Connect with us

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Inter Miami CF: Final Score 2-1 as Lions Concede on Late Corner Kick

The Herons end the Lions’ streak after Orlando City squandered an easy opportunity to grab a late lead.

Published

6 years ago

on

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

The streak is over. Orlando City’s 12-match unbeaten streak came to an end as the law of averages caught up with the Lions in multiple ways in a 2-1 loss at Inter Miami. The Lions (8-3-8, 32 points) conceded on a late corner kick — Miami’s 12th of the match — to fall behind after squandering a golden opportunity to take the lead at the other end.

Leandro Gonzalez Pirez’s header in the 89th minute was the difference after a Daryl Dike goal and an own goal off Robin Jansson had the teams knotted up after the opening half. Orlando City and Miami (6-11-3, 21 points) split this season’s four Tropic Thunder meetings, with each winning twice — Inter twice at home and the Lions once at home and in the MLS is Back Tournament bubble. It was Orlando’s first loss in 2020 when scoring first.

Orlando’s 12-game unbeaten streak now turns into a four-match winless skid (0-1-3) as the Lions failed to find a second goal in the match for the fourth consecutive game and the fifth in six outings.

“At the end, you know, it’s very dramatic for us because it happens on a moment when we had a great opportunity to unbalance the game,” Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match.

Pareja had Pedro Gallese back in goal to start this match, behind a back line of Kyle Smith, Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Ruan. Sebas Mendez returned to the midfield, along with Junior Urso, Andres Perea, and Chris Mueller, with Nani and Dike leading the attack.

Orlando started the game brightly and that paid off with an early goal after a corner, a couple of half chances, and a Nani free kick just over the bar. Carlos played a fantastic long ball for Dike and the rookie just out-muscled Nicolas Figal and broke in on John McCarthy’s goal all alone, slotting home the opening goal — his fifth of the season — in the 12th minute.

Miami ramped up its pressure after falling behind but the Lions dealt reasonably well with it, continuing to get into dangerous areas, but the crosses on this day weren’t clinical enough. Nani crossed a set piece delivery right at McCarthy in the 15th minute and Ruan fizzed a cross from open play behind everyone in the 28th.

A minute later, the Lions almost conceded an own goal after a poor Mendez touch in the box fell in front of goal. Carlos went to clear it but it hit a teammate and ricocheted toward his own net, but it sailed wide for a corner.

The rain started to make things a bit precarious around the half-hour mark. There were several odd deflections and controlling the ball became difficult. Miami started trying shots from just outside the top of the area, including a shot that required a sprawling Gallese save in the 33rd minute, just seconds after the hydration break.

Six minutes later, it was Ben Sweat sneaking inside, taking a pass and firing, but El Pulpo was again up to the task.

A few minutes later, Mueller came to the rescue with an overhead goal-line clearance on a Miami set piece, as the Herons racked up corners late in the first half. Then Gallese made a comfortable save on a Lewis Morgan free kick in the 43rd minute.

The Miami breakthrough came late in the half, just after a seemingly obvious foul on Dike went unpunished. The big rookie was sent sprawling by the Miami defense, which allowed the hosts to counter. At the other end, the ball pinballed around the area with neither team able to hit or collect it cleanly and it ended up with Blaise Matuidi, who sent in a harmless-looking shot that Jansson seemed to have lined up but the ball squirted backward off his foot and past Gallese in the 43rd minute to tie the game.

“It’s tough, you know, because you know he feels down on himself, because he scored an own goal, but you know it’s not his fault,” Smith said. “It happens in soccer. It happens to everyone.”

It was an unlucky break, but with the volume of chances Miami was getting and the weather conditions, it wasn’t too surprising when it happened. After Nani left another free kick delivery too close to goal, and a late free kick for Miami, the teams went to the break all even at 1-1.

Miami led in shots (13-4), shots on goal (3-1), corners (9-1), and passing accuracy (86%-83%), with Orlando keeping more of the possession (51.4%-48.6%). The Herons got a lucky bounce, but did enough to earn being level at the break, handling the wet, windy conditions much better than the Lions.

