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U.S. Open Cup: Orlando City vs. Charleston Battery – Final Score 4-4 as Lions Advance on Penalties (8-7)

The Battery gave the Lions everything they could handle but a Carlos Rivas PK hat trick in regulation and heroic goalkeeping from Earl Edwards Jr. lifts Orlando City into Round 5 of the U.S. Open Cup.

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11 years ago

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Nick Leyva, The Mane Land

Danny Mwanga’s penalty kick rolled softly down the middle and into the net, lifting Orlando City past the Charleston Battery and into the fifth round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, after one of the craziest soccer games ever.

I mean, how do I even begin to explain this game? Eight goals were scored after a scoreless first half. A player got a hat trick on penalties alone — and then missed one when the game went to PKs. Orlando City had a two-goal lead in extra time and still had to go to spot kicks. The Lions and Charleston Battery went 10 men deep in the penalty shootout.

This game was an idiot, and you’d never believe anything that follows below if you didn’t see it. And you shouldn’t. No one should ever believe the story of this match.

Still, it was the Lions coming from behind twice, blowing a two-goal lead, and then outlasting the Battery in sudden-death penalties in the sweltering heat at Charleston’s Blackbaud Stadium after regular time ended knotted at four.

Earl Edwards Jr. was the star of the spot kicks, denying three Battery strikes, the last a diving two-handed stop of defender Taylor Mueller to set up Mwanga’s winning strike. Edwards also stopped midfielders Dante Marini and Zach Prince just to keep the Lions in it, after Odisnel Cooper stopped Carlos Rivas and Lewis Neal early.

Charleston fought hard, and for long stretches of the game was the better side, against a team of mostly reserves sent out by Adrian Heath for this fixture. Their collective rust showed in a lack of chemistry and ideas in the final third, along with some cheap turnovers.

The only regulars Heath selected in his starting lineup were left back Luke Boden, center back Seb Hines (who hasn’t been starting the last few games), right wing Eric Avila and midfielder Neal, who played in the No. 10 role normally held down by Kaká. Speedy sub Rivas started and played more like a striker than a midfielder, and forward Mwanga served in more of a supporting midfield role.

Tyler Turner got the nod at right back next to rookie Conor Donovan, whose only previous playing time for the Lions was in a friendly. Likewise for goalkeeper Edwards. Harrison Heath played alongside Amobi Okugo at defensive midfield.

The first half was a slow-paced, ugly affair with few chances for either team. Orlando City played like a collection of guys not used to playing together, because that’s what the starting lineup was, basically. The Lions moved slowly, passed the ball slowly, and the only speed on the pitch consisted of Rivas’ occasional forays forward on long balls.

Charleston fashioned the best scoring chances of the first half. Donovan blocked a Maikel Chang shot inside the box eight minutes in. Edwards was forced into a big save on a Dane Kelly smash at the 36-minute mark, and Avila cleared a Ricky Garbanzo header off the line in stoppage time on a scramble off a late corner kick.

Rivas provided the only consistent threat in the opening 45 minutes for Orlando, taking a couple shots from distance and getting to the end line and looking for Mwanga, only to see his pass deflected by keeper Cooper.

Hines had the best Orlando City chance, off a corner kick, but Cooper was able to get to the defender’s header.

Things picked up after the break, with Charleston moving quickly and aggressively, taking the game to Orlando and creating chances and getting lots of corner kicks (10 in all). At the 58-minute mark, the Battery drew first blood on the team’s fourth corner of the half, as Jarad van Shaik got free of Boden and headed the cross past Edwards.

Five minutes later, the Lions drew level, with Neal splitting two defenders and slamming a header past Cooper, off a beautiful long cross by Turner. The defender took an apparent knock to the leg on the play and was replaced by Rafael Ramos, who would factor into the scoring later.

Following Orlando’s goal, Charleston again became the more dangerous side and regained the lead with Kelly getting onto a long ball, sprinting past Donovan and slotting home past Edwards into the far side in the 67th minute. The goal spurred on the Battery’s confidence, and they were by far the better side for about the next 10 minutes.

