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Top 10 Moments of 2023: Orlando City Sweeps Nashville in Playoff Series

The Lions got their brooms out and swept Nashville aside in the postseason with a pair of nervy 1-0 wins.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

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.

It was like Champions League all over again, as Orlando City drew one of the toughest assignments to kick off their run in the 2023 MLS Cup playoffs. For the Lions to advance past the first round, they’d have to win a best-of-three series against one of the league’s most stingy defensive clubs in Nashville SC. This was a lot like drawing Tigres to start the Concacaf Champions League’s opening two-legged tie.

By finishing second in Major League Soccer, the Lions got to have home field for the first and (if necessary) third games of the series. But Orlando City entered the postseason just 2-2-4 against Nashville in MLS regular-season matches and 2-3-5 in all competitions, which included a 1-2-1 record at home in the series in league play and 1-2-2 at home in all competitions and the Tennessee side had won the only postseason meeting between the clubs.

It’s true that Orlando City had won the most recent meeting — a 1-0 regular-season match in Nashville, which was the Lions’ first-ever road win in the series. But that game was anything but convincing. Duncan McGuire scored just before halftime on Orlando City’s only shot on goal in the match and on one of only two attempts at goal all night.

I can’t speak for everyone, but I wasn’t looking forward to facing the Nashville defense or Hany Mukhtar needing to get the better of them twice in three matches.

But the Lions were on a brilliant run of form, having gone 8-1-2 since their Leagues Cup run ended in early August. They were confident and winning games in a variety of ways, from the high-scoring 4-3 comeback home win over Columbus, to the aforementioned 90-minute nailbiter in Nashville.

Orlando City took to the pitch on Oct. 30 for Game 1 as a confident team and it played that way. Oscar Pareja mildly surprised by sticking with Rodrigo Schlegel at right center back instead of reinserting Antonio Carlos, who had gone 90 minutes against Toronto FC and played well on Decision Day. Aside from that, there were no other surprises of any kind in the starting XI. Pedro Gallese started behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, with Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena in the central midfield. Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres started in the attacking midfield behind striker McGuire.

The Lions started the game well but couldn’t push a shot past Nashville goalkeeper Joe Willis. Orlando City caught a huge break in the 19th minute when Sam Surridge missed a sitter in front of goal, sending his shot over the bar. It was an absolutely stunning miss and the Lions took advantage later in the first half.

With the defense and central midfielders frustrating the Nashville attack, and Pedro Gallese coming to the rescue when needed, the game remained scoreless approaching halftime. Cartagena found himself on the ball near the middle of the field outside the area in the 41st minute. He dribbled forward and no one closed him down, as the Nashville defenders collapsed on McGuire and Torres. Cartagena accepted the invitation to shoot and sent the blast of his life off the underside of the crossbar near the right post, leaving Willis no chance of stopping it and giving Orlando a 1-0 lead.

It was an incredible strike and it sent the Lions to the locker room up a goal at halftime. However, it wasn’t as simple as that. Gallese came up big on a swerving shot from distance from Mukhtar, tipping it off his crossbar.

Unlike in the previous match in Nashville, Orlando generated plenty of shots in this match, including a whopping 16 in the first half to Nashville’s three.

The second half saw no goals between the sides, but the game pretty much continued the same way as the first half, except Nashville never got another look quite as good as Surridge’s. Orlando wasted a couple of decent chances at an insurance goal, but in the end it was a dominant win despite ending in just a 1-0 scoreline. That’s precisely why Nashville was such a difficult opponent to get in the first round.

“I thought we had a good game, especially that first half where we we connected much more in the final third and then we created many options,” Pareja said after the match. “We could probably have been more precise and opened the game earlier, and they may have a couple goals too. The game is tight, especially against Nashville. They place a lot of players in their final third and it was difficult for us to break it up and it is a test for us to accomplish and just be more precise in that last part of the field so we don’t need to suffer that much.”