Figal nearly put Miami ahead just after the break on a set piece, pulling Mueller down without a call and then sending his free header wide in the 47th minute.

Ruan got up the right side just a minute later but again his cross was poor and McCarthy caught it.

Miami came close again in the 53rd when Julian Carranza got onto a good cross from Morgan and slammed it off the crossbar.

Both teams started to substitute after that, with much of the play between the penalty areas. A major talking point happened around the 80th minute when a cross from second-half sub Tesho Akindele appeared to come off Matuidi’s arm. After video review, the no-call stood. Akindele said he saw the play clearly but perhaps the play occurred just outside the area, hence no penalty being given.

“It was definitely a handball,” Akindele said. “I don’t know if he was inside the box or not. I think he was outside of the box, and that’s why it didn’t come back, but to me it was definitely a handball. They didn’t call it in the moment so they can’t go back (and award a free kick).”

Orlando started getting more opportunities just before Miami’s game-winner, as time wound down. Nani had a shot blocked in the 85th minute. Benji Michel was first to the ball but his cross was blocked behind for a corner. Akindele had a shot blocked moments later for another corner. That should have led to a go-ahead goal by Orlando.

A bouncing ball in the area fell for Jansson on the set piece but he couldn’t direct it on goal. Instead, it cut back across the face of goal and deflected out to Michel. Although McCarthy was on the ground, Orlando’s Homegrown fired his shot straight into the prone goalkeeper with almost the entirety of the net open to him in the 88th minute. Try not to cringe at the miss or the pronunciation of Michel’s name in this clip.

“The ball was bouncing around their box and we were unlucky (not) to get that goal,” Smith said. “When we get those opportunities to score, it’s important for us to be clinical.”

A minute later, the Lions conceded late for the second straight match. Perea cleared a ball out over the end line to give up the corner kick. There was a miscommunication about assignments as Morgan took the set piece, with Urso passing off Gonzalez Pirez to Carlos, who already had a man. Urso ended up near the top of the area with no one to mark as Gonzalez Pirez sent his free header past Gallese for the winner.

“You know, I take the responsibility on the matchups and the way we have to defend it,” Pareja said. “I need to review it because it just happened. But obviously it creates concern from us conceding another goal at the end.”

The Lions were unable to get a clean look at goal in the five minutes of stoppage time, despite Matheus Aias making his Orlando City debut late in the match, coming on for Perea on a set piece opportunity. The final whistle went, and that was that.

The hosts finished with more shots (20-9), shots on target (4-2), corners (12-5), and passing accuracy (85%-83%), while Orlando had slightly more of the ball (51%-49%).

“There are things that happen in the season that alert you, wake you up, send you sort of messages that you have to absorb and pay attention to,” Pareja said. “But one thing that we’re not going to do is just get desperate right now.”

“I think the loss will give us a good reset and refocus us,” Akindele said. “Of course tonight this is going to definitely hurt but tomorrow morning we’re going to be up, we’re going to be at practice, and we’re going to be focused on beating Atlanta.”

Orlando City is back home on Wednesday night to take on Atlanta United for the fourth time this season. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Orlando City

Flashback Friday: July 4, 2023 vs. Toronto FC

Let’s rewind to an Independence Day affair that had plenty of offensive fireworks.

Published

3 days ago

on

July 3, 2026

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The United States Men’s National Team picked up a gritty, resilient 2-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Round of 32 on Wednesday, and will now face Belgium in a rematch of the 2014 World Cup Round of 16 next Monday. While we patiently wait for that game, it’s time to continue our Friday tradition of revisiting some classic Orlando City games from years past.

Last week, we rewound to a high octane affair against the Chicago Fire in late June 2022, that saw the Lions douse Chicago’s flames and pick up a much-needed 4-2 victory. Today, let’s hop in the time machine and travel back to Independence Day 2023, when Toronto FC came to town.

At the time of Toronto’s visit, things were going relatively smoothly for OCSC. The team was riding a three-match unbeaten streak and had scored five goals across those three games. Oscar Pareja lined up his team in its customary 4-2-3-1, with Pedro Gallese in goal; a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith; Wilder Cartagena and Cesar Araujo in the double pivot; Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres in the attacking midfield; and Duncan McGuire up top.

