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Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew: Final Score 4-3 as Lions’ Comeback Extends Unbeaten Run to Six

Down 3-1 late, the Lions rallied with a trio of late goals to stun the Crew in a wild finish at Exploria Stadium.

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2 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City scored three straight goals from the 73rd minute on to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 win over the Columbus Crew in front of an announced crowd of 22,802 Exploria Stadium. The Lions (14-6-8, 50 points) made numerous mistakes against the high-scoring Crew (13-9-6, 45 points), paying for most of them, but Facundo Torres’ goal off the bench and Ramiro Enrique’s late brace led Orlando City to another Cardiac Cats-type finish.

Martin Ojeda also scored for the Lions, who managed to overcome goals by Julian Gressel, Diego Rossi, and Cucho Hernandez. The win extended Orlando City’s unbeaten run in league play to six matches (5-0-1) and lengthened the team’s home unbeaten run in all competitions to 11 matches (7-0-4).

“Today was another demonstration of the character of this group,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “And I want to honor that responsibility and that desire to overcome. It’s not easy to score goals when things don’t look good, and after (the Crew made it) 3-1, the team believed in the process, believed in the ways, and we kept the mentality intact.”

Pareja’s lineup had a few surprises. Pedro Gallese took his usual spot in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. With Wilder Cartagena suspended, Pareja opted to pair Felipe in central midfield with Cesar Araujo rather than Junior Urso behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Ojeda, with Ramiro Enrique up top. Duncan McGuire picked up a knock in training late in the week and did not dress, while Torres was away on international duty and started the game on the bench.

The Crew got the first shot of the game five minutes in when Rossi went for goal from a tight angle. Gallese had to be alert to fight it off for a corner kick. A minute later, Gallese again had to fight off a shot from his right as Yaw Yeboah smashed a laser toward goal.

The visitors took the corner short and the Lions stole the ball and should have scored in transition. Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Schulte was well outside of his box when Angulo got onto the ball at midfield. Rather than trying for the open net from distance, he took a touch, which allowed the keeper to scramble back. Angulo’s subsequent pass on the break for Thorhallsson was badly off line and the attack evaporated.

Santos tried a shot from long range in the 12th minute but it fizzed just wide of the right post.

Four minutes later, the Crew opened the scoring after an Orlando turnover in its own end. Pereyra and Araujo looked at each other on a pass between the two but neither went for it, allowing the Crew to collect. Rossi chipped a ball over the top for Hernandez’s run and Thorhallsson was caught out of line with his defensive teammates, keeping the play onside. That left Gallese alone against Hernandez, who calmly chipped him to feed Gressel in front for the tap-in.

Orlando was sloppy throughout the first half, often placing passes between two teammates who weren’t sure who the pass was supposed to go to. That sloppiness nearly allowed the Crew to quickly double the lead. Yeboah smashed a shot just wide of the near post after another such turnover in the defensive end.

The Lions should have equalized in the 26th minute. A good transition attack ended up with Angulo down the right. The winger sent a good pass into the middle to Enrique, but he fired his shot low and in the center of the net, which was the only place Schulte could have gotten to it, and he did. The save preserved the Columbus advantage.

Orlando again fashioned a good chance in transition in the 34th minute but this time Angulo overcooked his pass toward the end line for Ojeda. The Argentine fired a shot/cross in front of goal that hit Schulte, deflected off another body and went right back to the goalkeeper.

Gallese came up huge in the 42nd minute to keep his team in the game. Thorhallsson got beaten badly and Yeboah was in alone. Gallese denied his shot and the rebound found Hernandez, who fired with his first touch but it was right at Gallese, who managed to stop it with his legs without givine up a rebound.

That was the last good look of the half for either team and the Crew took a 1-0 lead into the break.

Orlando City held the halftime advantage in possession (54.4%-45.6%) and passing accuracy (85.4%-81.9%), while the Crew had more shots (9-4), shots on target (6-1), and corners (3-2).

The Lions equalized just three minutes after the restart. Angulo got the ball on the right side of the box and fed it across from right to left. It found its way through to Ojeda, who quickly turned and sent it in with his right foot to make it 1-1 in the 48th minute.

