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Orlando City vs. Inter Miami, U.S. Open Cup: Final Score 1-1 as Lions Advance on Penalties

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3 years ago

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It was another nerve-wracking U.S. Open Cup penalty shootout after Orlando City and Inter Miami CF drew 1-1 through 120 minutes at Exploria Stadium. The Lions made the most of their spot kicks, winning the shootout 4-2 and needing just four rounds to do it due to a big save by Mason Stajduhar and a miss by USMNT right back DeAndre Yedlin. All of that happened after Jean Mota and Facundo Torres traded goals in the first half of extra time.

The Lions advance to the quarterfinals for the fifth time across the combined USL and MLS eras of the club and will face Nashville SC in the final eight at Exploria Stadium with the date yet to be determined.

“A fantastic performance,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “The effort of the players (was) incredible. They just played three days ago, and that courage and that willingness to do things…and I thought we managed the game all the time and had the best of the game. We needed to be finer. We have been fighting with that to be more precise.”

Pareja’s lineup included Stajduhar in goal behind a back line of Kyle Smith, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Ruan. Cesar Araujo was joined in the central midfield by Sebas Mendez, behind an attacking line of Junior Urso, Torres, and Alexandre Pato, with Tesho Akindele up top.

The Lions domiated the first 45 minutes but again struggled to finish chances and when they did get everything right, Drake Callender made a couple of big saves to keep them off the scoreboard.

Orlando’s chances started right from the jump when Pato split two defenders and was fouled just to the left side of the penalty area in the first minute. His shot on the ensuing set piece deflected out for a corner. Miami did well to deflect a number of Orlando shots and crosses throughout the opening half. Jansson flicked on the ensuing corner cross from Pato but it was off target.

Ruan had an active first half and his headed cross was knocked behind for a corner in the sixth minute. Moments later, Akindele flicked a pass from Urso wide of goal.

Miami’s first opportunity came 10 minutes in with Gonzalo Higuain getting on the ball but having his shot blocked near the penalty spot.

In the 17th minute, Pato threaded a gorgeous through ball to send Akindele down the left. Tesho held up play and found Araujo on the other side of the area. With a lot of net to shoot at, the midfielder made a mess of either a shot or a cross and the chance evaporated. Four minutes later, the Lions should have scored. Ruan made a fantastic cross to find a late-arriving Smith in the area, but the left back sent his free header over the bar.

Smith sent in a cross to Akindele in the 23rd minute and the forward got his header on target but Callender did well to get over to his near post to make the save.

Miami nearly took the lead against the run of play in the 32nd minute. Miami came forward and all of Orlando’s back line focused on cutting off Higuain. Instead, Indiana Vassiliev was able to sneak in and take a pass to put him in against Stajduhar. The Orlando goalkeeper made a vital save to push it off the post, keeping the game scoreless.

A minute later, Damion Lowe prevented an Orlando goal. Ruan got down the right and sent in a nice cross for Akindele at the far post. Just before the cross arrived, Lowe stuck a leg out and deflected it away.

Miami then got a short spell in the Orlando end. Higuain had another shot blocked and Gregore fired just wide from outside the area in the 36th minute.

Mendez smashed a long-range effort in the 41st minute that forced a good save from Callender. A late chance saw Smith get some space on the left in the box but he sent either a cross or a shot wide of goal and that was it for the opening half. The teams went to the locker room without a goal on the board.

Orlando dominated the stat sheet in the first period, with more possession (67.6%-32.4%), shots (13-5), shots on goal (3-1), corners (7-0), and passing accuracy (87.2%-81.9%). However, the Lions couldn’t put one in the net to take control.

The Lions continued to have the majority of the chances in the second half, while the visitors stayed compact and waited for transition opportunities. Orlando wasted a lot more set pieces in the second half, including a free kick in the first minute after the restart. Just seconds after that, however, Pato fizzed a shot inches over the bar.

On a strange play, Emerson Rodriguez went down outside Orlando’s area to try to get a call on Schlegel but none was made. While Stajduhar was over the ball, Schlegel tried to get Rodriguez to get up and picked up the Miami player, who swung at the Orlando defender. Both players were booked and for some reason Miami was awarded a free kick at that point. Higuain sent the set piece over the bar in the 59th minute.

Both teams made multiple subs in the 60th minute to get fresh bodies on the field but not much changed.

