Orlando City vs. New England: Preseason Photo Gallery

Orlando City finished off the preseason portion of the schedule Saturday night at Exploria Stadium when the New England Revolution paid a visit. The Revs, unfortunately, scored two goals in the second half to spoil the club’s jersey kit reveal night. The Lions had their chances, and played well enough to win, but sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce the way it should, and so an own goal was the difference between the two sides in a 2-1 New England win.

The Lions were by far the better dressed team in their new “The Wall” kits, decked out in purple with shiny, gold trim. The kits were unveiled prior to the match with the help of Favian Loyola and Antonio Carlos.

Things looked good for the Lions when Ivan Angulo put the hosts on top 1-0 off the rebound of a decent Mikey Halliday effort that was saved. But the attack couldn’t add to that lead despite generating some good chances, and the defense couldn’t hold it on that night. Some credit for the former should be given to New England’s Djordje Petrovic, as the young goalkeeper made some important saves in the match.

Fans got a good look at many of the new faces on the Lions, including Martin Ojeda, Luca Petrasso, Rafael Santos, and Ramiro Enrique. The latter two of those have only just recently arrived and will need a bit more time to get used to their surroundings and their teammates.

Despite the loss, Orlando had more chances and that’s something that should encourage fans entering the season. The Lions sometimes struggled to muster a dozen shots in a game in 2022 and just having more volume in terms of chances should help the offense put more balls in the net.

The preseason is over and the Lions now prepare for a meeting on opening day against the New York Red Bulls this Saturday at home.

We hope you enjoy these images from Orlando City’s special jersey reveal night at Exploria Stadium, even though it was a loss. Hey, at least it was only preseason.

Images: Dan MacDonald
Words: Michael Citro