Orlando Soccer Journal

Kaka leads Orlando City past Toronto FC

By MIKE GRAMAJO 

CHAMPIONSGATE - It was a tale of two halves, but it was the latter that spearheaded Orlando City to a win. 

After a lackluster first half, Brazilian star Ricardo Kaka scored a pair of goals as Orlando City defeated Toronto FC 2-1 on Sunday afternoon at the ChampionsGate Sports Fields. 

"Pleased with the performance," Orlando City coach Adrian Heath said. "The whole second-half we were very good at times. More importantly, the attitude of the players were a lot more competitive than we were the other day, which was the pleasing thing." 

Jonathan Osorio gave Toronto the early lead six minutes into the start of the game. Servando Carrasco's giveaway on the run of play connected with the Canadian international to strike the ball past Lions goalkeeper Joe Bendik.

The lead was short lived, however, when second-half substitute Kevin Molino found Kaka from close range to curl the ball into the net for the equalizer. Molino would help set up the second goal when he was fouled in the box in the 62nd minute, leaving Kaka to score from the spot for the eventual winner.

"I think we started the game really well," said Brek Shea, who played about 80 minutes. "I feel really comfortable at left back, I love getting forward obviously, it's more of my strengths, but obviously I have to do my defensive duties first and when the opportunity presents itself, I like to get forward. I  

Kaka lethal in final third

Kaka scored Orlando's two goals, and Adrian Heath said after the game he would consider having the Brazilian star play more up the field as the start of the season is two weeks away. 

"I think we need to get him higher up the field and around the danger area because he's very, very dangerous when he's in the box," Heath said. "With the addition of [Antonio] Nocerino, it's maybe something we have to look at." 

Nocerino is expected to join the Lions on Thursday before Saturday's friendly vs. Brazilian side Esporte Clube Bahia at the Citrus Bowl. Kaka scored nine goals last season for Orlando while playing mostly as a center attacking midfielder. 

Orlando City lineups

First-half XI: Joe Bendik; Brek Shea, David Mateos, Seb Hines, Rafael Ramos; Servando Carrasco, Darwin Cerén, Richie Laryea, Ricardo Kaká, Adrian Winter; Cyle Larin.

Second-half XI: Bendik, Shea, Mateos, Aurelien Collin, Ramos; Carrasco, Cerén, Winter, Kaká, Kevin Molino; Larin.

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Orlando City officially announce signing of Antonio Nocerino

Embed from Getty Images

 

 Staff reports

After weeks of speculating whether Antonio Nocerino is coming to Central Florida or not, Orlando City SC officially announced his arrival to the City Beautiful on Thursday. 

The Italian midfielder will  join the Lions after almost six years with AC Milan of Serie A. Nocerino was teammates with Orlando City captain Ricardo Kaka, when they both played together at Milan during the 2013-14 Italian league season. 

“Antonio is a player that we really admire, who can be effective in a number of different positions, which gives us great depth,” Orlando City president Phil Rawlins said in a statement. “His vast experience in the Serie A will be invaluable for our team as we aim to make the MLS playoffs in 2016.”

Nocerino will join the Lions later this preseason after he gets all his Visa paperwork done. 

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, however, Orlando City sent targeted and general allocation money to DC United in exchange for the Italian midfielder's service. 

The Italian international will join a stacked Orlando City midfield which includes: Kaká (DP), Kevin Molino, Servando Carrasco, Darwin Ceren, Cristian Higuita, Harrison Heath (HGP), Pedro Ribeiro, Adrian Winter, Richie Laryea, Antonio Nocerino 

How do you think Nocerino will fit in the squad? Comment below. 

#OCThrowback | Cyle Larin scores hat-trick at Red Bull Arena

By MIKE GRAMAJO 

Who can't forget the night Cyle Larin scored a hat trick at Red Bull Arena on Sept. 25 to keep Orlando City's playoffs hopes alive. 

The Lions edged the New York Red Bulls 5-2 that Friday night, which resulted into being the third consecutive victory from a 5-game win streak late in the regular season. 

Larin finished the season with a team-high 17 goals, which was also an MLS record for most-goals scored by a rookie in a single season. 

The Canadian international is looking to avoid the infamous sophomore slump as he enters the 2016 MLS season. 

What's your favorite Cyle Larin moment from last season? Let us know in the comments below. 

For more follow us on Twitter @OSJSoccer.

Orlando Pride inaugural NWSL games announced

By MIKE GRAMAJO

Alex Morgan will make her return to Portland, only this time sporting purple during the National Women's Soccer League opening games in April. 

