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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.

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4 years ago

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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.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 12/26/24

Joran Gerbet earns recognition, Pierre Da Silva’s new club, Gaston Gimenez leaves the Chicago Fire, and more.

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2 minutes ago

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December 26, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I hope all who celebrate it had a nice Christmas without any major incidents and plenty of fun with friends and family. If you’re celebrating other holidays, hopefully your Hannukah is off to a great start or you’ve been waiting for Kwanzaa, it’s finally here, so enjoy! There’s officially less than a week left in the year, and I, for one, can’t wait to bid farewell to 2024. Let’s dive into today’s links from around the soccer world!

Orlando City’s Joran Gerbet Included Among Top College Players

Top Drawer Soccer handed out accolades following the college soccer season and Orlando City draft pick Joran Gerbet was named to its Best XI second team. The Lions selected him in the first round of the draft and it’s nice to see him earn some recognition after a solid senior season with Clemson. Gerbet also ranked 17th in Top Drawer Soccer‘s top 100 players from the past season. Denver midfielder Sam Bassett, who was not eligible for the MLS SuperDraft, claimed the top spot and was named Player of the Year as well. Freshman of the Year went to Ransford Gyan, who was Gerbet’s teammate in Clemson’s midfield.

Pierre Da Silva Signs With Cusco FC

Former Lion Pierre Da Silva is plying his trade in Peru these days and has signed with Cusco FC in the country’s top flight. Da Silva, who was primarily an OCB player but made three first-team appearances, hasn’t been with Orlando City since 2019, when he and the club agreed to part ways that summer. The winger then went on to join Memphis 901, Miami FC, and Forward Madison before heading to Peru to join Universidad César Vallejo this year. His club was relegated, but he will remain in Liga 1 with a Cusco team that qualified for the Copa Sudamericana. It’s always nice to get an update on what a former Lion is up to these days, and hopefully his second year in Peru goes better than his first.

Chicago Fire Terminate Gaston Gimenez’s Contract

Midfielder Gaston Gimenez is no longer with the Chicago Fire after he and the club mutually agreed to terminate his contract. Gimenez has been with the Fire since joining the club in 2020, and this move opens up a Designated Player spot for the Fire as well. It will be a needed fresh start of sorts for the Fire, as they hired Gregg Berhalter as head coach this off-season. The Fire finished at the bottom of the Eastern Conference and only scored 40 goals in 2024, so being able to add some firepower is useful for Chicago to prepare for 2025.

Diving Into Club Color Origins

If you’ve ever wanted to know the soccer equivalent to “How the Leopard Got Its Spots,” ESPN provided a cool guide that explores the origins behind club colors from around the world. It’s filled with fun tidbits ranging from theories on why Corinthians swapped from beige to white to how Juventus was set to wear red jerseys with white trim, but a wrong order delivered the iconic black-and-white stripes instead. The interactive article lets you check out jerseys from each club over the years to see how they evolved. Maybe it’s the latent Christmas consumerism still in my veins, but I would love a coffee table book of this kind of content.

Free Kicks

  • Valencia has hired Carlos Corberan from West Brom as its next head coach after firing Ruben Baraja earlier this week. The Spanish club is fighting to avoid relegation in La Liga with only 12 points from 17 matches this season.
  • Sporting CP has reportedly fired Joao Pereira, with Rui Borges set to become the next head coach.
  • We have plenty of Boxing Day action to enjoy today, but a few players spoke on the difficulties of training on Christmas or traveling with their teams rather than spending the holiday with their families.
  • Tottenham Hotspur manager Ange Postecoglou bemoaned how the expanded UEFA Champions League is complicating the transfer window as he aims to bring in reinforcements.
  • Oscar, who has spent the past eight seasons with Shanghai Port, is returning to Sao Paulo on a three-year contract. The 33-year-old started his professional career with Sao Paulo in 2008.

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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Lion Links

Lion Links: 12/25/24

Orlando Pride make everyone’s ‘nice’ list, the USMNT’s new attitude, Boxing Day matches, and more.

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1 day ago

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December 25, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Merry Christmas and happy Hanukkah, Mane Landers! One of the great things about soccer is that unlike other sports, there are matches being played somewhere nearly every day of the year. It truly is something for which I’m grateful. That also means there’s soccer news even on a big holiday, making my job here a bit easier. As such, let’s get to the links.

