Orlando City suffers late draw in emotional night at home

It seemed like a perfect ending to a fantastic night at Camping World Stadium as Julio Baptista provided the game’s best goal in the 90th minute.

A huge roar from 37,000 fans seemed to be the end, but a defensive let down in stoppage time left City fans with a 2-2 tie. After a beautiful moment of silence in the 49th minute for the victims of Orlando’s tragedy last week, both San Jose and Orlando City found form and played to the draw.

Seb Hines opened the scoring with a brilliant header in the 66th minute. City deserved the goal, and the Lions dominated possession in the first half and by far had the better chances. It was not until the 83rd minute that the Earthquakes equalized with a header of their own.

Back and forth the two teams went until substitute Julio Baptista provided a strike to remember from the top of the box. The Earthquakes responded once again and with the final touch of the game, Shea Salinas, a substitute himself, found himself alone inside the 18 and with only Bendik to beat.

Orlando City settled for yet another tie tonight and the Lions cannot afford to continue to drop points at home. Even without Kaka and Darwin Ceren, the Lions had the game in their grasp.

Here are my player ratings from tonight’s game.

Starters:

Joe Bendik: Bendik could do nothing about both of San Jose’s goals. The Orlando City goalkeeper made an incredible save in the 60th minute to deny San Jose the first goal of the game. After defensive let down’s Bendik was left with no chance on either goal. Rating: 5.5

Kevin Alston: Getting an opportunity in the starting 11 once again, Alston did well defensively for 80 minutes, but the right back fell asleep on San Jose’s first goal. He got caught ball watching and allowed Barrett to get free on the back post for an open header. Alston will also need to improve his service in the final third if he hopes to play consistently throughout the season. Rating: 5

Seb Hines: Hines proved once again how dangerous he is on set pieces. It was a wonderful header from the Orlando City center back, and after missing an excellent opportunity in the 31st minute, Hines made up for it with a well-deserved goal. Yet, he deserves some criticism for the collapse in stoppage-time and Orlando showed yet another lapse defensively in the final moments. Rating: 6

Brek Shea: Even starting the game at left wing, Shea played a role in both of San Jose’s goals. After being moved to left back once Julio Baptista came on, Shea failed to contest Salinas’ cross on the first goal and poorly stabbed at the ball on the second. The former U.S. midfielder must improve his performances moving forward. Rating: 4.5

Luke Boden: Set piece after set piece Boden delivered excellent service for Orlando City tonight. It was a strong 60 minutes for Boden, and he is expected to play more as he improves his fitness. He deserved to have an assist tonight, yet Boden showed tonight he can play different positions down that left flank for Orlando. Rating: 6

Cristian Higuita: Trying to fill in for Darwin Ceren is never easy, but Higuita stopped many of the Earthquakes attacks through the middle of the field tonight. The Colombian showed his ability to defend and distribute for 90 minutes. A lack of judgment in the 68th minute gave Higuita another yellow card, but still a strong performance for the defensive midfielder. Rating: 6.5

Servando Carrasco: It was almost a brilliant free kick in the opening minutes from Carrasco, but that was the last we heard from the midfielder. Carrasco found himself not involved for much of the game and has yet to find a consistent home in the starting 11. Rating: 5

Adrian Winter: The Swiss national has to start finishing his chances. With the best chance in the first half, Winter found himself with an open chance on goal in the 36th minute only to be let down by his first and final touches. Winter continues to waste excellent opportunities, however, his work ethic all night was fabulous and he forced San Jose into a lot of bad passes. Rating: 4.5

Kevin Molino: Molino had more than one chance to seal the deal tonight. After a wonderful first half, Molino failed to capitalize with a chance on goal in the 83rd minute. The Lions were up 1-0 at the time and a goal there would have put the game out of reach. Without Kaka and Ceren in the lineup, Molino has to finish the game off. Rating: 6.5

Cyle Larin: A disappointing game tonight for Larin. Moving forward, Larin must find the ball more in the opening minutes and needs to stay engaged throughout the 90 minutes. Like everyone else, Larin had his chance, but the central forward was way too quiet tonight. He is a leader now and the MLS Rookie of The Year needs to show up every game. Rating: 5.5

Substitutions:

Julio Baptista: It was a brilliant half volley, and it seemed as if it was going to be the game’s last goal but Baptista’s second goal of the year was canceled out by Salinas’s stunner. The Brazilian brought a huge roar to Camping World Stadium and continues to perform when given the chance. Rating: 6.5

Antonio Nocerino: Came on for Cyle Larin in the 77th minute and only had a few touches. Rating: N/A

Carlos Rivas: The super sub assisted on Baptista’s massive goal, but Rivas only played less than 10 minutes tonight. Rating: N/A

Orlando Pride fall on the road against Washington

The Orlando Pride fought hard to get a goal in the first half after the Washington Spirit came out soaring to an early lead on Saturday at Maryland SoccerPlex, but the set pieces did not fall. The chances were little and far between, and after a tragedy that occurred back home last week, the Pride wanted to bring points back to Orlando.

The Pride lost 2-0 Saturday on the road against the Washington Spirit and now sit at 4-5-0 this season.

Estefania Banini opened the scoring in the 9th minute after Alyssa Kleiner sent in a cross that Banini controlled and finished beautifully.

Steph Catley followed with a dangerous chance in the 11th of a set piece but the ball was unable to find the back of the net whipping just wide.

The half closed with an early dagger and a calm finished by Francisca Ordega. The two goals in the opening 45 proved to be enough for Washington as they improved to (5-1-2) on the season. Ashlyn Harris had no chance on either of the goals and the Pride defense showed vulnerabilities down the flank.

Alex Morgan provided a few bright spots in the second half but goalkeeper Stephanie Labbé looked comfortable the entire 90 minutes. Labbé had little to do after Crystal Dunn offered a lot of pace for the Spirit for much of the game and the U.S. National proved to be dangerous for the Spirit.

In their inaugural season, Orlando continue to struggle on the road and have only won one of the five games but proved that they are #OrlandoUnited.

The struggles on the road will need to improve for the Pride but the next four games at home will prove to be pivotal to their standings in the NWSL.

The Pride now sit in fifth place in the NWSL but will play their next four matches in front of the home faithful at Camping World Stadium.