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Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Player Grades and Man of the Match

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7 years ago

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Well, the best thing I can say to open this is at least it wasn’t any worse. When the starting lineup came out, I definitely thought the Lions were going to get blown off the pitch by Atlanta. Thankfully, the Five Stripes aren’t exactly playing the best football in Major League Soccer right now. It’s going to be a challenge to grade the guys after this latest lackluster, at best, performance, but I’m going to give it my best shot.

Starters

GK, Brian Rowe, 5.5 — I’ll preface this by saying that Rowe would have been my Man of the Match had it not been for that poor effort on Julian Gressel’s 51st minute shot that was luckily called back for an offside decision after video review. He came off his line decisively and smartly when it was the correct decision, such as when Josef Martinez had a free shot at goal in minute 49 and on the dangerous cross in the 64th that saw him stay down for a few seconds after the play. Rowe’s save on the Leandro Gonzalez Pirez header in the 26th minute certainly kept Orlando City in the match. His 58% passing accuracy on his distribution neither hurt nor helped the Lions.

D, Kamal Miller, 4.5 — I fully believe that Miller has a lot of potential and way more upside than negative aspects to his play. However, he let Pity Martinez have all the space he needed to make his first MLS goal, and what turned out to be the winning one for Atlanta, in the 15th minute. Miller couldn’t keep up with Pity again in the 44th and allowed him the opportunity to get a headed shot at goal off. The rookie defender did have an excellent interception, one of his three on the afternoon, in extra time to make sure Atlanta didn’t get a second goal at the death. Two tackles, two clearances, and a blocked shot rounded out Miller’s day.

D, Alex De John, 3.5 — It was clear that De John hasn’t seen the pitch for a while, as he’s been out with an injury and definitely needed to shake off some rust. Certainly, it didn’t help that he was expected to cover Hector Villalba, arguably the most underrated player on Atlanta’s squad full of highly rated players. He misjudged a jump on a pass out from the back in the 15th minute that ultimately led to Atlanta’s lone goal. De John made a great run into the box in first half stoppage time and cut a pass back to Will Johnson that ended up as a shot on goal for Orlando City. The first 10 minutes of the second half saw De John get burned by both Josef Martinez and Villalba down the left several times. He managed an interception and three clearances before being subbed off in the 58th minute.

D, Robin Jansson, 4.5 — This may have been Jansson’s worst, or perhaps least impacting, performance as a Lion thus far. He didn’t shut down Villalba in minute 15, affording him the time and space to play a perfectly weighted pass to Pity that of course went in the net. Jansson was mostly quiet for the rest of the match after that, until the 81st minute when he again allowed an Atlanta player to have too much space. This time, Josef Martinez missed the net with his subsequent shot. The Swedish center back finished with two clearances, one interception, and a blocked shot, along with a 90th minute yellow card.

WB, Joao Moutinho, 5 — On the other hand, this match was one of Moutinho’s better performances as a Lion. He did make one major mistake by allowing Gressel to get by him and get off the 51st minute shot that would have made it 2-0 had it not been for VAR. As Orlando City pushed for an equalizer over the last 15 minutes of the match, the best chances came from Moutinho making runs down the left flank and sending crosses into the box. Two of those crosses, one at minute 80 and the other in the 86th, essentially found Ruan who couldn’t capitalize on them. Defensively, the young left wing back only provided one tackle and two interceptions.

MF, Will Johnson, 5.5 — I’m personally indifferent about Johnson most of the time. I get why a lot of fans don’t care for him, yet I also get why the Orlando City coaching staff give him consistent minutes. He demonstrated both sides of the debate in this match. While he does hustle and play with heart, Johnson is often not skilled enough for his play to match his passion. That results in a lot of bad passes — his 84% passing accuracy was the second worst for the Orlando City midfielders — and some glaring errors, like the horrid back headed pass in the 23rd minute that both he and Rowe were happy to see go just wide of the net. Contrarily, Johnson’s hustle saw him end up in the right place at the right time to receive De John’s bouncing pass in first half stoppage time that he was then able to get on frame, forcing Atlanta goalkeeper Brad Guzan into a save.

