Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Colorado Rapids: Final Score 2-0 as Lions Extend Unbeaten Run to Six Games
Facundo Torres and Ramiro Enrique scored and the Rapids had two men sent off in an eventful match.
Facundo Torres and Ramiro Enrique scored and the Rapids had two men sent off as the Lions beat Colorado 2-0 in front of an announced crowd of 18, 711 at Exploria Stadium. Orlando City (7-4-5, 26 points) posted consecutive wins for the first time in 2023 and extended their unbeaten streak to six games (3-0-3) with the victory over the Rapids (2-9-7, 13 points).
Orlando improved to 4-0-0 at home in the all-time series and 5-1-2 overall.
“We’re very pleased and excited just to get three points in front of our fans,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “That was something that we had in our mind today — winning at home and just getting that confidence back. It’s not an easy job. I think we’re going to increase it for sure with time, but today it was very necessary to get this win and performance.”
Pareja’s starting lineup remained unchanged, with Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena played in the central midfield behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Torres, with Ercan Kara up top.
The match was delayed about 50 minutes due to inclement weather and whether it was the delay or the wet pitch, Orlando’s passing was not sharp throughout the opening half. And when the passes did arrive as intended, they weren’t handled cleanly.
The Lions started brightly, winning a corner kick just 19 seconds into the game, but the Rapids handled Orlando’s crosses well and even some dangerous-looking balls into the area never reached the target. Torres took a pass near the penalty spot in the eighth minute, turned, and fired a shot but hit his effort right at Colorado goalkeeper Marko Ilic.
Two minutes later, Cartagena sent too soft a back pass and it was picked off, but Jansson made a great open-field tackle to snuff out Colorado’s transition opportunity.
Kara headed just over the bar in the 12th minute after getting onto a good cross from Santos.
Cole Bassett took a shot from distance that was right at Gallese in the 14th minute and Colorado started to grow into the match, earning some set pieces and a yellow card on Carlos for a foul on Kevin Cabral. Carlos will miss the next match due to yellow card accumulation.
The game took a turn in the 39th minute when Braian Galvan caught Angulo with a high boot, studs first, and he was sent off.
Orlando’s best chance of the half came in stoppage time when Smith sent a cross into the box and Pereyra directed it on goal but again the shot was straight at the goalkeeper.
Orlando City finished the half with more possession (59.7%-40.3%), shots (7-2), shots on target (2-1), and passing accuracy (85.3%-79.4%). Both teams won two corners.
Pareja made a couple of changes at the break, replacing Carlos with Rodrigo Schlegel and Cartagena with Martin Ojeda. He said the defensive change was to protect Carlos due to him being on the yellow, while Ojeda’s introduction was a tactical change to move Pereyra deeper and add a forward against the shorthanded Rapids.
Those changes paid dividends, as Schlegel made three outstanding open-field tackles in his 45 minutes of work, and Enrique provided the knockout blow late in the game.
The Lions came out on the front foot in the second half, looking to take advantage of their man advantage. Kara tried to flick a cross inside the back post just after the restart but didn’t get enough of the ball and it skipped wide in the 47th minute.
After a couple of dangerous crosses fizzed through the six-yard box in the 55th minute, just needing a touch but not getting one, the Lions finally opened the scoring. Pereyra sent the ball to Torres near the top of the area. The Uruguayan international smashed a shot that deflected off defender Andreas Maxsø and in to make it 1-0 in the 56th minute. It was Torres’ team-leading fifth goal of the MLS season and his third in two matches.
“I see much more conviction of him,” Pareja said of Torres, who has three goals and two assists in the last two matches. “The responsibility that these young guys have on their shoulders, and knowing that when we don’t score goals, everybody looks at them, and they feel it, right? But they kept working and Facundo has been outstanding in the last few games, especially because scoring is obviously what we need the most. So, happy for Facu and hopefully we can keep increasing from everybody that part that we’re looking for, just being more lethal.”
Torres got to the end line in the 65th minute and cut back a pass to Kara at the near post, but the Austrian had no room to squeeze his shot between Ilic and the post and his attempt went wide anyway. Three minutes later, Angulo worked his way from the left and fired a shot but Lalas Abubakar deflected it and it popped up gently for an easy catch by Ilic.
Torres nearly had a brace in the 71st minute. He fired a shot from the top of the box that sizzled just wide of the right post after taking a slight deflection. The Lions couldn’t do anything with the ensuing corner.
The Rapids went down another man in the 75th minute. Abubakar, who was booked early in the match, was beaten by Angulo about 35 yards out from goal. The big defender grabbed Angulo and brought him down to prevent a transition opportunity, despite having decent coverage behind him. Referee Rosendo Mendoza showed him a second yellow and Colorado was down to nine men.
