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Orlando City vs. Houston Dynamo, Leagues Cup: Final Score 1-1 (5-4) as Lions Win Penalty Shootout after Controversial Draw

The Lions conceded a highly questionable penalty at the end of the first half, then battled back to equalize and won the postgame shootout.

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2 years ago

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City kicked off play in the South 2 group of Leagues Cup with a 1-1 draw against the Houston Dynamo in front of an announced crowd of 14,005 at Exploria Stadium, but claimed an extra point by winning the postgame shootout, 5-4. It was a bit of a disappointing result for Orlando (0-0-1, 2 points) considering the Dynamo (0-0-1, 1 point) were awarded a penalty that never should have been given.

Amine Bassi scored Houston’s goal from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time, but that was canceled out in the opening minute of the second half by Duncan McGuire’s strike.

“A very difficult match against a team who in the first half came with ideas we neutralized well but we couldn’t create with our sequences that many chances that we wanted,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “At the end (of the half) the PK that was not, in our opinion, unbalanced the result. We came out in the second half much more sharp.”

Pareja’s lineup was nearly the same as the one that beat Atlanta United a week ago. Pedro Gallese started in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, Kyle Smith. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena played central midfield behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Martin Ojeda, and Facundo Torres, with Duncan McGuire up top. Mauricio Pereyra picked up a knock in training late in the week and was not in the lineup, nor was Junior Urso, who is still awaiting the arrival of his international paperwork.

The teams played a cagey first half and it took a while for either side to get a look at goal. Ojeda took the game’s first shot in the 12th minute from outside the area, spinning and firing a weak shot that was easy for Andrew Tarbell to handle. Orlando City then won a couple of corners and nearly created something from them.

On the first, the service found Araujo at the back post but his shot was deflected out off of Griffin Dorsey for another corner. The second found Carlos in front of goal but the defender sent his header whistling just over the bar in the 15th minute.

Houston grew into the game a bit for the next 10 minutes after that, with Nelson Quinones causing problems for Smith with his speed.

Orlando City didn’t generate too much for the rest of the first half hour, but Torres sent a shot over the bar in the 23rd minute.

Jansson blocked a headed shot from Dorsey after Smith again was beaten by Quinones to allow the cross.

Just after the hydration break, Smith knocked a ball in traffic toward the middle in his own end. Carlos gave it away and Aliyu Ibrahim intercepted but fired his shot over the bar.

Angulo was sent in front by Torres in the 39th minute but his first touch was too heavy and all he could do was win a corner. On the ensuing set piece, the Lions played short and Ojeda eventually fired a blast toward goal that deflected wide off a defender. Two minuts later, Torres again fizzed a shot over the bar.

Disaster struck in first-half stoppage time as Dorsey flopped in the corner of the box. Rafael Santos was called for a foul, a penalty was awarded to Houston by referee Filip Dujic, and somehow the video assistant referee did not overturn the awful call and penalize Dorsey for the obvious dive. To make matters worse, Jansson was booked for dissent and Gallese for time wasting before the penalty took place. Bassi stepped up to the spot and scored to put Houston ahead.

Following the penalty, Dujic didn’t even add the full amount of time the penalty took back onto the clock. The Dynamo took a 1-0 lead into the half.

Orlando City held the advantage at the break in possession (54.8%-45.2%), shots (8-3), shots on target (3-1), corners (4-1), and passing accuracy (84.9%-79.7%) but the horrible call had the Dynamo ahead at the half.

“I think the heat played a fairly large role today and really made us take a passive role in the first half, and that’s something that we talked about coming into halftime — that we had to change the energy of the team,” Torres said.

Pareja brought Dagur Dan Thorhallsson on for Smith at the break, and he played well in the second half, but that’s not what changed the energy of the team.

The Lions struck back right after the restart. A back pass from the Houston defense to Tarbell went badly wrong for the visitors. Tarbell’s pass was picked off by the onrushing McGuire who slotted into the empty net to tie the game in the 46th minute.

