O-Town's 11
Fansided
I published my Three Stars column Sunday after the Lions defeated the New York Red Bulls Saturday, but I wrote that piece before giving the game a deeper dive. After reevaluating the tape, it's time to give Mauricio Pereyra his flowers.
Christopher Adams|
Orlando City got off to a good start in the Major League Soccer season. The Lions won their first game of the campaign against the New York Red Bulls. Orlando's two biggest rivals also started with wins, and they showed new wrinkles to compete this year.
Christopher Adams|
Oscar Pareja can be one of the most pragmatic coaches in Major League Soccer. It's not always by choice, the veteran manager just does everything he can to win matches. His team showed every ounce of that hardworking pragmatism against the Red Bulls.
Christopher Adams|
Orlando City opened the 2023 Major League Soccer season with a gritty win over the New York Red Bulls in front of 24,088 racous fans at Exploria Stadium. Here were the top performers for Orlando City in its season opening win over the Red Bulls.
Christopher Adams|
Orlando City (1-0-0, 3 points) defeated the New York Red Bulls (0-1-0, 0 points) 1-0 at Exploria Stadium Saturday night in the Major League Soccer season opener. The Lions remain unbeaten in season openers, with three wins and six draws across nine games.
Christopher Adams|
The Lions have a fairly deep squad and will have to juggle four competitions this season, so there won't be one lineup in every game all season. However, every team has a go to, must win lineup. Here's our predictions for that group.
Christopher Adams|
Orlando City is officially about to embark on its ninth season in Major League Soccer. The club is coming off of the best year in its history, as it made the playoffs and won a major trophy for the first time ever.
Christopher Adams|
Christopher Adams|
With the regular season about to begin, let's take a look at five of the biggest games on Orlando's schedule this year.
Christopher Adams|
Let's finish with the strikers. Orlando's group of center forwards is brimming with potential, but lacking a proven superstar. Designated Player Ercan Kara leads the way with a trio of young prospects nipping at the Austrian's heels.
Christopher Adams|
Let's look at the wingers. Orlando City has a bevy of talented wide players, highlighted by rising star Facundo Torres. The Lions also have a new Designated Player, U22 signing and a handful of young prospects to round out the core on the flanks.
Christopher Adams|
Orlando doesn't have many great memories against the New York Red Bulls. But last year, the Lions had one of their greatest moments in club history against RBNY.
Christopher Adams|
Ercan Kara is a DP entering his second MLS season. But rookie Duncan McGuire and U22 signing Ramiro Enrique are nipping at his heels for the starting striker role in 2023. What will the No. 9 position look like for Orlando City this season?
Christopher Adams|
Let's look at central midfield. Orlando lost a pair of reliable figures in Junior Urso and Andres Perea, but looked both within the league and abroad to fill out the depth. The Lions also have a handful of high-end starters on the books.
Christopher Adams|
It's time to take a look at the biggest honors for the entire league: award. We'll be looking at all the official player awards as well as the three major team honors. These are by far the hardest things to predict, so let's just have some fun with this.
Christopher Adams|
The east is the larger of the two conferences, and it welcomes back Nashville SC after a season out west. It's a varied division with a mix of spoon and cup contenders.
Christopher Adams|
Let's start out west. Los Angeles FC walked away with the conference in the regular and postseason last year, and the Black and Gold should be favorites again in a talented conference.
Christopher Adams|
The Orlando Pride are scheduled to play an open-door preseason friendly against the Kansas City Current Thursday, the club announced Monday. The match will be played at Exploria Stadium with kickoff scheduled for 6:30.
Christopher Adams|
Beyond his technical flair and salivating potential, Ojeda showed a tactical flexibility that could fundamentally alter how Orlando City wants to play this season.
Christopher Adams|
Regardless of our opinions, this is the way forward for the MLS postseason. And that means fans, pundits and teams themselves need to recalibrate what it means to be succesful in this league.
Christopher Adams|
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