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Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew: Final Score 2-0 as 10-Man Lions Fall at Home in Extra Time

The Lions didn’t generate much offensively until they were down a man and a goal.

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1 year ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City did not look like the same team that cruised through the final weeks of the regular season and had ousted a tough Nashville team in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs on this night. The Lions were completely overrun at Exploria Stadium by the visiting Columbus Crew in normal time during tonight’s Eastern Conference semifinals match, but despite being down a man after a needless second yellow card from Rodrigo Schlegel, the Lions took the match into extra time before bowing out.

Christian Ramirez got a fortunate rebound off Pedro Gallese’s hand in extra time that hit him and trickled in to break the 0-0 deadlock. Cucho Hernandez added a late insurance goal with the Lions pressed forward, looking for an equalizer. In between, Orlando City had multiple excellent chances to equalize but couldn’t put the ball in the net.

With the loss — the Lions’ first at Exploria Stadium since April 22, a span of 15 matches in all competitions (10-0-5) — Orlando City saw its most successful season since joining Major League Soccer come to a conclusion.

“I thought we could have done much more than that and advance,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “But we have to accept that this is the result of a game that is competitive against a rival who made his case as well to advance through this series. Complicated game, especially in the first half. We felt uncomfortable and couldn’t create many sequences.”

Pareja’s starting lineup produced no surprises, with Gallese in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Schlegel, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena played central midfield behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres, with Duncan McGuire up top.

The first half was a cagey one, with Orlando seemingly reluctant to push forward much, yet Columbus applied its usual pressure and looked to counter quickly. The Crew won an early corner after it appeared Thorhallsson had been fouled out of his shoe, but referee Jon Freemon didn’t call it and Columbus took its throw-in quickly. Gallese caught the ensuing corner cross.

Moments later, Schlegel did well to break up a Crew attack in transition after Jansson lost sight of the ball. The Crew then got a free kick in a dangerous position after it appeared Mohamed Farsi was offside and Cartagena broke up the play with a foul. Instead of the flag coming up, the set piece was awarded but the wall did its job and blocked the ensuing attempt.

The Lions got their best chance of the half in the 13th minute when Angulo blazed down the left after taking a pass from Araujo. He cut a nice pass into the middle for Torres, who took an extra touch rather than firing first time. The Uruguayan then blazed a shot that was just inches high, skipping off the top of the net.

Alexandru Matan scuffed a shot attempt in the 14th minute that Gallese saved.

In the 20th minute, Angulo was sent in behind and appeared to be in on goalkeeper Patrick Schulte, but just before he could pull the trigger on his shot, Steven Moreira flew in from behind to poke it away.

Gallese made a huge save in the 23rd minute to deny Diego Rossi as the Crew continued to look dangerous in transition. Seconds later, Schlegel did well to make a sliding block of a cross, conceding a corner but preventing a scoring chance. The Crew couldn’t do anything with the set piece.

Hernandez had a shot blocked in the 26th minute for another Crew corner but again the Lions handled the set piece.

Rossi freed himself for a shot from outside the box in the 33rd minute but missed the target high and to the right. Three minutes later, Gallese had to throw out an arm to deny an Aidan Morris shot from distance that had a lot of power behind it. The Crew kept coming and Hernandez fired wide in the 41st minute.

That was the last decent look of the first half and the teams went into the break scoreless, but Columbus had to be the more confident team after the opening 45 minutes.

The Crew dominated the first half from a statistical standpoint, finishing the opening period with the edge in possession (52.6%-47.4%), shots (9-4), shots on target (3-0), corners (3-1), and passing accuracy (91.1%-84.4%).

Pareja said the Crew didn’t throw anything at them that surprised him but his team just wasn’t sharp enough.

“When we tried to put some passes in the middle third, I thought we got caught in not being precise in the passing and not occupying the spaces,” Pareja said.

If the Crew had the better of the play in the first half, that only intensified after halftime. The Lions struggled to get out of their own half and frequently lost control of the ball when they did get forward.

