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Orlando City vs. Montreal Impact: Final Score 3-3 as Lions Salvage Point via Late Equalizer

The Lions left it late on Saturday night against Montreal, but a moment of Jonathan Spector brilliance in stoppage time secured a home point for City.

Published

9 years ago

on

Nick Leyva, The Mane Land

Saturday night’s contest against the Montreal Impact was an especially important one for Orlando City. The Lions (7-5-4, 25 points) were coming off a listless showing in their mid-week U.S. Open Cup match, and that effort, combined with Cyle Larin’s DUI arrest the morning after, left a cloud hanging over the club for the past several days.

It wasn’t the full three-point outing that the club and its fans were hoping for, but it was entertaining and the Lions showed a lot more what-for — albeit against a ninth-place side — in a dramatic 3-3 draw vs. Montreal Impact (4-4-6, 18 points) capped by a Jonathan Spector goal in second-half stoppage time.

There were legitimate concerns about Orlando’s ability to score without its main man up top (Larin had scored 50% of the club’s goals this season entering the game), but those concerns were at least temporarily eased by a fast offensive start against the Impact.

Despite playing without its leading scorer, Orlando City didn’t waste much time getting things going on the offensive end. Kaká — making his first start since a May 21 calf injury vs. NYCFC — sent in a cross from the left wing that Will Johnson took a stab at with a volley, but the Canadian was unable to keep his effort down enough and sent it sailing over the bar. It didn’t take long for Orlando to open the scoring, however, as five minutes later Kaká managed more impressive work down the left side, getting past Hassoun Camara with ease and pulling back a cross that Matías Pérez García was able to adjust to — he found it about a half-yard behind him as his momentum took him toward goal — and finish left-footed for his first goal in an Orlando City shirt.

While well-worked, the goal was not without a bit of controversy, as the ball was very close to being over the end line when Kaká chased it down and sent it back to MPG. It was tough to tell live and from certain camera angles on replay, but it’s safe to say our Canadian counterparts at Mount Royal Soccer weren’t as pleased with the end result as we were.

Nevertheless, City found itself up a goal just seven minutes in.

Perhaps a bit of karmic retribution was repaid in minute 16 by Jose Aja, who, instead of clearing the danger while being closed down by Ignacio Piatti, decided to dance around and was subsequently stripped by the Argentinian, who took full advantage of the defender’s gaffe and found an open Blerim Dzemaili in the box, who confidently slotted home near-post to knot the game at 1-1.

Continuing the trend of an exciting first half, though, Orlando answered less than 10 minutes later.

Giles Barnes played MPG into the box nicely, and the Argentinian laid it back to Johnson, whose first-time shot was parried back by Evan Bush and into the legs of his own center back Laurent Ciman just off the goal line, but the deflection off the Belgian fell perfectly for Rivas to smash home a go-ahead goal and make it 2-1 in minute 23 for Orlando. While Ciman’s knees kept Johnson from getting credit for the score, the Colombian Rivas left no doubt with his rifle of a finish on the rebound.

All of a sudden, an Orlando team that had averaged fewer than 1.1 goals per match coming in had netted two in the opening 25 minutes, and without Larin.

After another series of chances that included a beautiful one-two combination play from the likes of Rivas and Barnes, as well as a backheel nutmeg of Camara by Kaká, Orlando City finished the first half with a 14-2 shot advantage and 60% of the possession, but the one-goal advantage felt like it could’ve, and perhaps should’ve, been greater.

The failure to capitalize on chances in the first half predictably came back to bite Orlando City, as Montreal’s dynamic midfielder Piatti sprung for two goals in a two-minute span, with Lions center back Spector being bested both times.

Piatti used a clever touch on the first goal to set himself up on his right leg, side-stepping Spector in the process before finishing with a low burner that made it through Joe Bendik’s legs. Piatti struck again almost instantly in minute 59 when he cut to the inside of Spector to the left this time and fired another shot at Bendik. This time the Lions’ keeper was able to make the save, but Piatti was the only man left standing among a pile of three Orlando City players who had gone to ground to try to defend the first shot, and he easily tapped home his eighth goal of the season to put the Impact ahead 3-2, just like that.