Pato suffered a hard foul but the ref played Orlando’s advantage in the 66th. Unfortunately, Urso botched his header attempt in front, bouncing it out of play.

Four minutes later, Miami got one of those transition opportunities but Robert Taylor fired just wide.

Kara took a free kick in the 72nd after Pato was fouled yet again but the Austrian sent his effort well over the bar on another wasted set piece. Six minutes later, Torres had a go from just outside the area but fizzed his shot just wide of the post. In the 83rd minute, Urso again got his head on a cross — from second-half sub Mauricio Pereyra — but he shot it wide.

Mota got a free look from the top of the box in the 88th minute but fired his shot just over the bar. That was the last good look of normal time and the teams went into extra time still scoreless.

The Lions led in possession (62.3%-37.7%), shots (20-10), shots on goal (3-1), corners (9-2), and passing accuracy (87.4%-82.8%). Nevertheless, the game headed into extra time.

Pereyra had the first good look of the first half of extra time, whistling a shot just over the bar in the 92nd.

Two minutes later, Miami opened the scoring out of nowhere. Mota came up the field and took a pass with substitute midfielder Andres Perea a little late in closing him down. Mota struck his shot hard from the left side toward Stajduhar’s near post and it went in. While there was quite a bit of pace on the shot, it was one the keeper would probably expect to stop. The visitors led 1-0.

“It was not easy to overcome (Sunday’s loss) mentally and that’s why I was wondering how much we were going to mentally last in the game with with that intensity, and that willingness, pushing (forward),” Pareja said. “And even when they scored a goal. It was not an easy moment for our boys to come back.”

The lead lasted three minutes. The Lions made their next foray into the attacking third count, as Pereyra and Torres worked a give-and-go. The ball ended up on Torres’ foot just inside the top of the area. He cut from right to left, cleared a defender and fired a shot just inside the left post to tie the match at 1-1 in the 97th minute.

Much of the rest of the first half of extra time was stop-and-start soccer, with Orlando getting a few set pieces but not doing much with them. Referee Kevin Broadley blew the halftime whistle just as Torres was coming free with the ball at the top of the box.

The Lions got the first good chance of the second half of extra time, when Torres fired a shot from the left toward the back post in the 109th minute. Callender did well to make the save. In the 115th minute, the Lions recycled a cleared corner kick and the second ball in found Jansson, but the Swedish defender’s shot was at the goalkeeper.

The best chance of the extra period’s second half came in stoppage time when substitute Jack Lynn was beaten and Stajduhar came off his line but couldn’t get there. The ball was crossed in to Leonardo Campana in front of goal but the forward’s shot was blocked over the bar by substitute defender Michael Halliday, and the match went to penalties.

“I decided to go. I’m pretty sure I got in touch on it,” Stajduhar said of that final play. “I think it might have hit either my heel or my hip. Then it squeaked in the middle and Mikey made an incredible block and saved the day for us. He didn’t even know he made it after the play.”

Orlando City finished open play with the advantage in possession (64.7%-35.3%), shots (28-12), shots on target (6-3), corners (12-3), and passing accuracy (88.7%-81.9%).

Before the shootout, Adam Grinwis, Stajduhar’s fellow Orlando CIty backup goalkeeper and a previous U.S. Open Cup hero for the Lions had some advice for Mason.

“He always says, ‘Just rock up and be sick,’” Stajduhar said.

Miami won the toss and shot first with Campana taking the first penalty. The forward took a cheeky spot kick, chipping softly down the middle. It beat the diving Stajduhar and hit the crossbar but still deflected in. Ercan Kara answered with a solid penalty inside the right post.

“I asked (Pareja), ‘Can I shoot at first?’ Because I want to show my teammates my self confidence,” Kara said. “I trust myself, and when I score, I’m thinking now everybody has this confidence to score. And I was like, ‘I want to go in front and say trust me, I scored and you will also.”

Bryce Duke shot second for Miami and Stajduhar guessed correctly, going right to save it. Jansson shot second for Orlando and although Callender guessed right and got a piece, it went in anyway.

Yedlin followed for Miami but fired over the bar with barely any run-up. Andres Perea then converted to give Orlando a 3-1 lead after three rounds.

Miami needed to score to stay alive and Ariel Lassiter blasted his spot kick into the net to give the Herons a chance. But Pereyra sent the Lions into the quarterfinals by beating Callender to end the shootout, 4-2 in Orlando’s favor.

