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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Toronto FC: Final Score 2-0 as Reds Dominate Lifeless Lions

The Lions looked lethargic and lacked any sharpness against Toronto, especially after halftime.

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7 years ago

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Scott Carnevale, The Mane Land

Orlando City continued its struggles against Toronto FC in a 2-0 loss that lacked energy or urgency in any part of the field. Except for a decent spell late in the first half, the Reds (5-2-1, 16 points) thoroughly dominated a stagnant and lifeless Orlando squad (3-4-3, 12 points), often anticipating the home side’s next pass better than the Lions themselves.

Jonathan Osorio and Jay Chapman scored in the second half to break open what had been a mostly dull affair and the Reds defended well, even as rumors swirl of the impending arrival of Omar Gonzalez to Toronto. The Lions were shut out for the first time in 2019 as a result.

“Obviously not what we were hoping for or looking for,” said Orlando City Head Coach James O’Connor of his team’s performance. “I think first half we seemed to do a decent enough job of limiting them. I think our expectation was the second half to have something similar where we could go and create some similar chances.”

O’Connor’s only change from the New York City FC game was to insert Dom Dwyer into the starting lineup and move Chris Mueller to the bench.

Toronto did a good job of clogging up the middle of the pitch in the first half and pressuring Orlando into moving laterally across the field. The Lions got some half chances but had trouble finding the target or getting them through traffic.

The best early chance came four minutes in when Justin Morrow headed a back-post cross over the bar for Toronto.

Dwyer hit a drive off target in the 11th and Uri Rosell smashed what could have been a spectacular volley off a corner kick cross that was deflected out by the defense. Orlando’s best chance of the opening half came at the half-hour mark when Tesho Akindele sent in a cross to Will Johnson, who smashed it toward the net with his first touch. Quentin Westberg did well to get down and make the save on a ball behind his momentum.

That came in the midst of a flurry of corner kicks that Orlando won but could do nothing with. The Lions finished the first half with eight corners to Toronto’s one, but couldn’t create anything from them. Nani did well just to get a volley shot toward the goal in the 31st. Robin Jansson sent a shot toward the net in the 36th that Chris Mavinga headed off his own crossbar.

But the teams couldn’t score and went to the half without a goal.

Orlando City went to the half with an 11-2 advantage in shots (but only 1-1 on target). The Lions saw five of their shots blocked by the defense and another five sail off frame. Toronto held 56% of the first-half possession to Orlando’s 44% and the passing quality was nearly equal, with the Reds holding a slight advantage (85.3%-83.6%).

Toronto came out the stronger team in the second half and came close to scoring a few times before breaking down the door.

Brian Rowe did well to get to his corner and keep out a Laurent Ciman free kick in the 48th minute and denied Jordan Hamilton in the 57th minute as the Reds continued to keep possession and turn Orlando over repeatedly. Osorio tried his hand in the 60th, but Rowe again made the save. On the ensuing corner kick, Mavinga made an excellent play to pick a ball out of the air and fire it on target, but Rowe was there again to make the stop.

Akindele fired after settling the ball in the 63rd minute but had his shot blocked in one of Orlando’s few second-chance attempts.

Toronto then got the breakthrough in the 65th. Ruan ran up to win a ball in the air but then hesitated and allowed Toronto to play in behind him. The ball ended up with Osorio to the left side. The Toronto midfielder cut around Lamine Sané and Rosell in the box and fired into the back corner to make it 1-0.

“I take my responsibility,” Sané said after the game. “I say it in front of everybody. It’s like that, soccer, and I take my responsibility.”

Four minutes later, Dwyer had an opportunity to pull that goal back, but the striker sent a header wide for the second straight week on an excellent opportunity. Mueller came on moments later, but his introduction didn’t inject any life into a Lions squad without any energy in the second 45.

Rowe did well to stop a shot by Alejandro Pozuelo in the 73rd minute, but the Reds had their second goal four minutes later. Substitute Chapman made an untracked run down the right side, made a wonderful play to bring down the ball with his foot, then sent a shot toward Rowe. The goalkeeper will want that one back, as he stuck out his foot to block it and it went off the back of his foot and into the net to squash any Orlando comeback hopes.