The flow of the game had suddenly been flipped, and the energetic attacking we saw from the Lions in the first half was dampened quite a bit. Lacking Larin up top, the Lions didn’t have too many options to go to for an offensive boost off the bench, but the attacking crew of Kaká, Rivas, Barnes, and Pérez García continued to fight to create chances to equalize.

After several more missed opportunities to produce chances — Barnes launched an awkward left-footed shot well wide despite having an open Johnson rushing down the middle, and played a through ball just too far for a charging Kaká minutes later, to name a couple — it seemed like hope was lost for Orlando.

One thing we’ve learned about these Lions, though, is that they’ll continue to fight until the last breath. That held true again, as Spector managed a bit of redemption in the fourth minute of second-half stoppage time, beautifully redirecting a header off an MPG corner across the face of Bush’s goal and into the top left corner to salvage a point and a 3-3 finish. The corner was one in a series that Orlando earned with its all-out siege of Montreal’s 18-yard box in search of an equalizer.

Despite the disappointing sequence where Piatti scored twice in as many minutes — something Orlando City Head Coach Jason Kreis described post-match as his team shooting itself in the foot — the late equalizer represented a silver lining and showed the resilience of this Lions side again.

“For me, a big, big positive was the guys continued to work really hard,” Kreis told the media. “On most nights with most teams, they would’ve packed it in [after two quick goals]. But our guys kept fighting and kept believing, so we get to walk out with at least a point.”

The Lions controlled 58% of the ball on the evening and generated 17 shots, not bad at all for a team that had struggled to score consistently even with Larin in the lineup. The back-to-back Piatti goals took a lot of luster off the final result, but the three goals scored were a big positive for City and the effort and fight until the end was a needed response following Wednesday’s result vs. Miami FC.

Lions fullback Donny Toia, who spent two seasons with Montreal, echoed his coach’s sentiments following the match, acknowledging the excitement of the finish while admitting he and his teammates could’ve sealed it much earlier.

“It’s one point versus zero, so we’re happy with one,” Toia said. “We had opportunities to make it 3-1 and we didn’t put it away and then we gave up those silly goals. So it’s definitely frustrating, but at the same time you’ve got to look at it as a positive because we didn’t lose, we came out with a point.”

The Lions, who remain in fourth place in the Eastern Conference behind New York City FC, are back to it on Wednesday in the Pacific Northwest as they travel for a 10:30 p.m. ET showdown with the Seattle Sounders.

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Lion Links

Lion Links 9/22/26

Cosette Morche up for weekly honors, lessons from matchday 27, key players in the UEFA Women’s Champions League, and more.

Published

19 hours ago

on

September 22, 2026

By

Image of Cosette Morche during her NWSL debut vs. Washington.
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Good morning, everyone. It was a terrible, horrible, no-good, very bad weekend for Orlando’s three soccer teams, as they all lost and did so by an aggregate score of 12-5. Fortunately, we’ve got lots to talk about this morning, so let’s not dwell any further on the horror show that was the weekend slate, and instead dive into today’s links.

Cosette Morche up for Weekly Honors

Despite the Orlando Pride falling at home against the Portland Thorns, a bright spot has emerged from the game in the form of Cosette Morche being nominated for the NWSL Save of the Week. She made a fantastic triple save in the 17th minute to frustrate both Sophia Wilson and Pietra Tordin and keep the score at 1-0. Unfortunately, the Pride went on to lose 4-1, but Morche continued a trend of strong performances in net since taking over for the loaned-out Anna Moorhouse. Make sure you go vote for her to win!

