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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New York Red Bulls: Final Score 1-0 as Lions Can’t Find a Goal

Brian White’s first-half goal holds up as Orlando can’t beat Luis Robles or the woodwork.

Published

7 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City had about the sharpness you’d expect from a team playing its eighth game in 26 days. The Lions (7-10-5, 26 points) hit every part of the goal except the inside of it, and allowed a silly goal off a turnover to fall 1-0 to the New York Red Bulls (10-8-4, 34 points) at Exploria Stadium. Brian White’s tally was the only score of the game.

“Obviously very disappointed,” Head Coach James O’Connor said about the result. “I think for the first 30 minutes, 35 minutes, we were off. We looked flat. Took us awhile to get going. The last 10 minutes of the [first] half we started to feel like we were coming into it more. Second half I think we’ve absolutely bossed the game and completely dominated. Hit the woodwork — whatever it is, three times — and had some chances. We’re unlucky not to get anything out of the game but it’s obviously very frustrating, especially when you have the ball bouncing off the crossbar and off the post.”

O’Connor went back to pretty much his first-choice lineup, minus Cristian Higuita’s ongoing absence, with Joao Moutinho returning to left back after a month out with a quad problem.

The first half belonged to New York, almost right from the beginning, as the Red Bulls won a corner in the game’s very first minute. They ended up with five more in the first half to Orlando’s none.

Ruan nearly put a ball into his own net trying to cut out a cross in the fourth minute, but it skipped out wide for another corner. Orlando got its first shot of the game three minutes later when Nani launched an effort well over the bar from the top of the area.

Former Lion Amro Tarek got a free header in the 11th minute off another corner but he hit his shot right at Brian Rowe, who caught it cleanly. Michael Murillo fired well over the crossbar from 30 yards out three minutes later off yet another corner kick after the Lions cleared it out of the area.

The sloppy Lions kept giving the ball back to New York. The Red Bulls were pressing but many of the errors were still unforced. Such a play occurred in the 23rd minute when Chris Mueller made a horrible pass that Ruan had to track down. The Brazilian was then fouled by Daniel Royer, who was booked for the infraction.

In the 25th minute, Ruan conceded a free kick out to Rowe’s right side and Tarek again got a free head on the cross. This time Rowe kicked it out of danger.

Orlando should have scored in the 31st minute. The first truly dangerous buildup by Orlando up the right side saw Nani pick up a loose ball and dish to Tesho Akindele in the middle of the area. Akindele turned and found an oncoming Will Johnson but the midfielder’s effort was wide of goal.

It was a costly miss, as the Red Bulls scored a minute later. Carlos Ascues tried to dribble through three Red Bulls on his own side of midfield but his final touch was heavy and Tarek picked it off. The former Lion gave it to Kaku, who sent in a perfect curling ball for White. Rowe got a piece of White’s shot but it trickled over the line to give New York a 1-0 lead in the 32nd minute. The play was reviewed for a possible offside but eventually given.

“As regards the first 30 minutes, we need to be a little bit sharper coming out to start the game, because we got hurt in the first 30 minutes,” O’Connor said. “They’ve had a couple of opportunities, Brian’s made a save, they’ve scored.”

Orlando had a chance to pull the goal back quickly. Mueller was set up on the left side at the top of the area. He dribbled toward the middle and fired but sent his shot well off frame in what must have been a frustrating first half for the second-year attacker.

Nani sent an inside-out shot just wide in the 36th minute and then a free kick wide in the 41st as Orlando continued to be wasteful with opportunities.

New York took its 1-0 lead into the break.

The Red Bulls led in shots (9-5), shots on goal (4-0), and corners (6-0). Orlando held 53% of the possession and neither team passed particularly well, with the Lions holding a 76%-67% edge.

The second half started the same, with New York earning an early corner again, but then the game started to slowly change over the final 45 minutes. The Red Bulls couldn’t maintain their press and the Lions started to get more of the match, eventually pinning in New York for most of the game’s final 20 minutes.

Akindele said the team discussed at halftime, “just to go and impose ourselves on the game.”

“We said ‘we’re playing at home, we know we’re a good team, we have good players, go and impose ourselves on the game.’ And I think the second half we did just that. We were camped in their half the entire second half. We couldn’t score but I think it was a big change.”

