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Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Final Score 2-1 as Lions Snatch Late Road Win on Tesho Akindele’s Goal

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3 years ago

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CHARLOTTE, NC — Ercan Kara opened the scoring and his replacement, Tesho Akindele, scored late as Orlando City defeated Charlotte FC in its first trip to Bank of America Stadium. Akindele’s goal in the 89th minute lifted the Lions (10-10-6, 36 points) back to the .500 mark in the standings in a much-needed win over Charlotte (10-15-2, 32 points).

McKinze Gaines scored for the hosts but Orlando City was able to sweep the season series over the new MLS side. With the other results around the league on Sunday night, Orlando climbed back into fifth in the Eastern Conference.

“An excellent game to show the character of the players,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “Excellent game to prove that these guys are working hard and the game will reward them.”

Pareja’s lineup included Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Kyle Smith, Rodrigo Schlegel, Antonio Carlos, and Ruan. Robin Jansson picked up a foot injury late this week in training and was held out to allow time for evaluation. Cesar Araujo and Mauricio Pereyra played in central midfield behind an attacking midfield line of Jake Mulraney, Junior Urso, and Facundo Torres, with Kara returning to the lineup at striker.

The hosts had a half-chance in the third minute on a long-range free kick. The ball somehow cleared everyone and caught Gallese by surprise but he managed to fight it off at the last moment and Ruan cleared.

A minute later, the Lions got a free kick in a good spot to the right of the box. Pereyra found Carlos but he couldn’t get much weight behind his header. The ball fell to Kara’s feet but his shot attempt was blocked.

Kerwin Vargas sent a curling shot wide in the seventh minute after Mulraney lost an aerial duel — due in large part because he didn’t jump — and ignited Charlotte’s break. Mulraney was booked for a foul behind the play after the ball sailed wide.

The game settled into a cagey affair for the next segment, with each team probing for a way through. Orlando sent a couple of passes out right to try to unlock Ruan but weighted them poorly.

Torres finally tested Kristijan Kahlina in the 27th minute with a shot from outside the area but he left the effort too close to the middle of goal and the goalkeeper was able to make the save.

Three minutes later, Vargas tried his luck from outside the left corner of the box, smashing a near-post effort that Gallese parried away.

Urso got his head to a Mulraney cross in the 34th minute but his shot deflected off a defender for a corner.

The Lions were called for a foul on the ensuing corner when there was contact with Kahlina on a 50/50 cross, wasting the opportunity. Three minutes later, Urso badly scuffed a shot attempt from distance and it rolled weakly in for Kahlina to collect.

The Lions couldn’t make a couple of late corner kicks pay off, Smith smashed a screamer off target in stoppage time, and the teams went to the break tied at 0-0.

Orlando City finished the half with more possession (57%-43%), shots (7-3), shots on target (2-1), corners (4-0), and passing accuracy (86.5%-83.3%).

“The football that the team played in the first half was very good,” Pareja said. “We dominated the tempo. We created chances. We avoided (them) to create chances. We made superiority in the spaces that we needed. I saw a lot of discipline tactically, especially with the ball with this group of players.”

Charlotte came out of the locker room with more intensity to start the second half and the hosts’ press created some half-chances. But the half started with a good cross by Mulraney which he sent in way too early before teammates could arrive, and a weak dribbler on goal by Pereyra.

Carlos was booked in the 39th minute after conceding a dangerous free kick just outside the area. Karol Swiderski took the set piece and sent his shot into the outside netting to Gallese’s right.

Quinn McNeill fired at Gallese after a turnover in the 56th minute as Charlotte continued to attack.

But Orlando got back on the front foot and took the lead in the 62nd minute. Urso picked out Torres in the middle and the Young Designated Player sent a perfect through ball to pick out Kara, who finished calmly past Kahlina to make it 1-0. For Kara, it was his team-leading eighth goal of the MLS regular season.

“It was an amazing pass from Facundo Torres,” Kara said. “I saw the space and he gave me a real good ball. I saw the long side and that’s it.”

The home crowd wanted an offside call and the referee did appear to have a conversation with the video assistant referee but the goal stood. Kara said he wasn’t worried about it being pulled back.

“I saw the last man. I think it was (Christian) Fuchs,” Kara said. “In my mind, I was sure that it was clear that there was no offside.”

The lead didn’t last long, however. A cross in from Kamil Józwiak on the attacking left found Gaines, who split Schlegel and Smith and headed in from point-blank range to tie the match at 1-1 in the 66th minute.

