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TML Staff Roundtable: 2019 Orlando City Season Postmortem

Published

6 years ago

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The 2019 season is over and it’s time to reflect on what happened to Orlando City in 2019 and look ahead to what 2020 might hold in store. I reached out to the full staff of The Mane Land to get some answers and those are below. Not everyone responded but those who did are represented below in full. Since I usually cherry pick the best answers, this will be longer than the usual roundtable piece, so be forewarned: you may need to put a pin in this and come back to finish it later.

Orlando City improved in several areas and made a deep U.S. Open Cup run but again missed the playoffs. Do you think the Lions underachieved, overachieved, or merely “achieved” in 2019, and why?

David Rohe: I think they underachieved slightly. I did have them just making the playoffs in my predictions, and if a few things had broken differently, they would have. The defense improved massively, but did give up too many late goals to drop points. The attack was never addressed entirely, and with Dom Dwyer either injured or having a bad case of the yips, the club also lost out on points on the offensive side of the ball. There were only five points’ difference between eighth and 11th place, and the final standing could have been much different if those factors hadn’t all hit this season.

Ben Miller: For me, the club merely achieved. I was one of the people that didn’t see this team making the playoffs at the beginning of the year and that’s exactly what happened. I think the semifinal run leaned towards overachieving but the implosion down the stretch when chasing a playoff spot sort of balanced that out for me. Overall the team did what I expected: showed some improvement while also showing that there’s still a long way to go.

Guilherme Torres: I agree that there was some progress, but I still think it’s an underachieving season. Nothing outside of making the playoffs at the very least should be considered as so in my opinion, especially with MLS increasing the number of qualified teams to seven in each conference. Any year in which Orlando fails to make it to the playoffs, it should be considered a failure.

Andrew Sharp: After setting out the target of playoffs at the start of the season, it’s impossible to say anything other than Orlando underachieved. Luiz Muzzi was clear that the organization believed the roster was good enough for at least seventh in the East and the team was there or thereabouts as late as mid-August but collapsed. Fewer than 10 wins, 22nd of 24 teams, taking four points from a possible 24 in a playoff race…the only achievement was a participation trophy.

Jenn Glasheen: I think the team underachieved, especially in relation to the talent on the field. While there were some improvements such as goals conceded, there was still no product in the end. In education, missing the mark would be considered underachieving. That is especially amplified when almost 60% of teams make the playoffs.  

Scott Carnevale: I’d say the Lions “achieved.” I don’t think the playoffs were a realistic target this season. The skid at the end of the season was disappointing, but they were doing as expected all season. The overall play was much better compared to 2018, but there is still a lot of work to be done. 

Sean Rollins: I think Orlando City underachieved in 2019 but met expectations. The expectation for this club is now to underachieve each season, which is what they did as they failed to make the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season.

Bearded Guy: Underachieved for sure. This squad is easily better than 11th in the East, better than a team with no back to back wins. I’m not saying playoff material, but I fully expected this roster to at least complete for the final spot.

My Take: Every team in MLS makes an annual goal of winning MLS Cup and making the playoffs, so with respect to my colleagues, to quantify this category solely on whether it made the postseason or not isn’t a realistic barometer. The Lions were historically bad in 2018 and not enough was done to the roster to make it a playoff team. Orlando was never jumping from second-worst team in MLS to top seven in the conference in one season. I’m measuring the club’s improvement in points and goals conceded, a decrease in lopsided losses, actually being in playoff contention until the end of match day 33, and just overall being a more difficult team to break down and beat and we got about what I expected aside from the winless streak at the end of the year. Had this team squeaked in, it would have overachieved. This roster still has holes, which I’ll discuss more below. The club merely achieved. I’d say it underachieved if it hadn’t been among the league’s most improved teams. It had a long way to go, sure, but the journey of a thousand miles has to start with a step or two and City took those initial steps.

What do you make of the firing of James O’Connor? Did he do enough to earn another year with a more fully realized roster? Why or why not?

Dave: It really depends on what happens now. On The Mane Land Pawedcast I said that if they were to move on from O’Connor it needed to be one hour after the last match. It wasn’t quite that fast, but it was the next day. I think he had the team trending in the right direction, and I would have liked for the front office to give him more time and the roster to compete, but it looks like the end of the season form doomed O’Connor. Add in that he wasn’t Luiz Muzzi’s hire, and it might have happened anyway. 

Ben: I don’t think firing JOC was the answer and I wish it hadn’t been done. My biggest concern is that the culture he was beginning to implement will go out the window with whoever the new hire is. I also think that the team improved in a number of areas and was going in the right direction so I was looking forward to seeing what he would be able to do with another transfer window and preseason. The defensive improvement alone justified him getting another year, especially given the fact that the team was hamstrung offensively by the makeup of the roster. The one positive from the firing is that it was done as soon as possible after the season was over, but I don’t agree with the decision at all.

Guilherme: I’m not sure if I would fire him if I were in charge, but I can totally understand why Luiz Muzzi did it. James was already in the club when he came in and it’s possible that he wasn’t the coach of his dreams. The results most certainly didn’t put him in a good spot and if the front office really thinks he’s not the idea fit with their ideas, then they made the decision at the absolute right time as it gives them plenty of time to look for a replacement.

Andrew: Regardless of whether it was “his” roster or not, O’Connor chronically underperformed both with a 2018 roster that managed to put together the club’s longest ever win streak under the stewardship of Jason Kreis before O’Connor came in averaged 0.53 points per game with the same squad. After receiving several upgrades at key positions (Justin Meram to Nani, Scott Sutter to Ruan, Amro Tarek to Robin Jansson), he still leaves as only the second ever coach in MLS history not to achieve consecutive league wins and improved from the worst season in team history to the second worst. We saw that O’Connor can take a good USL roster and keep it good but that isn’t what Orlando City needs.

Jenn: I’m not sure that it was necessarily the best move the club could make, but the club ending in 11th again I can honestly say I see why they’ve made the decision. 