“When he dropped it back, I didn’t see any defenders helping out, running back, so I decided to press, and hopefully he’d kick it long, so we could win that. That was my thought process,” McGuire said. “I saw the defender to my right and I thought maybe he’d go there, so I just put my foot out and it came right to me, so it was pretty easy for me from there on out. I’m really glad we got that one early and set the tone for the rest of the game.”

Corey Baird tried to pull the goal right back for Houston but hit his shot over the bar at the other end.

Araujo won the Lions a corner after the ensuing goal kick and that got knocked out for a long throw. During the long throw-in by Araujo, Carlos went down in the box under heavy contact but Dujic suddenly wasn’t concerned with actual contact in the penalty area and waved play on.

Houston Head Coach Ben Olsen sent on MLS All-Stars Adalberto Carrasquilla and Hector Herrera after that to go after the win. The move helped the Dynamo who controlled more of the midfield and Orlando players didn’t help themselves with some poor passing in the middle of the pitch and in the attacking third.

Just a minute after the substitutions, Carrasquilla was set up near the top of the box and had an open look but his shot hit Carlos in the back.

Torres’ best opportunity came in the 70th minute but his shot was blocked behind for a corner. Three minutes later, Ramiro Enrique got to a fantastic long ball from Jansson. Tarbell was well off his line and Enrique tried to chip him but his shot went just over the crossbar and landed on the roof of the net.

Ercan Kara, another second-half sub, had two decent chances to break the deadlock as time wound down. He freed himself up for a shot in the 76th minute and hit it with a ton of power, but it skipped off the outside of the right post, going just inches wide. In the 81st minute, he made a sliding lunge at a Santos cross that was a tad too far out in front and he made contact with it but it deflected off of Tarbell and the goalkeeper was able to collect it.

Torres cut inside and smashed a shot on target in the 87th minute but again Tarbell was able to save it. Thorhallsson couldn’t keep it from going out but rather than a corner, a goal kick was awarded.

Neither team could find a winner late and the game ended in a draw. Orlando City dominated the stat sheet, finishing with the advantage in possession (54.6%-45.4%), shots (16-7), shots on target (5-1), corners (8-2), and passing accuracy (84.8%-77.2%).

The format of the competition means that in group play, draws go to penalties to determine which team gains an extra point in the standings — much like in MLS NEXT Pro.

Gallese made a huge stop on Houston captain Herrera to start the penalty shootout, giving Orlando City the advantage.

Pareja called the save “tremendous.”

“With Pedro’s experience and the way he manages himself and the confidence that he brings to us is incredible,” Pareja said. “So, his professionalism and that confidence is inspiring for us.”

“Every penalty kick shootout that we go into, Pedro has started off by looking at us in our faces and saying he’s going to stop at least one,” Torres said. “Obviously, he was able to get the first one and it just filled us with a ton of confidence, knowing that all we had to do is score our penalties, because he had already stopped one, and we were going to come out on top.”

Kara then scored for Orlando to push the Lions out front.

The rest of the shooters all found the mark. Thor Ulfarsson got Houston on the board, but Santos put Orlando City back in front after two rounds. Carrasquilla leveled things but Jansson responded by scoring. Dorsey tied the shootout at 3-3, but that was followed by a goal by Carlos to push Houston to the brink.

Gallese got his hand to Brad Smith’s penalty as the Dynamo’s fifth shooter, but it still got past him and Orlando needed a goal to end things. Torres stepped up and smashed home an unstoppable shootout winner.

The Lions gained two points in the standings but it should have been three, if not for the insanely soft penalty given to Houston at the end of the first half. But winning that shootout left Orlando City players feeling better than the way the game could have gone after that late first-half penalty was awarded.

“It feels just as good as winning any other game,” Torres said. “Obviously, going to penalties and being able to win in the PK shootout and get that extra point put us further up in the group table standings is always great.”

The Lions will host Santos Laguna in their final group stage match in the 2023 Leagues Cup next Saturday, July 29. Game time is 7:30 p.m.