“Second half, we understand that just being away that sometimes you want to hold the game higher,” Pareja said. “That it’s normal that the reaction of the other team is aggressive and cost us that tied goal. But I noticed that our reaction after that goal was very professional and calm and that just made us score the second one, which is something that hasn’t happened much in this season, so we’re very proud.”

Kahlina made his best save in the 70th minute after Kara was knocked down from behind by Derrick Jones, who was booked, and the Lions got a free kick straight out from goal. Pereyra took the set piece and sent a good, accurate shot on target but couldn’t get enough oomph on it to sneak it past the diving goalkeeper.

Down the stretch, Orlando struggled to possess the ball. Pareja made some changes to try to solidify things and take off tired players or guys on a yellow card, but Charlotte dictated play, winning set pieces and throw-ins in the Lions’ end.

Akindele put the Lions ahead out of nowhere on the counter. He raced down the right to reach a pass from Urso and sent a shot on goal that Kahlina saved. The ball caromed back to the Canadian and this time he sent his shot into the net to make it 2-1 in the 89th minute. It was Akindele’s first goal of the season.

“Honestly, I don’t even remember starting to play, but the first thing I remember is Urso having the ball,” Akindele said. “And I just saw a gap and I was just like, ‘I gotta go.’ So, I just took off as fast as I could and Urso gave me the perfect pass. And you know, my first shot I should have done a little bit better, to be honest. But you’ve got to (have) short-term memory as a forward, like they say. That was the ultimate example of that. Ball came right back to me and I tried to stay calm and just place it in the corner.”

The Lions couldn’t have been too happy when the fourth official showed seven minutes of added time. There were two second-half injury stoppages but seven still seemed excessive. Orlando City was able to control the game for most of the first three or four minutes of injury time and saw out a second consecutive road win. First, the Lions had to survive a scare in the dying seconds as Brandt Bronico fired a shot just over the bar on nearly the last kick of the match.

Charlotte turned around the possession in the second half, finishing with a slight advantage (50.7%-49.3%) and even edged out Orlando in passing accuracy (82.9%-82.4%), but the Lions led in shots (13-9), shots on goal (7-3), and corners (5-2).

“We need to get better. We need to control those tempos,” Pareja said. “But suddenly, after they scored, we did that. We sustained the game and just tried to look for the second goal in transition, which is something that the boys brought — the substitutions — and we found a way to get these three points in a very difficult match, especially the second half.” 

“Super important for us because, just like every other team, our goal is to win the MLS Cup, and you can’t win if you’re not in the playoffs,” Akindele said. “That’s definitely step one. The bare minimum we need to do is get into the playoffs to give ourselves the chance to win MLS Cup. And so it feels good to stay in there, give ourselves a little bit of a cushion, but it’s still tight. If you kind of fall asleep for a week or two, all of a sudden you’re out of it again and we know that and we’re going to keep our foot on the gas.”

The Lions return home next Sunday for a home meeting with New York City FC.

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Lion Links: 5/9/25

Orlando City’s next U.S. Open Cup match date revealed, MLS matches to watch, top soccer club valuations, and more.

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3 hours ago

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May 9, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to Friday! I hope the week has treated you well as we get ready for a Mother’s Day weekend packed with soccer. Orlando City and the Orlando Pride are both in action at the same time on Saturday, so make sure to plan accordingly depending on how you want to enjoy the action. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Orlando City Will Face Nashville in USOC on May 21

Orlando City will officially host Nashville SC on May 21 at 7:30 p.m. in the U.S. Open Cup’s Round of 16. That match is sandwiched between a road game against Inter Miami on May 18 and a home game against the Portland Timbers May 24, so at least there won’t be much travel during that week during an already jam-packed month. The Lions reached this stage of the tournament after beating the Tampa Bay Rowdies 5-0 Wednesday, while Nashville won 1-0 against the Chattanooga Red Wolves on Tuesday.

What to Watch In MLS This Weekend

We’ll all be tuned in for Orlando City’s match on Saturday against the New England Revolution, but there’s plenty more MLS action to look forward to as well. Before Orlando’s match, Inter Miami will head to St. Paul to take on a Minnesota United team that leads the league with six clean sheets this season. Another notable match this weekend is a clash between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference standings when the Philadelphia Union host the Columbus Crew. That game has Daniel Gazdag written all over it. Sunday night’s match should be a doozy between two heavyweight Western Conference teams, as LAFC will hit the road to take on the league-leading Vancouver Whitecaps.

