HARRISON, NJ — Orlando City was back on the road this weekend in the city that never sleeps (or at least in the general vicinity), taking on a familiar foe for the second time this season, and I was fortunate enough to be there in person. The Lions opened up the 2023 Major League Soccer season with a win against the Red Bulls and continued their great form on the road this season with a 3-0 win over New York on Saturday. Here are my five takeaways from a great away-from-home victory.

Familiar Faces

Head Coach Oscar Pareja utilized the same starting 11 for consecutive matches for the first time this season and the team chemistry that has been developing over the last few weeks was on full display. Orlando is still fighting through some injuries and players missing time for international duty, but it appears that Pareja has found a formation and combination of players that is starting to consistently produce the types of results most felt like the team would be capable of to start the season.

Angulo’s Speed A Big Problem

Winger Ivan Angulo has never been shy about taking on opponents in the open field. Saturday evening his tool kit was on full display as he literally and figuratively ran circles around the opposition. In the 18th minute of the match, Angulo found himself on the end of an absolutely beautiful through ball from Wilder Cartagena, sprinted into the box, and made an outstanding cut back to dodge Dylan Nealis before snipping the ball into the back of the net for the first goal of the match and his third of the season. It was a wonderful effort in a game that saw Angulo win the club’s Man of the Match award, but the goal wasn’t his only contribution to the scoresheet. The speedy winger also contributed an assist in the 72nd minute, as Angulo did most of the heavy lifting for Facundo Torres’ second goal. He used his pace to blast past Frankie Amaya in transition to get onto Martin Ojeda’s transition ball, drew defenders toward him, and found Torres with a well-placed pass on Orlando’s third goal.

Welcome Back, Facu!

It had been a sluggish start to the season for Young Designated Player Facundo Torres, coming off the heels of a first MLS campaign which saw the young star take the league by storm. Lofty expectations have been thrust onto the Uruguayan midfielder, and for most of this season Torres has fallen short of what many believed he was capable of. Against a team that Torres loves to score against, he doubled his season total for goals scored and at least for the night looked to be back playing at a pace and with a quality we have all grown to expect. Only time will tell if his brace against New York is the true turning point of the season, but at least for now it appears that Orlando’s star is back shining.

A Series of Fortunate Events

The Lions started the second half with a one-goal lead, and thanks to a series of fortunate events to start the second half found themselves with some breathing room in the match. Orlando quickly went up a man just two minutes after the break, as Andres Reyes was sent off for picking up a second yellow card for a professional foul when Ercan Kara did well to control an aerial ball and got behind the defense on the left side. Reyes pulled Kara back to break up the counterattack, which is always going to draw a booking. Orlando City then got an opportunity to score an insurance goal when referee Victor Rivas was instructed by the VAR to take a second look at a play in the box and saw that Sean Nealis had dragged down Robin Jansson just as the ball was arriving. Rivas correctly awarded Orlando City a penalty kick, and Torres blasted the PK into the back of the net. Seemingly in the blink of an eye, two (correct) calls completed changed the trajectory of the match. The work of Kara and Jansson to get into those positions created those calls.

Road Lions Pounce Again

Orlando City has put together some excellent results on the road this season, and while some may still feel that a 2-1 away win earlier in the year against the Philadelphia Union to be the best road result of the year, I would strongly consider the thumping of the Red Bulls in northern New Jersey to usurp that as the best road result thus far. It was a total team effort at a point in the season where Orlando truly needed this type of result. The team has talked in recent weeks about how they feel they have the quality when they take the pitch but that the results have been lagging behind as the boys have had to settle for a few late draws. They would leave no question unanswered against a Red Bulls defense that had only allowed 10 goals on the season entering the match. It was a resounding road effort which the team will hopefully continue to build upon.

---

Those are my big takeaways from a great win on the road and a match that I will surely be rewatching multiple times this week. Let us know in the comments below what stood out to you the most!