That’s when a moment of individual brilliance by Ramos led to a tying PK. Ramos sliced down the right, outside of one defender and inside another and into the box, where he was bundled over by Mueller. Rivas stepped up and drilled the spot kick to tie the game in the 76th minute, beating Cooper with a hard shot into the lower left corner. It was only the beginning for Rivas, who finally opened his Orlando City account.

Orlando had a couple of half chances down the stretch, but the game remained even after 90 minutes, plus four more minutes of stoppage time.

Just three minutes into the extra session, Rivas was sent in alone on Cooper, took a touch to blow by the Charleston keeper and was taken down. The Colombian took his second penalty and calmly blasted it into the upper 90 on the right side, exactly the opposite of where his first one went.

Late in the first 15-minute half of extra time, second-half sub Pedro Ribeiro got a nearly identical clean break and his deft touch forced yet another takedown by Cooper, who somehow managed to not get sent off as the last defender on two separate occasions. In fact, Cooper wasn’t even booked for either one. Rivas again went low to the left, completed his PK hat trick, and pushed Orlando’s lead to 4-2.

But the Battery weren’t done. As the first half of extra time was in its dying moments, Harrison Heath gave Justin Portillo about eight yards of space above the penalty area and the Battery midfielder blasted an unstoppable rocket from 25 yards out into the upper 90 to Edwards’ right in the 117th minute. It was a huge goal that boosted Charleston headed into the final 15 minutes.

The Lions couldn’t get off their back foot down the stretch. They defended a number of Charleston forays into the box and Ribeiro was too slow in releasing Rivas for a potential kill shot twice, when disaster struck off what seemed like the billionth Battery corner of the night. Okugo went to ground in a header attempt of a low, sinking ball and handled it in the box. Portillo stepped up and scored from the spot to tie it at 4-4 with just four minutes to play.

Orlando tried a desperate final attack but the whistle blew with absolutely no stoppage time for some reason. The teams went to PKs that seemed would go on forever.

Edwards was easily the man of the match with his shootout heroics, but he also had several key saves throughout the game to keep Orlando in it, including a one-handed stab to deny Kelly just three minutes before Okugo’s blunder in the box.

The Lions will now have to regroup and head to Montreal, where they’ll face the Impact on Saturday night. Most of the regulars should be nice and fresh, but Boden and Neal went the full 120 minutes, Ramos and St. Ledger were called into action as subs, and Avila played an hour before coming off for Ribeiro in the second half. Ribeiro himself played an hour.

The Lions will learn their Round 5 opponents tomorrow with the U.S. Open Cup fifth round draw. The match will take place June 30 or July 1.

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Orlando City Trades Duncan McGuire to Houston Dynamo

The Lions send the 2023 first-round pick to Houston for a pile of Garberbucks.

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3 days ago

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July 10, 2026

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Image of Duncan McGuire playing the ball against New York City FC.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando no longer runs on Duncan as Orlando City has traded 2023 first-round draft pick Duncan McGuire to the Houston Dynamo. The big striker with the even bigger smile and the back flips joins the Dynamo, with the Lions receiving $600,000 in 2026 General Allocation Money (GAM), $400,000 in 2027 GAM, and $250,000 in 2027-2028 GAM. The return could also include up to $1.15 million in GAM add-ons if certain performance metrics are met. OCSC will retain a percentage of any sell-on by Houston.

It became clear that something was up with McGuire, as he did not dress for Orlando City’s friendly against Tampa Bay on Wednesday.

“Duncan has meant a great deal to this club since the day he arrived in Orlando,” Orlando City General Manager and Sporting Director Ricardo Moreira said in a club press release. “His resilience, determination, and willingness to fight through challenges both on and off the field have earned the respect of everyone throughout our organization. He has played a major role in our success over the last several years, and when the opportunity arose, we wanted to ensure it was a move that made sense for both Duncan and the club. We’re grateful for everything he has given to Orlando City and wish him and his family nothing but success in this next chapter.”