Pareja said after the match that he hadn’t planned on playing Torres 90 minutes and he needed to come off just before the penalty shootout due to tightness. We’ll have to wait to see if he’ll be available Saturday against FC Dallas.

“Anytime you get to fight for a trophy, no matter what it is, go as hard as you can for it. And obviously this is do or die in every game,” Stajduhar said. “So, yeah, it means a lot to be able to represent this club and hopefully we can take it another step further versus Nashville in a couple of weeks.”

“We advanced,” Pareja said, summing up the night. “The Cup is important for us. It’s great to see the fans connected. We’ll see how we recover. We know it has been a very taxing night for (the players) but their heart is big and we’re proud of that.”

The Lions have another quick turnaround as they welcome FC Dallas to Exploria Stadium on Saturday night.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/23/25

Pride fall to Racing Louisville, Seb Hines and Giles Barnes share insight on path to success in Orlando, USMNT defeats Haiti, and more.

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15 hours ago

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June 23, 2025

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been busy working and catching up with friends over the past week. Before we get started, let’s wish a belated happy birthday to Orlando Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and Sporting Director Haley Carter, who turned 41 on Saturday. The Pride was the lone team in action over the weekend, while the Lions and OCB were off. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Pride Fall at Racing Louisville

The Orlando Pride fell to Racing Louisville 2-0 Friday at Lynn Family Stadium. Arin Wright scored the opening goal in the first half, and former Pride midfielder Taylor Flint converted a penalty kick for Racing Louisville. The Pride struggled offensively and failed to capitalize on their scoring chances. Orlando’s struggles in Louisville continue, as the club is winless in five matches at Lynn Family Stadium. The Pride will be on a long break, and their next match will be Aug. 3, taking on the Utah Royals at Inter&Co Stadium.

Seb Hines, Giles Barnes Share Insight on Path to Success in Orlando

Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines and Assistant Coach Giles Barnes were featured in an interview in The Guardian. Both Hines and Barnes shared insight into their longtime friendship, which began with playing in English youth international camps, their different paths to playing in Major League Soccer, and how they became involved in coaching. Hines discussed his time as interim manager of the Pride in 2022 and how he brought in Barnes to help change the club’s culture. Hines and Barnes helped change the perception of the club and led the Pride to winning both the NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship last season.

USMNT Defeats Haiti to Win Group D in Gold Cup

The U.S. Men’s National Team defeated Haiti 2-1 Sunday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, in their final match in the group stage of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. The USMNT finished atop its group with three wins and nine points. Orlando City defender Alex Freeman made his third consecutive start and played 90 minutes.

Malik Tillman scored the opening goal 10 minutes into the match to give the USMNT the early lead. Haiti tied the match not long after Tillman’s goal. In the second half, Patrick Agyemang pulled the USMNT back in front. The USMNT advances to the quarterfinals as the group winner and will play its next match Sunday against the Group A runner-up which was the late game Sunday night and had yet to conclude as of this writing.

Club World Cup Weekend Recap

Another weekend of matches from the FIFA Club World Cup is in the books. On Friday, Benfica crushed Auckland City FC 6-0, while Flamengo beat Chelsea 3-1. LAFC was eliminated from advancing to the knockout round after a 1-0 defeat to ES Tunis. Bayern Munich edged Boca Juniors 2-1. On Saturday, Borussia Dortmund defeated Mamelodi Sundowns 4-3. Inter Milan needed a late stoppage-time winning goal from Valentin Carboni to edge Urawa Red Diamonds 2-1. Fluminense beat Ulsan HD 4-2, and River Plate and Monterrey ended in a scoreless draw. On Sunday, Juventus cruised to a 4-1 win over Wydad Casablanca. Xabi Alonso secured his first win as manager of Real Madrid with a 3-1 victory against Pachuca. Red Bull Salzburg and Al-Hilal played to a scoreless draw, with Manchester City playing Al-Ain in the late match Sunday. Today’s matches feature Atletico Madrid facing Botafogo, the Seattle Sounders hosting Paris Saint-Germain, FC Porto vs. Al Ahly, and Inter Miami taking on Palmeiras.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando Pride midfielder Ally Lemos and forward Simone Jackson have been called-up to the U-23 U.S. Women’s National Team. The U-23 camp will be led by Orlando Pride Assistant Coach Yolanda Thomas.