The series shifted to Nashville on Nov. 7 for Game 2. A win or a draw with a shootout win would see Orlando through to the conference semifinals. A loss would give Nashville momentum heading back to Exploria Stadium for the deciding game.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, so Oscar Pareja made no changes to his starting XI for the first-ever playoff match at Geodis Park.

The Lions again started well, firing a couple early shots and finding the breakthrough much earlier this time out. It came in just the sixth minute, when a poorly weighted back pass by Dax McCarty was closed down quickly by Angulo. The winger won a 50/50 challenge, survived a tug from behind by McCarty and then sent a shot off the Nashville midfielder that beat Willis over the top to make it 1-0.

Surridge sent a potential equalizer just wide of the post a couple of minutes later, and then the game got a bit stuttery, with injury delays for Walker Zimmerman and Gallese, with both players able to continue, and some general chippiness between the teams. Each team picked up a couple of yellow cards in the middle stages of the first half.

Shaq Moore and Angulo wasted opportunities for each team as the opening half wound down. Mukhtar scored shortly after that but the flag came up because he was offside on the initial shot, which Gallese uncharacteristically spilled. Mukhtar then missed the net in the 41st minute with a header and the Lions took their 1-0 lead into the break.

Torres had a chance to double the lead after the restart but hit a right-footed shot at Willis. Moments later, Araujo made a vital stop on Mukhtar in the penalty area to dispossess the Nashville star on the break.

Sean Davis made a similar desperation defensive play on Junior Urso in the 79th minute, sliding in to deflect a shot when the midfielder was in 1-v-1 on Willis.

Nashville’s last gasp was a header wide from Zimmerman in the 90th minute. Neither team got a scoring chance in the four-plus minutes of injury time and the Lions did well to keep winning fouls and throws to see out most of that time. The whistle finally blew to end the series.

Orlando led in most of the important statistical categories but by no means were the advantages as lopsided as in Game 1, but that didn’t matter to the Lions, who got the sweep after a second 1-0 win in the series.

“It’s important to know how to play these kind of games where they’re very tight, very intense,” Pareja said. “There is a lot of emotions during the game. The way we handled it today was good. Learning how to play these kinds of games made us a better team.”

Orlando City set several milestones in the series. The Lions won their first MLS playoff game in Game 1 (they had previously advanced on penalties after drawing with New York City FC in 2020, but that was it for the joy in the postseason up until this year). The series win was also a first in the postseason for Orlando and the Lions claimed the first playoff win in Geodis Park history.

Although the run ended in the conference semifinals in a hard-fought game against Columbus, the Lions digging deep and gutting out a pair of tight, nervy 1-0 wins against a determined Nashville side was one of the highlights of the 2023 season and definitely worthy of a high spot in our list of top moments of the year.


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.

3. Orlando City roars back from two goals down, scoring three times from the 73rd moment onward to stun Columbus at the death.

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Player Grades and Man of the Match

How did your favorite Lions perform in Orlando City’s 2-1 road loss to NYCFC?

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City hit the road for the first time in 2025, disappointingly dropping its first road match of the year to Eastern Conference rivals New York City FC 2-1. The small confines of Yankee Stadium proved to be too big of a stage for Orlando City on the 10th anniversary of the club’s first match in Major League Soccer.

Let’s take a look at the individual performances for Orlando City and see who impressed and who needs to improve.

Starters

GK, Pedro Gallese, 6 — Gallese faced more adversity this week against NYCFC than a week ago against Toronto. He made seven saves on the night, including a brilliant reaction save on a powerful shot attempt in the second half. For the second game in a row, Gallese conceded two goals, though the first wasn’t primarily the fault of the Orlando City keeper, as he dove to stop a Maxi Moralez shot that hit off the post and ricocheted out in front. Before he could react, the defense was beaten to the ball by Alonso Martinez for the easy goal. Gallese should have done better on the second goal, in which he left a big, juicy rebound for the second easy goal of the night. The Peruvian finished with six saves, completed 46.7% of his 15 passes, and was successful on five of his 13 long balls.