Orlando Pride Still Tops

It doesn’t matter what list you mention when it comes to women’s soccer, the Orlando Pride will be on it. If you follow women’s soccer — and I don’t know why you wouldn’t — 2024 brought plenty of gifts. Obviously, Marta lifting a pair of trophies was big news in the world of women’s soccer. The arrival of Barbra Banda and Temwa Chawinga to the NWSL was also pretty significant. Enjoy all of this as long as you can. I know I will.

USMNT Savageness

Weston McKennie is loving the attitude that Mauricio Pochettino is bringing to the USMNT. Some have felt that the U.S. has played too timidly before his arrival. Now, McKennie feels he’s bringing a savageness and a bit of South American attitude to the team. Previously, the USMNT was known for being physical if not technical. Perhaps McKennie and his generation can bring both to the table.

Premier League Holiday Cheer

Thursday is a big matchday in the English Premier League. If you’re lucky enough to not have to go to work, there will be plenty of Boxing Day matches to enjoy. Liverpool is top of the table this Christmas, in large part to the efforts of Mo Salah, who became the first player in Premier League history to reach double figures for goals and assists before Christmas.

Given it’s the holiday season, I’m certain that all the EPL clubs want something in their stockings. Of course, if you’re not adding pieces you might fall behind. There are players that each club could add to help in the pursuit of glory.

Rioters Sentenced

Five of the 60 people detained after riots outside the UEFA Europa League match between the Dutch side Ajax and Israel’s Maccabi Tel-Aviv in November have been sentenced by an Amsterdam District Court. The perpetrators’ punishment ran from community service to six months in prison. The altercation took place between pro-Palestinian demonstrators and Israeli football fans. Five people were sent to the hospital and 20 others sustained minor injuries. I truly wish this type of thing would stop at soccer matches — or anywhere for that matter.

Free Kicks

That will do it for today. If you celebrate Christmas, I hope you had a wonderful time giving and receiving gifts this morning. If Hanukkah is your thing, enjoy all eight days and nights. Kwanzaa? Enjoy every day from Thursday through Jan. 1. Festivus celebrators, you should already have done your feats of strength and airing of grievances. If you don’t celebrate any particular holidays, I hope you had a peaceful, relaxing morning. Just know that we here at The Mane Land are grateful for the gift of your readership.

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Orlando City

Top 10 Moments of 2024: Facundo Torres Breaks Lions’ All-Time Goal Record

In our No. 8 moment of the year, Facundo Torres sets a new Orlando City career record for goals scored.

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2 days ago

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December 24, 2024

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

As we count down to the new year of 2025 — which will be Orlando City’s 11th in MLS, the Orlando Pride’s 10th in the NWSL, and OCB’s third in MLS NEXT Pro — and say goodbye to 2024, it’s time to look back at the club’s 10 best moments of the year as selected by The Mane Land staff via vote.

The 2024 season will always be a bittersweet one when it comes to remembering the contributions of Uruguayan winger Facundo Torres. He once again started the season slowly before locking in over the summer and dazzling crowds, befuddling opponents, and doing impressive things with a soccer ball on behalf of Orlando City SC.

He helped the team get to the second round of the Concacaf Champions League/Cup and to the Eastern Conference final — the first time the club accomplished either achievement. Then he left, transferring to Palmeiras just days before Christmas. He may be gone, but the transfer funds and open Designated Player slot the sale brought the club may yet make for even more success on the field in the seasons to come.

Torres put together another brilliant season, starting by scoring a brace in the team’s Champions Cup opener against Cavalry FC on Feb. 21. Here’s the first of those goals:

He added a nice header later to put the game away. The brace had many fans dreaming that he wouldn’t take until the summer to get into a groove during his third year in Orlando like he did in his first two seasons. But then he didn’t score again in the run of play until the fourth minute of a May 29 road game against the Chicago Fire. That isn’t to say he didn’t find the net in March or April. He scored from the penalty spot once in each of those months — at Tigres March 12 and at Montreal April 20 — but it wasn’t the hot start fans were hoping for.