Jansson did well to win a vital challenge in the first minute after the restart but conceded a corner in doing so.

Orlando’s next chance came in the 48th minute when a ball fell for Thorhallsson but he fired his shot a few feet wide.

Rossi got into a dangerous spot in the 58th minute but hit his shot softly at Gallese for an easy save. Ten minutes later, Rossi was left alone in space about 25 yards out but hit his shot off target.

Jansson did well to block a Hernandez effort in the 73rd minute as the Crew kept coming.

four minutes later, the Lions had the ball forward but turned it over and the Crew sent a long ball over the top that changed the game. Schlegel may have had help from Jansson behind him as he was tracking Rossi, but he may not have known it. Concerned he’d be beaten for pace, the Argentine grabbed the Crew forward and was shown his second yellow card.

Schlegel was sent off, joining Pereyra (2020) as Orlando City players to be ejected from the conference semifinals. Antonio Carlos came off the bench as Angulo was sacrificed from the attack.

“I think it was a good foul. It was one that had to happen,” Torres said. “Obviously, it was an expulsion, but even when we had 11 players it was tough. We weren’t able to get on top of them. And so, going into the next phase of the game with 10, we knew that it was going to be even tougher and that every player was going to have to do double the running and double the effort. We just weren’t able to get it, but it’s what happens in these games.”

“After the red card I thought the boys found ways just to fight,” Pareja said. “It was probably better, I would say. Unorganized, but better in terms of possibilities, and I have big respect for that.”

Hernandez went for an audacious bicycle kick in the 82nd minute but hit it over the bar. The Lions were packed deeply into their end looking to see out normal time and hoping to find something on the counterattack.

Martin Ojeda had a chance to end the game in the sixth minute of stoppage time when Torres intercepted a wayward pass out of the back and fed the winger down the left side. Ojeda took the ball down the left and fired a shot just inches wide of the right post. It would almost certainly have lifted the Lions to an improbable victory if he could have steered it on target.

The crew held lopsided advantages in possession (59.1%-40.9%), shots (17-7), shots on target (4-0), corners (7-2), and passing accuracy (90.5%-81.9%), but the game went into 30 minutes of extra time.

Wilfried Nancy, who hadn’t subbed during normal time, sent Ramirez on for Matan to start the extra session. It paid dividends early in extra time. Freemon allowed play to continue after it appeared that Thorhallsson had been fouled near midfield, and then again after Araujo dribbled the ball out of the box and appeared to get clipped from behind. However, neither was callled and the ensuing cross in was knocked down by Gallese, but he hit it right to a charging Ramirez, who got a piece to bundle in for the opener in the 93rd minute.

Surprisingly, Orlando City, down a man and a goal in extra time, started generating scoring chances. The first of those came in the 100th minute. Substitute Junior Urso carved through the Columbus midfield and fed a pass in behind for fellow sub Kyle Smith. The fullback fired a shot on target but Schulte was able to make a big save.

Ojeda nearly had Ramiro Enrique in behind in the 103rd minute but the pass was a tad heavy and Schulte got there first.

That was the last good look of the first 15 minutes and the Crew led 1-0 at the extra time intermission.

Enrique nearly tied the game in the 106th minute when he again got in but Schulte made another vital save. Two minutes later, Gallese kept the game at 1-0 with a big stop at the other end.

Seconds later came maybe the best chance of all. Ojeda sent in a fantastic cross from the leftthat found Enrique at the near post. His header was on frame but Schulte stuck out a leg and it hit his foot for another big save.

Columbus put the match away in the 118th minute. With Gallese pushed forward as a sweeper, the Crew took possession and the ball found Hernandez, who accurately hit the target from midfield, making it 2-0 and sealing the game. Despite the overzealous MLS Twitter admin’s assertion (see embedded tweet below), it was most certainly not an incredible goal for a player of that caliber with no goalkeeper in the net. It was quite credible but oh well.