D, Rafael Santos, 5.5 — Santos touched the ball 58 times and completed 68.4% of his 38 passes. He was credited with two key passes but was only accurate with one of his four crosses and two of his nine long balls. The left back was fairly active on defense, recording one interception, two clearances, and three tackles. Offensively, the Brazilian did not register a shot attempt.

D, Rodrigo Schlegel, 5.5 — Schlegel touched the ball 57 times and completed 81% of his 42 passes, including two of his six long balls. He wasn’t involved in the attack at all but finished with two tackles, one interception, and six clearances. His positioning seemed off to the right too far on the second goal, and he was as culpable as the rest of the back line in not tracking runners.

D, Robin Jansson, 5.5 — The captain made his season debut after missing the first two matches and had 50 touches in the game. He completed 79.6% of his 44 passes, including five of his 11 long balls. Defensively, Jansson had one tackle and four clearances and blocked a shot. As with the rest of the back line, he was responsible for making sure free runners weren’t getting in behind and that’s how both goals happened, so it was far from a great start for the Swede. Offensively, Jansson did not contribute but it is certainly a welcome sign to see the Orlando City captain back on the field.

D, Alex Freeman, 6 — Freeman got his second career and had a team-high 78 touches, completing 70.5% of his 44 passes, including two key passes. He also completed two of his six long balls and was unsuccessful on both of his crossing attempts. Offensively, he was credited with one successful dribble, was dispossessed twice, and did not record a shot. He was involved in the buildup for Orlando’s goal, however, sending the ball forward that began the give-and-go with Luis Muriel and Marco Pasalic. Defensively, Freeman recorded a tackle and had a team-high nine clearances. There are still some nervy moments defensively for Freeman as he becomes more comfortable on the field, and he was getting beaten on the flanks at times even on the small playing surface, but his activity and effort cannot be questioned.

MF, Cesar Araujo, 6 — Araujo touched the ball 75 times, second only to Freeman, and completed 88.9% of his 54 passes, including a key pass and one successful long ball on two attempts. He recorded two shots, both of which were off target, and suffered a team-high four fouls. Araujo was also whistled offside once in the match, which on such a short field is impressive in its own right. Defensively, he had a team high six tackles, one interception, and two clearances. He kept Julian Fernandez onside when he dropped into the middle defensively, which helped NYCFC score the winning goal.

MF, Eduard Atuesta, 6 — Atuesta slotted into his usual role in the midfield and recorded 51 touches. He completed 80% of his 30 passes, including a key pass, but only one of his four long balls. Offensively, Atuesta put one of his two shots on target and unfortunately was credited with a team-high three unstable touches. Defensively, he had one tackle, two interceptions, two clearances, and a blocked shot. Atuesta also committed a team-high four fouls in the match, a trend worth monitoring going forward as he has appeared quite foul happy over the first three matches. He was also booked.

MF, Ivan Angulo, 5.5 — Angulo had 52 touches and completed 77.4% of his 31 passes. For a player who loves to dribble 1-v-1, 1-v-2, or even 1-v-3 more than he should, Angulo was surprisingly credited with a team-high three key passes, and he completed three of his five crosses. Angulo did not attempt a shot against NYCFC and he contributed defensively with two tackles.

MF, Martin Ojeda, 6 — Ojeda touched the ball 36 times and completed 84.6% of his 26 passes, including two key passes, two of his five crosses, and all three of his long balls. Offensively, Ojeda only mustered one shot attempt, which was not on target, as he scuffed a good opportunity from the top of the area in the first half. The Argentinian did not record a meaningful defensive statistic. He was sacrificed in the 75th minute for Ramiro Enrique as Orlando looked for an equalizer.