“For us, it’s more pressure (being up a man or two), because we know that we were leading the game, and we have one more player and then two,” Pereyra said. “We know we cannot concede a goal, but that’s our responsiblity.”
Pareja bolstered his attack moments later by bringing on Enrique for Smith, moving Angulo to right back against the outnumbered Rapids.
Pereyra nearly put the game away in the 81st, smashing a shot from outside the area that was headed for the upper left corner. Ilic made an outstanding save to tip it wide of his post.
The insurance goal came only two minutes later. Araujo brought the ball up through the middle and sent it wide to Torres on the right. Torres dribbled toward the corner of the box and with Kara dragging defenders toward the six-yard box, the Uruguayan found Enrique at the top of the area. Enrique took a step to his right to improve his angle and fired a blast into the bottom right corner. The Lions led 2-0 in the 83rd minute.
Enrique called the goal “a great moment.”
“Facu was out on the wing with the ball and we were just trying to bring into the area,” Enrique said through a club interpreter. “I saw the forwards go up and take the focus of the center backs, so I just kind of dropped back and hoped that Facu was going to play the ball there. And thankfully he did, and I hit it, and thankfully it went in, and just a lot of joy in that moment for it to finally come.”
The game started to open up unexpectedly after the second goal. Colorado fashioned a chance to pull back a goal in the 85th minute, getting the ball in front of goal but the defense deflected the ball out for a Rapids corner. Kara tried a shot from distance in the 87th that didn’t miss the left post by much and had Ilic diving on the play. Gallese made a save a minute later on Darren Yapi to preserve the shutout.
From there, the Lions saw out the match. Pareja subbed Alejandro Granados on late for his first MLS appearance. The OCB midfielder was signed Friday to a short-term agreement and in just a few minutes on the pitch managed nine touches, a shot attempt (which was blocked), and completed six of his seven pass attempts.
Orlando City had 70% of the second-half possession to finish with the advantage (65%-35%). The Lions also had more shot attempts (15-4), shots on goal (6-2), corners (5-3), and passing accuracy (89.4%-81.5%).
Gallese kept a clean sheet in his 100th game with Orlando City across all competitions. About the only thing that went wrong in the second half was Smith picking up a yellow card and he’ll be suspended for accumulation for the next match.
“The second half we could have been probably more aggressive, but the boys were were cautious about just closing the game,” Pareja said. “And this is something that we carry on our shoulders, and I understand that. Even me. We needed to win today and that happened, so we’re happy. We’ll keep increasing and getting our performances better. That’s what we’re aiming for.”
The Lions will head north next Saturday to face the New England Revolution for the first time this season. Game time is 7:30 p.m.
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. FC Naples, U.S. Open Cup: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Lions start their run in the 2026 U.S. Open Cup on the road but inside the state at FC Naples.
Welcome to your match thread for a Wednesday night Round of 32 U.S. Open Cup matchup between Orlando City and FC Naples at the Paradise Coast Sports Complex (7 p.m., Paramount+) in Naples. This is the first time the Lions will face the USL League One side in any competition.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.
History
There is literally no history between these teams. I just told you above that they’ve never met. You didn’t forget, did you?
As far as the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup is concerned, the Lions have a lengthy history, including winning the competition in 2022. Orlando City is 17-9-5 all-time in the competition, 9-5-5 since becoming an MLS side. Away from Orlando, the Lions are 6-6-2 on the road in the U.S. Open Cup, 3-2-2 since joining Major League Soccer.
FC Naples, which began play in 2025, is an outstanding 4-0-1 in U.S. Open Cup play, with the only blemish being a penalty shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Rowdies in 2025, which set up Orlando City’s road match in the I-4 Derby last year.
Overview
The Lions are coming off a 1-1 road draw against the Columbus Crew on Sunday. It was a welcome change from the 5-0 and 6-0 road wins the club racked up in three previous away outings, however, it was not a victory and Orlando City has been outscored 17-1 outside the City Beautiful, posting a 0-3-1 road record.
FC Naples is coming off a 2-0 home win over Sarasota Paradise. The USL League One side sits atop the league table at 4-1-1 with all four victories coming via shutout. Naples is 3-1-1 at home this year in league play and 5-1-1 in all competitions. That includes its two previous U.S. Open Cup matches — a 3-0 win over Red Force FC on March 18 and another 3-0 win over FC America CFL Spurs on March 31.