Akindele finally put Orlando’s first shot on target in the 51st minute, taking a delicious pass from Lamine Sané, turning, and forcing a decent save from Luis Robles.

The Lions then started to earn a series of what eventually turned into nine corner kicks, completely reversing the trend of the first half, but Orlando couldn’t get many decent scoring chances off of them.

The first shot off the woodwork came in the 60th minute off the foot of Carlos Ascues. The Peruvian ran onto a gorgeous cross from Moutinho and volleyed it off the bar.

Ascues and Mueller departed in the 67th minute for Sacha Kljestan and Robinho and the Lions had their second shot off the woodwork three minutes later. This time Akindele took a pass from Ruan, found some space, and fired off the crossbar. The ball hit Robles off the ricochet but stayed out.

Nani, who was down on the field behind the play for Akindele’s shot off the bar, came off in the 71st minute without putting any weight on his left foot. O’Connor said after the match that there was no update but they would evaluate the Portuguese Designated Player. Santiago Patino came on in his place.

It became apparent in the 77th minute that the ball was just not interested in going in the net. Moutinho sent a fantastic ball across the field for Akindele, who laid off for Kljestan. The midfielder struck it first touch but it hit the far post and bounced back into the penalty area. Kljestan lost his footing trying to sweep it back in but it hit off Robles and it deflected back off of Sacha’s head. The ball fell to Robinho, who tried a flying scissor kick but he couldn’t make contact. The bouncing ball then found its way to Patino, who tried to settle it instead of hitting it first time, and he was closed down by two defenders. The rookie then lost possession trying to clear himself for a shot and the entire sequence evaporated.

A minute later, the Lions should have tied the match. Kljestan sent a beautiful through ball to send Ruan down the right. With Akindele breaking free to the top of the six, the Brazilian took the shot himself from a tough angle and Robles had no trouble with it. Akindele had started the play by feeding the ball back to Kljestan in space. It was a good play that deserved a better finish.

Akindele found Patino in the 81st in the middle of the penalty area. Covered by two defenders, the rookie tried to spin free for a shot and nearly succeeded but lost his balance before he could shoot. Two minutes later Patino tried to go for a difficult move to free himself to shoot with Robinho breaking into space. The rookie didn’t see him, or chose not to pass it, and another great opportunity was wasted.

Johnson forced a Robles save in the 87th minute as the Lions kept knocking at the door. After a couple more corners, Robinho sent a weak shot right at Robles from the left side. That was about all she wrote for Orlando and the whistle eventually went in New York’s favor.

Orlando turned around the stats significantly in the second half, finishing with more shots (18-13), but one fewer shot on target (5-4). The Lions held 62% of the game’s total possession and out-passed the Red Bulls, 81%-68%. Orlando even finished with more corners (9-8).

“The Red Bulls, to be fair, started bright and end up getting a goal. But after that I don’t think we could have done much more to win the game. When you look at the chances and off the bar and off the post. There was only one team second half that was trying to really go and get after it. So, I think when we look at that it’s obviously really frustrating.”

The Lions get a little breather now, as their next game isn’t until next Saturday night when they visit the New England Revolution at 7 p.m.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Diego FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions welcome San Diego FC to Orlando for the first meeting ever between the two clubs.

Published

9 hours ago

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September 5, 2026

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Image of Joran Gerbet playing against Minnesota United.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match preview and live thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (7-11-4, 25 points) and San Diego FC (8-8-6, 30 points) at Inter.co Stadium in Orlando (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). It’s the first-ever meeting between these two teams from different conferences

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

History

As mentioned above, tonight’s meeting between the Lions and San Diego is the first in the series history, so there is no history. The Lions are 2-2-1 against Western Conference teams this season, which means little to nothing in this particular match, and San Diego is going to be Orlando City’s final opponent from the opposite conference in MLS regular-season play this season.

Overview

The Lions are coming off a wild 3-3 road draw at Minnesota United a week ago, in which Daryl Dike and Antoine Griezmann scored on either side of halftime on Orlando’s first two shot attempts to put their team up 2-0 in the 64th minute. Minnesota stormed back with three goals off defensive errors in a four-minute span to take a late 3-2 lead. Just when the Loons appeared to be headed for all three points, Tyrese Spicer scored in stoppage time, forcing Minnesota to split the points. Orlando has a modest 1-0-1 unbeaten streak entering tonight, and the Lions are 5-4-2 at home in 2026.

