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2022 Orlando City Season in Review: Facundo Torres

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4 years ago

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Orlando City made Uruguayan winger Facundo Torres out of Penarol the team’s record signing back on Jan. 24, inking him to a long-term contract and giving him the Young Designated Player tag. Although a transfer fee of $10 million had been widely reported in the South American media, The Orlando Sentinel reported that the cost was “only” $7.5 million, which is still an OCSC club record transfer fee, plus the Lions were on the hook for $1.5 million in bonuses for 100% of Torres’ rights.

Just 21 at the time of his signing, El Cuervo arrived with a lot of expectations as he was essentially slotting in for former team captain Nani, who departed after the 2021 MLS season. Early on, Torres took a little while to find his footing, which is not unexpected, but once he started getting comfortable, he became one of the more dangerous players Orlando City has ever had.

Let’s take a look back at Torres’ first season with the Lions.

Statistical Breakdown

Starting with the club’s U.S. Open Cup campaign, Torres played in all six of the Lions’ matches en route to the trophy (five starts), logging 498 minutes. That includes all 120 minutes against Nashville and 119 of the 120 minutes against Inter Miami. He scored four goals and added two assists in the competition, including figuring in all three of the team’s goals in the championship match against Sacramento Republic FC. He also scored the winning penalty in the shootout against Nashville SC. Torres attempted 16 shots, getting eight on target in the tournament. He completed 84.2% of his 284 pass attempts, with 16 key passes and 13 accurate long balls. He recorded four interceptions, committed two fouls while drawing 10, and was not booked.

In the regular season, Torres appeared in 33 of the team’s 34 games (29 starts), amassing 2,600 minutes. He scored nine goals and added 10 assists on the season — placing second on the team in those categories to Ercan Kara (11) and Mauricio Pereyra (11), respectively. However, it should be mentioned that Torres tied Pereyra for the team lead in primary assists, with eight. Torres fired 53 shot attempts this season, putting 14 on target — so he was accurate with his on-target shots (64.3%), but only put 26.4% of his total attempts on frame. He completed 83.3% of his 1,187 passes and finished with 36 key passes and 29 accurate long balls. Defensively, he logged 36 tackles, 12 interceptions, 10 clearances, and three blocks. He committed only 12 fouls all season while drawing an incredible 65 on the opposition, picking up only one yellow card.

Torres also started in Orlando City’s lone playoff match, playing all 90 minutes. He did not have a goal contribution and attempted only one off-target shot. Despite passing at a 94.6% rate on 37 attempts, Torres had just one accurate long ball and did not register a key pass. He contributed one tackle and one interception, drew one foul without committing one, and was not booked.

Best Game

I’m going to go with Torres’ standout display in Orlando City’s 3-0 U.S. Open Cup final victory over Sacramento Republic on Sept. 7 for his best match. He was a major factor in the win, scoring two of Orlando’s three goals and setting up the third. After a scoreless first half, in which Torres was active but saw some shot attempts blocked, he got the party started in the 75th minute. Ivan Angulo dispossessed Dan Casey and Benji Michel picked it up and laid off for the charging Torres to smash into the upper left corner to open the scoring.

Minutes later, Torres doubled the lead. Michel drew a foul in the area and El Cuervo stepped up to the spot and buried the kick to make it 2-0.

The Uruguayan came within inches of a hat trick two minutes after scoring from the spot but his shot sizzled just wide of the post. Nevertheless, his contributions weren’t done for the night. Following a Sacramento turnover, Torres threaded a perfect pass through the defense to Michel, who put the exclamation point on the match in stoppage time. The finish was great, but just check out this peach of a pass:

In addition to his two goals and assist, Torres fired six shots toward goal and got two on frame. His six shots were a season high in all competitions. He completed 83% of his 47 passes, including three key passes and two successful long balls. He drew three free kicks from Sacramento while only fouling once and was not booked. It was a tour de force performance by the Uruguayan on the season’s biggest stage.

