Connect with us

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Final Score 0-0 as Lions’ Attack Remains Toothless

The Lions seem completely out of sync in the attack as they failed to bother the opposing goalkeeper in the run of play for the second straight match, but they still captured a point.

Published

4 years ago

on

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City failed to bother the opposing goalkeeper for the second straight match at Exploria Stadium but the visitors couldn’t beat Pedro Gallese and so the Lions (1-0-1, 4 points) split the points with FC Cincinnati (1-0-1, 4 points) in an unsatisfying 0-0 draw. It was Orlando City’s first home draw since Halloween of 2021 against Nashville, when a late goal by Orlando was waved off.

City didn’t threaten FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano all evening and the Lions were fortunate that the visitors weren’t clinical in front of goal and that Gallese was behind them. Orlando has now gone three straight matches against Cincinnati without a win (0-2-1).

“We’re happy of just getting a result. At home, we need a win but this team needs to balance things,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “When we cannot win it, just get a result and walk out with a point. We’ve got to take it. but there’s a lot of positive things that we recognized tonight, especially the players who are new with the team and making us better.”

With five matches coming in a span of 15 days, Pareja rotated the hell out of his lineup, going to a similar starting XI to what was used in some of the Lions’ preseason games. Gallese started in goal behind a three-man back line of Kyle Smith, Abdi Salim, and Rodrigo Schlegel. Mikey Halliday and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson flanked Wilder Cartagena and Mauricio Pereyra, with Ercan Kara up top between Gaston Gonzalez and Facundo Torres.

For Pereyra, it was his 100th competitive match with the Lions across all competitions. Meanwhile, Ramiro Enrique was held off the team sheet due to tightness.

It took Cincinnati less than 90 seconds to create the game’s first great scoring chance. Luciano Acosta beat Pereyra in the mifield and slipped Brenner behind the defense. The shot, however, was sent high over the net as the chance was wasted in the second minute.

Moments later, the Lions turned it over in their own half and Cincinnati attacked down the right, sending a dangerous ball into the box for Brandon Vazquez. Gallese got there at the same time to get a hand to it and a foul blew the play dead seconds later.

Orlando’s first decent foray up the pitch came in the 10th minute after Halliday did well to break up a play inside the corner of the box and then Cartagena gave the slip to two pressing Cincinnati attackers. The ball was sent left to Gonzalez and ended up with Thorhallsson cutting in. He sent a cross in but the defense knocked it behind for a corner. Nothing came of that, nor did the Lions pay off a free kick won by Torres moments later, as Pereyra thumped his delivery off the defensive wall. Torres then smashed the ball wide on the recycled attack.

Brenner got forward on the ball after an Orlando turnover on a throw-in and tried a shot from outside the area but Gallese parried it away in the 23rd minute. Gallese made another diving save in the 29th minute on an Acosta free kick from just outside the left corner of the box.

The final 15 minutes of the first half were mainly spent in the middle third. Orlando struggled to work the ball into dangerous areas and struggled to execute basic plays, like throwing a ball in to a teammate and getting an accurate return pass. The first-half whistle mercifully blew on a scoreless deadlock.

Cincinnati had the bulk of the first-half possession (57.3%-42.7%) and passed more accurately (86.5%-82.9%). While Orlando City attempted more shots (4-3), the visitors got more on target (2-0). The Lions had more corner opportunities (3-0).

“We don’t ignore it,” Pareja said of the offense’s struggles through two matches. “We know, especially with a team that has had a lot of volume these past three years. It’s a number that we’re aiming to improve. We all know and today this feels probably similar to what the New York game was — not too much volume and getting actions in the box. It’s something we need to get better.”

Pareja withdrew Schlegel and Pereyra at halftime, deploying Robin Jansson and Cesar Araujo in their places. However, those changes did little to help Orlando City. The Lions did manage to get the first look at goal, however. Jansson sent a fantastic long ball over the top into the right corner from Halliday. Thorhallsson took a layoff from fullback and fired in the 50th minute but sent his shot over the bar.

A minute later, Cincinnati came within inches of breaking the deadlock when Vazquez hit a shot off the crossbar after taking a good pass from Nwobodo. A shot came back in toward goal just afterwards but Gallese was there to stop it.