Orlando very nearly got a goal a little under 10 minutes into the game. Former OCSC goalkeeper Greg Ranjitsingh knocked down a cross in front of the net, and while Pereyra was first to the ball, he could only blast it over the bar with the goal at his mercy. Fortunately, that miss would not come back to haunt the Lions, who bagged the game’s first goal in the 16th minute. Angulo sucked defenders toward him on the left edge of the box before releasing Santos out wide. The fullback played a peach of a first-time, curling cross to the back post, where Araujo was waiting to power a diving header into the side netting at the far post for his first league goal.

That goal broke the game open, and Orlando got another goal six minutes later to double the advantage. It initially looked like a carbon copy of the first goal, with Santos out in space on the left side of the box, sending in a curled cross. The ball deflected off a defender and came in low toward the goal. Ranjitsingh waited for the ball instead of going to claim it, and that allowed McGuire to nip in front of him and get a touch on the ball to sneak it in at the near post.

Orlando nearly got even more goals inside the half hour, with Torres and McGuire both going close in quick succession. Federico Bernardeschi smashed a shot off the post in the 28th minute, and the Lions seemed to be losing focus a little bit, with the hydration break a welcome pause in play when it came. OCSC came out of the pause well, and Pereyra put Angulo through in the 36th minute, but the Colombian couldn’t bring the ball under control and fashion a shooting chance.

Orlando led in every meaningful statistical category at halftime. The Lions had more possession (55.8%-44.2%), shots (6-2), shots on goal (2-0), corners (4-2), and passing accuracy (89.5%-85%). Most importantly, they led 2-0 on the scoreboard.

Toronto tried to change things at halftime by introducing three substitutes, but Orlando settled back into the game quickly and negated the efforts of interim TFC manager Terry Dunfield. Angulo and Torres forced Ranjitsingh into a pair of saves in the 53rd and 55th minutes, and the Lions tried to press their advantage by sending on Ramiro Enrique and Martin Ojeda in the 57th minute for McGuire and Pereyra.

The game then changed in a big way in the 62nd minute. Cartagena and Bernardeschi exchanged words after a turnover, and the Italian winger put Cartagena on the ground with the help of a little theatrics from the midfielder. Bernardeschi had already been yellow carded in the 47th minute for a foul on Smith, and the altercation with Wilder saw him receive a second yellow and his marching orders to go along with it.

With TFC down to 10 men, the Lions started to tee off at goal. Ojeda came close to getting the team’s third in the 69th minute, with Enrique doing the same in the 71st but missing just wide. When the goal finally came, it was from the unlikely foot of Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, who had been subbed into the game alongside Ercan Kara in the 68th minute.

Thorhallsson made a great run behind the defense in the 77th minute, and Araujo picked him out well. Ranjitsingh came out to try to play sweeper-keeper, but DDT beat him to the ball easily, touched it around the former Lion, and rolled it into the empty net to score his first MLS goal and make it 3-0.

Toronto had a halfway decent chance to pull one back in the 82nd minute, but Brandon Servania’s long-distance attempt at chipping Gallese ended up missing high and settling on the roof of the net. Kara then iced the game in the 84th minute. Araujo fired a pass to Ojeda at the top of the box, and even though he had trouble bringing it under control, he had the presence of mind to backheel it toward goal for the big Austrian to pounce on and fire a low, hard shot into the net for 4-0.

Ojeda nearly got a goal of his own two minutes later but had a great effort saved in what was the last truly dangerous moment of the game.

As was the case at halftime, when the final whistle blew, the Lions had created plenty of fireworks on both the scoreboard and the stat sheet. OCSC finished with more possession (59.6%-40.4%), shots (18-6), shots on target (9-0), corners (8-2), and passing accuracy (91%-84.8%).

Marcus Mitchell had Player Grades for this one, and he named Araujo the Man of the Match with a grade of 8 out of 10 for his one-goal/one-assist effort. The other high performers on the night were Antonio Carlos, and Cartagena, who each graded out at 7.5 out of 10.