USL Championship side San Antonio FC has signed former Orlando City defender Abdi Salim to a 25-day contract.

San Diego Wave winger Maria Sanchez has reportedly reach an agreement to return to her former club, Tigres of Liga MX Femenil, on a four-year contract.

Paul Pogba is reportedly set to return to playing soccer and has signed a two-year contract with Ligue 1 side AS Monaco.

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

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Opinion

Orlando City Has Been Better than Expected Halfway Through the Season

While there was plenty to worry about at the start of the season, Orlando has had a good first half of 2025.

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3 days ago

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June 20, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

With 18 matches in the books, we’ve moved just past the halfway point of the 2025 Major League Soccer season, and based off my feelings before Orlando City played its opening game of the season, the Lions have performed above expectations so far. There were plenty of valid reasons to be concerned heading into the year. Orlando had sold its all-time leading goal scorer, and there were questions about whether he’d been adequately replaced. There were worries about depth at multiple positions, and the defense was coming off an uncharacteristically poor year. Here we are though, with the Lions sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference, just three points out of second place and seven points out of first. So how did we get to this point?

For one thing, Marco Pasalic has been much better than I (and I think a lot of other people) expected him to be. The Croatian has six goals and four assists across 18 matches, and is second on the team in both categories. He scored 10 goals in 49 appearances in the Croatian first division before coming to Orlando and was extremely one-footed, which was enough evidence to sow real doubt about whether he could adequately replace the impact of Facundo Torres.

So far, it’s mostly been so good. His direct style of play is a good complement to the styles of Martin Ojeda and Luis Muriel, and he’s largely hit the ground running in a league that can be difficult to adapt to. It hasn’t been perfect, as he’s still very one-footed, and can sometimes disappear if he’s stringently man marked, but on the whole there’s been much more good than bad.

Speaking of Ojeda and Muriel, they’ve also had strong years. Ojeda in particular has continued his great second half of the 2024 season and has nine goals and five assists in 18 games to show for it. He looks fast, confident, and decisive and is a far cry from the player who struggled frequently during his first year as a Lion. Muriel has cooled off a little after a scorching start to 2025, but he still has six goals and three assists in 18 matches. He looks vastly improved from last year, when he looked a little off the pace of play and quickly lost the starting striker role. He still has a tendency to not be as selfish as he needs to be in front of goal, but he’s been much better than 2024.

I mentioned depth being a big concern, and not just at one position. At the beginning of the season Orlando City was, and arguably still is, thin at striker, center back, defensive midfield, and fullback. Duncan McGuire was injured to start the year and is now injured again, leaving Orlando with two true strikers in Muriel and Ramiro Enrique. There was no true backup left back, only one reliable backup center back, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson starting at right back meant that defensive midfield depth consisted of rookie Joran Gerbet and the Swiss army knife that is Kyle Smith.

Things have mostly worked out though. David Brekalo has supplanted Rafael Santos, meaning the Brazilian is now a proven backup option at the position, and Smith has filled in there as well. That means that in games in which Rodrigo Schlegel or Robin Jansson are unavailable, Brekalo fills in at center back, Santos starts at left back, and Smith is the backup for both positions, so it isn’t a flawless system. Gerbet has been playing better and better and got some valuable minutes when Eduard Atuesta and Cesar Araujo were unavailable. His emergence has been a crucial piece of the puzzle this year. So too has the rise of Alex Freeman, as his locking down the right back role has allowed Thorhallsson to fill in at defensive midfield, attacking midfield, and right back. The situation isn’t perfect, as a couple untimely injuries to the wrong guys would leave the Lions looking pretty threadbare, but so far it’s just about worked.

Another big concern was the defense. The Lions conceded 50 goals in the regular season last year, which was tied for the second-most of any Eastern Conference playoff team and fourth-most of any playoff team. With no defensive signings and the aforementioned depth concerns, there were plenty of reasons to worry about Orlando’s ability to keep the ball out of the back of the net.

Things have looked much better in 2025, though. The 22 goals OCSC has conceded are the fifth-fewest in the league, and Pedro Gallese’s eight clean sheets are tied for most in the league. Aside from a few egregious defensive performances against the Philadelphia Union, Atlanta United, and the Chicago Fire, things have mostly been tidy at the back, and when they haven’t been, El Pulpo has been around to pick up the slack. Again, things haven’t been perfect, as there have been moments where individual and collective errors have hurt the team, but it’s been better.

