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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 Showing Signs of Adjusting to Eduard Atuesta’s Absence

The Lions have looked much better on offense the last two games, and there’s a couple of reasons why.

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1 day ago

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May 16, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Much has been made of Orlando City’s difficulties in creating chances and scoring goals when Eduard Atuesta has been unavailable due to injury. It’s not hard to understand why either. The Colombian was unavailable for three of Orlando’s four scoreless draws this year, and he only played nine minutes as a substitute in the stalemate against the New York Red Bulls on April 12.

When he was healthy and got the start against Atlanta United two games later, the Lions won 3-0 and he created the most chances of anyone in the game with three. Orlando then promptly reverted to being offensively stunted in the following game against the Chicago Fire, and was only able to manage its fourth scoreless draw of the year, despite playing over a half the game with a man advantage.

There certainly seemed to be plenty of evidence pointing towards Atuesta being the missing cog in Orlando City’s offense. While he only has two assists in eight games, he does a ton of work in linking the defense to the attack and is great at finding attacking players in dangerous areas, as evidenced by his 17 key passes. In the 0-0 draws with the Philadelphia Union, CF Montreal, and the Fire, Orlando just didn’t look right without him, although the Red Bulls game was a much better performance that was ultimately derailed by Rodrigo Schlegel’s sending off.

While he hasn’t played in either of Orlando’s last two league matches, a 3-3 draw against the New England Revolution, and a 3-1 win against Charlotte FC, the offense clearly hasn’t had any problem creating chances. If anything, the Lions should have scored more goals if not for a couple instances of less-than-crisp finishing in each match.

So, why the sudden change?

Well for one thing, the Designated Players are firing on all cylinders again. Martin Ojeda scored a hat trick against New England, and he and Luis Muriel scored Orlando’s first two goals against Charlotte. Ojeda didn’t start either of the two games against Atlanta and Chicago because he was dealing with a minor injury, but now that it’s in the rearview mirror, he’s been a man possessed. Muriel probably should have had at least one goal of his own against the Revs but seemed oddly reluctant to shoot, although he still completed three dribbles and delivered three key passes. The Charlotte game was then his turn to come out of the gate swinging, as he narrowly had a goal ruled out for offside just two minutes in, before hammering a venomous shot from distance just six minutes later that gave Kristijan Kahlina all sorts of trouble and opened the scoring.

It isn’t just getting contributions from the big guns though, because we need to acknowledge the play of rookie Joran Gerbet in these last two games. He’s the man who’s been asked to fill in for Atuesta next to Cesar Araujo, and he’s getting more and more comfortable in that role. Against the Revs he had an interception, a key pass and an assist, and completed a long ball and a through ball while recording a passing accuracy of 86.5%. Against Charlotte, he recorded an interception, three clearances, a completed dribble, and two successful long balls, and he had an outstanding passing accuracy of 98%. They weren’t all simply backwards or sideways passes either. There were plenty of times when he progressed the ball upfield to an attacking player and helped keep the Lions moving forward, and that’s exactly what you want out of the guy playing that position.

He still has a way to go before reaching Atuesta’s level, but that’s to be expected for a guy that’s playing the first professional season of his career. What’s most important is that he’s getting more comfortable, contributing, and proving that he can be a legitimate option to rotate into the starting XI when Atuesta is unavailable or when fixture congestion dictates changes to the lineup.

It’s worth mentioning the caveat that the last two games haven’t been against the strongest opposition the league has to offer. The Revs were on a four-game winning streak before playing Orlando, but three of those four wins were against weak or shaky teams in Atlanta, Toronto FC, and Charlotte, while the fourth team (NYCFC) has been difficult to get a read on. I’m not saying the Revs are a paper tiger, but it’s tough to know how good they really are despite a good run of recent form. Then you have Charlotte, which was above the playoff line but also on a three-game losing streak coming into the match that has now been convincingly extended to four.

At the end of the day, you can only beat who’s in front of you, but I’d encourage us all to not get too carried away until we see the same results against sterner opposition. For better or worse, that’s exactly what we’ll get in the Lions’ next three matches, which will be against a capable, albeit flawed, Inter Miami side on the road, at home in the U.S. Open Cup against a Nashville SC team that’s fourth in the East, and at home against the Portland Timbers, who are currently fourth in the West.

