In a reversal of Orlando City’s game on opening night, the Lions outplayed their visitors on Sunday for the opening 45 minutes, only to be undone in the second half. Turnovers in the defensive end and lapses in marking let Inter Miami climb out of a 2-0 hole and ultimately win 4-2, marking the first time the Herons have taken all three points out of Orlando.

While much has been made of Miami’s three previous trips that Lionel Messi skipped, the Argentine legend made the trip this time and his presence was felt, particularly in the second half, when he scored twice and set up a goal in the comeback. Only one pitch invader marred events, and that came late in the match.

Orlando City fans will fondly remember the first half, as the Lions appeared on their way to another regular-season win over their rivals when Marco Pasalic and Martin Ojeda powered the team to a two-goal lead inside the first half an hour. Maxime Crepeau made some excellent stops to preserve that lead into the half, despite playing behind two first-time MLS starters along the back line in Nolan Miller and Tahir Reid-Brown.

On the other side of halftime, substitute Matteo Silvetti pulled Miami back into the game after a defensive third giveaway and no one close enough to close down his blast from outside the area. Dayne St. Clair kept the Orlando lead from growing again at the other end of the pitch, and disaster struck when Messi scored the equalizer and Miller went down with an injury, requiring Iago to replace him.

Orlando City was unable to break out much in the second half once Miami pulled level, although St. Clair made a vital stop on Pasalic before the Croatian departed late in the game for fresher legs. Miami then scored the winner late when David Brekalo’s slip allowed a quick transition goal. Messi squashed hopes of an equalizer with a 90th-minute free kick goal, and the Lions fell for the second game to open the season.

Despite the result, Inter&Co Stadium was electric on Sunday night. We hope you enjoy these images from the match and that they bring to life some of the buzz that those in attendance felt until those fateful final minutes.

Images: Dan MacDonald
Words: Michael Citro

It should have been a night of excitement for a sellout crowd at Inter&Co Stadium to finally have Orlando City back in action in a meaningful match after the off-season. But the Lions struggled in their opening 45 minutes of the 2026 season, digging a 2-0 hole that was too deep to climb out of in a much-improved second half. Although the team battled hard to find a way back into the match, it wasn’t enough as Orlando City fell 2-1 to the New York Red Bulls in its second straight opening day loss.

The Red Bulls dominated the first half, shredding the rebuilt Orlando defense repeatedly, and keeping the Lions pinned in their own defensive half. More than 20 minutes passed before the hosts even had a touch in the opposition’s penalty area. The few times that Orlando was able to get the ball out of their own half, they broke down quickly with heavy touches and missed passes. Making matters worse was Wilder Cartagena’s return from last year’s Achilles tendon injury ended after just 14 minutes.

The visitors broke through just eight minutes into the match, and only a few missed opportunities and good goalkeeping by Maxime Crépeau kept New York from adding a second goal until the 40th minute after the failed clearance of a set piece. Teenager Julian Hall did all the damage for New York, scoring both goals. The 2-0 halftime score was flattering to an Orlando City team that had been completely swarmed for 45 minutes.

Oscar Pareja withdrew center back Iago and winger Marco Pašalić for 2026 draft pick Nolan Miller and Iván Angulo, respectively. He also made a tactical change, moving Angulo to a more interior midfield position than usual, allowing Tyrese Spicer — who had success getting forward, albeit generally undoing those efforts with poor passes and decisions in the final third — to continue getting into the spaces on New York’s right defensive flank. The tactical change and the substitutions infused the Lions with energy, and Orlando City was able to turn the tables in terms of possession and territorial advantage, if not on the scoreboard.

New York still looked dangerous on the counter, with Crépeau keeping his team alive with several highlight stops in a club single-game record-tying 11-save performance. However, the Lions had no choice but to leave space for transition chances as they were chasing the match throughout the second 45 minutes.

Griffin Dorsey, who had only had a few days of training with the team, was unlucky not to score a vital goal on his debut. Dorsey put the ball in the net in the 51st minute, but the ball had bounced off the turf and brushed his elbow for an inadvertent handball that nullified a strike that could have halved the deficit with most of the second half still to play. The Lions’ new right back also was robbed by a fantastic save by New York goalkeeper Ethan Horvath in the 70th minute.

Horvath made other big stops — notably on two brilliant shots by Martin Ojeda — to deny the Lions a route back into the match, and he got help with a deflectoin from the defense on an Angulo header that seemed surely destined to pull Orlando back into the match. City finally broke through deep in stoppage time as Angulo picked out second-half sub Zakaria Taifi’s run with a diagonal ball, and the Homegrown unselfishly provided a tap-in for debutante Tiago to spoil the shutout. As the goal came in the sixth minute of stoppage time, it was too late to change the outcome but a just reward for a good second-half performance.

The Lions will have a week to look at film and correct mistakes, and we could see some changes in the lineup as rival Inter Miami visits Sunday. The Herons are coming in bloodies after suffering a 3-0 defeat at LAFC on opening day.

We hope you enjoy these images from Orlando City’s opener, even if it wasn’t the result you were hoping for.

Images: Dan MacDonald
Words: Michael Citro

The Orlando Pride couldn’t quite grit out a victory in the NWSL playoff semifinals, ending their 2025 season one game shorter than they’d hoped. The Pride went toe-to-toe for most of the game with Gotham in a cagey match, but the opposition finally converted a free kick in the last minute of stoppage time to end the Pride’s run at repeating as NWSL champions.

Gotham managed to control the first few minutes of the game, but once the Pride started getting organized, they were the team pressing the attack, although the final product was often missing, sending set pieces straight at Gotham goalkeeper Ann-Katrin Berger and turning the ball over around the edges of the penalty area.

Orlando produced the best chance of the first half just past the half-hour mark, with Julie Doyle finding Jacquie Ovalle in the box, but the Mexican international was unable to make good contact on the shot and it trickled wide. The teams played back-and-forth soccer for the rest of the half without creating anything too dangerous.

Second-half substitutes Oihane and Simone Charley did well to help tip the field against Gotham, but as in the first half, neither team could not fashion anything more than half-chances.

As the teams seemed destined to play extra time, the Pride made a critical error deep in their own end. Ovalle’s heavy touch on a takeaway attempt gave the ball away and a soft (given the way the game had been called) foul was given in a dangerous area near the left corner of the box. Jaedyn Shaw sent in a dangerous ball over the top that forced Orlando goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse to make a decision on whether to play the set piece service or guard against a redirect. She chose the latter, but Midge Purce failed to get a touch on the ball, leaving Moorhouse helplessly watching the free kick tuck inside the right post.

The Pride had almost no time to respond, but nearly did so anyway. Ovalle won a free kick and Marta delivered good cross into the box. Oihane headed the ball on frame but left it just a bit too central. Berger still had to make a good save to keep it out, and she did so, preserving Gotham’s 1-0 lead and sending the Pride home instead of to the final.

Despite the final outcome, the Pride overcame an arduous second half of the year to once again prove they belong among the NWSL powerhouses. We hope you enjoy these photos of a hard-fought NWSL semifinal.