Facundo Torres scored a brace — getting one of his goals from the penalty spot — after Ivan Angulo opened the scoring, and the two wingers led Orlando City to a 3-0 win over the New York Red Bulls at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ. The Lions (6-4-5, 23 points) extended their unbeaten streak to five games (2-0-3), improved to 4-1-2 on the road, and beat the Red Bulls (4-6-7, 19 points) for the fourth consecutive match in all competitions.

Angulo’s first-half goal was the difference at halftime but just after the restart, the hosts had a player sent off, then conceded a penalty, and New York finished with nine men after using all five substitutions due to Lewis Morgan picking up an injury.

“It’s a great victory for our team. We needed something like that at this stage of the season,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “We’re still finding ways to get better, but when you look back and see how we have overcome moments…today was another good example of the character of the players. And under that discipline and cohesiveness with the players on the field, we found our ways to score in the right moments and beat a difficult rival that never gave up. So we’re very happy with the victory.”

It was Pareja’s 50th win as Orlando City’s coach in all competitions.

Pareja’s lineup was the same as last weekend vs. Atlanta, featuring Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena continued their central midfield partnership behind an attacking line of Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Torres, while Ercan Kara led the attack up top.

The first half was a complete rock fight, with neither side getting much done in the first 15 minutes. New York had the better of the play, however, with Gallese getting caught far from his net in the 12th minute, but the defense was able to clear the centering pass. Two minutes later, New York got forward when Carlos took a forearm in the back and went down. When no call came, Dru Yearwood raced forward and got to the ball at the end line, but Gallese blocked his tight-angle shot out for a corner.

The Lions opened the scoring in the 18th minute. Defender John Tolkin got caught high up the pitch and Orlando made the hosts pay. Cartagena unlocked the defense with a through ball for Angulo to run onto. The Colombian dribbled in, avoided a sliding challenge attempt from Dylan Nealis, and fired home with his left foot for his third goal of the season.

Ivan Angulo puts it away to give @OrlandoCitySC the lead!

Watch live for free on #MLSSeasonPass: https://t.co/nDdsTcWt4P pic.twitter.com/vQ9FV1ICdG

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 4, 2023

Much of the rest of the half consisted of Orlando surviving transition attacks and then turning the ball over shortly after taking a goal kick. The Red Bulls had a golden opportunity in transition in the 30th minute, but Luquinhas hit a soft shot right at Gallese after Pererya lost the ball just past the halfway line, igniting the Red Bulls’ transition game.

Torres laid off a ball for Smith in the box in the 41st minute, and the defender should have done better from that position, but he sent his shot about six yards wide of the left post.

The Red Bulls presented a ton of difficulty in what was announced as a minimum of five minutes of stoppage time (for…reasons), which ended up becoming eight. Tom Barlow should have scored into an empty net in the seventh minute of injury time but he fired well over the bar from the top of the box with Gallese out of position from an initial shot attempt.

The Lions held more possession in the opening half (52.1%-47.9%). The Red Bulls had more shots (7-2) and shots on target (2-1), earning the only corner of the opening period. Neither team passed well, with Orlando City holding a slim 76.1%-74.9% advantage. But it’s where the Lions made poor passes — the middle third of the field — that was concerning and led to most of the danger New York presented.

The game got weird just after the restart. Just two minutes after the break, a ball over the top found Kara, who powered past Andres Reyes. The big center back, who was on a yellow card for a high hit on Torres late in the first half — a play that was reviewed as a possible red but wasn’t changed after review — pulled Kara back in transition and received a second yellow card, ending his night after 47 minutes.

The Red Bulls cleared the ensuing free kick, but moments later, when play stopped, referee Victor Rivas went to the monitor again to review the earlier set piece. Sean Nealis had pulled Jansson down from behind as the ball was arriving, and Rivas awarded a penalty after watching the replay. Torres stepped up to the spot and beat Coronel — who guessed correctly — putting it in the top right of the net with a great deal of power. Torres’ second goal via penalty against New York this season made it 2-0 in the 52nd minute.