MF, Marco Pasalic, 6.5 — Pasalic touched the ball 40 times, completing just 69.6% of his 23 passes. He had one key pass — the assist on Muriel’s goal — and was unsuccessful on his lone long ball attempt. In the early moments of the match, Pasalic looked like a footballer playing his first game on a baseball field, and unfortunately for Orlando City, he never was fully able to showcase his technical abilities in tight spaces. He put one of his three shots on target, and his pass to send Muriel in behind was perfectly executed. While Pasalic failed to find the back of the net, he did not let a sluggish offensive night keep him from contributing on the defensive end, where he was credited with one tackle, two interceptions, and two clearances.

F, Luis Muriel, 6.5 (MotM) — Starting his first game of the season, Muriel touched the ball 27 times while completing 61.5% of his 13 passes. Two of his six shots wound up on target, including his first goal of the year, as he was able to get Orlando City level on a strike in the 69th minute. The six shot attempts were a team high against NYCFC. Defensively, Muriel added a tackle. It is an encouraging sign to see the Designated Player find the back of the net, and just a little disappointing that he didn’t have more as the Colombian had a few other close attempts which either were slightly off the mark or didn’t have enough power behind the shot.

Substitutes

F, Ramiro Enrique (76’), 5 — Enrique came on for Ojeda in the 76th minute, touching the ball seven times. He completed one of his three passes and unfortunately did not log a shot attempt over the final quarter hour.

MF, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson (80’), 6 — Thorhallsson once again entered in the waning moments of the match but was unable to recreate the magic that followed his substitution a week ago, when he scored with his second touch. Against NYCFC, Thorhallsson touched the ball 12 times, and completed all five of his passes. He did not record a shot but was credited with one tackle.

D, Kyle Smith (80′), 6 — Smith entered in place of Santos in an attempt to help Orlando City find an equalizer. He logged 12 touches and completed 90% of his 10 passes. He failed to connect on his lone crossing attempt but completed his only long ball. Defensively, Smith was credited with one tackle.

MF, Gustavo Caraballo (85′), N/A — Caraballo entered the match in the 85th minute replacing Atuesta and logged seven touches, was credited with one key pass, and recorded a shot that was off target.


That’s how I saw Orlando City’s first road loss of the 2025 season. Let us know how you saw the game in the comments below and don’t forget to vote for your Man of the Match.

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 3/10/25

Lions lose at New York City FC, Pride fall in penalties in the Challenge Cup, OCB wins season opener, and more.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Hello Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. It’s finally feeling like spring up here in Chicago with warmer weather. I’ve been out covering high school water polo and lacrosse. Our Lions lost and the Pride fought to a draw but fell in penalties in the NWSL Challenge Cup, but OCB managed to pull out a win to close out the weekend. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

Orlando City Falls on the Road to New York City FC

Orlando City dropped its first road match 2-1 to New York City FC Saturday at Yankee Stadium. The Lions trailed 1-0 early in the second half before Luis Muriel scored the equalizer, tying the match at 1-1. Minutes later, Hannes Wolf scored the winning goal for New York City FC. Kevin O’Toole received a late second yellow card, and NYCFC went down to 10 men, but Orlando could not capitalize on the man advantage. The loss means Orlando hasn’t beaten New York City FC in their last six meetings. Once again, the club signed midfielder Gustavo Caraballo to a short-term contract prior to the match, and the teenager came on late to try to help find a tying goal. The Lions will be back on the road Saturday for their next match to take on the New York Red Bulls at Sports Illustrated Stadium.

Orlando Pride Lose Penalty Shootout vs. Spirit after 1-1 Draw in Challenge Cup

The Orlando Pride began their 2025 campaign on Saturday with a 1-1 draw against the Washington Spirit in the NWSL Challenge Cup at Inter&Co Stadium but fell 4-2 in penalties. Rafaelle put the Pride in front 1-0 just before halftime. Leicy Santos scored the equalizer in the second half. Kylie Nadaner thought she scored the winning goal late in the second half for the Pride, but the flag went up for offside. After 90 minutes of play, the game went to penalties. Julie Doyle and Angelina converted the first two penalties for Orlando, but Washington converted four straight penalties for the Spirit to win the shootout and the Challenge Cup. The Pride will take on the Chicago Stars Friday at Inter&Co Stadium in their NWSL season opener.