2022 Final Grade

The Mane Land staff gives Torres a composite rating of 8 out of 10 for his 2022 campaign. This is a high grade, which could have been even higher. Torres showed an overreliance at times on his left foot — not quite to the degree that former Lion Silvester van der Water did, but it was close to that level in some games. Of course, all players favor their stronger foot but for Torres to truly reach his potential, he’ll have to grow in confidence and quality with his weaker foot. There was also a period from May 7 to June 15 in which Torres went five games without a goal contribution and only attempted four shots, getting two on frame. He had a four-game drought a bit later in the season in which he did not register a shot on target (despite attempting five shots at Philadelphia). All young players go through these kinds of peaks and valleys, so it’s not a knock on his play as much as an explanation on how close he was to earning an even higher rating for 2022.

2023 Outlook

We expect Torres to return for 2023, but that is really not up to Orlando City — at least not entirely. Arsenal is just one of the teams reportedly interested in securing Torres’ services. If Europe comes calling, Orlando City’s front office can hardly keep him from going, but it will be imperative to receive the best possible return for the club’s record signing. If Torres does move on, it will be bittersweet, as he was just starting to scratch the surface of his considerable talent. But it will speak well of OCSC as a place that can develop talent for bigger leagues in Europe, which can only help with recruiting more top players from South America. Should Torres return and play all of 2023 with Orlando, we would expect him to be able to contribute double-digit goal and assist totals as the 22-year-old continues to grow his game.

Previous Season in Review Articles (Date Posted)

This concludes our 2022 Orlando City Season in Review series of player ratings. We hope you’ve enjoyed this look back at each of the Lions who completed the season with the club and played in at least one MLS/U.S. Open Cup match.

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Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions head to Charlotte looking for an elusive road win after blowing late leads in the last two away matches.

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4 hours ago

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October 31, 2026

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Image of Justin Ellis playing the ball against Charlotte.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match preview and live thread for a Saturday matinee matchup between Orlando City (12-13-7, 43 points) and Charlotte FC (14-10-8, 50 points) at Inter.co Stadium (1 p.m., Apple TV). This is the second of the two games on the slate between the Eastern Conference rivals in 2026.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

The Lions are 5-1-3 in the regular-season series and 7-3-3 in all competitions against Charlotte. Orlando City is 1-0-3 on the road in the regular season and 1-2-3 away across all competitions against the North Carolina-based side.

Orlando got its biggest win in the series in the most recent meeting, a 4-1 home win for the Lions on April 22. The Lions rode a big second half to the victory after Luis Otavio and Morrison Agyemang traded first-half goals. Martin Ojeda notched a brace after halftime and Ignacio Gomez scored his first MLS goal to add some late insurance.

The teams last met in Charlotte on July 5, 2025, playing to a 2-2 draw at Bank of America Stadium. The hosts took a 2-0 lead on goals by Pep Biel and Bill Tuiloma, but Ramiro Enrique and Marco Pasalic brought the Lions back to earn a point on the road.

Earlier in the 2025 campaign, the teams met on May 14 in Orlando, with Luis Muriel and Ojeda giving the Lions a 2-0 lead inside the game’s first 25 minutes. Wilfried Zaha pulled the visitors within a goal before the break, making for a tight second half, but Enrique’s late goal put the game to bed in Orlando City’s 3-1 home win.

Prior to 2025, the teams met in the first round of the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs. Orlando City claimed two of the three matches, winning the first outright, dropping the second on penalties after a late goal was called offside in the buildup, and advancing after a penalty shootout win following the third match of the best-of-three series.

On Nov. 9, 2024, Facundo Torres’ penalty late in stoppage time canceled out a Karol Swiderski goal and sent the deciding third match to penalties with a 1-1 score. Pedro Gallese made two saves and Orlando City won the shootout 4-1, advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The teams played eight days before that in Charlotte, without either side scoring in normal time, as Torres’ strike was disallowed for offside on Nico Lodeiro on Muriel’s through ball. Charlotte won the ensuing penalty shootout 3-1 after the scoreless draw to tie the series at 1-1. That followed Orlando City’s 2-0 home win the previous Sunday. Torres and Ojeda scored the goals on either side of halftime to lead the Lions to the Game 1 win. It was the first time Orlando scored more than one goal in an MLS playoff game.

The teams met a month and a half prior to their first playoff meeting on Sept. 18 in Orlando. The Lions got second-half goals from Torres and Duncan McGuire to win 2-0, claiming the first multiple-goal win in the series. The teams also met on June 19, 2024, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte and played to a 2-2 draw. The hosts struck first with an early Kerwin Vargas goal and the Lions pulled one back through McGuire in the second half. But despite Charlotte going down a man on Scott Arfield’s red card, Brandt Bronico restored the hosts’ lead shortly after McGuire’s strike. Torres struck back moments later but the Lions could not find a winner on the road.

