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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. CF Montreal: Five Takeaways

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4 years ago

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Orlando City spiraled out of the playoffs Sunday night, courtesy of a 2-0 defeat to CF Montreal at Stade Saputo. The Lions played better than I thought they would, but couldn’t get the job done north of the border. Here are my five takeaways from OCSC’s final game of the 2022 season.

A Well-Officiated Affair

I’ll get this one out of the way up top. While a loss stings, Orlando can have no complaints about the way the game was called. Ismail Elfath was a tad trigger happy with the yellow cards in the first half of the game, but other than that, he and his team were excellent. They saw through a couple different instances of Montreal players making more out of contact than necessary to try to win penalties, and Elfath did well to keep a lid on things in the second half when tensions threatened to boil over and get out of hand. While the penalty being awarded hurt and put the game out of the Lions’ reach, it too was the correct call. In a season where Orlando has had plenty of games with cause to bemoan officiating, last night’s match in Montreal was not one of them.

All Montreal in the Early Going

As expected in front of a ravenous Stade Saputo crowd, Montreal came flying out of the gates. The hosts had almost all of the ball and were pressing hard on the few occasions they didn’t. The Lions barely had a sniff of the ball inside the opening 15 minutes, and while Montreal’s early dominance only led to one shot, there was plenty of reason to be concerned that we might be about to witness another showing of OCSC being completely bereft of intensity. Fortunately, that proved to not be the case, as Orlando grew into the game around the 20-minute mark, and acquitted itself fairly respectably from that point onward, aside from one very important aspect.

Quiet Night for the Goalkeepers

There’s no getting around the fact that neither goalkeeper had much to do on the night. Of the 11 shots that Montreal took, only two were put on target, and both were goals (although one came from the penalty spot). The Lions have to be disappointed that they weren’t able to trouble James Pantemis. The first time he had to really do anything with the ball in open play came 87 minutes into the match when he fell on a ball that was pinging around in the box. Considering our friends at Mount Royal Soccer highlighted goalkeeping as a potential area of weakness for the hosts, OCSC’s inability to test Pantemis was extremely disappointing.

Missed Chances Prove Costly

It wasn’t like Orlando didn’t have dangerous chances either. Prior to Ismael Kone’s goal, Orlando probably had the three best chances of the game, all of which came in the first half. First, Ercan Kara got in behind the defense and shot over the bar when he had Ruan open in the box to square the ball to. Ivan Angulo’s chance from the edge of the area 10 minutes later wasn’t quite as clear cut, but it still came from a position where he should be hitting the target. By the time Antonio Carlos volleyed a great opportunity over the bar from a free kick in first-half stoppage time, it absolutely felt like the missed chances would cost Orlando before the night was over. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what happened, as the visitors were unable to generate any looks of similar danger in the second half while Montreal converted its best chance of the game.

Substitutes Unable to Provide a Spark

There have been multiple instances of substitutes impressing for Orlando City this year. From Tesho Akindele’s late goals to Benji Michel’s heroics in the U.S. Open Cup, fresh legs have been capable of changing games when the Lions needed goals. Sadly, that wasn’t the case Sunday night. Oscar Pareja had to change something after going behind 68 minutes into the game, but the introductions of Benji Michel and Jake Mulraney in the 77th minute, and Tesho and Michael Halliday with three minutes to play, did not bring the needed boost. It may feel harsh to pick on Mulraney, given he had to take on Angulo’s duty of marshaling Alistair Johnston, but three touches in 20 minutes for an attacking player when chasing a one-goal deficit just didn’t cut it. None of the four substitutes made much of an impact, and Orlando’s last shot of the night came in the 77th minute. Not great.

To close things out, Orlando gave a better go of it than I was expecting against one of the hottest teams in the league. The Lions had the three best chances of the game until the opening goal, but a familiar lack of finishing and inability to get shots on target let them down. If even one of those chances gets put away, then who knows what happens, but ultimately Montreal was clinical and Orlando wasn’t. The result hurts, but you can’t really say that it wasn’t the right one.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 10/26/26

Lions draw New York City FC, Pride fall to Gotham FC, Rafaelle announces retirement, and more.