Vazquez got his head on a cross near the top of the box moments later but sent his header sailing well wide of the target. A minute later, in the 54th, Smith got burned for pace by Acosta on a diagonal ball from Nwobodo but he sent his shot skipping wide of the far post.

Araujo sent Kara down the left side with a good ball in the 59th minute but the Austrian was outnumbered and without help and was shouldered off the ball as he tried to cross.

Pareja sent Martin Ojeda and Ivan Angulo on for Torres and Kara and the Lions had a spell of possession but didn’t create anything out of it. But that didn’t happen until Angulo nearly gifted Cincinnati a chance by giving up on a play after he thought he’d been fouled but there was no whistle. Cincinnati was offside on the play, bailing the Lions out.

Acosta was denied by another good Gallese save in the 77th minute. The Cincinnati attacker took a pass from Alvaro Barreal. The shot was back against Gallese’s momentum, but he was able to get to it.

Two minutes later, Ojeda teed up a shot from about 25 yards out, but he missed the target.

Vazquez sent another shot dribbling just wide of goal in the 82nd minute. Brenner and Jansson battled and the ball deflected to Vazquez who flicked it toward goal but the spin on it carried it just wide.

That was the last decent look for either side.

The visitors finished with more possession (56.5%-43.5%), shots (11-7), shots on target (4-1), and passing accuracy (88.2%-83.7%). Orlando had more corners (4-1), but the one measley, weak shot on target the Lions got was only one more than the team got (aside from the penalty) last Saturday night.

Simply put, offensively, Orlando City isn’t very good right now. Fortunately, the Lions have Gallese, who posted his second straight clean sheet to start the 2023 campaign.

“I think in terms of the attack, I think we had a little bit of trouble with some of the things that they were doing,” Gonzalez said through a club interpreter. “But I think for the most part we did well and we’re just in a moment where we need to continue improving, continue trying to get that connectivity and that chemistry with each other, and just keep improving the way that we’re able to finish.”

“We played against a good team,” Pareja said. “Cincinnati last year just created trouble for us. We couldn’t beat them. We need to be heavier at front. We need to be heavier, we need to create more volume. We’re gonna be fine. Today I’ll take the point, not proudly, but I’ll take it. It was a challenge because the rival was very hard and they played well.”

The Lions travel to Mexico for Tuesday night’s Concacaf Champions League match-up with Tigres at 10 p.m. before heading on the road to face D.C. United next Saturday.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 4-2 loss in New England.

Published

12 hours ago

on

September 20, 2026

By

Image of Marco Pasalic on the ball against New England.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City seemed in position to come away with a point on the road against a good New England squad, but the Lions fell apart in stoppage time, giving up two goals in the final minutes and losing 4-2.

Here are my five takeaways from the match.

Crépeau Caught Out

Maxime Crépeau was beaten over his head for the only goal of the first half, and initially it looked like he had somehow been chipped from just outside of the box. The play-by-play announcer, who the less is said about the better, indicated that Carles Gil had scored a dipping wondergoal, but after watching the replay, the ball clearly deflected off of David Brekalo and wrong-footed Crépeau. The Canadian perhaps was a foot or two too far off his line regardless, but we will never know if he was well-positioned for the original attempt, since once the ball was deflected, everything changed. The Lions ended up shipping four goals to the Revolution, but of all four, this goal was the one that Crépeau could have done the least about, and it left the Lions down 1-0 for the second straight game.

Speed Kills

This axiom reared its ugly head once again, as New England’s Peyton Miller outran everyone wearing Orlando City gold to score two times on Saturday night. On the first goal, he burst down the left side of the field, and on the second, he went down the right side. On each shot, he beat Crépeau by keeping his shot low toward the opposite side of the goal, placing it well. Orlando City’s fullbacks have decent speed, but the center backs do not, and when the fullbacks get caught up the field, as Zakaria Taifi was on the first goal and Iván Angulo was on the second, the defense is often in serious trouble. Earlier in the game, Angulo was able to use his own speed to beat his man to a loose ball in the box and score in his third consecutive MLS game, but when stoppage time arrived, he looked exhausted and Miller did not, and without any other top-end speed on the field for the Lions, they were punished for their inability to recover quickly enough.

