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Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC, U.S. Open Cup: Final Score 1-0 as Lions Crash Out of the Competition

The Lions continued to fail miserably at getting the ball on target and to avoid crippling mistakes in their own end.

Published

3 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City will not repeat as U.S. Open Cup champions. The Lions crashed meekly out of the competition in their first match without even getting one lousy shot on target in a 1-0 loss to Charlotte FC at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews, NC. Kamil Jozwiak came off the bench to score the game’s only goal off a costly giveaway deep in his own end by fullback Mikey Halliday.

Three nights after getting just two shots on frame at Montreal, the Lions couldn’t even get one out of 11 attempts within the perimeter of the goal mouth. Charlotte mustered only six attempts all night but got four of them on frame and managed to get one past Mason Stajduhar to pick up the win.

“We came with the highest intentions to defend the cup, and obviously advance, but it was not like that,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “The game was just getting us frustrated with the options that we had to tie it up and just making a mistake that was costly. We couldn’t get the result and we’re very disappointed.”

Pareja ran out a mixed starting XI, including Stajduhar in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Halliday. Cesar Araujo and Felipe played in the central midfield behind an attacking line of Gaston Gonzalez, Facundo Torres, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, with Duncan McGuire up top.

The first half was just about unwatchable from a spectator’s point of view. The game was often plodding, and neither side did much with the ball — especially Orlando. The Lions were content with trying to stay organized and looking for opportunities to counter, but then rarely moved the ball quickly or accurately enough when they regained possession. Meanwhile, the hosts were kicking the ball around a lot but not producing anything from it.

Orlando City’s best opportunity came four minutes in, when Torres slipped Thorhallsson into the area but the Icelandic midfielder took an extra touch and then was dispossessed by the arriving defense without getting a shot off.

The best chance for either side in the first half came at 13 minutes, when McKinze Gaines blew past Santos and fired from a tight angle. Stajduhar was there to make a good reaction save and the ball skipped through the six-yard box and out for a goal kick before any Charlotte attackers could arrive.

Charlotte and Orlando got a bit chippy at times, with Brandt Bronico booked for a heavy challenge on Felipe and Araujo booked for a fairly innocuous arm up on an aerial in the attacking penalty box. Former Lion Justin Meram got into a shoving match with McGuire in the aftermath of the booking but nothing came of what amounted to just a lot of bluster.

Felipe went down with a knock in the 43rd minute and took his shoe off but quickly put it back on and soldiered through to halftime while noticeably limping in order to save his team a substitution window. Wilder Cartagena came on for him after the break.

That was about it for a dull opening 45 minutes.

Charlotte finished the first half with more possession (60.2%-39.8%), passing accuracy (84.3%-80%), and shots on target (1-0), with Orlando earning more corners (3-2), and both teams attempting one shot in the opening 45 minutes. It was not the kind of game you show a friend to get them excited about the game of soccer.

The hosts came out of the locker room swarming to try to grab the lead. Jaylin Lindsey’s cross found Enzo Copetti in front of goal and Stajduhar made the save of the match to get his hand on the powerful header in the opening minute of the second half.

It took Orlando a few minutes of withstanding set pieces and recycled attacking crosses into the area before the Lions could settle into the second 45 minutes. McGuire was nearly sent in behind in the 50th minute but Kristijan Kahlina quickly came out of his box to head the ball away.

McGuire thought he’d scored in the 57th minute but the whistle blew for a foul on the Orlando rookie striker. The play came from another good long ball, as McGuire tried to get to the outside around defender Jan Sobocinski. The Charlotte center back appeared to lose his balance before any contact was made, and McGuire slotted his shot just inside the right post. McGuire did get a hand to Sobocinski’s shoulder, but hardly was able to use the defender as leverage, but that didn’t matter because the ref saw a foul there. It might have made for an interesting video review had there been VAR in the match, although it’s hard to say that there was an error that was clear and obvious (whatever that even means).

The game turned in Charlotte’s favor in the 70th minute on an unnecessary turnover. Halliday tried to head a pass backward but didn’t get any power to it and turned it over to Karol Swiderski. Schlegel tried to put out the fire by fouling Swiderski, but the ball was picked up by Kamil Jozwiak, who beat Araujo to it. Jansson stepped up and got a foot on the ball, but it took an unlucky bounce after the contact, and Jozwiak was suddenly behind the defense with the ball, chipping it over Stajduhar for the opening goal.