Columbus got back on the front foot after Ojeda’s goal. The visitors were getting to almost every loose ball and working their way through the Orlando defense with good passing sequences and even better movement off the ball that often caught the Lions off guard.

Rossi paid off that attacking play in the 56th minute, putting Columbus back on top. Yeboah played a through ball for Rossi’s crafty run in behind Schlegel and he slotted past Gallese to make it 2-1.

Pareja introduced Torres moments after his team fell behind for the second time. The Uruguayan had a leg contusion and Pareja didn’t expect to have his Designated Player available for this game but he was able to recover in time to make the matchday squad.

Despite the move to bring on Torres, who immediately made Orlando City a more dangerous-looking team with a couple of quick shot attempts, the Crew extended their lead less than 10 minutes later. The Crew attacked in transition and Santos was caught up the field. Alexandru Matan got in behind down the Crew’s right side and sent a centering pass to give Hernandez a tap-in. The Crew’s lead bulged to 3-1 at 68 minutes.

Pareja sent Jack Lynn and Luca Petrasso onto the field in the 70th minute for Angulo and Santos as the Lions desperately chased the game.

Orlando City pulled a goal back moments later. A beautiful long ball by Pereyra hit off Lynn and fell to Enrique, who finessed the ball through a Crew defender to Ojeda. The Argentine passed up a chance to shoot and sent it to Torres, who fired home to make it 3-2 in the 73rd minute with his 12th goal of the season.

Pareja made one more move, sending on Michael Halliday for Pereyra, moving Thorhallsson into the midfield. Halliday made an immediate impact, intercepting a pass and starting an Orlando City break. Aidan Morris made a perfect form tackle — American football style — to pick up a booking in order to break up the play.

Just a few minutes later, Torres was fouled by Crew defender Yevhen Cheberko about 25 yards out on the right side. Ojeda’s free kick hit off of Cheberko’s head, but instead of clearing it, his sideways header fell at Enrique’s feet. The MLS U22 Initiative forward slotted it past Schulte to level the score in the 86th minute.

“No matter the amount of hard work that you put in, the first objective always has to be to push the group further, to do whatever you can to help the group achieve the most they can and continue onward,” Enrique said of his role through a club interpreter. Whether you’re selected as a starter, off the bench, or even sometimes out of the group, you have to do whatever is in the best interest of the team to continue pushing them further and towards more success.”

As time wound down, the Crew managed to win multiple corner kicks but the visitors could not make them pay off. Referee Rubiel Vazquez tacked six extra minutes onto the 90 for one of the teams to find a winner. Orlando City took advantage of that, but it required a seventh minute.

With the seconds winding down, Orlando City won a free kick about 25 yards out near the left sideline. Ojeda took the free kick and sent a good cross into the box. The ball somehow missed a flying Schlegel attempt and Schulte’s charge off his line to try to punch it, but Torres was right behind him and went low to head the ball back across the box. Once again the ball fell at Enrique’s feet and he swept it home in the 97th minute to send Exploria Stadium into euphoria.

Enrique’s brace doubled his season total of goals from two to four.

“Just absolutely pure happiness,” Enrique said after the game, about what was going through his mind. “Happy to score the goals and I think, first and foremost happy for the three points.”

Columbus kicked off and the game was over with the Lions smashing and grabbing all three points.

The Crew turned around the possession numbers in the second half and led in most of the game’s statistical categories. Columbus held the advantage in possession (52.4%-47.6%), shots (15-14), shots on target (10-7), corners (9-2), and passing accuracy (85%-83.1%).

“I think Columbus is a great team. Today they dominated us in the beginning of the first half,” Pereyra said. “For us it was difficult to press them. But then, after, we showed personality. We showed desire and a winning mentality that we are having in the last 10 or 15 matches. I think we’ve improved a lot.”

“A lot of things to get better, but today it’s a good demonstration of this character, and we’re proud,” Pareja said.

The Lions will have a quick turnaround before playing away at New York City FC on Wednesday at Citi Field.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/23/25

Pride fall to Racing Louisville, Seb Hines and Giles Barnes share insight on path to success in Orlando, USMNT defeats Haiti, and more.

