Connect with us

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. LA Galaxy: Player Grades and Man of the Match

Published

6 years ago

on

Orlando City tossed away more home points tonight in a loss that should at least have been a draw if not for a bad penalty take in the first half. The team has completed yet another horrible May stretch (1-4-0) and will now go on the road for the entirety of June (although that’s only three total matches), making these lost points even more painful.

Let’s take a look at how everyone performed.

Starters

GK, Brian Rowe, 6 — It’s difficult to really give a grade to a guy who was largely a spectator in the match, as the Orlando goalkeeper was rarely called into action. Rowe had a great outlet pass to Nani in the 15th minute to send the team on the counter in his fist notable involvement of the game. I’m not sure he could have done much about the dos Santos screamer that beat him with extreme power. That was the only shot he faced in the first half and the only one to find the target all game long as LA’s other three attempts missed.

D, Joao Moutinho, 5.5 — The Portuguese youngster left a pair of crosses too close to David Bingham early on, which could have been dangerous chances for Tesho Akindele. He got caught inside on an LA cross in the buildup to the opening goal. In the 23rd minute he had a good opportunity to cross on the break and put the pass behind the end line. He made his best cross at the end of the 72nd minute that led to a corner. Moutinho grew into the game somewhat, becoming more dangerous as the second half wound down. Though he was officially 0-for-7 in crossing accuracy, he did put the ball into some dangerous spots after halftime but no one got to them. He closed the game with just 75% passing accuracy, a tackle, and a clearance.

D, Robin Jansson, 6 — The beefy Swede sent a powerful free kick over the net in the 18th minute. He had some bad luck clearing a cross a minute later that fell perfectly for Jonathan dos Santos to open the scoring and a giveaway with a loose touch in the 25th that nearly led to an LA counter. Made a big stop to cut off a counter attack in the 66th minute with a sliding tackle. He took a tactical foul yellow late to quell an LA counter. His 90% passing rate was behind only Sebas Mendez among those with at least nine attempts. He made one tackle and had a team high three clearances.

D, Lamine Sané, 5.5 — Lamine had a bit of a quiet first half with perhaps his most memorable play being a missed tackle on Emil Cuello that led to a dangerous attack. He was culpable on a scoring chance early in the second half by not stepping up but was bailed out by a shot over the bar. In the 61st, he failed to communicate with a backtracking midfielder — something that we’ve seen happen repeatedly in recent weeks — and as a result no one played the ball that luckily rolled where only Rowe could get it. He made one tackle with two interceptions and two clearances, with an 87% passing rate.

D, Ruan 6.5 — The Brazilian speedster drew a yellow card in the 17th minute as Emil Cuello was afraid he might beat Bingham to the ball, setting up a set piece. He sent a fantastic cross to Mueller in the 21st that should have led to a scoring chance. His 71st-minute cross led to a shot on target from Nani after he mesmerized the defense. His 71.4% passing rate wasn’t great but six of his eight incomplete passes came in the congested final third. Defensively, he made three tackles and one clearance, with three dribbles, and drew two free kicks. He unfortunately just about disappeared from the game once Kyle Smith was introduced.

MF, Cristian Higuita, 6 — The Colombian made his second straight start and had a bit of a quiet first half despite three tackles, an interception, and a passing rate of 89%. He didn’t get forward much and managed to get dispossessed twice when he did. His giveaway in the 51st sent LA on the break and he was lucky not to concede a free kick in a good spot after contact with Sebastian Lletget. He finished with five tackles and a passing rate that dipped to 84.8%, while connecting on five of seven long balls.

MF, Sebas Mendez, 6.5 (MotM) — Mendez did well to win a penalty in the 31st minute by taking the ball from dos Santos in the area. Moments later he sent a sky ball header that was easy for Bingham on a counter in which the cross may have been intended for Mueller behind him of whom he was unaware. He led all starters with a 93.7% passing rate, with one key pass and went five out of six on long ball accuracy. He tied Higuita for the team lead in tackles, with five, and made two interceptions and a clearance. He still has moments where he fails to track trailing runners and sometimes gambles a bit, but he was the team’s best player on this night in my opinion.