Hey, a Call Went Orlando’s Way

VAR is the name for the video assistant referee. It is also often a three-letter acronym that feels like a four-letter word when it comes to Orlando City, but a call actually went the Lions’ way against New England, even though there were no angles on the broadcast that seemed to show that the referee made a clear and obvious error. The call in question was a handball by Miller, and the referee had to determine whether it was actually a handball and if it was in the box. Surprisingly, the decision went Orlando City’s way on both counts, and at least the “in the box” part appeared correct from the replays shown. Martín Ojeda stepped up and scored his 12th goal in MLS play by converting the ensuing penalty kick. Ojeda is now four for four on penalties this season, and those four goals put him into a tie with Kaká for the second most converted penalties in a single season.by a Lion. It was Ojeda’s second game in a row with a goal in all competitions, so that’s at least a good sign that Orlando’s No. 10 is finding his form.

The Wing(er)s Were Clipped

Martín Perelman went with Marco Pašalić and Tyrese Spicer on the wings to start, and both were mostly anonymous.. The most noteworthy aspect of Spicer’s performance was that the announcer on the broadcast thought that Spicy T was Canadian instead of from Trinidad & Tobago. And, while Pašalić played better in the second half than the first, he just looked out of sorts and like he did not fit with the offense. Harvey Sarajian came on in the second half but did not contribute a ton, and both Angulo and Justin Ellis played some minutes on the wings as well, with only Angulo finding much success. Griffin Dorsey’s back injury forced Angulo to play a lot of minutes as a defender instead of winger and Spicer to start instead of coming off the bench, and that combination was not a good one for the Lions.

No Griezmann, Yes Problem

Orlando City clawed back into a 2-2 tie late in the game, but its two goals came on a pass that was deflected right into Angulo’s path and a penalty kick. The offense did not look good, generating only 1.40 expected goals, and that includes the penalty kick which accounted for 0.77 of that 1.40 (55%). During the rest of the game, the Lions rarely looked threatening, taking fewer than 10 shots, completing 78 fewer passes in the opposition half, garnering 10 fewer touches in the opposition’s box, and just mostly looking disjointed and without a conductor to lead the offensive orchestra. This performance came after a similarly poor one during the portion of the game after Antoine Griezmann was forced off with an injury against Columbus in the U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday, and if the Lions are to get back on a roll after consecutive losses, they need Griezmann to return to full health quickly.

Those are my takeaways from Orlando City’s 4-2 road loss to New England. The Lions fought back to even the game but collapsed in stoppage time and now have a week to recover before a massive six-pointer against a red-hot Philadelphia team next week.

Let us know your thoughts about the New England match in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Final Score 4-2 as Lions Cough Up Two Goals Late in Loss

The Lions came back from 2-0 down to tie the game just before the end of normal time but melted down defensively in stoppage time to spill a point.

Published

23 hours ago

on

September 19, 2026

By

Image of Ivan Angulo firing a shot for a goal against New England.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City was completely outclassed in the opening half at Gillette Stadium tonight but fought back from 2-0 down to pull level with a good second half. However, the pre-World Cup Lions showed up during the 10 added minutes, allowing the New England Revolution (14-8-4, 46 points) to score two late goals and win 4-2 on two wide-open shots.

The loss snapped a five-game unbeaten run in league play for the Lions (10-12-4, 34 points), who will feel they should have come home with at least a point after Ivan Angulo and Martin Ojeda — from the penalty spot — erased a 2-0 second-half deficit just before the end of normal time. But the same transition defense problems that have plagued the team all year showed up when Orlando should have been locking down a hard-fought road point.

Carles Gil and Peyton Miller each bagged a brace in the game to sink an Orlando side that has conceded 14 times in its last five away matches in all competitions.