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33 minutes ago

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October 26, 2026

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Image of Rafaelle playing the ball.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been keeping myself busy covering high school soccer playoff action up here in Chicago. Sunday marked the 16th anniversary of the United Soccer League’s announcement of Orlando City joining the league. Both the Lions and Pride played over the weekend, and we’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Draw New York City FC

Orlando City drew New York City FC 2-2 on Saturday at Inter.co Stadium, dropping two points on just about the final kick of the match. The Lions trailed 1-0 in the first half, but Antoine Griezmann equalized for Orlando before halftime. In the second half, Martin Ojeda scored to put the Lions in front. However, in stoppage time, Jonathan Shore buried a late equalizer for New York City FC as the Lions couldn’t hold on to the lead. Orlando missed a chance to gain ground in the MLS playoff race and remains eighth in the Eastern Conference table with 42 points. Orlando City will have a busy week ahead with a two-game road trip. The next match is Wednesday against the Chicago Fire, followed by a trip to North Carolina to face Charlotte FC on Saturday.

Orlando Pride Fall to Gotham FC

The Orlando Pride fell 2-1 to Gotham FC on Sunday at Inter.co Stadium in the club’s final home match of the 2026 NWSL season. The Pride trailed 2-0 early in the second half before Solai Washington cut the deficit to one. Despite a great performance, dominating Gotham FC in total shots and earning plenty of breakaway chances, the Pride wasted their opportunities in front of goal and couldn’t find a late equalizer against the league leaders. The Pride will close out their 2026 season on the road, taking on Seattle Reign FC on Sunday.

Rafaelle Announces Retirement

Orlando Pride defender Rafaelle will retire from the National Women’s Soccer League following the 2026 season. She has played with the Pride since 2023, making 53 appearances in all competitions, scoring two goals, and playing a key role on the 2024 squad that won the NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship. The 35-year-old began her NWSL journey with the Houston Dash in 2014 and has played abroad for Arsenal, Palmeiras, and Changchun Zhuoyue. She also represented Brazil internationally for more than a decade, playing in 2 FIFA Women’s World Cups, captaining Brazil at the 2022 Copa America Femenina, and winning a silver medal at the 2024 Olympic Games. The Pride honored Rafaelle on the field after Sunday’s home finale.

Americans Abroad

Let’s catch up on Americans in action abroad in Europe. Former Lion Alex Freeman played a full 90 minutes and scored for Villarreal in a 2-1 win over Valencia on Saturday in La Liga. Freeman shared insight after the match about scoring his first goal in Villarreal’s comeback derby win against Valencia.

Joe Scally scored his third goal of the season for Borussia Monchengladbach in a 3-2 win against VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga. Tyler Adams played a full 90 minutes for AFC Bournemouth in a 3-0 victory against Manchester United in the English Premier League. Weston McKennie scored the opening goal for Juventus in a 2-0 win against Lecce. Christian Pulisic scored for AC Milan in a 2-0 win against Udinese in Serie A. In the EFL Championship, Aidan Morris scored his second goal of the season for Middlesbrough in a 5-1 win against Bolton Wanderers.

Free Kicks

  • The U.S. Men’s Cerebral Palsy National Team fell 2-1 to England on Saturday in the final of the 2026 IFCPF World Cup.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 2-2 draw with New York City FC.

Published

22 hours ago

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October 25, 2026

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Image of Wilder Cartagena playing the ball.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City was not dominant but looked like it was about to walk away with all three points Saturday night at home against New York City FC. But the Lions could not slam the door on the Pigeons and New York City FC was able to score a last-gasp equalizer in a 2-2 draw at Inter.co Stadium. The Lions could not mount much of anything offensively in the final portion of the game and the defense finally broke after bending over backwards for half an hour. Orlando City remains in a playoff position, but dropping those two points at home is a massive disappointment and could prove costly over the final few weeks of the season.