It was the third game this season that Orlando City fell behind multiple goals to Columbus but this time there were no late-game heroics to pull it back.

Columbus dominated the stat sheet, finishing with more possession (56.7%-43.3%), shots (20-13), shots on target (7-3), corners (7-6), and passing accuracy (89.5%-81.5%).

Pareja lauded his team’s effort after the match, citing the team finally being able to create some chances to win late in normal time and to equalize once Columbus took the lead.

“That heart probably needed a better reward because they had a few chances where we could equalize the game. It seems like our heart was bigger in those difficult moments but it was not enough.”

“I’m really proud of this team, to be the captain of this team,” Pereyra said. “It was such an honor for me this year. I already thanked the guys because the effort that they made today and during the whole season. They made me and Orlando City fans believe that we could fight for winning things. Today’s the end of this dream, but the effort and the way these dreams made a thing this year was great.”

That’s a wrap on Orlando City’s 2023 season, folks. It was a good one, but the Lions will be left wondering what might have been had Ojeda’s shot in stoppage time had gone in.

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Orlando City at CF Montreal: Three Keys to Victory

What do the Lions need to do to earn all three points on the road against Montreal?

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16 hours ago

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April 17, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City heads to the Great White North to take on CF Montreal. The Canadian squad sits in last place in not just the Eastern Conference but also the entire MLS, with only two points from a pair of draws. To say it’s not been a good start to the season is an understatement. Of course, it’s exactly that type of situation that makes it feel like a trap. What does Orlando City need to do to take all three points against CF Montreal?

Designated Goal Scorers

What do you do if you haven’t scored a goal in the last two matches? You play a team that has given up 13 goals in eight matches with a -9 goal differential. Montreal doesn’t have the worst defense in the league — I’m looking at you, D.C. United — but it’s not far off. That presents an opportunity for Orlando City to get back on track when it comes to scoring goals.

Through the first six matches of the season, Orlando City was leading the league in scoring with 15 goals. Over the last two matches, the spigot has dried up. The Lions must seize on this opportunity to create and finish their chances. Much like earlier in the season, I want to see Luis Muriel, Martin Ojeda, and Marco Pasalic lead the way. If anyone can get the first goal, then I’m hopeful the dam will break and the scoring drought will be over.

Keep it Clean

There is some good news of late when it comes to the Orlando City defense. The club has two clean sheets over the last two matches, and that is without Cesar Araujo. There is also some bad news, given Rodrigo Schlegel will be serving his red card suspension this match. That means David Brekalo will move back to center back with Robin Jansson, and Oscar Pareja will have to employ either Rafael Santos or Kyle Smith at left back. Santos has been less than good so far this season.

Montreal has scored a paltry four goals so far in 2025, but two of them have come from striker Prince Owusu. The defense will also need to deal with Caden Clark facilitating in the midfield. I get that this isn’t a prolific attack. Montreal has not looked very good this season and is looking for both its first win and its first points of any sort at home. That means the hosts may be desperate for a result, and desperate is often dangerous. How well the defense does — in particular, how well Santos does if he plays — may determine if Montreal is able to break out of its slump. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen.

Give the Midfield Time

Before the last match, I was a little worried about the midfield. Having both Araujo and Eduard Atuesta out at the same time seemed to be a concern. Now, after seeing how well Joran Gerbet and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson worked together against the New York Red Bulls, I’m way less worried. If Araujo and Atuesta need a little more time to get fully healthy, then let them. The Franco/Icelandic combo seems to be a potent one.

Of course, if the normal starters are ready, then by all means bring them back, but maybe not until the 60th minute. Perhaps Pareja could even mix and match. One never knows how yellow card suspensions or minor injuries will affect player availability. This is a good match for Gerbet and Thorhallsson to work their magic.

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

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Lion Links: 4/17/25

Oscar Pareja signs new contract with Orlando City, Orlando Pride prepare for the Washington Spirit, Orlando’s youth teams win, and more.