The Orlando Pride will begin its inaugural NWSL season at Providence Park when it takes on the Portland Thorns on Sunday, April 17 . Kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. ET. 

The Pride will commence their season at the Citrus Bowl the following weekend on Saturday, April 23 when they welcome the Houston Dash for a 7:30 p.m. game.

“With the successful launch of the MLS team, as well as the 2016 launch of the NWSL and USL teams, this region continues to reap the economic benefit of world class professional soccer,” Orlando City President Phil Rawlins told the club's website. “This is a thrilling time for our organization, our partners, and for fans in the ‘Soccer Capital of the South.'” 

Sources have confirmed with the Orlando Soccer Journal the full Orlando Pride schedule will be released next week. Stay tuned. 

The NWSL will feature 10 teams in 2016 with the Pride being the league's newest expansion team. 

Pots for Copa America 2016 official draw announced

Staff reports

The United States Soccer Federation announced on Wednesday the procedures for the official draw of the Copa America Centenario. 

The draw, which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 21 at 7:30 p.m. EST, will be hosted in the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City. The draw will determine the groups and full schedule for the tournament. The event will be televised on Univision in the United States.

Per the press release, the draw will be performed with a double-blind system with eight pots. The first four pots, the team pots, will have groups with four nations each. The final four pots, the group pots, will be used to randomly sort the nations, once drawn from the team pots, into the four groups.

Pot 1 will contain the four previously announced seeded teams. The remaining 12 nations—four from CONCACAF and eight from CONMEBOL—will be sorted by confederation into the three remaining pots, one for CONCACAF and two for CONMEBOL. The two pots containing CONMEBOL nations have been divided based on the December 2015 FIFA world rankings, yielding the following:

Pot 1 (seeded nations): United States, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina

Pot 2 (CONMEBOL – higher ranked nations): Colombia, Chile, Ecuador, Uruguay

Pot 3 (CONCACAF – qualified nations): Costa Rica, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama

Pot 4 (CONMEBOL – remaining nations): Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela

The four group pots will contain four positions each, one from each group, as follows:

Pot 5: A1, B1, C1, D1

Pot 6: A2, B2, C2, D2

Pot 7: A3, B3, C3, D3

Pot 8: A4, B4, C4, D4

The draw will begin with the pulling of the four seeded teams, in order of group, from Pot 1. As each team is drawn, the corresponding ball from Pot 5 will be drawn, and the seeded team will be placed in the respective head position of its pre-determined group; that is, United States (Group A), Brazil (Group B), Mexico (Group C), Argentina (Group D).

Following that, the team pots will be drawn in order, backward from Pot 4 to Pot 2. The teams from Pot 4 will be pulled one by one, and a ball drawn from the corresponding Pot 8 to identify the group in which each nation will be placed.

As the teams in Pot 4 will be drawn into groups using Pot 8 (group position 4), those from Pot 3 will be sorted using Pot 7 (group position 3), and the nations from Pot 2 will receive their group assignment by pulling a ball from Pot 6 (group position 2). In this way, group positions are predetermined by the pot from which a nation is drawn, while the group to which each nation from Pots 2, 3 and 4 is assigned remains in suspense until its ball is pulled from the corresponding group ot.

The evening will conclude with the drawing of Pot 2, the highest-seeded CONMEBOL sides—pitting continental giants against one another, and revealing the full calendar and all the most noteworthy matchups for this summer’s tournament.

This summer’s Copa America Centenario will honor 100 years of the Copa America tournament when it takes place from June 3-26. It will feature some of the world’s best teams and players, including Lionel Messi, Ricardo Kaká, David Luiz, Neymar da Silva Santos and Clint Dempsey. The tournament’s final will be played at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on June 26.

Orlando will host three Copa America games this summer at the Citrus Bowl with Brazil headlining one of the games on June 8. The Citrus Bowl will also host games on June 4 and June 6. 

Adrian Heath demands more after Orlando City tops Red Bulls

 By MIKE GRAMAJO 

CHAMPIONSGATE - Orlando City may have walked away with a victory over the New York Red Bulls, but Lions coach Adrian Heath was not all too pleased with the team's performance afterwards. 

Goals from Kaka, Adrian Winter and Pedro Ribeiro saw the Lions edge the Red Bulls 3-2 on Wednesday morning at the ChampionsGate Sports Complex. 

