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Orlando City vs. Nashville SC: Final Score 1-1 as Lions Storm Back in Second Half to Equalize

After a poor first half, Orlando City was excellent for most of the second 45, pulling even and coming within inches of winning on the road.

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5 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City struggled through the opening 45 minutes but played well after halftime, coming back from 1-0 down to draw Nashville SC 1-1 at Nissan Stadium. The Lions (8-4-7, 31 points) were a crossbar’s width from becoming the first visiting team to win in Nissan Stadium all season but had to settle for the team’s second road draw at Nashville SC (7-2-11, 32 points).

The fact the teams split the points keeps Orlando a point behind Nashville with a game in hand. However, with Philadelphia’s win over New York City FC, the Lions slipped to fifth in the Eastern Conference standings.

Antonio Carlos’ header in the second half canceled out a first-half goal by Lion killer C.J. Sapong, meaning the team to score first in this series has still never won the game (0-2-2). The teams are 1-1-2 against each other in the first four meetings.

“Good match. I think we recognized in the second half where we were missing in the first,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “We were losing some silly balls.”

With Nani questionable, Pareja didn’t risk the captain for this match and he wasn’t in the match day lineup. Mason Stajduhar once again started in net, backing up a defensive line of Joao Moutinho, Robin Jansson, Carlos, and Kyle Smith. Joey DeZart got the start alongside Junior Urso in central midfield, with Mauricio Pereyra and Silvester van der Water facilitating the attack to Benji Michel and Tesho Akindele.

Orlando City was swarmed in the midfield throughout most of the first half and it allowed Nashville to get forward in transition. The first decent look came in the fourth minute when Hany Mukhtar got down the right and fired a shot that Stajduhar parried away.

DeZart struggled in the first half hour and his giveaway led to a chance for Randall Leal, who fired just wide of the left post.

Van der Water forced Joe Willis into a diving save in the 11th minute with a nice effort from outside the area, cutting inside from the right.

Nashville always seemed likely to score first with the Lions continually giving the ball away around the middle of the pitch. Tah Anunga fired wide in the 16th minute, but the hosts opened the scoring minutes later. Unsure of his options, Moutinho telegraphed a back pass with numbers forward and Nashville easily read the play and took it away, breaking in 2-v-2 with Mukhtar and Sapong on Orlando City’s center backs. Sapong finished the play with yet another goal against the Lions and Nashville led 1-0 in the 23rd minute.

“They were playing defensively and getting some counters, which is very dangerous for us,” Pareja said. “The second half we were much better. We were smarter on containing those counters.”

Leal fired into outside netting in the 30th minute as Orlando continued to struggle against Nashville’s superior numbers in the midfield.

The Lions finally started to get something going in the final five minutes of the half. A heavy touch by Willis at the top of the box nearly became an easy goal for Akindele, who came in to nick the ball, but he couldn’t quite finesse it around the keeper, who was able to recover. Four minutes later, Moutinho and Urso combined to unlock the defense and Akindele laid off a ball to his left for van der Water. The Dutchman should have equalized, but his shot skipped just wide of the right post in the 44th minute.

“I know I had a lot of chances and I need to score. But on the other side, I think we need to be happy with a point today,” van der Water said. “I think the mentality of the second half was much better.”

Akindele got his head to a good cross from Pereyra in first-half stopage time and hit it down into the wet turf. The ball skipped up and looked to be heading in but it was floating a bit and Willis was able to get a touch on it to keep it out with the last play of the half.

Nashville finished the first half with more shots (10-5) and shots on goal (4-2). Each team won one corner, and the Lions held more possession (60.2%-39.8%) and passed more accurately (89.1%-82.1%). It was all about Orlando giving the ball up in bad areas and Nashville taking advantage on one of its opportunities.

Orlando City played a much better second half, but the Lions still nearly saw their deficit doubled early in the second period. Jansson was forced to foul Mukhtar in a dangerous spot near the box to Stajduhar’s right. Mukhtar went for goal on the set piece but could only catch the top of the crossbar near the far post as the young goalkeeper did well in playing his angle.

After a couple of misfires from Urso and Akindele in the next few minutes, the Lions seemed to finally get their legs under them in the match. Van der Water fired just wide of the left post in the 55th minute from the middle, just outside the area. Urso drew a foul on Anibal Godoy — one of several fouls the Bear suffered on the night — moments later, and Orlando made it pay off. Pereyra sent in a perfect cross from right to left and Carlos won the race to the ball, heading it back to the right and past Willis for the tying goal in the 58th minute.

