Top 10 Moments of 2023: Orlando City Rallies to Defeat the Columbus Crew

As we count down to the new year of 2024 — which will be Orlando City’s 10th in MLS and the Orlando Pride’s ninth in the NWSL — and say goodbye to 2023, it’s time to look back at the club’s 10 best moments of the year as selected by The Mane Land staff via vote.

Orlando City was coming off a two-week layoff following an emotional road victory over FC Cincinnati when the Lions welcomed the Columbus Crew to Exploria Stadium on Sept. 16. The Lions were riding a four-game unbeaten streak, going 3-0-1 after their exit from Leagues Cup. The Crew and Orlando City were jockeying for position in the Eastern Conference playoff race at the time, making this an important match for both sides.

Although it appeared for much of the game that Orlando City’s unbeaten run would end at the hands of the Crew, the Cardiac Cats made an appearance on that night and an unlikely hero led the Lions to a 4-3 win at the death.

Things started poorly for Orlando City. The Crew broke the scoreless deadlock just 16 minutes into the match with quick decisive movement and a chip to the back post gave Julian Gressel an easy tap-in to make it 1-0.

The Lions showed all two weeks’ worth of rust throughout the opening period, passing the ball sloppily and giving up dangerous chances. Yaw Yeboah smashed a shot just wide of goal shortly after Gressel’s opener off of a defensive-zone turnover.

Ramiro Enrique, who started in place of an injured Duncan McGuire because the rookie picked up a knock in training late in the week, should have equalized off an Ivan Angulo pass in the 26th minute but sent his shot down the middle where Patrick Schulte could make the save.

At that point in the season, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson was still settling into his right back role and Columbus picked on the Icelandic import throughout the match. In the 42nd minute, the Crew got inside of Thorhallsson and should have doubled their lead, if not for two big saves by Pedro Gallese on Yeboah and Cucho Hernandez.

Orlando City trailed 1-0 at the break, but the game was up for grabs. The Lions had wasted a couple of good chances and the visitors failed to punish them a few times when they got the best of the Orlando defense.

The second half started on a brighter note with Martin Ojeda equalizing shortly after the restart. Angulo sent a ball through the box that Ojeda fired home with his first touch, making it 1-1 in the 48th minute. It was game on…or so it seemed at the time.

The Ojeda goal seemed to galvanize Columbus, as the Crew pressed the Lions hard after the tying goal. The visitors paid off their energetic play in the 56th minute. Yeboah played a pass in for Diego Rossi, who had slipped in behind an overly agressive Rodrigo Schlegel and he restored the Crew’s lead.

Oscar Pareja sent on Facundo Torres after the second Crew goal. Torres had been away on international duty and the plan was to rest him, as he’d returned from his national team duty with a leg contusion. However, the Uruguayan told his coach he wanted to play. He made an immediate impact in the game, making Orlando City look dangerous from the moment of his introduction, but that didn’t stop Columbus from extending its lead to 3-1.

Rafael Santos got caught too high up the pitch, allowing Alexandru Matan to get in behind him. Matan sent the ball in to give Hernandez an easy goal in the 68th minute, as a sliding Schlegel could not get a touch on the centering pass.

It didn’t seem to be Orlando City’s night, but the game was far from over.

Jack Lynn and Luca Petrasso entered the game to get more attacking players on the field. The Lions needed just five minutes to pull a goal back and make it a game again. Enrique fed a through ball to Ojeda and the Designated Player found fellow DP Torres, who took a touch to settle it and slotted home to make it 3-2.

Orlando City was able to equalize late off a set piece. Torres drew a foul on Yevhen Cheberko 25 yards out from goal on the right. Ojeda took the free kick and sent his delivery into the area. Cheberko got his head on it but it deflected off to the side of the Crew defender. The ball fell perfectly for Enrique, who shot the ball past Schulte to make it 3-3 in the 86th minute. Exploria Stadium erupted.

Columbus seemed the likelier team to grab a late winner, earning some late corner kick opportunities, but the Crew couldn’t do anything with them. The game then entered six added minutes. The key moment came in the final seconds, on another set piece taken by Ojeda.

Schlegel seemed to have his fellow Argentine’s cross lined up but the defender somehow missed it, as did Schulte flying off his line to try to punch it away. As a result, the ball found its way to Torres on the other side of the box. El Cuervo ducked low and headed it back across the area, where once again it fell to Enrique, who swept it home for the winner in the 97th minute.

It was one of the most dramatic finishes in the entire Major League Soccer season and a huge lift for Orlando City, which lost only once the rest of the season — and since that took place in a baseball stadium, it shouldn’t count anyway.

“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.”

Coming from two goals down in the second half in a team as good as Columbus — which went on to win MLS Cup — without McGuire, the suspended Wilder Cartagena, and with a limited Torres, was a huge moment in the season and certainly worthy of a spot on our top 10 list of the year’s best.

Come back through New Year’s Eve as we count down the remainder of Orlando City’s top 10 moments of 2023.

Previous Top Moments of 2023

10. The Orlando Pride select breakout stars Emily Madril and Messiah Bright in the 2023 NWSL Draft.
9. OCB draws at Chicago and then wins a shootout, clinching its first playoff spot since 2016.

8. Orlando Pride dump Portland Thorns 3-1 in June, kick-starting the team’s push for the playoffs.

7. Orlando City gets a late goal to defeat Santos Laguna 3-2 in Leagues Cup play, earning its first win over Liga MX competition.

6. Orlando Pride sign Brazilian international Adriana.

5. OCB forward Jack Lynn named MLS NEXT Pro MVP.

4. Orlando City makes its debut in Concacaf Champions League and battles Liga MX giants Tigres to a 1-1 aggregate.