Facundo Torres doubles the lead for @OrlandoCitySC from the spot! pic.twitter.com/ZgWyiOhGz2

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 4, 2023

Torres said Coronel tried to psych him out before the penalty.

“I think everyone agrees that if a penalty is well taken, there’s limited possibilities that the goalkeeper has to save it,” Torres said through a club interpeter. “And so, I had that in my mind walking up, even though this goalkeeper knows me a little bit. And he was actually saying that to me when I was walking up to take the penalty and mentioning that he knows me and that he’s faced me before. But like I said, when when you’re taking a penalty, if it’s well taken, the penalty taker has the more possibilities to put it in the back of the net. So that was kind of what I was thinking going in, is if I take this well, there’s not much that he can do about it.”

Torres took it well.

Things looked good for Orlando after the second goal, but then Araujo went down with an injury and had to be subbed off, with Felipe entering the battle in the 57th minute.

Even down two goals and a man, the Red Bulls continued to press high up the pitch. Even up a man, Orlando City continued to be careless with the ball, giving up possession repeatedly and flirting with New York’s counterattack game. Tolkin saw his shot deflect out for a corner in the 58th minute. Orlando cleared and Torres raced down the field in transition but somehow managed to get dispossessed, allowing the hosts to come the other way. Yearwood fired wide on the other end to end the counter-counterattack.

Pareja sacrificed Kara and Pereyra for Duncan McGuire and Martin Ojeda after that, and things calmed down for a few moments. Angulo was sent down the left in the 65th minute and his shot from a tight angle was saved by Coronel.

Torres put the game away in the 72nd minute. The Lions cleared a set piece and Ojeda knocked the ball down the pitch on the recycle attempt. The ball ended up in acres of space and Angulo blazed past Frankie Amaya to reach it first and carry it down the left. He drew a second defender toward him, and then fed a perfect pass to his right for Torres to bury.

Another one for Facundo Torres! That's 3-0 for @OrlandoCitySC! pic.twitter.com/CnCB6UTE9c

— Major League Soccer (@MLS) June 4, 2023

The hosts, to their credit, did not give up. Down a man and three goals, after playing in Miami three nights earlier, the Red Bulls just kept coming. Second-half sub Elias Manoel fired a shot that Jansson blocked in the 76th minute.

Torres had a chance to complete his hat trick a minute later, but he unselfishly tried to cross for Ojeda, and the defense knocked it out for a corner. A minute later, Torres sent a well-shaped cross from the left to Ojeda, but the Argentine smashed his volley effort into the ground and it bounced off target.

New York then won a series of late corners and Orlando had a scary moment in the 82nd minute when Dylan Nealis fell into Gallese’s leg as the goalkeeper was landing after catching the ball. Gallese looked to be in a great deal of pain and distress, but after several minutes of treatment he was able to continue.

He didn’t look steady moments later though, when he took too much time to make a pass and it was nearly blocked into the goal behind him by Manoel. It went just wide.

Jansson blocked a menacing shot from Morgan in the 91st minute, and the New York midfielder went down after the shot. Morgan was unable to continue. The Red Bulls were out of subs and had to finish the game with nine men. Nevertheless, they kept pressing and winning the ball from a careless Orlando side, but the Lions were able to see out the eight minutes of stoppage and claim all three points.

The Lions finished with more possession (51.2%-48.8%) and fired more shots on target (5-2). The hosts passed more accurately (79.2%-78%), attempted more shots (14-7), and won more corners (8-2).

Orlando City’s three goals were the most conceded by New York’s stingy defense this season, and the Lions matched their season high with three goals in the match, which they set in their last road game at Inter Miami.

Pareja said the counterattacking style of play was the game plan entering the match.

“New York is a team who like to press high all the time, and their intensity to create chaos and and confuse the teams, forcing them to make mistakes, is a style that we respect and we know. Every time we play against them it’s that way. But that provides some spaces in behind and with them it’s a key to be sharp in the moments that the game allows us to get in behind and be lethal in those moments, and that was exactly what happened tonight.”

---

Orlando City returns home next Saturday to host the Colorado Rapids at 7:30 p.m.