Dwyer nearly scored a consolation goal in the 89th, but Westberg made a tremendous reaction save to preserve the clean sheet.

The five minutes of stoppage time might as well have been 500, because Toronto kept the ball and the Lions couldn’t generate anything, especially when reduced to 10 men with Ruan cramping and getting treatment off the pitch.

Toronto turned around the shot total significantly after halftime, with 11 second-half shots, getting eight of them on goal. Orlando led in shots (18-13) for the game, but the shots on target were lopsided in favor of the Reds, 9-2. Toronto held 58% of the possession to Orlando’s 42% and out-passed the Lions, 87.4%-81.6%.

“I felt that Toronto got the favor in the second half and they could play through us too easy,” Jansson said. “I think our shape wasn’t that good as in the first half and our control of the tempo of the game and when we had the ball. I think we did a great first half and we just need to bring the first half to the second half and continue the whole way.”

“I think when you look at the second half it wasn’t what we were anticipating,” O’Connor said. “I think there was, I would say a lack of quality in decision making about keeping the ball — areas about where to keep the ball, giving it away really cheaply and it compounded things that way.”

“I’m disappointed,” Sané said. “In the second half they beat us in our game. We have to keep the ball and make them run but I think they changed and we ran a lot and lost our energy. For me, it’s like we tie in New York for nothing if we don’t win at home. We had a big game in New York and when you lose at home, it’s like you played for nothing over there. We have to win at home. It’s most important for going to the playoffs.”

O’Connor cited a notable lack of energy, especially after halftime and said the staff will need to look into the reasons why that occurred before he can address it so that it doesn’t happen again.

“Whether that’s down to mentality, whether that’s down to training load — but I think that’s something we’re going to have to look at, and try to figure out, is it a mentality thing where you need to just have more desire to push through? Is it genuinely that they’ve had too much exposure to the sun and are fatigued? So these are questions that I’ve got to sit down and try to look at and get some answers for myself.”

The Lions will go on the road for the next two matches, visiting Atlanta United on May 12 and the Seattle Sounders on May 15.

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Orlando City

Orlando City Signs First-Round Pick Harvey Sarajian

The Lions have signed their first pick of the 2026 MLS SuperDraft to a first-team contract.

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3 days ago

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January 16, 2026

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Image of Harvey Sarajian and Ricardo Moreira posing with an Orlando City jersey.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City announced today that the club has signed first-round selection Harvey Sarajian through the 2027-2028 MLS season, with three additional club option years that could keep him in purple through 2030-2031. The 20-year-old attacking midfielder, who will soon turn 21, officially joins the first team after multiple departures in the team’s attack.

“We’re really excited to bring Harvey into the fold,” Orlando City General Manager and Sporting Director Ricardo Moreira said in a club press release. “He’s a player we identified early in the draft process as someone who fits our style and developmental pathway. Adding young talent like Harvey is an important part of building depth and ensuring long-term success as we continue into the next iteration of our competitive cycle.”

The Lions selected Sarajian with the fifth overall pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft out of Wake Forest University. It was the first of four picks Orlando City made in the first round this year, and Sarajian is the first of the group to be signed.

The Naples, FL, native, who will wear No. 23 this season, began his collegiate career at Georgia Southern in 2024 before transferring to Wake Forest in 2025. He earned Sun Belt Freshman of the Year and All-Southeast Region second-team honors his first year before joining one the nation’s top programs.

The 6-foot-2 sophomore scored two goals and added two assists in 17 games last season while putting six of his 19 shots on frame (31.6%). It was a down year for the Demon Deacons, who lost in the first round of the ACC Tournament to SMU and didn’t qualify for the NCAA Tournament.

In his two years of collegiate action, Sarajian played 34 games (31 starts), recording 1,921 minutes. He scored six goals and had eight assists for the two schools.

