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Orlando City vs. Austin FC: Final Score 2-0 as Lynn and Lodeiro Lead Lions to Victory

Lions get their first win of the season in comfortable fashion despite missing several regular players.

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1 year ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City scored a goal in each half and limited Austin FC to just three shot attempts as the Lions won 2-0 in front of a crowd of 20,985 at Inter&Co Stadium. Jack Lynn and Nico Lodeiro scored the goals to lead the Lions to their first win of the season. Mason Stajduhar only had to make one easy save on a weak effort from distance to keep the clean sheet for Orlando (1-3-1, 4 points) in a comfortable victory over Austin (0-2-3, 3 points).

The win by Orlando was the first for either side in the series, with the Lions now 1-0-1 in two meetings with the Texas-based side. It was a much-needed victory for City, which was rarely threatened in the match by Austin’s attack.

“Today was much complete. We had a good performance,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “We had players getting much closer to their best performance, but we had the result. We scored goals, we had volume, we had the initiative to play the way we are, and we controlled a team that has a lot of speed, especially on the flanks and we’re happy. Congratulations to the footballers and happy to see them enjoy the result.”

Pareja’s 4-4-2 starting lineup reflected the international window the team finds itself in, with Mason Stajduhar starting in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. The midfield was made up of Ivan Angulo, Lodeiro, Kyle Smith, and Martin Ojeda, with Luis Muriel and Lynn — his first start with the senior team in any competition.

The game’s first 15 minutes went by without either side getting a look at goal. Both teams kept spells of possession but a heavy touch or a misplaced pass broke down the attack. Then each team suddenly got a good look at goal.

The first was a volley effort from the crescent above the box for Diego Rubio in the 17th minute. The Austin striker took a ball first time and sent it just wide of the left post.

Orlando then got forward for its first look at the net. Muriel sent Thorhallsson down the right channel and he laid off a pass for Ojeda. The Argentine sent a ball in that was intercepted, but Thorhallsson got to the ball first, then spun and fired a shot. The effort was well over the bar from the right side of the box.

The next half chance came in the 24th minute, when Muriel overcooked either a cross for Lynn or a back-post shot attempt. Thorhallsson won a corner a few minutes later when he nutmegged a defender and was taken down trying to get to the ball. Ojeda played the ball to the Icelandic fullback on the set piece, and he was wide open at the top of the area. But Thorhallsson made an absolute mess of his shot, which sailed high into The Wall behind Brad Stuver’s goal in the 31st minute.

Muriel was taken down 30 yards straight out from goal on Orlando’s next attack, giving the Lions a free kick. Ojeda took a shot from there with a hard drive toward the inside of the right post in the 34th minute. Stuver got over to make the save, but he fumbled the ball. He was saved embarrassment when the ball trickled wide of the post for a corner kick.

Austin’s best opportunity came in the 38th minute, as Orlando got caught in transition on a long diagonal ball. Schlegel got to a centering pass ahead of his opponent, but couldn’t clear it convincingly. Jader Obrian got to the loose ball with tons of room to shoot, but the Austin winger fired off target to the left of goal and high.

A minute later, Lynn should have opened the scoring. A ball placed out front found Lynn at the left post and all he had to do was direct it on frame, but the 2022 SuperDraft pick stabbed his shot wide to the left from point-blank range.

No matter, however, as Lynn made up for the miss in the 42nd minute. Thorhallsson and Lodeiro exchanged passes on the right wing and the Icelandic fired in a perfect ball to the back post. Lynn simply had to guide it on target. He hit his header at Stuver, but from that close in, the Austin keeper could do nothing to keep it out and the Lions broke the deadlock. It was Lynn’s first MLS goal.

“It was amazing,” Lynn said about scoring his first MLS goal. “I’ve been looking forward to that one for a long time, so it felt really good, especially right in front of our crowd. I don’t honestly remember the buildup too much. I just remember the ball kind of recirculating back to Dagur and trying to find an empty pocket of space in the box, and he put it right on my head, so it’s hard to miss that one.”

“(Jack) is a player who patiently has been waiting (for) his opportunity,” Pareja said. “I could say that maybe he should have more games at this point with the way he has performed in the second group and what he has achieved as an individual. He’s very lethal and he has goals. Today, he opened the game. Jack’s discipline and constant effort has paid off and we’re happy.”