"As pleased as I was at Jacksonville, I thought today was very poor," Heath told reporters. "Our body language was poor from the beginning, didn't look like we were ready to come and play. I thought our second group was a little better, it looked like it meant something for the second group, and it did." 

There weren't any halftime changes for the Lions but as the game entered the second half, Orlando squared off against a second-team Red Bulls headlined by Mike Grella. It wasn't until Heath made a complete lineup change that saw Orlando City take more control of the game and eventually the result. 

"It was disappointing," added Heath. "Yeah, Orlando won 3-2, but that scoreline doesn't paint a true picture of what the game was. It just looked like [Red Bulls] wanted to win the game more than we did, and that shouldn't happen. The problem wasn't anything to do with fitness, it had to do with attitude. All in all, it's been probably a wasted day." 

While Heath mostly pointed at how poor the team played on Wednesday, the Orlando City bossman praised goalkeeper Joe Bendik, defender Rafael Ramos and midfielder Adrian Winter on their time on the pitch. 

Molino in action, notches assist

Kevin Molino's return to full fitness continued on Wednesday.

The Trinidad and Tobago international was part of the team's second team that was inserted into the field toward the latter part of the game. The 2014 USL MVP didn't find the net, but assisted in the game-winning goal that was scored by Ribeiro in the 80th minute. 

"He's only had 10-15 minutes, but he looks OK," said Heath. "We're just hoping we can get more minutes between now and the beginning of the season because bottom line is he's one of our best players." 

Molino is slowly coming back from an ACL tear that occurred last year during a friendly. The injury, which happened early in the MLS season, forced the midfielder to miss the entire 2015 season. 

More Lions action 

Orlando City B 1, Toronto FC 0

Buzz: Pierre Da Silva's goal in the sixth minute saw OCB (3-0, preseason) defeat Toronto. 

Second-half XI for OCB: Ridgers; Ellis-Hayden, Nitti, Callan-McFadden, Turner; Aguilera, Mendoza, Trialist, Da Silva; Cox, Eyang. - via The Mane Land 

(Orlando Soccer Journal staff photos)

Orlando City launches #FillTheBowlAgain campaign

(Courtesy of Orlando City Communications)

By MIKE GRAMAJO 

Almost one year after Orlando City Soccer Club packed the Citrus Bowl with 62,000 fans during its inaugural Major League Soccer game, the Lions announced on Tuesday they're aiming to do it again by launching the #FillTheBowlAgain campaign. 

“I can’t think of a more fitting way to kick off our farewell tour at the Citrus Bowl than by filling the stadium once again with our passionate and ardent supporters,” Club President and Founder Phil Rawlins said in a statement. “Current ticket sales are pacing ahead of 2015, and we are excited to show Real Salt Lake what it’s like to come to Orlando and face us at home." 

The Lions will play the 2016 MLS season at the Citrus Bowl before officially moving down the street to their new soccer-specific stadium, which is expected to be completed in 2017. Orlando City starts the season at home on March 6 against Real Salt Lake. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. 

The club also announced it has opened terrace seating ahead of its opener against Salt Lake. 

OCSC opened up their inaugural 2015 season at the Citrus Bowl on March 8, 2015 against New York City FC in front of an announced crowd of 62,510. The game ended in a 1-1 draw after Orlando City captain Kaka leveled the score in the final seconds of the game. 

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Orlando City B defeats UCF 4-0 in friendly behind Michael Cox's hat-trick

(Photo by Victor Ng / Orlando Soccer Journal)

By VICTOR NG

It didn’t take long for Orlando City B to take over its exhibition match against the University of Central Florida Knights Sunday.

Michael Cox tallied a hat trick in the first half, and William Eyang capped the scoring late as Orlando City B defeated the UCF Knights 4-0 on Sunday at the UCF Track and Soccer Complex. 

For most of the first half, OCB’s starting 11 dominated possession time, as the host Knights saw cross after cross enter from the left side of the field. The consistent flurry of entry passes eventually led to Cox tallying a hat-trick by the 35th minute. 

The Lions scored their fourth goal in the 82nd minute by Eyang.

OCB head coach Anthony Pulis was pleased with the first half’s starting 11.

“The first-half performance was excellent,” Pulis said. “We were really pleased with the boys. We’ve worked on quite a bit of tactical stuff this week, in-possession and out-possession, and then they took on board a majority of that work that we’ve done.”

With regard to the team’s second-half performance, Pulis said there is a lot that needs improving early in the preseason.

“We were a little disappointed with our performance [in the] second half, in-possession, out-possession. We were probably two or three yards off the opposition when we didn’t have the ball, and when we did have it, we weren’t positive enough in our play.”