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Orlando City

Orlando City Striker Duncan McGuire Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

It’s the other shoulder this time, but Big Dunc is on the shelf for awhile again after undergoing surgery.

Published

14 hours ago

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June 6, 2025

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City announced today that Duncan McGuire has undergone arthroscopic surgery to repair the labrum in his left shoulder. The surgery was performed by Orlando City Chief Medical Officer Dr. Craig Mintzer of the Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute performed the surgery. Mintzer previously repaired the labrum and rotator cuff in McGuire’s right shoulder back in December for an injury he sustained in Orlando City’s playoff match against Charlotte FC Nov. 9 when he was pulled down by Djibril Diani.

The club’s press release said the 24-year-old striker’s return to play is expected “later this year.” The recovery given for his right shoulder surgery in late 2024 was listed as four to five months, but McGuire was able to come back and play much earlier than expected, appearing for the first time in 2025 in Orlando’s March 15 against the New York Red Bulls — at least a month before the earliest initial projection — however, this time there was no mention of damage to the rotator cuff.

Regardless, the Lions will be without the big target striker for a considerable amount of time.

McGuire had appeared in 12 matches during the regular season in 2025, starting three and scoring one goal and adding an assist. His goal came recently, serving as the game winner in Orlando’s 1-0 home victory over the Portland Timbers on May 24. He was recently listed as questionable on the club’s availability report ahead of the team’s most recent match against the Chicago Fire.

Orlando City drafted McGuire in the first round (No. 6 overall) in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft. After a breakout rookie campaign, in which the Omaha, NE native scored 14 goals, he was courted by several teams in Europe, signing with Blackburn Rovers, only to see the transfer rejected by the English Football League due to an administrative error by the EFL Championship club. After returning to Orlando, McGuire signed a new deal on Aug. 22 to remain a Lion. The new contract runs through 2027 with a club option for 2028. McGuire scored 10 goals and added three assists in 2024. For his Orlando City career, McGuire has appeared in 88 games (46 starts) across all competitions, scoring a total of 28 goals to go along with seven assists.

What It Means for Orlando City

McGuire appeared to be just finding his form, so this injury is unfortunate. The club didn’t put a timeline on McGuire’s recovery this time, but shaving a little off his 2024 recovery estimate, it’s likely that he’ll be out until at least some time in September.

Oscar Pareja has been favoring a 4-4-2 with Luis Muriel and Martin Ojeda up top in recent weeks, with Ramiro Enrique — who is also finding his form — typically spelling one of them when needed. Not having McGuire will affect Pareja’s late-game substitution pattern when Orlando is trailing, as he likes to put Enrique and McGuire both on the field when chasing the game. It also takes the team’s best target striker option out of the lineup when dealing with back lines with lots of height.

McGuire brings size and strength and an ability to occupy center backs that others on the roster can’t replicate. There are times when Enrique’s game is better suited to the opponent, but without McGuire there will be no ability to pivot. With Jack Lynn’s off-season retirement, that leaves the striker pickings mighty slim on the Orlando City bench. That might change Ricardo Moreira’s approach to the MLS Secondary Transfer Window.

Losing a scorer of McGuire’s caliber is always difficult, but this season it could be the difference between finishing high in the table and simply getting into the postseason in a strong Eastern Conference field.

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Opinion

Orlando City Must Learn from May’s Mistakes

The Lions can learn some valuable lessons from the three losses they suffered in May.

Published

20 hours ago

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June 6, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City hadn’t quite achieved juggernaut status as the Major League Soccer season turned from April to May, but a 12-match unbeaten run in the league is nothing to sniff at, despite there being a healthy number of draws interspersed with the victories. Things turned sour as May drew to a close though, as the Lions lost three of their final four matches of the month and entered a two-week break with a whimper rather than a roar.

Losing is never fun, but in this case those three defeats don’t need to be entirely negative experiences, and there are plenty of lessons to be learned from those three bitter losses that will hold Orlando in good stead if it can implement the proper solutions.