Here are my five takeaways from the match.

Wait, This Is A Home Game, Right?

The way that the game started, it seemed like it was NYCFC, rather than Orlando City, that was playing in front of its home crowd and flying all over the field because of the home support. The Pigeons dominated the ball early, out-possessing the Lions by a wide margin (65%-35%, according to the MLS website) in the opening 20 minutes and creating three big chances. After failing to convert on the first two, NYCFC finally converted the third on a tap-in by Alonso Martínez, leaving the Orlando City defenders shaking their heads and wondering if perhaps it might have been a better idea to start an actual right back instead of once again playing Iván Angulo out of position on the back line (on the right, where the cross in front came from).

Griezmann Got The Crowd Going

At this point it almost feels more of a matter of when, and not if, Antoine Griezmann will put his name on the score sheet each game. With the Lions trailing 1-0, Braian Ojeda drove a long ball all the way from right to left to the foot of Martín Ojeda, and the Argentine then played a picture perfect cross to Griezmann that the French superstar used his head to power into the upper corner to tie the game. That goal, and not the wave, which has no place in a soccer stadium, got the crowd back into the game, and Orlando City used the crowd’s energy to turn the tide after NYCFC’s early blitz.

Another Cartagena Penalty

Perhaps it is unfair to the Colombian, who was hustling back to try to prevent NYCFC from getting yet another chance from close range after yet another brilliant pass by Tayvon Gray, but he bundled over Talles Magno in the box and that makes two consecutive games giving away a penalty for the Peruvian. He is not a center back, but had to drop back there after Iago was so poor that he had to come off, and Cartagena performed very well for the most part as he played in between David Brekalo and Adrián Marín. It was Brekalo, the natural center back, who was unable to defend Gray’s initial pass and forced Cartagena into a desperate situation, but thankfully Magno’s penalty went wide and the Lions were able to hold onto the lead — at least for the moment.

Ojeda Hits A Half Century

After being the provider on Orlando City’s first goal, and passing Mauricio Pereyra for the club’s all-time assist lead with 47, Martín Ojeda was the finisher on the second, hammering a rocket from the left side of the box early in the second half off of a cross from Angulo that came to Ojeda after skipping off Vinícius Nogueira’s head. That goal made it an even 50 in all competitions for the Lions’ all-time leading scorer, and for most of the second half it appeared like it would be the game-winner. Alas it was not, as Orlando City could only muster two more shots after Ojeda’s goal and was unable to score a third goal, and NYCFC piled the pressure onto the Orlando City back line until it finally broke through in stoppage time.

Crépeau’s Brilliance Not Enough

Up until the very last kick of the game, the Canadian netminder seemed like he was going to pull it off and give Orlando all three points, but Jonathan Shore’s shot in the dying seconds of the game went just beyond Crépeau’s fingertips and just inside the far post, and just like that, three points were reduced to one in what was by far the easiest game remaining on Orlando City’s schedule. Prior to that, Crépeau had been brilliant, making four saves and coming off his line several times to claim or deflect away NYCFC crosses. The visitors dominated the final 20-30 minutes of the game, but time after time Crépeau came up big and kept the Lions in the lead. Unfortunately, his defense could not prevent NYCFC from getting one final opportunity on goal, as Angulo was torched on the left side and no defender was able to step up and get a clearance or a block, and Shore’s shot was an absolute dagger that could cost the Lions a playoff spot.

Those are my takeaways from Orlando City’s disappointing 2-2 draw with NYCFC. The Lions have to regroup quickly, as they play in Chicago on Wednesday and their margin to stay in a playoff spot is still razor thin.

Let us know your thoughts about the match in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Final Score 2-2 as Lions Throw Away Two Points on Game’s Last Kick

Just seconds from a valuable three points in their penultimate home game of the regular season, the Lions conceded and dropped two of them.