“Very frustrated, of course, with the result,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “There was a big challenge for us today, because we came here after the game on Wednesday, and facing a team who is doing well in the league — in their stadium — and they had rest during the week; they had a normal week. The context of the game was difficult. We knew that. And taking that into account, I thought we did a very big effort. We made some mistakes, especially in the first half, and then we were able to come back in the second half, compete, tie the game. And then, I think there we have some gaps to improve as a team. We need to close these kinds of games. So, that’s the frustration.”

Perelman’s lineup was without the injured Antoine Griezmann (thigh), with Maxime Crepeau starting in goal behind a back line of Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Angulo, who ended up playing three different positions in the match. Joran Gerbet and Luis Otavio started in central midfield between wingers Tyrese Spicer and Marco Pasalic, with Justin Ellis and Ojeda up top.

Orlando City spent much of the first half on the back foot. New England did well to crowd Orlando’s outlet players and won the ball high with its pressure in the opening 45 minutes. The Lions, as a result, spent a lot of time trying to regain control of the ball and then often turned it over when trying to transition from defense to offense.

Ellis had Orlando’s first sight of goal in the ninth minute, but his shot was well off target from the left side, just outside the area.

Two minutes later, Miller tried a dipping, half-volley shot that didn’t miss by much, fizzing just over Crepeau’s crossbar.

Brooklyn Raines committed an ugly challenge on Ellis to break up a potential counter in the 14th minute, handing Orlando a long-range free kick. The service toward the back side was good, but the ball appeared to take a slight deflection before Jansson could bring it down and shoot on what would have been a wide-open chance. The ball got knocked to the top of the box and Rhein committed a foul to end the threat.

Just moments later, Gil opened the scoring. Gil worked his way from right to left just outside the area, but several Lions failed to close him down. He attempted a shot that deflected unkindly off Brekalo, looped just over Crepeau’s outstretched hand, and fell just under the bar to make it 1-0 in the 19th minute.

Ojeda found himself with an opportunity from the top of the area in the 22nd minute. Taking a layoff from Gerbet, the Argentine fired a shot over Matt Turner, who jumped up and tipped it over the crossbar. Not only did the Lions not pay off the ensuing corner, but Angulo had to hustle back to prevent Dor Turgeman from getting behind the defense for a transition chance.

The Lions had a couple of half chances in the 23rd and 24th minutes. Spicer got to the end line on the first and tried to pull a pass back for Ellis, but instead his attempt found the New England defense. A minute later, a blocked pass fell in the box for Ojeda, who headed it down in front of himself, but the ball bounced too far away on the artificial surface, allowing Turner to collect it.

The Revs took control for most of the rest of the half. Gil was again left unmarked outside the area just seconds after Ojeda’s half-chance, but the Spaniard fired just over the bar.

Orlando worked the ball deep in the 28th minute on the left, with Pasalic trying a low-percentage, tight-angle shot from near the end line, but Turner had no issues with the save.

Turgeman should have doubled the lead in the 35th minute. A cross in from the left went through Brekalo’s legs to a wide-open Turgeman, with Jansson too deep to stop the cross and Rhein struggling to catch up from behind. However, the Revs’ forward sent his shot just wide of the right post.

The Lions quickly turned it over off the ensuing goal kick and Jackson Yueill found Gil, whose shot deflected just wide for the first corner in a series of them as New England kept Orlando penned in its own end.

When the Lions finally got a chance to break in transition again in the 38th minute, Angulo made a mess of trying to switch play, sending his pass right to Turner.

The Revolution went back on the attack and Miller tried an audacious shot from a tight angle on the right. Crepeau got his right hand on it to knock it away. Moments later, Matt Polster tried to carry the ball into Orlando’s box but Gerbet did well to beat him to the spot in the box, where Polster bundled him over, allowing the Lions to take the pressure off with a free kick.

New England kept coming, with Turgeman sending a soft shot at Crepeau and Yueill firing over the bar down the stretch. Brekalo was also forced into some emergency defending, knocking a cross out for a corner and then heading away the ensuing cross on the set piece.

That was the last meaningful action of the half.

New England dominated the stat sheet at halftime, holding the edge in possession (62.2%-37.8%), shots (9-3), shots on target (3-2), passing accuracy (90.3%-84.5%), and corners (6-1). The Lions were fortunate to only be down one goal.