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19 hours ago

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April 17, 2025

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

How’s it going, Mane Landers? I can’t believe we’re already into the back half of April and Easter is right around the corner. There’s plenty of soccer to enjoy between now and then and we also have the draw for the U.S. Open Cup’s round of 32 this morning at 9:15. MLS teams are finally joining the fray, so we’ll see where the chips fall for Orlando City. Let’s get to the links!

Oscar Pareja Signs New Contract

Orlando City and Head Coach Oscar Pareja have agreed to a new three-year contract that will keep him in the City Beautiful through 2028. Pareja was hired as Orlando’s fourth head coach in its MLS era back in December of 2019 and he’s led the Lions to the playoffs in all five seasons he’s been at the helm.  Under Pareja, the Lions won the U.S. Open Cup in 2022, set club records in points and wins in 2023, and reached the Eastern Conference final for the first time last year. This year was the final one on the contract he signed in December of 2023, so it’s nice to know Pareja will be sticking around in the future.

Orlando Pride Prepare for the Washington Spirit

The Orlando Pride will look to make it five wins in a row when they host the Washington Spirit on Saturday in another rematch of last year’s final. While this is the first match between Orlando and Washington this season, the two clashed in the NWSL Challenge Cup on March 7 and the Spirit lifted the trophy after a penalty shootout. Orlando Pride Head Coach Seb Hines spoke on how the team has grown since that game and has benefitted from depth and consistency carried over from last year.

Orlando City Youth Teams Win in Bradenton

Orlando City’s U-18 team won in the Generation Adidas Cup’s round of 16, beating St. Louis City 1-0 to advance to the quarterfinals. The Young Lions remain unbeaten in that age group and will take on a Real Salt Lake team that also won its group and just beat Toronto FC in a penalty shootout following a scoreless draw.

Orlando’s U-16 squad didn’t qualify for the Championship bracket, but still advanced in the Premier bracket. After a 1-1 draw with Toronto, Orlando prevailed in the ensuing penalty shootout and will play Bayern Munich in the quarterfinals.

UEFA Champions League Semifinals Are Set

The quarterfinals for this year’s UEFA Champions League are over and only four teams remain in the tournament. Arsenal secured its spot in the semifinals after an impressive 2-1 road win against Real Madrid that included two assists from Mikel Merino. The Spanish club couldn’t muster its usual magic in the tournament and forward Kylian Mbappe exited in the second half due to injury. In Italy, Inter Milan held on for a 2-2 draw against Bayern to advance on aggregate, with defender Benjamin Pavard scoring a crucial goal for Inter against his old team. The semifinals will take place at the end of the month and will feature Arsenal taking on Paris Saint-Germain and Inter going up against Barcelona.

Free Kicks

  • Our thoughts go out to the friends and family of former FC Cincinnati player Aaron Boupendza, who died after falling from the 11th floor of a building in China.
  • The Chicago Fire are reportedly strongly interested in signing star midfielder Kevin De Bruyne on a free transfer. If any Western Conference teams could join the hunt for him, that would be great.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!

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Orlando City Extends Oscar Pareja’s Contract through 2028

The most successful coach in Orlando City’s MLS history has signed on for another three seasons.

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1 day ago

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April 16, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City SC announced today that the club and Head Coach Oscar Pareja have come to terms on a new three-year contract through 2028. The winningest head coach in club history, Pareja’s previous two-year contract was scheduled to expire after the 2025 season. With the Lions off to a 3-2-3 start, and coming off the deepest MLS Cup playoff run in the organization’s history — the 2024 Eastern Conference final — the club locked down the veteran coach

“Throughout his career, Oscar has proven to be a coach deeply committed not only to winning and competing for championships, but also to building teams that fans can proudly rally behind,” Orlando City Owner and Chairman Mark Wilf said in a club press release. “Here in Orlando, he’s shown that same passion and dedication — taking immense pride in representing our club with integrity and driving us closer each year to our ultimate goal of winning it all. His unwavering positivity and focus have helped shape a culture grounded in respect and ambition. We’re thrilled to have Oscar continue leading us forward in the City Beautiful.” 

