Orlando City got a goal in the first half from Duncan McGuire and held on for a 1-0 win over the Portland Timbers tonight in front of an announced crowd of 21,256 at Inter&Co Stadium. The Lions (7-2-6, 27 points) were pressured throughout the second half, but held on to extend their unbeaten run in the regular season to 12 games (6-0-6) in the regular season, tying the club record set in 2020. With the win, Orlando also remained perfect (3-0-0) at home against Portland (6-4-5, 23 points).

“First, I would like to recognize the effort of the players today for that incredible first half that we had, and the tactical discipline that they kept in the second half when we needed it,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “And our energy to push and press started getting lower for the simple reason that we played two days ago and we bet hard on the Cup. So, all of that let us feel so proud about the effort, the performance, and beating a good rival as well, because I consider that a very good team.”

Pareja’s lineup featured Pedro Gallese in goal behind the usual back line of David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Alex Freeman. Eduard Atuesta returned to the lineup, joining Cesar Araujo in central midfield with attacking midfielders Ivan Angulo and Marco Pasalic, with Luis Muriel and McGuire up top.

The Lions spent much of the first half working the ball into great positions, but making poor decisions, poor passes, or poor shots once they got into the final third. Portland was content to sit back in its 5-4-1 formation and defend, leaving little space for Orlando to work through. Still, the Lions were able to generate the best chances in the opening half, and had enough good looks at goal to put the game to bed before the break.

The second half was mostly a battle of attrition, as the Timbers were able to keep the ball, but struggled to create much danger against the Orlando defense, attempting just seven total shots and putting only two on target. Gallese made two saves to keep his seventh clean sheet of the 2025 season.

Muriel, in particular, looked just a bit off throughout the opening 45 minutes, making a good read to thread a ball through to Pasalic’s diagonal run in the third minute, but sending the pass just a few inches out of the Croatian’s reach right in front of goal. Atuesta took a pass from Freeman in the sixth minute but fired wide. Two minutes later, Pasalic got free at the top of the box and fired, but Maxime Crepeau made a good diving save to keep the game scoreless.

Angulo found some room on the left in the 13th minute, but he sent his shot weakly toward the near post and it posed no trouble for Crepeau. Five minutes later, Muriel took a shot that came close, but his blast was just wide of the right post.

Portland got its first prolonged spell of possession after Muriel’s chance, but didn’t create much with it, despite winning a series of set pieces. On the third of those, the Lions cleared after the service into the area was knocked away by Gallese, and Angulo broke in transition behind the Portland defense. The Colombian got into the box but sent his shot wide of the left post in the 29th minute.

Over the next 10 minutes, Orlando City had some chances to create something dangerous, but Muriel wasn’t able to find the final ball to unlock the Timbers’ defense. However, at the end of that 10 minutes, the Lions broke through.

Atuesta worked the ball right and left at the top of the area, looking to free himself for a shot, but then he picked out McGuire with a great pass. The big forward turned and smashed a shot past Crepeau for his first goal of the regular season in the 39th minute.

Duncan McGuire puts it away to give @OrlandoCitySC the lead!

📺 #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/wP7trbJvpb pic.twitter.com/xyIUQYOuGy

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) May 25, 2025

“Obviously a great ball from Eduard. I don’t think the defense expected it,” McGuire said. “He always told me he’s going to look for me, so I was anticipated the ball, and he played an incredible ball, so I owe him dinner for that beautiful ball.”

“Their line tried to press after the rebound (from a previous ball into the box),” Atuesta said of the play. “Duncan made a magnificent movement. And thank God he shot on the first (touch), because maybe if he controlled, the defender would slide tackle or something or block the shot, but he was very good, very smart to shoot the first time, and we won with that goal, so very good for us.”

Atuesta, who hadn’t played since April 26, had a terrific game in the Orlando midfield, helping connect the lines and to win the ball back from the Timbers repeatedly.

“Eduard has a special characteristic. The way he connects us all on the pitch, so the sequence is very clean,” Pareja said. “I was doubtful too, about how much he can last, but Atuesta hasn’t stopped training. He is a player who’s technical, and the way he sees the game for us is great.”

Following his goal, McGuire celebrated with Freeman as the two players did the Griddy.

Three minutes after McGuire’s goal, Angulo slipped in, took a Freeman pass, and put the ball in the net, but he didn’t hold his run long enough and was a step offside.

Kevin Kelsy blasted a shot over Gallese’s crossbar at the end of the half on the final chance of the half.