Ojeda tried to double the lead two minutes after Lynn’s goal, firing a laser from 30 yards out. But the Argentine’s shot went straight into Stuver’s midsection. Neither side mustered any opportunities in the one minute of stoppage time and the Lions took their slim lead into the locker room.

The visitors held the halftime edge in possession (51.6%-48.4%) and passing accuracy (88%-86.7%), while Orlando had more shots (6-2), shots on target (3-0), and corners (2-0).

The Lions came out of the break the much stronger team, pushing the attack toward Stuver’s goal. Thorhallsson sent another outstanding cross through the box in the first minute of the second period, but multiple teammates made the same run and no one held up near the penalty spot. As a result, Austin was able to clear, but only as far as Santos, who took a big windup before firing a shot that the defense blocked. The ball then found its way to Muriel, who sent a shot just wide of the post. Lodeiro missed the right post by inches in the 47th minute.

Ojeda just missed a shot toward the right post in the 54th minute as the Lions kept pushing. IN the 56th minute, the ball ended up on Lodeiro’s foot at the top of the box but his shot hit Ojeda. The latter picked up the ball on the recycled attack and fired a shot that deflected just wide off of Austin defender Brendan Hines-Ike for a corner kick. The Lions were whistled for a foul on the set piece cross.

Two minutes later, the Lions turned Austin over in the visitors’ own end and Angulo smashed a shot on target. Stuver made a good diving save to his right to knock it out for a corner in the 58th minute. Lynn got his head to the ensuing set piece cross, but he couldn’t get any power on it and it was a comfortable save on one hop for Stuver.

Orlando continued to pour forward and Muriel sent a dangerous ball to the back post in the 60th minute, but none of his teammates made that back-post run, where they’d have had a similar situation to what Lynn had on the earlier goal.

Two minutes later, Lodeiro lined up a shot outside the box. Austin blocked the effort but it came off a hand, giving Orlando City a free kick from just outside the area. Lodeiro made the set piece pay off, delivering a lethal shot inside the top left corner of the goal. Stuver just managed to get a hand to the ball, but there was no keeping out a shot of that quality and the Lions led 2-0 in the 64th minute.

“When the goal is that size, Martin or myself, it’s our time,” Lodeiro said.

“I’m happy to see him scoring,” Pareja said. “It’s not just all the work that he does for the team internally in the game, but scoring is great for us.”

Austin sent on some reinforcements in Emiliano Rigoni and Owen Wolff after the goal, trying to chase the match, but aside from the visitors trying to attack down Orlando’s right flank more, not much changed.

Santos blasted a long-range shot in the 70th minute that forced Stuver to fight it off. There was a big rebound on the shot but the Austin keeper was able to dive on the loose ball.

Austin sent on Gyasi Zardes and Hector Jimenez, changing shape to try to pull a goal back, but not much was working for the visitors as the Lions stayed compact in the defensive end.

Orlando only went forward when numbers were advantageous for the rest of the match, keeping organized and behind the ball. This allowed Austin to keep possession but the visitors could only swing the ball from side to side, hardly able to free up enough room for a cross attempt.

A good cross through the box in the 84th minute was palmed away by Stuver but the rebound ended up splitting two attacking Orlando players. It was knocked out to Santos outside the box and the left back drove a shot over the bar. A minute later, Lodeiro got down the left side of the box but his shot was blocked by the defense. The ensuing corner was played short and ended up falling to Schlegel in the box, but the defender’s shot was also blocked.

Austin could manage nothing offensively in the four minutes of stoppage time, but did manage a weak dribbler of a shot on target that Stajduhar picked up. The full-time whistle blew seconds later and the Lions had their first victory of the 2024 regular season.

Austin finished with more possession (57.4%-42.6%) and slightly better passing accuracy (85.5%-85.4%), while the Lions held the final edge in shots (22-3), shots on target (8-1), and corners (6-0).

“It has been a challenge for us to train and have a complete roster, and this week was not an exception,” Pareja said. “We had many players outside for the FIFA date, but we had time to work. With the group that stayed, we had a couple of days when we could do the repetitions and just get back to the principles that make us feel more like us, knowing that we have to glue together these new players and have best chemistries. It helped a lot to have (time to) work this week.”

Orlando City will be back in action at home again next Saturday when the New York Red Bulls visit, fresh off their 4-0 win over Inter Miami earlier today.