“We tried to improve in terms of using the half space more direct, not committing too much,” Perelman said of his halftime adjustments. “We tried to adjust some defensive things in the low block and in the press, so we adjusted a bunch of things in the half, not only one.

Zakaria Taifi and Eduard Atuesta subbed on for Spicer and Otavio before the restart, moving Angulo to left wing, while the midfield saw a like-for-like change.

It took New England just 25 seconds to win another corner kick in the second half, but Brekalo and Jansson combined to clear the danger.

Taifi tried to make his mark on the game in the ensuing moments, drawing a foul and a yellow card on Will Sands after making a nice hesitation move. The Homegrown fullback then tried to pick out Ojeda in the box but the Argentine was defended well and couldn’t control it in traffic.

The Lions got what they were looking for in the 50th minute but squandered it. Taking the ball away, Orlando had a two-on-one break developing with Angulo and Ojeda. The Colombian, however, muffed his pass and sent it straight to New England’s defender rather than hitting Ojeda with a diagonal that would have seen him in on Turner alone.

Brekalo went on the attack in the 53rd minute when nobody closed him down. The Slovenian center back got to within about eight yards of the 18-yard box and had a go, but he sent his shot fizzing over Turner’s crossbar. A minute later, the Lions forced a quick turnover with numbers forward. Pasalic had the ball on his foot, but he was too indecisive at first and ended up taking a shot that deflected onto the roof of Turner’s net. The ensuing set piece fell to Pasalic in the box, but this time Raines cut out his pass and cleared the danger.

New England doubled the lead in the 59th minute when Angulo lost the ball in the attacking third. Despite appearing to be held, there was no call and the Revs broke the other way in transition. Turgeman turned and sent a ball to Miller, who was blazing down the left channel. Jansson had no chance to catch up to the speedy Miller, who slotted past Crepeau to make it 2-0.

Despite that bad break in what was otherwise a positive spell for Orlando City, the Lions got right back into the attack. Atuesta found space outside the box in the 61st minute and decided to have a go. His rocket had little chance of beating Turner to the near post, but the USMNT goalkeeper couldn’t handle it cleanly, fighting it off with two hands.

A minute later, the Lions cut the lead in half with a well-worked goal. Jansson played the ball to Atuesta near midfield, and the Colombian sent a straight ball to Ojeda ahead of him. Ojeda laid it off for Ellis and continued his run forward. Ellis turned and sent a gorgeous return pass through three defenders to Ojeda, who sent it left off a defender’s foot into Angulo’s path on the left. Angulo fired home to put Orlando on the board in the 62nd minute.

“Very happy with that part and for this run of scoring that I’ve been on,” Angulo said, after scoring in his third consecutive league game. “I’ve been working the same way that I’ve been working before, just getting a little bit more opportunity and getting the ball towards goal a little bit more. So, that’s great. But the thing to do is continue working, continue trying to do my absolute best out on the field every single time, and working together to fix the errors as a team that we committed today, so that way we can go out and get the victory next time out.”

The Revs tried to respond quickly, winning another pair of corners. Brekalo defended the second, which fell outside to New England center back Mamadou Fofana, who sent a shot nowhere near Crepeau’s goal.

Orlando went through another few minutes of continuously turning the ball over in its own end.

Ilay Feingold found Turgeman in front of goal in the 73rd minute but the Israel international could only stab at it and sent it over the goal. Miller’s shot from the right deflected out for yet another New England corner but the Lions handled their business. Crepeau then did well to save Feingold’s shot in the 78th minute and the Revs were offside when recycling the attack.

Miller blasted a shot on goal a minute after that chance but Crepeau made the save.

Orlando then calmed things down and got forward again. Taifi tried to pick out second-half sub Daryl Dike in the box in the 81st minute and nearly connected, but the big striker was trying to fight off a center back and couldn’t control it. A minute later, Gerbet found space just outside the box and fired a shot that Miller blocked. Gerbet and other Lions nearby appealed for a handball, but the initial decision was a free kick just outside the area. The video assistant referee instructed match referee Sergii Boiko to go to the monitor. Boiko ruled the contact with Miller’s arm happened just inside the top of the box and awarded a late penalty.

