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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Final Score 3-1 as Lions Lose Second Straight Game

Lions were wasteful in front of goal and two defensive lapses and a late transition goal undo what could have been a solid road performance.

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5 years ago

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Orlando City scored first but conceded once in first-half stoppage time and twice in the second half to fall 3-1 at Soldier Field. The Lions (6-3-3, 21 points) will rue missing on the scoring chances they created, which should have been sufficient to build a good lead on the road, but instead they’ll come home with no points as Chicago (3-7-2, 11 points) won consecutive matches for the first time this season.

Andres Perea opened the scoring to put the Lions on the front foot, but poor marking let Boris Sekulic tie it at the death of the first half. A bad defensive lapse allowed Robert Beric to put Chicago ahead in the second half, and Chinonso Offor scored an insurance tally late in stoppage time.

“Sad at the result, but happy to see all the good things that the boys did in the game,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the game. “I have to say that the boys fought for the game all the time and we couldn’t just put the ball in the back of the net today.”

Pareja rotated his lineup heavily in the midfield and forward lines but couldn’t do much at the back. Brandon Austin started again in place of Pedro Gallese behind a back line of the only four healthy defenders on the team: Kyle Smith, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Michael Halliday. Uri Rosell got his first start in central midfield, alongside Junior Urso, with Perea and Silvester van der Water shuttling the ball forward into the attack, featuring Tesho Akindele and Benji Michel up top.

The first good look of the match went to Chicago out of nowhere. Przemyslaw Frankowski got his head onto a long ball in the box and headed just over the bar and onto the roof of the net in the fifth minute.

The Lions got their first shot on a Michel header off a free kick service from van der Water, but his effort was hit weakly into the turf in front of Bobby Shuttleworth for an easy save. In the 17th minute, Urso headed on goal off a corner kick but Shuttleworth fought it off. Michel followed and saw his shot cleared off the line. Perea sent van der Water into the area in the 21st minute but the Dutchman hit his right-footed effort at Shuttleworth.

The Lions did a good job deflecting Chicago shots, including a potentially dangerous one by Beric in the 28th minute.

Orlando got forward off a cleared corner kick in the 30th minute and Michel ended up with the ball, making a nice move around a defender, but another deflected his shot out for a corner. On the ensuing set piece, Schlegel nodded it weakly at Shuttleworth.

The breakthrough came in the 34th minute when Halliday got down the right flank and sent a cross into the area. A defender got a touch on it but couldn’t prevent it from reaching Perea, who smashed it up under the bar for his first MLS goal to make it 1-0.

“I’m really happy for my first goal with Orlando City,” Perea said, but added that the result kind of took the shine off of it. “Everybody’s sad because we had the chances to score in the first half, and maybe in the beginning of the second half.”

Most of the remainder of the half was played in the middle of the pitch until Chicago earned a couple of late corners. Orlando dealt with them but then switched off at the worst possible moment.

At the death of the first half, Smith strayed too far from Sekulic and Alvaro Medran made him pay for it. Urso was a step slow in closing down Chicago’s playmaker, who sent an inch-perfect cross over Smith that Sekulic nodded back across goal over Austin and in to tie the match in stoppage time. It was essentially the last action of the half and the teams went to the locker room even at 1-1.

“It was tough to struggle for sure, because you have the game in control at that point and the half was about to end,” Pareja said about the late first-half goal. “And the lack of concentration that we had in that moment cost us the equalizer. So we just come into the half with that frustration. Obviously it was difficult. We have to be better.”

Orlando out-shot Chicago 8-7 in the first half (6-1 on target). Chicago led in corners (5-2), possession (52.4%-47.6%), and passing accuracy (79.5%-73.8%).

Michel should have restored the Orlando lead in the 47th minute. A nice passing play led to van der Water finding him on the left. Benji was alone against the goalkeeper but fired his shot right at Shuttleworth.

Chicago nearly took the lead in the 55th minute when Halliday blocked a pass but it bounced right back to a Fire player who then fed it across the goal for Beric to finish, but the flag was rightfully up. The Chicago striker was a step offside.

Van der Water got his head to a backside cross in the 58th and headed it softly back across goal where it bounced twice in lots of space before Chicago recovered it. No Lions were crashing that side of the goal and the Dutchman was visibly upset when he saw that. Three minutes later, van der Water got to the end line first and kicked a high ball back into the area. Akindele got to it but headed it right at the goalkeeper on another wasted chance.

Michel freed himself for a shot in the 63rd minute and looked as if he’d finally score, but his shot hit the heel of a lunging Fire defender and deflected just over the bar. The Orlando Homegrown showed his frustration after the shot went harmlessly out of play.

At this point in the game, van der Water and Rosell especially looked winded and in need of a sub, but Pareja held his changes. That turned out to be costly.

Beric fired over the bar in the 71st after two Lion defenders prevented each other from clearing a corner kick delivery. The Fire forward got his goal a minute later, though. Medran fed a simple ball straight up the middle that hit him in stride. Smith kept Beric onside on the run and Jansson couldn’t get a foot on the ball to redirect the pass. Beric finished past Austin and gave Chicago a 2-1 lead in the 72nd minute.

Pareja brought on Nani, Mauricio Pereyra, and Sebas Mendez in the 76th minute, but at that point the Lions were chasing the game. Pareja waited three additional minutes to send Chris Mueller — the team’s hottest player entering the match — into the game.

Urso went for the spectacular in the 86th and damn near got it. The Bear went up and smashed a bicycle kick on target but Shuttleworth was there to make the save. Two minutes later, Mueller sent a dangerous cross through the six-yard box but none of the three Lions crashing could give it the touch it needed to get in.

Smith had a good look in the 94th minute but his shot sailed over the bar. Two minutes later, the Fire put it away. Smith’s cross into the box was too low and easily cut out and the Fire countered. Mendez was unable to commit the necessary professional foul to prevent the break, and the hosts headed down field with numbers in behind the Orlando defense, which was pushed up to chase the tying goal. Offor finished the play and made it 3-1.

“You know, I think we had a lot of opportunities and then just maybe lost focus a couple times in the back,” Smith said. “And at the end of the game we were pushing forward. They got another goal, a little disappointed. But yeah, we just have to move on to the next game and get a good week of training in and get back on the winning streak.”

Orlando City finished with more shots (19-13), more shots on goal (9-4), more possession (53.1%-46.9%), and greater passing accuracy (79.1%-79%). Chicago held a slight edge in corners won (9-8).

“We have to keep going because there’s more than 20 games left,” Pareja said. “Our objectives (don’t) change and our vision and desire is going to be the same.”

“It’s a game that, it’s just gonna make us better,” Perea said. “We’re gonna keep our feet on the ground, keep developing the team, (and) keep learning from this.”

The Lions now get a bit of time to rest and heal up with the next game set for July 17 against Toronto. At this point in time, that’s another “road match” at Exploria Stadium.

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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

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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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