MF, Will Johnson, 6 — Will’s early shot in the fourth minute was one he’ll want back, sending it well over the bar from just outside the area. He drew a free kick just outside the area late in what was his typical workmanlike first half. Did well to steal a ball in the 64th but then split Nani and Mueller to give it right back at the top of the box. Defensively, Johnson had two tackles and a clearance to his credit. His 88.5% passing accuracy was good and he had one key pass, going four of five on long balls.

F, Nani, 4.5 — It wasn’t the sharpest night for Nani. The captain’s passing was a bit off in the first half — including getting a cross blocked out for a corner on a 15th-minute counter attack with numbers — though he did connect well with the flanks. His first-half passing chart showed green around the edges but everything toward goal was red. For the second consecutive game he missed a penalty with a stutter-step approach when he could have simply gone for power. He did get a free kick on target in first-half stoppage time to force a Bingham save but it wasn’t a difficult one. He missed the net early in the second half with Bingham out of position. He made a good cross in the 66th but it was cut out for a corner. He did well to get on a deflected cross in the 71st minute to get a shot on target but he didn’t hit it solidly enough to get it by the goalkeeper. In the end, Nani sent eight shots toward the net, getting three on target, made two key passes on an overall 81% passing night, with one tackle and an interception. The grade may look harsh, but this wasn’t a good enough performance on a night when Dom Dwyer was unavailable to help the offense. although he admittedly didn’t get much help from his fellow forwards either.

F, Tesho Akindele, 4 — The Canadian striker had a bit of a quiet first half and his most notable play may have been a loose touch that wrecked a late counter attack. He was initially sent in behind but lost his advantage taking possession and then lost it with an unforced error at the top of the area. He made a good play early in the second half to keep the ball from Bingham, feeding Nani who unfortunately couldn’t hit the empty net. His quiet night ended in the 56th minute with just 32 touches and a 75% passing rate, though he did make two key passes and four tackles. He failed to record a shot and had five unstable touches — the most on the team.

F, Chris Mueller, 5 — Mueller was a bit sloppy with his first touch several times and faded a bit during the game, almost as if he’d played four games in 13 days, on both sides of the continent. He started strong by forcing a good save from Bingham in just the second minute. He went back to refusing to shoot in the 21st minute when Orlando had a chance to pull the goal right back, then got dispossessed without even getting off a shot attempt. Moments later he had a heavy touch on the attack and was forced to play wide for Moutinho instead of getting into the area. Mueller’s header off a corner in the 73rd minute forced a great save from Bingham on his best shot of the night. He got two of his three shots on target and passed at a 79% rate with one key pass and chipped in a clearance on defense.

Substitutes

D, Kyle Smith (56’), 3.5 — The danger on the right side faded as soon as Ruan started moving around the pitch when Smith was introduced. His 86% passing is deceptive as he got no accurate crosses into the danger zone (on three attempts) and in fact struggled to even get one into the area without being blocked. He made one clearance and a tackle and bundled a shot on target on a set piece but he knew little about it and the trickling ball was cleared off the line easily.

MF, Sacha Kljestan (67’), 5 — The former Red Bulls captain was put on to try to connect more passes in the final third, and he did manage two key passes in his abbreviated stint but his overall passing was just 72.4% as the Galaxy parked the bus and Orlando couldn’t break them down.

F, Josué Colmán (83’), N/A — Another late cameo from the Paraguayan didn’t amount to much. It wasn’t bad, but he was only on the pitch about 11 minutes counting stoppage time. He took a weak shot that trickled slowly in for an easy scoop by Bingham. He completed all eight of his passing attempts and two were key passes but perhaps he should have come on earlier for an obviously tired Mueller.

That’s how I saw the individual performances against the Galaxy. What did you think? Please tell us in the comments section and vote for your Man of the Match in our poll below.