Christopher Garcia, a 23-year-old winger from El Paso, TX, is the club’s top scorer with three goals in six league matches. He also leads FC Naples in assists with three. Forward Dominick Bachstein is just behind with two goals. Bachstein scored a goal in Naples’ last U.S. Open Cup victory, becoming the sixth different goal scorer for the club in the competition.
To start their 2026 U.S. Open Cup run off on the right foot, the Lions must avoid taking the USL League One side lightly. Naples will be at home, riding a wave of confidence from previous results, and eager to show it can compete with an MLS side — especially one struggling the way Orlando City has this year so far. Interim coach Martin Perelman will likely play a combination of young players and veterans, and it was a bit surprising to see both of the team’s Designated Players and captain Robin Jansson in social media pictures of the team boarding the plane on Tuesday. The Lions could use a confidence-building win, and perhaps that’s the idea. To do that, they’ll have to beat Edward Delgado, the goalkeeper leading USL League One in shutouts (4).
The Lions will be without Wilder Cartagena (thigh) and Joran Gerbet (knee). It’s unknown if Duncan McGuire will be available after being a late scratch over the weekend.
Match Content
- Our most recent episode of The Mane Land PawedCastfeatures our key matchups and score predictions for tonight’s match.
Projected Lineups:
Orlando City (4-4-2)
Goalkeeper: Javier Otero.
Defenders: Adrian Marin, Robin Jansson, Iago, Zakaria Taifi.
Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Colin Guske, Braian Ojeda, Marco Pasalic.
Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Tiago.
FC Naples (4-1-4-1)
Goalkeeper: Edward Delgado.
Defenders: Jaden Strumier, Joshua Yoder, Luca Mastrantonio, Hudson Gay.
Defensive Midfielder: Marc Torrellas.
Midfielders: Taylor Gray, Juan Osorio, Kevin O’Connor, Ian Cerro.
Forward: Dominick Bachstein.
How to Watch
Match Time: 7 p.m.
Venue: Paradise Coast Sports Complex — Naples.
TV/Streaming: 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!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 4/15/26
Orlando City visits FC Naples, Champions League results, World Cup news, and more.
Welcome to Wednesday, Mane Landers. It’s our first tax day with out Kyle “The Tax Man” Smith, but hopefully we’ll still get everything filed on time. What wasn’t in time to be included today was the USWNT friendly against Japan last night since it kicked off at 10 p.m. We will have more on that match tomorrow. Most importantly, it’s match day for Orlando City, so let’s get to the links.
Orlando City’s Open Cup Begins
Orlando City is in Naples for the club’s opening match of the 2026 U.S. Open Cup. The Lions are facing USL League One side FC Naples tonight. FC Naples is a good team that currently sits first in USL League One. We can expect a few veterans to make an appearance, but we will likely see younger players like Zakaria Taifi. The team is expecting a sold-out crowd for the home team. Taifi shared his thoughts with the media ahead of the match.
Crocker to Saudi Arabia
Matt Crocker is no longer the sporting director of the U.S. Soccer Federation after taking a similar position with the Saudi Arabia soccer federation. Crocker is the person responsible for bringing in Emma Hayes and Mauricio Pochettino. The main part of his job was implementing a top-to-bottom alignment of the “U.S. Way” across all levels in the U. S. Soccer system. Saudi Arabia reportedly presented an offer that Crocker could not refuse. The timing is interesting given the World Cup is only about two months away.
Champions League Results
It was an eventful day in the UEFA Champions League. Soon-to-be Orlando City attacker Antoine Greizmann’s Atletico Madrid got past Barcelona 3-2 on aggregate to advance to the semifinals. The USMNT’s Johnny Cardoso made a late appearance to help defend the result. Much to my chagrin, PSG ousted Liverpool 2-0 (4-0 on aggregate). The other two matches are later today with Bayern Munich taking on Real Madrid and Arsenal facing Sporting CP.
World Cup News
Do you remember the feeling you had when it was announced that the World Cup would once again be played in the United States? I remember thinking how cool it was going to be to go to a match even if it meant driving hours to do so. How naive I was. A lot of the news is more like this story about the NJ Transit raising the cost of train tickets seven fold.
Several venues are also not allowing tailgating at the games, including matches at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA. We also now know the full list of referees from all six soccer confederations.
Free Kicks
- Javier Mascherano is out at Inter Miami. I really hope this sends Inter Miami into a tailspin for the rest of the season, though I doubt it will.
- Oscar Pareja and Mascherano aren’t the only coaches let go so far this season, but is parting ways with a coach early in a season a good idea? (Paywalled link).
- Ally Financial has reached its proposed 50/50 media goal of equal advertising spending on men’s and women’s sports media earlier than expected. I’m always suspicious of big companies, but this is still a good thing.