Scott: It is not surprising knowing this club’s history, but extremely disappointing. He without a doubt should have been given another year as the team has gradually improved since he took over. With another transfer window under his belt I’m confident he would have taken the team to the playoffs in 2020, which should have been the goal all along. If Muzzi is calling the shots I will have faith in the decision, as he has yet to disappoint.

Sean: While James O’Connor struggled late in the year, I think he should’ve had another year. When you have three head coaches in five years, the blame has to be shifted from coaches and players to the front office. None of the three coaches have had the time to build anything before losing the position.

Beard: I think the front office should have given JOC one more season to right the ship. At some point, you have to question what the problem is, and I’m not sure that giving a coach in MLS 1.5 seasons is enough, especially when they are inheriting someone else’s roster, and a number of new front office staff.

My Take: I’m already on record as saying there are valid reasons both to fire O’Connor and to keep him. If the club was going to sack him, it at least did so at the right time, as opposed to the awful timing of the Adrian Heath and Jason Kreis firings. With Muzzi saying that James O’Connor will be a great coach, it certainly begs the question that if he believes that, why fire JOC? Seems to me if you commit to a young coach, you have to let them develop the same as a young player. I doubt Orlando will be cutting Benji Michel anytime soon, so why O’Connor? To me, the most damning reasons to fire him were the final eight games of 2019 and the lack of consecutive wins in a season and a half. I’m fine with this move if the next coach does well, so I’m reserving judgment until a later date on whether this is the right move or not. This is a long way of saying I’m not sure O’Connor did enough to warrant more time but I couldn’t tell you for sure that Bob Bradley or Bruce Arena could have gotten this team to the playoffs either.

If you were to jettison five players off the current roster, who would they be and why?

Dave: Sacha Kljestan, Lamine Sané, Cristian Higuita, Will Johnson, and Carlos Ascues. Kljestan and Johnson are both older players with big salaries, and I doubt they fit what Muzzi wants to accomplish. Sané is also a bit older, and while he has been a high point for the defense, I think the club can find another center back to be just as effective, but at a lower price. Higuita has shown flashes of becoming a better player, but he is often injured and if the club is to get anything for him, now is the time. Finally, I don’t think Ascues has done enough to justify his salary, and the club can do better. Altogether, dumping these players would potentially free up over $3.6 million in salary. That’s money Muzzi can spend elsewhere.

Ben: Danilo Acosta — simply put, I don’t think Acosta has a place on the team. He played eight MLS matches and the last time he featured was in July. For me that says enough about his place, or lack thereof on the roster. Robinho — this feels harsh but I wasn’t really on board with the Robinho signing in the first place, and while he did a decent enough job in the games he featured I think that the team would be better served going out and getting someone who brings more to the table. Kyle Smith — he improved as the year went on but I think the Lions need someone more capable of covering for Joao Moutinho if he’s injured as much next year as he was this year. He had some especially poor performances earlier in the year and I think the Lions need to continue improving across the back four. Josué Colmán — loaning out the young DP and using the DP tag elsewhere says about all it needs to. He didn’t see the field an overwhelming amount the last two seasons and I think that’s telling in and of itself. He didn’t seem to give the coaching staff much confidence in his ability to perform on the field, and I don’t see any reason to keep him around. Sacha Kljestan — at this point in his career Sacha reminds me of Cesc Fabregas during his final days at Chelsea: a luxury type player who can bring an overwhelming amount of creativity when on the field, but who also requires one or two elite defensive midfielders to lock everything down in his vicinity to make up for his defensive shortcomings. To me, that isn’t the type of player Orlando can afford to have right now, and it means that Sacha has to go.

Guilherme: Sacha Kljestan, Will Johnson, Cristian Higuita, Dillon Powers, and Kyle Smith. The first four are on pretty sizable contracts and haven’t delivered to expectations. If you want to rebuild, you have to open cap space and by getting rid of them Orlando would do so. With Smith, I just don’t think he’s up to MLS level.

Andrew: Dom Dwyer — he’d be a fine number two if the team was to acquire someone above him, but Designated Player spots and Allocation Money are both far too precious to be burnt on statistically the second most ineffective forward in MLS. Sacha Kljestan — Red Bulls knew exactly what they were doing with Kljestan the same way Sporting Kansas City knew what it was doing with Dwyer in selling a high-salary player just before their decline. Former assist king Kljestan was all but phased out of contention under O’Connor and I don’t see how his slow play fits back into the squad, especially with his contract expiring. Shane O’Neill — the most used defender by O’Connor in 2018, even the Irishman realized O’Neill was a liability in defense, leaving him out of numerous squads following a calamitous start to the 2019 season for him personally. Even Kamal Miller, who I don’t think had a particularly good rookie season, is above him on the depth chart. Greg Ranjitsingh — Orlando City showed it had three perfectly usable goalkeepers this year. None of them are match winners and certainly none of them are worth wasting an international roster slot on like with Ranjitsingh. A two-time USL Cup winner with O’Connor at Louisville City, I guess from a sentiment standpoint it was pretty loyal but with Mason Stajduhar now also finally getting his first professional minutes while on loan with Tulsa this season, four goalkeepers is excessive. Santiago Patiño — he seemed to be the product of drafting out of spite and principle and not filling a need. Tesho Akindele has made a fine number two, Michel is the young prospect Patiño was drafted highly to be and, if Orlando chases a top forward like I’d expect it to, Patiño is a jettison candidate purely because he’s surplus to requirement despite being cheap and fine depth in an emergency.

Jenn: Kljestan, Powers, Alex De John, Acosta, Patiño. These players are taking up roster spots and playing fewer and fewer minutes. If they’re the floor, I think it’s time to raise it. 

Scott: Colmán — it was a good experiment bringing him on but he has not produced. It seems clear that he isn’t in the team’s plan as they sent him out on loan and it’s time to move on. Lindley — the team is already overloaded with midfielders and Lindley does not seem to be developing as the team would want. Ranjitsingh — I think the team needs a better starting quality ‘keeper and Brian Rowe should be moved to backup. I think Grinwis had a better season than Ranjitsingh, so Grinwis should remain on the roster. De John and O’Neill — they both have not been good enough this season and the team should bring in better quality depth in the back line this off-season.