What It Means for Orlando City

Sarajian’s signing is all about development as he likely won’t see much time for the first team in 2026. His primary position is in the number 10 role, a spot already occupied by Martin Ojeda. He can also play on either wing, potentially backing up Ivan Angulo and Marco Pasalic.

In all likelihood, Sarajian will be at most a reserve for MLS games and will see most of his time with Orlando City B in MLS NEXT Pro. His status on the club will probably be like that of former Lion draftee Shak Mohammed, a fellow former first-round draft pick that plays a similar style and left the club this off-season.

The attacker will only be 21 years old when the season begins, so he still has a lot of room to improve. He wasn’t a star at Wake Forest, so the Orlando City brass clearly sees this as a long-term project who will hopefully pay dividends down the road. If not, the club likely feels comfortable with the attacking options coming through the academy and OCB, like Justin Ellis and Justin Hylton.

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Opinion

Likes and Dislikes from the First Week of Orlando City’s Preseason

There were good and bad things to take away from Orlando City’s first week back at work.

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3 days ago

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January 16, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

It seems strange to write considering it feels like the 2025 MLS season only ended yesterday, but week one of Orlando City’s preseason is (almost) fully in the books. With that being the case, let’s talk about the week that was and discuss some good things and not-so-good things about it.

Likes

Married to Martin

Orlando City announced on Thursday that it signed Martin Ojeda to a contract extension that runs through the 2028-2029 season. Given that the Argentine no. 10 had a record-breaking 2025 season, and the fact that there were some rumblings online about interest from Palmeiras and other teams, this is an extremely welcome piece of news. Ojeda was the straw that stirred Orlando City’s drink last year, and losing him after his breakout year would have been a huge blow, despite what undoubtedly would have been a tidy little transfer fee. Instead, Orlando’s talisman is locked down for the long term, and it was also good to hear him speak about how happy his family has been in the City Beautiful.

Moving on From Muriel

On the opposite side of the coin, the Lions also announced on Thursday that the team has sold Luis Muriel to Colombian side Junior FC. Like Ojeda, this is a key move for the club to make as it moves off a Designated Player whose time here probably can’t be called a failure, but certainly can’t be called an outright success either. The forward’s wildly fluctuating inconsistency was what made his time in Orlando so frustrating, because it isn’t like he wasn’t capable of performing at a high level in MLS. One has only to look at his two league performances against Inter Miami during the 2025 season to see that. Ultimately though, he wasn’t consistently clinical enough in front of goal, and he was off form more than he was on. His departure frees up a precious Designated Player slot that OCSC really needs to nail if it wants to have a more successful campaign this year, and we can now enjoy speculating about which player the front office decides to use it on.

Returning Faces

It did my heart good to see the formerly injured duo of Yutaro Tsukada and Wilder Cartagena back training with the full team after suffering season-ending injuries during the 2025 preseason. Cartagena tore his Achilles tendon in the first friendly of the year against Atletico Mineiro, while Tsukada tore his ACL during a friendly with CF Montreal, and both injuries changed Orlando’s season before it even started. The team lost a starting defensive midfielder in Cartagena and a depth piece who had shown promise with Orlando City B when it came to Tsukada, and the year started on a somber note as a result. Not only is it good for the outlook of the team to have them back, but it’s just great for the players themselves to be able to get back out there, and hopefully they’re both able to rebound well this season.

Dislikes

Dearth of Open Practices & Friendlies

Technically we found out about this last week when the preseason schedule was announced, but I just think the lack of open practices and friendlies this year is a damn shame. None of the Lions’ preseason games are open to the general public, and there are no opportunities to go watch the team train. While I do think it’s good that the final preseason match is at least open to season ticket members, as they do deserve something for their extra commitment, it just seems like a missed opportunity. Given how many new faces will be on the team this year, having open practices and friendlies is a great way to get fans excited about the new arrivals and build anticipation for the upcoming season. I have no doubt that the club had its reasons for structuring the preparations in the way it did, but I can’t help feeling disappointed regardless.