That’ll do it for this week’s trip down memory lane. We’ve been getting spoiled lately, with Orlando putting up four goals in back-to-back time machine games, and it’s made for an enjoyable glimpse into years gone by. With any luck, next week’s edition will be similarly entertaining. Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 7/3/26

Orlando Pride visit Angel City tonight, NWSL free agents to watch, Portugal and Spain advance, and more.

Published

3 days ago

on

July 3, 2026

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! I don’t have many plans this holiday weekend beyond enjoying some soccer and indulging myself in a few hot dogs to celebrate. It should be a fun weekend, but make sure to stay safe out there if you plan on setting off any fireworks. For now though, let’s get to the links!

Orlando Pride Take On Angel City FC Tonight

The NWSL resumes today and the Orlando Pride will play against Angel City FC at 10 p.m. in their first match since a 3-1 win over Bay FC on May 29. That win capped off a six-game month for the Pride, including a stretch of three straight road games. Meanwhile, Angel City parted ways with Alex Straus over the break after only winning once in May, and tonight’s match will be Leif Gunnar Smerud’s first since being named interim head coach. It can be tough playing an opponent with a new coach, but hopefully the Pride can bring all three points back to Orlando.

Top NWSL Free Agents to Watch

Free agency is officially underway in the NWSL and the list of players with contracts expiring at the end of the year includes some of the league’s best players. Orlando Pride star Marta was listed as one of the top free agents to watch, though I would be pretty shocked if she plays for another NWSL club if she leaves Orlando after this season. Leicy Santos, Debinha, and Rose Lavelle are other skilled attackers who will become free agents, but Gotham FC goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger is sure to have plenty of clubs reaching out for her talents as well.

Portugal and Spain Advance in World Cup

This World Cup hasn’t been short on excitement and that continued with Portugal’s 2-1 win against Croatia. After a scoreless first half, Croatia took the lead thanks to a goal from Ivan Perisic, but Cristiano Ronaldo equalized from the penalty spot and the game was moments away from heading to extra time. Goncalo Ramos gave Portugal the goal it needed to advance deep in stoppage time, but Croatia nearly came back with a goal that was disallowed due to an offside call. Spain cruised to a 3-0 win against Austria to book its spot in the round of 16 as well. Mikel Oyarzabal scored twice for his second brace of the tournament, with Marc Cucurella assisting on both of his goals. Spain and Portugal will square off in the next round in what should be a fantastic match. Switzerland and Algeria kicked off late.

The round of 32 wraps up today with a trio of matches, starting with Egypt’s game against Australia. Cape Verde will then look to shock the world when it plays Argentina, and the late game will be between Colombia and Ghana.

Columbus Crew Sign New Designated Player

The Columbus Crew have signed Spanish midfielder Brais Mendez to a Designated Player contract through the 2028-2029 season with a club option for the 2029-2030 season. Mendez has spent the past four La Liga seasons with Real Sociedad, recording 33 goals and 24 assists in 166 appearances. He gives the crew some additional firepower as reports swirl regarding Diego Rossi’s departure for CF Monterrey. While maybe not in the same headline-grabbing tier of MLS summer signings like Antoine Griezmann or Robert Lewandowski, Mendez is a big addition to the league as the Eastern Conference arms race continues.

Free Kicks

  • CF Montreal sent $2.1 million in General Allocation Money to Austin FC in exchange for midfielder Dani Pereira. Selected with the first overall pick in the 2021 MLS SuperDraft, Pereira has contributed six goals and 23 assists in 165 appearances across all competitions for Austin.
  • Real Salt Lake reportedly rejected a transfer bid around $3.5 million from CF Monterrey for midfielder Diego Luna.
  • American winger Emma Sears reportedly requested a trade from Racing Louisville, although the club is not reportedly interested in a midseason transfer.
  • The United States Men’s National Team’s win over Bosnia and Herzegovina had record viewership. Understandably so, too, as I spent most of the match pacing around my living room.

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

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 7/2/26

USMNT shuts out Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kat Asman loaned to Denver Summit FC, MLS transfer news, and more.