The previous match was also a draw at Bank of America Stadium, finishing 1-1 on Aug. 30, 2023. Enzo Copetti’s late penalty appeared to wrap things up for the hosts on a rainy night in Charlotte, but Ojeda’s seeing-eye set piece equalized just before stoppage time as the teams split the points.

Charlotte claimed a 1-0 “home” victory in U.S. Open Cup play on May 9 of that year. That game took place at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews, NC, rather than at the club’s regular stadium. The first matchup of the 2023 season didn’t go any better for Orlando City, finishing as a 2-1 Charlotte win at Exploria Stadium on March 18. Copetti and Vargas put Charlotte up 2-0 by halftime. Ojeda pulled one back, but the Lions were wasteful in front of goal and couldn’t pull level.

In 2022, the teams met at Bank of America Stadium on Aug. 21. After a scoreless first half, Ercan Kara put the Lions ahead on the road, only to see McKinze Gaines equalize just four minutes later. Tesho Akindele’s late goal lifted Orlando to a 2-1 victory.

Orlando City won the first-ever meeting between the sides on April 30, 2022, at Exploria Stadium. Ruan scored the opening goal and set up Torres on the counter for the second as the Lions took a 2-0 lead into the locker room. Christian Fuchs scored from the spot after Rodrigo Schlegel was called for a foul in the box in the second half, but that was as close as Charlotte got in what was ultimately a 2-1 Orlando victory.

Overview

Orlando City enters the match in an odd way, because although the Lions have gone unbeaten in their last five games (2-0-3), they’ve also dropped three late leads in the last four, coughing up six points in a tight Eastern Conference playoff race. That includes Wednesday’s match at Chicago, which ended in a 2-2 draw, and the home game against New York City FC a week ago, another 2-2 draw. Orlando led in the 69th and deep in stoppage time of those games, respectively. Antoine Griezmann is almost singlehandedly willing Orlando to stay above the playoff line with a goal-scoring streak of five matches.

But the Lions enter tonight just 3-9-4 on the road in league play in 2026 and haven’t won away from Orlando since Sept. 9 at Atlanta and going 0-3-2 in five road matches in all competitions since then.

Charlotte enters tonight fresh off a 4-0 home beatdown of CF Montreal in the midweek and although both clubs are on the same rest, Orlando has traveled to Chicago and Charlotte over the last few days and stayed on the road in between, while tonight’s hosts have been sleeping snugly in their beds since returning home from a 3-2 loss at Portland a week ago. Charlotte FC is 9-3-4 at Bank of America Stadium in MLS play this year and have won two straight on their own patch.

Orlando City will need to be patient to avoid giving up dangerous counterattacks, as the Lions have struggled to defend them all year, and the club will be without three-quarters of its starting back line, with Griffin Dorsey and Robin Jansson out with injuries and David Brekalo suspended for yellow card accumulation. The back line will be a makeshift one, which is less than ideal against players like Biel (13 goals, 16 assists), Idan Toklomati (15 goals, 6 assists), and Liel Abada (8 goals, 5 assists). Charlotte has the Eastern Conference’s sixth-best offense and the East’s fourth-best defense, led by goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina.

In addition to being without Brekalo (suspension), Jansson (foot), and Dorsey (back), Orlando also won’t have winger Tyrese Spicer (foot). Charlotte will be without Will Cleary (illness), Nimfasha Berchimas (lower body), Archie Goodwin (lower body), Aron John (upper body), and Tim Ream (lower body).

Match Content

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Vinicius Nogueira,Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Zakaria Taifi.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Luis Otavio, Braian Ojeda, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Antoine Griezmann.

Bench: Javier Otero, Adrian Marin, Nolan Miller, Joran Gerbet, Eduard Atuesta, Justin Ellis, Tiago, Harvey Sarajian, Daryl Dike.

Charlotte FC (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Kristijan Kahlina.

Defenders: Harry Toffolo, Henry Kessler, Morrison Agyemang, Nathan Byrne.

Midfielders: Pep Biel, Ashley Westwood, Djibril Diani.

Forwards: Allan Saint-Maximin, Idan Toklomati, Liel Abada.