- The U.S. U-20 Women’s National Team defeated Brazil 2-0 in the first of two matches between the two.
- Lionel Messi has been sued for not showing up for Inter Miami friendlies. Hahahahahahaha…deep breath…hahahahahahahaha.
That will do it for today. Check back tonight for our coverage of Orlando City’s U.S. Open Cup match. Vamos Orlando!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 4/14/26
Americans in midweek action, USWNT set to run it back against Japan, Concacaf Champions Cup preview, and more.
Good morning, everyone. We’ve got an extremely busy week ahead of us, as the United States Women’s National Team plays two matches, Orlando City plays in the U.S. Open Cup and Major League Soccer, and Orlando City B is back home after falling at Chattanooga on Saturday. All of that action means we’ve got a lot to discuss this morning, so let’s have a look at the links.
Americans in Midweek Action
There are a number of Americans taking part in matches this week so let’s check in on some of the biggest ones. Things got started on Monday as Brenden Aaronson picked up an assist on the winning goal in Leeds United’s 2-1 win over Manchester United. Tuesday sees Atletico Madrid try to preserve its 2-0 aggregate lead over Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League, although Johnny Cardoso is out injured. Tuesday also has Alejandro Zendejas and Club America facing Nashville SC in the Concacaf Champions Cup, with the tie level at 0-0. Thursday has Chris Richards and Crystal Palace trying to protect a 3-0 lead over Fiorentina in the UEFA Conference League. Things finish up on Friday when Haji Wright and Coventry City travel to Blackburn Rovers in the EFL Championship.
USWNT vs. Japan Part II: Electric Boogaloo
The United States Women’s National Team will play the second of three matches against Japan tonight, with this contest set to take place in Seattle after Saturday’s 2-1 win in San Jose. The first match was all about Rose Lavelle as she scored one goal for the USWNT and assisted on the other, but there are some other areas to watch in this one. Manager Emma Hayes will likely ring the rotations after just two days of rest, so someone other than Lavelle will need to step up and be the difference maker. It was good to see the Yanks pick up a victory after losing to Japan in the 2025 SheBelieves Cup, but goalkeeper Claudia Dickey had to make six saves on the night, and Hayes will likely want a stingier performance from the back line. Kickoff is set for 10 pm tonight.
Concacaf Champions Cup Preview
As mentioned earlier, the Concacaf Champions Cup is back tonight, and there are several MLS teams attempting to book passage through to the semifinals. LAFC is in the best position, as it holds a 3-0 lead over Cruz Azul, although the second leg will be played in Mexico. Regardless, grabbing even one away goal should be enough to see the California-based side through to the semis. Nashville is level at 0-0 with Club America but has a tough task ahead with the second leg set to be played at the Azteca. The Seattle Sounders are down 2-0 to Tigres but will play the second leg at Lumen Field and will need their home field advantage to pay off. The LA Galaxy got roughed up 4-2 by Toluca in the first leg but did score two away goals. You’d bet on the Galaxy to score in the comfortable confines of Dignity Health Sports Park, but the trick is going to be holding Toluca scoreless for just the second time in the last 14 matches across all competitions.
Transfer Rumor Roundup
The summer transfer window will be upon us before we know it, so it’s important to stay abreast of all the current rumors. Bayern Munich has reportedly held talks with Anthony Gordon’s representatives about a summer move, although no contact has been made with Newcastle United as of yet. Speaking of Newcastle United, the Magpies could reportedly be involved in a swap deal with Manchester United that would see Manuel Ugarte join Newcastle while Sandro Tonali moves the other way. Moving to Ligue 1, Ousmane Dembele is reportedly stalling on signing a new contract with Paris Saint-Germain, and whispers are starting about a move to Saudi Arabia or the Premier League. Finally, Endrick’s loan spell at Lyon has seen him record eight goal contributions in 11 league games, and Real Madrid is reportedly prepared to sell Gonzalo Garcia in order to make room for the Brazilian in the Spanish capital.
Free Kicks
- Orlando City dropped one spot to no.27 in ESPN.com’s MLS power rankings.
- Winners from MLS matchday seven include Julian Hall and German Berterame, while Mikey Varas and Emmanuel Latte Lath found themselves on the other end of the spectrum.
- A horrible break for the Columbus Crew has been confirmed, as Wessam Abou Ali tore his ACL in Sunday’s match.
- Tottenham captain Cristian Romero will reportedly miss the rest of the season with a knee injury.
That’s all I’ve got for you this morning. Vamos Orlando!
Orlando City vs. FC Naples, U.S. Open Cup: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
Lion Links: 4/15/26
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