Sean: Brian Rowe, Sacha Kljestan, Josué Colmán, Alex De John, and Oriol Rosell. Rowe’s inability to commit on plays has been a problem. Kljestan is a good player but has struggled and fallen out of favor. Colmán hasn’t shown what the club expected in making him a DP. De John is not ready for this level and I can’t see him contributing. Rosell is the most expensive defensive midfielder at base salary and doesn’t have the versatility of someone like Carlos Ascues.

Beard: Josué Colmán — I just do not see him becoming a good fit for this club. Sacha Kljestan — unless he is willing to take a massive pay cut. Santiago Patiño — Orlando will need to make room for forwards moving forward, and of those on the roster, this seems obvious. Dillon Powers — the club will need to thin the herd at defensive midfield. Dom Dwyer — I cannot keep waiting for Dom to snap out of whatever slump he is in. 

My Take: There are several good ideas above, with regard to shedding salary and also replacing depth players with better options. Kljestan’s salary needs to come off the books. I won’t add Sané here because he was so damn good this year, but it would be great to get him to agree to a pay cut. I feel like the team has more or less already jettisoned Colmán, so I’ll cheat and leave him out here. Acosta and Powers are taking up roster slots without pushing for playing time, which only stagnates a team. O’Neill is too easily broken down and hasn’t worked out. One of the high priced central midfielders is my fifth choice here, and as much as I like all of them as players, I think the most expendable are Uri Rosell (salary), Higuita (most injury prone, highest salary and out of contract — bring him back cheaper?), Johnson (age and losing him during international windows), or Ascues (a bit inconsistent). I think my colleagues above are crazy for wanting to jettison Patiño, who is inexpensive, provides depth at a position of need, and still has plenty of upside.

Who are the five most indispensable players from this year’s team?

Dave: Nani, Mauricio Pereyra, Dom Dwyer, Robin Jansson, and Benji Michel. I think that Nani and Pereyra are obvious choices. Dom had a bad year, but given his salary and contract status Orlando is not getting rid of him, so we might as well give him the support he needs. Jansson will seemingly break his leg for this club, and I love him being on the pitch. Finally, Michel showed enough in his rookie season for me to be excited about his potential.

Ben: Nani — I don’t think there’s a ton that needs to be said here, but he led the team in goals and assists and was the creative hub that was central to a lot of what the Lions did well. Easy choice for this list. Mauricio Pereyra — he only made six appearances for the Lions but bagged three assists while also bringing a level of creativity and calm to the team that Orlando desperately needed. He looks to be a quality player and a good piece for the Lions to build around. Robin Jansson — no disrespect to Lamine Sané, but I think Jansson is the more crucial half of the Lions’ center back pairing. He was immense in game after game this season and, at 27 years old, looks likely to remain at his current level for some time. He also stayed fit for the majority of the season — a welcome departure from 2018 in particular when OCSC defenders were dropping left, right, and center. Ruan — when he’s on his game he adds a couple different gears to the team and is close to unplayable. He’s a cheat code for starting counter-attacks, has the speed to recover if he gets beaten, and has an eye for assists to boot. He definitely needs to be back. Will Johnson — every team needs a utility man and the Lions have a damn good one in Johnson. He runs his butt off, does the dirty work in the midfield, and for me is the glue that holds everything together when the team is playing well. If he leaves he’ll be sorely missed. 

Guilherme: I’d say Ruan, Robin Jansson, Sebas Mendez, Nani, and Dom Dwyer. That’s a decent backbone for an MLS team and the Lions should build around these players, but still add some talent. I understand those who raised their eyebrows to Dwyer making the list, but I think he can still be a good player for this team if he gets his mind in the right place.

Andrew: Nani — simple, he’s the best player on the team. Cristian Higuita — several people (including myself) have documented the significant impact Higuita has had on this team when he’s both healthy and selected. The Lions have a wealth of options in midfield, which has further muddied the picture for the Colombian, who is worryingly out of contract at the end of the year. If he leaves, expect it to be one of the most haunting departures should he remain in MLS. Tesho Akindele — the Canadian forward was an absolute gem for Orlando, picking up the goal scoring slack left by Dwyer. Add to that he’s on a very salary cap friendly contract, he’s exactly the kind of value the lower teams scrapping for that final playoff spot look for to give them an advantage. Lamine Jansson — boom, two for one cheat code! On a serious note, the important thing to emphasize here is that Orlando City finally has a center back partnership in Sané and Jansson that it is able to rely on. The 2019 season saw the Lions’ best defensive record since joining MLS and it’s no coincidence that Sané and Jansson started 22 games together. Last season’s most frequent partnership was Sané and Tarek, who played together just six times! They dovetail together nicely and are forming a really strong tandem, it would be foolish to upset that. Ruan — I’m not as high on Ruan as other people, mainly because his offensive output is based more on quantity than it does quality. That being said, the speedy Brazilian has shown an upside Orlando hasn’t had at the right back position before. Better consistency in hitting his ceiling and he becomes an important piece to build around.

Jenn: Nani, Jansson, Ruan, Moutinho, and Pereyra.

Scott: Nani, Will Johnson, Ruan, Pereyra, Sané.

Sean: Nani, Tesho Akindele, Cristian Higuita, Robin Jansson, and Chris Mueller. Nani is the captain and leader of the team. Tesho is the team’s lone quality goal scorer up top. Higuita possesses a physical presence that lacks in the rest of the team. Jansson is the one constant in the back. Mueller shouldn’t start but provides an undeniable spark off the bench.

Beard: Nani, Lamine Sané, Robin Jansson, Sebas Mendez, and Benji Michel.

