Orlando City welcomed Eastern Conference bottom dwellers CF Montreal to the City Beautiful on a night that fell significantly short of expectations, as the home side was only able to muster one point. The 1-1 draw against the Wooden Spoon candidates from the Great White North, who were also short on rest, is more than likely the lowest point of the Orlando City season to date. What follows are my takeaways from a match which needed to be a victory for OCSC (but wasn’t).

Welcome Back, Alex

Alex Freeman as the Orlando City right back just feels so correct to type, and yet the Orlando City faithful have been without their first-choice attacking defender for over a month, as he has been with the USMNT in the Gold Cup. The young Lion slotted into his usual spot and did well throughout the match to both contain the Montreal attack while trying to contribute from an offensive perspective. There have been whispers about Freeman potentially being sold, but I believe that he will be with Orlando City for the duration of the 2025 season, and fans should feel comfortable in the fact that the connection between Freeman and the other attacking pieces for Orlando will continue to gel as the season progresses.

Set Piece Success

After a largely uneventful first 25 minutes of the match, Orlando City took the lead in the first half on the heels of what appeared to be a well-rehearsed set-piece goal. After a free kick was awarded in the 27th minute, Martin Ojeda, Luis Muriel, and Cesar Araujo all lined up over the ball. Ojeda elected to play the ball short and quickly to Muriel, who simply stopped the ball to tee it up for the No. 10, who fired a shot inside the near post, propelling Orlando City to a 1-0 lead. It was a cheeky and quick strike from Orlando City but exactly the type of play that someone would want to see from a team playing a vulnerable away squad. Ojeda became just the third player in club history to record double-digit goals and assists in a single season across all competitions, and the schedule is barely past the halfway point of the MLS season.

Failure to Launch

Orlando City finished the first half up by one goal and looked the part of the attacking home side. The problem was that the Lions were unable to find any additional goals to stretch the lead. Despite having a majority of the possession, the starters or substitutes were just not capable of being clinical enough to break down Montreal and find the back of the net. Without finding a second goal, Orlando allowed itself to be vulnerable to a less-than-ideal outcome as the end of the match approached.

Penalty Kick Misery

Orlando City clung to a 1-0 lead with less than 10 minutes to go in the match when Prince Owusu took the ball into the Orlando City box and dribbled past a few defenders before being met by the thigh of Rodrigo Schlegel in the 80th minute of the match. By the game’s standards to that point, it was a soft foul, and in real time it appeared Owusu had anticipated the contact and started to go to ground before any physical contact was made. There was no ruling of an obvious error, and the call on the field stood. Owusu took the ensuing penalty kick and successfully converted, tying the game at a goal apiece with little time remaining.

Unacceptable Ending

Orlando wound up with a home draw and earned only a single point. Against many other adversaries in the Eastern Conference, that result would be nothing to turn a nose up at. However, against a CF Montreal team that has struggled to find results throughout the whole season, and that Orlando City already played to a draw in Montreal (down a man for part of that match), a home draw is downright unacceptable for a team with playoff aspirations. In two weeks and two consecutive draws, Orlando City has lost ground in the playoff race and hardly appears to the eye test like a team ready to challenge the best of MLS.

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Orlando City will face a quick turnaround as the Lions will face New York City FC at home on Wednesday. After Saturday’s result, the stakes are that much higher in a matchup against a strong team that sits directly below Orlando City on the table. The squad must refocus in a narrow window and move forward. Let us know your takeaways in the comments below and as always, Vamos Orlando!

Orlando City couldn’t make Martin Ojeda’s goal in the first half stand up as a late Montreal penalty kick sent the Lions to their third straight game without a win in a disappointing 1-1 draw at Inter&Co Stadium. Rodrigo Schlegel’s foul on Prince Owusu allowed the latter to tie the match from the spot late in a game in which Montreal (3-13-6, 15 points) finished with only four shots and just the one on target.

The Lions (9-5-8, 35 points) themselves mustered just 11 shots and put three on goal against the worst team in the Eastern Conference, which was playing on short rest after a home match in the Canadian Championship at midweek. The season series ended with two draws, which doesn’t speak well of an Orlando side with postseason aspirations.

“We couldn’t reach the rhythm the whole game,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “I have to say that we tried to move and eventually we had some actions that ignited us a little, but the overall (thought) was it was a very uncomfortable game for us. The effort was there. It was a very complicated game. It was not an easy one.”

Pareja had to juggle his lineup a bit because of a pair of suspensions for yellow card accumulation to Pedro Gallese and Robin Jansson. Javier Otero started in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Schlegel, David Brekalo, and Alex Freeman — his first game back since the Gold Cup ended. Cesar Araujo and Eduard Atuesta started in central midfield between wingers Ojeda and Marco Pasalic, with Luis Muriel and Ramiro Enrique up top.

