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Orlando City vs. Toronto FC: Final Score 3-1 as Lions Fall for Second Time at Home

Once again it was Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco ripping Orlando to shreds.

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8 years ago

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Nick Leyva, The Mane Land

Could some European team please come buy Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco? The Toronto duo has terrorized Orlando City for the last three seasons and did it again to lead the visiting Reds (11-3-5, 38 points) to a 3-1 win at Orlando City Stadium — just the second home game lost in league play by the Lions this year.

Altidore scored one, assisted Giovinco’s first, and drew the foul that led to the Italian’s second in a game where Orlando (8-7-5, 29 points) played mostly well but had a few bad moments undo a lot of good — at least defensively. On the offensive end, Orlando failed to get onto crosses and lost balls in the air time and time again to let Alex Bono have a relatively relaxed night in goal.

“Obviously really disappointed to lose at home, first and foremost. A result like that at home is never something that we want,” Head Coach Jason Kreis said after the match. “We’re a team that needs energy and when we don’t have that energy we suffer results, I think, like we did tonight. I thought we lacked a little bit of the energy to get ourselves back into this game.”

Carlos Rivas scored for Orlando City, which heads into the Gold Cup break in fifth place in the Eastern Conference.

Toronto got the first good attempt on goal off a free kick nine minutes in but the cross was headed out of a sea of bodies right at Joe Bendik. A minute later, Jose Aja was forced to take on Giovinco one-on-one and he made a nice play to knock the ball away when the Italian star tried to cut inside for a shot. A minute after that, it was Antonio Nocerino blocking a Giovinco effort from above the box.

Minutes later, Giovinco shook free through the defense, and when four Lions converged, he fed a ball for Altidore to run onto in the box. Bendik got a piece of the USMNT striker’s shot but not enough of it and it was 1-0 to the visitors just 18 minutes in.

“We have to find a way to stop conceding goals early,” Kreis said. “When we do that I think we’ve really struggled. The first goal to me is a play where Giovinco’s floating in the space between our back four and our midfielders and is just given too much time and space there, and I think that’s something we’ve been trying to get our team to tactically sort out.

“For me it was a little bit about stepping at the wrong time and stepping late and we’re a little bit caught, and also how close we were to the players that were playing those balls through for [Altidore]. We weren’t close enough, we didn’t have enough pressure to those balls, and when you give a player like Giovinco time to slot those kinds of passes, he’s going to take full advantage of it.”

He added that he thinks the team’s current defensive personnel are good enough to get the job done.

“I think there’s just some small things that we’re not quite doing the same way were doing in the beginning of the season. ”

Five minutes later the Reds looked to double their lead as Altidore felt a shirt pull from Jonathan Spector and picked his feet up, going down easily and not only getting the call but also a booking on the Orlando City center back. Giovinco stepped up and blasted a free kick off the crossbar that the Lions were able to clear.

Much of Orlando’s first half offense was getting crosses into the box, only to watch Toronto defenders cut them out before they could find Cyle Larin. But the Lions finally got a decent opportunity at 36 minutes, when Will Johnson stepped into a shot at the top of the box, but he hit it directly at Alex Bono for the easy save.

In minute 39, the Reds got their last good look of the opening period when Oyvind Alseth sent a cross in that Giovinco volleyed wide. The Lions owned the rest of the half but struggled to find the final ball. There were several good crosses from Kaká, Scott Sutter, and Giles Barnes, but the Toronto defense was first to the ball each time, even if only to get a toe on a pass to knock it slightly off course. Orlando was still on the front foot when the halftime whistle blew.

The Lions held 64.9% of the first-half possession and a 12-1 advantage in crosses, but were out-shot, 7-5 (3-2 on goal).

But that good end to the first half was wasted when Toronto scored in the first minute after the break. Once again a well-timed run by Altidore had the U.S. international completely in behind the defense. He passed off to Giovinco for the tap-in when he was cut off in the box and it was quickly 2-0.

“Early in the second half was a back buster,” Kreis said.