MLS Clubs Listed Among World’s Most Valuable

Sportico announced the valuations for the top 50 most valuable soccer clubs in the world, and a whopping 19 MLS teams made the list. The Lions aren’t included, but it’s still neat to see some clubs like Minnesota, Sporting Kansas City, and Charlotte FC listed. LAFC is the highest listed MLS side, coming in at 16th with a $1.28 billion valuation. Real Madrid tops the list at $6.53 billion, and six of the top 10 are from the English Premier League. While valuations aren’t exactly hard evidence of success or influence, I think this is a testament to the growth and parity of MLS through an international lens.

English Clubs Reach Europa League Final

This year’s Europa League final will feature a pair of EPL teams as Manchester United and Tottenham breezed through the semifinals. United overcame a shaky first half to beat Athletic Club 4-1 at Old Trafford, with Mason Mount scoring two of the team’s four goals in the second half. Tottenham avoided an upset in Norway by winning 2-0 against Bodo/Glimt. The final will take place on May 21 in Spain, and there’s both a trophy and Champions League qualification on the line. Both United and Tottenham struggled this season and are respectively 15th and 16th in the league standings, but winning the Europa League is all that matters now.

Free Kicks

  • American midfielder Johnny Cardoso played every minute of Real Betis’ 2-2 result against Fiorentina to advance to the Europa Conference League final, where the Spanish club will face Chelsea on May 28. Enjoy this goal from Antony to help his side prevail.
  • In honor of Mother’s Day, AC Milan players will wear their mothers’ last names on the back of their jerseys in today’s match against Bologna. I love this idea and hope more clubs follow suit moving forward.
  • An ownership group led by David Beckham and Gary Neville acquired Salford City of England’s League Two.
  • Former Manchester United defender Patrice Evra’s MMA debut will have to wait, as the 43-year-old’s fight set for May 23 in Paris was postponed.
  • We’ll end our links with what looks to be some unexpected Orlando Pride representation in Vatican City!

That’s all I have for you this time around. Have a fantastic Friday and enjoy the holiday weekend!

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Orlando City vs New England: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to score some goals and secure a victory against New England?

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22 hours ago

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May 8, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City might have the scoring woes in MLS matches as of late, but the Lions broke out against the Tampa Bay Rowdies Wednesday night in the U.S. Open Cup match. Of course, the Rowdies are not a very good team this year and are not a top flight team, so take it all with a grain of salt. What does Orlando City need to do to earn all three points at home against the Revolution?

Stop Gil/Campana

New England has scored eight goals this season. Seven of those goals have come from Carles Gil (5) and Leonardo Campana (2). Gil has also contributed one of New England’s four assists on the season. The vast majority of the Revolution’s offense goes through these two players, meaning stopping the duo is priority number one.

I fully expect Oscar Pareja to field his first-team defense, including a back line of Alex Freeman, Rodrigo Schlegel, Robin Jansson, and David Brekalo. Orlando City will also need whoever is playing in the defensive midfield to be the first line of defense. Pedro Gallese cannot be expected to have eight saves every match. The defense needs to step up.

Streak vs. Streak

Orlando City is on an eight-match unbeaten streak. New England is on a four-match winning streak in league play and five in all competitions. One of these streaks will end Saturday night. The Revolution have scored six goals in the last four MLS matches with at least one goal in each match without conceding a goal during the streak. The Lions have only scored three goals in the last five MLS matches with all three coming in one match against Atlanta United. Orlando City has shut out five straight MLS opponents and six consecutive in all competitions.

Orlando City has given away too many points during the unbeaten run. The Lions have missed Eduard Atuesta’s ability to create opportunities for his teammates to score. I’m hoping he will be available, but if not, Pareja will need to figure a better adjustment than he has in previous matches.

No More Nil

Orlando City may be on an eight-match unbeaten streak, but the offense has been absent in four of those matches. In those 0-0 draws, Orlando City took 53 shots with only 12 on target (23% rate). Contrast that with the four matches in which they scored, when Orlando City took 68 shots with 25 on target (37% rate). The Lions will need as many chances as possible given New England has only allowed seven goals so far this season. This is a defensively solid team.