Polling Closed

PlayerVotes
Ruan17
Sebas Mendez23
Cristian Higuita11
Will Johnson6
Other (let us know who in the comments below)4

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City Striker Duncan McGuire Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

It’s the other shoulder this time, but Big Dunc is on the shelf for awhile again after undergoing surgery.

Published

2 days ago

on

June 6, 2025

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City announced today that Duncan McGuire has undergone arthroscopic surgery to repair the labrum in his left shoulder. The surgery was performed by Orlando City Chief Medical Officer Dr. Craig Mintzer of the Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute performed the surgery. Mintzer previously repaired the labrum and rotator cuff in McGuire’s right shoulder back in December for an injury he sustained in Orlando City’s playoff match against Charlotte FC Nov. 9 when he was pulled down by Djibril Diani.

The club’s press release said the 24-year-old striker’s return to play is expected “later this year.” The recovery given for his right shoulder surgery in late 2024 was listed as four to five months, but McGuire was able to come back and play much earlier than expected, appearing for the first time in 2025 in Orlando’s March 15 against the New York Red Bulls — at least a month before the earliest initial projection — however, this time there was no mention of damage to the rotator cuff.

Regardless, the Lions will be without the big target striker for a considerable amount of time.

McGuire had appeared in 12 matches during the regular season in 2025, starting three and scoring one goal and adding an assist. His goal came recently, serving as the game winner in Orlando’s 1-0 home victory over the Portland Timbers on May 24. He was recently listed as questionable on the club’s availability report ahead of the team’s most recent match against the Chicago Fire.

Orlando City drafted McGuire in the first round (No. 6 overall) in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft. After a breakout rookie campaign, in which the Omaha, NE native scored 14 goals, he was courted by several teams in Europe, signing with Blackburn Rovers, only to see the transfer rejected by the English Football League due to an administrative error by the EFL Championship club. After returning to Orlando, McGuire signed a new deal on Aug. 22 to remain a Lion. The new contract runs through 2027 with a club option for 2028. McGuire scored 10 goals and added three assists in 2024. For his Orlando City career, McGuire has appeared in 88 games (46 starts) across all competitions, scoring a total of 28 goals to go along with seven assists.

What It Means for Orlando City

McGuire appeared to be just finding his form, so this injury is unfortunate. The club didn’t put a timeline on McGuire’s recovery this time, but shaving a little off his 2024 recovery estimate, it’s likely that he’ll be out until at least some time in September.

Oscar Pareja has been favoring a 4-4-2 with Luis Muriel and Martin Ojeda up top in recent weeks, with Ramiro Enrique — who is also finding his form — typically spelling one of them when needed. Not having McGuire will affect Pareja’s late-game substitution pattern when Orlando is trailing, as he likes to put Enrique and McGuire both on the field when chasing the game. It also takes the team’s best target striker option out of the lineup when dealing with back lines with lots of height.

McGuire brings size and strength and an ability to occupy center backs that others on the roster can’t replicate. There are times when Enrique’s game is better suited to the opponent, but without McGuire there will be no ability to pivot. With Jack Lynn’s off-season retirement, that leaves the striker pickings mighty slim on the Orlando City bench. That might change Ricardo Moreira’s approach to the MLS Secondary Transfer Window.

Losing a scorer of McGuire’s caliber is always difficult, but this season it could be the difference between finishing high in the table and simply getting into the postseason in a strong Eastern Conference field.

Continue Reading

Opinion

Orlando City Must Learn from May’s Mistakes

The Lions can learn some valuable lessons from the three losses they suffered in May.

Published

2 days ago

on

June 6, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City hadn’t quite achieved juggernaut status as the Major League Soccer season turned from April to May, but a 12-match unbeaten run in the league is nothing to sniff at, despite there being a healthy number of draws interspersed with the victories. Things turned sour as May drew to a close though, as the Lions lost three of their final four matches of the month and entered a two-week break with a whimper rather than a roar.

Losing is never fun, but in this case those three defeats don’t need to be entirely negative experiences, and there are plenty of lessons to be learned from those three bitter losses that will hold Orlando in good stead if it can implement the proper solutions.