San Diego is coming off a 3-1 home win over the LA Galaxy despite having Jeppe Tverskov sent off. Tonight’s visitors have won two straight games, but both were at home. They lost their last home game 3-1 at Portland on Aug. 19 and are 2-5-3 away from home this season.

The key for Orlando City tonight will be to mark Anders Dreyer, which is far easier said than done, as he has emerged as one of the league’s best playmakers. His eight goals and 11 assists give him 19 total goal contributions to lead his team. Marcus Ingvartsen is Dreyer’s favorite teammate to combine with, as the Danish forward has converted 11 times, leading San Diego in goals, and has added five assists. However, Ingvartsen is listed as out with a lower body injury. Midfielder Onni Valakari has chipped in four goals and seven assists.

“We respect San Diego, but as well we prepare our game,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said ahead of the match. “We know how strong we are, especially at home, so now we go.”

Orlando City will be without Braian Ojeda (foot) and Adrian Marin (thigh), while Bernardo Rhein (thigh), has been upgraded to questionable. San Diego will be without the aforementioned Ingvartsen (lower body) and Tverskov (suspension).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Joran Gerbet, Eduard Atuesta, Justin Ellis.

Forwards: Antoine Griezmann, Daryl Dike.

Bench: Javier Otero, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Tiago, Marco Pasalic, Martin Ojeda, Tyrese Spicer.

San Diego FC (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: C.J. dos Santos.

Defenders: Kieran Sargeant, Ian Murphy, Manu Duah, Oscar Verhoeven.

Midfielders: Gabriel Pirani, Anibal Godoy, Alejandro Alvarado.

Forwards: Elias Achouri, Onni Valakari, Anders Dreyer.

Bench: Duran Ferree, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Christopher McVey, Bryan Zamble, David Vazquez, Ian Pilcher, Alex Mighten, Bryce Duke, Amahl Pellegrino.

Referees:

REF: Joe Dickerson.
AR1: Corey Parker.
AR2: Justin Howard.
4TH: Rodrigo Albuquerque.
VAR: Daniel Radford.
AVAR: Jeff Muschik.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter.co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Streaming: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

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.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Diego FC: Three Keys to Victory

Here’s what Orlando needs to do in order to return to winning ways against San Diego.

Published

1 day ago

on

September 4, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

After the disappointment of two dropped points against Minnesota on Saturday, Orlando City is back home with an opportunity to get things back on track. The Lions need to keep picking up points if they want to keep pace in an increasingly crowded Eastern Conference, and Saturday’s game is a good chance to start September off on the right note. San Diego FC stands in the way of that good start, and what follows are three things that I believe Orlando needs to do in order to emerge victorious from this game.

Stay Strong on the Left

The left side of the defense has been a question mark for the Lions for much of the year. Adrian Marin, Bernardo Rhein, and Zakaria Taifi have all spent time at left back lately and have done so with varying degrees of success. Regardless of who suits up there on Saturday, that area of the field will be under scrutiny once again, since they’ll be tasked with stopping San Diego right winger Anders Dreyer. He has eight goals and 11 assists in 21 appearances this year, has played 60 key passes during that time, and is generally the lynchpin through which the San Diego offense operates. He hasn’t quite been on the same pace that saw him bag 19 goals and 19 assists in the regular season last year, but with four goal contributions in his last three MLS appearances, he’s extremely capable of wreaking havoc from the wing. A lot of the goals OCSC has conceded lately have come down the left side of the defense, and if that area of the field can’t be taken care of better, the Lions will likely be in for a difficult night.

Do Damage in Transition

Orlando’s current style of positionless, fluid, attacking soccer is at its best when it comes up against teams that want to come out and play. It struggles mightily against defensive bunkers but shines when the Lions can get out and run, target open spaces, and combine with teammates in unexpected areas. Fortunately for OCSC (in theory), San Diego is a team that likes to have the ball, as it has the highest average possession in the league. That means the Lions will have opportunities to force turnovers and break the other way at pace. In order to make that happen though, OCSC will need to be both disciplined and effective when it comes to applying its press. Then, if/when the Lions win the ball, correct decision-making and clinical execution in the final third will be key to avoid letting any chances slip through their fingers (paws?).