Marco Pasalic did not play in the Open Cup victory over the Tampa Bay Rowdies, meaning he will be well rested and ready to start scoring goals again. He seemed to be dialing in during the Chicago match but he was taken off before he could convert. I want him to pick up where he left off, so he and many others can score goals against the Revolution. Hopefully, the goals scored against the Rowdies will kickstart the offense.

That is what I will be looking for Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 5/8/25

Orlando City steamrolls the Tampa Bay Rowdies in I-4 Derby, Orlando Pride aim to bounce back, U.S. Open Cup results, and more.

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1 day ago

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May 8, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Mark Thor

How’s it going, Mane Landers? It’s not often we get to celebrate an Orlando City victory in the middle of the week these days, but hopefully it’s a habit we get used to. The Lions took care of business in my neck of the woods, and it’s given some nice optimism to finish this week strongly. Let’s dive into the big win and more in today’s links!

Orlando City Trounces Tampa Bay Rowdies

Take a bow, Gustavo Caraballo! The 16-year-old was the star of the show in Orlando City’s dominant 5-0 U.S. Open Cup win against the Tampa Bay Rowdies, scoring twice to jumpstart Orlando’s attack and making history along the way. There’s plenty of scoring to enjoy, so be sure to check out our full recap!

Hopefully this game was a nice shot in the arm for Orlando’s offense and something to build on in league play. It’s always nice to take down the Rowdies and the Lions are now the last Floridian team standing in the tournament. They’ll host Nashville SC in the round of 16 later this month in what should be a good game in the City Beautiful.

Orlando Pride Aim to Bounce Back in North Carolina

After a 1-0 loss on the road to the Portland Thorns, the Orlando Pride will look to return to their winning ways when they face the North Carolina Courage on Saturday. It’s going to be another tough environment for the Pride to play in, although the Courage have lost two of their three home games so far this season. Pride defender Emily Sams spoke on the team’s mentality heading into this match and how the team can raise its level after a disappointing loss in Portland.

U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 Wraps Up

MLS teams mostly cruised in the U.S. Open Cup’s round of 32, but it was still an exciting round of soccer filled with drama. In a vintage “cupset,” the Pittsburgh Riverhounds beat New York City FC 1-0 thanks to a goal in stoppage time from Orlando native Beto Ydrach. Indy Eleven nearly took down the Philadelphia Union, but the MLS side converted all five kicks in the penalty shootout to advance after a 1-1 draw.

The New England Revolution escaped Pawtucket with a 2-1 road win against Rhode Island FC, with 17-year-old Cristiano Oliveira scoring a late winner. Minnesota United squeezed past Louisville City 1-0, the Chicago Fire put Detroit City to the sword in a 4-0 win, and FC Dallas won 3-1 against USL League One side AV Alta FC.

UEFA Champions League Final Set

Paris Saint-Germain did everything it needed to and more at home against Arsenal, winning 2-1 to advance to the UEFA Champions League final. Great saves by Gianluigi Donnarumma and goals from Fabian Ruiz and Achraf Hakimi propelled PSG to victory, with Bukayo Saka providing Arsenal’s only goal of the two-leg series. PSG will take on Inter Milan in the final on May 31 and it should be an interesting matchup at Allianz Arena to close out the tournament. Will PSG lift its first Champions League trophy only a year after Kylian Mbappe left the club, or will Inter come out on top after finishing as runner-up in 2023? I can’t wait to find out.

Free Kicks

  • Congratulations to United States Women’s National Team star Mallory Swanson and her husband Dansby Swanson, as the couple announced that they’re expecting their first child!
  • Racing Louisville announced that goalkeeper Katie Lund and midfielder Maddie Pokorny will both miss the remainder of the season due to hip injuries. Jordyn Bloomer, who had five saves in Friday’s win over the Houston Dash, will serve as the team’s goalkeeper in Lund’s stead.
  • The Columbus Crew signed Daniel Gazdag to a contract extension through 2027, with a club option for 2028 as well.
  • Arsene Wenger proposed a change to the offside rule so that attacking players are onside so long as any part of their body is lined up with the last defender. We’ll see if anything comes of this, but it could lead to more goals in the future.
  • Here’s what to watch for in the second legs of the Europa League semifinals. Manchester United will host Athletic Club with a three-goal lead in aggregate, while Tottenham will aim to defend its two-goal advantage in Norway against a Bodo/Glimt side that has key players returning from suspension.
  • Tottenham will be without James Maddison, who is out for the rest of the season after a knee injury sustained in the first leg against Bodo/Glimt.

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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