Photo Galleries
Orlando City vs. Sacramento Republic FC: Photo Gallery

Orlando City did the thing. The Lions patiently battered their heads against a stout Sacramento Republic FC bunker for an hour and a quarter before Ivan Angulo’s pressure created the crack that Orlando needed to bash down the door to its first major trophy since joining MLS for the 2015 season. The 3-0 victory over the upstart Republic also gave the Lions their first qualification to the Concacaf Champions League and they’ll play for the continental championship in 2023.
While the visitors were seldom threatening in the match, the game seemed to be unfolding just the way they would have hoped. Referee Ramy Touchan let a lot of contact go, and the Lions moved the ball slowly and cautiously, opting to keep it under control instead of trying to play to striker Ercan Kara over the top. The few times those attempts came, long balls were overhit and either went out for a goal kick or were easily collected by Sacramento goalkeeper Danny Vitiello.
The rain — usually a friend to the Lions — also seemed to be an advantage for Sacramento, taking some of the crispness off Orlando’s passing.
Oscar Pareja inserted Homegrown Player and Orlando native Benji Michel into the lineup for Kara just past the hour mark to provide energy and it worked. When Angulo dispossessed defender Dan Casey on the left edge of the box, he knocked it to Michel, who did well to spot the oncoming Facundo Torres and deliver an easy pass for the Uruguayan winger to handle. Torres smashed it first time into the upper left corner for the opener the Lions had been looking for.
With the Republic having to chase the game over the last quarter of an hour, the cracks and spaces began to grow and Orlando took full advantage. A good ball over the top found Michel in the box and as he settled the ball to take his shot, he was fouled by Casey, earning his team a penalty. Torres dispatched the spot kick with class and coolness, sending Vitiello the wrong way to make it 2-0.
Torres returned the two Michel favors deep in stoppage time, sending a pass that split two midfielders and two defenders to pick out Benji making a diagonal run. Michel placed his shot perfectly, slotting just inside the left post to put the game away and allowing Exploria Stadium to celebrate.
Speaking of celebrations, the joy and chaos on the field after the final whistle was a sight to behold. The Lions jumped, danced, and sang, filming themselves with cell phones, donning various bits of costume, and draping their national flags around their shoulders, while quickly changing into 2022 U.S. Open Cup champion t-shirts. They walked through a classy honor guard of Sacramento players to the podium and lifted their trophy in front of their home fans, finishing a run of six consecutive home matches in the competition en route to the title.
We hope you enjoy these images from an absolutely unforgettable night in the history of Orlando City SC.
Images: Dan MacDonald
Words: Michael Citro
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Inter Miami: Photo Gallery
An album of images from Orlando City’s hard-fought draw at home against the Herons.

The Lions brought much more roar on Sunday night to face their southern rivals but had trouble finding the net, allowing the Herons to nick a point even while short staffed. None of Miami’s high-priced talent traveled for the match after facing Toronto midweek, and physicality ensued, firing up the sold-out crowd at Exploria Stadium.
Talking with some of the other photographers on the sideline who had flown in for this match, they rated the Orlando atmosphere top-notch; in their experience, other cities don’t compare to the in-stadium fan enthusiasm.
The Lions were in “the net is lava” mode, with Duncan McGuire and Iván Angulo each missing prime one-on-one chances with Miami goalkeeper Drake Callender in each half, McGuire leaving it straight at Callendar, and Angulo badly missing the net after a missed first touch. So of course Miami struck first, with David Ruíz scoring early in the second half.
This fired the Lions up even more and Martín Ojeda pinballed McGuire in behind the Miami back line, allowing Duncan to do what Duncan does to draw the score level. The Lions generally looked the more dangerous team for most (but not all) of the night. However, it is scoring goals that actually counts, leaving both teams unchanged in their respective Eastern Conference standings. Orlando remains second at 14-7-9, while Miami stays in 14th at 9-15-5.
The Lions continue to control their own destiny in terms of getting a top-four finish as they look to lock up home field advantage for a best-of-three matchup in the MLS Cup playoffs.
With home dates left against Montreal and a sputtering-but-dangerous New England remaining, there’s still plenty of time to be part of that world-class gameday atmosphere by going out to support the team as they push for a strong finish.
We hope that you enjoy these images from a hard-fought, come-from-behind draw against Inter Miami at Exploria Stadium.
Photo Galleries
Orlando City vs. St. Louis City SC: Photo Gallery
An album of images from Orlando City’s late 2-1 win over St. Louis City SC at Exploria Stadium.

Orlando City (12-6-7, 43 points) and St. Louis City (14-9-2, 44 points) met Saturday night in a clash of the “City SCs” and the game did not disappoint. The teams provided a high-tempo, physical affair without devolving into a chippy tit-for-tat, and that should have left every fan well entertained at the close of the evening. (Yes, even St. Louis fans, although they may need to let the sting of the 2-1 Lions victory settle for a little bit.)
The first half was not short of chances for either team, but both teams did well to limit the other’s final opportunities, allowing only a handful of shots apiece in the first half with only Duncan McGuire’s effort forcing a save by the opposing goalkeeper.
Dagur Dan Thorhallsson and Facundo Torres came out of the break firing immediately, changing up their run patterns to allow Thorhallsson to lead Torres into space. Torres then worked his finishing magic to lift the Lions into the lead. Orlando City continued limiting St. Louis to low-probability chances from distance until the 79th minute, when finally the Lions conceded on a controversial call that once again demonstrates that PRO does not understand the meanings of ‘clear’ and ‘obvious,’ but alas.
Orlando redoubled its efforts to press for the win in the remaining time and was rewarded with Ramiro Enrique forcing a yellow card by Jake Nerwinski and Rafael Santos forcing a penalty kick for handball with a canon of a shot off Anthony Markanich during the resulting restart. Torres converted the penalty to complete his brace in the 91st minute and put Orlando in the lead.
The game was far from over, however, as nine minutes of stoppage time were added. Mostly this consisted of St. Louis desperately stretching for an equalizer, but as the game approached the end of stoppage time, late sub Jack Lynn sprung Enrique in behind, forcing Nerwinski to take him down in a red-card, last-man challenge just outside the box. Martin Ojeda made a valiant effort to make it three on the restart with the last kick of the game, but the effort was right at Roman Burki and the final whistle sounded immediately after 101 minutes of soccer.
As you can imagine, a high-tempo game can lead to some high-action images, so we hope you enjoy these photos of the excitement of the first-ever meeting between the two clubs.
Photo Galleries
Orlando Pride vs. San Diego Wave FC: Photo Gallery
An album of images from the Pride’s 2-1 loss at Exploria Stadium.

Marta channeled Star Wars Night at Exploria Stadium with a blaster-bolt of a cross to Adriana to score the Pride’s lone goal, but the Wave’s Kyra Carusa mastered the Jedi mind trick (“I am not the runner you are looking for.”) to nod home a winner, allowing the visitors to escape with all three points.
It was a beautiful night, and a strong crowd of 7,556 turned out. The Pride played well, dominating most of the stats, but a missed clearance and the aforementioned mental lapse on two corner kicks left them just short. Costumes, banners and tifos embraced the Star Wars theme, making for a very fun and festive atmosphere. (And the soccer was pretty good too!)
Despite the disappointing result, we hope you enjoy the photos of a fun night at Exploria Stadium.
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