Rivas, who came on at halftime, had an impact in his return from an ankle injury sustained at Chicago last week. He used his pace to break through a compact Toronto defense, which kept its three lines very tightly packed, and he eventually got on the score sheet in the 63rd minute. The Colombian took a beautiful through ball from Kaká and sent a shot that kissed the right post and went in to cut the lead to 2-1 with a lot of time left.

The good feeling from that goal didn’t last long, however. Altidore went down in a tangle of bodies and got his (I don’t know what number, I lost count) foul given by referee Alan Kelly. Giovinco, whose worst miss ever on a free kick against Orlando was probably the one in the first half that smacked the crossbar, found the upper 90 on an unstoppable shot to restore Toronto’s two-goal advantage at the 65-minute mark, just two minutes after Rivas had given the Lions a lifeline.

From that point on, it was mainly a series of near misses for both teams. Rivas just missed over the bar in the 68th minute. Barnes had a good opportunity on a Kaká cross but his shot was deflected out for a corner in the 71st.

Bendik made a great stop on second-half sub Jordan Hamilton in the 88th minute after Ashtone Morgan’s back-post cross found him on the break.

Eventually, Kelly blew the full-time whistle and the Lions had their second home loss in Orlando City Stadium history. The Lions finished with 64.6% of the possession, a 14-11 advantage on shots (but 3-6 on target), a 20-1 edge in crosses and 5-1 in corners, but the Reds won the only stat that matters.

The Lions are off until Atlanta United comes to town on Friday, July 21.

“Disappointed to go into a long break now to have to feel the suffering of losing three points now for the next two weeks. But it doesn’t change the fact that we know there’s some particular areas that we need to be really focused in on improving in the next couple of weeks and we’re going to take the opportunity with the extended period of time to train to really get after those things and get back to some of the things I think brought us a lot of success in the beginning of the season.”

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Orlando City

Orlando City at CF Montreal: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to earn all three points on the road against Montreal?

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10 hours ago

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April 17, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City heads to the Great White North to take on CF Montreal. The Canadian squad sits in last place in not just the Eastern Conference but also the entire MLS, with only two points from a pair of draws. To say it’s not been a good start to the season is an understatement. Of course, it’s exactly that type of situation that makes it feel like a trap. What does Orlando City need to do to take all three points against CF Montreal?

Designated Goal Scorers

What do you do if you haven’t scored a goal in the last two matches? You play a team that has given up 13 goals in eight matches with a -9 goal differential. Montreal doesn’t have the worst defense in the league — I’m looking at you, D.C. United — but it’s not far off. That presents an opportunity for Orlando City to get back on track when it comes to scoring goals.

Through the first six matches of the season, Orlando City was leading the league in scoring with 15 goals. Over the last two matches, the spigot has dried up. The Lions must seize on this opportunity to create and finish their chances. Much like earlier in the season, I want to see Luis Muriel, Martin Ojeda, and Marco Pasalic lead the way. If anyone can get the first goal, then I’m hopeful the dam will break and the scoring drought will be over.

Keep it Clean

There is some good news of late when it comes to the Orlando City defense. The club has two clean sheets over the last two matches, and that is without Cesar Araujo. There is also some bad news, given Rodrigo Schlegel will be serving his red card suspension this match. That means David Brekalo will move back to center back with Robin Jansson, and Oscar Pareja will have to employ either Rafael Santos or Kyle Smith at left back. Santos has been less than good so far this season.

Montreal has scored a paltry four goals so far in 2025, but two of them have come from striker Prince Owusu. The defense will also need to deal with Caden Clark facilitating in the midfield. I get that this isn’t a prolific attack. Montreal has not looked very good this season and is looking for both its first win and its first points of any sort at home. That means the hosts may be desperate for a result, and desperate is often dangerous. How well the defense does — in particular, how well Santos does if he plays — may determine if Montreal is able to break out of its slump. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

Give the Midfield Time

Before the last match, I was a little worried about the midfield. Having both Araujo and Eduard Atuesta out at the same time seemed to be a concern. Now, after seeing how well Joran Gerbet and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson worked together against the New York Red Bulls, I’m way less worried. If Araujo and Atuesta need a little more time to get fully healthy, then let them. The Franco/Icelandic combo seems to be a potent one.