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3 hours ago

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June 23, 2025

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been busy working and catching up with friends over the past week. Before we get started, let’s wish a belated happy birthday to Orlando Pride Vice President of Soccer Operations and Sporting Director Haley Carter, who turned 41 on Saturday. The Pride was the lone team in action over the weekend, while the Lions and OCB were off. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Pride Fall at Racing Louisville

The Orlando Pride fell to Racing Louisville 2-0 Friday at Lynn Family Stadium. Arin Wright scored the opening goal in the first half, and former Pride midfielder Taylor Flint converted a penalty kick for Racing Louisville. The Pride struggled offensively and failed to capitalize on their scoring chances. Orlando’s struggles in Louisville continue, as the club is winless in five matches at Lynn Family Stadium. The Pride will be on a long break, and their next match will be Aug. 3, taking on the Utah Royals at Inter&Co Stadium.

Seb Hines, Giles Barnes Share Insight on Path to Success in Orlando

Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines and Assistant Coach Giles Barnes were featured in an interview in The Guardian. Both Hines and Barnes shared insight into their longtime friendship, which began with playing in English youth international camps, their different paths to playing in Major League Soccer, and how they became involved in coaching. Hines discussed his time as interim manager of the Pride in 2022 and how he brought in Barnes to help change the club’s culture. Hines and Barnes helped change the perception of the club and led the Pride to winning both the NWSL Shield and NWSL Championship last season.

USMNT Defeats Haiti to Win Group D in Gold Cup

The U.S. Men’s National Team defeated Haiti 2-1 Sunday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, in their final match in the group stage of the 2025 Concacaf Gold Cup. The USMNT finished atop its group with three wins and nine points. Orlando City defender Alex Freeman made his third consecutive start and played 90 minutes.

Malik Tillman scored the opening goal 10 minutes into the match to give the USMNT the early lead. Haiti tied the match not long after Tillman’s goal. In the second half, Patrick Agyemang pulled the USMNT back in front. The USMNT advances to the quarterfinals as the group winner and will play its next match Sunday against the Group A runner-up which was the late game Sunday night and had yet to conclude as of this writing.

Club World Cup Weekend Recap

Another weekend of matches from the FIFA Club World Cup is in the books. On Friday, Benfica crushed Auckland City FC 6-0, while Flamengo beat Chelsea 3-1. LAFC was eliminated from advancing to the knockout round after a 1-0 defeat to ES Tunis. Bayern Munich edged Boca Juniors 2-1. On Saturday, Borussia Dortmund defeated Mamelodi Sundowns 4-3. Inter Milan needed a late stoppage-time winning goal from Valentin Carboni to edge Urawa Red Diamonds 2-1. Fluminense beat Ulsan HD 4-2, and River Plate and Monterrey ended in a scoreless draw. On Sunday, Juventus cruised to a 4-1 win over Wydad Casablanca. Xabi Alonso secured his first win as manager of Real Madrid with a 3-1 victory against Pachuca. Red Bull Salzburg and Al-Hilal played to a scoreless draw, with Manchester City playing Al-Ain in the late match Sunday. Today’s matches feature Atletico Madrid facing Botafogo, the Seattle Sounders hosting Paris Saint-Germain, FC Porto vs. Al Ahly, and Inter Miami taking on Palmeiras.

Free Kicks

  • Orlando Pride midfielder Ally Lemos and forward Simone Jackson have been called-up to the U-23 U.S. Women’s National Team. The U-23 camp will be led by Orlando Pride Assistant Coach Yolanda Thomas.

USL Championship side San Antonio FC has signed former Orlando City defender Abdi Salim to a 25-day contract.

San Diego Wave winger Maria Sanchez has reportedly reach an agreement to return to her former club, Tigres of Liga MX Femenil, on a four-year contract.

Paul Pogba is reportedly set to return to playing soccer and has signed a two-year contract with Ligue 1 side AS Monaco.

That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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Opinion

Orlando City Has Been Better than Expected Halfway Through the Season

While there was plenty to worry about at the start of the season, Orlando has had a good first half of 2025.

