To the good folks in Central Florida and else where around the soccer world, I'm proud to announce that the Orlando Soccer Journal (OSJ) is planning to relaunch in the upcoming weeks.
While I beat wrote on Orlando City SC for the 2012 USL Pro season, I'm thankful enough to be given the opportunity to join the club for the 2013 season as a media relations intern. While my goal is to be a communications director one day, I feel like I have this void in my path.
In the upcoming weeks, I will relaunch this blog for the sole purpose of delivering the latest news on Orlando City SC, regarding the happenings on and off the field. Stay tuned and follow me on Twitter for the latest on the Lions.
Orlando City SC will look to finish its month of preseason when they partake in a host of collegiate friendlies and competing in the second leg of the I-4 Derby after winning the first leg 3-2 last Saturday.
Lets look at how preseason has been going for the Lions......
New year, same goals
The Lions kicked-off the new year when they played Serie A side AS Roma on January 2nd at Rollins College and despite falling to the Italian giants 5-0, newcomers like Midfielder Jonathan Mendoza sparked interest amongst Orlando's fan base on what the young Colombian can do in the midfield.
"We're confident in bringing in the necessary pieces to be competitive," Head Coach Adrian Heath told reporters after the game.
So far this preseason Orlando has added a host of young and veteran players.
Below are the new players added to the team since the new year started: Defense
Iron Lion Firm during the I-4 Derby
Bryan Burke
Brian Fekete Midfield
Jonathan Mendoza
Freddie Braun
Jean Alexandre Forward
Long Tan
With the the USL PRO season one month away, There's no question that Orlando City has depth to enter the season and with the newly MLS-USL PRO partnership that was announced on January 23rd, Orlando's Major League Soccer affiliate Sporting Kansas City is bound to loan players to the Lions.
Disney Pro Soccer Classic
Orlando City kicked-off the Disney PSC with a 1-1 draw against MLS' Philadelphia Union, however, City fell 3-0 to Toronto FC despite maintaining possession throughout the game.
"The goals, efforts, we created a lot of chances. I thought we played the best football all evening," Heath said after its collapse against the Canadian side. "The goals we conceded were awful, individual mistakes and we got punished."
Goals were something Orlando City saw a lot.
During their four-games at the Disney PSC, the Lions conceded six goals while scoring 5 goals. Not bad, right? But given that Coach Adrian Heath is known for praising his team for playing possession and defensive soccer, the room for error always remains small.
Collegiate Friendlies City opened-up its series against Florida college's when they face-offed against the Florida International University Panthers, winning against the Miami-based college 3-0, goals came from Jamie Watson, Justin Clark and U23s and trialist Nico Russo. "It’s about getting combination football and get a shape of the team. It’s mainly to get everybody fit and well away in Arizona," Heath said after the game.
Orlando will play four-more college friendlies, playing Stetson University, Florida Gulf Coast, Rollins College and University of Tampa.
All college friendlies will be played the Seminole Soccer Complex except the matchup against Rollins College, which will be played the Barker Family Stadium on March, 21.
The Long Awaited I-4 Derby versus Tampa Bay Rowdies begins
The Lions opened the I-4 Derby in thrilling action, scoring three goals in the second half to overcome a 0-1 first half deficit to take the lead when they march into Al Lang Field for the second leg of the derby.
Orlando City goals from Jamie Watson, James O'Connor and Jean Alexandre
"We been in control of the game all evening, we were the dominant team," Heath said after the first leg at the Citrus Bowl.
Throughout the preseason, Heath has made it clear that he has the best squad outside the MLS in terms of style and depth.
Orlando City officially open up the USL PRO season on a two-game road West Coast road trip on April 7 when they visit Phoenix FC before taking on the LA Blues on April 10.
The home opener kicks-off on April 14 versus the Rochester Rhinos, scheduled time is at 6 p.m.
What are your opinions on how the preseason is going so far, and what are some questions you have for the remaining year?
Barcelona and Real Madrid meet Tuesday, Feb. 26 for the second leg of its semi-final Copa Del Rey tie.
Last time both teams met, they dealt with a 1-1 draw, leaving Rafael Varane to tie the game for the Merengues after Cesc Fabregas opened up the scoring for the Catalans.
The league champions, Madrid, are coming off a 2-1 win against Deportivo La Coruna, rallying back from a 0-1 deficit when Kaka tied the game in the 73rd minute and Cristiano Ronaldo assisted Gonzalo Higuain in the 88th minute.
The Blaugrana were able to bounce back from a shocking 2-0 loss to AC Milan in the knockout stage of the Champions League after rallying back last Saturday against Sevilla, leaving Lionel Messi to score the 2-1 game winner for Barcelona.
Both rival clubs meet again this weekend during league play where Barcelona hold a comfortable 16 point lead against Madrid.
With the winners of this tie heading towards the cup final, both clubs look to rely on their catalyst of star players.
Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo is tied with Barca’s Lionel Messi with four goals in the tournament, however, both players were not able to get on the scoresheet during its first-leg encounter.
Despite Madrid not being able to play their captain, Iker Casillas, due to a broken bone to his hand, Diego Lopez will most likely glove up while Jose Callejon will play right wing for Angel Di Maria who picked up a red card last Saturday during league play.
Madrid are currently playing their busiest week after they will come across Barcelona again on Saturday and play its Champions League Round of 16 tie against Manchester United at Old Trafford next week.