My Take: The TML staff was unanimous about Nani, although if there’s a younger upgrade available, I’d take it (spoiler: there probably isn’t, so I’ll keep it unanimous). I haven’t seen enough of Pereyra yet to know if he’s in my five. The center back pairing of Sané and Jansson makes my list of five, although it sure would be great if Lamine didn’t cost so much. He’ll be difficult to keep this off-season, I think. That leaves me with two choices left. Moutinho would be on the list if he could stay healthy but so far he just seems to be a much better, left-footed version of Rafael Ramos. So instead I’ll add Tesho Akindele and Benji Michel here because the former is a useful player at an affordable price and the latter has shown tremendous upside and his Homegrown Player status also makes him cap friendly (potentially, it depends on how he’s officially rostered). I think he has the potential to be a consistent double-digit goal scorer if he gets minutes (which ironically would probably make Akindele expendable).

Where should the club place emphasis on bolstering the roster for 2020?

Dave: I’ve said many times on The Mane Land Pawedcast that the team needs an MLS 3.0 striker like Carlos Vela or Josef Martinez. That is priority number one. After that, more attacking midfielders to complement Pereyra, and a top MLS level goalkeeper. In keeping with my answers above, the club also needs to replace Sané, and have good backup center backs. 

Ben: Attacking midfield. For the love of god let Orlando sign some creative, attack-minded midfielders. The team has so many defensive midfielders that I can’t remember all of them and the lack of attacking verve showed both in the team’s paltry goal-scoring numbers, and tendency to sit back and protect leads rather than pressing forward and putting games away. Defensive midfielders tend to defend, and if the Lions don’t invest in some creative talent in the off-season then expect another rough season next year.

Guilherme: It’s all over the place to be honest. Orlando needs at least two good players in each area of the field and sometimes it’s tough to improve your team when you need significant upgrades in so many different spots. If they had to focus on one, though, I’d say midfield. 

Andrew: Orlando City really struggled to contend with the injuries of both Ruan and João Moutinho, exposing the fact that most of the Lions’ offensive threat came from the wide positions. Kyle Smith was a fine stop gap if you’re the third-worst team in MLS, while Danilo Acosta disappeared off the face of the earth with Kamal Miller being preferred to the detriment of everyone, including Miller. Therefore, a versatile fullback to provide both competition and depth is a big need, as is an improvement in midfield to take some of the over-reliance on wide play away, although between Higuita, Sebas Méndez and Mauricio Pereyra, I’m hoping the new coach can cobble a coherent midfield together if the team feels it has more pressing needs. And so it should, as the biggest need won’t be a surprise to anyone: an elite, Designated Player worthy striker to finally put the ball in the goal.

Jenn: The Lions definitely need to trim defensive mids and needs to add attacking players who can create chances and score goals. The team also needs a reliable left back replacement if injuries are going to continue to plague Moutinho. 

Scott: It is time for the team to stop trying to find the next hidden gem and start signing proven players. Orlando City needs to get a big name player that is still in their prime, or just past it. The Carlos Rivas and Josué Colmán stories are old now. They need to sign a player or two that can help the team right away and has experience. Ideally, it would be an attacking minded player — whether a forward or attacking midfielder — who can help set up goals.

Sean: The club needs a go-to target striker. They need a guy who can score 20 goals and be counted on in big games. They haven’t had that since Cyle Larin left.

Beard: Striker, attacking midfielder, and (obviously) coach.

My Take: I’d love for this club to add a forward in the Carlos Vela/Zlatan Ibrahimovic/Josef Martinez vein, but obviously those are few and far between. It’s almost like saying I want the team to sign Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo (I do, but…well, you know). I’d settle for someone a bit lesser known who is nearly as effective — think Heber, Kacper Przybylko, Gustavo Bou, etc. But a scorer is essential for two reasons: it takes the pressure off Dwyer, who was fantastic when playing with Cyle Larin a couple years back, and the club needs to stop blowing the chances it creates and put a death grip on these games. The defensive third must be addressed by adding better quality depth across the back line and a goalkeeper who steals points rather than being only serviceable or adequate. If Pereyra is going to be the No. 10 and Nani can be relied on less to score and more to create for Dwyer and a new DP striker, then maybe just a bit more attacking midfield/wing depth will suffice, otherwise, find me a Carles Gil or a Miguel Almiron, please.

There you have it. It’s a long piece but it’s broken up into bite-sized chunks for your consumption. Look for additional roundtables through the off-season and hopefully through 2020 as well.

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Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 3-3 draw against the Revolution.

Published

4 hours ago

on

May 11, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City returned home and returned to league play after a resounding midweek victory in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. The Lions faced one of the hottest teams in the Eastern Conference heading into the matchday, as the New England Revolution entered Saturday having won four straight Major League Soccer matches in a row and five straight in all competitions. As the rain fell at Inter&Co Stadium, so did any hopes of a clean sheet for either side as the match saw six goals in total, resulting in a somewhat disappointing 3-3 draw and a splitting of the matchday points. What follows are my five takeaways for the match.

Welcome Back, Martin Ojeda

Head Coach Oscar Pareja inserted Designated Player Martin Ojeda back into the starting 11, and the decision paid off in spades for the Lions, as Ojeda was the Orlando City offense on the night. A first-half brace from the Argentine saw Orlando City take control of the match a little after the half-hour mark. Ojeda was all over the field, and for his first goal, the midfielder fired a rocket blast off the bottom of the crossbar and in, which gave Revolution goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic little reaction time and almost no chance to attempt a save. For his second, just nine minutes later, Ojeda took a beautiful pass from Joran Gerbet, into a 1-v-1 situation and did well to remain composed before picking out the inside of the right post. It was a great start for Ojeda, which saw Orlando City jump out to a 2-0 lead. His third goal of the match, which we’ll get to in a moment, came from the spot in the second half. Ojeda may have scored the team’s first hat trick since 2015, but he led the team with seven shot attempts and any of the other four could also have found the net on another night, as the Lions’ No. 10 found the holes in the Revolution defense all night.