More Squad Rotation

One of the biggest factors in Orlando’s rough finish to May was a lack of squad rotation. Oscar Pareja has always been a coach that likes to find his first-choice XI and stick to it almost religiously. He doesn’t normally tweak his lineups or tactics according to whatever opponent is on the slate, and very much values consistency. In periods of fixture congestion, that tendency can be to Orlando’s detriment, and that was very much the case against both Nashville SC and the Chicago Fire.

After beating Inter Miami 3-0 in an emotional rivalry match on May 18, Pareja made just one change for a U.S. Open Cup match against Nashville SC three days later. Ramiro Enrique slotted in for Luis Muriel up top, but every single other starter from the Miami game also got the nod midweek. With Nashville deploying a heavily rotated lineup mostly filled with backups, the gamble was a simple one: hope that OCSC’s A-team can open up a big first-half lead against Nashville’s B-squad before bringing mass changes in the second half to get guys some rest. Hindsight is, of course, 20/20, but the strategy backfired badly as the Lions lost 3-2. Orlando started well with Marco Pasalic’s 17th-minute strike, but the team faded badly afterwards and gave up a couple of very uncharacteristic goals to lose the game. Lapses in concentration and tired defending cost OCSC the game, and that isn’t something we can normally say about this team.

Then, after losing to Atlanta United 3-2 on May 28 due in no small part to Cesar Araujo’s red card, Pareja made two changes for a match against the Chicago Fire on May 31, with Muriel coming in for Enrique, and the other change being a forced one, as Eduard Atuesta replaced the suspended Araujo. Those starters looked noticeably gassed during the resulting 3-1 loss, and the fatigue manifested itself by players missing chances that would normally be converted or in sloppy, mistake-ridden defending.

May was a packed month with a whopping nine matches in 31 days, and most months won’t be that busy. August is set to be the busiest remaining period of the year with six games in 31 days, although that number could rise higher if the Lions make a run in Leagues Cup. The bottom line is that guys are going to need more rest as the season goes on. If the coaching staff doesn’t trust some of the guys currently available as backups, then they need to dip into the transfer market in one way or another and get some players that they do trust, because if the starting XI gets run ragged during busy periods it’s going to cost Orlando, plain and simple.

Cool Heads Usually Prevail

Orlando City has received three red cards on the season, which is tied for the second-most in the league. Unsurprisingly, the Lions are winless in games in which they’ve had a man sent off, with draws against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal and a loss to Atlanta United. The results against the Red Bulls and Atlanta were particularly difficult to swallow, as before going down to 10 men, Orlando had looked on track to get three points in each game.

Araujo’s red card against Atlanta was especially frustrating, as he allowed Mateusz Klich to get under his skin, grabbed him by the throat, and reduced his team to 10 men when OCSC was nursing a 2-1 lead on the road. It was completely unnecessary and was also the sort of thing that Orlando had looked to put in the rearview mirror after keeping its collective composure and not picking up any bookings in the 3-0 road win against Miami, while the Herons picked up four and looked noticeably rattled in the process.

It should go without saying, but the Lions can’t afford to get key players sent off. Six extra points could make a big difference in the standings at the end of the year, and that number could rise even higher if OCSC can’t put its disciplinary issues to rest once and for all.

Focus for the Full 90

There were moments in each of Orlando’s three May losses that the team committed bad defensive lapses or mistakes. Whether it was not playing to the whistle on Nashville’s third goal, Atuesta’s bad turnover against Atlanta, or the Lions collectively allowing Chicago to stroll through midfield to score a third goal, there were plenty of examples of bad breakdowns that were largely absent during the team’s unbeaten run. Can some of that be attributed to tired minds and tired legs? Maybe so — it’s a lot harder to play crisp and focused when the minutes have piled up. Regardless, its something that can’t continue to happen going forward. It’s possible that having more rotation in the squad will help that a lot, but it’s also on the players on the field to stay as mentally sharp as they can when they’re out on the pitch.

