The 2012 Orlando City SC season was the club's second season of existence. It is City's second consecutive year in the third tier of American soccer, playing in the

USL Professional Division The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, pl ...

for their second season. In the 2011 season, Orlando City won the regular season and the playoffs. As of the 1 March 2012, there are approximately 3,500 season ticket holders for the 2012 season. They ended the season with winning the league title for the second consecutive year, but they lost in the Playoffs to the Wilmington Hammerheads in the Semi-final 3–4.

Background

In October 2010, the Orlando Pro Soccer USL rights were purchased by Phil Rawlins, who moved the Austin Aztex organization to Orlando, and the team was announced on October 25, 2010. Rawlins has stated that he intends to bring a Major League Soccer franchise to Orlando "within 3–5 years". Rawlins was able to bring international matches to the city in 2011 when Orlando played English

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

sides

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

and

Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End ...

. Rawlins is President and majority owner and Adrian Heath is the manager.

Competitions

Friendlies

Orlando City originally agreed to play

Nottingham Forest F.C. Nottingham Forest Football Club is an association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. Nottingham Forest was founded in 1865 and have been playing their home games at the City Ground, on the banks of the River Trent ...

on July 21, 2012. However, this match was canceled when Forest sacked their manager, Steve Cotterill. The team also canceled a friendly with

Charleston Battery The Charleston Battery are an American professional association football, soccer club based in Charleston, South Carolina, and member of the USL Championship. Founded in 1993, the Battery are one of the oldest continuously operating professiona ...

, forgoing their American tour altogether.

WDW Pro Soccer Classic

USL Pro

''All times from this point on Eastern Daylight Time ( UTC−04:00)''

Results summary

Results

Standings

USL Pro Playoffs

U.S. Open Cup

As part of the new format for the U.S. Open Cup in 2012, Orlando City entered with the other U.S.-based teams from USL Pro and the NASL in the second round. The first two rounds were drawn on May 1, 2012, and the third round was drawn on May 16, 2012.

Club

Roster

Squad information

* = Denotes players who were retained after the move of the Austin Aztex FC organization to form Orlando City S.C.

Transfers

In

* Matt Luzunaris was signed on free transfer on December 4, 2011. The forward was originally loaned to the Lions by

San Jose Earthquakes The San Jose Earthquakes are an American professional soccer team based in San Jose, California. The Earthquakes compete as a member club of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). Originally as the San Jose Clash, the franchise ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

for a few games during the 2011 season and scored two goals, including one in their friendly against

Bolton Wanderers F.C. Bolton Wanderers Football Club () is a professional football club based in Horwich, Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in . The club played at Burnden Park for 102 years from 1895 after moving from their original home at Pike's ...

The 22-year-old native of Margate, Florida (near Fort Lauderdale), spent a year with

UCF The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

in 2007 before being signed to teams in

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and spending three years there. *

James O'Connor James O'Connor may refer to: Politics and law * James O'Connor (Louisiana politician) (1870–1941), U.S Representative from Louisiana * James F. O'Connor (1878–1945), U.S Representative from Montana * James Francis Thaddeus O'Connor (1886–1 ...

was signed on free transfer on January 10, 2012. The Irish midfielder spent 15 years playing in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

, and most recently played for

Sheffield Wednesday F.C. Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

Football League One The English Football League One (often referred to as League One for short or Sky Bet League One for sponsorship purposes, and known as the Football League One from 2004 until 2016) is the second-highest division of the English Football Leag ...

. * Anthony Pulis was transferred from Aldershot Town F.C. on January 17, 2012. The Welsh midfielder has been loaned to various clubs throughout England. * John Rooney was signed to the team on January 26, 2012. The younger brother of

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while als ...

, he is a Liverpool native and has played most recently with the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

of the MLS. *

Justin Clark Justin Clark (born October 17, 1988, Atlanta, Georgia) is an American soccer player who most recently played for Orlando City in USL Pro, the third tier of the American soccer pyramid. Career College and Professional Clark attended Marist ...

was signed by Orlando City on April 4, 2012. The defender played for local

Rollins College Rollins College is a private college in Winter Park, Florida. It was founded in November 1885 and has about 30 undergraduate majors and several graduate programs. It is Florida's fourth oldest post-secondary institution. History Rollins Colle ...

where he was named the 2011 Defender of the Year for the

Sunshine State Conference The Sunshine State Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. All of its member institutions are located in the state of Florida, which is popularly kn ...

. * Kyle Davies was signed by Orlando City on April 5, 2012 after having been waived by

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BMO ...

in November 2011. * Jhohan Obando was signed to a short-term contract in early April to serve as Kelley’s back-up during Gallardo's suspension from the red card he received in the

championship game In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

.USL Pro Champion Orlando City opens title defense on Saturday
(6 April 2012). Central Florida News 13. * Nick Sowers was signed by Orlando City on April 20, 2012. The midfielder joins fellow Rollins alumni Justin Clark and Dennis Chin. Sowers if from Longwood, Florida and played at

Lake Mary High School Lake Mary High School is a public high school located in Seminole County, Florida, operating under Seminole County Public Schools. It was opened in 1981. Campus Lake Mary High School was the fourth high school in Seminole County, opening for the ...