All Good Things Must Come to an End

I had hoped to see Orlando City ride its club-best 653-minute shutout streak across all competitions for a little bit longer than a paltry five minutes after Ojeda’s second goal. If Orlando City fans had a nickel for every time an MLS player earned their first career goal against the Lions, we would all have a lot of nickels. Against the Revolution, another player opened his MLS account when Alhassan Yusuf ran onto a ball sent back across goal and calmly slotted it into the net from point-blank range. The goal cut the lead to one, pulling the Revs back into the game. To make matters worse, New England was able to level the match just before halftime with a Matt Polster header off a short corner. Polster wasn’t covered nearly well enough on the set piece. Orlando City also ended New England’s long streak without conceding, as Ojeda’s first goal Saturday night halted the Revs’ streak at 418 consecutive minutes.

Correcting a Mistake

Ten minutes into the second half, the Lions regained the lead from the penalty spot. Referee Rubiel Vazquez and the assistant referee on the east sideline both appeared well positioned to see Gerbet get kicked in the head by the high boot of Mamadou Fofana, but somehow both missed the call. Gerbet went down in the box with an apparent head injury but it took Vazquez an unacceptable amount of time to stop the match to check on the player. Once he did, there was a longer-than-necessary delay for the video assistant referee to check the play before sending Vazquez to the monitor for another look. The review correctly determined that Fofana fouled Gerbet. Ojeda stepped up to the spot and sent Ivacic the wrong way, completing his first career hat trick and Orlando City’s first hatty since Cyle Larin scored three goals on the road in a win over the Red Bulls on Sept. 25, 2015. Ojeda became the first player to notch a home hat trick in the club’s MLS era.

A Gift for the Opposition

After taking the 3-2 lead, Orlando City found was in control of the match for a good half-hour of game action despite the Revolution increasing their pressure as they hunted for the equalizer once again. The Revs found the reprieve they were searching for in the 85th minute after a head-scratching challenge from captain Robin Jansson resulted in a gifted penalty kick opportunity that Carlos Gil took full advantage of. There was no immediate need for Jansson to stick his foot out, as the attacking player for New England was running away from goal near the end-line. The contact seemed soft, but Vazquez pointed directly to the spot. This time, there was no trip to the monitor for a second look, as Orlando City continues to see inconsistencies within games on review decisions. While we’re not keeping any official records on video review, this seems like at least half a dozen times in Pareja’s time in Orlando when the match referee has gone to the monitor for one close play and not the other, with either one or both of those decisions ultimately benefitting the opposition. Either way, Jansson has to be aware of the situation and make a better decision in that moment when protecting a late lead.

Brekalo Settling In

Defender David Brekalo has struggled to stay healthy since his arrival in Orlando, but Saturday night was part of a recent stretch of games in which the Slovenian international has looked more and more comfortable. Still playing as a hybrid left back/left center back, not only did Brekalo stuff the stat sheet defensively with two tackles, an interception, three clearances, and a blocked shot, but he’s also starting to show more confidence in getting into the attack. He was an unfortunate in the 48th minute not to have scored a vital goal for the Lions. He started the play in the back, dribbled forward past a defender and passed, continuing his run up the pitch. He was rewarded with a return pass in the final third, taking the ball up the left side of the box and firing a shot that was ever so slightly deflected, sending it off the woodwork instead of into the net. Although he was partially culpable on the first New England goal — his sliding lunge was a tad late, allowing Ilay Feingold to get to Ignatius Ganago’s cross through the box and took him out of position to prevent the cross back in from Feingold to Yusuf — it was a good night overall for Brekalo, who seems to be finding his form. He moved to right center back late in the game when Pareja brought on Rafael Santos, hoping more attack-minded players could find a late game winner.

Those are my takeaways from a match that produced more goals than Orlando City fans have been seeing in most recent matches but didn’t produce a better result. What stood out to you? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below, and as always, vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Final Score 3-3 as Lions Squander Lead Twice at Home

The Lions finally had an offensive outburst like they had earlier in the year, but the defense was as leaky as the attack was strong in a wasteful home loss.

Published

16 hours ago

on

May 10, 2025

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City led twice — by two goals in the first half and again by a goal inside the final 10 minutes of normal time, but the Lions couldn’t hold onto either lead in a frustrating 3-3 draw at Inter&Co Stadium. Martin Ojeda fired home Orlando’s first hat trick in a decade, and the first of his professional career, but it wasn’t enough for the Lions (4-2-6, 18 points) to get all three points against the New England Revolution (5-4-2, 17 points) in front of an announced crowd of 18,505 on a rainy night.

Alhassan Yusuf and Matt Polster brought the Revs back from 2-0 down in the final minutes of the first half, and a Carles Gil penalty just moments before the end of normal time allowed the visitors to steal a point in Orlando and deny two more to the Lions’ tally in a game reminiscent of the start of the season.

“I think it was obviously very entertaining for the intensity of the game to people that came to the stadium, but at the end, the frustration is the same.,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “What we left on the field was another two points that we let go in a game that I think we had all (the opportunities) to close it and win it. But this is the game. We’re scoring goals but we conceded too. But I have to say as well that our team was always bringing the initiative. I think we really proposed the game all the time.”

Pareja’s lineup featured Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Alex Freeman. Cesar Araujo and Joran Gerbet were the central midfielders supporting attacking midfielders Ivan Angulo, Ojeda, and Marco Pasalic, with Luis Muriel up top.

The Lions opened the match as the protagonists of the game, winning the ball and finding spaces to send Angulo down the left or Freeman (surprisingly) down the middle up top. Ojeda, Muriel, and Pasalic facilitated moving the ball and then themselves up the field to join the play. However, once Orlando City built its two-goal lead, there were breakdowns on the defensive end that allowed the visitors to climb back into it before halftime.

Ignatius Ganago got the first sight of goal in the match in the fifth minute, firing shot from the top of the box, but Jansson was there to block it for Orlando.

The first good look for the Lions came four minutest later. Pasalic did well to slip Freeman behind the defense through the right half of the box. Freeman fired a shot that forced a good diving save from Aljaz Ivacic. The goalkeeper could not control the rebound, but the ball was offline for a charging Angulo to finish into the empty net.

That kicked off a good spell for Orlando. Araujo fired a blast from outside the area in the 11th minute, but Ivacic again made a good diving save, sending it out for a corner, but the Lions couldn’t pay off the set piece, as Brekalo got under his header attempt.