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Orlando City vs. Portland Timbers: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More

Two teams still smarting from midweek U.S. Open Cup defeats look to get back in the win column.

Published

11 hours ago

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May 24, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your preview and match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (6-2-6, 24 points) and the Portland Timbers (6-3-5, 23 points) at Inter&Co Stadium. It’s the only scheduled meeting between the cross-conference opponents in 2025 and the first time the teams have met since the 2022 MLS season.

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

The Lions are 3-1-2 against the Timbers in the regular season since joining Major League Soccer and 3-2-2 in all competitions. Orlando holds a record of 2-0-0 at home in the series.

The last time the teams met was at Providence Park on March 27, 2022, when they played to a 1-1 draw. Orlando City was ahead on a second-half goal by Junior Urso and up a man after Josecarlos Van Rankin picked up a second yellow card in the final quarter of an hour. However, Andres Perea committed a foul in the penalty area, allowing Cristhian Paredes to equalize from the spot just 10 minutes from the end of full time.

Prior to the 2022 meeting, the teams played for a trophy in the championship match of the MLS is Back Tournament on Aug. 11, 2020. The Timbers were successful on two set pieces in a 2-1 win over the Lions. Center backs Larrys Mabiala and Dario Zuparic got on the end of those set pieces to score, and Mauricio Pereyra put one in the net for Orlando on a wasteful night by the Lions, who put only one of their 14 shots on frame against the Timbers’ low block defensive formation.

The two sides also met on July 18, 2019 at Providence Park, with a largely second-choice Orlando lineup playing to a 1-1 draw against a mainly full-strength Portland side. The Lions were outshot 26-2 but managed the road point anyway, thanks to a Santiago Patino goal that was offset by a late Jeremy Ebobisse equalizer.

The last time the teams met in Orlando’s home stadium saw Orlando City rally with three goals in seven minutes to erase a 2-0 deficit and win, 3-2. Chris Mueller, Sacha Kljestan, and Dom Dwyer scored in the 80th, 82nd, and 87th minutes, respectively, to overcome a hole created by goals from Portland’s Diego Valeri and Bill Tuiloma.

The Lions’ only regular-season loss in the series came at Providence Park in a game they’d rather forget, as they ended up getting two men sent off on the way to a 3-0 loss to Portland in 2018. Goals from Valeri (twice) and Darren Mattocks got Timber Joey’s chainsaw heated up. Jonathan Spector got sent off for two yellow cards and PC saw a straight red.

In 2016, Orlando City thumped the defending MLS champion Timbers, 4-1, with four different Lions scoring — Seb Hines, Kaká, Kevin Molino, and Brek Shea. Joe Bendik stopped a Fanendo Adi penalty kick, but Jack McInerney’s late goal spoiled the shutout.

Orlando won the inaugural MLS meeting in 2015 at Providence Park, 2-0, with Cyle Larin scoring the first of his league rookie record 17 goals, chesting home a wicked cross from Molino. Kaká scored the second goal from the spot to provide the final margin after Carlos Rivas drew the first penalty in Orlando City’s MLS history.

Overview

Orlando City is coming off a frustrating 3-2 home loss to Nashville SC Wednesday in the U.S. Open Cup. Marco Pasalic opened the scoring and Ramiro Enrique equalized after the Lions fell behind on two poor goals by the defense, but a legitimate penalty shout against Nashville for a handball was ignored and the visitors got a late goal from fullback Wyatt Meyer to knock Orlando out of the competition. That snapped the club’s 12-game unbeaten streak in all competitions. However, the Lions still enter tonight on an 11-match unbeaten run in MLS games.

The Lions are 4-1-2 at home in the regular season. However, to improve upon that record, Head Coach Oscar Pareja must ensure his team has more legs under it tonight than it had on Wednesday, when multiple players — notably, Martin Ojeda, David Brekalo, and Cesar Araujo, among others — appeared sluggish after playing heavy minutes in Sunday’s emotional road win at Inter Miami. This is Orlando’s third match in seven days, so running the mostly the same lineup out there against Portland is likely not the best idea.

At the same time, it should be noted that the Timbers are playing their third match in eight days, with the most recent of those — a Tuesday night 1-0 loss after extra time to San Jose in the U.S. Open Cup — on the road. Portland is one extra day removed from both USOC play and MLS play than the Lions, but the Timbers have logged some travel miles, flying to both San Jose and Orlando.