Published

1 day ago

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October 24, 2026

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Image of Braian Ojeda leaping for an aerial ball against New York City FC
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

New York City FC needed every one of the nine minutes of stoppage time added on at the end of a 2-2 draw with Orlando City at Inter.co Stadium tonight. Jonathan Shore’s goal in the ninth added minute allowed NYCFC (8-12-11, 35 points) to steal two vital points from the Lions (12-13-2, 46 points) at the death in yet another late collapse by Orlando.

It was a missed opportunity for the Lions to gain ground in the playoff race as Antoine Griezmann and Martin Ojeda led Orlando back from an early 1-0 hole to a second-half lead that lasted up until Shore’s strike at the last possible second.

In the end, the Lions were probably fortunate even to get a point from this game after squandering some open headers early and surviving a missed NYCFC penalty kick late in the game. Maxime Crepeau made several vital saves 1-v-1 on chances the visitors created with direct play, and Orlando didn’t manage a shot over the game’s final half hour.

“It was a tough night. We couldn’t find what we usually find, especially at home,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “For moments, yes, but not overall. Of course, it wasn’t the best night, so that’s it. No more than that.”

Perelman’s lineup featured Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Vinicius Nogueira, Iago, David Brekalo, and Ivan Angulo. Defensive midfielders Wilder Cartagena, Braian Ojeda, and Eduard Atuesta joined Justin Ellis in the midfield with Martin Ojeda and Griezmann up top.

Orlando tried to get on the front foot first, with Martin Ojeda taking the ball away in the attacking third and winning an early corner kick. Angulo did well to pick out Griezmann with a perfect cross in the sixth minute, but the Frenchman headed his hard shot right at goalkeeper Matt Freese, who appeared to be in obvious discomfort afterward, despite it appearing like a routine save.

But the Lions began giving the ball away cheaply in bad areas and New York City was able to carve the defense open with probing long balls for Martinez to run onto, as Iago was both slow to read the danger and too slow to recover once Martinez got in behind. The first instance came in the 10th minute, with Crepeau coming out to cut off the angle. Martinez tried to chip him but the shot landed on the roof of the net. Martinez recorded New York City FC’s first five shot attempts of the match.

Crepeau made a good save on Martinez two minutes later when Martinez again got in behind on a long pass.

Moments later, Orlando had the ball in its own third and Iago gave it away in his own penalty area. Iago was able to recover enough to block Martinez’s shot from near the penalty spot. Four minutes later, the Lions finally got burned after playing with fire for several minutes.

Martinez ran onto a ball in from Agustin Ojeda on his left. Crepeau got a touch on it but couldn’t prevent it from reaching Martinez in front, who swept it in to make it 1-0 in the 18th minute.

Atuesta tries his luck from long range in the 23rd minute. He got all of his shot but it was always rising and missed the target.

Crepeau made another huge save a minute later on a shot by Agustin Ojeda in front.

Freese had to come off just after that save. Trainers came on and appeared to be looking at his shoulder. Tomas Romero came in to replace him in the 28th minute.

Nogueira, like Griezmann earlier, headed straight at the goalkeeper in the 30th minute. Ellis provided a perfect cross, but the Brazilian hit it straight at Romero. A minute later, Martin Ojeda sent in a good ball for Ellis in front, but the defense blocked it in front of goal.

The Lions drew level in the 32nd minute. Martin Ojeda sent in another gorgeous cross from the far left. Griezmann just had to get it on target, and he powered his 13th goal of the season past Romero to make it 1-1. Martin Ojeda equaled Mauricio Pereyra for the club’s all-time assist mark (47) on the play.

Shortly after the goal, Atuesta gave up a silly free kick near the left corner. The ball in front found Thiago Martins, but he didn’t make good contact and Crepeau was able to save the headed shot.

Nico Fernandez Mercau put the ball in the net behind Crepeau in the 39th minute but he was well offside on the play and the flag came up immediately.

Orlando survived a couple of late turnovers by Cartagena and got to the locker room tied at 1-1.

At the break, the visitors led most of the statistical categories including possession (53.7%-46.3%), shots (8-6), corners (3-1), and passing accuracy (91.4%-89.9%). Each team put three shots on target in the opening period.