New England struggled early to break down Orlando’s defense. Campana fired a shot from outside the area in the 15th minute. The former Inter Miami striker hit it well, but Gallese did well to get to his left and make the save.

A minute later, Pasalic unlocked New England’s defense down the left, sending Angulo down the flank. Angulo picked out Ojeda at the top of the box, but the Argentine blasted his shot over the bar. Pasalic should have opened the scoring four minutes later. In the 20th minute, Muriel nodded a cross in the box down for the Croatian, who had time and space, but opted to hit the shot with power, fizzing it just over the crossbar.

Ojeda earned a corner in the 23rd minute that the Revs cleared but only out to Pasalic, who fired a shot back through. It took a deflection off a defender and went out for a corner. The Lions made the second set piece pay off. Ivacic made a big save on Araujo’s shot and the follow from Gerbet was blocked by the defense. Ojeda picked it up, dribbled toward goal and smashed a shot off the underside of the crossbar and in to make it 1-0 in the 24th minute with his fifth goal of the season — one more than he scored in MLS all of last season and equaling his 2023 output.

Moments after the goal, the Revs won a corner and it was nearly a costly one, with Ganago getting his head to it at the near post. However, the header went wide.

Ojeda doubled the lead in the 33rd minute. Gerbet sent the ball over the top, putting Ojeda in a 1-v-1 with the defense. A second New England defender recovered, but Ojeda did well to pull the ball back and fire it inside the right post to make it 2-0. His sixth of the year was the most he’s scored in a season for Orlando City.

“We’ve watched their film. When we review those opponents, I like to look for the spaces that I can try and find to create an advantage for us in the games,” Ojeda said. “And so, you know that was key tonight, to being able to find those spaces. But also what was key was my teammates finding spaces of their own and creating additional spaces for me in the run of play.”

The two-goal lead lasted only five minutes. After Orlando City ended New England’s long shutout streak, it was only fair for the Revs to return the favor. Ganago ended up with the ball out wide on the left and made a dangerous cross between the back line and Gallese that went through to the right side. Ilay Feingold was first to it, centering for Yusuf to blast home past a helpless Gallese from point-blank range in the 38th minute, halting the shutout streak in MLS play at 563 minutes and 653 minutes in all competitions.

“After the (game was) 2-0, we had low energy for some reason,” Gerbet said. “So like, we conceded two goals, which we shouldn’t. The guy, like, crossed it. He put it back on top of the box. So, like, that’s maybe also my zone. So, I didn’t watch back.”

Buoyed by the goal, New England stayed on the front foot for most of the remainder of the first half. However, it was at the end of the first period when the next chance came, and the Revolution made the most of it. New England earned a late penalty and took it short. The cross went to the back post, where Polster got his head to it and nodded home to make it 2-2 in the 45th minute.

“I think the first two goals that they scored was essentially a lack of concentration on all of our parts,” Ojeda said. “After the 30 minutes that we had played, and we went up two goals, we started to let them hit transitions on our defense, in areas that I myself take charge of. As attackers, we have to make sure that we’re helping out our defenders, that we’re helping out Pedro, and I think in those in those minutes, the we faltered in that.”

Neither side was able to produce a goal in three minutes of injury time and the teams went to the break tied at 2-2.

At the break, the Revs had the advantage in possession (57%-43%) and passing accuracy (85.5%-82.6%). Orlando City finished the first half with more shots (11-6), shots on target (4-3), and corner kicks (3-2).

“One of the games that we took advantage of those spaces that we create,” Pareja said. “And sometimes we create (space) but we don’t use it. But tonight, we created and used it all the game, and especially in that first half.”

Ojeda’s hat trick nearly came in the 47th minute when he took a pass on the left and fired quickly. He would have had the goalkeeper beaten, but Brayan Ceballos made a huge play to stick out a leg and block the shot.

The Lions kept coming. Muriel showed off some excellent skill to round his defender on the left, setting up Ojeda at the near post. Ojeda’s first touch was a shot but he pulled it wide of the left upright in the 48th minute. Seconds later, Brekalo brought the ball up the middle and continued his run. The Lions built the attack well and the ball ended up back on Brekalo’s foot. The defender slipped in and fired a shot that a defender blocked onto the post and out for a corner. Orlando couldn’t make the set piece pay off.

Gerbet took a high boot from Mamadou Fofana in the box moments later. Nothing was initially called, but referee Rubiel Vazquez was sent to the monitor for a second look. The penalty was correctly given.

Ojeda took the spot kick, waited for Ivacic to make his move, and fired down the middle to make it 3-2 in the 55th minute with his seventh goal of the MLS season. The successful penalty moved Ojeda to within one of the golden boot lead.

The goal gave Orlando City its first hat trick since September of 2015, when Cyle Larin netted three times against the New York Red Bulls. It was also Orlando’s first hat trick at home in the club’s MLS era in all competitions, as the previous three took place at New York City FC, at the Red Bulls, and at the Charleston Battery in U.S. Open Cup play — all in 2015.

“I think he came up in a very good moment,” Pareja said of his No. 10. “He was facing some tightness in his body, and we rested him and let him recover. And last game in the Cup game that we played, we started seeing that spark on him again. And today, it was a phenomenal game for Martin. I think he’s showing us all those things that he can do more frequently, but my admiration for such a game that he played today for us, it was great.”

The game stayed somewhoat open after the third goal. The Revolution nearly found a gift in the 62nd minute on a long-range free kick from Gil that was nodded toward goal from the top of the box. Gallese was alert and was able to make the stop.

Orlando should have done better with a chance in the 68th minute that Ojeda set up with an incredible pass to send Muriel in transition. The Colombian took too many touches to try to finesse around Ivacic instead of shooting, and the goalkeeper was able to take the ball right off his foot.

“We should have been lethal when we were (up) 3-2, and we had a few chances just to put the game away, and we let it go,” Pareja said.