“First of all, we have to get rid of the ball and don’t put us in situations like that,” Jansson said. Just kick the ball away and just go for the next ball. I think their striker got it and went to the center of the field. I came in, in the PK box, and I tried to do everything not to cause a penalty but then it bounced back to him — how you say, the feet against the feet — then he luckily got the bounce with him. So yeah, it’s it’s a bad one.”

Orlando City should have pulled the goal right back when Derrick Jones lost control of the ball in front of his own net moments later. The ball found McGuire in front with a ton of space to shoot but he rushed his shot, got his feet all wrong, and missed what should have been an easy sitter in the 72nd minute. Just a minute later, second-half sub Ivan Angulo lifted a cross through the area that should have given fellow substitute Martin Ojeda an easy header at the back post, but the pass was too high.

In the 82nd minute, a long throw from Araujo skipped to the feet of Torres. The Uruguayan fired wide as the inexplicable run of misses continued.

As time wound down, Angulo sent a low shot in that deflected out off of McGuire and moments later the winger fired again but sent his effort sailing over the bar on yet another wasteful attempt.

The final whistle was typical of the game. Kahlina had a goal kick, took nearly 30 seconds setting it up, and the ref blew the whistle at precisely the four minutes of stoppage time he’d given. That was the 2023 U.S. Open Cup as far as Orlando City is concerned.

Orlando finished with more possession (50.5%-49.5%), shots (11-6), and passing accuracy (80.8%-79.5%). Both teams won four corners. But the telling statistic was shots on target, where Charlotte held a 4-0 advantage, and once again the Lions are left wondering how they can at least worry a goalkeeper once in a while.

“It’s a frustrating one and yeah, it has to be better than that,” Jansson said of the team’s performance.

“At this point it is difficult with a speech to fix the things,” Pareja said when asked what he told his team after the match. “I think we have to absorb it. We are a professional soccer club and we are professionals that need to think first. We need to calm down. We have a turnaround pretty quick. We have a game in three days, and if you want it or not, we have to rescue all the good things that we had in the game.”

The Lions will continue their road trip after a brief stop home, visiting the Columbus Crew on Saturday night.

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew, U.S. Open Cup: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

The Lions and Crew renew acquaintances with a spot in the U.S. Open Cup final on the line.

Published

4 hours ago

on

September 16, 2026

By

Image of Robin Jansson playing the ball in Columbus.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread for a Wednesday night U.S. Open Cup semifinal matchup between Orlando City and the Columbus Crew at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field (7:30 p.m., CBS Sports Network, Paramount+). This is the second meeting between the two Eastern Conference rivals this season and the second time the clubs have met in U.S. Open Cup competition in series history. The Lions and Crew are scheduled to meet once more in the regular season in Orlando on Oct. 10.

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

History

The Lions are 10-8-6 in the all-time, regular-season series and 3-5-3 on the road in MLS play. Orlando City is 11-9-6 overall against the Crew in all competitions, which includes a home loss in the playoffs and a home win in the U.S. Open Cup.

The last time these teams met was early this season, a 1-1 draw in Columbus on April 12. It looked like Marco Pasalic’s early goal would stand up until Lion killer Diego Rossi struck with 10 minutes remaining in normal time. Orlando City earned its first road point of the season that night and its first away point under interim head coach Martin Perelman.

In last year’s series, Orlando City hosted Columbus on Oct. 4, 2025, at Inter&Co Stadium. The Crew struck just past the half-hour mark through Andres Herrera, but Pasalic slammed home the rebound of a Luis Muriel shot two minutes later. That was all the scoring in a wasteful 1-1 draw for Orlando. The first meeting of 2025 took place July 25 in Columbus just prior to the Leagues Cup break. The Crew took the lead on Rossi’s spot kick shortly after the hour mark after Pasalic was called for a handball in the box. Ramiro Enrique struck 10 minutes later and again three minutes after that to turn the game around. Martin Ojeda added an insurance goal in stoppage time as the Lions won 3-1.

