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Orlando City vs. Austin FC: Final Score 2-2 as Lions Robbed in Texas

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4 years ago

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You can’t really make up what happened to Orlando City in the second half while up 2-0 at Austin FC. But you don’t have to make it up because we’ve all seen this movie before.

The Lions (6-4-3, 21 points) went down two men in the second half, allowing Austin FC (7-3-3, 24 points) to rally back for a 2-2 draw at Q2 Stadium in Austin, TX, in the first-ever meeting between the two teams. Referee Joe Dickerson made sure he was the star of the show by sending off Rodrigo Schlegel for a second yellow card for handball within seconds — with the second one in the box and highly suspect. He sent off Cesar Araujo minutes later for a warranted dangerous play as the Orlando midfielder foolishly kicked out after being stepped on by Alex Ring.

Finally, Dickerson awarded a corner kick that certainly appeared to be a goal kick deep in stoppage time, from which the hosts tied the game. In fact, it was the player — Moussa Djitte — who appeared to touch the ball last before it went out who then scored the tying goal.

All of that aside, it was Orlando City’s own fault for not putting the game away by halftime with the unbelievable chances the Lions wasted.

“Well, first just allow me to recognize the effort of the players today, trying to overcome all those things that happened, especially at the end and in the second half, with many unfair things happened,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “But I guess we’ve got to take it. We played a very good game until all those things came in the second half.”

Pareja’s starting lineup offered no surprises. Pedro Gallese took his spot in goal behind a back line of Joao Moutinho, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Ruan. Cesar Araujo played in the central midfield with Andres Perea — starting his third consecutive game in all competitions. Junior Urso functioned as a winger on an attacking midfield line with Mauricio Pereyra and Facundo Torres, with Ercan Kara up top.

The Lions jumped on top in the second minute. Austin goalkeeper Brad Stuver tried playing out of the back but sent his pass right to Urso. The Bear sent the ball to Kara in front and the Austrian redirected it just inside the right post to make it 1-0. It was Kara’s third goal of the MLS season — fourth in all competitions — and the fourth-fastest goal from the start of a match in club history.

“We wanted to press them right from the first minute and we did it very good,” Kara said. “And the goalkeeper (made) a mistake and Urso (saw) me very good, and played me the ball, and the rest was an easy finish.”

The first two opportunities for Austin came off of turnovers by Araujo in the midfield. The first didn’t result in a clear-cut chance but in the ninth minute, the miscue led to a shot by Maxi Urruti that smashed off the left post. The rebound was cleared behind for an Austin corner with Diego Fagundez lurking.

Following a good spell by Austin, the Lions doubled the lead. Moutinho sent the ball down the left for Torres. The Young Designated Player got to the end line and crossed back into the area for Kara. The ball was deflected by defender Kipp Keller and fell to Pereyra, who fired immediately. Stuver made a good save to deny the captain but the ball fell to Ruan lurking near the back post and the right back slotted home to make it 2-0 in the 22nd minute.

The Lions were wasteful for the rest of the first half. That started in the 26th minute after Kara stole the ball in the attacking third. He fed Urso on his right and the Bear fired a shot right at Stuver, who made the comfortable save.

The hosts came into the match after that missed opportunity, holding much more possession for the rest of the half. Center back Julio Cascante fired a long-range shot that deflected well over the net. On the ensuing corner kick, a cross found Cascante at the back post. The defender headed the ball down and it bounced over the bar. The play may have been offside but the flag stayed down, so no review was necessary.

Right back Nick Lima cut inside the wing a few minutes later and fired a tight-angle shot that Gallese did well to save in the 35th minute. Three minutes later, Moutinho turned the ball over in his own half and Urruti fired just wide. Gallese was shaken up on the play but continued after receiving treatment from the training staff.

Orlando had some chances to put the game in a chokehold down the stretch. Kara let a shot fly from outside the area in the 43rd minute but Stuver got over and made the save. In stoppage time, the Lions had three more excellent scoring chances and should have scored. The first came on a transition opportunity with Torres and Ruan going 2-v-1. Torres was located centrally but chose to send a pass to Ruan on his left. Ruan not only failed to hold his run and stay onside, but he also missed the wide open net. Moments later, Torres had a chance to redeem himself at the top of the area but turned down a shot again to lay off for Kara who was closed down from behind and never got a shot away.