MF, Cristian Higuita, 5 — Another player that hadn’t seen the pitch in a while and needed to get some rust out of his system was Higuita. A fan favorite, and the only remaining Lion from the 2015 inaugural MLS season, the midfielder was slotted into more of a No. 10 role than his typical defensive mid position. The switch worked out well for the most part, since it allowed Higuita to be a constant nuisance for Atlanta’s back line. Often times throughout the match, he was the only player enforcing the high press and it caused noticeable problems as early as the first minute. Higuita had a great takeaway at the top of Atlanta’s 18 in the eighth minute that may have helped prevent an even earlier goal. Mistakenly known as a player who fouls too much, he instead drew a yellow card foul from Michael Parkhurst in the 65th minute before coming off at minute 78 following a shot he sent over the crossbar.

MF, Sebas Mendez, 5.5 — I don’t necessarily believe that Mendez did anything worthy of Man of the Match, but he was the most solid midfielder on the day. He started off shaky, not defending Villalba well at all in the sixth minute, which led to a shot and then an early corner for Atlanta. Mendez was also badly beaten by Josef Martinez in the 25th, though his recovery save on the shot Josef got off was likely the best Orlando City defensive play of the match. A 94% passing accuracy on a team-leading 63 passes also led the Lions. Plus, I have to give Mendez a special shout out for the beautiful hard tackle he had on former Orlando City player Justin Meram immediately after Meram made his Atlanta debut in stoppage time.

WB, Ruan, 6 (MotM) — I still contend that Ruan needs a rest, and I’m betting that he may finally get it during this stretch of three matches in eight days, so I don’t see how anyone else can honestly compete for Man of the Match when he still puts in a great performance. The right wing back combined with Higuita often to push a high press in the first half leading to a couple of takeaways and one interception. Ruan’s excellent run into the box in the 33rd minute created Orlando City’s best chance of the game considering he put a perfect cross on Dwyer’s foot that the striker, not surprisingly, fluffed. The one dangerous defensive error Ruan made came on Gressel’s 51st-minute shot as he gave Villalba too much space to cut the ball back to Gressel. He got on the end of two of Moutinho’s crosses as the game wound down and sent in a low cross of his own that rolled just behind Akindele in the 83rd minute.

F, Dom Dwyer, 2.5 — I’m going to keep this as short as I can because quite frankly, I don’t want to even waste your time reading about Dwyer’s pathetic play this match. He sent a first minute shot a mile high and left of the target and then proceeded to flop any time a defender breathed in his general direction. See minutes 27, 29, and 38 for evidence. I’m sure a few might argue about the refereeing — I will not be one of those people as we all know PRO is going to PRO and the 11 players on the pitch have to control everything they can. Flopping and looking for a call on nearly all of your significant touches isn’t controlling what you can. Dwyer missed yet another sitter in the 33rd minute when he shot right at Guzan. Money is tight for Orlando City, meaning bringing in a high-quality striker isn’t an option right now. I’d rather see the rookie strikers, Santiago Patino and Benji Michel, get valuable minutes and start to grow than have to see Dom Dwyer disrespect the Lions’ crest by angrily ripping off his kit when his terrible play gets him subbed out of a match in the 64th minute.

F, Tesho Akindele, 4.5 — Akindele was mostly invisible for the first half on this match. I know that’s been said about his play a few times this season and the more it happens, the more I’m starting to worry. The thing is, when he makes his presence known, Akindele can be quite an asset to Orlando City. He made a good run in the 44th minute and tried to find Dwyer with a pass that had a little bit too much on it. The Canadian international’s defensive effort led to a nice interception in minute 75 after a giveaway from the Lions. He sent a shot right to Guzan in the 80th minute after some nice play from substitute Josue Colman. An 83% passing accuracy with one key pass summed up his afternoon.

Substitutes

D, Kyle Smith (58’), 4 — I would put Smith in the Akindele invisible category for his time in the match. According to the FOX sideline reporter, O’Connor believed Smith to be more “steady” on the ball than De John. Seems like a nice way of saying De John was probably going to cost the Lions another goal if he didn’t get subbed off. The most notable play for Smith came in the 62nd minute when he was far too slow shutting down Pity Martinez.

F, Chris Mueller (64’), 6 — As far as I’m concerned, this match was a shining example of why Cash should continue to play as Orlando City’s super sub. His energy off the bench was palpable and caused a very obvious momentum shift in favor of the Lions. Mueller’s entrance also meant the squad switched to more of a 4-2-3-1 formation. He took two free kicks, one straight at Guzan, and pressured Guzan to make a bad pass out of the back that Mueller then took too many touches on. In the third minute of stoppage, he appeared to be tripped by Jeff Larentowicz though no foul was called.