Ojeda took the spot kick, hesitating just before he got to the ball. That forced Turner to commit first, and the Argentine calmly slotted home to tie the game at 2-2 in the 88th minute.

A match that had started so poorly was improbably tied as stoppage time began. A seemingly generous 10 minutes were added on, but the Lions had been producing the better play down the stretch.

But the roof caved in on the Lions in injury time. The first was a seemingly innocuous play that turned into a breakaway for Miller. Gerbet could have committed a foul to end it before it got going, but he had no way of knowing how much chaos would ensue behind him.

A simple pass to the right ended up as a diagonal ball to Miller, who cut left to right between three Orlando defenders. Jansson made a desperate lunge to get a toe on it but it was out of his reach. Miller slotted past Crepeau for the second time in the 93rd minute to restore New England’s lead.

Chasing the game once again, Orlando got hit again by Gil in the sixth added minute. Raines blazed down the left channel, but Taifi did well to catch up and force him wide. What started as a four-on-three opportunity seemed to evaporate as the Lions started catching up. However, Raines passed into the box on the left to Turgeman, who had both Brekalo and Angulo on him. That left no one on Gil, who was behind Atuesta. A quick square ball from Turgeman to Gil and it was all over.

There weren’t any clear-cut chances for Orlando to try to pull one back, but the match was done and dusted by then anyway.

New England finished with the advantage in possession (53%-47%), shots (16-9), shots on target (7-5), corners (10-3), and passing accuracy (88.4%-85.6%).

“Unfortunately, we couldn’t keep the point,” Perelman said.

I think at this moment we’re left with some conclusions, obviously frustration for the way the game ended,” Angulo said. “It was a tough game, but we knew that it was going to be that way. And you know, at the end, the tie we let escape from us, and it leaves us with a more sour taste in our mouth than we were hoping for.”

The late collapse was reminiscent of the pre-World Cup play by the Lions, who were conceding goals at a record pace before the break due to negligent defending in transition and turnovers in dangerous areas of the pitch.

Orlando City has a normal match week ahead as the Lions’ next match is on the road at Philadelphia a week from tonight. There is an international window during that weekend, so both teams will be missing some key players. Ellis, for example, will be with the USMNT in Orlando on that day.

Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions head to New England on short rest with a tough task against the Revs…possibly without Antoine Griezmann.

Published

2 days ago

on

September 19, 2026

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Welcome to your match preview and live thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (10-11-4, 34 points) and the New England Revolution (13-8-4, 43 points) at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). This is the second meeting between the two MLS Eastern Conference rivals this season, and the first of the two league matches in 2026. The Revs are scheduled to make the return trip to Orlando on Decision Day, Nov. 7.

Here’s what you need to know for the match.

History

The Lions are 6-7-8 in the regular-season series against New England and 8-8-8 in all competitions. On the road, Orlando City is just 2-6-2 against the Revs in the MLS regular season and 3-6-2 in all away matches.

The most recent meeting between the teams took place in U.S. Open Cup play on April 29 at Centreville Bank Stadium in Pawtucket, RI, with Orlando City coming from behind three times and eventually winning 4-3. It barely counts as a game against the Revs, who rotated heavily and played a lot of prospects in the match, not even dressing several of the team’s top players. Malcolm Fry, Andrew Farrell, and Marcos Zambrano each gave New England the lead in the game, but the Lions fought back on strikes from Iago, Griffin Dorsey, and Justin Ellis. Zakaria Taifi scored the winner in stoppage time.

The two clubs’ last meeting in the regular season also took place in New England, but it was at Gillette Stadium, the Revs’ usual home. Martin Ojeda’s brace led the Lions to a 2-1 victory on July 19, 2025 — just the team’s second road win in the series. Thomas Chancalay scored for New England.

The first match between the sides last year was a wild 3-3 draw in Orlando on May 10. The Lions squandered two leads in that match, including a 2-0 advantage. Ojeda scored Orlando’s first hat trick since 2015 in that game, but those three goals were offset by strikes by Alhassan Yusuf, Matt Polster, and Carles Gil. One of Ojeda’s goals and Gil’s strike were penalties.