In the dying seconds, Moutinho crossed after a throw-in in the attacking third that found Urso. The Bear headed on frame and Stuver made a big save. The rebound fell for Urso who then missed everything from just a couple feet from the goal line.

The Lions went to the locker room up 2-0 but Austin was still in the game because of the missed chances.

“I thought today was a game that we could easily score two or three goals more until all this mess happened,” Pareja said.

Austin had a big advantage in first-half possession (66.2%-33.8%), corners (4-1), and passing accuracy (90.4%-75%). But the hosts fired only one more shot (8-7) in the opening period and Orlando got more of its chances on target (6-2).

The Lions again had a chance to put the game away in the 53rd minute. Kara laid off for Perea at the top of the area but the midfielder fired his shot wide of Stuver’s goal. Four minutes later, the Lions created another chance. Pereyra floated in a ball for Kara, who headed down for Urso. The Bear fired his shot immediately but left it too close to the middle. Still, Stuver had to make an outstanding reaction save in the 57th minute to keep the score at 2-0.

Moments later, the entire complexion of the game changed.

Schlegel was booked for a handball just outside the area in the 58th minute. The defender’s arm was out from his body and he was trying to change direction, leaning to block the shot. Although Schlegel was pulling his arm toward his body, and almost got it there, the ball hit it and the Lions couldn’t complain too much about the free kick. However, on the free kick, the delivery by Sebastian Driussi hit Schlegel, who was part of the wall. This time, his arm didn’t appear to be in an unnatural position and he probably knew nothing at all about it. In fact, the shot may have been going wide.

Nevertheless, Dickerson showed Schlegel a second yellow and pointed to the spot. He also booked Orlando’s captain, Pereyra — who suffered four play-breaking fouls in the match, including one in transition, without drawing a yellow card — for dissent. The conversation with Video Assistant Referee Rosendo Mendoza didn’t take very long and Dickerson never went to the monitor himself to take a look.

Driussi took the spot kick right down the middle. Gallese dove to his left but dangled a leg and got a piece of the shot. However, the ball deflected into the roof of the net to pull Austin back to within 2-1 in the 63rd minute.

Up a man and now down only one goal, Austin pressed like crazy for the equalizer, winning a couple of quick corners. On the second of those, Araujo blocked a cross by Ring, who looked to have clipped the young Uruguayan, who lashed out with his boot in retaliation. There wasn’t much contact in it but Ring went down and rolled around. A conversation ensued between Dickerson and Mendoza and this time Dickerson decided to look at the play on the monitor himself. He determined it was a dangerous play by Araujo and sent off the midfielder, putting Orlando City down to nine men with still 21 minutes remaining in normal time.

And, as I said earlier, we’ve seen this movie before. Despite changing players, coaches, and even owners, this keeps happening.

Pareja sent on Tesho Akindele, Kyle Smith, and Jake Mulraney to provide some energy as the shorthanded Lions attempted to see out the match. He withdrew Kara, Pereyra, and Torres.

Mulraney nearly made his presence felt immediately, pressuring the ball high and poking it toward goal, but the shot rolled wide in the 73rd minute.

Two minutes later, Austin Head Coach Josh Wolff sent Djitte for Daniel Pereira, as he no longer had need of a holding midfielder, chasing the game while up two men.

Orlando caught a break when Driussi sent a free header over the bar in the 77th minute, but the Lions’ stayed compact with their nine men and invited crosses rather than giving Austin space to get inside.

Austin tried to get a third Lion sent off when Fagundez tried to hurry Gallese, picking the ball up and walking toward Orlando’s goalkeeper. Jansson stepped between the two players and Fagundez lowered his shoulder and initiated contact. Jansson certainly didn’t get out of his way and lowered his own shoulder at the last second. Fagundez crumpled to the ground to sell a call and did manage to get Dickerson to book Jansson in the 82nd minute.

A minute later, the ball ended up on Fagundez’s foot behind the defense. He beat Gallese with a far-post shot but the ball caromed off of the woodwork and Orlando recovered.

Gallese bought his team some rest with a lengthy delay as the trainers came out to look at him for the second time in the match. But Austin went right back on the attack after that.