Portland’s most recent league match was a hard-fought 1-1 home draw in the Cascadia Cup rivalry against the Seattle Sounders. The Timbers are 0-1-2 in their last three games in all competitions, but they sit fourth in the Western Conference and have been good on the road, taking points in five of seven away league matches with a 3-2-2 mark away from Providence Park.

Tonight’s visitors have multiple players who can inflict damage in the attack. Four players have at least four goals, led by Felipe Mora’s five, while Antony has scored four times and is tied for the Portland lead in assists, with seven. Kevin Kelsy and Santiago Moreno also have four goals apiece, with David da Costa sitting on two goals to go along with his seven assists.

Orlando must battle fatigue as well as the varied Portland attack. At the same time, the Lions must take their chances better than they did on Wednesday, as the Timbers have conceded more goals (20) than all but four teams in the Western Conference.

“Portland is a team that has been growing in this season. We don’t play in the same conference, but we have seen their growth lately,” Pareja said ahead of the match. “The preparation has been intense for us in such a short period of time. Knowing that they [Portland] have that game model that has been growing lately. We respect them and we’ll be ready.”

The Lions will be without Wilder Cartagena (Achilles), Nico Rodríguez (thigh), and Yutaro Tsukada (knee), while Eduard Atuesta (neck) and Gustavo Caraballo (lower leg) are questionable. The Timbers will be without Diego Chara (lower body), Zac McGraw (back), and James Pantemis (leg), while Jonathan Rodriguez (lower body) is questionable.

Match Content

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Pedro Gallese.

Defenders: David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, Alex Freeman.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Cesar Araujo, Eduard Atuesta, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Luis Muriel, Duncan McGuire.

Bench: Javier Otero, Rafael Santos, Kyle Smith, Zakaria Taifi, Joran Gerbet, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Shak Mohammed, Martin Ojeda, Ramiro Enrique.

Portland Timbers (5-4-1)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Omir Fernandez, Jimer Fory, Finn Surman, Dario Zuparic, Juan Mosquera.

Midfielders: Santiago Moreno, Cristhian Paredes, David Ayala, David da Costa.

Forward: Kevin Kelsy.

Bench: Trey Muse, Kamal Miller, Claudio Bravo, Ian Smith, Eric Miller, Joao Ortiz, Ariel Lassiter, Antony, Felipe Mora.

Referees

Ref: Jair Marrufo.
AR1: Eric Weisbrod.
AR2: Kevin Klinger.
4th: Ricardo Montero Araya.
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.
AVAR: Joshua Patlak.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Live Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English), Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish).

Social Media: For rapid reaction and live updates, follow us on Bluesky Social at @themaneland.bsky.social or follow Orlando City’s official Twitter (@OrlandoCitySC) or Bluesky (@OrlandoCitySC) feed.

Enjoy the game. Go City!

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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. Portland Timbers: Three Keys to Victory

If the Lions can check these three boxes, then they should be in a good position to win Saturday night.

Published

1 day ago

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May 23, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Coming off a midweek U.S. Open Cup match that I think we’d all rather not talk about too much, Orlando City will try to continue a good run of form in league play tomorrow when it faces the Portland Timbers at home. Both teams will be coming off a short week and need wins to keep pace at the top of crowded Eastern and Western conferences. What follows are three things I believe will go a long way towards helping OCSC pick up the win.

Balance the Lineup

Hindsight is of course 20/20, but playing a mostly first-choice lineup on Wednesday coming off short rest on Sunday after an emotional win hurt Orlando City dearly in the end. Nashville SC looked like the fresher team, and several Lions simply seemed to hit physical walls in the second half, which wasn’t surprising considering the amount of minutes that have piled up on their legs over the course of May. Playing a lineup of all the guys who started on Wednesday would be tantamount to suicide, but Oscar Pareja is going to need to strike the right balance between calling on his best XI and getting some fresh legs in. Alex Freeman, Martin Ojeda, Cesar Araujo, and Joran Gerbet could surely do with some rest, and the health of Eduard Atuesta will surely have a big impact on how the starting lineup looks Saturday night. Either way, Papi is going to need to a good job of walking the tightrope.

