Tsukada is 25), and Moorhouse is the oldest at 31, which is still a prime age for a goalkeeper.
Emma Hayes, the coach of the U.S. Women’s National Team, was recently quoted as saying “I don’t care where you play, but you need to be playing…going into a pro environment is a fabulous situation, but not if you are going to sit on the bench for two or three years.” Excluding Moorhouse, who is in a different situation than the other loaned out players, the six loanees (and really just five of them, since Rodriguez was loaned out before the season) combined for 1,241 minutes and 10 starts for the senior teams in Orlando, with a lot of those minutes coming in the beginning of the season and trailing off as the season went on and the pushes for the playoffs became real.
Those players have already played more than 3,000 minutes with their new clubs, with Castain and Jackson starting eight of their nine games with their new teams and Guske and Tsukada starting eight of their 12. Asman is a goalkeeper, so minutes are harder to come by, but she started three games, and Rodriguez, who is the only one who did not leave mid-season, started 18 of his 24 games before injuring his knee in late August. The table below shows the performance of all of the loanees thus far, using data from Sofascore:
| Player | Loaned To | Mins | Sofascore Rating | Key Stats |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kat Asman | Denver Summit | 270 | 7.10 | 0.67 Goals-against Avg/82% Sv Pct |
| Seven Castain | Dallas Trinity | 475 | 6.73 | Two goals |
| Simone Jackson | FC Rosengård | 247 | 7.20 | 1.7 chances created per 90 |
| Anna Moorhouse | Manchester City | 0 | N/A | N/A |
| Colin Guske | Real Salt Lake | 225 | 6.70 | 90% completion rate |
| Nico Rodriguez | Atlético Nacional | 1,406 | 6.77 | Two goals, four assists |
| Yutaro Tsukada | Rhode Island FC | 451 | 6.90 | Two goals, two assists |
Sofascore ratings are out of 10, with top players in a league generally scoring in the low to mid-sevens and truly elite players scoring closer to, or even above, eight. None of the loanees are dominating their new leagues, but all are playing decent minutes (most of the loans only happened in mid-summer, it is unknown if they happened after Ricardo Moreira or Caitlin Carducci had a midsummer night’s dream) and contributing to their teams.
The one exception to that, as noted earlier, is Moorhouse, the long-time starter for the Pride who was replaced a few weeks ago and then was loaned to Manchester City shortly thereafter. She has yet to play for Manchester City, and considering she was only loaned through January 2027, she may have been loaned out more to provide cover for the WSL team in case of injury as opposed to getting minutes now that Cosette Morché has taken over as the Pride’s starting goalkeeper.
As Hayes mentioned during her interview, playing real minutes in a game with consequences is key for development. On the MLS side, there is MLS NEXT Pro, where an increasing number of Orlando City players are playing thousands of minutes in preparation for a move to the senior team. Rodriguez’s loan to the Colombian league and Tsukada’s to the USL Championship are slightly different pathways but ones that could still bear fruit, though based on the results on the field, neither are dominating in their leagues.
Opta ranks Colombia’s Primera A as the 15th best league in the world and the USA’s USL Championship as 121st, whereas MLS is ranked 19th, so that seems to show better for Rodriguez than Tsukada, as does the fact that Rodriguez was originally signed as an MLS U22 Initiative player, so there was always belief in his potential to develop. Guske is still playing in the same league as the Lions, so viewing his progression is easier, and with Real Salt Lake still fighting for playoff spot in the Western Conference, the young midfielder will play in some high-pressure games as the season winds down.
Back on the women’s side, if Moorhouse gets any minutes, they will be against some of the bets competition in the world, as Manchester City plays in Opta’s second-ranked domestic women’s league and is qualified for the Champions League as well. Her fellow goalkeeper Asman appears to be the backup again in Denver, but she played well in her three appearances against Portland, Chicago, and Gotham, and between Portland and Gotham, she faced two of the top five teams in the NWSL and allowed only one goal across those two games.
Jackson is playing in Sweden’s Damallsvenskan, the sixth-best domestic league in the world, and Castain is in the USL Super League, the 18th-best league, so Jackson is facing the better competition and performing better, according to Sofascore’s tracking. The critical piece for both players was getting game minutes, which they are, and would likely not have gotten had they stayed in Orlando, especially without a developmental league like MLS NEXT Pro on the women’s side.
The upshot of all of the loans might not be that any of these seven players ever contribute meaningfully to the Orlando teams in the future, but the alternative was likely that they would play minimal minutes and live out what Hayes said was not recommended: being a pro but sitting on the bench for two or three years.
These loans gave all of the players an opportunity to play and the club a chance to see them under pressure. We will see the impact of those minutes in the off-season — when the loan reports come due, hopefully with interest.
Vamos Orlando!
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union: Three Keys to Victory
What do the Lions need to do to earn all three points on the road against the Philadelphia Union?
The USMNT may be at Inter.co Stadium on Saturday, but Orlando City is headed to the City of Brotherly Love to take on the Philadelphia Union in a big Eastern Conference match. The Lions are fighting to stay in the playoff picture down the stretch, and a good result this weekend is crucial. It won’t be easy, as there are plenty of players out due to international duty and injury. What must the Lions do to earn all three points against the Philadelphia Union?
Battle of the Backups (Part 1)
Both Orlando City and the Philadelphia Union will be missing players due to international call-ups. For the Lions, the team will be without Justin Ellis, Wilder Cartagena, David Brekalo, Marco Pasalic, and Tyrese Spicer. Whichever players replace them will need to do as well or better. Fortunately, only two of those players are regular starters. I’m not saying it doesn’t hurt the depth, but it could be worse.