A cross in found Djitte unmarked, after the forward had gotten in front of Smith, but his header went over the bar in the 89th minute. A minute after that, Ring had a go from the top of the box and Gallese made a sensational one-armed save to preserve the lead — for the moment anyway.

The fourth official signaled seven minutes of injury time, and Pareja tried to waste some of that with a couple of substitutions, sending Sebas Mendez and Michael Halliday on in separate switches for Urso and Ruan.

Dickerson made his final critical mistake in the fifth minute of stoppage time. A ball into the area was headed off of Djitte’s shoulder and out for an apparent goal kick — but not apparent to Dickerson, who signaled for a corner.

Orlando players were incensed and argued vehemently to no avail. Austin played the corner short and sent a back-post cross in that Djitte got a touch on and knocked into the net to level the game at 2-2 in the 95th minute.

“It’s frustrating, very frustrating, the management of that. Those plays,” Pareja said of the officiating. “When it hurt us the most is when they scored a goal, it was it was a corner that was called that…no way. It was our ball and they called a corner and that’s what frustrates us the most. It’s unbelievable the corner that they gave up. It’s unbelievable. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. Unacceptable for me.”

Orlando looked to have something going moments later. Akindele went straight up and headed an aerial ball, then appeared to have a chance to get in alone on goal when the defender fell. Dickerson, however, saw some kind of infraction on Akindele and gave Austin the ball back.

The 97th minute came and went, then the 98th, and the 99th, before Dickerson finally blew the full-time whistle. Orlando City was probably fortunate to get any kind of result, given the circumstances, but the Lions could have, and should have, come home with three points.

Austin finished with way more possession (71.4%-28.6%), shots (22-12), corners (10-2), and passing accuracy (90.4%-73.1%). Orlando had more shots on target (7-5).

“It was a tough game, but I think we played very well,” Kara said. “And we did good in the first half and also in the beginning of the second half, but the red cards put us from our way, and it was hard decisions from the referee, but yet we still keep fighting. It’s a point away and we’re looking forward.”

The Lions will have a quick turnaround with a Wednesday night home U.S. Open Cup match-up against Inter Miami CF. Schlegel and Araujo will miss Saturday’s match against FC Dallas.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/11/26

Leagues Cup preview, Americans in midweek action, open letter addressing Gianni Infantino, and more.

Published

10 hours ago

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August 11, 2026

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Good morning, everyone. It wasn’t a particularly pleasant weekend for Orlando’s soccer teams, but fortunately, opportunities to change the vibes are right around the corner. Orlando City B plays NYCFC II in a few hours, Orlando City plays San Luis tomorrow and FC Cincinnati on Saturday, and the Orlando Pride are in action against the Portland Thorns on Saturday night as well. We’ve got lots to talk over this morning, so let’s get into it.

Leagues Cup Preview

Leagues Cup will begin its final round of group stage games later today, and there are several storylines to keep an eye on. Most prominent among them is the match between Austin FC and Club America, as each team currently sits first in its respective table. Myrto Uzuni’s hat trick helped Austin bury Puebla in its second match, and the Verde and Black are now in great position to advance. Before we get to that match on Thursday though, FC Cincinnati plays Atlas this evening to kick off the last round of games. Cincy sits fourth in the MLS table and therefore has plenty to play for, while Atlas has no points and has already been eliminated from contention. With Cincy visiting the City Beautiful on Saturday, Orlando fans should be hoping for FCC’s key players to rack up a lot of minutes tonight.

Americans in Midweek Action

Plenty of Americans will be taking part in matches during the working week, so make sure you’ve got everything noted down on your calendar. Tanner Tessmann and Lyon kick things off later today as they try to overturn a 2-1 first leg deficit against Sparta Prague in UEFA Champions Leauge qualifying. Things continue with Brenden Aaronson and Leeds playing Manchester United in a friendly on Wednesday, while Malik Tillman and Bayer Leverkusen have a friendly of their own against Nottingham Forest. Things wrap up with some American-on-American violence on Friday, as Johnny Cardoso and Atletico Madrid play Marseille in a friendly, while Folarin Balogun and Monaco face Haji Wright and Coventry in a tune-up game.