Both teams begane making substitutions shortly after that opportunity, and New England’s worked out a bit better than Orlando’s. Ramiro Enrique, in particular, got into good areas but either couldn’t get good contact on his shot or turned the ball over trying to pass to a teammate. A good cross found Enrique on a corner kick in the 76th minute. The Argentine got his head to it and got it on goal, but his downward headed shot was soft enough for Ivacic to get a hand on it to keep it out.

The Lions tried to slow the match down and see out the win, while the Revs tried to push numbers forward. Orlando drew several yellow cards from Vazquez, who had been lenient most of the night both with foul calls and bookings. Still, things seemed to be under control until the 82nd minute. Ganago cut in front of Jansson in the box, while running away from goal on the right. Jansson was trying to play the ball but made light contact with the Revs forward with his foot. Ganago went down and Vazquez immediately pointed to the spot to award the penalty. Unlike the Gerbet play, video assistant referee Daniel Radford did not send Vazquez to the monitor for a second look, despite a lengthy check.

Gil took the spot kick and beat Gallese to score the game’s final goal in the 85th minute.

Orlando had some half chances to find a winner but could not convert. Second-half sub Duncan McGuire fired over the bar in the 87th minute from a shot outside the area. Two minutes later, McGuire got down the right flank and picked out a pass for Enrique in front, but he got well under the ball on his shot and sent it high over the goal and into The Wall. In the 90th minute, Enrique mishit his shot from the top of the box that hit McGuire and went in, but the big striker was offside when the ball found him and the goal was immediately disallowed.

Neither side created much in the 10 minutes of stoppage time. Substitute Rafael Santos was beaten badly by Luis Diaz Espinoza, who fired from outside the area. It was an awkward shot for Gallese, but the Peruvian made the save and his defense was able to clear the rebound in the second minute of injury time.

Orlando came close in the sixth added minute. Pasalic lined up a shot from well outside the area that Ivacic could only fight off. Freeman picked up the rebound on the right side and did well to lift a cross in front for Ojeda. The Argentine came close to a fourth goal, but a defender deflected the shot just wide of the right post. Nothing came of the corner kick and that was it for the good opportunites in the match.

New England finished with the advantage in possession (53.1%-46.9%) and passing accuracy (85.7%-85.2%). Orlando City ended the game with the edge in shots (23-16), shots on target (8-6), and corners (6-3).

“The pain that we have is the game allowed us to kill the game and we let it go on key moments that we have to do better,” Pareja said. “But there is a bunch of positive things. I see a team, probably the way we attacked today and the way we proposed it, this is the team that we want to see.”

“It’s a shame that tonight we we gave up three goals, because we had come in with with five games, six games of clean sheets,” Ojeda said. “And so, it’s a surprise to see three goals (conceded), but we go back into the week to work and to try and fix those errors that cause those goals on our side.”

The Lions are back in action Wednesday night when Charlotte FC visits Inter&Co Stadium.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The recently offensively challenged Lions return home to face a red-hot Revolution side with the best defense in MLS.

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1 day ago

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May 10, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (4-2-5, 17 points) and the New England Revolution (5-4-1, 16 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). This is the first of the two scheduled meetings between the two MLS Eastern Conference rivals this season with the Lions scheduled to make the return trip to Massachussetts on July 19.

Here’s what you need to know for the match.

History

The Lions are 5-7-7 in the regular-season series against New England and 6-8-7 in all competitions. At home, Orlando City is 4-1-5 against the Revs in the regular season and 5-2-5 in all competitions.

The last meeting between the teams took place on Sept. 14, 2024, with the Lions completing their first-ever sweep of the Revs with a 3-0 win. Rafael Santos, Facundo Torres (from the penalty spot), and Duncan McGuire provided the offense in a dominant performance. The teams previously met on July 13 at Gillette Stadium, where the Lions won for the first time, handing the Revs a 3-1 home loss. Torres’ brace led the way to an Orlando comeback, with Ramiro Enrique also scoring to overturn an early 1-0 deficit provided by Giacomo Vrioni.

The teams met in Orlando on Oct. 7, 2023, with the Lions winning 3-2 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates. Orlando City clinched second in the Eastern Conference as McGuire and Torres built a 2-0 lead. Pedro Gallese gave up a soft goal from distance to Carles Gil, but Ivan Angulo pulled that one back three minutes later. Gil added a second goal deep in stoppage time to improve the result cosmetically.

New England got the better of the Lions in the previous matchup of the 2023 season, winning 3-1 at Gillette Stadium on June 17. After a scoreless first half, the Revs went up by two with goals from Emmanuel Boateng and Gustavo Bou 18 minutes apart. McGuire pulled one back late, but Gil scored the dagger five minutes later.

These teams met at Exploria Stadium on Aug. 6, 2022, and the previously struggling Revolution whipped Orlando City, 3-0. New England got goals from unlikely sources, as central midfielders Matt Polster and Wilfrid Kaptoum and center back Henry Kessler provided the offense. The teams met at Gillette Stadium on June 15 of that year, and the Revs went ahead on a Gil goal, but the Lions pulled that back with a Robin Jansson strike en route to a 1-1 road draw.

New England went unbeaten in the 2021 season series. The teams played to a 2-2 draw at Exploria Stadium on Oct. 24, 2021. The Lions built a 2-0 lead through goals by Nani and Daryl Dike, but two late Adam Buksa goals allowed the Revs to steal a point. The teams met at Gillette Stadium just over a month prior to that draw in Orlando, with Nani’s missed penalty a costly one in a 2-1 Revs home win. The Revolution jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a goal by Buksa and an own goal off of Rodrigo Schlegel, in which the referee was quite lenient with Buksa’s treatment of the Orlando defender in the lead-up to Tajon Buchanan’s cross. Dike pulled one back for the Lions and later won a penalty, but Nani’s attempt to go down the middle was read at the last second by Matt Turner, who got his shoulder to it to preserve the lead.

