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Orlando City vs. CF Montreal: Final Score 1-1 as Lions Squander Lead at Home

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5 years ago

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Chris Mueller gave Orlando City a halftime lead but the Lions gave up a set piece goal early in the second half to drop valuable points in a 1-1 draw against CF Montreal at Exploria Stadium. The Lions (12-8-10, 46 points) ran their unbeaten streak to four matches (2-0-2) but a lack of sharpness around goal in the first half and a flat start to the second period helped Montreal (11-10-9, 42 points) escape with a point on Rudy Camacho goal.

The dropped points will sting with four games remaining in a tight playoff race as the Lions must still face the top two teams in the Eastern Conference in their last two home games and go on the road to Columbus and Montreal — two places they’ve rarely won.

“I think we can divide the game into two different halves,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “We felt that we needed to put the game away but we could not score more than one goal and just left the game there for any opportunity that they had.”

Pareja’s lineup featured Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Emmanuel Mas, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel (for the suspended Antonio Carlos), and Ruan. Uri Rosell slotted into the central midfield with Junior Urso, with Mauricio Pereyra and Chris Mueller tasked with facilitating the attack to Benji Michel and Daryl Dike. Nani started on the bench.

Orlando spent much of the first half on the front foot, but had little to show for it. The first good opportunity came in the 13th minute off a corner kick that fell for Urso in the box. The Bear fired a shot toward goal but it took a deflection off a defender and hit the crossbar before flying out of play.

Two minutes later, Jansson was forward for a set piece, took the ball up the left side and fired a shot that was deflected out for a corner. In the 17th minute, Dike bulled his way through multiple defenders to get into the box but Samuel Piette got his foot on the ball and was able to clear the danger just as the forward was shooting.

In the 26th minute it was Michel’s turn to get his effort blocked out of play but for some reason a goal kick was awarded despite the obvious deflection. Dike then headed just over the bar in the 29th minute off a Michel cross.

The Lions looked to counter in the 35th minute when former Orlando City defender Kamal Miller was caught upfield, but Pereyra couldn’t get his outlet pass out wide, where only teammates Mueller and Ruan were waiting to break in on goal.

Orlando was finally rewarded for all of its pressure just before the break. Urso found Dike in transition and as he tried to get past the defense, Miller fouled him but play continued as the ball fell into the path of Ruan. The speedy right back tried to cross for a streaking Michel in the area but the pass was off line. However, Mueller was on the other side of the area and hit his shot into the netting inside the right post to put the Lions ahead in the 45th minute.

It was Mueller’s third goal of the season, the 21st of his Orlando City career, and first since July 3 against the New York Red Bulls. It snapped a 14-game goal drought for the Money Badger.

“The team made a nice combination play out the back end,” Mueller said. “The ball accelerated up the right side, found Daryl, who slipped in Ruan. I just did my job and got to the back post and it just felt good to score.”

Montreal had slightly more possession (51%-49%) although it didn’t seem like it. Orlando dominated in shots (8-0) — but only got one on goal for a 1-0 edge in that category — and corners (5-1). The visitors passed more accurately (85.3%-83.3%).

The goal just before the half should have buoyed the Lions but instead the opposite happened. Montreal came out of the locker room on the front foot and Orlando struggled to maintain possession, break pressure, and connect passes. The visitors quickly got on the front foot.

Just four minutes after the restart Orlando fell asleep defensively and left second-half substitute Sunusi Ibrahim alone as he cut through the area. A good cross found the Nigerian right in front and Gallese made a huge save to protect the lead.

Unfortunately, the lead lasted only two more minutes. Djordje Mihailovic sent in a dangerous cross on a corner kick and Camacho beat Rosell to the near post and equalized in the 51st minute, scoring for just the second time all season.

With the game tied, Montreal started sitting back and looking for counter opportunities, content to draw on the road while hoping to steal all three points. To the visitors’ credit, they did a good job of staying compact and giving Orlando problems fighting through their lines. Passes and touches needed to be precise and the Lions had trouble maintaining enough sharpness to finish plays.

Pareja put on Nani and Silvester van der Water to try to go for all three points but the Dutchman had a poor night as Montreal overplayed his left side. Rather than using his weaker foot to make plays, van der Water tried to force the ball through congested spaces and ended up either losing it or being forced to play negative balls to his midfield and defense.

Orlando settled down somewhat and started to generate better attacks after that but couldn’t find the winner. Pereyra found some space between the center backs at the top of the box in the 74th minute but his shot was just wide of the left post. Two minutes later, the Lions should have regained the lead. Ruan cut inside and sent a pass to Dike, who got himself into a good position in the box. Dike fired a shot that was saved by goalkeeper James Pantemis but the rebound popped back out in front of goal. With Nani teeing up a shot on his right foot, Ruan got to the ball first and fired with his left foot but it was blocked by a defender.

On the ensuing corner, Jansson sent in another shot after the ball pinged around the box for a moment but his shot too was blocked. Pareja sent Tesho Akindele and Alexandre Pato on for Pereyra and Dike to add fresh legs to the attack in the 86th minute. Pato’s seven months off and lack of time on the pitch in games showed in his late appearance, as he had a couple of opportunities in the attack but wasn’t on the same page as his teammates.

The later it got, the tighter Montreal’s bunker became and the final whistle blew on a 1-1 draw. The dropped points were somewhat mitigated by results elsewhere but it wasn’t a good enough result given the chances generated and the dominating nature of the first half.

Orlando finished with more possession (52.5%-47.5%), shots (13-6), shots on target (4-2), and corners (7-3), and the teams were even in passing accuracy at 84.4% each

“We came out the first 10-15 minutes where they got the ball and started creating some chances,” Pareja said. “After that the reaction from our group was better but at the end it was playing against a team sitting there. That last pass. That ball that needed to break that line of five plus the midfielders, that was difficult. But I know it’s a bitter result because we chased and we fought for those three points but we’ll keep building on that performance, especially in the first half when we were very sharp.”

Orlando City has another quick turnaround with the first-place New England Revolution coming to the City Beautiful on Sunday.

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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

11 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

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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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