Cartagena conceded an unnecessary set piece early in the second half and former Lion Andres Perea got to it first, but his flicked header skipped wide of the right post in the 47th minute.

Two minutes later, the Lions took the lead. Angulo’s cross in from the right found Nogueira but all he could do was head it backward to the left side. Martin Ojeda was waiting for it there and smashed it inside the right post to make it 2-1.

“We trained this one,” said Nogueira, who picked up his first Orlando City assist. “And today it worked. Ivan crossed the ball. I headed for Tincho and he scored. It was really good.”

Ellis had his shot blocked in the 59th minute to set up a corner kick. Romero palmed away the ball into the box, but only as far as Martin Ojeda, who tried a half-volley shot but hd didn’t strike it true, sending it into the seats.

Much of the rest of the game consisted of NYCFC sending dangerous long balls that often beat Orlando defenders. Crepeau made some huge saves in the second half, beginning in the 66th minute when Cartagena got beaten down the sideline, giving Martinez a free run toward goal. Crepeau cut down the angle and threw out a hand to block the shot. Two minutes later, Atuesta gave the ball away at midfield to ignite the break and again Crepeau came up big to deny Hannes Wolf.

Substitute Talles Magno got in behind both Brekalo and Cartagena in the 78th minute and the latter made contact with the attacker in the box, taking him down. Referee Elijio Arreguin pointed to the spot, awarding a penalty. Magno took the spot kick himself, but shot before the referee signaled the ready for play, slotting it just inside the left post, although Crepeau knew the play was dead and made no effort to stop it. When they re-spotted the ball, Magno fired off the outside of the same post, missing a golden chance to pull his team level in the 81st minute.

Two minutes later, Perea made a well-timed run onto a cross but sent his shot just wide of the left post.

As time wound down, Orlando struggled to clear its defensive end or to string together multiple passes to take off the pressure. NYCFC won several set pieces, but couldn’t do much with them.

The fourth official showed nine added minutes on his board, which seemed excessive as there had been just one goal, a few multi-player subs, and not much in the way of actual injuries. Crepeau needed about a minute for treatment down the stretch, but there was nothing excessive. Even the penalty was clear-cut and didn’t require a lengthy review.

New York City FC didn’t create much until the final few seconds of that ninth minute, despite having multiple corners and free kicks. Angulo was beaten badly down the defensive left by Tayvon Gray, who put the ball into the six, where it deflected to James Sands. The defender passed back to Shore outside the box, and no one was able to close him down. The shot had eyes, finding its way through traffic and just inside the left post to make it 2-2.

“Unfortunately they tied on the last play,” Perelman said. “That hurts a lot, but it’s time to digest it.”

The final whistle blew at the restart, sealing a postseason-jeopardizing two dropped points for Orlando.

At full time, NYCFC had a stranglehold on the stat sheet, finishing with the advantage in possession (53.7%-46.3%), shots (17-9), shots on target (6-4), corners (9-3), and passing accuracy (91%-87%).

“We like to win at home. We don’t like this,” Perelman said. “And we do our best. Sometimes these things happen. The opponent plays. They have good players, and that’s it.”

Braian Ojeda, who made his first start since returning from foot surgery, said he was happy to get back in the starting XI tonight, but said he was frustrated with the result.

“We have to keep working hard and keep looking at the the matches in front of us that we have to finish out the regular season,” he added. “Obviously, there’s still some adjustments that we have to make on those details.”

With the draw, Orlando remains clinging to seventh place, edging FC Cincinnati on the wins tiebreaker, blowing a chance to pull within two points of Philadelphia, which lost to New England. The Lions also fell within reach of the New York Red Bulls, who sit three points back after beating Inter Miami tonight.

All three of Orlando’s remaining opponents are above the Eastern Conference playoff line, and all three are among the top four teams in the conference.

The Lions begin a brutal two-game road swing on Wednesday when they visit the Chicago Fire.

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