Lessons from Matchday 27

Matchday 27 is in the books for Major League Soccer, and there are plenty of things to be learned from the weekend’s action. A number of young players called up by the United States Men’s National Team turned in impressive performances, as Cavan Sullivan had a goal and an assist, Frankie Westfield and Neil Pierre helped Sullivan and the Union overturn a 4-3 deficit against Sporting Kansas City, and Julian Hall scored the winner in the Hudson River Derby. Elsewhere, Nashville clinched a playoff spot and did so in style by knocking off a good Chicago Fire team 3-0. Finally, St Louis City beat Toronto FC 3-1 and now has a mind-boggling 16-game unbeaten streak in the league that grows to 18 games unbeaten in all competitions.

Women’s Champions League Key Players

The UEFA Women’s Champions League kicks off today, so this is an excellent time to familiarize yourself with some of the most important players in the competition. Some of them may be familiar to you already, like Real Madrid’s Colombian attacker Linda Caicedo or Chelsea midfielder Lauren James. Midfielder Patri Guijarro will be an important piece for Barcelona following the summer departures of Alexia Putellas and Salma Paralluelo, while Annamaria Serturini, Remina Chiba, and Redondo are in a similar situation for Juventus. Finally, there are players on less heralded teams, like Uka Modesta for Austria Wien and Lowiese Seynhaeve for OH Leuven.

Granit Xhaka Dropped by Switzerland

We finish our main story section today with an odd one, as Granit Xhaka has been left out of the latest Switzerland squad after he admitted to using a fake COVID-19 vaccination certificate. Amid an investigation into a Swiss doctor who was allegedly producing false certificates for unvaccinated individuals, Xhaka has admitted to using falsified paperwork. Not only has he been left out of the Swiss squad, but he could also face legal repercussions, and the player confirmed that he is currently in the process of speaking to the authorities. Xhaka is Switzerland’s all-time leader in appearances, and has been a key member of the team for a number of years.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City somehow rose two spots to no.10 in ESPN.com’s MLS power rankings.
  • The Orlando Pride held fast at no. 12 in the same outlet’s NWSL power rankings.
  • For better or worse, Orlando City will be back in the red kits for Saturday’s match against the Philadelphia Union.

That’s all I’ve got for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s road loss to the New England Revolution?

Published

2 days ago

on

September 21, 2026

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City was minutes away from drawing the New England Revolution Saturday night, which would’ve been a big point in the Lions’ quest for the postseason. But two second-half injury-time goals saw that point dissipate. Instead, they followed their U.S. Open Cup semifinal defeat with a crushing 4-2 loss.

Let’s take a look at how the individual players fared in the disappointing result.

Starters

GK, Maxime Crepeau, 5 — None of the four goals were specifically Crepeau’s fault, with one being a deflection and the other three coming from poor defense. But the goalkeeper’s four goals conceded matched his number of saves. It can also be argued he should’ve come out earlier on some of the goals to cut down the attacker’s angle. In addition to his four goals conceded and four saves, he ended the game with 39 touches and completed 74.1% of his 27 passes, including seven of his 14 long balls.

D, Bernardo Rhein, 5.5 — The teenager got the start at left back in this game, touching the ball 58 times. He completed 83.3% of his 42 passes, but neither of his two long balls nor his lone cross. Defensively, Rhein recorded a tackle and a blocked shot before being replaced in the 77th minute by Harvey Sarajian in an attacking change.

D, Robin Jansson, 5.5 — The Orlando City captain had 65 touches in this game and completed 98.1% of his 53 passes, including three of his four long balls. Defensively, he had an interception, a team-high six clearances, and an aerial duel won. But his age showed as he was unable to keep up with the counterattacks the other way. While it wasn’t a bad game for Jansson, I can’t give a higher grade to a key component of a back line that conceded four times.

D, David Brekalo, 5.5 — Jansson’s center back partner had 52 touches and completed 95% of his 40 passes, including one of his two long balls. He took one shot in the game, but it was off target. Defensively, Brekalo recorded a tackle and six clearances, and won two aerial balls. Similar to Jansson, Brekalo wasn’t necessarily bad, but was part of a center back pairing that helped concede four goals.