M, Josué Colmán (78’), 4.5 — Ah, the ever-elusive Young Designated Player, Josué Colmán. He wasn’t in the match long, but he did manage to set up a chance for Akindele in the 80th minute. Colmán did the Colmán thing in the 90th, however, when he attempted to dribble into two defenders and lost possession.

There you have it. How did you see it? Who was your Man of the Match? Make sure to vote in the poll below.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Ruan22
Will Johnson13
Sebas Mendez4
Chris Mueller17
Other (Answer in the comments below).10

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Orlando City

Flashback Friday: July 4, 2023 vs. Toronto FC

Let’s rewind to an Independence Day affair that had plenty of offensive fireworks.

Published

3 days ago

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July 3, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The United States Men’s National Team picked up a gritty, resilient 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on Wednesday, and will now face Belgium in a rematch of the 2014 World Cup Round of 16 next Monday. While we patiently wait for that game, it’s time to continue our Friday tradition of revisiting some classic Orlando City games from years past.

Last week, we rewound to a high octane affair against the Chicago Fire in late June 2022, that saw the Lions douse Chicago’s flames and pick up a much-needed 4-2 victory. Today, let’s hop in the time machine and travel back to Independence Day 2023, when Toronto FC came to town.

At the time of Toronto’s visit, things were going relatively smoothly for OCSC. The team was riding a three-match unbeaten streak and had scored five goals across those three games. Oscar Pareja lined up his team in its customary 4-2-3-1, with Pedro Gallese in goal; a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith; Wilder Cartagena and Cesar Araujo in the double pivot; Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres in the attacking midfield; and Duncan McGuire up top.

Orlando very nearly got a goal a little under 10 minutes into the game. Former OCSC goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh knocked down a cross in front of the net, and while Pereyra was first to the ball, he could only blast it over the bar with the goal at his mercy. Fortunately, that miss would not come back to haunt the Lions, who bagged the game’s first goal in the 16th minute. Angulo sucked defenders toward him on the left edge of the box before releasing Santos out wide. The fullback played a peach of a first-time, curling cross to the back post, where Araujo was waiting to power a diving header into the side netting at the far post for his first league goal.

That goal broke the game open, and Orlando got another goal six minutes later to double the advantage. It initially looked like a carbon copy of the first goal, with Santos out in space on the left side of the box, sending in a curled cross. The ball deflected off a defender and came in low toward the goal. Ranjitsingh waited for the ball instead of going to claim it, and that allowed McGuire to nip in front of him and get a touch on the ball to sneak it in at the near post.

Orlando nearly got even more goals inside the half hour, with Torres and McGuire both going close in quick succession. Federico Bernardeschi smashed a shot off the post in the 28th minute, and the Lions seemed to be losing focus a little bit, with the hydration break a welcome pause in play when it came. OCSC came out of the pause well, and Pereyra put Angulo through in the 36th minute, but the Colombian couldn’t bring the ball under control and fashion a shooting chance.

Orlando led in every meaningful statistical category at halftime. The Lions had more possession (55.8%-44.2%), shots (6-2), shots on goal (2-0), corners (4-2), and passing accuracy (89.5%-85%). Most importantly, they led 2-0 on the scoreboard.

Toronto tried to change things at halftime by introducing three substitutes, but Orlando settled back into the game quickly and negated the efforts of interim TFC manager Terry Dunfield. Angulo and Torres forced Ranjitsingh into a pair of saves in the 53rd and 55th minutes, and the Lions tried to press their advantage by sending on Ramiro Enrique and Martin Ojeda in the 57th minute for McGuire and Pereyra.

The game then changed in a big way in the 62nd minute. Cartagena and Bernardeschi exchanged words after a turnover, and the Italian winger put Cartagena on the ground with the help of a little theatrics from the midfielder. Bernardeschi had already been yellow carded in the 47th minute for a foul on Smith, and the altercation with Wilder saw him receive a second yellow and his marching orders to go along with it.

With TFC down to 10 men, the Lions started to tee off at goal. Ojeda came close to getting the team’s third in the 69th minute, with Enrique doing the same in the 71st but missing just wide. When the goal finally came, it was from the unlikely foot of Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, who had been subbed into the game alongside Ercan Kara in the 68th minute.

Thorhallsson made a great run behind the defense in the 77th minute, and Araujo picked him out well. Ranjitsingh came out to try to play sweeper-keeper, but DDT beat him to the ball easily, touched it around the former Lion, and rolled it into the empty net to score his first MLS goal and make it 3-0.