Of course, if the normal starters are ready, then by all means bring them back, but maybe not until the 60th minute. Perhaps Pareja could even mix and match. One never knows how yellow card suspensions or minor injuries will affect player availability. This is a good match for Gerbet and Thorhallsson to work their magic.

That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 4/17/25

Oscar Pareja signs new contract with Orlando City, Orlando Pride prepare for the Washington Spirit, Orlando’s youth teams win, and more.

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13 hours ago

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April 17, 2025

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I can’t believe we’re already into the back half of April and Easter is right around the corner. There’s plenty of soccer to enjoy between now and then and we also have the draw for the U.S. Open Cup’s round of 32 this morning at 9:15. MLS teams are finally joining the fray, so we’ll see where the chips fall for Orlando City. Let’s get to the links!

Oscar Pareja Signs New Contract

Orlando City and Head Coach Oscar Pareja have agreed to a new three-year contract that will keep him in the City Beautiful through 2028. Pareja was hired as Orlando’s fourth head coach in its MLS era back in December of 2019 and he’s led the Lions to the playoffs in all five seasons he’s been at the helm.  Under Pareja, the Lions won the U.S. Open Cup in 2022, set club records in points and wins in 2023, and reached the Eastern Conference final for the first time last year. This year was the final one on the contract he signed in December of 2023, so it’s nice to know Pareja will be sticking around in the future.

Orlando Pride Prepare for the Washington Spirit

The Orlando Pride will look to make it five wins in a row when they host the Washington Spirit on Saturday in another rematch of last year’s final. While this is the first match between Orlando and Washington this season, the two clashed in the NWSL Challenge Cup on March 7 and the Spirit lifted the trophy after a penalty shootout. Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines spoke on how the team has grown since that game and has benefitted from depth and consistency carried over from last year.

Orlando City Youth Teams Win in Bradenton

Orlando City’s U-18 team won in the Generation Adidas Cup’s round of 16, beating St. Louis City 1-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. The Young Lions remain unbeaten in that age group and will take on a Real Salt Lake team that also won its group and just beat Toronto FC in a penalty shootout following a scoreless draw.

Orlando’s U-16 squad didn’t qualify for the Championship bracket, but still advanced in the Premier bracket. After a 1-1 draw with Toronto, Orlando prevailed in the ensuing penalty shootout and will play Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.

UEFA Champions League Semifinals Are Set

The quarterfinals for this year’s UEFA Champions League are over and only four teams remain in the tournament. Arsenal secured its spot in the semifinals after an impressive 2-1 road win against Real Madrid that included two assists from Mikel Merino. The Spanish club couldn’t muster its usual magic in the tournament and forward Kylian Mbappe exited in the second half due to injury. In Italy, Inter Milan held on for a 2-2 draw against Bayern to advance on aggregate, with defender Benjamin Pavard scoring a crucial goal for Inter against his old team. The semifinals will take place at the end of the month and will feature Arsenal taking on Paris Saint-Germain and Inter going up against Barcelona.

Free Kicks

  • Our thoughts go out to the friends and family of former FC Cincinnati player Aaron Boupendza, who died after falling from the 11th floor of a building in China.
  • The Chicago Fire are reportedly strongly interested in signing star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne on a free transfer. If any Western Conference teams could join the hunt for him, that would be great.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

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Orlando City

Orlando City Extends Oscar Pareja’s Contract through 2028

The most successful coach in Orlando City’s MLS history has signed on for another three seasons.

Published

23 hours ago

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April 16, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City SC announced today that the club and Head Coach Oscar Pareja have come to terms on a new three-year contract through 2028. The winningest head coach in club history, Pareja’s previous two-year contract was scheduled to expire after the 2025 season. With the Lions off to a 3-2-3 start, and coming off the deepest MLS Cup playoff run in the organization’s history — the 2024 Eastern Conference final — the club locked down the veteran coach

“Throughout his career, Oscar has proven to be a coach deeply committed not only to winning and competing for championships, but also to building teams that fans can proudly rally behind,” Orlando City Owner and Chairman Mark Wilf said in a club press release. “Here in Orlando, he’s shown that same passion and dedication — taking immense pride in representing our club with integrity and driving us closer each year to our ultimate goal of winning it all. His unwavering positivity and focus have helped shape a culture grounded in respect and ambition. We’re thrilled to have Oscar continue leading us forward in the City Beautiful.” 