The Timbers had the halftime edge in possession (50.9%-49.1%), passing accuracy (90.2%-88.3%), and corners (2-1), while Orlando City finished with more shots (11-2), and shots on target (3-1).

“I may not exaggerate when I say this is one of the best performances in the first half that we have had,” Pareja said. “And it’s true that the second half was not similar. We started losing territory. Portland had the ball — not the opportunities but they had the ball and the initiative — we couldn’t get out from there.”

“Oobviously with the (five-man back line), I feel like they did a good job to get numbers behind the ball, but I feel like we had our chances when we got the ball behind their midfield four to go quickly,” McGuire said. “And I think we had a few opportunities that we could have capitalized on, myself included, but at the end of the day, we got the three points, and that’s what matters.”

Portland’s David Da Costa had the first look of the second half, picking up the ball in the left corner of the box and curling a shot just wide of the right post in the 50th minute.

Orlando got a rare attacking move in the 66th minute, resulting in a Muriel shot from the top of the area, but the Colombian sent his shot over the bar.

There was a scary moment for McGuire a moments later, when he was sandwiched between two Portland defenders and went down hard. He rolled over holding his wrist in visible discomfort. After receiving treatment, he was able to continue, but he came off in the 67th minute for Ramiro Enrique, and Martin Ojeda replaced Muriel, who had a tough night with his final ball in the attack.

Gallese helped his own cause in the second half by aggressively coming off his line to deal with Portland crosses. He got to a dangerous one in the 71st minute, catching it just before Kelsy’s arrival.

Orlando City fans held their collective breath in the 76th minute, when Brekalo went to ground in the box and Portland’s Ariel Lassiter went to ground. The play was reviewed, but Brekalo got a touch of the ball with his right foot, and Lassiter appeared to already be going to ground before contact, so the no-call on the field stood.

Gallese had to be sharp on a ball headed for the upper left corner on a header by Finn Surman in the 79th minute, tipping it over the crossbar.

On the ensuing corner, Gallese again came off his line and swatted the cross away. Portland recycled, and Antony fired a shot well over the bar from outside the box on the recycle.

The Lions got forward sparingly in the second half, and when they did, they often dribbled straight into a defender and turned it over, but in the 82nd minute, Ojeda got an opportunity from a good position on the left side of the box, but Crepeau fought off the shot attempt. The rebound fell for Enrique, but the Argentinean forward saw his shot blocked by Claudio Bravo.

From that point on, Portland passed the ball around the top, looking for an opening to exploit, but they were only able to send in crosses that were either caught by Gallese or headed away by the Orlando defense.

Schlegel and Jansson both picked up yellow cards for dissent in stoppage time, but other than that, the added minutes were mostly uneventful, and the Lions held on for the win.

Portland finished the game with the edge in possession (54.5%-45.5%), passing accuracy (89%-85.7%), and corners (4-1). Orlando City attempted more shots (14-7) and shots on target (4-2). It wasn’t the most clinical night for the Lions in the attacking half, but the defense stayed organized and kept Portland off the scoreboard.

“It was hard to keep the ball (in the second half), to keep the ball longer. It was hard for us to find our connections that we found in the first half,” Pareja said. “It was hard to retain the ball, especially in the last 10-15, minutes. Our sequences were shorter, but again, the way the team defended was super and let us have the feeling of solidness that we need when these scenarios happen, or these games come, or (there are) performances from the other team. So again, I’m proud. The boys deserve all the credit.”

“It was a tough game. Portland obviously tested us in the second half a lot,” McGuire said. “But I think we responded well and did a good job to keep them out of our goal, and glad to get the three points.”

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The Lions have yet another short turnaround as they hit the road Wednesday with a road match at Atlanta United.

Welcome to your preview and match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (6-2-6, 24 points) and the Portland Timbers (6-3-5, 23 points) at Inter&Co Stadium. It’s the only scheduled meeting between the cross-conference opponents in 2025 and the first time the teams have met since the 2022 MLS season.

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

History

The Lions are 3-1-2 against the Timbers in the regular season since joining Major League Soccer and 3-2-2 in all competitions. Orlando holds a record of 2-0-0 at home in the series.

The last time the teams met was at Providence Park on March 27, 2022, when they played to a 1-1 draw. Orlando City was ahead on a second-half goal by Junior Urso and up a man after Josecarlos Van Rankin picked up a second yellow card in the final quarter of an hour. However, Andres Perea committed a foul in the penalty area, allowing Cristhian Paredes to equalize from the spot just 10 minutes from the end of full time.