The Lions selected McGuire out of Creighton with the No. 6 overall selection in the first round of the 2023 MLS SuperDraft. Although he was not a Generation Adidas player, the striker had signed a pre-draft contract with the league, meaning Orlando City didn’t need to spend time agreeing to a contract. The 6-foot-1 forward quickly became a starter for the Lions during his rookie year, and put together back-to-back, double-digit goal-scoring seasons in his first two professional seasons. Now in his fourth pro year, McGuire has appeared in 85 MLS matches (45 starts) for the Lions, scoring 29 goals and adding eight assists. In all competitions, McGuire has contributed 32 goals and nine assists in 109 appearances (55 starts).

Once one of the most promising up-and-coming American strikers in any league after his 24 goals across his first two MLS campaign, Mcguire underwent surgery on both shoulders in separate procedures after the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs, which have restricted his availability, affected his form, and have limited him to just five goals and three assists in his last 29 matches. He has sat behind various other strikers starting in his place the last couple of seasons, including Ramiro Enrique, Luis Muriel, and Justin Ellis.

After his breakout rookie campaign, in which the Omaha, NE native scored 14 goals, he was courted by several teams in Europe. He signed with Blackburn Rovers in 2024, only to see the transfer rejected by the English Football League due to an administrative error by the EFL Championship club. Upon his return, the Creighton product signed his most recent contract on Aug. 22, 2024, locking him down through 2027 with a club option for 2028. That deal now belongs to the Dynamo.

McGuire’s hot start to his professional career had him climbing the U.S. Men’s National Team player pool. Gregg Berhalter called him up to the USMNT for the first time in January 2024 ahead of the team’s friendly against Slovenia. The striker made his first USMNT appearance in that match, coming off the bench to replace Brian White on Jan. 20, 2024, in a 1-0 loss. That is his only cap to date, although he had previously appeared nine times and scored one goal for the U.S. U-23 side.

The 2022 Hermann Trophy winner spent three seasons at Creighton, where he appeared in 24 games (23 starts) in his final (junior) season, logging 1,591 college minutes. McGuire scored 23 goals and added three assists in 2022.

What It Means for Orlando City

It makes sense to deal a striker making a base salary of $600,000 ($921,000 in total guaranteed compensation) if he can’t crack the starting lineup. While some of that comes down to coaching decisions and other players emerging, it didn’t help McGuire that he struggled to regain the consistent form he showed in his first two years in Orlando. In the end, this is a bit of a blow financially to the club, as the initial agreement with Blackburn was for a reported $4 million. He now departs for considerably less money, but his value understandably dropped with his production and the two shoulder surgeries.

McGuire is still just 25 years old, and sitting out after two surgeries means he has fewer miles on his legs than many players his age. He could still regain the form that saw him score 14 times in 2023 and 10 more times in 2024 and had the USMNT and European clubs paying attention. Orlando City will hope that he returns to form, because that will influence how much GAM the club eventually receives for this transaction.

A fan favorite since his arrival, McGuire will be missed, and while the Lions could perhaps have benefitted from getting a player back in return to bolster an area of need, the influx of GAM can help accomplish the same goal.

McGuire’s departure appears to solidify Justin Ellis’ position on the first team, although his play in the first half of the season likely already did that. It may also open up more minutes for Tiago. But the trade also tells us that unless a new striker is brought in, the Lions will play without a traditional target striker for the time being, allowing players who have typically either played as wingers, attacking midfielders, or false nines to have the freedom to fluidly change positions and force defenders out of their comfort zones when it comes to coverage. Martin Ojeda, Antoine Griezmann, Ellis, Ivan Angulo, Marco Pasalic, and the team’s fullbacks will be harder to keep tabs on under such a system.

Whether it will work or if it will further stress the team’s shoddy transition defense (or both) remains to be seen.

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Flashback Friday: July 10, 2022 vs. Inter Miami

Let’s rewind to a match against the Herons that featured the unlikeliest of heroes.

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3 days ago

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July 10, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

With both the United States Men’s National Team and Colombia suffering World Cup exits that were both agonizing in their own right, this summer’s tournament has lost a little luster for me. Don’t get it twisted, I’m still looking forward to the rest of the games, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t going to be a little bittersweet.