Carlos laughed in the postgame press conference, saying he was happy to be able to celebrate his second goal of the season after getting injured while scoring his first against Miami.

“Normally Antonio wins those balls in the air because of his size and his timing,” Pareja said. “He’s very dominant in the air. He needed to (get) some direction and improve his contact with the ball. And Josema Bazan, our assistant coach, is spending a lot of time with him. He’s trying to reinforce those actions and today they got rewarded by that beautiful goal, and important goal as well. So he’s not just making contact, but I think he’s now finding the net which is important for us.”

Stajduhar made what looked to be a sensational save on Alistair Johnston at the back post just two minutes after Orlando’s goal but the play didn’t count anyway as the flag had gone up.

Pereyra went for goal on a set piece in the 67th minute but couldn’t get his shot to dip and it sailed just over. A minute later, Michel smashed a shot just wide of the right post from the top of the box. Michel then won a couple of corners but the Lions couldn’t pay them off. Then Akindele headed a Moutinho cross off the front of Willis’ crossbar in the 75th as Orlando came within inches of taking the lead.

Nashville threw players forward in the final 10 minutes to go for the win and had a couple of opportunities, with Pareja making some subs that changed the shape and tactics. With more Nashville players forward, Orlando looked to absorb pressure and counter, putting four fullbacks on the field at one point, but Ruan played a forward position and Emmanuel Mas came on, pushing Moutinho further up the field.

Moutinho did well in the 80th minute to beat a Nashville player to a back-post ball and knock it out for a corner. Then there were a couple of late nervy moments when Nashville won some balls in the air and they pinged around the area, but ultimately, Orlando did enough to hang on.

Orlando completely turned around the shots totals, with each team registering 14 for the match. Nashville got more on target (4-3). Each team earned three corners in the match, with Orlando holding more possession (56.1%-43.9%) and passing more accurately (86.7%-81.5%).

“I saw the team positioned better and be closer to their backs and creating options,” Pareja said of his team in the second half. “And when they wanted to come up from that pressure, they couldn’t, and that was the best part of the game — I think that probably 30-35 minutes in the second half was a highlight for us.”

“Playing away at Nashville is not an easy feat,” Carlos said through a club interpeter. “I was thrilled, once again, to be able to help the team, and we walked away with a well-deserved point but I believe that we could have even won the match.”

The Lions have another quick turnaround with the Chicago Fire visiting Exploria Stadium on Saturday night in a match that sure feels like a must-win game.

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Lion Links: 6/15/26

OCB beats Huntsville City, OCB signs Parker Amoo-Mensah, USMNT defeats Paraguay in World Cup, and more.

Published

9 hours ago

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June 15, 2026

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Image of Matthew Belgodere of OCB against Huntsville City.
Image courtesy of Orlando City B

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been keeping myself busy at work but tried to catch as many World Cup matches as possible. I did get to check out the Mumford & Sons and Rufus Du Sol concerts at Wrigley Field up here in Chicago. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

OCB Defeats Huntsville City FC on the Road

Orlando City B completed the comeback, overturning a 1-0 deficit to beat Huntsville City FC 2-1 at Wicks Family Field Saturday. Huntsville struck first to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Matthew Belgodere buried the equalizer for the Young Lions. Jacob Ramirez scored the final goal of the match for OCB to seal the win on the road and extend its winning streak to four games. That result lifts the Young Lions to third in the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference table with 28 points. OCB will return home to face Philadelphia Union II Sunday at Osceola County Stadium.

OCB Signs Parker Amoo-Mensah

Orlando City B has signed academy defender Parker Amoo-Mensah to an MLS NEXT Pro contract. The club announced the signing Friday with the deal running through the 2028 season. Amoo-Mensah has made 12 appearances for the Young Lions during the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season, starting eight matches, and has one assist.

USMNT Defeats Paraguay in World Cup Opener

The U.S. Men’s National Team defeated Paraguay 4-1 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA, to win its opening match in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Former Lion Alex Freeman played a full 90 minutes and recorded an assist in the match, while Orlando City midfielder Braian Ojeda was on Paraguay’s bench but did not play. The USMNT’s opening goal was an own goal from Paraguay midfielder Damian Bobadilla to give the Yanks the lead in the first half. Falorin Balogun scored twice for the U.S to take a 3-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Paraguay pulled one back, but Gio Reyna added the insurance goal. The USMNT will face Australia in its second group stage match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Lumen Field in Seattle on Friday.