The first half began as a choppy and dull as any game this season, as Montreal kept much of the ball early with neither side able to create much of a threat. The visitors won a free kick in the 10th minute but didn’t do anything with it, but aside from that, the opening 15 minutes were quiet.

Orlando City finally attempted a shot in the 17th minute, but Ojeda got well under his volley attempt off a deflected cross and sent his attempt high into The Wall.

It wasn’t until the 24th minute when the game saw its first shot on target. Muriel fired a left-footed effort from just outside the area, but Jonathan Sirois was able to dive to his left to make the save. Three minutes later, the Lions broke the scoreless deadlock on a set piece.

Samuel Piette fouled Pasalic just outside the area in the 27th minute. Ojeda and Muriel lined up over it, with Ojeda tapping it to the Colombian forward. Muriel put his foot on the ball to stop it, teeing it up for the Argentine to blast just inside the right post to make it 1-0 in the 28th minute. It was Ojeda’s 10th goal of the MLS season, making him the third Lion to record 10 goals and 10 assists in a season (all competitions). It was also his seventh consecutive MLS match with a goal contribution, setting a new club record.

Martín Ojeda got his goal!

He is the third player in @OrlandoCitySC history to record double-digit goals and assists in a single @MLS season.

 📺 #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/KPo8PfQM23 pic.twitter.com/xecywI3o4n

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 13, 2025

“It’s something we work on with the coaches. Martin Perelman is in charge of that in particular,” Ojeda said. “Today was a bit of (guile) that thankfully ended in a goal. We do have quality players with a lot of technique. A lot of these plays can result in things like this, so yeah, let’s continue on this way.”

Montreal’s only shot attempt of the half came shortly after Ojeda’s goal. Hennadii Synchuk tried to catch Otero napping, blasting a shot from distance that didn’t miss the right post by much, sending it just wide.

Ojeda scored a minute later, but the flag came up for offside. Enrique had played him in with a lovely through ball, but replay showed Ojeda was just off and the call on the field was confirmed after video review.

Five minutes later, Montreal followed suit. Ojeda and Santos tried to work a give-and-go up the left sideline, but it didn’t come off and the visitors broke in transition. Owusu got onto a through ball and beat Otero, but he was several yards offside and it was an easy offside call.

Pasalic drew another free kick early in stoppage time from the left. Ojeda scorched a cross to the back post for Brekalo, but the Slovenian couldn’t get his header on target. Orlando won one more late free kick near the touchline and Muriel sent it in. Enrique had a free header, but his redirect was right at Sirois on the last touch of the half.

At the break, Orlando held the advantage in possession (51.8%-48.2%), shots (6-1), and shots on target (3-0). Montreal had more corners (1-0) and better passing accuracy (91.1%-90.9%).

“When you find rivals that have that model of chasing and converting the game into dueling in every single area, it has that tendency to be a game that is caught here and there, that the sequences are broken if we cannot get the flow that we want,” Pareja said of the team’s disjointed attack tonight. “And eventually we did it. It seemed like we were getting the rhythm and immediately we came back to that discomfort in the game.”

Montreal came out of the lockerroom with a bit more urgency than Orlando for the first few minutes, keeping the Lions pinned back. When Orlando finally held some possession, Freeman found some space down the left, cut inside, and sent a left-footed shot over the crossbar in the 50th minute.

Montreal then won a series of free kicks in the attacking third. Although the visitors didn’t pay any of them off, they came close in the 55th minute when an entry ball hit someone in front of Otero and fell in the box. Schlegel swooped in and cleared the danger.

The Lions won their first corner of the game in the 58th minute but played it short and were flagged for offside on the play.

The game kind of went dead in terms of chances for a while after that. Ivan Angulo’s blocked effort in the 73rd was the closest either side came to scoring over a 15-minute span.

Montreal got its gift in the 81st minute. Owusu carried the ball into the area on the left and went down after contact with Schlegel. The Montreal forward went looking for the contact and sold it well, with Ramy Touchan pointing to the spot. Owusu then used a stutter step to get Otero leaning and slotted home to tie the game in the 83rd minute.

Prince Owusu from the spot! @cfmontreal tie it up late in Orlando. 👀

 📺 #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/KPo8PfQM23 pic.twitter.com/dpHVejEQKC

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) July 13, 2025

“We are tired of seeing that, and it’s really frustrating,” Pareja said of the penalty decision going against Orlando. “It’s a big dive.”

Orlando City didn’t create much down the stretch. Ojeda fired from the top of the box but missed just wide in the 86th minute. Freeman cut inside and had his shot blocked early in stoppage time. Second-half sub Nico Rodriguez tried from distance moments later and the ball deflected off a defender and changed directions, but it stayed in the middle for Sirois to save in the fifth of the eight added minutes.