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3 days ago

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June 20, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

With 18 matches in the books, we’ve moved just past the halfway point of the 2025 Major League Soccer season, and based off my feelings before Orlando City played its opening game of the season, the Lions have performed above expectations so far. There were plenty of valid reasons to be concerned heading into the year. Orlando had sold its all-time leading goal scorer, and there were questions about whether he’d been adequately replaced. There were worries about depth at multiple positions, and the defense was coming off an uncharacteristically poor year. Here we are though, with the Lions sitting fifth in the Eastern Conference, just three points out of second place and seven points out of first. So how did we get to this point?

For one thing, Marco Pasalic has been much better than I (and I think a lot of other people) expected him to be. The Croatian has six goals and four assists across 18 matches, and is second on the team in both categories. He scored 10 goals in 49 appearances in the Croatian first division before coming to Orlando and was extremely one-footed, which was enough evidence to sow real doubt about whether he could adequately replace the impact of Facundo Torres.

So far, it’s mostly been so good. His direct style of play is a good complement to the styles of Martin Ojeda and Luis Muriel, and he’s largely hit the ground running in a league that can be difficult to adapt to. It hasn’t been perfect, as he’s still very one-footed, and can sometimes disappear if he’s stringently man marked, but on the whole there’s been much more good than bad.

Speaking of Ojeda and Muriel, they’ve also had strong years. Ojeda in particular has continued his great second half of the 2024 season and has nine goals and five assists in 18 games to show for it. He looks fast, confident, and decisive and is a far cry from the player who struggled frequently during his first year as a Lion. Muriel has cooled off a little after a scorching start to 2025, but he still has six goals and three assists in 18 matches. He looks vastly improved from last year, when he looked a little off the pace of play and quickly lost the starting striker role. He still has a tendency to not be as selfish as he needs to be in front of goal, but he’s been much better than 2024.

I mentioned depth being a big concern, and not just at one position. At the beginning of the season Orlando City was, and arguably still is, thin at striker, center back, defensive midfield, and fullback. Duncan McGuire was injured to start the year and is now injured again, leaving Orlando with two true strikers in Muriel and Ramiro Enrique. There was no true backup left back, only one reliable backup center back, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson starting at right back meant that defensive midfield depth consisted of rookie Joran Gerbet and the Swiss army knife that is Kyle Smith.

Things have mostly worked out though. David Brekalo has supplanted Rafael Santos, meaning the Brazilian is now a proven backup option at the position, and Smith has filled in there as well. That means that in games in which Rodrigo Schlegel or Robin Jansson are unavailable, Brekalo fills in at center back, Santos starts at left back, and Smith is the backup for both positions, so it isn’t a flawless system. Gerbet has been playing better and better and got some valuable minutes when Eduard Atuesta and Cesar Araujo were unavailable. His emergence has been a crucial piece of the puzzle this year. So too has the rise of Alex Freeman, as his locking down the right back role has allowed Thorhallsson to fill in at defensive midfield, attacking midfield, and right back. The situation isn’t perfect, as a couple untimely injuries to the wrong guys would leave the Lions looking pretty threadbare, but so far it’s just about worked.

Another big concern was the defense. The Lions conceded 50 goals in the regular season last year, which was tied for the second-most of any Eastern Conference playoff team and fourth-most of any playoff team. With no defensive signings and the aforementioned depth concerns, there were plenty of reasons to worry about Orlando’s ability to keep the ball out of the back of the net.

Things have looked much better in 2025, though. The 22 goals OCSC has conceded are the fifth-fewest in the league, and Pedro Gallese’s eight clean sheets are tied for most in the league. Aside from a few egregious defensive performances against the Philadelphia Union, Atlanta United, and the Chicago Fire, things have mostly been tidy at the back, and when they haven’t been, El Pulpo has been around to pick up the slack. Again, things haven’t been perfect, as there have been moments where individual and collective errors have hurt the team, but it’s been better.