Prior to the 2022 meeting, the teams played for a trophy in the championship match of the MLS is Back Tournament on Aug. 11, 2020. The Timbers were successful on two set pieces in a 2-1 win over the Lions. Center backs Larrys Mabiala and Dario Zuparic got on the end of those set pieces to score, and Mauricio Pereyra put one in the net for Orlando on a wasteful night by the Lions, who put only one of their 14 shots on frame against the Timbers’ low block defensive formation.

The two sides also met on July 18, 2019 at Providence Park, with a largely second-choice Orlando lineup playing to a 1-1 draw against a mainly full-strength Portland side. The Lions were outshot 26-2 but managed the road point anyway, thanks to a Santiago Patino goal that was offset by a late Jeremy Ebobisse equalizer.

The last time the teams met in Orlando’s home stadium saw Orlando City rally with three goals in seven minutes to erase a 2-0 deficit and win, 3-2. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer scored in the 80th, 82nd, and 87th minutes, respectively, to overcome a hole created by goals from Portland’s Diego Valeri and Bill Tuiloma.

The Lions’ only regular-season loss in the series came at Providence Park in a game they’d rather forget, as they ended up getting two men sent off on the way to a 3-0 loss to Portland in 2018. Goals from Valeri (twice) and Darren Mattocks got Timber Joey’s chainsaw heated up. Jonathan Spector got sent off for two yellow cards and PC saw a straight red.

In 2016, Orlando City thumped the defending MLS champion Timbers, 4-1, with four different Lions scoring — Seb Hines, Kaká, Kevin Molino, and Brek Shea. Joe Bendik stopped a Fanendo Adi penalty kick, but Jack McInerney’s late goal spoiled the shutout.

Orlando won the inaugural MLS meeting in 2015 at Providence Park, 2-0, with Cyle Larin scoring the first of his league rookie record 17 goals, chesting home a wicked cross from Molino. Kaká scored the second goal from the spot to provide the final margin after Carlos Rivas drew the first penalty in Orlando City’s MLS history.

Overview

Orlando City is coming off a frustrating 3-2 home loss to Nashville SC Wednesday in the U.S. Open Cup. Marco Pasalic opened the scoring and Ramiro Enrique equalized after the Lions fell behind on two poor goals by the defense, but a legitimate penalty shout against Nashville for a handball was ignored and the visitors got a late goal from fullback Wyatt Meyer to knock Orlando out of the competition. That snapped the club’s 12-game unbeaten streak in all competitions. However, the Lions still enter tonight on an 11-match unbeaten run in MLS games.

The Lions are 4-1-2 at home in the regular season. However, to improve upon that record, Head Coach Oscar Pareja must ensure his team has more legs under it tonight than it had on Wednesday, when multiple players — notably, Martin Ojeda, David Brekalo, and Cesar Araujo, among others — appeared sluggish after playing heavy minutes in Sunday’s emotional road win at Inter Miami. This is Orlando’s third match in seven days, so running the mostly the same lineup out there against Portland is likely not the best idea.

At the same time, it should be noted that the Timbers are playing their third match in eight days, with the most recent of those — a Tuesday night 1-0 loss after extra time to San Jose in the U.S. Open Cup — on the road. Portland is one extra day removed from both USOC play and MLS play than the Lions, but the Timbers have logged some travel miles, flying to both San Jose and Orlando.

Portland’s most recent league match was a hard-fought 1-1 home draw in the Cascadia Cup rivalry against the Seattle Sounders. The Timbers are 0-1-2 in their last three games in all competitions, but they sit fourth in the Western Conference and have been good on the road, taking points in five of seven away league matches with a 3-2-2 mark away from Providence Park.

Tonight’s visitors have multiple players who can inflict damage in the attack. Four players have at least four goals, led by Felipe Mora’s five, while Antony has scored four times and is tied for the Portland lead in assists, with seven. Kevin Kelsy and Santiago Moreno also have four goals apiece, with David da Costa sitting on two goals to go along with his seven assists.

Orlando must battle fatigue as well as the varied Portland attack. At the same time, the Lions must take their chances better than they did on Wednesday, as the Timbers have conceded more goals (20) than all but four teams in the Western Conference.