Toronto had a halfway decent chance to pull one back in the 82nd minute, but Brandon Servania’s long-distance attempt at chipping Gallese ended up missing high and settling on the roof of the net. Kara then iced the game in the 84th minute. Araujo fired a pass to Ojeda at the top of the box, and even though he had trouble bringing it under control, he had the presence of mind to backheel it toward goal for the big Austrian to pounce on and fire a low, hard shot into the net for 4-0.

Ojeda nearly got a goal of his own two minutes later but had a great effort saved in what was the last truly dangerous moment of the game.

As was the case at halftime, when the final whistle blew, the Lions had created plenty of fireworks on both the scoreboard and the stat sheet. OCSC finished with more possession (59.6%-40.4%), shots (18-6), shots on target (9-0), corners (8-2), and passing accuracy (91%-84.8%).

Marcus Mitchell had Player Grades for this one, and he named Araujo the Man of the Match with a grade of 8 out of 10 for his one-goal/one-assist effort. The other high performers on the night were Antonio Carlos, and Cartagena, who each graded out at 7.5 out of 10.

That’ll do it for this week’s trip down memory lane. We’ve been getting spoiled lately, with Orlando putting up four goals in back-to-back time machine games, and it’s made for an enjoyable glimpse into years gone by. With any luck, next week’s edition will be similarly entertaining. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 7/3/26

Orlando Pride visit Angel City tonight, NWSL free agents to watch, Portugal and Spain advance, and more.

Published

3 days ago

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July 3, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! I don’t have many plans this holiday weekend beyond enjoying some soccer and indulging myself in a few hot dogs to celebrate. It should be a fun weekend, but make sure to stay safe out there if you plan on setting off any fireworks. For now though, let’s get to the links!

Orlando Pride Take On Angel City FC Tonight

The NWSL resumes today and the Orlando Pride will play against Angel City FC at 10 p.m. in their first match since a 3-1 win over Bay FC on May 29. That win capped off a six-game month for the Pride, including a stretch of three straight road games. Meanwhile, Angel City parted ways with Alex Straus over the break after only winning once in May, and tonight’s match will be Leif Gunnar Smerud’s first since being named interim head coach. It can be tough playing an opponent with a new coach, but hopefully the Pride can bring all three points back to Orlando.

Top NWSL Free Agents to Watch

Free agency is officially underway in the NWSL and the list of players with contracts expiring at the end of the year includes some of the league’s best players. Orlando Pride star Marta was listed as one of the top free agents to watch, though I would be pretty shocked if she plays for another NWSL club if she leaves Orlando after this season. Leicy Santos, Debinha, and Rose Lavelle are other skilled attackers who will become free agents, but Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger is sure to have plenty of clubs reaching out for her talents as well.

Portugal and Spain Advance in World Cup

This World Cup hasn’t been short on excitement and that continued with Portugal’s 2-1 win against Croatia. After a scoreless first half, Croatia took the lead thanks to a goal from Ivan Perisic, but Cristiano Ronaldo equalized from the penalty spot and the game was moments away from heading to extra time. Goncalo Ramos gave Portugal the goal it needed to advance deep in stoppage time, but Croatia nearly came back with a goal that was disallowed due to an offside call. Spain cruised to a 3-0 win against Austria to book its spot in the round of 16 as well. Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice for his second brace of the tournament, with Marc Cucurella assisting on both of his goals. Spain and Portugal will square off in the next round in what should be a fantastic match. Switzerland and Algeria kicked off late.

The round of 32 wraps up today with a trio of matches, starting with Egypt’s game against Australia. Cape Verde will then look to shock the world when it plays Argentina, and the late game will be between Colombia and Ghana.

Columbus Crew Sign New Designated Player

The Columbus Crew have signed Spanish midfielder Brais Mendez to a Designated Player contract through the 2028-2029 season with a club option for the 2029-2030 season. Mendez has spent the past four La Liga seasons with Real Sociedad, recording 33 goals and 24 assists in 166 appearances. He gives the crew some additional firepower as reports swirl regarding Diego Rossi’s departure for CF Monterrey. While maybe not in the same headline-grabbing tier of MLS summer signings like Antoine Griezmann or Robert Lewandowski, Mendez is a big addition to the league as the Eastern Conference arms race continues.