Confederations Write Letter Criticizing Gianni Infantino

Concacaf, UEFA, and AFC have written a joint open letter soccer as a whole, in which they accuse FIFA president Gianni Infantino of betraying the trust of the confederations and engaging in deceptive practices. They condemned the plan to sell stakes in the World Cup to private investors, and called both FIFA’s integrity and Infantino’s running of the organization into question. U.S. Soccer put out its own statement on Sunday in support of Concacaf’s stance. The letter also urged FIFA to conduct an independent review of the proposal to sell stakes in the World Cup, while calling for accountability and openness among Infantino and the rest of FIFA’s leadership.

Transfer Rumor Roundup

There are plenty of transfer rumors to catch up on this morning, so let’s get straight into it. We start in England, where Crystal Palace is reportedly finalizing the signing of Zavier Gozo from Real Salt Lake. In Spain, Atletico Madrid has reportedly submitted an offer in the area of €35 million to Lille for winger Matias Fernandez-Pardo. Meanwhile, Endrick will supposedly be staying at Real Madrid this season following discussions between himself, the club, and Head Coach Jose Mourinho. Barcelona ha reportedly rejected a €50 million offer for Ferran Torres from Paris Saint-Germain, as the Catalonian club wants the fee to be structured differently than PSG’s initial proposal. Finally, in a rather unexpected bit of news, Tom Bogert reports that CF Montreal is signing Alexis Sanchez as a Designated Player.

Free Kicks

That’s all I’ve got for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 8/10/26

Lions and Pride lose, Americans abroad, Latest MLS transfer roundup, and more.

Published

1 day ago

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August 10, 2026

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Image of Marco Pasalic dribbling the ball in the attack against Atlanta.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Justin Glatt

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been keeping myself busy at work and getting ready to cover high school sports again soon. Let’s wish a belated happy birthday to former Lion Alex Freeman, who turned 22 on Sunday, and a happy birthday to former Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja, who turns 58 today. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Lions Fall to Club Leon in Leagues Cup

Orlando City fell 2-1 to Club Leon at home in the second matchday of the 2026 Leagues Cup on Saturday. Marco Pasalic scored for the Lions in the first half as Orlando took a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Club Leon overturned the one-goal deficit, responding with goals from Juan Guevara and Daniel Arcila to take a 2-1 lead as the Liga MX side edged the Lions for the win. Orlando City will be back at home on Wednesday to face Atletico de San Luis to close out the first phase of Leagues Cup.

Pride Winless Skid Continues with Loss to Racing Louisville

The Orlando Pride fell 3-1 to Racing Louisville FC at home on Friday as the club continues to slide down the NWSL table and has lost back-to-back league matches. Louisville struck first to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Emma Sears scored twice to give Louisville a 3-0 lead. In stoppage time, Kerry Abello scored for the Pride to avoid the shutout, but Louisville secured its third win in its last four games. Meanwhile, Orlando has lost four out of its last five matches. The Pride will be on the road for their next match on Saturday, taking on the Portland Thorns.

Americans Abroad

Orlando City midfielder Colin Guske started and played a full 90 minutes for the U.S. U-20 Men’s National Team against Mexico in the Concacaf U-20 Championships. The U.S. fell 2-0 to Mexico in the final on Sunday. Max Arfsten and Sebastian Berhalter made their debuts for Middlesbrough in Round 1 of the Carabao Cup against Wrexham on Friday. Berhalter notched an assist as Middlesbrough defeated Wrexham 1-0 to advance to the second round. Ricardo Pepi started and played 80 minutes for PSV Eindhoven in a 2-2 draw against Fortuna Sittard in the Eredivisie on Saturday. Austin Trusty and Cameron Carter-Vickers were both in action for Celtic in a 5-1 victory against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.