Pareja has led Orlando City to a record of 89-59-55 across all competitions in 203 matches, reaching the playoffs in each of his seasons at the helm of OCSC. He also won the team’s first MLS-era trophy by leading the Lions to the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title, and he’s guided the club to its first two appearances in Concacaf Champions League/Cup and to the MLS is Back Tournament final in 2020.

With 176 MLS victories, Pareja is No. 5 on the league’s all-time wins list. He ranks second among all active coaches. Orlando City initially hired Pareja, 56, as head coach on Dec. 4, 2019. He succeeded James O’Connor, Jason Kreis, and Adrian Heath as OCSC head coaches in the club’s MLS era. Prior to joining the Lions, Pareja spent one season in Liga MX with Club Tijuana after five successful seasons as head coach at FC Dallas. Pareja started his MLS head coaching career with the Colorado Rapids in 2012, leading the ‘Pids for two seasons, including a playoff appearance in 2013. He also coached the U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team from 2007-2008. 

“First and foremost, I want to express my deepest gratitude to Mark Wilf, his family, the entire ownership group, and our executive board for their continued trust in the vision and culture we’ve built over the years,” Pareja said in the club’s release. “Their unwavering support is the foundation of everything we strive to achieve each day. Above all, I’m profoundly thankful to our incredible fans and the dedicated staff who pour their hearts into making Orlando City such a remarkable club. Together, we’ve grown stronger with each passing season, moving steadily closer to our shared ambition of bringing more trophies home to this great city. I remain deeply inspired by what lies ahead and look forward to continuing this journey in pursuit of more championships.” 

As a player, Pareja spent 1987-1995 with Independiente Medellin in his native Colombia as a midfielder, appearing in 263 matches and scoring 18 goals. He moved to Deportivo Cali, where he scored 11 more goals in 122 games from 1995-1998 and then joined the New England Revolution, appearing in 13 games that year. He finished his playing career with FC Dallas, scoring 13 goals in 170 appearances from 1998-2005. He also earned 11 caps from 1991 to 1996 with Colombia’s national team, scoring three goals.

What It Means for Orlando City

As I wrote when Pareja re-signed in December of 2023: quite simply, it means the Lions retain their most successful coach since joining Major League Soccer. Pareja has created a culture and an identity that was lacking at the club prior to his arrival. While it’s common for players to say the team feels like a family and a city feels like “home,” the Lions have walked that walk during Pareja’s tenure in the City Beautiful.

Pareja’s challenge for the upcoming season is to improve upon the club’s deepest run in the playoffs and perhaps the fourth-place finish the Lions enjoyed in 2024. That’s not an easy task, and it shouldn’t be held against him if he can’t reach those lofty heights.

In the short term, Pareja’s job is to get the team scoring goals again while maintaining the high defensive standards set over the last two matches.

Pareja’s tenure with Orlando City will ultimately be measured in trophies. So far, he’s won one of them. That’s more than everyone who came before him won with Orlando in the MLS era, but it’s understandable for fans and ownership to ask for more.

Oscar Pareja’s Coaching Record at Orlando City (W-L-D)

Major League Soccer Regular Season: 167 games, 74-48-45
MLS Playoffs: 12 games, 5-6-1 (Note: MLS considers draws losses if they happen in the best-of-three round but if it goes to penalties in a single-elimination game, it’s a draw.)
U.S. Open Cup: 7 games, 4-1-2
Concacaf Champions League/Cup: 6 games, 2-1-3
Leagues Cup: 7 games, 2-2-3
MLS is Back Knockout Stages: 4 games, 2-1-1

Total: 203 games coached, 89-59-55

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