Bench: Tyler Miller, Andrew Privett, David Schnegg, Abdoulaye Doucouré, Luca de la Torre, Brandt Bronico, Nathan Richmond, Tyger Smalls, Rodolfo Aloko.

Referees

Ref: Victor Rivas.
AR1: Mike Nickerson.
AR2: Ben Pilgrim.
4th: Nabil Bensalah.
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.
AVAR: Kathryn Nesbitt.

How to Watch

Match Time: 1 p.m.

Venue: Bank of America Stadium  — Charlotte.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Orlando City’s Spookiest Games

In the spirit of the season, let’s look at some of Orlando City’s most haunting results from recent years.

Published

1 day ago

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October 30, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Saturday is Halloween, which means that we’re officially in the spookiest time of the year. Things are scary for Lions fans in more ways than one at the moment, as the team is clinging to a playoff spot and has two difficult games to close the season. With how frightening the current landscape is, this seems like a good time to look back on some of Orlando’s spookiest, scariest, most scream-inducing games from recent years. Some are included on this list because of ugly scorelines, while others are more about the circumstances surrounding the matches, so bear that in mind. Also, beware the Ides of March (and November), apparently.

New York City FC 5-0, Orlando City, March 7, 2026

Where better to start than the match that cost Oscar Pareja his job? It certainly hadn’t been an ideal start to the 2026 season for the Lions, as they suffered back-to-back home losses to the New York Red Bulls and Inter Miami. Still, there were the mitigating circumstances of Robin Jansson’s and Joran Gerbet’s unavailability, Griffin Dorsey attempting to adapt to new surroundings on the fly, and Pareja being forced to use a combination of Tahir Reid-Brown, Nolan Miller, and David Brekalo on the back line against the Herons. While things rarely go well on the road against NYCFC, there was some hope that the team could build on some of the good things it showed against Miami. We were quickly disabused of that notion in painful fashion, as Maxime Crepeau picked up an 18th-minute red card for handling the ball outside the box and thereby denying a goal-scoring opportunity. The Pigeons scored four minutes later, and the rout was on from there.

Nashville SC 5-0 Orlando City, March 21, 2026

We next turn to another game from this season, picking things up in Martin Perelman’s second match in charge as interim head coach. His tenure got off to a decent enough start, as OCSC got its first win of the season at home against a CF Montreal side that was admittedly among the favorites to finish last in the East. Still, you can only beat who’s in front of you, and the Lions did so playing an open and chaotic but exciting style that helped build a little optimism which was then promptly shattered at Geodis Park. Nashville scored just five minutes into the game and while it was only 2-0 at halftime, the ‘Yotes scored three in the second half and Sam Surridge bagged a hat trick to bring Orlando and its fans back to Earth in resounding fashion. It was a game marked by bad goalkeeping, bad defending, bad finishing, and bad giveaways, and it was a harsh reality check after the high of getting a first win of the season.

Inter Miami 5-0 Orlando City, March 2, 2024

Orlando was having a decent enough start to its 2024 campaign, with away and home wins against Cavalry FC in the Concacaf Champions Cup sandwiching a draw on opening day. Then the Lions hit the road to play Inter Miami and looked like they never got off the plane. Luis Suarez scored twice in the first 15 minutes, the Herons were up 3-0 after 30 minutes, and a five-minute Lionel Messi brace in the second half made it 5-0. This wasn’t a game that featured some of the errors or bookings of our previous two entries. Instead, OCSC flat out got knocked into the dirt after failing to take the chances it managed to generate when the game was still close. Losing 5-0 is always bad, losing 5-0 to Miami is a particular type of horror.

New York Red Bulls 1-0 Orlando City, Nov. 30, 2024

We now fast forward from March two years ago to the game that ended the 2024 campaign. This makes the list not due to the margin of defeat, which was negligible, but because of the circumstances surrounding it. Not only were the Lions hosting an Eastern Conference final at home, but the bracket had opened up beautifully for Orlando to make a run to its first-ever MLS Cup final. Atlanta United knocked out no.1 seed Miami in the first round, the Red Bulls took out no.2 seed Columbus Crew early, and NYCFC eliminated no.3 seed FC Cincinnati to leave Orlando as the highest seed left in the East. The Lions took care of business first against Charlotte FC and then against Atlanta in a rivalry match, but couldn’t get over the hump against the Red Bulls. It was a close game with good chances at a premium, and it came down to New York taking its best opportunity through Andres Reyes, while Facundo Torres was stonewalled by Carlos Coronel on the break. It was simply an agonizing way to go out, especially considering how well things seemed to be lining up for the team to play for a trophy.