OCB Opens Season with 2-1 Home Win Over Columbus Crew 2

Orlando City B won 2-1 over Columbus Crew 2 Sunday at Osceola County Stadium in its MLS NEXT Pro season opener. The Young Lions got off to a great start in the first half, with Dyson Clapier scoring the opener to give OCB a 1-0 lead. Zakaria Taifi scored to extend OCB’s lead to 2-0 early in the second half. Crew 2 made things interesting with a late goal, but OCB held on for the win. This is the fourth consecutive year the Young Lions have started a season with a win. OCB’s next match will be at home, as the Young Lions face Atlanta United 2 on Sunday.

Orlando City B sign Hayden Sargis

Prior to Sunday’s match, Orlando City B announced the signing of defender Hayden Sargis to an MLS NEXT Pro contract through the 2025 season with a club option for 2026. Sargis was on the bench for Sunday’s match. The 22-year-old defender brings Major League Soccer and USL Championship experience and previously played for D.C. United, Loudoun United, Las Vegas Lights FC, and Sacramento Republic FC. Sargis has one assist and has made 77 appearances in his career.

MLS Weekend Recap

Week three of Major League Soccer ended with some notable results from the weekend. The Seattle Sounders dominated LAFC in a 5-2 victory at home. San Diego FC needed two late goals in stoppage time to pull away with a 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake on the road. The Chicago Fire defeated FC Dallas 3-1 on the road. D.C. United edged Sporting Kansas City 2-1. The Philadelphia Union, FC Cincinnati, Nashville SC, and the Vancouver Whitecaps all won 2-0 matches over the New England Revolution, Toronto FC, Portland Timbers, and CF Montreal, respectively. Rafael Navarro scored the lone goal as the Colorado Rapids defeated Austin FC 1-0, while the San Jose Earthquakes fell 1-0 to Minnesota United. The Columbus Crew and Houston Dynamo ended scoreless, as did Atlanta United vs. the New York Red Bulls. On Sunday, Inter Miami defeated Charlotte FC 1-0, while the LA Galaxy lost 3-0 to St. Louis City. The defending MLS Cup champs have lost three consecutive league matches to start the season.

Free Kicks

  • Christian Pulisic scored twice to help AC Milan overcome a 2-0 deficit and defeat Lecce 3-2 over the weekend.
  • Sergino Dest returned to the pitch for PSV Eindhoven for the first time in 11 months after being sidelined with a torn ACL. Dest came off the bench and played 23 minutes in a 2-1 win over Heerenveen on Saturday.
  • Josh Sargent continues his stellar form for Norwich City as he extended his scoring streak.
  • The Premier League will stage a four-team summer series preseason tournament in Atlanta, Chicago, and New Jersey from July 26 to Aug. 3. The four clubs competing are AFC Bournemouth, Everton, Manchester United, and West Ham United.

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

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 2-1 loss at NYCFC.

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City went on the road to play soccer on a field meant for baseball and unfortunately forgot to play soccer on several occasions. The Lions were punished for that, losing 2-1. Here are my five takeaways from the match.

Lions Caught Watching the Paint Dry

Dennis Hopper’s quote from the movie Hoosiers (RIP Gene Hackman) about not getting caught watching the paint dry came to mind on both of New York City FC’s goals, as in each case the Pigeons beat the Orlando City defense to a rebound and scored from close range. Alonso Martínez raced past everyone to tap in the rebound of a shot off the post from Maxi Moralez, and then later Julián Fernández followed a Pedro Gallese save from a Martínez shot and crossed it back into the middle, where Hannes Wolf was wide open and headed it home. Watching the replays is a painful experience, because you can see the guard briefly being let down by the Orlando City defenders and then the sudden realization that they should not have done that, but it was too late. On a comically small field, constant vigilance is required, and the team in purple failed twice to stay engaged through an entire play.