Toward the 23rd minute, UCF found some time on the Lions’ half of the field. But there was not much that worked offensively for the Knights. The closest to a goal that UCF got came with under 10 minutes in regulation when the Knights seemingly had a goal, but it was ultimately cleared out.

“I thought the back four were good,” Pulis said. “I thought Zach [Ellis-Hayden], Kyle McFadden, Craig Nitti and Mike Ambrose did well. To be honest, with that 11 that started the first half, I was pretty pleased with most of them.”

Cox records hat-trick

The 23-year-old found his first of three goals in the 10th minute after a free kick from just outside the right side of the Knights’ penalty box. Cox then collected a rebound, and powered it through the back of the net in the 25th minute for his second goal. His third goal came in the 35th minute, following a foul in the penalty box.

Despite his success in Sunday’s friendly, Cox said he still has room to improve.

“For me, I need to be faster on the ball,” Cox said. “More of a killer mentality when I get the ball, going to goal, doing my job and scoring goals consistently.”

Pulis said he was delighted for Cox for tallying his hat-trick, but said there is still room for improvement.

“[He’s] grown, and gotten better as preseason’s gone on, and we believe he’s going to be a good player [and a threat] for us this year,” Pulis said. “He’s obviously very quick, very athletic. The biggest thing with him is coaching him when, where and how to make his forward runs, because when he gets in his stride, and he gets in behind opposition’s defenders, then he’s going to cause problems."

Orlando City notes: Away uniforms revealed, training news

By MIKE GRAMAJO 

Orlando City continued its push into the 2016 MLS regular season on Tuesday by revealing its away uniform during the team's open practice at the Citrus Bowl, which welcomed roughly 2,000 fans who braved temperatures in the low 50's.  

Here is a recap from Tuesday night: 

Molino is finding his groove

Adrian Heath said on Sunday that Kevin Molino was nearly back to 100 percent. On Tuesday, however, Molino practiced with the first team and even participated in the team's scrimmage. 

"You can see from the little bit he played tonight that he's certainly ready to play," said Heath. "It's just the case of us now, hopefully picking the right time for him. He's still a little bit short with his muscle strength on one leg, so once we get that back, it's a case of all systems go."

Kevin Molino suffered an ACL tear early last year, which saw the midfielder miss Orlando City's entire 2015 inaugural season in MLS.

"His injury is going to recover," added Heath. "I'm certainly not worried about his ability and what he can do on the field. He feels great, he has no pain, he has no swelling. Hopefully the next couple weeks go well for him."

Heath welcomes Armada rivalry 

Orlando City has had its fair share of in-state rivalries during its six years of existence. Adrian Heath is all about welcoming it in a respectful manner. 

The Lions will travel north of the peninsula when they take on NASL side Jacksonville Armada in a friendly on Saturday at Community First Park at 6 p.m. 

"We gotta play properly," said Heath on the Armada friendly. "We gotta treat the game with the respect, we gotta treat the opposition with the respect they deserve. I see they beat Philadelphia [Union] at the weekend, and I know certainly in this state, we're pretty much of a big scout for all the other teams." 

The game will mark the first time these two Florida teams meet, but it will also reunite Heath with two of his former players; Miguel Gallardo and Bryan Burke. 

"Them two are huge parts on what we did in the beginning," Heath said on seeing Gallardo and Burke. "Always great to see people who have contributed for us. It's always good to see couple of the guys who helped us to where we are today." 

If  you go

Individual Orlando City tickets for the 2016 season went on sale on Tuesday. For more, visit www.orlandocitysc.com/tix 

Report: Carlos Rivas and Cristian Higuita named to U-23 Colombian national team

By MIKE GRAMAJO 

Orlando City's Carlos Rivas and Cristian Higuita may possibly be on the road to Rio 2016. 

According to Colombian news outlet El Tiempo, the Colombian duo were named to the preliminary Colombian U-23 national team ahead of its back-to-back friendlies against Honduras on Feb. 23 and Feb. 27 in Houston and Miami. 

The Colombian U-23 team will play the United States U-23 national team in a two-legged Olympic play-off game.

The first leg will take place on March 25 in Barranquilla, Colombia. The second leg is scheduled for March 29 in Dallas, Texas. 

The winner of the tw0-legged playoff will qualify to play in the summer Olympic games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil later this summer. 

Rivas is currently nursing a hamstring injury and is expected to be out of action for at least 10 days, according to Orlando City coach Adrian Heath.