Pareja has led Orlando City to a record of 89-59-55 across all competitions in 203 matches, reaching the playoffs in each of his seasons at the helm of OCSC. He also won the team’s first MLS-era trophy by leading the Lions to the 2022 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title, and he’s guided the club to its first two appearances in Concacaf Champions League/Cup and to the MLS is Back Tournament final in 2020.

With 176 MLS victories, Pareja is No. 5 on the league’s all-time wins list. He ranks second among all active coaches. Orlando City initially hired Pareja, 56, as head coach on Dec. 4, 2019. He succeeded James O’Connor, Jason Kreis, and Adrian Heath as OCSC head coaches in the club’s MLS era. Prior to joining the Lions, Pareja spent one season in Liga MX with Club Tijuana after five successful seasons as head coach at FC Dallas. Pareja started his MLS head coaching career with the Colorado Rapids in 2012, leading the ‘Pids for two seasons, including a playoff appearance in 2013. He also coached the U.S. U-17 Men’s National Team from 2007-2008. 

“First and foremost, I want to express my deepest gratitude to Mark Wilf, his family, the entire ownership group, and our executive board for their continued trust in the vision and culture we’ve built over the years,” Pareja said in the club’s release. “Their unwavering support is the foundation of everything we strive to achieve each day. Above all, I’m profoundly thankful to our incredible fans and the dedicated staff who pour their hearts into making Orlando City such a remarkable club. Together, we’ve grown stronger with each passing season, moving steadily closer to our shared ambition of bringing more trophies home to this great city. I remain deeply inspired by what lies ahead and look forward to continuing this journey in pursuit of more championships.” 

As a player, Pareja spent 1987-1995 with Independiente Medellin in his native Colombia as a midfielder, appearing in 263 matches and scoring 18 goals. He moved to Deportivo Cali, where he scored 11 more goals in 122 games from 1995-1998 and then joined the New England Revolution, appearing in 13 games that year. He finished his playing career with FC Dallas, scoring 13 goals in 170 appearances from 1998-2005. He also earned 11 caps from 1991 to 1996 with Colombia’s national team, scoring three goals.

What It Means for Orlando City

As I wrote when Pareja re-signed in December of 2023: quite simply, it means the Lions retain their most successful coach since joining Major League Soccer. Pareja has created a culture and an identity that was lacking at the club prior to his arrival. While it’s common for players to say the team feels like a family and a city feels like “home,” the Lions have walked that walk during Pareja’s tenure in the City Beautiful.

Pareja’s challenge for the upcoming season is to improve upon the club’s deepest run in the playoffs and perhaps the fourth-place finish the Lions enjoyed in 2024. That’s not an easy task, and it shouldn’t be held against him if he can’t reach those lofty heights.

In the short term, Pareja’s job is to get the team scoring goals again while maintaining the high defensive standards set over the last two matches.

Pareja’s tenure with Orlando City will ultimately be measured in trophies. So far, he’s won one of them. That’s more than everyone who came before him won with Orlando in the MLS era, but it’s understandable for fans and ownership to ask for more.

Oscar Pareja’s Coaching Record at Orlando City (W-L-D)

Major League Soccer Regular Season: 167 games, 74-48-45
MLS Playoffs: 12 games, 5-6-1 (Note: MLS considers draws losses if they happen in the best-of-three round but if it goes to penalties in a single-elimination game, it’s a draw.)
U.S. Open Cup: 7 games, 4-1-2
Concacaf Champions League/Cup: 6 games, 2-1-3
Leagues Cup: 7 games, 2-2-3
MLS is Back Knockout Stages: 4 games, 2-1-1

Total: 203 games coached, 89-59-55

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