The two sides faced each other in Columbus on Sept. 21, 2024 in a wild back-and-forth game, with the Crew winning 4-3. Rossi, Christian Ramirez, and Cucho Hernandez staked Columbus to a comfortable 3-0 lead by the 71st minute, and the game seemed over. But Enrique’s goal three minutes after Hernandez scored sparked the Lions, who added a Muriel penalty goal to make it a match again. Miscommunication and a poor back pass from Felipe led to a turnover that allowed Aziel Jackson to score in transition, making it 4-2. Muriel scored late in stoppage time, but the Lions ran out of clock and couldn’t complete the comeback.

The teams opened the 2024 season series against each other on May 25. As has been the case with so many matches between Orlando and Columbus over the years, there was controversy in the Crew’s 2-0 win in Orlando. The opening goal came in the second half on a penalty kick that was awarded upon video review following a penalty call at the other end of the pitch. Referee Jair Marrufo awarded the Lions a penalty for a foul on Steven Moreira against Muriel in the box late in the first half. Before Orlando could take the spot kick, Marrufo went to the monitor and ignored a blatant foul by Rossi in the buildup, ruling it a different attacking phase, despite the Lions never regaining clear control of the ball before the next attack, in which the referee ruled a routine shirt pull by Cesar Araujo — embellished significantly by Aidan Morris falling away from the direction of the tug — was clear-cut enough to wipe out the penalty seconds later at the other end. Rossi converted the penalty in first-half stoppage time, adding a second goal just past the hour mark.

The meeting between the teams with the biggest stakes came in the 2023 MLS Eastern Conference semifinals on Nov. 25, 2023. The teams played scoreless through the 90 minutes plus injury time, with Orlando City defender Rodrigo Schlegel getting sent off late with a second yellow card. The Crew were able to bundle home a goal in extra time and add an insurance marker for a 2-0 win en route to an eventual MLS Cup championship. Ramirez and Hernandez scored for the Crew.

The teams played a memorable game at Exploria Stadium on Sept. 16, 2023, with Orlando coming from behind to snatch a stunning 4-3 victory at the death. Julian Gressel gave Columbus an early lead that held up through the first half. Ojeda equalized just after the restart, but Rossi and Hernandez staked the Crew to a two-goal lead. Facundo Torres pulled one back and Enrique bagged his first MLS brace, with a goal just a few minutes from the end of normal time and another late in stoppage.

The teams met in Columbus on May 13, 2023, playing to a 2-2 draw. Orlando City fell behind 2-0 by halftime on goals by Darlington Nagbe and Jacen Russell-Rowe, but Ercan Kara pulled one back just a few minutes after the restart, and Duncan McGuire leveled the game in stoppage time.

The sides faced each other in Orlando on Decision Day 2022, with City erasing a 1-0 deficit from a Derrick Etienne Jr. goal to win 2-1 and clinch a playoff spot. Junior Urso leveled the game in the second half and Torres struck from the penalty spot late. The meeting in Columbus that year took place on April 16, 2022, with the Lions winning 2-0 on goals by Schlegel and Kara.

The 2021 season series concluded on Oct. 27 in Columbus with the Crew winning 3-2. Columbus had lost five straight to Orlando prior to Lucas Zelarayan’s one-goal, two-assist performance. Miguel Berry and Etienne also scored for the Crew. Daryl Dike pulled a goal back from the spot and Robin Jansson struck late, but it wasn’t enough.

The teams met at Exploria Stadium on Sept. 4, 2021, with the Lions winning 3-2. Orlando built a 2-0 lead on goals by Dike and Silvester van der Water, but a bizarre own goal by Antonio Carlos threw the Crew a lifeline, and a Berry equalizer turned the game around. Urso provided a nice game winner in the 69th minute.

City won the only meeting of the 2020 pandemic season when the 10-man Lions got a late Benji Michel goal to defeat the Crew 2-1 on Nov. 4. Chris Mueller gave Orlando the lead, but Harrison Afful was able to equalize just moments after referee Ramy Touchan sent off Nani on a ludicrous call that was overturned by the MLS independent panel a few days later. Thanks to Michel’s goal, the officiating error didn’t end up costing the Lions, who clinched their first-ever MLS playoff spot with the win.

The Lions swept the season series in 2019, defeating the Crew 1-0 on July 13, 2019, and two weeks previously getting their first road win in the series, 2-0.

Orlando won 2-1 on Oct. 21, 2018 to start a five-game winning streak against the Crew on a pair of penalty kick goals. Yoshimar Yotún and Sacha Kljestan provided the spot kicks to offset Federico Higuain’s opening goal.