2026 FIFA World Cup Recap

On Friday, Canada drew Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-1. Orlando City goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau started the match and had two clutch saves while former Lions Cyle Larin and Richie Laryea were also in action. Larin scored the equalizer for the Canadian Men’s National Team, securing a draw and earning its first-ever point in a World Cup match. On Saturday, Qatar and Switzerland played to a 1-1 draw, Brazil and Morocco settled for a 1-1 draw, Scotland secured its first World Cup win in 36 years with a 1-0 victory over Haiti, and Australia defeated Turkey 2-0. On Sunday, Kai Havertz scored twice for Germany in a 7-1 win over Curacao, Japan trailed twice and fought back for a 2-2 draw against the Netherlands, Amad Diallo scored a late winner for Ivory Coast in a 1-0 win over Ecuador, and Sweden and Tunisia kicked off late. Today’s matches will feature Spain facing Cape Verde, Belgium taking on Egypt, Saudi Arabia facing Uruguay, and Iran taking on New Zealand.

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That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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Orlando City

Flashback Friday: June 10, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids

Let’s take a trip down memory lane to a booking-laden match at home that took place a little less than three years ago.

Published

3 days ago

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June 12, 2026

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

The World Cup is now officially underway, and while that means Orlando City is on break, we can’t have you forgetting about the Lions while all the international action is taking place. That means its time for another edition of Flashback Friday, where we hop in the trusty time machine and reminisce on OCSC matches of yesteryear.

Last week we relived a rousing road win over the New York Red Bulls from June, 3 2023, and this week, we actually pick up right where we left off, on June 10, 2023 as the Lions returned home to take on the Colorado Rapids.

Coming off a 3-0 win over the Red Bulls in the previous match, Oscar Pareja decided to not mess with a good thing, and kept Orlando City’s same starting XI from that victory. Pedro Gallese was in net behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith. Wilder Cartagena and Cesar Araujo played the double pivot; Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres were the attacking midfielders, and Ercan Kara was deployed as the striker.

In typical June fashion for the City Beautiful, kickoff was delayed by just under an hour as the stadium was pounded by storms, and the delay did not look to have done any favors for Orlando’s sharpness. That said, OCSC did win a corner kick less than a minute into the game, and Torres had a tame shot saved in the eighth minute, but the Lions weren’t consistently sharp with their passing in the early moments of the contest.

The teams traded chances just before the 15-minute mark, with Kara sending a header too high before Cole Bassett sent a shot straight to Gallese. Carlos then picked up a yellow card in the 24th minute, which evened things out between the two teams after Lalas Abubakar was cautioned for the Rapids after just six minutes. Those two bookings proved to be a harbinger of things to come, because Colorado went down to 10 men in the 39th minute after midfielder Braian Galvan caught Angulo with a high boot while his studs were showing.

Pereyra had Orlando’s best chance of the opening 45 minutes in stoppage time but could only send his effort right at goalkeeper Marko Ilic, and that was the last significant action of the half. The Lions ended the half with an edge in possession (59.7%-40.3%), shots (7-2), shots on target (2-1), and passing accuracy (85.3%-79.4%), while both teams won two corners.

Pareja made two moves at halftime, bringing on Rodrigo Schlegel for the once-booked Carlos, and Martin Ojeda for Cartagena in an effort to go more offensive against a shorthanded Rapids side. The Lions certainly looked brighter going forward as the second half got underway and had a few dangerous moments before finally breaking the deadlock in the 55th minute.

Pereyra played a ball across the top of the box for Torres, who took a couple of touches before sending a ball to the net that took a wicked deflection off Andreas Maxsø that carried it past Ilic.

It wasn’t the prettiest goal the Lions have ever scored, but for a team that was guilty at times of passing up good shots in favor of the perfect look at goal, it was proof that sometimes you just need to take shots in dangerous areas.

Fortunately, Orlando seemed to take that lesson to heart. Kara went close in the 65th minute despite shooting through traffic, Angulo had a shot deflected by Abubakar three minutes later, and Torres had another deflected effort go just wide of the post four minutes after that.

The game changed again in the 75th minute, when the Rapids had another player sent off. Abubakar lasted for 69 minutes on a yellow card but got burned by Angulo in midfield and hauled him down in order to prevent the Lions from potentially working a transition opportunity. He had some teammates behind him, but the referee showed him a second yellow card. Pareja smelled blood in the water and just three minutes later he brought on Ramiro Enrique for Smith, who had been given a yellow card in the 52nd minute.