I thought the Lions would struggle this year. Going into the start of the season, we were talking about a team that lost Torres, arguably didn’t do enough to strengthen the team across the board, was facing depth issues, and was dealing with a leaky defense — all while pretty much every other contender in the East got stronger on paper. Instead, OCSC tied a club-best unbeaten streak and is just three points out of second place.

That being said, the East is so tight that Orlando is only five points above the playoff line, and injuries to the wrong guys could easily topple the fragile ecosystem that is the depth chart, but so far things are going better than I thought they would be. There are still a lot of matches to play, but this isn’t a bad position to be in at the halfway mark.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/20/25

Orlando Pride take on Racing Louisville FC tonight, Orlando Pride players called up by Zambia, USMNT beats Saudi Arabia, and more.

Published

4 days ago

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June 20, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday! June continues to fly by as we enjoy the buffet of soccer here in the U.S. this month. I’ll be spending most of the weekend working, but I am hoping to get some reading done after being gifted some books for my birthday. But enough about me, let’s jump right into today’s links!

Orlando Pride Face Racing Louisville Tonight

The Orlando Pride are on the road tonight for a match against Racing Louisville FC at 8 p.m. in the final game before a league break until August. Going into the break with four straight wins would be nice for the Pride, but they’ve struggled at Lynn Family Stadium over the years. Louisville enters this match following a 4-2 loss to the league-leading Kansas City Current and has scored eight goals over the past three games. Orlando’s defense has been phenomenal this year, conceding just eight goals this season and only one during this win streak. Midfielder Cori Dyke spoke on how the team is finding its groove and shutting out opponents.

Zambia Calls Up Orlando Pride Trio

Barbra Banda, Grace Chanda, and Prisca Chilufya were all called up for Zambia’s CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations roster ahead of this summer’s tournament. Banda has eight goals this season with the Pride and had four goals at last year’s Olympics, including a hat trick against Australia. The Copper Queens claimed third place in the 2022 edition of this tournament, and they’ll need to be at their best to win this summer against tough opponents like South Africa and Nigeria. Zambia’s tournament campaign will kick off on July 5 against the host nation, Morocco.

USMNT Beats Saudi Arabia to Qualify for Quarterfinals

The United States Men’s National Team won 1-0 against Saudi Arabia to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals of this year’s Concacaf Gold Cup. After a scoreless first half, the Yanks broke through in the 63rd minute thanks to a free kick. Sebastian Berhalter served the ball on a silver platter to Chris Richards, who buried it for the crucial goal. The defense did well to secure its second shutout of the tournament, with Orlando City’s Alex Freeman starting at right back yet again. The USMNT will play Haiti on Sunday and should be able to win the group for a smoother path in the knockout stage.

FIFA Club World Cup Roundup

An MLS club finally won a game during this year’s FIFA Club World Cup, with Inter Miami beating Porto 2-1 in Atlanta. Lionel Messi scored the winner from a free kick to complete the comeback after conceding an early goal. The Seattle Sounders had a rougher day, falling 3-1 to Atletico Madrid, with Pablo Barrios scoring a brace. Former Lion Facundo Torres started for Palmeiras in the Brazilian club’s 2-0 win over Egypt’s Al Ahly.

Today’s action features more soccer at Inter&Co Stadium, with Benfica and Auckland City squaring off in the City Beautiful. Our Michael Citro will be on hand to report on it. Elsewhere in the U.S., Chelsea will take on Flamengo, LAFC will face ES Tunis, and Bayern Munich will play Boca Juniors.

Free Kicks

  • Canada Head Coach Jesse Marsch, who is already serving a suspension for misconduct during the Nations League, is under investigation by Concacaf for incidents during this Gold Cup. Reports detail that Marsch disregarded regulations and used offensive language toward match officials.
  • Kylian Mbappe was discharged from the hospital after suffering from a case of gastroenteritis. It’s unclear if or when he’ll play for Real Madrid during the Club World Cup.
  • Carlos Cuesta was hired as Parma’s next head coach after five years with Arsenal as an assistant coach. The 29-year-old becomes the second-youngest coach in Serie A history.
  • Manchester City was fined over $1 million by the English Premier League for repeated delays regarding kickoff times.

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

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