Published

4 days ago

on

July 2, 2026

By

Image of Pride goalkeeper Kat Asman
Image courtesy of Orlando Pride

Wednesday nights are starting to feel magical. Orlando City has thrived this year when playing on Wednesdays, and now the United States Men’s National Team has provided us with a reason to tackle this Thursday at full force. Before we dive into that result and the rest of today’s links, let’s all wish a happy birthday to Orlando City defender Tahir Reid-Brown!

USMNT Survives Red Card to Advance

The U.S. won 2-0 against Bosnia and Herzegovina in an emotional rollercoaster of a match in the World Cup’s round of 32. Folarin Balogun got the U.S. on the board at a crucial time right before halftime by scoring his third goal of the tournament. But the game flipped on its head in the second half when Balogun was shown a harsh red card by the referee after video review for a foul when he accidentally came down on the back of an opponent’s foot. The Yanks fought hard to make up for the difference of being down a player and doubled their lead after earning a free kick right outside the box. Malik Tillman’s shot went up and over the wall and into the net for a goal U.S. fans will be replaying over and over again.

The U.S. did well to grind out the win after that second goal, with former Lion Alex Freeman doing his part on defense to help shut out Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was a memorable win, and now the U.S. will turn its focus to its round-of-16 matchup against Belgium on Monday.

Pride Loan Goalkeeper Kat Asman to Denver Summit

The Orlando Pride loaned goalkeeper Kat Asman to the Denver Summit for the remainder of the 2026 NWSL season. Asman is coming off of a loan with Lexington SC in the Gainbridge Super League, where she played every minute of the season to help Lexington win the title. She posted 11 clean sheets with Lexington last season and won the league’s Golden Glove as well. Asman has yet to make an appearance for the Pride since joining prior to the 2025 season, and her contract expires at the end of the season. She now heads to Denver, where Abby Smith has done well in goal as the expansion team’s starter.

MLS Transfer News Roundup

Real Salt Lake sent $625,000 in General Allocation Money (GAM) to Atlanta United in exchange for winger Saba Lobjanidze and a third-round pick in the 2028 MLS SuperDraft, with another $100,000 in GAM going Atlanta’s way if he re-signs with Real Salt Lake. The Columbus Crew fully acquired defender Andres Herrera from River Plate after an extended loan, signing him to a contract through the 2028-2029 season. The LA Galaxy transferred defender Mauricio Cuevas to Santos Laguna, the New England Revolution added forward Wilson Harris, and Sporting Kansas City signed center back Moises Mosquera from FC Juarez. The San Jose Earthquakes are reportedly close to signing Scottish goalkeeper Angus Gunn, with Daniel heading to FC Dallas in a trade if that happens. It’s somewhat surprising considering Daniel has done well to help San Jose only concede 15 goals this season.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Sources: San Jose Earthquakes closing in on a deal to sign Scotland int'l GK Angus Gunn.🇧🇷 Sources: FC Dallas has agreed to a deal to acquire GK Daniel from San Jose.➕ Daniel trade is contingent on Gunn signing being formalized.

— Tom Bogert (@tombogert.bsky.social) 2026-07-01T16:34:02.297Z

European Nations Move On After Dramatic Comebacks

This World Cup continues to deliver thrilling games during this new round-of-32 phase. Senegal looked certain to go through to the next round until Belgium scored a pair of goals after the 85th minute to knot the game at 2-2 and send it into extra time. The game was decided by a penalty, but not in a shootout, as a foul in the box resulted in Youri Tielemans scoring from the spot to give Belgium the victory. In Atlanta, Harry Kane scored twice to rescue England in a 2-1 win over the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Brian Cipanga gave the Congo an early lead, but Kane struck twice in the second half, with his winner being one of the best goals of the tournament so far.

England is now set to face Mexico at the Azteca on Sunday in what should be a great game. As for today’s action, Orlando City winger Marco Pasalic and Croatia will take on Portugal in a matchup between European heavyweights. The winner of that match will face whoever prevails today between Spain and Austria, with Switzerland and Algeria squaring off in the late night match.

Free Kicks

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

Continue Reading

Trending