The last Crew win in the series prior to the Orlando winning streak was assisted by a horror call by Silviu Petrescu in the 88th minute on July 21, 2018, giving Columbus an equalizer from the penalty spot. Wil Trapp then scored the kind of goal in stoppage time that he’ll probably never score again to lift the Crew to a 3-2 victory in a game the Lions had stolen away from them on a call that Petrescu’s own organization said was an error.

Columbus got the better of Orlando in 2017, going 2-0-1. The Lions were 0-1-1 against Columbus in 2016 and 1-1-1 in the series in 2015, with a home U.S. Open Cup win that season against the Crew as well.

Overview

Orlando City enters tonight on its best streak of the season, having won three consecutive games and going unbeaten in its last five (4-0-1). That includes Saturday’s 3-0 home win over Toronto FC. Antoine Griezmann scored in his fifth straight match to open the scoring, with Harvey Sarajian and Ivan Angulo providing some late breathing room.

The Lions got to this game before the World Cup break with narrow wins on the road against FC Naples (1-0 on April 15) and a heavily rotated New England Revolution side (4-3 on April 29). Orlando City finally hosted a game in the competition in the quarterfinals, crushing Atlanta United 4-1 on May 19. Tiago and Griffin Dorsey are Orlando City’s leading goal scorers in this year’s tournament with two goals apiece. The Lions have also gotten one goal each from Tyrese Spicer and Justin Ellis, along with less likely candidates Iago, Zakaria Taifi, and David Brekalo.

Orlando is 3-7-2 on the road in MLS play and 5-7-2 away in all competitions (6-7-2 if you count the win over Monterrey in Leagues Cup that was played in Inter.co Stadium although the Lions were designated as the road team).

Columbus enters tonight on the heels of a pair of narrow, one-goal defeats, including Saturday’s 1-0 loss at home to the New York Red Bulls. The Crew were last in the Eastern Conference not long ago but have played more competitively since the restart after the World Cup break. That includes reaching the knockout stages in Leagues Cup and climbing a couple of places in the MLS table. The Crew opened their U.S. Open Cup campaign with a 3-0 road win over the Richmond Kickers of USL League One on April 15 before returning home and clobbering One Knoxville SC — also of USL League One — 4-1 on April 29. Competition for Columbus got tougher in the quarterfinal round with the Crew edging New York City FC 1-0 at home on May 20.

Hugo Picard, currently on loan with Troyes in France’s Ligue 1, leads Columbus in scoring in this competition with three goals. Jamal Thiare and Homegrown Chase Adams have a goal apiece, as do former Crew players Daniel Gazdag (now with New England) and Max Arfsten (now with Middlesbrough in England).

The Crew are 5-6-2 in league play in 2026 and 9-6-3 at home in all competitions.

For Orlando to get a result and advance to the semifinals, it must figure out ways to stop leaking goals on the road. The Lions have conceded eight times in their last three away matches. Perelman was able to get Robin Jansson and Dorsey a full game of rest on Saturday, while left back Bernardo Rhein entered in the second half and Brekalo exited early. That freshness could be the difference.

Projected Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Eduard Atuesta, Joran Gerbet, Justin Ellis.

Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Antoine Griezmann.

Columbus Crew (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Patrick Schulte.

Defenders: Brooks Lennon, Malte Amundsen, Sean Zawadski, Steven Moreira.

Midfielders: Lautaro Giaccone, Tarun Karumanchi, Dylan Chambost, Mohamed Farsi.

Forwards: Brais Mendez, Santiago Rodriguez.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Scotts Miracle-Gro Field — Columbus, OH.

TV/Streaming: CBS Sports Network, Paramount+.

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!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 9/16/26

Orlando City’s Open Cup match day, the Summer of Maxime Crepeau, USMNT news, and more.

Published

7 hours ago

on

September 16, 2026

By

Image of Maxime Crepeau taking a goal kick against Atlanta.
Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. It’s match day as Orlando City looks to advance to the final of the 2026 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup. If the Lions are able to win tonight, they will host the final at Inter.co Stadium. That is something I’d greatly like to see again. Hopefully, Orlando City can continue the good run of form for at least another match. For now, let’s get to the links.