Latest MLS Transfer Roundup

The LA Galaxy have been busy making moves of late, signing former FC Barcelona and Como midfielder Sergi Roberto to a contract through June 2028 with an option for the 2028-2029 season. The Galaxy added winger Chucky Lozano from San Diego FC on loan through the end of the season and reached an agreement to transfer midfielder Edwin Cerrillo to Liga MX side Club America. Atlanta United has acquired midfielder Mauricio Amaro from Uruguayan top flight club Defensor Sporting. Amaro will be under contract through the 2028-2029 season with an option for 2029-2030. San Diego FC announced on Saturday that the club has transferred defender Andres Reyes to Atletico Nacional in Colombia.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando City forward Yutaro Tsukada, who is on loan at Rhode Island FC, scored his first goal in the USL Championship over the weekend.
  • Kansas City Current forward Temwa Chawinga scored for Malawi, which defeated Ghana 2-1 on Sunday in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations and qualified for the FIFA Women’s World Cup for the first time.
  • Nigeria fell 1-0 to Cameroon in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations, resulting in Cameroon qualifying for the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup. Nigeria will face South Africa on Thursday in a play-in match to qualify for the FIFA inter-confederation playoffs.
  • Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho revealed in a documentary that he had signed a contract to succeed Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United in 2013, but later backed out of the deal and decided to return to Chelsea after his first stint at Real Madrid.

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

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Club Leon, Leagues Cup: Final Score 2-1 as Lions Blow Halftime Lead in Loss

Marco Pasalic gave the Lions a halftime lead, but the defense got leaky in the second half.

Published

3 days ago

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August 8, 2026

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Image of Harvey Sarajian getting elbowed in the neck by Juan Guevara of Club Leon
Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Marco Pasalic put Orlando City ahead in the first half, but two second-half mistakes and what appeared to be a clear foul in the penalty area late on Club Leon led to the Lions falling 2-1 at home tonight on the second matchday of Leagues Cup. Juan Guevara and Daniel Arcila pulled Leon back from a goal down in the second half, and an Orlando City (1-1) side that didn’t rotate much from Wednesday’s game looked a bit leggy in the second half against Leon (2-0).

“I think, of course, very very sad for the result for us, for our people, for everyone,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “We were trying to compete in the best way as possible and trying to win, and we couldn’t. Congrats to them; they did a really good job. We were there, trying to to compete. At the end, we were short.”

Perelman’s lineup featured Maxime Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, Iago, and Zakaria Taifi. Luis Otavio and Wilder Cartagena started in central midfielders with Ivan Angulo and Tyrese Spicer in the attack and Marco Pasalic and Antoine Griezmann up top.

The start of the game was bereft of action as the teams tried to figure one another out. The Lions nearly created something magical five minutes after kickoff when Pasalic sent in a great ball over the top for Griezmann, who brought it down, but it bounced a bit wide, and when he went to ground to try to shoot, the defender caught up and blocked the effort.

Neither team could do much with a corner kick opportunity over the next 15 minutes and much of the action was played between the boxes. Pasalic earned a free kick in a dangerous spot when he blew past Juan Guevara, who brought him down and picked up a yellow card. Griezmann took the free kick from just outside the area but his delivery hit the wall and came back to him. He got under his second effort and put it out of play.

The first real danger from Club Leon came on a ball over the top in the 28th minute. Crepeau came off his line but couldn’t get there before Arcila, who tried to chip the goalkeeper but he sent it wide left. Sebastian Santos got to it before it went over the end line and tried to shoot from a tight angle with Iago defending but he got under his shot and put it over the bar.

Just moments after the ensuing hydration break, Leon nearly scored on another ball over the top that was just out of Iago’s reach. Arcila got to it first and fired a shot that Crepeau saved. Fernando Beltran picked up the rebound and tried to chip the Canadian, but Crepeau was able to go up and catch the shot to keep the game scoreless.

Orlando tried a ball over the top for itself in the 36th minute. Spicer was first to it but as he swung his foot to shoot the bouncing ball, the defense arrived and bodied him, causing him to whiff on his effort. But the Lions scored anyway two minutes later.

Pasalic and Griezmann worked a nice give-and-go in the attacking half and the Frenchman sent Spicer down the left. Spicer fed Pasalic at the top of the area and the Croatian’s shot took a slight deflection and beat Oscar Garcia to make it 1-0.

“Happy to help in the first half with the goal,” Pasalic said.

After the goal, Leon showed more determination in keeping the ball and building up play. The guests couldn’t do much with a couple of corners over the next several minutes.

Leon created another chance in first-half stoppage time, when Iago was beaten and Jansson couldn’t quite get over in time to intervene. Arcila got there first and fired toward the near post but Crepeau knocked it out for a corner.

Griezmann headed away the ensuing set piece to end the first period.