Fortunately, Orlando City will be back in action before we know it, and in the meantime we can continue our practice of looking back on Lions matches from years gone by. Last week we relived a 4-0 win over Toronto FC from July 4, 2023. This week we go a little farther into the past to July 10, 2022, and a visit from Inter Miami.

Going into the match with the Herons, OCSC was badly in need of a result. The Lions were in the midst of a summer slump and had won just one of eight matches since squeaking by Toronto FC 1-0 back on May 14. To try to turn things around, Oscar Pareja sent out a lineup of Pedro Gallese in goal; a back line of Kyle Smith, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Ruan; Junior Urso and Cesar Araujo in the double pivot; Benji Michel, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres in attacking midfield; and Ercan Kara up top.

Orlando’s effort to try to pick up a win had to wait a little longer than originally planned, as kickoff was postponed by close to two and a half hours due to lightning in the area. Once the game eventually started, both Orlando City’s fans and players probably wished it had been delayed a little longer. The Lions came out of the starting blocks slow and were guilty of a number of bad passes and miscommunication that made it difficult to get going offensively.

The bad start nearly cost the home side early, as Pereyra played a bad back pass in the seventh minute that was snagged by Indiana Vasilev, who promptly broke toward goal. Fortunately, his shot smashed into Gallese’s face and went wide of the net to spare Mauricio’s blushes. Speaking of the Uruguayan, Miami seemed to have keyed on him as a player to stop at all costs, because whenever the Lions started to get a rhythm in the final third, the Herons promptly fouled him to break up the flow of things.

It took half an hour for the first decent chances to finally surface for Orlando City. When those opportunities arrived, it was in the form of Urso taking a pop from outside the box that got blocked on the way through, and Michel nearly getting on the end of a training ground corner kick routine, only to be let down by a bad first touch.

That was mostly everything of note in a largely quiet first half. Miami had the more dangerous chances, but there wasn’t much to separate the teams in the end. Miami had a slim lead in possession (50.6%-49.4%), and also had more shots (6-3), shots on target (1-0), and corners (3-2). Orlando City was a shade more accurate in its passing (84.5%-83.6%).

Once the second half started, Miami very nearly got an early goal once again, but Robert Taylor didn’t get good contact on a header attempt and the ball went out harmlessly for a goal kick. Vassilev had a much more dangerous effort in the 49th minute, but he put his shot over the bar and wasted a nice passage of play from the visitors.

Orlando carved out an excellent chance of its own nine minutes later. Ruan played a clever cutback for Michel, but like Taylor, he didn’t get good contact on his shot and sent it tamely right to goalkeeper Drake Callender. Torres and Urso sent shots wide and high shortly afterward, before Miami really should have scored from a 72nd-minute corner kick. Aime Mabika found himself all alone in front of goal after the initial ball was played short, but he put his header wide right.

Tesho Akindele was one of the substitutes brought on, and he flashed his fresh legs by getting on a couple of chances as the game wound towards the 90th minute. Unfortunately, he wasn’t able to convert either one, and things looked sure to end in a scoreless draw. Enter an extremely unlikely hero: Jake Mulraney.

In the second of four minutes of stoppage time, the winger sent a hopeful cross into the box with just two men in purple to aim for. The ball had relatively little chance of reaching Akindele, who was bracketed by two defenders, but Damion Lowe tried to clear it and instead sliced it off the underside of the crossbar and into the Miami net making it 1-0 to the good guys.

Unsurprisingly, given the state of the game up to that point, neither team managed to muster any real chances after that, and Orlando narrowly came away with three much-needed points.

OCSC ended the game with more possession (54.7%-45.3%) and better passing accuracy (96.6%-82.9%), while Miami took more shots (10-8) and won more corners (6-2). Both sides put just one shot on target, making the final score somewhat unsurprising.

Marcus Mitchell was at the helm for Player Grades in this game, and he gave the outstanding Cesar Araujo the Man of the Match award, with a grade of 7.5 out of 10. The midfielder racked up eight tackles, drew nine fouls, and played a key pass while snuffing out a lot of Miami’s danger before it could truly develop.