Prior to that, the teams met on Sept. 14, 2024, with the Lions completing their first-ever sweep of the Revs with a 3-0 win. Rafael Santos, Facundo Torres (from the penalty spot), and Duncan McGuire provided the offense in a dominant performance. The teams also met on July 13 at Gillette Stadium that year, where the Lions won for the first time, handing the Revs a 3-1 home loss. Torres’ brace led the way to an Orlando comeback, with Ramiro Enrique also scoring to overturn an early 1-0 deficit provided by Giacomo Vrioni.

The teams met in Orlando on Oct. 7, 2023, with the Lions winning 3-2 in a game that wasn’t as close as the score indicates. Orlando City clinched second in the Eastern Conference as McGuire and Torres built a 2-0 lead. Pedro Gallese gave up a soft goal from distance to Gil, but Ivan Angulo pulled that one back three minutes later. Gil added a second goal deep in stoppage time to provide a cosmetic improvement to the result for the Revs.

New England got the better of the Lions in the previous matchup of the 2023 season, winning 3-1 at Gillette Stadium on June 17. After a scoreless first half, the Revs went up by two with goals from Emmanuel Boateng and Gustavo Bou 18 minutes apart. McGuire pulled one back late, but Gil scored the dagger five minutes later.

These teams met at Exploria Stadium on Aug. 6, 2022, and the previously struggling Revolution whipped Orlando City, 3-0. New England got goals from unlikely sources, as central midfielders Polster and Wilfrid Kaptoum and center back Henry Kessler provided the offense. The teams met at Gillette Stadium on June 15 of that year, and the Revs went ahead on a Gil goal, but the Lions pulled that back with a Robin Jansson strike en route to a 1-1 road draw.

New England went unbeaten in the 2021 season series. The teams played to a 2-2 draw at Exploria Stadium on Oct. 24, 2021. The Lions built a 2-0 lead through goals by Nani and Daryl Dike, but two late Adam Buksa goals allowed the Revs to steal a point. The teams met at Gillette Stadium just over a month prior to that draw in Orlando, with Nani’s missed penalty a costly one in a 2-1 Revs home win. The Revolution jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a goal by Buksa and an own goal off of Rodrigo Schlegel. Dike pulled one back for the Lions and later won a penalty, but Matt Turner read Nani’s attempt to go down the middle at the last second and got his shoulder to it to preserve the lead.

The Revolution ended the Lions’ season at Exploria Stadium in the 2020 playoffs, knocking Orlando City out of MLS Cup contention in the conference semifinal round on Nov. 29, 2020. That 3-1 win by the Revs was the first road win for either side in the series in any competition. Gil put the Revs up early from the penalty spot after a call against Uri Rosell, and Bou doubled the lead eight minutes later, finishing a play that started with a Nani turnover. Junior Urso pulled a goal back before the halftime whistle, but Mauricio Pereyra was sent off for a studs-up challenge on Polster at the hour mark. Still, Nani had a chance to equalize from the spot, but Turner saved his poor penalty. Bou added a late insurance goal.

In the final year of the pre-pandemic times, the Revs went 1-0-1 in the season series. The Lions and Revolution met at Exploria Stadium on Sept. 14, 2019, with Orlando overcoming a Tesho Akindele own goal and two deficits — the second by two goals — and rallying for a 3-3 draw. Shortly after Akindele’s own goal opened the scoring, Nani tied things up. Cristian Penilla and Bou scored goals five minutes apart just before halftime to seemingly give the visitors control. But Dom Dwyer pulled one back after the restart and Nani tied it up.

The teams also met at Gillette Stadium in 2019 on July 27, and the Revs put the Lions on full blast, 4-1. Bou scored within the first two minutes of the game, and the Revolution got goals from Penilla, Gil, and Diego Fagundez. Akindele scored to avoid the shutout.

The clubs met at Exploria Stadium in U.S. Open Cup action that year on June 19, with the Lions scoring twice in a 30-minute extra time session and holding on for a 2-1 victory. Benji Michel and Akindele staked Orlando to a 2-0 lead before Justin Rennicks pulled one back off a Gil back-post cross. City was able to see the game out.