I thought the Lions would struggle this year. Going into the start of the season, we were talking about a team that lost Torres, arguably didn’t do enough to strengthen the team across the board, was facing depth issues, and was dealing with a leaky defense — all while pretty much every other contender in the East got stronger on paper. Instead, OCSC tied a club-best unbeaten streak and is just three points out of second place.

That being said, the East is so tight that Orlando is only five points above the playoff line, and injuries to the wrong guys could easily topple the fragile ecosystem that is the depth chart, but so far things are going better than I thought they would be. There are still a lot of matches to play, but this isn’t a bad position to be in at the halfway mark.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/20/25

Orlando Pride take on Racing Louisville FC tonight, Orlando Pride players called up by Zambia, USMNT beats Saudi Arabia, and more.

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3 days ago

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June 20, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday! June continues to fly by as we enjoy the buffet of soccer here in the U.S. this month. I’ll be spending most of the weekend working, but I am hoping to get some reading done after being gifted some books for my birthday. But enough about me, let’s jump right into today’s links!

Orlando Pride Face Racing Louisville Tonight

The Orlando Pride are on the road tonight for a match against Racing Louisville FC at 8 p.m. in the final game before a league break until August. Going into the break with four straight wins would be nice for the Pride, but they’ve struggled at Lynn Family Stadium over the years. Louisville enters this match following a 4-2 loss to the league-leading Kansas City Current and has scored eight goals over the past three games. Orlando’s defense has been phenomenal this year, conceding just eight goals this season and only one during this win streak. Midfielder Cori Dyke spoke on how the team is finding its groove and shutting out opponents.

Zambia Calls Up Orlando Pride Trio

Barbra Banda, Grace Chanda, and Prisca Chilufya were all called up for Zambia’s CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations roster ahead of this summer’s tournament. Banda has eight goals this season with the Pride and had four goals at last year’s Olympics, including a hat trick against Australia. The Copper Queens claimed third place in the 2022 edition of this tournament, and they’ll need to be at their best to win this summer against tough opponents like South Africa and Nigeria. Zambia’s tournament campaign will kick off on July 5 against the host nation, Morocco.

USMNT Beats Saudi Arabia to Qualify for Quarterfinals

The United States Men’s National Team won 1-0 against Saudi Arabia to clinch a spot in the quarterfinals of this year’s Concacaf Gold Cup. After a scoreless first half, the Yanks broke through in the 63rd minute thanks to a free kick. Sebastian Berhalter served the ball on a silver platter to Chris Richards, who buried it for the crucial goal. The defense did well to secure its second shutout of the tournament, with Orlando City’s Alex Freeman starting at right back yet again. The USMNT will play Haiti on Sunday and should be able to win the group for a smoother path in the knockout stage.

FIFA Club World Cup Roundup

An MLS club finally won a game during this year’s FIFA Club World Cup, with Inter Miami beating Porto 2-1 in Atlanta. Lionel Messi scored the winner from a free kick to complete the comeback after conceding an early goal. The Seattle Sounders had a rougher day, falling 3-1 to Atletico Madrid, with Pablo Barrios scoring a brace. Former Lion Facundo Torres started for Palmeiras in the Brazilian club’s 2-0 win over Egypt’s Al Ahly.

Today’s action features more soccer at Inter&Co Stadium, with Benfica and Auckland City squaring off in the City Beautiful. Our Michael Citro will be on hand to report on it. Elsewhere in the U.S., Chelsea will take on Flamengo, LAFC will face ES Tunis, and Bayern Munich will play Boca Juniors.

Free Kicks

  • Canada Head Coach Jesse Marsch, who is already serving a suspension for misconduct during the Nations League, is under investigation by Concacaf for incidents during this Gold Cup. Reports detail that Marsch disregarded regulations and used offensive language toward match officials.
  • Kylian Mbappe was discharged from the hospital after suffering from a case of gastroenteritis. It’s unclear if or when he’ll play for Real Madrid during the Club World Cup.
  • Carlos Cuesta was hired as Parma’s next head coach after five years with Arsenal as an assistant coach. The 29-year-old becomes the second-youngest coach in Serie A history.
  • Manchester City was fined over $1 million by the English Premier League for repeated delays regarding kickoff times.

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

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