Welcome to your match thread and preview for a Saturday night match-up between Orlando City (5-4-5, 20 points) and the New York Red Bulls (4-5-7, 19 points) at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, NJ (7:30 p.m., MLS Season Pass on Apple TV). This is the second of the two scheduled league matches between the sides this season.

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

History

The Lions are 7-9-2 in 18 league meetings with the Red Bulls in the all-time series (8-9-2 in all competitions), with a record of 3-5-1 in road matches.

The most recent meeting between the sides took place on opening day, with Orlando City winning 1-0 on a Facundo Torres penalty kick on Feb. 25 at Exploria Stadium. Sean Nealis’ handball allowed the Lions to start the season with a victory.

Orlando City won the most recent meeting at Red Bull Arena, a 1-0 decision on Aug. 13, 2022, thanks to a Torres goal. That allowed the Lions to split the regular-season meetings and take two of three against New York in all competitions in 2022.

The Lions scored five unanswered goals to turn a 1-0 deficit into a 5-1 romp in the U.S. Open Cup semifinals on July 27, 2022 at Exploria Stadium. Cesar Araujo scored his first two professional goals on set pieces, while Mauricio Pereyra, Torres, and Benji Michel also found the net.

The win last August allowed the Lions to snap a four-game winless streak (0-3-1) in the regular-season series. The last of those non-wins came on April 24, 2022, when the Lions were walloped 3-0 at home on goals by Luquinhas, Cristian Casseres Jr., and Lewis Morgan, and Orlando City failed to get any of its measly three shot attempts on target.

The Red Bulls swept the season series in 2021. The teams met at Exploria Stadium on July 3 of that season with New York taking home a 2-1 win. Casseres opened the scoring just six minutes in, but Chris Mueller pulled the Lions level early in the second half. Fabio’s late goal lifted the visitors. Pereyra’s poor penalty was saved by Carlos Coronel, which cost Orlando City a better result.

The Red Bulls also handed Orlando City its first loss of the 2021 season, a 2-1 affair at Red Bull Arena, on May 29, 2021. Nani was suspended for that match and it showed, as the Lions were sloppy in possession and lacked composure on the ball. New York took the lead on goals by Caden Clark and Casseres, before Silvester van der Water pulled one back late. The Dutchman had a golden opportunity to tie the match moments later but skied his shot well over the bar.

The Lions got a road draw on Oct. 18, 2020, with Brian White equalizing deep in stoppage time in a 1-1 match. Nani had put the Lions ahead in the second half with a penalty kick goal and Orlando clinched its first ever MLS playoff spot despite spilling those late two points. That was the last match in the club’s record 12-match unbeaten streak in MLS play.

Orlando got the better of New York at Exploria Stadium on Oct. 3, 2020, winning 3-1 on goals by Daryl Dike, Junior Urso, and Antonio Carlos. Florian Valot scored for New York.

The Red Bulls won 1-0 at Exploria Stadium on July 21, 2019. White’s goal stood up as Carlos Ascues, Tesho Akindele, and Sacha Kljestan each hit the woodwork in the second half. Prior to that, the Lions eked out a 1-0 win at Red Bull Arena on Kljestan’s goal on March 23, 2019. Before that game, the home team had won each of the previous five home games in the series, splitting a pair of matches during the 2017 and 2018 seasons.

The teams split two meetings in 2018, with the Red Bulls grabbing a 1-0 result in the 2018 season finale to capture the Supporters’ Shield and the Lions pulling off a 4-3 home victory on March 31, 2018. Each team won at home in 2017 to split the two-game series, with New York winning 3-1 on Aug. 12, and Orlando City opening the season series with a 1-0 win on April 9 behind Servando Carrasco’s goal.

The teams met three times in 2016, with New York going 2-0-1. The teams split two games in 2015, with the road team winning both times, including Orlando City’s 5-2 win in New Jersey behind a Cyle Larin hat trick.