The Revolution ended the Lions’ season at Exploria Stadium in the 2020 playoffs, knocking Orlando City out of MLS Cup contention in the conference semifinal round on Nov. 29, 2020. That 3-1 win by the Revs was the first road win for either side in the series in any competition. Gil put the Revs up early from the penalty spot after a call against Uri Rosell, and Bou doubled the lead eight minutes later, finishing a play that started with a Nani turnover. Junior Urso pulled a goal back before the halftime whistle, but Mauricio Pereyra was sent off for a studs-up challenge on Polster at the hour mark. Still, Nani had a chance to equalize from the spot, but a poor penalty was saved by Turner. Bou added a late insurance goal.

In the final year of the pre-pandemic times, the Revs went 1-0-1 in the season series. The Lions and Revolution met at Exploria Stadium on Sept. 14, 2019, with Orlando overcoming a Tesho Akindele own goal and two deficits — the second by two goals — and rallying for a 3-3 draw. Shortly after Akindele’s own goal opened the scoring, Nani tied things up. Cristian Penilla and Bou scored goals five minutes apart just before halftime to seemingly give the visitors control. But Dom Dwyer pulled one back after the restart and Nani tied it up.

The teams also met at Gillette Stadium in 2019 on July 27, and the Revs put the Lions on full blast, 4-1. Bou scored within the first two minutes of the game, and the Revolution got goals from Penilla, Gil, and Diego Fagundez. Akindele scored to avoid the shutout.

The teams also met at Exploria Stadium in U.S. Open Cup action that year on June 19, with the Lions scoring twice in a 30-minute extra time session and holding on for a 2-1 victory. Benji Michel and Akindele staked Orlando to a 2-0 lead before Justin Rennicks pulled one back off a Gil back-post cross. City was able to see the game out.

The last meeting of 2018 saw the Revs top a depleted Orlando side, 2-0 in Gillette Stadium on Oct. 13. In the first matchup of 2018, the teams combined for six goals in a 3-3 draw at Orlando City Stadium on Aug. 4.

Orlando City and New England split the season series in 2017. City completed a 6-1 demolition of 10-man New England at home Sept. 27, 2017. New England won at Gillette Stadium that year by a 4-0 count.

The Lions went 1-0-2 in the series in 2016, winning 3-1 at home on July 31. The teams played a controversial 2-2 draw in Orlando on April 17, 2016. The second 2016 meeting reached the same final score on April 30 in New England.

The teams met twice in 2015, with Orlando City rallying from a 2-0 deficit in the final 17 minutes to draw 2-2 at the Citrus Bowl in April. The Sept. 5 rematch at Gillette Stadium didn’t go as well, with New England taking a 3-0 win. Fagundez, Agudelo and Chris Tierney scored for the Revolution.

Overview

Orlando City is coming off its fourth scoreless draw in five matches. The 0-0 result at Chicago was a hard pill to swallow, as the Lions were up a man for more than half the match. While the lineup hasn’t exactly been the same for all of the recent scoreless draws, the common denominator is that midfielder Eduard Atuesta has missed time. He had tightness the first time but shortly after returning to the lineup for Orlando’s 3-0 win over Atlanta United, he sustained a neck injury in training and was listed as out again tonight on the club’s availability report.

The Lions are unbeaten in eight games (3-0-5), but a lack of offense has cost them two points four times during that run, as 0-0 draws could easily have become 1-0 (or better) wins with more lethal finishing. Orlando City has shut out five consecutive MLS opponents and a heavily rotated side also blanked the Tampa Bay Rowdies in St. Petersburg 5-0 on Wednesday for a sixth straight shutout in all competitions.

The Revolution are ninth in the Eastern Conference and sit just one point behind Orlando City. New England may be the league’s hottest team, arriving in Central Florida riding a four-game winning streak in the league without allowing a goal in that span, as well as a five-match winning streak in all competitions after Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup road victory over Rhode Island SC. Goals won’t be easy to come by, as the Revs boast the league’s best defense, allowing just seven goals in 10 matches this season. The team’s weak spot has been offense, with just nine goals to New England’s credit in 2025 — the third fewest in the Eastern Conference. However, the Revs have scored six of those goals during this four-game run, which has been sparked by a formation change to a 5-3-2, with the wingbacks pushing up while in possession.

Having any success against New England usually demands that the opposition keeps tabs on Gil, one of the league’s most lethal playmakers and a guy who can score goals of his own as well. Gil has five goals and an assist for six goal contributions — two-thirds of those the Revolution have scored this season. Leo Campana has two of the other three goals after arriving in New England via trade from Inter Miami.

“New England is a team that we have seen in the last four or five games that has changed their structures,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “We have seen noticeable changes from the way they played before in the first part of the season. But a reference of the players that we also know. So, we’re trying to be prepared for it.”

Orlando City will be without Atuesta (neck), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee), while Joran Gerbet (lower leg) and Favian Loyola (thigh) are questionable. New England will be without Malcolm Fry (leg), while Tomás Chancalay (groin) and Luca Langoni (quad) are questionable.

Match Content

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Alex Freeman.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Cesar Araujo, Joran Gerbet, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Luis Muriel, Martin Ojeda.

Bench: Javier Otero, Rafael Santos, Kyle Smith, Colin Guske, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Gustavo Caraballo, Justin Ellis, Ramiro Enrique, Duncan McGuire.

New England Revolution (5-3-2)

Goalkeeper: Aljaz Ivacic.

Defenders/Wingbacks: Peyton Miller, Mamadou Fofana, Brayan Ceballos, Tanner Beason, Ilay Feingold.

Midfielders: Matt Polster, Carles Gil, Alhassan Yusuf.

Forwards: Leo Campana, Ignatius Ganago.

Bench: Alex Bono, Brandon Bye, Wyatt Omsberg, Will Sands, Keegan Hughes, Luis Diaz Espinoza, Jackson Yueill, Cristiano Oliveira, Maxi Urruti.

Referees

Ref: Rubiel Vazquez.
AR1: Cory Richardson.
AR2: Rhett Hammil.
4th: Elton Garcia.
VAR: Daniel Radford.
AVAR: Jonathan Johnson.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30p.m. ET.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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