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Orlando City SC keeper Gallese ready to push forward

• The Lions have a top MLS goalkeeper also
• Gallese earned eight clean sheets
• One of the clean sheets vs. Charlotte FC

By Chuck Wharton

Oct 19, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando City goalkeeper Pedro Gallese (1) takes the field for warms up before a match against Atlanta United at Inter&Co Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
Oct 19, 2024; Orlando, Florida, USA; Orlando City goalkeeper Pedro Gallese (1) takes the field for warms up before a match against Atlanta United at Inter&Co Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images / Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
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Orlando City SC kicks off the MLS post-season facing a leading MLS goalkeeper. But their keeper is accomplishing much, too.

Pedro Gallese, Orlando City SC goalkeeper, isn’t a finalist for MLS keeper of the year. The first opponent the Lions face do boast such a finalist in Charlotte FC netminder Kristijan Kahlina.

Yet Gallese has shown everything this season to claim a place among top MLS goalkeepers. To start the highlights list, the Orlando keeper has eight clean sheets. He tallied one of those blanks this season against this Charlotte FC squad.

At 29 games played – all starts – he has presided over eight shutouts with the fewest matches of all keepers with that many clean sheets. He would have started more but was called out for international duty this season.

He also got an assist during that Charlotte match on one of Orlando’s two goals.

His call to his Orlando City teammates is to be themselves while they find the fight within. He stays focused with his teammates and knows where they are on the pitch. That gives him the freedom to venture away from the net when conditions are right.

He’s among the MLS top keepers in reflexes, shot-stopping, and penalty defense. On averages alone, he makes .6 clearances per MLS match, has 69.9% passing success, and hits 4.6 long balls per game.

In that shutout this season of Charlotte FC, the opponents didn’t go down without a fight. They intercepted passes by the Lions and covered their attacks the best they could. Orlando had to earn that win.

Kristijan Kahlina
Oct 19, 2024; Washington, District of Columbia, USA; Charlotte FC goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina (1) jumps for a save against D.C. United in the first half at Audi Field. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-Imagn Images / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

Gallese looked back to the slow, painful start to this MLS season experienced by his club. He said in football and daily life, it’s necessary to face tough situations, push forward, and move ahead.

That is what Orlando City SC has done. They now enter the MLS post-season against a formidable Charlotte FC squad.

Begin the push forward now.

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