Match Overview

Orlando City enters this match on a four-game unbeaten run but only one of those was a win (1-0-3) — on the road at Inter Miami two weeks ago. Two of those three draws saw Orlando take a 1-0 lead but fail to add a second goal, with both New York City FC and Atlanta United stealing points with equalizers after the 85th minute.

The Lions are 3-1-2 on the road this season, which is much better than their 2-3-3 home mark. City has gotten a result in two straight away games (1-0-1).

New York is coming off a 1-0 win at Inter Miami on Wednesday night. That was the Red Bulls’ first road victory of the year, as they improved to 1-4-4 away from Red Bull Arena. They’ve been much better at home, going 3-1-3 so far in 2023. New York has won two straight home games and has gone 3-1-2 since Troy Lesesne took over as coach following the firing of Gerhard Struber.

The Red Bulls’ success has been entirely predicated on their defense. They’ve scored just 11 goals in 16 games — the worst in Major League Soccer — but they have conceded only 13 goals on the season, which is second only to Nashville’s 10 (in 15 games). New York doesn’t allow many shots, and the Lions have been held to fewer than four shot attempts in two of the last three regular-season meetings and just six back in February (one on target). That defense, led by John Tolkin, Andres Reyes, and Nealis, and fronted by several capable defensive midfielders/wingbacks, has limited opponents’ chances and Coronel is a solid goalkeeper behind them.

Morgan’s return from injury could bolster the New York attack, which is generated largely through turning opponents over and getting transition opportunities. Tom Barlow and Cory Burke pace the Red Bulls with two goals apiece, along with Reyes — a formidable aerial presence — and the injured Omir Fernandez.

“We played them [the New York Red Bulls] already here at home. We know how they are and their characteristics,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said ahead of the match. “We will work during the week with our tools. It will be great if we cannot just dominate the game but open it up and then lead the game and just walk out with three points. That’s what we want.”

Orlando City will be without Gastón González (thigh), Abdi Salim (knee), and Michael Halliday (international duty), while Luca Petrasso (thigh) has been upgraded to questionable. New York is without Serge Ngoma (hamstring), Fernandez (hamstring), Steven Sserwadda (knee), Cam Harper (red card suspension), and Daniel Edelman (international duty).

Match Content

• Our Intelligence Report provides more background on tonight’s opponents, courtesy of Mark Fishkin of the Seeing Red podcast.
• The most recent episode of the PawedCast includes our key match-ups and score predictions for today’s match.
• Our David Rohe gave his three keys to an Orlando City victory in this match.

---

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, Kyle Smith.

Defensive Midfielders: Cesar Araujo, Wilder Cartagena.

Attacking Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, Facundo Torres.

Forward: Ercan Kara.

Bench: Mason Stajduhar, Thomas Williams, Rodrigo Schlegel, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Felipe, Shak Mohammed, Martin Ojeda, Ramiro Enrique, Duncan McGuire.

New York Red Bulls (4-2-3-1)

Goalkeeper: Carlos Coronel.

Defenders: John Tolkin, Sean Nealis, Andres Reyes, Dylan Nealis.

Defensive Midfielders: Dru Yearwood, Peter Stroud.

Attacking Midfielders: Tom Barlow, Cristian Casseres Jr., Luquinhas.

Forward: Cory Burke.

Bench: Ryan Meara, Hassan Ndam, Kyle Duncan, Wikelman Carmona, Frankie Amaya, Lewis Morgan, Elias Manoel, Dante Vanzeir.

Referees

REF: Victor Rivas.
AR1: Jeffrey Greeson.
AR2: Adam Garner.
4TH: Alexis Da Silva.
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.
AVAR: Eric Weisbrod.

---

How to Watch

Match Time: 7;30 p.m.

Venue: Red Bull Arena — Harrison, NJ.

TV/Streaming: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Radio: FM 96.9 The Game (English), Acción 97.9 FM and 810 AM (Spanish).

Twitter: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow along at @TheManeLand, as well as Orlando City’s official Twitter feed (@OrlandoCitySC).

---

Enjoy the match. Go City!