Ilic made a great save on Pereyra in the 81st minute to keep the score at 1-0 and keep the Rapids in the game, but Orlando got its second goal just two minutes later. Torres had the ball on the right side of the box with a Colorado player backing off him, and that gave him ample time to get his head up and pick out a man. He played a ball to Enrique at the top of the box, who had plenty of time to take a couple of touches and send a low shot into the bottom corner past a diving Ilic for his first goal as an Orlando City player.

Somewhat surprisingly, the game started to get a little stretched after the Lions doubled their advantage. Colorado had a shot blocked in the 81st minute, Kara sent a shot very close to the post six minutes after that, and Gallese saved a Darren Yapi attempt in the 88th minute to keep his clean sheet alive. Aside from Pareja handing Alejandro Granados his MLS debut, that was the last significant action of the match, which finished 2-0 to the good guys.

Unsurprisingly, considering Colorado’s deficit in players, the Lions dominated all of the game’s most important statistics. OCSC finished with the advantage in possession (65%-35%), shots (15-4), shots on goal (6-2), corners (5-3), and passing accuracy (89.4%-81.5%).

The victory made it back-to-back wins for the first time in 2023, stretched Orlando’s unbeaten run to six, and gave El Pulpo his 100th clean sheet for the team in all competitions.

Marcus Mitchell had the helm for Player Grades in this one, and Torres got his nod for Man of the Match with a goal, an assist, and a grade of 7.5 out of 10. Several other Lions graded out at 7 out of 10, with only one player grading below a 6.

While it was a weird win, it unfortunately was the final game of the unbeaten streak, as the Lions fell to a familiar defeat at Gillette Stadium the following week, although things got back on track soon afterward. I’ll see you back here in a week for another trip down memory lane. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 6/12/26

USMNT plays Paraguay tonight, red cards rain down in World Cup opener, Sporting Kansas City linked with Yann Gboho, and more.

Published

3 days ago

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June 12, 2026

By

Image of Alex Freeman sliding in celebration of a goal.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! The World Cup is in full swing and the U.S. will play today, so it’s a pretty exciting Friday to say the least. I’m a bit of a bundle of nerves about how the team will do, but I’m still looking forward to catching the game. If you have any gameday rituals, be sure to share, so that we can conjure up enough luck and support for the team tonight. Let’s get to the links!

USMNT’s World Cup Campaign Begins Today

The United States Men’s National Team will take on Paraguay at 9 p.m. tonight in its first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. There’s plenty of pressure on the U.S. to perform well as one of the host nations, and this will also be Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino’s first time coaching at a World Cup. Pochettino stated that all 26 players are available for selection, including center back Chris Richards, although he may not necessarily start. Former Orlando City defender Alex Freeman, who is the youngest player on the U.S. roster, could make his World Cup debut tonight, so be sure to root for our hometown hero should he take the field. Hopefully, the Yanks can start this tournament off on the right foot with a big win in California.

World Cup Opener Features Three Red Cards

This year’s World Cup began in Mexico City, with Mexico beating South Africa 2-0 in a match that included three red cards. All three were straight red cards given in the second half in separate incidents, as Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane were sent off for South Africa before Mexico’s Cesar Montes was shown red in stoppage time. There hasn’t been a World Cup match with that many red cards since the record of four was set in 2006 in a match between Portugal and the Netherlands. As for the game’s goals, Julian Quinones pounced on a mistake by South Africa to give Mexico an early lead and Raul Jimenez doubled that lead while South Africa was reduced to 10 men.

Sporting Kansas City Linked With Yann Gboho

While the World Cup roars on, the rumor mill is in full force as clubs make plans for summer reinforcements. Sporting Kansas City is reportedly pushing to sign Toulouse winger Yann Gboho, who recorded 10 goals and three assists across all competitions this past season. The surprising aspect of this pursuit would be that Toulouse values Gboho at an eye-watering $20 million transfer fee, which would be a club record by a country mile. Kansas City needs all the help it can get on offense, as it has scored just 14 goals in 14 games so far this season.

Jose Mourinho Officially Returns to Real Madrid

It’s been a bit of an open secret over the past few weeks that Jose Mourinho would become Real Madrid’s next manager and it’s now official, with the 63-year-old signing a three-year contract with the Spanish club. Mourinho helped Real Madrid win a La Liga title and the Copa del Rey over a decade ago before his departure in 2013 after three seasons with the club. Now, he joins a Real Madrid side that has finished second in the league standings and been eliminated in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League the past two seasons. I, for one, can’t wait to see how one of the biggest personalities in soccer works alongside a locker room of star players that seemed in disarray this past season.

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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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