Orlando’s Open Cup Continues

Antione Griezmann got a whole 25 minutes or so of rest in the match against Toronto FC. As such, I know he will be fully rested for the U.S. Open Cup match against the Columbus Crew. Orlando City is one victory away from playing for a second Open Cup trophy. St. Louis City and the Colorado Rapids play in the other semifinal match. Orlando City and the Columbus Crew are both looking for a second title in the competition.

Summer of Crepeau

Maxime Crepeau has professionally had a great summer since the World Cup began. He was the starting goalkeeper for Canada and acquitted himself well. Upon returning to Orlando City, he has been one of the best players on the team. He did, sadly, lose his father earlier this month, and as such, he wasn’t called up for Canada’s fall friendlies. As tough a time as it must be for Crepeau, he has performed admirably for Orlando City.

Orlando Pride News

The Orlando Pride maintained their 11th place in the standings and in the Goal.com NWSL power rankings. Of course, the future is brighter thank to the Pride signing Barbra Banda through 2029. On the back of that good news, season ticket memberships for 2027 are now on sale. Marta made an appearance in the latest match, and she and former Pride striker Alex Morgan, along with Crystal Dunn, sent an open letter to FIFA asking the organization to line up the U-20 Women’s World Cup with the international calendar.

USMNT News

U.S. Soccer has selected TQL Stadium in Cincinnati to host the home leg of the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinal round in November. The opponent will be determined following the conclusion of the Concacaf Nations League group stage League A matches. Unfortunately, Diego Luna won’t be available for selection, as he will be out for months due to a knee injury that may require surgery. Over in Europe, other USMNT players are getting ready for the Europa League competition.

Free Kicks

That will do it for today. You can follow The Mane Land on Bluesky for live match updates, and we will also have a recap of the match tonight. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City

PawedCast Episode 551: Toronto Rewind, Crew and Revs Previews, OCB, and More

The Lions took care of Toronto and now face the Crew in USOC and the Revs on the road.

Published

1 day ago

on

September 15, 2026

By

Image of Harvey Sarajian celebrating his first MLS goal.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City picked up its second consecutive home shutout win and third win on the bounce, extending its unbeaten run in the process with a 3-0 blanking of Toronto FC on Saturday. It was an important win, as the Lions had to rotate some players to prepare for Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup semifinal match at Columbus, and the kids were more than all right. So was Antoine Griezmann, who scored for the fifth consecutive match, leading to a halftime advantage. Harvey Sarajian and Ivan Angulo put the game to bed late, but there were other good opportunities and although they went wanting, so did all of Toronto’s chances.

We break down a solid home win over a streaking Toronto club, look back at our score predictions, and make our selections for Man of the Match.

Our mailbagbox asked us about Griezmann, our go-to, fast-casual Mexican food orders,Tiago, and more. Remember, if there’s anything — and we do mean anything — you want us to address on the show, just ask us by tweeting it to us at @TheManeLand with the hashtag #AskTMLPC, or hitting us up on Bluesky Social with that same hashtag.

After the mailbagbox, we discuss OCB’s home win over Toronto FC II on Sunday, in which Sarajian made it two straight nights with a goal in a professional soccer match. He chipped in an assist on Sunday for good measure as the Young Lions won 3-1 and climbed into a playoff position with one match remaining. OCB can finish anywhere from third to 11th in the Eastern Conference standings depending on Decision Day results Sunday, but a win over Atlanta United 2 would ensure a postseason berth.

Finally, we look ahead to two more opponents this week. The Lions will face the Crew on the road, where wins aren’t easy to come by. That game could lead to a home USOC final match if things go well, but the Crew have improved and will be a difficult out. The Lions will then proceed to New England to face a rejuvenated Revolution side that currently occupies third spot in the Eastern Conference. That match takes place in the house of horrors they call Gillette Stadium. We provide our key matchups and score predictions for the latter after reviewing the series history against both clubs.

Be sure to rate and review our show wherever you get your podcasts. Remember, we’ll read any five-star reviews we get on Apple Podcasts on the next show.

If you’d like to support our independent writing and podcasting efforts, we’d love to have you as a subscriber or donor over at our Buy Me a Coffee site.

Here’s how No. 551 went down:

0:15 – Orlando City extended its streak at the expense of Toronto’s.

20:54 – The mailbagbox has had its expectations exceeded.

33:15 – OCB rolls into Decision Day while the senior Lions prepare for two massive matches in the team’s pursuit of a trophy and a playoff spot.

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