The last meeting of 2018 saw the Revs top a depleted Orlando side, 2-0 in Gillette Stadium on Oct. 13. In the first matchup of 2018, the teams combined for six goals in a 3-3 draw at Orlando City Stadium on Aug. 4.

Orlando City and New England split the season series in 2017. City completed a 6-1 demolition of 10-man New England at home Sept. 27, 2017. New England won at Gillette Stadium that year by a 4-0 count.

The Lions went 1-0-2 in the series in 2016, winning 3-1 at home on July 31. The teams played a controversial 2-2 draw in Orlando on April 17, 2016. The second 2016 meeting reached the same final score on April 30 in New England.

The teams met twice in 2015, with Orlando City rallying from a 2-0 deficit in the final 17 minutes to draw 2-2 at the Citrus Bowl in April. The Sept. 5 rematch at Gillette Stadium didn’t go as well, with New England taking a 3-0 win. Fagundez, Agudelo and Chris Tierney scored for the Revolution.

Overview

Orlando City is coming off a 2-1 road loss in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals Wednesday at Columbus. The Lions fell behind early, equalized before the half, but conceded again moments after Antoine Griezmann sustained a knock, and Orlando never seriously challenged when the Frenchman left the game after the goal. With a first-choice squad used in the midweek, the Lions are on short rest and must either rotate or play the starters on artificial turf on the road with only a couple of days of recovery.

The Lions have won their last two games in New England, but those are exceptions to what has been the rule since they joined Major League Soccer. Orlando is just 3-7-2 away from home in league play and struggled in all three road matches it played in the U.S. Open Cup (two one-goal wins against lineups the Lions should have handled easily and the loss to the Crew). City has conceded 10 goals in its last four matches on the road in all competitions.

Making matters worse is Griezmann’s knock makes him questionable and the Designated Player is the hottest player in MLS, having scored in five consecutive matches.

The Revolution, on the other hand, are 8-2-2 at home in 2026 and are are coming off consecutive 2-1 road wins over the Chicago Fire and New York City FC. However, the Revs are 0-1-1 in their last two at Gillette Stadium after their hot start.

Orlando City will have to find Gil wherever he goes and keep him marked, otherwise it could be a big night for New England. The Spaniard leads MLS in key passes (69) and leads his club in goals (10), assists (8), and total goal contributions (18). Israeli forward Dor Turgeman, just 22 years old, has also been a weapon for the Revolution, scoring seven goals and adding five assists. Peyton Miller has chipped in five goals and four assists. Oh, and Lion killer Daniel Gazdag has joined the Revs recently, too.

The Lions will be without Braian Ojeda (foot) and Iago (suspension), while Griezmann (thigh) and Griffin Dorsey (back) are questionable. New England will be missing Leo Campana (lower body), Jack Harrison (quad), and Alhassan Yusuf (hamstring), while Luca Langoni (thigh) is questionable. 

Match Content

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Ivan Angulo.

Midfielders: Tyrese Spicer, Joran Gerbet, Luis Otavio, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Justin Ellis.

Bench: Javier Otero, Vinicius Nogueira, Zakaria Taifi, Adrian Marin, Wilder Cartagena, Eduard Atuesta, Tiago, Harvey Sarajian, Daryl Dike.

New England Revolution (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: Matt Turner.

Defenders: Will Sands, Mamadou Fofana, Ethan Kohler, Matt Polster.

Midfielders: Jackson Yueill, Brooklyn Raines, Carles Gil.

Forwards: Daniel Gazdag, Dor Turgeman, Peyton Miller.

Bench: JD Gunn, Tanner Beason, Ilay Feingold, Joshua Wynder, Cody Baker, Diego Fagundez, Wilson Harris, Marcos Zambrano, Judah Siqueira.

Referees

REF: Sergii Boiko.
AR1: Lyes Arfa.
AR2: Mike Nickerson.
4TH: Brad Jensen.
VAR: David Barrie.
AVAR: Craig Lowry.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Gillette Stadium — Foxborough, MA.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the match. Go City!

Continue Reading

Trending