All in all it was a pretty good first week of preseason preparations, and I think that’s evidenced in the fact that I could only find one (slightly nitpicky) thing to dislike. Hopefully, the rest of the weeks leading up to the regular season are in the same vein. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 1/16/26

Orlando City re-signs Martin Ojeda, Luis Muriel officially joins Atletico Junior, Orlando Pride’s 2026 season schedule announced, and more.

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3 days ago

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January 16, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Friday! While it feels a little wrong to complain about cold weather here in Florida while other people are shoveling snow up north, I sure can’t wait for things to warm up. I plan on hunkering down with blankets and books over the next few days while putting the candle warmer I got for Christmas through its paces. It was a busy week for Orlando soccer news, so let’s dive right into the links!

Martin Ojeda Re-Signs With Orlando City

The Lions re-signed Designated Player Martin Ojeda to a new contract that will last through the 2028-2029 season with a club option for the 2029-2030 season. Orlando just exercised the option on Ojeda’s previous contract following the 2025 season, but wasted no time securing his services for the foreseeable future. The Argentine attacker is the club’s all-time leader when it comes to goal contributions, recording 33 goals and 42 assists in 130 appearances across all competitions in the time since joining Orlando before the 2023 season. He was phenomenal last season in particular, providing 31 goal contributions as the team’s best player. This decision comes amid buzz that European and Brazilian clubs were interested in signing him, so it’s nice to see Orlando was able to get a deal done.

Luis Muriel Transferred to Atletico Junior

Orlando City transferred forward Luis Muriel to Atletico Junior in Colombia’s top flight officially on Thursday, opening up a Designated Player slot in the process. This move has been reported on throughout the off-season and seems to be positive for all parties involved. Muriel joined Orlando ahead of the 2024 season and scored 17 goals and provided 18 assists in 84 appearances across all competitions. While his time as a Lion may be looked back at as underwhelming given his Designated Player status, his performance last August when he scored a hat trick against Necaxa in the Leagues Cup and then a brace against rival Inter Miami will be hard to forget. The Lions now get the chance to reload their Designated Player slot with someone who can bring a more consistent impact to the team.

Orlando Pride 2026 Schedule Unveiled

The 2025 NWSL season schedule is out and the Orlando Pride will open their season at home against the Seattle Reign on March 15. The Pride will play 30 games over the course of the longest regular season in league history, playing the other 15 teams twice as part of a balanced schedule. Following their season opener, the Pride will host Denver Summit FC on March 20 in the club’s first-ever match against the expansion side. Orlando’s first match against the other expansion club, Boston Legacy FC, will be on the road on May 12, with Boston playing in Orlando for the first time on July 15. The Pride’s final game of the regular season will be on Nov. 1 against the Reign.

A notable new addition this season is Victory+, a free streaming service that has partnered with the league and will broadcast many games this year. The Pride will have nine games streamed on Victory+, including the first four games of their season.

Benjamin Cremaschi Named U.S. Soccer Young Male Player of the Year

Florida native Benjamin Cremaschi was voted as the 2025 U.S. Soccer Young Male Player of the Year. The 20-year-old captained the U.S. at last year’s U-20 World Cup in Chile, scoring five goals in the tournament to win the Golden Boot. He started in all five U.S. matches, helping the team win 3-0 against both France and Italy before falling in the quarterfinals to the eventual champion, Morocco. At the club level, Cremaschi was loaned from Inter Miami to Parma in September and has made three appearances there.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando Pride forward Barbra Banda and Zambia were drawn into a star-studded group alongside Nigeria, Malawi, and Egypt in the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, which kicks off in March. The four semifinalists of the tournament will earn qualification for the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
  • Sporting Kansas City signed forward Calvin Harris as a free agent, with the contract lasting through June of 2027. Harris was drafted second overall by FC Cincinnati in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft and has spent the past three years with the Colorado Rapids.
  • Brazilian club Vasco da Gama has reportedly signed Brenner from Udinese. The 26-year-old spent half of last year on loan with FC Cincinnati, and Cincy was in talks with him following the expiration of the loan regarding his return to the club.

That’s all I have for you this time around. Make sure to stay nice and warm out there and I hope you all have a fantastic Friday!

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