Clean Up the Self-Inflicted Errors

Orlando has dealt with more than its fair share of general defensive struggles this year, but avoidable errors have been a particular problem in recent weeks. Whether it’s been an ill-advised challenge, passing to the opposition in the defensive third, or leaving men unmarked in the box, unnecessary mistakes have cost OCSC points time and again. Against lesser opposition it hasn’t always mattered, as the Lions were able to rescue three points against Real Salt Lake, but if Orlando wants to make a playoff push, it needs to make a habit of playing cleaner games, plain and simple. San Diego is a good team with dangerous offensive players, and Saturday’s visitors will very likely take advantage of any opportunities that the Lions gift-wrap for them. Keeping things mistake-free will go a long way.

We’ve got ample proof this season that nothing is guaranteed, but if the Lions can lock down the left side of the defense, make hay in transition moments, and limit unforced errors, then they should be in a good position to take all three points from Saturday’s game. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 9/4/26

Martin Ojeda details his recovery from injury, Anna Moorhouse loaned to Manchester City, Orlando City’s U.S. Open Cup journey, and more.

Published

2 days ago

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September 4, 2026

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Image of Martin Ojeda celebrating a goal against New England.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Three straight days of Orlando soccer starts tonight with Orlando City B’s road match against Inter Miami II at 7 p.m. Hopefully, Orlando’s teams do well over the next few days as crunch time is upon us when it comes to making the playoffs, especially for MLS NEXT Pro. For now though, let’s jump right into today’s links from around the soccer world!

Orlando City Prepares for San Diego FC

Orlando City will take on San Diego FC on Saturday in the first-ever game between the two clubs, and one of the storylines to keep an eye on is how much Martin Ojeda plays as he works his way back from injury. The Designated Player came off the bench late in Orlando’s 3-3 draw against Minnesota United in his first appearance since May 23. Not often injured, Ojeda spoke on how being off the field for over a month has shifted his perspective while training to return.

“You learn to value the moment much more. You learn to value every training session because, when you’re training on your own and you’re not available to your teammates, you feel uncomfortable,” Ojeda said. “You value being healthy more. It’s like everything in life. When you feel good, you live life almost on autopilot, so to speak. You go to work, you go home, you come back, you sleep. However, when you or someone close to you goes through an illness or something like that, you value the moment much more and become more conscious of what you’re experiencing.”

Pride Loan Anna Moorhouse to Manchester City

The Orlando Pride loaned goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse to Manchester City through January of 2027. Moorhouse joined the Pride prior to the 2022 season and helped the club win both the NWSL Championship and Shield in 2024. However, she has struggled this year alongside the rest of the Pride’s defense. Moorhouse hasn’t played in the past two games for the Pride, with Cosette Morche starting in her place. Her current contract with the Pride lasts through the 2027 NWSL season, so we’ll have to wait and see what her future with the club is when the loan ends.

Orlando City’s U.S. Open Cup Journey

Between the World Cup, regular season, and Leagues Cup this summer, it can be easy to forget that Orlando City is still in contention to win this year’s U.S. Open Cup. The Lions are in the semifinals of the tournament after crushing Atlanta United 4-1 in the quarterfinals back on May 19. The Lions won much tighter affairs prior to that win, with Javier Otero coming up with seven saves in a 1-0 win over FC Naples and Zakaria Taifi scoring in stoppage time to beat the New England Revolution 4-3 in the following match. Orlando will be on the road for its semifinal match against the Columbus Crew on Sept. 16, but the offense has received a boost due to the arrivals of Antoine Griezmann and Daryl Dike this summer.

MLS Transfer News Roundup

MLS signings continue to pour in as teams look to improve their squads for the rest of this season and beyond. The Colorado Rapids signed Ghanaian winger Ibrahim Sadiq from AZ Alkmaar, where he recorded 18 goals and seven assists in 85 appearances across three seasons with the Dutch club. San Diego also added an attacker by signing forward Cedric Bakambu, who joins as a free agent after playing at Real Betis. As for other notable moves from across the league, Real Salt Lake signed winger Dusan Zagar as an MLS U22 Initiative player, forward Lyle Foster joined the Houston Dynamo on loan, and the Columbus Crew continued to improve on offense by signing Moroccan winger Anass Zaroury on loan from Panathinaikos.

Free Kicks

  • Former Orlando Pride player Christina Burkenroad is retiring from professional soccer and Monterrey will have Saturday’s game against Toluca be a send-off match for her.

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

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