Ultimately, we can only judge this team on what we’ve seen from it, and over the last two games we’ve seen a side that’s had no trouble creating chances. Despite the continued absence of the important Atuesta, the Lions are adjusting thanks to contributions from their heavy hitters and the improving play of the rookie Gerbet. Only time will tell if those improvements are sustainable, but for now its a hell of a lot of fun to enjoy.

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Lion Links: 5/16/25

Orlando City players make MLS Team of the Matchday, Luis Muriel focused, Orlando Pride plays tonight, and more.

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1 day ago

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May 16, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Happy Friday! I’ve had a pretty good week so far and am looking forward to three straight days of Orlando soccer. The Orlando Pride will get us started tonight and then we have Orlando City B on Saturday before Orlando City plays on Sunday. It should be a fun next few days, and hopefully one filled with celebrations too. Let’s dive into today’s links!

Lions Make MLS Team of the Matchday

There’s plenty of purple in the latest MLS Team of the Matchday following Orlando City’s 3-1 win over Charlotte FC. Martin Ojeda and David Brekalo were both selected, while Oscar Pareja was chosen as the top coach from the midweek slate. Ojeda’s strike in the first half is also up for Goal of the Matchday as his strong run of form continues. The only outfield player on this Team of the Matchday that didn’t score is Brekalo, who had two assists, so it’s nice to see him receive deserved recognition for an excellent performance that included a great setup on Orlando’s third goal. Pareja has the Lions on an 11-game unbeaten streak across all competitions and is managing things well so far during this busy May.

Luis Muriel Staying Focused in Sophomore Season

With five goals so far this season, Orlando City forward Luis Muriel has already mirrored his scoring total from all of last season. Staying mentally prepared has been key for the 34-year-old in his second year with Orlando, and he spoke about what’s changed for him after not quite reaching expectations in his first year.

“Coming to a league like this isn’t easy. A lot of times from the outside, you aren’t able to measure up or really see what the league is. Sometimes you can underestimate things, thinking it’s easy,” Muriel said. “That leads you to take things on in a different way, the work, the matches.

“When you go into ‘MLS Mode’ you realize how good the league is, how competitive it is, how demanding the league is to be able to do things well. That’s when things start to flow, to go well. I think that’s the difference between this year and last.”

He’s finding his footing in the league now and was a force to be reckoned with against Charlotte on Wednesday. Muriel is aware that the Lions will need him to be at his best when they travel to take on Inter Miami on Sunday for an important rivalry clash.

Diving Into Justin Ellis’s Ascent

Victor Olorunfemi of Top Drawer Soccer gave a great profile on Orlando City B forward Justin Ellis and his growth with the club. Ellis, who just celebrated his 18th birthday on Wednesday with his MLS debut, is having a great year after a solid season with OCB last year. The high school senior was the top scorer at this year’s Generation Adidas Cup with six goals to help Orlando’s U-18 team win the tournament. He can create chances just as well as he can convert them and is quick to give credit to the coaches and staff that have helped him develop. The U.S. youth pool is deep, but Ellis could be a name to keep an eye out for ahead of the U-20 World Cup in September.

Orlando Pride Match Headlines NWSL Weekend

The Orlando Pride’s match tonight against the Kansas City Current is the premier matchup this week in the NWSL. While I wouldn’t call it a rivalry just yet, these two teams had great games last year. The Current are still out for revenge after Orlando beat them while shorthanded last summer and won again in the NWSL playoffs in Orlando before winning the NWSL Championship in Kansas City. First place in the league is on the line and it should be a thrilling match featuring the league’s top two defenses and attacking threats like Barbra Banda, Temwa Chawinga, Marta, and Debinha.

NWSL Contenders and Underperformers

We’re about a third of the way into the NWSL season and ESPN‘s Jeff Kassouf dove into how each team is meeting its expectations so far. Despite their stumbles in recent weeks, the Pride are near the top of the table and have plenty of time to get things firing on all cylinders. Two of the California teams are enjoying surprising success so far, with the San Diego Wave up in fourth while Angel City FC is in fifth and could become a real contender once Alexander Straus takes over as head coach. NJ/NY Gotham FC and the North Carolina Courage are sleeping giants of sorts, so it will be interesting to see when they start climbing up the table.