The winners of this tie will go on to the finals where they will meet Sevilla or Atletico Madrid.
Soccer in America took a big step to foster youth development with Major League Soccer and USL Pro announcing a partnership while Orlando City became Sporting Kansas City's USL affiliate.
"We are fortunate Orlando City has agreed to partner with us in this new, groundbreaking opportunity. They are a class club and this will be a great partnership for both organizations," Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes said. "It will provide beneficial opportunities for our players to develop within a competitive environment for a tremendous organization and fanbase. Together, our shared vision for this affiliation made it easy for us to enter into the opportunity." meanwhile in other parts of Major League Soccer, D.C. United affiliated with USL Pro side Richmond Kickers, New England paired up with Rochester and Philadelphia with Harrisburg. “We are excited to begin our partnership with one of the greatest MLS brands, Sporting KC,” said Orlando City President Phil Rawlins. “We believe the integration of USL and MLS will go down as an important day in the history of the American soccer pyramid.” Orlando City, who is about to enter the the 2013 USL Pro season, could use this boost with Sporting Kansas City while maintaining its close relationship with Barclays Premier League side Stoke City, who sit 10th in Premier League table. Follow me on twitter for the latest on Orlando City Soccer; @Mike_Gramajo Mike Gramajo is a writer for Orlandocitysoccer.com. Opinions expressed are his and his only and do not comehe contents of this page have not been reviewed or endorsed by the Orlando City SC. All opinions expressed by Mike Gramajo are solely his own and do not reflect the opinions of Orlando City SC.
Orlando City opened up its 2013 campaign losing to Serie A giants AS Roma 5-0, Wednesday afternoon at the Barker Family Stadium in Rollins College.
The Italian side which currently sit sixth in the Serie A table, trained for the past two weeks at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. While the Lions played its first competitive match after crashing out of the USL Pro playoffs, back in August.
"We're delighted for the opportunity to play them (AS Roma)," coach Adrian Heath told reporters after the game. "It was a real learning curve for some of ours."
Roma wasted no time in scoring, Erik Lamela opened up the scoring within the first minute of the game after a one-two touch play with Miralem Pjanic, the Italian side were quick to break Orlando's defense and get the ball passed goal keeper Miguel Gallardo.
Lamela would complete a brace 10 minutes later, resulting into a similar play from the first goal, however, this time assisted by Alessandro Florenzi.
With Dennis Chin playing the role of a lone striker, Chinny wasn't able to capitalize in the scoring third.
Miralem Pjanic would score in the 31st minute after sending a rocket shot past Gallardo, while Mattia Destro would end the first half scoring in an assisted play.
The Lions were able to hold more possession of the ball in the second half, but Roma just kept denying City from scoring, leaving Jerome Mechack to blast a shot from the 18-yard line.
"We're confident in bringing in the necessary pieces to be competitive." said Heath.
Orlando City will continue its preseason when they return to action in the WDW Pro Soccer Classic, playing MLS' Philadelphia in their opening match on February 9.
City of Orlando getting ready for Friday's semi-final game.
(Photo Credit: Mike Gramajo)
By Mike Gramajo
Orlando City President Phil Rawlins made it clear that the club is content in the USL Pro. "Our natural stepping stone would be from USL to MLS," Rawlins said during a pep rally Friday afternoon in front of City Hall. "I'm looking forward to the playoffs this Friday and I'm sure with the crowd turnout, we can easily win."
The Lions dominated the league, finishing with 57 points and leading second place Rochester Rhinos with 16 points.
Statistically, Orlando City improved a lot this season than last season.
this year, the Lions only conceded 18 goals, however, scored 50 goals, 14 more than the Charleston Battery.
16 points above second place Rochester Rhinos can only state that Orlando City are in a league of their own, right?
With the potential joining of the NASL out of the question, the Lions look forward to repeating history again, when Wilmington visit for a semi-final match-up. A victory Friday night will provide Orlando City home-field advantage in the USL Pro final on Sept. 8. For more Orlando City playoff coverage, make sure to follow me on Twitter- @Voice_Mgramajo
ORLANDO, Fla. -- It's beginning to look a lot like last year.
The Orlando City Lions are back in post-season play this Friday night, when they host the Wilmington Hammerheads at the Citrus Bowl.
"We've been doing a lot of work on the final third," said forward Dennis Chin, who led the league in scoring with 11 goals to his name. "We have to be confident and just balance that with the playoffs, not get too over confident."
Even though the Lions finished the season as regular season champions, two more games can solidify league glory as Orlando City looks to achieve a second consecutive USL Pro title.
"The only people that can beat us is ourselves," said Matt Luzunaris. "Wilmington isn't good enough to make it this far."
"The [Championship] is an arms reach away, but I'm not looking at the finals, I'm looking at Friday night. I'm looking forward to proving once again that I can come back from a lot of things."
Luzunaris, who's been in grief after losing his fiance to cancer earlier this month, came second in scoring for the team.
The last time the Lions played the Hammerheads was in a frustrating 1-1 draw at the Citrus Bowl on July 25.
"If we score first then thats good, but we have to win," Dennis Chin said before the Semi-final game on Friday night.
For more Orlando City playoff coverage, make sure to follow me on Twitter- @Voice_Mgramajo
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