D, Ivan Angulo, 6 — Angulo started this game at right back and moved to left wing and left back as the game progressed. As you would expect, the Colombian pushed forward quite a bit. He ended the game with 69 touches and completed 81.3% of his 48 passes, including one of his three long balls. His most impactful play came in the 62nd minute, when he shielded his defender to tuck away the Lions’ first goal, cutting the deficit to 2-1. That was his lone shot of the night. Defensively, he added five tackles and two interceptions, providing one of the team’s best performances.

MF, Tyrese Spicer, 5 — In the team’s third game in eight days, Spicer got the start in the midfield. He touched the ball 20 times and completed 72.7% of his 11 passes, including his lone long ball. Other than that, he did little offensively before being replaced by Zakaria Taifi at halftime, allowing Angulo to go forward. Defensively, he added a tackle and an interception, but the Lions could’ve used much more from the speedster.

MF, Joran Gerbet, 6 — Gerbet once again was in the lineup for the Lions, playing his typical defensive midfield role. The Frenchman had a team-high 72 touches and completed 98.5% of his 67 passes, including two key passes and both of his long balls. The midfielder’s only shot was blocked, but it bounced off Peyton Miller’s hand for a penalty. He also contributed defensively with a tackle and an interception. Gerbet was replaced by Tiago in second-half stoppage time to bring on an attacker after the team fell behind again.

MF, Luis Otavio, 5.5 — The quick turnaround gave Otavio a chance to start, though he only played 45 minutes. The Brazilian had 21 touches and completed 94.1% of his 17 passes, including one of his two long balls. He didn’t contribute any shots in the attack and only recorded a clearance defensively in what was a rather forgettable performance. His night ended at halftime when he was taken off for regular starter Eduard Atuesta.

MF, Marco Pasalic, 5.5 — With Antoine Griezmann injured, Pasalic got a rare start. He touched the ball 35 times and completed 91.7% of his 24 passes, including one of his two long balls. The attacking midfielder took two shots and put one on target. Defensively, he recorded two tackles and a clearance before being replaced by Daryl Dike in the 71st minute.

F, Martin Ojeda, 6 (MotM) — Ojeda is starting to look more like his old self since returning from injury and was the primary attacker for the Lions in this game. The Argentinian had 59 touches and completed 79.6% of his 44 passes, including a key pass, two of his three long balls, and two of his four crosses. He also put two of his three shots on target. Ojeda was instrumental in the attacking movement that ended with Angulo’s goal, working a give-and-go straight up the middle with Justin Ellis. In the 88th minute, he converted the game-tying penalty, keeping his record from the spot perfect and pulling him to within one goal of Facundo Torres for the club record. He was the best player for me and earned my Man of the Match.

F, Justin Ellis, 5.5 — Ellis was active in this game, touching the ball 67 times and completing 76.1% of his 46 passes, including one of his two long balls and one of his two crosses. His only shot was off target. The forward added two tackles in his last game before heading out on international duty.

Substitutes

D, Zakaria Taifi, 5.5 (45’) — Taifi came on at halftime for Spicer, allowing Angulo to move forward into his natural position. The Homegrown Player had 24 touches in his 45 minutes while completing 85.7% of his 14 passes. He had three key passes, completed his lone cross, and didn’t complete either of his two long balls. The defender didn’t do anything else offensively, but added a tackle and a clearance.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 5.5 (45’) — A regular starter, Atuesta got the first half off before coming on for Otavio. The Colombian touched the ball 41 times and completed 94.1% of his 34 passes, including a key pass and two of his three long balls, but neither of his two crosses. Additionally, his only shot was on target. Defensivley, Atuesta didn’t record any statistics.

F, Daryl Dike, 4.5 (71’) — Dike came on for Pasalic in the 71st minue with the Lions looking for a goal. It was another disappointing performance for the striker, who only had six touches and completed two of his four passes. Despite coming on to score, his only shot was off target and he didn’t contribute anything defensively.