Those three points didn’t exactly galvanize the Lions in the short term, as they won just one of their next six games in all competitions, not counting a friendly loss to Arsenal. Fortunately, better times lay ahead in the U.S. Open Cup.

That’ll do it for this week’s edition of Flashback Friday. We’ve only got one more of these before Orlando City returns to action on July 22, so enjoy the reminiscing while you can. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 7/10/26

Duncan McGuire reportedly being traded, Orlando Pride host Kansas City tonight, Steve Cherundolo named U.S. U-23 men’s coach, and more.

Published

3 days ago

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July 10, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! The Orlando Pride are in action tonight and we also have an Orlando City B game on Sunday to look forward to. It’s been a bit of a hectic week on my end, but it’s at least helped make the U.S.’s World Cup loss feel like old news. Orlando City putting the Tampa Bay Rowdies to the sword in a friendly didn’t hurt either. Let’s get to the links!

Orlando City Reportedly Trading Duncan McGuire

Forward Duncan McGuire is reportedly being traded by Orlando City to the Houston Dynamo in exchange for $1.25 million in General Allocation Money, with another $1.15 million heading Orlando’s way if performance metrics are reached per Tom Bogert of The Athletic.

🇺🇸🟠 BREAKING: The Houston Dynamo to acquire forward Duncan McGuire from Orlando City, per sources.Orlando acquires $1.25m GAM + $1.15m GAM add-ons. ORL retains sell-on clause.Houston acquires new goal scorer, will fit seamlessly in Dynamo attack. www.nytimes.com/athletic/743…

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert.bsky.social) 2026-07-09T15:25:31.373Z

Selected by Orlando with the sixth overall pick in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft, McGuire has scored 29 goals across four seasons with the Lions. Injuries have plagued him in recent years, but let’s hope he can have a renaissance of sorts with Houston and hit those performance requirements if this move comes to pass. Orlando would be even lighter on options up top, but the money could help the club improve at a few positions.

Orlando Pride Host the Kansas City Current Tonight

Following a 2-0 loss to Angel City FC, the Orlando Pride will look to bounce back tonight when they host the Kansas City Current in the first meeting this season between the past two NWSL Shield winners. The Current are on a three-game win streak, with Michelle Cooper scoring twice in a 3-0 win over the Denver Summit last week. Temwa Chawinga also scored in that match to bring her tally to eight as she closes the distance on Pride forward Barbra Banda in the Golden Boot race. Hopefully the Pride can keep Kansas City’s offense in check and get back on track with a win at home.

Steve Cherendulo Named U.S. U-23 Men’s National Team Coach

U.S. Soccer appointed Steve Cherendulo as the head coach of the United States U-23 Men’s National Team as preparations begin for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. Cherundulo is no stranger to success in the City of Angels, leading LAFC to a league title and MLS Cup victory in 2022 before winning the 2024 U.S. Open Cup as well. He represented the U.S. as a player starting at age 18 and played in three World Cups, which should be valuable experience to get these younger players ready to make an impact with the senior team. Tahir Reid-Brown, Justin Ellis, and Colin Guske are a few Orlando City players to keep an eye out for as possible Olympic roster candidates as they develop their games.

France Advances to World Cup Semifinals

France became the first team to secure its spot in the World Cup semifinals, beating Morocco 2-0. After a scoreless first half, Kylian Mbappe scored his eighth goal of the tournament to give France the lead and then provided the assist on Ousmane Dembele’s goal a few minutes later. While the offense is understandably grabbing headlines, the defense has now had a clean sheet in three straight games during this knockout phase. In the semifinals, France will take on whichever nation advances from today’s match between Spain and Belgium.

Free Kicks

  • Less than 24 hours after scoring for Orlando City in a friendly, Antoine Griezmann was in Boston for France’s World Cup match.
  • Crystal Dunn, who set records at Florida State University before her storied professional career, joined the Tallahassee Reckoning’s ownership group. The organization aims to provide more opportunities for youth soccer players and improve the pathway towards playing professionally.
  • English defender Jarell Quanash was given a two-game suspension for the serious foul play that earned him a red card against Mexico. He’ll miss Saturday’s quarterfinal against Norway and also England’s semifinal if it advances.

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

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