Free Kicks

  • CF Montreal sent $2.1 million in General Allocation Money to Austin FC in exchange for midfielder Dani Pereira. Selected with the first overall pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft, Pereira has contributed six goals and 23 assists in 165 appearances across all competitions for Austin.
  • Real Salt Lake reportedly rejected a transfer bid around $3.5 million from CF Monterrey for midfielder Diego Luna.
  • American winger Emma Sears reportedly requested a trade from Racing Louisville, although the club is not reportedly interested in a midseason transfer.
  • The United States Men’s National Team’s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina had record viewership. Understandably so, too, as I spent most of the match pacing around my living room.

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: 7/2/26

USMNT shuts out Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kat Asman loaned to Denver Summit FC, MLS transfer news, and more.

Published

4 days ago

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July 2, 2026

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Image of Pride goalkeeper Kat Asman
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

Wednesday nights are starting to feel magical. Orlando City has thrived this year when playing on Wednesdays, and now the United States Men’s National Team has provided us with a reason to tackle this Thursday at full force. Before we dive into that result and the rest of today’s links, let’s all wish a happy birthday to Orlando City defender Tahir Reid-Brown!

USMNT Survives Red Card to Advance

The U.S. won 2-0 against Bosnia and Herzegovina in an emotional rollercoaster of a match in the World Cup’s round of 32. Folarin Balogun got the U.S. on the board at a crucial time right before halftime by scoring his third goal of the tournament. But the game flipped on its head in the second half when Balogun was shown a harsh red card by the referee after video review for a foul when he accidentally came down on the back of an opponent’s foot. The Yanks fought hard to make up for the difference of being down a player and doubled their lead after earning a free kick right outside the box. Malik Tillman’s shot went up and over the wall and into the net for a goal U.S. fans will be replaying over and over again.

The U.S. did well to grind out the win after that second goal, with former Lion Alex Freeman doing his part on defense to help shut out Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was a memorable win, and now the U.S. will turn its focus to its round-of-16 matchup against Belgium on Monday.

Pride Loan Goalkeeper Kat Asman to Denver Summit

The Orlando Pride loaned goalkeeper Kat Asman to the Denver Summit for the remainder of the 2026 NWSL season. Asman is coming off of a loan with Lexington SC in the Gainbridge Super League, where she played every minute of the season to help Lexington win the title. She posted 11 clean sheets with Lexington last season and won the league’s Golden Glove as well. Asman has yet to make an appearance for the Pride since joining prior to the 2025 season, and her contract expires at the end of the season. She now heads to Denver, where Abby Smith has done well in goal as the expansion team’s starter.

MLS Transfer News Roundup

Real Salt Lake sent $625,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) to Atlanta United in exchange for winger Saba Lobjanidze and a third-round pick in the 2028 MLS SuperDraft, with another $100,000 in GAM going Atlanta’s way if he re-signs with Real Salt Lake. The Columbus Crew fully acquired defender Andres Herrera from River Plate after an extended loan, signing him to a contract through the 2028-2029 season. The LA Galaxy transferred defender Mauricio Cuevas to Santos Laguna, the New England Revolution added forward Wilson Harris, and Sporting Kansas City signed center back Moises Mosquera from FC Juarez. The San Jose Earthquakes are reportedly close to signing Scottish goalkeeper Angus Gunn, with Daniel heading to FC Dallas in a trade if that happens. It’s somewhat surprising considering Daniel has done well to help San Jose only concede 15 goals this season.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Sources: San Jose Earthquakes closing in on a deal to sign Scotland int'l GK Angus Gunn.🇧🇷 Sources: FC Dallas has agreed to a deal to acquire GK Daniel from San Jose.➕ Daniel trade is contingent on Gunn signing being formalized.

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert.bsky.social) 2026-07-01T16:34:02.297Z

European Nations Move On After Dramatic Comebacks

This World Cup continues to deliver thrilling games during this new round-of-32 phase. Senegal looked certain to go through to the next round until Belgium scored a pair of goals after the 85th minute to knot the game at 2-2 and send it into extra time. The game was decided by a penalty, but not in a shootout, as a foul in the box resulted in Youri Tielemans scoring from the spot to give Belgium the victory. In Atlanta, Harry Kane scored twice to rescue England in a 2-1 win over the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Brian Cipanga gave the Congo an early lead, but Kane struck twice in the second half, with his winner being one of the best goals of the tournament so far.

England is now set to face Mexico at the Azteca on Sunday in what should be a great game. As for today’s action, Orlando City winger Marco Pasalic and Croatia will take on Portugal in a matchup between European heavyweights. The winner of that match will face whoever prevails today between Spain and Austria, with Switzerland and Algeria squaring off in the late night match.

Free Kicks

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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