More Squad Rotation

One of the biggest factors in Orlando’s rough finish to May was a lack of squad rotation. Oscar Pareja has always been a coach that likes to find his first-choice XI and stick to it almost religiously. He doesn’t normally tweak his lineups or tactics according to whatever opponent is on the slate, and very much values consistency. In periods of fixture congestion, that tendency can be to Orlando’s detriment, and that was very much the case against both Nashville SC and the Chicago Fire.

After beating Inter Miami 3-0 in an emotional rivalry match on May 18, Pareja made just one change for a U.S. Open Cup match against Nashville SC three days later. Ramiro Enrique slotted in for Luis Muriel up top, but every single other starter from the Miami game also got the nod midweek. With Nashville deploying a heavily rotated lineup mostly filled with backups, the gamble was a simple one: hope that OCSC’s A-team can open up a big first-half lead against Nashville’s B-squad before bringing mass changes in the second half to get guys some rest. Hindsight is, of course, 20/20, but the strategy backfired badly as the Lions lost 3-2. Orlando started well with Marco Pasalic’s 17th-minute strike, but the team faded badly afterwards and gave up a couple of very uncharacteristic goals to lose the game. Lapses in concentration and tired defending cost OCSC the game, and that isn’t something we can normally say about this team.

Then, after losing to Atlanta United 3-2 on May 28 due in no small part to Cesar Araujo’s red card, Pareja made two changes for a match against the Chicago Fire on May 31, with Muriel coming in for Enrique, and the other change being a forced one, as Eduard Atuesta replaced the suspended Araujo. Those starters looked noticeably gassed during the resulting 3-1 loss, and the fatigue manifested itself by players missing chances that would normally be converted or in sloppy, mistake-ridden defending.

May was a packed month with a whopping nine matches in 31 days, and most months won’t be that busy. August is set to be the busiest remaining period of the year with six games in 31 days, although that number could rise higher if the Lions make a run in Leagues Cup. The bottom line is that guys are going to need more rest as the season goes on. If the coaching staff doesn’t trust some of the guys currently available as backups, then they need to dip into the transfer market in one way or another and get some players that they do trust, because if the starting XI gets run ragged during busy periods it’s going to cost Orlando, plain and simple.

Cool Heads Usually Prevail

Orlando City has received three red cards on the season, which is tied for the second-most in the league. Unsurprisingly, the Lions are winless in games in which they’ve had a man sent off, with draws against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal and a loss to Atlanta United. The results against the Red Bulls and Atlanta were particularly difficult to swallow, as before going down to 10 men, Orlando had looked on track to get three points in each game.

Araujo’s red card against Atlanta was especially frustrating, as he allowed Mateusz Klich to get under his skin, grabbed him by the throat, and reduced his team to 10 men when OCSC was nursing a 2-1 lead on the road. It was completely unnecessary and was also the sort of thing that Orlando had looked to put in the rearview mirror after keeping its collective composure and not picking up any bookings in the 3-0 road win against Miami, while the Herons picked up four and looked noticeably rattled in the process.

It should go without saying, but the Lions can’t afford to get key players sent off. Six extra points could make a big difference in the standings at the end of the year, and that number could rise even higher if OCSC can’t put its disciplinary issues to rest once and for all.

Focus for the Full 90

There were moments in each of Orlando’s three May losses that the team committed bad defensive lapses or mistakes. Whether it was not playing to the whistle on Nashville’s third goal, Atuesta’s bad turnover against Atlanta, or the Lions collectively allowing Chicago to stroll through midfield to score a third goal, there were plenty of examples of bad breakdowns that were largely absent during the team’s unbeaten run. Can some of that be attributed to tired minds and tired legs? Maybe so — it’s a lot harder to play crisp and focused when the minutes have piled up. Regardless, its something that can’t continue to happen going forward. It’s possible that having more rotation in the squad will help that a lot, but it’s also on the players on the field to stay as mentally sharp as they can when they’re out on the pitch.