The Lions finished with the advantage in possession (52.9%-47.1%), shots (11-4), shots on target (3-1), corners (3-2), and passing accuracy (90.1%-90%).

With the draw, Orlando City is winless in three straight games (0-1-2) and winless in its last three at home (0-2-1).

“I think they kept the ball, which, you know, good defense is a good offense, and keeping the ball and limiting our chances in the attack,” said Kyle Smith, who subbed on in the second half to make his 200th appearance across all competitions for Orlando. “And then I think with their back five, it helps control what we were trying to do.”

“The team confidence has to stay alive the whole year,” Pareja said. “I don’t consider that we have to depend to the results. Our work and our job and our professionalism tell us that when the game finishes, you have to move on to the next one. We know that it hurts, but we have to be capable to move on. Tomorrow we have the responsibility to prepare for this game on Wednesday. That is a big challenge as well.”

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The Lions have a quick turnaround as they look to bounce back when New York City FC visits Inter&Co Stadium on Wednesday.

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (9-5-7, 34 points) and CF Montreal (3-13-5, 14 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). It’s the second of the two scheduled meetings between the Eastern Conference rivals in 2025.

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

History

The Lions are 8-9-6 against Montreal in the all-time regular-season series and 10-10-6 in all competitions since they joined MLS. OCSC is 4-4-3 in home MLS games against Montreal and 6-4-3 in matchups held in the greater Orlando area — this includes wins in Leagues Cup and the MLS is Back Tournament knockout rounds.

The most recent meeting was a scoreless draw in Montreal on April 19. The Lions’ efforts at bringing home a road win took a hit in the second half when Rafael Santos was sent off.

The teams last met in Orlando in the 2024 Leagues Cup competition nearly one year ago on July 26, with the Lions running rampant in a 4-1 home victory. Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Facundo Torres, Ramiro Enrique, and Martin Ojeda staked Orlando to a 4-0 lead. Josef Martinez scored for Montreal, although his bid for a brace was denied when Pedro Gallese stopped his penalty kick attempt.

The two sides met in Montreal on April 20, 2024 trading goals back and forth in a 2-2 draw at Stade Saputo. Mason Toye opened the scoring early, but Torres equalized from the spot a few minutes later. Ariel Lassiter appeared to win it late in normal time for the hosts, but Ivan Angulo struck in stoppage time to earn Orlando City a road point. These teams opened the 2024 season against each other in Orlando and played to a 0-0 draw. The Lions dominated the stat sheet but had a goal waved off for offside and simply weren’t lethal enough.

The teams met twice in 2023, completing the season series on Sept. 30, 2023, with Orlando winning 3-0 in dominant fashion. Jonathan Sirois’ own goal opened the scoring, and Thorhallsson and Torres added strikes for Orlando City. That was a good measure of revenge for OCSC, after Montreal defeated Orlando City 2-0 and handed the Lions their first road loss of the 2023 MLS season on May 6 at Stade Saputo. A Robin Jansson own goal got Montreal started in the second half and Romell Quioto added a second goal four minutes later.

These two sides played their biggest game against each other in the 2022 MLS playoffs, with CF Montreal knocking Orlando City out of the postseason by a 2-0 scoreline on Oct. 16, with goals by Ismael Kone and Djordje Mihailovic — the latter coming deep in stoppage time from the penalty spot.

Each team won at home in the two-game, regular-season series in 2022, with Montreal thumping Orlando 4-1 on May 7. Joel Waterman, Mihailovic, Joaquin Torres, and Zachary Brault-Guillard did the damage on the scoreboard and Orlando City managed just two shot attempts, with Joao Moutinho’s goal on a set piece helping the Lions avoid a shutout. Orlando City did not have either starting center back for that match, and it showed. The teams also met on opening day of the 2022 season, when Orlando City captured a 2-0 home win behind second-half goals from Alexandre Pato and Benji Michel.

In 2021, the teams met in Montreal on Decision Day, with the Lions earning a 2-0 road victory at Stade Saputo to clinch a playoff spot. Sebas Mendez and Daryl Dike provided the goals. That season’s matchup in Orlando came on Oct. 20, 2021, with the visitors managing a 1-1 draw. Chris Mueller struck for the Lions just before halftime, but Rudy Camacho answered on a corner kick header shortly after the restart. The first meeting of 2021 took place Sept. 15 in Orlando with the Lions falling 4-2 and finishing the game with just nine men after both Nani and Andres Perea were sent off. Quioto led Montreal with a goal and two assists. Mathieu Choiniere and Quioto put Montreal up 2-0, but despite already being down one man, Jansson and Ruan tied things up. The visitors got two more from Lassi Lappalainen and Sunusi Ibrahim.