F, Harvey Sarajian, 5 (77’) — Sarajian came on for Rhein in the 77th minute, another move aimed towards finding an equalizer. The rookie had seven touches in 13 minutes while completing 83.3% of his six passes. Sarajian also didn’t contribute much in this game, failing to take a shot or build an attack.

MF, Tiago, N/A (90+5’) — Tiago came on in the dying minutes for Gerbet after Orlando CIty fell behind again. The attacker only recorded three touches, completed his lone pass, and drew a foul in his brief stint on the field.

That’s how I saw the individual performances in this disappointing loss. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments below, and don’t forget to vote on your Man of the Match.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 9/21/26

All of Orlando’s soccer teams lose, Lions unveil Vinicius Nogueira, and more.

Published

2 days ago

on

September 21, 2026

By

Image of Martin Ojeda playing the ball against Inter Miami.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been staying busy at work over the weekend. Let’s wish a happy belated birthday to Orlando Pride defender Cori Dyke, who turned 26 on Sunday, and a happy birthday to Orlando City defender Bernardo Rhein, who turns 19 today. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Concede Two Late Goals in Loss at New England

Orlando City fell 4-2 to the New England Revolution on the road on Saturday at Gillette Stadium, conceding twice in stoppage time to drop a point. After trailing 2-0, the Lions came back with second-half goals from Ivan Angulo and Martin Ojeda, with the latter from the penalty spot just before the 90 minutes were up. However, in stoppage time, the Lions imploded, with Peyton Miller and Carles Gil closing out the night with two goals each for the Revolution. The loss snapped Orlando’s five-game unbeaten streak in league play, and the Lions left Foxborough with no points instead of at least one. Orlando City will be back on the road for its next match on Saturday against the Philadelphia Union.

Lions Unveil Vinicius Nogueira

Orlando City unveiled left back Vinicius Nogueira on Friday with a photo shoot at Inter.co Stadium.

The Lions signed Nogueira on Aug. 27 on loan from Bulgarian First League side PFC Ludogorets through the end of the 2027 MLS Sprint Season, with an option to make the move permanent. The 24-year-old Brazilian was on the bench during Orlando City’s match against the New England Revolution on Saturday but did not play.

Pride Fall at home to Portland Thorns

The Orlando Pride lost 4-1 to the Portland Thorns on Saturday at Inter.co Stadium, and while the team is still mathematically alive for the postseason, the home defeat made things even more of a longshot than they were. The Pride started slowly and were down 2-0 before Ally Lemos pulled one back in the first half. Orlando missed several scoring chances, and in the second half, Portland scored two goals to put the match away. Orlando will travel to the West Coast to take on Bay FC on Sunday.

OCB Falls to Atlanta United 2 on Decision Day

Orlando City B lost 4-2 to Atlanta United 2 on Decision Day Sunday at Osceola County Stadium, falling all the way to 10th and out of the playoff places. Atlanta struck first early before Issah Haruna tied it up for the Young Lions. However, Atlanta got an own goal when Tristan Himes punched a set piece deliver in off Harvey Sarajian to retake the lead, and Ignacio Saurez-Couri added another to make it 3-1. Justin Hylton scored for OCB to cut the deficit to one before halftime. In the second half, Dominik Chong-Qui scored the final goal to secure Atlanta’s win. For the Young Lions, the season ends in disappointment again, missing the MLS NEXT Pro postseason for the second straight season.

Free Kicks

  • Just two days after Gabi Nunes and the Orlando Pride mutually agreed to part ways on Wednesday, Nunes signed with Liga F side Atletico de Madrid Femenino on Friday.
  • New York City FC is reportedly signing defender Matt Miazga after he was waived by FC Cincinnati earlier this month.

🇺🇸 BREAKING: NYCFC set to sign center back Matt Miazga, per sources.- Miazga waived by FC Cincinnati earlier this month- Miazga, 31, is former MLS Defender of the Year. Boosts defensive options for NYCFC down the stretchwww.nytimes.com/athletic/760…

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert.bsky.social) 2026-09-18T13:17:04.926Z

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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