The next Orlando City SC keeper? Pick one... | OneFootball

You have to pick one. Orlando City SC starting goalkeeper Pedro Gallese is off on international duty. So you have to pick from the choices on the Lions roster.

Pedro Gallese has briefly left the Orlando City SC pitch to join his Peru National Team for World Cup Qualifiers. So one of the goalkeepers left on the Lions roster will step up and mind the team’s net for some matches.

How hard might it be to fill in for the Orlando City starter?

Gallese isn’t listed among those MLS goalkeepers winning league awards. Yet his numbers are decent matched against those other keepers, even with the tiny sampling of four games in this young 2025 season.

He has played as many minutes in goal as any opposing keeper at 360. During that period, he accomplished a 40.5 long ball percentage. That’s the percentage of his long balls that can be recorded as passes. He’s tallied 13 saves in that time. But the 10-goal-against number points to the Lions’ 11th place in the MLS Eastern Conference.

New York City FC v Orlando City | Vincent Carchietta/GettyImages

The high goals-against number shows up in the standings as fewer wins. Recognizing that numbers show just four matches into the season, the Orlando Goal Differential stands at -1. While the team hasn’t shown any problem scoring, the defense lapses have permitted opponents to score more goals, putting them at a deficit.

So the backups will have to step up with the team focused more on defense where it counts.

Of the two backup keepers, Javier Otero is the one who had to come in and get experience when Gallese’s previous second, Mason Stajduhar, went down to injury last year.

Otero only played 61 desperate minutes in his debut, suffering three goals.

Another choice is Carlos Mercado, whose experience is 1.50 goals against average for the B team.

Only the coaches know who may rise to the occasion while Gallese is out. But rest assured that the entire team is focused on defensive effectiveness.

Orlando City SC needs more goals and wins. It’s not too soon in the season to get them.