Clearly, a recurring theme here is that fresh legs and balanced squad rotation are top of my list of things I want to see change. I’m all for riding the hot hands, but tired legs make for tired minds, and tired minds make mistakes and are easier to rile up. Whether reinforcements come from the bench or an outside source, using more bodies will go a long way towards solving some of the issues that we saw in May’s three losses. All we can do now is wait and see what happens once the team returns from its break. Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/6/25

Alex Freeman called up for Concacaf Gold Cup, Orlando Pride get ready for the Houston Dash, Orlando City B plays tonight, and more.

Published

2 days ago

on

June 6, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday! I’ll be spending this weekend celebrating my birthday by beating my friends at mini golf with no mercy but still hope to catch some soccer over the next few days. I’ve also been on a bit of a movie kick and plan on catching Wes Anderson’s new flick at some point soon. But for now, let’s dive into today’s links!

Alex Freeman Called Up For Gold Cup

Orlando City defender Alex Freeman was officially called up by the United States Men’s National Team for the Concacaf Gold Cup this summer. He’s the only Lion who will be at the tournament and is one of seven uncapped USMNT players on the roster. The 20-year-old could receive more playing time than expected, as right back Sergino Dest is not on the roster so that he can recover over the summer. Left back John Tolkin was added to replace Dest, so Freeman has a real shot at making a claim for the position this month. The U.S. will take on Turkey Saturday in the first of two friendlies before its first Gold Cup match against Trinidad & Tobago on June 15.

Orlando Pride Prepares to Host the Houston Dash

With the international break for women’s soccer over, the Orlando Pride return to action Saturday with a home game against the Houston Dash. It should be a great opportunity for the Pride to ease back into the swing of things against a Dash team that’s only scored 10 goals this season. Pride midfielder Ally Lemos spoke on the benefit of being able to rest heading into this match while maintaining a winning mindset from a 3-1 victory on May 23.

Anna Moorhouse Called Up For 2025 Euros

Orlando Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was named to England’s final roster for the 2025 UEFA European Women’s Championship. She’s one of three goalkeepers on the squad following Mary Earp’s surprise retirement from international soccer, and she will likely compete with fellow uncapped player Khiara Keating for the backup position behind Hannah Hampton. Moorhouse has started in every game for the Pride this season and was an NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year finalist for her record-breaking season last year. England’s Euro run will begin July 5 against France before other group matches against the Netherlands and Wales.

Orlando City B Takes On Huntsville City FC

The Young Lions are riding high after a 2-1 win over Chattanooga FC and will take that momentum into tonight’s road match against Huntsville City FC. Midfielder Noah Levis scored his first career goal in that home win, with Justin Hylton providing the assist in his OCB debut. Orlando’s offense has been hot and cold this season but has a variety of attacking talent that can create chances in different ways. The Young Lions have only won once on the road, but a win tonight would lift them to third in the Eastern Conference.

Free Kicks

  • FIFA Club World Cup action is coming to the City Beautiful this month and Orlando City legend Kaká spoke on how it’s nice for Orlando to host games.
  • San Diego Wave Head Coach Jonas Eidevall was named NWSL Coach of the Month. The Wave were undefeated in May, winning three of their four matches to climb to second in the league standings.
  • The NWSL will allow intraleague loans for all teams, with the players needing to consent to the move in order for it to happen. Denver and Boston’s expansion teams will have access to potentially over $1 million in Allocation Money starting on July 1 to build their rosters before the 2026 season.
  • Atletico Madrid is reportedly close to signing American midfielder Johnny Cardoso from Real Betis.
  • South Korea, Uzbekistan, and Jordan all qualified for the 2026 World Cup, while China was eliminated from contention. Australia beat Japan 1-0 and will qualify so long as it doesn’t lose heavily to Saudi Arabia on June 10.
  • Spain beat France 5-4 in a wild game to reach the UEFA Nations League final against Portugal on Sunday. Lamine Yamal continues to take the world by storm, but a late rally by France nearly completed a comeback.

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

Continue Reading

Trending