Orlando City’s Depth Was as Deep as the Yankee Stadium Field Was Wide

Which is to say, not at all. The Lions were down a goal, up a man, and simply did not have any more proven attacking players to throw on the field to try to get the tying goal. In desperate need for a goal, the Lions turned to 16-year-old Gustavo Caraballo with their final substitution and did not even use all five of their allotted subs, even though they were behind. I think Caraballo played well, and has a chance to be good — and I mean really good (said in my best Ron Burgundy voice) — but the team needed more firepower in those final minutes and did not have anyone else who could have brought more than those who were on the field as the game ended. Duncan McGuire’s absence was felt in a major way during this game, especially on the late crosses and corner kicks that the Lions could not win and convert into a goal.

Designated Player Double Play

Luis Muriel had only started one MLS game since June of 2024, but he got the start against NYCFC and linked up with fellow Designated Player Marco Pašalić to score a beautiful goal to tie the game 1-1. Alex Freeman played a long ball up the sideline and Muriel beat his defender to the ball to tip it to Pašalić. The Croatian brought the ball down and attacked at full speed right down the middle of NYCFC’s defense in a 3-v-2 situation. Pašalić cut into the middle of the field, forcing Thiago Martins to stay with him and by moving Martins just enough, it allowed Pašalić to play a ball off to his right, perfectly weighted to allow Muriel to run onto it without breaking stride. The Colombian placed it into the far corner of the net. Orlando City probably should have scored more than one goal in this game, but the one goal they scored was well executed and hopefully portends more to come from the combination of Designated Players.

El Pulpo Needed to Use Those Tentacles for Catching Instead of Batting

Goalkeeper is an incredibly lonely position to play and is often one that does not receive the appreciation it deserves because of just how hard of a position it is. No other position has its mistakes as magnified as those of a goalkeeper, and unfortunately for Orlando City, Gallese made the split second decision that he would not be able to catch Martínez’s shot, so he batted it away — but not far enough away. That mistake led to the game-winning goal. The initial shot from Martínez was eminently catchable, as it was not struck well, and even though it could have been caught it, at the least itshould have been pushed wide instead of basically right down and still in front of the goal. Gallese had six saves in the game, including a fantastic stop on a Martínez shot from close range in the 49th minute, but with goalkeepers it is far more often that their mistakes are remembered than their saves, and the initial shot that turned into the second goal definitely should have been handled better.

Another Rusty Starting Defense Combination

Robin Jansson returned to the starting lineup against New York City FC, but he did not look like he was at full strength, and neither did the back line of Rafael Santos, Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel and Freeman. Perhaps it was just the difficult nature of adjusting to a non-regulation field (FIFA recommends a field be 74 yards wide, the Pigeons claim their field is 70 yards wide — no word on if their fingers are crossed behind their back, though). The Orlando City defensive group did not look comfortable on the field in New York. The defense did not look crisp to me, with the aforementioned ball watching, the players being a step slow to close down an attacking player, and guys going to ground more often than in a usual match. The defense allowed eight shots on target, which is the same amount as the first two games combined. The group that started on Saturday is the likely starting group going forward — at least until Nico Rodriguez returns to add more attacking midfield depth that is currently being provided by Dagur Dan Thorhallsson —and now that Jansson is back in the lineup and these four have a game together under their belts, things should get better. They will need to if the team is going to get some results.


Those are my takeaways from a game that was frustrating, but predictably frustrating, considering that Orlando City’s recent road record against New York City FC is an abysmal 0-4-2. I thought there were periods of time when Orlando City looked dangerous, and even the better side, but in the end, the Lions could not take advantage of those moments and now will have to regroup before going on the road again next week.

Let us know your thoughts about the match in the comments below.

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