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Orlando City vs. Sacramento Republic FC: Photo Gallery

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City did the thing. The Lions patiently battered their heads against a stout Sacramento Republic FC bunker for an hour and a quarter before Ivan Angulo’s pressure created the crack that Orlando needed to bash down the door to its first major trophy since joining MLS for the 2015 season. The 3-0 victory over the upstart Republic also gave the Lions their first qualification to the Concacaf Champions League and they’ll play for the continental championship in 2023.

While the visitors were seldom threatening in the match, the game seemed to be unfolding just the way they would have hoped. Referee Ramy Touchan let a lot of contact go, and the Lions moved the ball slowly and cautiously, opting to keep it under control instead of trying to play to striker Ercan Kara over the top. The few times those attempts came, long balls were overhit and either went out for a goal kick or were easily collected by Sacramento goalkeeper Danny Vitiello.

The rain — usually a friend to the Lions — also seemed to be an advantage for Sacramento, taking some of the crispness off Orlando’s passing.

Oscar Pareja inserted Homegrown Player and Orlando native Benji Michel into the lineup for Kara just past the hour mark to provide energy and it worked. When Angulo dispossessed defender Dan Casey on the left edge of the box, he knocked it to Michel, who did well to spot the oncoming Facundo Torres and deliver an easy pass for the Uruguayan winger to handle. Torres smashed it first time into the upper left corner for the opener the Lions had been looking for.

With the Republic having to chase the game over the last quarter of an hour, the cracks and spaces began to grow and Orlando took full advantage. A good ball over the top found Michel in the box and as he settled the ball to take his shot, he was fouled by Casey, earning his team a penalty. Torres dispatched the spot kick with class and coolness, sending Vitiello the wrong way to make it 2-0.

Torres returned the two Michel favors deep in stoppage time, sending a pass that split two midfielders and two defenders to pick out Benji making a diagonal run. Michel placed his shot perfectly, slotting just inside the left post to put the game away and allowing Exploria Stadium to celebrate.

Speaking of celebrations, the joy and chaos on the field after the final whistle was a sight to behold. The Lions jumped, danced, and sang, filming themselves with cell phones, donning various bits of costume, and draping their national flags around their shoulders, while quickly changing into 2022 U.S. Open Cup champion t-shirts. They walked through a classy honor guard of Sacramento players to the podium and lifted their trophy in front of their home fans, finishing a run of six consecutive home matches in the competition en route to the title.

We hope you enjoy these images from an absolutely unforgettable night in the history of Orlando City SC.


Images: Dan MacDonald
Words: Michael Citro

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Orlando City vs. Tigres UANL, Concacaf Champions Cup: Photo Gallery

An album of images from Orlando City’s 0-0 home draw against Tigres.

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City hosted Liga MX side UANL Tigres late Tuesday night in another Concacaf Champions Cup battle of the big cats, and once again both sides walked away stymied after a physical but scoreless draw. The Lions’ defense returned from its weekend hiatus and stifled the midfield, forcing Tigres talisman André-Pierre Gignac to to drop deep to get on the ball and restricting him to only one off-target shot.

The crowd was a little underwhelming for such a big match, likely due in large part to the 9 p.m. weeknight start (Concacaf, sigh). However, the supporters in The Wall brought their usual passion, making for a lively atmosphere without the hijinks of last year’s clash.

With the draw, the Lions can advance in the tournament with a win, a draw with goals scored (due to the away goals rule), or a 0-0 draw and advancing on penalties in the return fixture of next Tuesday. El Volcán is a hostile environment to be sure, but the Lions have already earned a result there with last year’s draw, so this is within the Lions’ paws if they perform at the level they have hinted they are capable of. But first they have to face a Minnesota team that has started the season hotter than expected in MLS play on Saturday.

We hope you enjoy these images from the continental competition, despite the lack of goals.

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Orlando City vs. Cavalry FC, Concacaf Champions Cup: Photo Gallery

An album of images from Orlando City’s 3-1 home win in Concacaf Champions Cup action.

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land


Orlando City continued its Concacaf Champions Cup run on Tuesday where it left off last week by playing slightly sloppy but still overmatching soccer against Calgary’s Cavalry FC. The Lions beat Cavalry 3-1, advancing 6-1 on aggregate. Cavalry played the ‘just happy to be here’ role well, clearly relishing the non-competitive tie and taking home a road goal as its only trophy.

Personnel-wise, Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja went deep into the roster due to the grueling schedule, rotating nine of 11 starters from Saturday. You will notice a few new faces in the gallery, as Shakur Mohammed (start) and Abdi Salim (64th-minute substitute) got substantial run-outs. Luis Muriel also made his debut, starting and playing 79 minutes, so it may not take that long for him to achieve 90-minute match fitness.

Being down three goals in the tie, Cavalry came out with the slightly baffling strategy of playing a well-organized team against the Lions’ highly rotated side. The scrambled personnel mix, such as the Rodrigo Schlegel-Kyle Smith center back pairing, and nerves all likely contribued as well, leading to a scoreless (and fairly slow) first half played largely in the midfield.

Orlando continued rotating personnel in the second half, with substitutes Nico Lodeiro and Facundo Torres contributing to Orlando’s three goals on the evening. Lodeiro notched a goal and an assist, while Torres set up a late insurance goal by Smith, who moved from center back to left back when Salim came off the bench. Ramiro Enrique took advantage of his extended minutes, playing the full game and leading the team in shots (5), putting three of them on target. He looked dangerous all game but it took a while to get dialed in. He was eventually rewarded with a stunner of a goal in the 71st minute.

We hope you enjoy these images from a memorable home match that saw the Lions advance to the Round of 16, where they’ll have a rematch against Liga MX giants Tigres, starting Tuesday night at Inter&Co Stadium.

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Orlando City vs. CF Montreal: Photo Gallery

An album of images from Orlando City’s scoreless home draw against CF Montreal.

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

You’ve heard the saying, “Good work is rewarded with more work”? Well, Orlando City’s excellent season last year was rewarded by having to open its Concacaf Champions Cup (CCC) run at the furthest reaches of the continent soccer-wise, and then three days later, opening its regular season in Florida. Unsurprisingly, the on-pitch product showed the travel wear a bit and Orlando (0-0-1, 1 point) had to settle for a draw against CF Montreal (0-0-1, 1 point). In the end, this is a point happily taken to start the season, given the scheduling circumstances.

Martín Ojeda and Nico Lodeiro showed signs of starting to get on the same page, and Dagur Dan Thórhallsson and Iván Angulo had their same fearsome ground-covering dynamics of last year. They just could not find Duncan McGuire with a final ball, however, despite his normal chaos-inducing runs, and Thórhallsson and César Araújo both failed to finish good looks. I personally thought — and the game stats tend to agree — that the Lions were the better team for the majority of the game and deserved more, but you have to put the ball in the net to win.

The fans were raring to go, with the sold-out Wall in full voice, harassing the opposition (and the substitute refereeing crew) and generally continuing to provide the environment that Orlando is (in)famous for throughout the league. In the end, the Lions remained unbeaten on opening night (3-0-7) and still haven’t conceded in their MLS opener under Oscar Pareja. The downside is that three of the last five openers have been scoreless draws.

We hope you enjoy these images from a great night at the stadium, even if the result wasn’t quite the one for which you were hoping. Your next opportunity to come out and experience the atmosphere will be tonight at 6 p.m. when the Lions host Cavalry FC in the second leg of the CCC series. It’s a bit early, but with the Lions already up three goals on aggregate in the tie, they are well positioned to advance.

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