The late spell of possession after Pasalic’s goal helped Leon lead in that category at the break (54.1%-45.9%). The Liga MX side also led in shots (8-6), shots on target (5-2), and corners (4-2). Orlando City passed slightly more accurately in the opening half (92.7%-91.8%)

Griffin Dorsey entered the game at halftime for Taifi, but it was Club Leon who brought the energy to the start of the second half. In the opening minutes, Crepeau was forced into two great saves. Rhein turned it over in his defensive third, and Arcila’s cheeky backheel of a cross in from the right forced the Canadian international to make a a diving stop. Leon sent the ball back in from the left to a wide-open Jordi Cortizo in front but sent it right at Crepeau for another save.

Orlando’s first chance of the second half came on a Griezmann corner kick. Dorsey headed it across the box and Iago made a flying attempt at a bicycle kick, but he missed the ball and committed a foul in the process.

Leon got back on the front foot after that, with Jansson doing well to block an Arcila shot at the top of the area in the 51st minute. Arcila then got to a cross and stabbed it wide a minute later, but the initial play was offside.

The visitors tied the game in the 54th minute off a long-range set piece near the left sideline. The cross appeared to go in off of Dorsey, who was trying to mark Juan Guevara. Crepeau got to it just after it crossed the line. Dorsey said something to Crepeau after the play, but Guevara was ultimately credited with the goal.

Orlando’s struggles throughout the game came in the attacking third, and it was magnified in the second half. One such play was a nice buildup in the 69th minute that ended up with Rhein on the left, but the youngster made a mess of his cross, sending it out of play. Two minutes later, substitute Justin Ellis headed a pass to Dorsey that he perhaps should have shot. Ellis got it to Dorsey, who didn’t make good contact and sent a weak shot for Garcia to collect.

It was a costly missed opportunity, as Leon scored the winning goal a minute later. Rhein got caught too far upfield after heading the ball forward, and Leon broke in transition down the right side in behind him. Ivan Moreno found Arcila at the top of the area and the striker found space in front of Iago and sent an inch-perfect shot inside the left post to make it 2-1 in the 72nd minute.

Perelman sent Daryl Dike into the game as Orlando chased the match, and the Lions should have gone to the spot in the 84th minute. Ellis sent a fantastic ball to send Harvey Sarajian into the area on the right. Guevara caught up from behind, threw an arm across the rookie forward’s face, and bundled him over from behind, but referee Jose Camacho Espinoza incredibly saw nothing wrong with what the Leon defender did. There did not even seem to be a stoppage for video review, although media were informed that the play was checked.

“Ellis played the ball through. I’m through. I felt contact to the back, and in my opinion, I thought it was a foul,” Sarajian said. “But the referee didn’t agree. So it is what it is. I felt the contact (to the head and neck area).”

“I saw it,” Perelman said of the play. “I think the same thing as (the media).”

Leon was content to put numbers behind the ball and use the dark arts as much as possible to slow things down. The Lions won a lot of set pieces but could not pay them off. Crepeau came up to join the last few, but in the end, the Lions couldn’t find a way through the mass of Leon defenders down the stretch.

With Leon ceding possession and staying compact late, Orlando City finished with more possession (51.7%-48.3%), while also having the advantage in corners (7-5) and passing accuracy (90%-88.2%). Leon attempted far more shots (18-10) and put more on target (10-3). It was the inability to threaten goal that ultimately prevented Orlando from building on its lead or clawing back into the match.

Pasalic spoke to the referee after the game. He had been taken out in the middle of the pitch in first-half stoppage time that not only didn’t earn Leon a yellow card, but it wasn’t even deemed a foul. He came out to try to play through it in the second half, but the earlier contact forced him off before the hour mark and appeared to be one of the more egregious fouls in the match, despite the no-call.

“Suddenly, I get the hit in my knee, so my knee was getting a lump,” Pasalic said. “And I spoke with them in the halftime. I tried it to go out in the second half, but I felt that my knee is not going to help the team. It’s nothing serious, but I just want to be sure that the team has 10 players on the pitch who can play fully. I mean, I don’t want to get fined. No, just I want to speak in a respectful way about (the referee). For me, it’s unacceptable that he don’t give even the foul when I get fouled, and because of this, I was not able to play again in the second half, fully. This was not even a yellow card.”

The Lions will close out the first phase of Leagues Cup Wednesday at home against Atletico de San Luis.

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