“Portland is a team that has been growing in this season. We don’t play in the same conference, but we have seen their growth lately,” Pareja said ahead of the match. “The preparation has been intense for us in such a short period of time. Knowing that they [Portland] have that game model that has been growing lately. We respect them and we’ll be ready.”

The Lions will be without Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), Nico Rodríguez (thigh), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee), while Eduard Atuesta (neck) and Gustavo Caraballo (lower leg) are questionable. The Timbers will be without Diego Chara (lower body), Zac McGraw (back), and James Pantemis (leg), while Jonathan Rodriguez (lower body) is questionable.

Match Content

• The latest episode of the PawedCast includes our key matchups and our score predictions for tonight’s game.
• Our Ben Miller provided his three keys to an Orlando City victory in this match.

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Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Alex Freeman.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Cesar Araujo, Eduard Atuesta, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Luis Muriel, Duncan McGuire.

Bench: Javier Otero, Rafael Santos, Kyle Smith, Zakaria Taifi, Joran Gerbet, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Shak Mohammed, Martin Ojeda, Ramiro Enrique.

Portland Timbers (5-4-1)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Omir Fernandez, Jimer Fory, Finn Surman, Dario Zuparic, Juan Mosquera.

Midfielders: Santiago Moreno, Cristhian Paredes, David Ayala, David da Costa.

Forward: Kevin Kelsy.

Bench: Trey Muse, Kamal Miller, Claudio Bravo, Ian Smith, Eric Miller, Joao Ortiz, Ariel Lassiter, Antony, Felipe Mora.

Referees

Ref: Jair Marrufo.
AR1: Eric Weisbrod.
AR2: Kevin Klinger.
4th: Ricardo Montero Araya.
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.
AVAR: Joshua Patlak.

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How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

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.

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Enjoy the game. Go City!

Coming off a midweek U.S. Open Cup match that I think we’d all rather not talk about too much, Orlando City will try to continue a good run of form in league play tomorrow when it faces the Portland Timbers at home. Both teams will be coming off a short week and need wins to keep pace at the top of crowded Eastern and Western conferences. What follows are three things I believe will go a long way towards helping OCSC pick up the win.

Balance the Lineup

Hindsight is of course 20/20, but playing a mostly first-choice lineup on Wednesday coming off short rest on Sunday after an emotional win hurt Orlando City dearly in the end. Nashville SC looked like the fresher team, and several Lions simply seemed to hit physical walls in the second half, which wasn’t surprising considering the amount of minutes that have piled up on their legs over the course of May. Playing a lineup of all the guys who started on Wednesday would be tantamount to suicide, but Oscar Pareja is going to need to strike the right balance between calling on his best XI and getting some fresh legs in. Alex Freeman, Martin Ojeda, Cesar Araujo, and Joran Gerbet could surely do with some rest, and the health of Eduard Atuesta will surely have a big impact on how the starting lineup looks Saturday night. Either way, Papi is going to need to a good job of walking the tightrope.

Focused for the Full 90

Two of the three goals that Nashville scored on Wednesday were in large part due to the Lions being far too lackadaisical in their defending. Whether it was switching off because they were expecting a whistle that never came, or simply allowing an opposition player to have far too much time and space on the ball, moments where OCSC let its collective focus slip came back to haunt the club in a big way. Like Nashville, Portland is a strong side that’s more than capable of punishing mistakes and lapses of concentration. Tired legs and a possible emotional hangover from the Inter Miami victory likely contributed to Orlando delivering an uncharacteristically unfocused performance, but if the Lions can put those issues in the past, it’ll go a long way towards picking up all three points.

Finish Your Chances

While Orlando has been in (mostly) strong form lately, a recurring theme has begun to emerge of the team not finishing some of the best chances that it creates. Andrew DeSalvo spoke about this at length in an excellent piece, and drew upon OCSC’s 3-0 victory over Miami as a prime example of the Lions leaving goals on the table. Yes, the team has still been getting results, but the margins are so small in the game of soccer that repeatedly spurning chances to score will come back to bite you sooner or later. Plus, there’s plenty of danger going into this game: the Lions will be on short rest, with extra tired legs, against one of the best teams in the west. Any and all high-quality chances that the good guys can carve out need to be finished emphatically, and if they are, then don’t be surprised if OCSC comes out with a win.

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There you have it, people. If Orlando comes out with a balanced lineup, maintains razor-sharp focus for the entirety of the game, and is ruthless about finishing off great chances to score, then the Lions should be in a great position to get the win at home. All they need to do is go out and make it happen. Vamos Orlando!