Free Kicks

  • You’ll need a paid subscription for the full details, but Orlando City right back Alex Freeman continues to impress this season. Freeman is finding success in a way different from his father Antonio Freeman, who led the NFL in receiving yards for the Green Bay Packers in 1998.
  • This year’s MLS pre-match jerseys to celebrate Pride month are out and they’re a vibrant and funky design.

Love lifts us up 💜The new 2025 Pride Pre-Match Jerseys are here!🛒 orlsoccer.co/fbpri

— Orlando City SC (@orlandocitysc.com) 2025-05-15T18:56:08.764Z
  • Esther Gonzalez leads the NWSL with seven goals this season and has agreed to a contract extension with Gotham FC that will last through 2027.
  • FIFA representatives, including FA Chair Debbie Hewitt and UEFA President Alexander Ceferin, walked out of FIFA’s annual congress in protest of FIFA President Gianni Infantino arriving three hours late. Infantino has spent this week in the Middle East visiting leaders in Saudi Arabia and Qatar with Donald Trump.
  • FC Barcelona officially won this year’s La Liga title after a 2-0 win over Espanyol. Phenom Lamine Yamal scored a sensational goal in the match, which is fitting considering how crucial he was to Barcelona winning the league this year.
  • Predictable names like Luis Enrique and Antonio Conte are on the list of top European coaches this year, but this article also shines a light on coaches who navigated tough waters in small boats. Alexander Blessin has St. Pauli on the verge of survival in the Bundesliga and Filippo Inzaghi improved Pisa by 30 points in Serie B to secure promotion.

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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Orlando City vs. Inter Miami: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to secure a victory in Sunday’s edition of Tropic Thunder?

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2 days ago

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May 15, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City / Mark Thor

The first Tropic Thunder match of the season is here. As I recently said on The Mane Land PawedCast, I am both looking forward to and dreading this match. I think that is an appropriate feeling. Orlando City is in the midst of a congested May schedule, but every match matters.

Inter Miami tops my list of hated teams at this point. As such, I very much want the Lions to win and for Florida to be purple. What does Orlando City need to do to earn all three points on the road against their in-state rivals?

Pocket Messi

Orlando City must keep Lionel Messi from having too big of an impact on the match. There are plenty of other players that the defense will need to worry about, and I’ll get to them. What I’m looking for is a frustrated Messi — Messi that feels he should be getting calls on the lightest of touches but is not.

The pair of players that I’m expecting to keep an eye on Messi are Cesar Araujo and Rodrigo Schlegel. The lion’s share of that burden will fall to Araujo. I want him to be hounding Messi every time he gets the ball. If Messi is able to get past Araujo, I want Schlegel to be right in his face. We’re all sick of MLS and Apple TV putting his smug mug in our faces at every opportunity. It’s time for two of Orlando’s defenders to take the shine off of Messi.

Deal with the Rest

Assuming Araujo can limit Messi, Orlando City still has to deal with Miami’s talented attacking players not named Messi. Miami and Orlando entered Wednesday night’s game with the same number of goals scored (21) and allowed (15) this season, although the Herons conceded more at San Jose (3) than the Lions (1) did at home against Charlotte. Each scored three times on Wednesday. However, the memory of the last time the Lions faced Miami at Chase Stadium in Ft. Lauderdale is a 5-0 loss. That isn’t something we want to see again.

Theoretically, no match is more important than another, although an argument could be made that Tropic Thunder is no mere match. I fully expect a starting back line of Alex Freeman, Schlegel, Robin Jansson, and David Brekalo in front of Pedro Gallese to stop Miami’s attack. A clean sheet is the objective.

Alex vs. Alba

As you can tell, this is a very defensive heavy Three Keys, but given what happened in this fixture last year, I don’t think it’s out of line. Alex Freeman has been good this season. He has secured the starting spot at right back and seems unlikely to give it back. One of the things he is good at is getting into the attack with Marco Pasalic. That isn’t what I’m looking for from him this weekend.

Miami’s Jordi Alba is a dangerous player that Freeman will be expected to help contain. Alba has five assists, seven successful crosses, and 13 key passes so far this season. If Freeman is still getting up the pitch to assist in the attack, he will need to make sure he isn’t allowing Alba free rein to get behind him and serve as a provider in Orlando’s half of the field.

That is what I will be looking for Sunday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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