The teams met at Red Bull Arena in late 2020 as the team then known as the Montreal Impact played home games in New Jersey due to the pandemic. Orlando City got a Dike goal in the 39th minute to win 1-0 on Nov. 1, 2020. It was the second meeting of the 2020 season, with Orlando also beating Montreal 1-0 in the MLS is Back Tournament knockout rounds on July 25 to advance to the quarterfinals. Tesho Akindele scored the game’s only goal on a Montreal defensive mistake.

Orlando City snapped a six-game winless streak against Montreal (0-5-1) in MLS regular-season play dating back to 2016 when the Lions put the Impact to the sword in a 3-0 drubbing at Stade Saputo on June 1, 2019. Nani (penalty), Akindele, and Will Johnson supplied the offense that day. The Lions fell 3-1 at Exploria Stadium back on March 16, 2019, and Ignacio Piatti was a big reason why, scoring his ninth and 10th career goals against Orlando, adding to a strike by Orji Okwonkwo. Dom Dwyer added a cosmetic goal late for Orlando City to spoil the clean sheet.

Montreal did not allow a goal against the Lions in 2018, sweeping the two-game set from Orlando, and the Impact shut out Orlando City in three of the six meetings in that 5-0-1 run. The lone draw in that time frame was a 3-3 shootout in Orlando in 2017, in which the Impact led deep in stoppage time, only to see Jonathan Spector’s well-placed header steal the Lions a point.

Orlando won the first two meetings in 2016 by a combined score of 6-2. The teams split three meetings in 2015, with each going 1-1-1.

Overview

Orlando City enters this match on a two-game winless streak after a 2-2 come-from-behind road draw at Charlotte FC a week ago. The Lions enter having given up two goals in each of the last three matches — six in all — and things aren’t set up for success tonight with both Jansson and Gallese suspended for yellow card accumulation. Orlando City is 5-3-2 in home matches this season, however two of those three losses have come in the team’s last two games in Inter&Co Stadium. In order to stop that skid, the Lions will have to tighten up the defense. If he starts in his first match since the end of the Concacaf Gold Cup, Alex Freeman’s return could help.

Montreal is last in the Eastern Conference with just three wins and 14 points this season. But it bears repeating that one of those points came at Orlando’s expense. Additionally, two of Montreal’s three wins on the season have come in the past four MLS matches. Add in that two of the club’s three victories have been road wins (2-7-2), and tonight’s visitors may be feeling a bit more confident than they’ve shown for much of this season. CF Montreal did, however, play a midweek match at home, finishing in a 2-2 draw against Forge FC in Canadian Championship action.

To get the win tonight, Orlando will have to get back to playing sound defense. If the Lions can stay organized, they can get out in transition where Marco Pasalic, Enrique, and Ojeda can be dangerous.

“It is part of our DNA that we don’t play with any context of the teams — not how they’re doing in the standings or how they are doing at the moment. It’s something that is not our problem,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “If we play against another team that is really bright, we don’t care either. It’s first about trying to be ourselves while trying to get the initiative and plan the game model — trying to do our things the way we plan it, with the energy that our fans deserve. The respect that we have for not just the game but for the jersey — all of those things don’t change, regardless of the moment or the opposition. The only way I know how to win games in my life is to take it the best way possible on Saturday at 7:30.”

Orlando City will be without Jansson (suspension), Gallese (suspension), Joran Gerbet (thigh), Duncan McGuire (shoulder), Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee). Per Montreal’s game notes, every player is available. Montreal will be without Jalen Neal (ankle), while Samuel Piette (illness) and Giacomo Vrioni (elbow) are questionable.

Match Content

• Our most recent episode of The Mane Land PawedCast features our key match-ups and score predictions for tonight’s game.
• Our David Rohe provided his three keys to an Orlando City victory over Montreal.

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Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Javier Otero.

Defenders: Rafael Santos, Rodrigo Schlegel, David Brekalo, Alex Freeman.

Midfielders: Martin Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Cesar Araujo, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Luis Muriel, Ramiro Enrique.

Bench: Carlos Mercado, Kyle Smith, Zakaria Taifi, Thomas Williams, Colin Guske, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Ivan Angulo, Nico Rodriguez, Shak Mohammed.

CF Montreal (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Jonathan Sirois.

Defenders: Luca Petrasso, Brendan Craig, Fernando Alvarez, Dawid Bugaj.

Midfielders: Joel Waterman, Victor Loturi, Samuel Piette.

Forwards: Caden Clark, Prince Owusu, Hennadii Synchuk.

Bench: Sebastian Breza, Aleksandr Guboglo, Tom Pearce, Owen Graham-Roache, Olger Escobar, Fabian Herbers, Bryce Duke, Dante Sealy, Sunusi Ibrahim.

Referees:

Ref: Ramy Touchan.
AR1: Jeremy Kieso.
AR2: Rhett Hammil.
4th: Natalie Simon.
VAR: Shawn Tehini.
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 match. Go City!