Enemy Scouting Report - Orlando City SC
(image via Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports)
The Houston Dynamo will start their run in the Leagues Cup taking on The Lions from Orlando City tonight. This new tournament is posed to be a very competitive one between the two best leagues in North America in Liga MX and Major League Soccer. With the regular season on hold and a lot on the line with three automatic berths to the Round of 16 of the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup, Houston will need to fight for their lives in the most magical place on earth, Orlando.
Orlando City have only lost 2 games since May 9th, in which the team played 13 matches. That is impressive. Oscar Pareja’s team currently sits in fifth place of the Eastern Conference with 37 points. The team is not playing the most beautiful soccer, but Orlando City are being efficient and collecting points, which is the most important thing. In a short tournament like the Leagues Cup, in which teams could potentially see 2 to 7 games, the intensity will increase for every team, especially with Messimania in full blown effect.
The players that Houston will look to contain in Orlando are Facundo Torres, Martin Ojeda, and Duncan McGuire. Starting with the rookie, McGuire, the striker has only 816 minutes played but has tallied 8 goals and 2 assists for the Lions in 2023. At 22, the former Creighton University man is seeing his stock rise and the future is bright. Another recent player acquired by Orlando who quickly has become a dangerous piece for Oscar Pareja is midfielder Martin Ojeda. The Argentina arrived at the club in the preseason from Godoy Cruz in Argentina. Ojeda has scored 4 goals and assisted 8 others in regular season play. Lastly, a guy many had as a possible MVP of the league in 2023 is Facundo Torres. The Uruguayan is having a decent year, maybe not exactly what people expected, but the 23-year-old has tallied 7 goals and 3 assist and is still one of the most dangerous players for Orlando.
Orlando City SC Season Record: 10-6L-7D
Results in the last 30 days:
June 21 – Orlando City 2-2 Philadelphia Union
June 24 - Seattle Sounders 0-0 Orlando City
July 1 - Orlando City 3-1 Chicago Fire
July 4 - Orlando City 4-0 Toronto FC
July 8 - Real Salt Lake 4-0 Orlando City
July 15 - Atlanta United 1-2 Orlando City
Past Match Staring XI (from mlssoccer.com)
There will likely be some variation but look to see many of the players in the graphic starting.
2023 Active Roster
Goalkeepers: Pedro Gallese, Mason Stajduhar, Javier Otero, Adam Grinwis
Defenders: Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Luca Petrasso, Kyle Smith, Antonio Carlos, Michael Halliday, Abdi Salim, Alex Freeman, Thomas Williams
Midfielders: Cesar Araujo, Felipe Martins, Mauricio Pereyra, Martin Ojeda, Wilder Cartagena, Junior Urso, Dagur Dan Porhallsson, Favian Loyola
Forwards: Ramiro Enrique, Ercan Kara, Duncan McGuire, Shakur Mohammed, Facundo Torres, Gaston Gonzalez, Jack Lynn, Wilfredo Rivera, Ivan Angulo
Can the Dynamo kick off Leagues Cup by earning points on the road?