Clearly, a recurring theme here is that fresh legs and balanced squad rotation are top of my list of things I want to see change. I’m all for riding the hot hands, but tired legs make for tired minds, and tired minds make mistakes and are easier to rile up. Whether reinforcements come from the bench or an outside source, using more bodies will go a long way towards solving some of the issues that we saw in May’s three losses. All we can do now is wait and see what happens once the team returns from its break. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/6/25

Alex Freeman called up for Concacaf Gold Cup, Orlando Pride get ready for the Houston Dash, Orlando City B plays tonight, and more.

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24 hours ago

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June 6, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday! I’ll be spending this weekend celebrating my birthday by beating my friends at mini golf with no mercy but still hope to catch some soccer over the next few days. I’ve also been on a bit of a movie kick and plan on catching Wes Anderson’s new flick at some point soon. But for now, let’s dive into today’s links!

Alex Freeman Called Up For Gold Cup

Orlando City defender Alex Freeman was officially called up by the United States Men’s National Team for the Concacaf Gold Cup this summer. He’s the only Lion who will be at the tournament and is one of seven uncapped USMNT players on the roster. The 20-year-old could receive more playing time than expected, as right back Sergino Dest is not on the roster so that he can recover over the summer. Left back John Tolkin was added to replace Dest, so Freeman has a real shot at making a claim for the position this month. The U.S. will take on Turkey Saturday in the first of two friendlies before its first Gold Cup match against Trinidad & Tobago on June 15.

Orlando Pride Prepares to Host the Houston Dash

With the international break for women’s soccer over, the Orlando Pride return to action Saturday with a home game against the Houston Dash. It should be a great opportunity for the Pride to ease back into the swing of things against a Dash team that’s only scored 10 goals this season. Pride midfielder Ally Lemos spoke on the benefit of being able to rest heading into this match while maintaining a winning mindset from a 3-1 victory on May 23.

Anna Moorhouse Called Up For 2025 Euros

Orlando Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was named to England’s final roster for the 2025 UEFA European Women’s Championship. She’s one of three goalkeepers on the squad following Mary Earp’s surprise retirement from international soccer, and she will likely compete with fellow uncapped player Khiara Keating for the backup position behind Hannah Hampton. Moorhouse has started in every game for the Pride this season and was an NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year finalist for her record-breaking season last year. England’s Euro run will begin July 5 against France before other group matches against the Netherlands and Wales.

Orlando City B Takes On Huntsville City FC

The Young Lions are riding high after a 2-1 win over Chattanooga FC and will take that momentum into tonight’s road match against Huntsville City FC. Midfielder Noah Levis scored his first career goal in that home win, with Justin Hylton providing the assist in his OCB debut. Orlando’s offense has been hot and cold this season but has a variety of attacking talent that can create chances in different ways. The Young Lions have only won once on the road, but a win tonight would lift them to third in the Eastern Conference.

Free Kicks

  • FIFA Club World Cup action is coming to the City Beautiful this month and Orlando City legend Kaká spoke on how it’s nice for Orlando to host games.
  • San Diego Wave Head Coach Jonas Eidevall was named NWSL Coach of the Month. The Wave were undefeated in May, winning three of their four matches to climb to second in the league standings.
  • The NWSL will allow intraleague loans for all teams, with the players needing to consent to the move in order for it to happen. Denver and Boston’s expansion teams will have access to potentially over $1 million in Allocation Money starting on July 1 to build their rosters before the 2026 season.
  • Atletico Madrid is reportedly close to signing American midfielder Johnny Cardoso from Real Betis.
  • South Korea, Uzbekistan, and Jordan all qualified for the 2026 World Cup, while China was eliminated from contention. Australia beat Japan 1-0 and will qualify so long as it doesn’t lose heavily to Saudi Arabia on June 10.
  • Spain beat France 5-4 in a wild game to reach the UEFA Nations League final against Portugal on Sunday. Lamine Yamal continues to take the world by storm, but a late rally by France nearly completed a comeback.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

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