Focused for the Full 90

Two of the three goals that Nashville scored on Wednesday were in large part due to the Lions being far too lackadaisical in their defending. Whether it was switching off because they were expecting a whistle that never came, or simply allowing an opposition player to have far too much time and space on the ball, moments where OCSC let its collective focus slip came back to haunt the club in a big way. Like Nashville, Portland is a strong side that’s more than capable of punishing mistakes and lapses of concentration. Tired legs and a possible emotional hangover from the Inter Miami victory likely contributed to Orlando delivering an uncharacteristically unfocused performance, but if the Lions can put those issues in the past, it’ll go a long way towards picking up all three points.

Finish Your Chances

While Orlando has been in (mostly) strong form lately, a recurring theme has begun to emerge of the team not finishing some of the best chances that it creates. Andrew DeSalvo spoke about this at length in an excellent piece, and drew upon OCSC’s 3-0 victory over Miami as a prime example of the Lions leaving goals on the table. Yes, the team has still been getting results, but the margins are so small in the game of soccer that repeatedly spurning chances to score will come back to bite you sooner or later. Plus, there’s plenty of danger going into this game: the Lions will be on short rest, with extra tired legs, against one of the best teams in the west. Any and all high-quality chances that the good guys can carve out need to be finished emphatically, and if they are, then don’t be surprised if OCSC comes out with a win.

There you have it, people. If Orlando comes out with a balanced lineup, maintains razor-sharp focus for the entirety of the game, and is ruthless about finishing off great chances to score, then the Lions should be in a great position to get the win at home. All they need to do is go out and make it happen. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 5/23/25

Tonight’s OCB match moved to Sunday, Alex Freeman makes USMNT roster, FanDuel Sports Network will stream Orlando Pride games, and more.

Published

2 days ago

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May 23, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Friday! A long weekend is ahead of us and there is plenty of Orlando soccer to enjoy as well. I’ll be celebrating my nephew’s first birthday this weekend, so it should be a nice next couple of days visiting family. Let’s dive right into today’s links from around the soccer world!

OCB Match Moved to Sunday in Kissimmee

As a heads up, Orlando City B is no longer playing today. OCB’s match against Atlanta United 2 was originally scheduled for tonight in Atlanta, but it was instead postponed to 7 p.m. Sunday and relocated to Osceola Heritage Park rather than Fifth Third Stadium in Georgia. Stadium availability was cited as the reason for the change, and the match will be played behind closed doors, although it will still be streamed live. The Young Lions are coming off of a 3-0 win over Inter Miami II and will face an Atlanta team that has drawn its last four games.

Alex Freeman Makes USMNT Training Camp Roster

Orlando City right back Alex Freeman was named to the United States Men’s National Team’s training camp roster ahead of friendlies next month against Turkey and Switzerland. The 20-year-old is one of five uncapped players on the roster and one of 16 MLS players. He’ll likely be behind Sergino Dest on the depth chart, but Joe Scally was not called up for this window. There are many notable players absent, opening the door for players like Freeman across multiple positions to stake their claim to participate in this summer’s Gold Cup and the World Cup next year.

FanDuel Sports Network Will Stream Select Pride Games

The Orlando Pride will have eight of its remaining games streamed on FanDuel Sports Network, including tonight’s road game against the Utah Royals. The regional network, which used to be called Bally Sports before rebranding, is available on various providers throughout Florida and there is an app for streaming as well. Personally, I find this as just another cog in a messy machine of NWSL coverage options, but I imagine this is handy for those out there who are already accustomed to using the network to watch other Floridian pro sports teams.

Winter Garden Lands USL League One Team

Another pro soccer team is coming to Central Florida, as the United Soccer League announced its intent to bring a USL League One team to the area. Central Florida Pro Soccer’s ownership group has plans for a development in Winter Garden that would include a 5,000-seat multi-purpose soccer stadium. The plans also include recreational fields, a hotel, parks, and a walking trail. The group will gather input from the community in the coming months to help determine the team’s colors, badge, and name.

Free Kicks

  • Kansas City Current defender Alana Cook was placed on the season-ending injury list due to a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus sustained in the club’s match against the Orlando Pride.
  • NJ/NY Gotham FC and Tigres will square off in the Concacaf W Champions Cup final on Saturday. The winner will earn a spot in the 2026 Women’s Champions Cup and the 2028 Women’s Club World Cup.
  • Luka Modric penned a farewell to Real Madrid fans as his time with the club has come to an end. I don’t know where his next stop will be, but I sure hope it’s not with a team the Lions still have to face this year.

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

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