Iago will likely start next to Robin Jansson at center back. In the past, that would worry me — and it still does to an extent — but he played better in his last outing. He will almost certainly get a yellow card in this match, so don’t be surprised when that happens, but I’m hoping he’ll give us at least as good of a performance as his last start.
Battle of the Backups (Part 2)
On the other side, the Union are missing a few key players in Cavan Sullivan and Andre Blake. Even though he is only 16 years old, Sullivan has come on strong of late, scoring seven goals and providing 12 assists. I hope he does some of that against Peru this weekend, but I’m glad he won’t be able to do so against Orlando City. Blake is a very experienced MLS goalkeeper. His backup, Andrew Rick, gave up four goals to the Lions the last time the clubs played, so let’s hope that continues.
Philadelphia is also missing defenders Neil Pierre and Frankie Westfield. This may be the most vulnerable the Union have been on defense since the World Cup break. The Lions need to take advantage of that — more on that below. The match is in Philadelphia, and the Union will want revenge for the 4-3 loss earlier this season, so we’ll have to see which set of backups are best able to step up.
Update the Attack
Unfortunately, with Antoine Griezmann still recovering and Ellis with the USMNT, the attack will need to replace their effective partnership. I’m not certain that is entirely possible, but there are several options. Martin Ojeda is rounding back into form and Ivan Angulo has three goals in the last three matches. I don’t think anyone had that on their 2026 Bingo card. These two can be a one-two combo for the Lions in the final third.
Tyrese Spicer is a great super sub, but he’s not always great when he gets the start. Daryl Dike is the other side of that coin. Because of how Martin Perelman has been running the offense, Dike hasn’t gotten many starts, which is unfortunate because I think he’s better when he starts rather than comes off the bench. With the player availability being what it is, I expect he will start against Philadelphia, providing a big problem for the Union to deal with when Ojeda and Angulo are also circling the box.
That is what I will be looking for on Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 9/24/26
Orlando City prepares for the Philadelphia Union, Angelina called up by Brazil, Parker Amoo-Mensah joins U.S. U-19 camp, and more.
How’s it going, Mane Landers? It’s been a whirlwind of a week for me, but I’m excited for a weekend filled with soccer at both the club and international levels. My fingers will stay crossed until then in hopes that we can see some wins. Until then though, let’s dive into today’s links!
Orlando City Prepares for Philadelphia Union
The Lions are back in action on Saturday with a road game against the Philadelphia Union. The Union have been on an absolute tear of late, winning their past five games and scoring 19 goals during that stretch. Both teams will be without key players away on international duty, so it will be interesting to see how they line up for this Eastern Conference showdown. Interim head coach Martin Perelman spoke on the team’s preparations heading into the match.
Angelina Called Up By Brazil
Orlando Pride midfielder Angelina was called up for Brazil’s pair of friendlies against Argentina next month. These will be Brazil’s first matches since playing the U.S. twice in June. Angelina, Marta, and Rafaelle were all called up for those previous friendlies, but Angelina is the only Pride player headed to Brazil this time around. While the Pride have endured a rough season, hopefully Angelina can impress at the international level as Brazil prepares to host the World Cup next summer.
Parker Amoo-Mensah Heads to Camp
Orlando City B defender Parker Amoo-Mensah was one of 20 players called up for the United States U-19 Men’s National Team training camp in Spain. The 18-year-old made his professional debut this year and signed with OCB in June on a contract through 2028. This will be the first U-19 camp under Head Coach Rob Valentino, who was previously an Orlando City player in the USL days and an assistant coach with OCB.
Getting Ready for the USMNT Friendlies
The United States Men’s National Team will start its series of friendlies in Orlando with a home game against Peru. It will be the first match since the World Cup, and there’s plenty of intrigue over who Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino will choose to start from a roster that includes plenty of new faces, including Orlando City forward Justin Ellis. He’s part of a group of forwards who have nothing but opportunity in front of them to make an impression at the top of the lineup. After matches against Peru and Chile, the U.S. will have a not-so-friendly friendly against Mexico before closing things out against Canada.
Free Kicks
- Orlando City’s Maxime Crepeau and Harvey Sarajian got to show off their bartending skills for patrons at Gnarly Barley last night.
- LAFC forward Son Heung-Min won MLS Goal of the Matchday for his goal in LAFC’s 2-2 draw against the San Jose Earthquakes.
- Federico Higuain was fired as the head coach of Columbus Crew 2 after an incident where he grabbed a female referee and made a sexist comment to her.
- The USMNT’s winter training camp that normally takes place in January and features many MLS players will reportedly take place in December instead.
- Christian Eriksen agreed to terminate his contract with Wolfsburg four months after collapsing on the field for Denmark.
That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!
Orlando’s Loan Report: More Minutes, More Opportunities
Orlando City vs. Philadelphia Union: Three Keys to Victory
Lion Links: 9/24/26
Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Final Score 4-2 as Lions Cough Up Two Goals Late in Loss
Orlando Pride vs. Portland Thorns FC: Final Score 4-1 as Pride Get Punished at Home
Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Five Takeaways
-
Orlando City1 week agoOrlando City vs. Columbus Crew, U.S. Open Cup: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
-
Orlando City2 weeks agoOrlando City vs Atlanta United: Final Score 3-2 as Lions Secure First Win in Atlanta Since 2023
-
Orlando City2 weeks agoOrlando City vs. Toronto FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
-
Orlando City2 weeks agoOrlando City vs. Toronto FC: Final Score 3-0 as Lions Keep Rolling
-
Orlando Pride2 weeks agoOrlando Pride vs. Kansas City Current: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
-
Lion Links2 weeks agoLion Links: 9/11/26
-
Lion Links2 weeks agoLion Links: 9/10/26
-
Orlando City2 weeks agoOrlando City vs. Toronto FC: Five Takeaways