Columbus Crew 2-0 Orlando City, Nov. 25, 2023

We end with the playoff elimination from the previous year, which came in the Eastern Conference semifinals at home. This was horrifying to Orlando fans for a couple different reasons. Obviously, getting knocked out of the postseason is never fun, but it was also the team’s first loss at home since April 22 of that year and just the third loss in all competitions since the beginning of August. The Lions had powered through the back half of the season with 10 wins in their final 13 league games, including the playoffs, but simply couldn’t get much going offensively in game no. 14. Still, the match was tied as the clocked ticked past the 75th minute and I, for one, felt reasonably good about Orlando’s chances in extra time at home. Everything changed when Rodrigo Schlegel picked up a second yellow card in the 77th minute though, and OCSC was suddenly staring down the barrel of playing the last 40 minutes of the game with 10 men. The Crew broke the deadlock in the 93rd minute, bagged an insurance goal in the 118th, and stopped what had been an elite end to the season for the Lions dead in its tracks, and in their own barn no less.

Are there any Orlando City games from over the years that still haunt you to this day? Be sure to let us know down in the comments, and have a happy Halloween!

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Lion Links: 10/30/26

Antoine Griezmann honored, Orlando City’s 2027 Sprint Season schedule released, Orlando Pride prepare for 2026 finale, and more.

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1 day ago

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October 30, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Justin Glatt

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! Let’s all hope this weekend has more treats than tricks as both Orlando City and the Orlando Pride are in action. If you plan on celebrating Halloween this year, be sure to stay hydrated and safe while also having plenty of fun. Let’s get to the links!

Antoine Griezmann Makes MLS Team of the Matchday

Orlando City attacker Antoine Griezmann was the only Lion to make the MLS Team of the Matchday after the slate of midweek games. He scored a goal and added an assist in the club’s 2-2 draw on the road against the Chicago Fire as he continues to excel in the league since joining this summer. It was his 12th consecutive game with a goal contribution and he now has 14 goals and eight assists in 16 games this season. The Frenchman’s audacious strike from distance is also up for MLS Goal of the Matchday, though he faces tough competition from Kenji Mboma Dem, Kristoffer Velde, and Luis Suarez. Be sure to vote!

Orlando City’s 2027 Sprint Schedule Unveiled

MLS announced its schedule for the 2027 Sprint Season, which is formatted so that each club plays one game against each of the 14 other clubs in its conference. Orlando City revealed its slate for the shortened campaign for your convenience, and the Lions will open the season at home against the New England Revolution on Feb. 20, continuing the streak of hosting their season opener every year since joining the league in 2015. City will alternate playing at home and on the road throughout the season, with the final game coming on May 8 against Charlotte FC. The only games on Orlando’s schedule that don’t take place on a Saturday are a pair of Wednesday games at home against Toronto FC on March 3 and the Philadelphia Union on April 7. As for the postseason, eight teams will make the playoffs and compete in a single-elimination tournament to determine which team will represent the Eastern Conference in the MLS Cup final.

Orlando Pride Prepare for Decision Day

The Orlando Pride will play their final game of the season on the road Sunday against the Seattle Reign. While the Pride are already eliminated from the postseason, they can potentially spoil things for the Reign with a strong showing to close out the year. Interim head coach Yolanda Thomas spoke on how the team has embraced that role and has prepared to match the intensity it will face from the Reign. It’s been a rough year for the Pride, so hopefully they can end things on a high note.

U.S. Beats Spain to Advance in FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup

The United States U-17 Women’s National Team won 2-1 against Spain in the FIFA U-17 World Cup to advance to the quarterfinals. Deus Stanislaus got the scoring started with a goal right before halftime and Maddie DiMaria doubled the U.S. lead in the 48th minute. Spain rallied back with a goal from Vera Molina, but the U.S. was able to hold on for the win. The U.S. will play Korea DPR in the quarterfinals on Sunday.

Free Kicks

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Friday and rest of your weekend!

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