Torres did, however, settle in eventually and had himself a season. In fact, he broke Cyle Larin’s club record for most goals in a season across all competitions, by hitting the net 20 times in 2024. He scored 14 times in the regular season, twice in the MLS Cup playoffs, three times in Champions Cup play, and once in Leagues Cup. That doesn’t even count his made penalties in the postgame shootouts against Cruz Azul or Charlotte FC (in Game 3).

As usual, he did most of his damage in the second half of the year, when he helped the club put together a remarkable run of form that lifted the Lions from near the bottom of the conference to fourth place by season’s end. During the team’s final 17 games, Torres scored 11 of his 14 regular-season goals and posted three braces. The light switch seemed to be flipped in the first game of the second half of Orlando City’s 2024 season. After just three goals in the first 17 games — one in the run of play and two from the penalty spot (he also missed a penalty for the first time in his career in Game 17 against LAFC) — Torres scored three goals in the next two matches, helping the Lions to a comeback draw at Charlotte and a 4-2 home win over the Chicago Fire, setting the tone for an 11-4-2 run in the second half.

His torrid run of form had him climbing the club’s scoring list all summer and that culminated in reaching the pinnacle of the team’s MLS era on Oct. 2, when he did this in the 57th minute at home against the Philadelphia Union:

As Torres goals go, it wasn’t one of his prettiest or most impressive, but it was his 45th as a Lion across all competitions, passing Larin’s career mark for Orlando City’s MLS era. It also helped propel the Lions to a 2-1 win over the Union, putting the team on the cusp of clinching home field in the first round of the playoffs. It was also Torres’ last regular-season goal with Orlando City. Bittersweet.

However, the Las Piedras, Uruguay, native wasn’t finished scoring in 2024. He notched the first goal of Orlando’s postseason run in the 32nd minute against Charlotte FC at home on Oct. 27 in a 2-0 win. Torres placed himself in the right spot at the right time, taking advantage of a deflected Rafael Santos cross that fell in front of him in the box. The winger blasted it off the underside of the crossbar and into the back of the net to open the scoring.

The goal drew him level with Dom Dwyer for the club’s all-time career goals mark when combining Orlando City’s USL and MLS eras.

He should have claimed that record for himself in Game 2 of the Charlotte series when he fired home in stoppage time on the road, but the flag came up for Nico Lodeiro being offside in the buildup — incorrectly, per the offside modeling Twitter account.

While the offside modeling site is hardly official, it illustrates how close the play was. Many teams tend to get the benefit of those types of calls and the flags stay down, but Orlando is generally not one of those teams.

However, he took sole possession of the record one match later, breaking the tie with Dwyer in the 12th minute of stoppage time of Game 3. The Lions trailed 1-0 and the season was on the brink when Duncan McGuire was pulled down in the box on a late set piece, injuring himself to the point he had off-season surgery to repair the labrum and rotator cuff in his shoulder. Torres took the ball and stepped to the spot to face one of the best goalkeepers in MLS, Kristijan Kahlina. The Croatian read Torres well and made the stop, but he couldn’t control the rebound. Torres got to it quickly, kept his composure, and fired it home to level the match.

It was not only an important strike, but it was also his 47th and final goal for Orlando City across all competitions, although he also calmly scored his penalty in the ensuing shootout to help send the Lions through to the conference semifinals against Atlanta United.

It’s fitting that Torres’ final Orlando City goal was such an important one, as he’s been such a big part of the team’s success over the past three seasons. He departed the club officially on Dec. 20 for a club-record transfer fee after scoring a total of 47 goals across all competitions. He added 25 assists in his time in purple, amassing a club-record 72 career goal contributions.

In a three-year Orlando career that was filled with highlight-reel plays, Torres brought a lot of joy to the club’s fans during his stay. His ascendance to the top of the club’s MLS and combined scoring lists is worthy of inclusion as one of our top moments of the season.

Come back through New Year’s Eve as we count down the remainder of the top 10 moments of 2024 for Orlando City, the Orlando Pride, and OCB.

Previous Top Moments of 2024

10. Orlando City’s massive second-half surge clinches top-four spot in Eastern Conference.

9. The Orlando Pride sign Zambian international striker Barbra Banda ahead of the 2024 season.

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