Top 10 Moments of 2023: Orlando City Clinches Best-Ever Season

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 kind of a run-of-the-mill fixture on the schedule when a CF Montreal squad fighting to make the playoffs visited Exploria Stadium on Sept. 30. But that night Orlando City reached new milestones and found a level the club had never previously attained by the end of the Lions’ 3-0 win.

While a typical regular-season match rarely graces these lists of top moments of the year, this one was special. With the victory, Orlando City recorded its 15th win of the season and reached the 54-point mark. Both of those were new single-season club records in a Major League Soccer season. And there were still three more matches left in the season. The Lions went ahead and won all three to eventually extend those club records to 18 wins and 63 points, clinching second place in the entire league table.

Only FC Cincinnati finished with more points (69), and Orlando City had captured four out of a possible six points against the Supporters’ Shield winners, driving home the magnitude of the team’s accomplishment.

As for the game itself, the Lions weren’t as clinical as they should have been that night — a trait that haunted the club early in the season and again in the Eastern Conference semifinals against Columbus — but the performance itself was dominant.

Orlando City finished with more possession (57.4%-42.6%), shots (13-8), shots on target (6-1), and passing accuracy (85.2%-78.1%). Both teams won three corners.

“It was an important victory, especially at this point in the season,” midfielder Wilder Cartagena said through a club interpreter after the game. “We came in against a good rival to be as intense as we possibly could and we dominated throughout the entire game.”

The only scoring of the entire first half was an own goal by Montreal’s Jonathan Sirois. But the teamwork that made that happen was worthy of that reward. Cesar Araujo sent Rafael Santos down the left flank. The Brazilian fullback pulled back an excellent pass for Facundo Torres to one-time toward goal. The Uruguayan hit the left post but the ball came back off of it, hit Sirois on the back of the arm, and ricocheted into the net to make it 1-0 in the 19th minute. It was a sweet buildup of play.

The Lions had chances to double the lead but couldn’t quite pull it off. Ivan Angulo should have done better with a shot he left too close to Sirois, who made the save. Moments later, Angulo was set up perfectly but fizzed his shot just wide. Angulo did put the ball in the net after that but Torres was offside in the buildup so the goal was waved off. In the end, the Lions had to settle for a 1-0 lead at the break.

Orlando City doubled the lead five minutes after the restart after withstanding a short spell of good play from the visitors. Torres sent Santos down the left flank and the defender sent a good cross through the six. Duncan McGuire flicked it on through and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson beat his defender to the ball, tapping it into an empty net to make it 2-0 in the 50th minute. Once again, it was a terrific bit of team play by the Lions.

Torres called game four minutes later. Cartagena sent Angulo in behind on the right. The Colombian sent the ball across to the left post for Torres, and he buried his shot just inside the left post to make it 3-0 with his 13th goal of the MLS season in the 54th minute.

The Lions managed the match from there and held on for a decisive victory over the Canadian side. Torres, Angulo, and Santos were especially good in the match, but everyone who got onto the pitch made an impact for Orlando.

By establishing new benchmarks in wins and points, the club set a new bar of what it could achieve. It went on to build on those benchmarks and now every team that comes after will have to work that much harder and perform that much better to reach it — or to set a new one. The match also represented Oscar Pareja’s 60th career victory in all competitions with Orlando City, further distancing him from the pack as the most successful coach in the club’s MLS history.

By reaching new heights in the standings and setting new standards for which Orlando City teams of the future can aspire, this seemingly random regular-season win over CF Montreal deserves the top spot in our countdown of the top moments of the year.

Thank you for walking down memory lane with us as we counted down our top moments of 2023 for OCB, the Orlando Pride, and Orlando City. We look forward to what 2024 has in store for the club’s three professional teams.

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.

2. Orlando City sweeps Nashville SC in first-round, best-of-three playoff series.