. Nick is currently on loan to Orlando City U-23. *

Adama Mbengue Adama Mbengue (born 1 December 1993) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a left-back for French club Châteauroux. Career Club After being scouted in Senegal during his time with Orlando City Academy Affiliate, Sport Galaxy, Mb ...

was signed by Orlando City on June 21, 2012. The midfielder was promoted from Orlando City U-23 to Orlando City, becoming the first player from U-23 to be promoted to the pro squad. * Rodrigo López was signed by Orlando City on July 5, 2012. The midfielder has played most recently with the Ventura County Fusion of the

PDL PDL is an initialism for: Politics *Democratic Liberal Party (Romania), Democratic Liberal Party (''Partidul Democrat Liberal''), a former political party in Romania *Labour Democratic Party (''Partito Democratico del Lavoro''), a former politi ...

Out

* Lawrence Olum was signed as a free agent in September 2011 by

Sporting Kansas City Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional Association football, soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and t ...

. The midfielder had 21 appearances with Orlando City in 2011 scoring 1 goal. * Jack Traynor signed with the

Rochester Rhinos Rochester New York FC, formerly known as the Rochester Rhinos, are an American professional soccer team based in Rochester, New York, United States. Founded in 1996, as the Rochester Raging Rhinos, they changed their name to Rochester Rhinos to ...

on November 28, 2011. Traynor logged 1,298 minutes in 17 appearances for Orlando City in 2011. *

Yordany Álvarez Yordany Álvarez Oropeza, also written as Yordanis Álvarez Oropesa, (born 24 May 1985) is a Cuban retired footballer. Club career Cuba Álvarez began his career in his native Cuba, playing with his hometown club FC Cienfuegos in the Campeon ...

was signed on a transfer from Orlando City in January 2012. At the end of the 2011 season, Álvarez joined

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 20 ...

on a loan agreement which included an option for Salt Lake to purchase Álvarez. * Devorn Jorsling returned to Trinidad where he played for the national team and Caledonia AIA. *

Lewis Neal Lewis Ryan Neal (born 14 July 1981) is an English former professional footballer. Career Neal started his career at Stoke City, making his debut in the Football League Trophy on 6 December 2000 against Scarborough. He went on loan to Icelandic ...

was signed by

D.C. United D.C. United is a professional soccer club based in Washington, D.C. that competes in the Eastern Conference of Major League Soccer, the top tier of American soccer. Domestically, the club has won four MLS Cups (league championships), four Suppo ...

on March 13, 2012 after having been on loan from Orlando City.D.C. United signs midfielder Lewis Neal
(14 March 2012). Potomac Soccer Wire. * Justin Fojo is no longer listed on the Orlando City Roster, after a move in 2012 to the

Puerto Rico Islanders Puerto, a Spanish word meaning ''seaport'', may refer to: Places *El Puerto de Santa María, Andalusia, Spain *Puerto, a seaport town in Cagayan de Oro City, Philippines *Puerto Colombia, Colombia *Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela *Puerto Galera, Orient ...

. * Demar Stewart is no longer listed on the Orlando City Roster

Loan in

* Jean Alexandre was loaned from the

on 7 June 2012, for a short-term loan for the next two games. on 6 July 2012, Alexandre re-joined Orlando City again for a short-term loan for the next two games which the two games will be against the

Los Angeles Blues Orange County Soccer Club is an American soccer team based in the Orange County, California city of Irvine. Founded in 2010 as the Los Angeles Blues, the team currently plays in the second tier USL Championship. The team plays its home games a ...

. On 23 July 2012, he returned again for the remainder of the

2012 USL Pro season The 2012 USL Pro season was the 26th season of third-division soccer in the United States, and the second season of USL Pro. The season started with 11 teams. FC New York self-relegated to the National Premier Soccer League prior to the release o ...

. * George Davis IV was loaned from the

in exchange for

Maxwell Griffin Maxwell Griffin (born September 17, 1987 in Riverside, California) is a retired American soccer player. Career College and Amateur Griffin attended Littlerock High School and played college soccer at the UCLA from 2006 to 2009, where he racked ...

, the loan will be through the end of the

Loan out

was on trial with

and released on 16 February 2012. *

was on trial with

. until D.C. United signed him on March 13, 2012 *

was on loan to

in exchange for George Davis IV, the loan will be through the end of the

. * Jamie Watson is on loan to Minnesota Stars FC for the remainder of the 2012 NASL season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orlando City Soccer Club, Season 2012 2012 USL Pro season

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

American soccer clubs 2012 season 2012 in sports in Florida