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Orlando City vs. D.C. United: Final Score 3-2 as Lions Score Twice Late to Win

Duncan McGuire’s stoppage time goal capped a wild comeback win on the road by the Cardiac Cats.

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10 months ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The Lions flipped the script. After suffering numerous sucker punches at the hands of D.C. United over the years, Orlando City (2-3-2, 8 points) finally turned around the narrative, scoring twice late to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 win over D.C. United (2-2-4, 10 points) at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.

Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, David Brekalo, and Duncan McGuire scored for Orlando, as the “Killer Ds” did enough to offset goals by Christian Benteke and Gabriel Pirani. The goals by Brekalo and McGuire each came after the start of the 82nd minute. The victory snapped a four-game winless streak against D.C. (0-3-1) for Orlando, which picked up its first road win of the 2024 MLS season and, in fact, scored its first three road goals of the league campaign.

“Obviously very happy with the result, and I want to give all the credit to these players that gave everything and understood how to play it, in many ways that we didn’t want to play,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “But we tried to match that model of D.C., of playing a long ball and finding those second balls.”

Pareja’s lineup included Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Kyle Smith, Robin Jansson, Brekalo, and Thorhallsson. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena started in central midfield behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Facundo Torres, and Martin Ojeda, with Luis Muriel up top.

The first half was an open affair at times and Orlando nearly unlocked D.C.’s defense three minutes in when Muriel made a nice run up the right side. However, his final pass hit the trailing foot of a defender and ruined the chance. Ojeda then scored a minute later but he was correctly flagged for offside after the ball crossed the line. It was a close play, but Ojeda was a half-step behind the last defender.

That was costly, as D.C. then opened the scoring seconds later.

A good attack up the left side ended with a D.C. cross through the penalty area. Smith did well to play safe and knock it behind for a corner. The hosts scored off that corner when Gallese came off his line to track the ball and ran into a D.C. player, going down hard in his area. While referees blow those kinds of plays dead about 95% of the time, Guido Gonzalez, Jr. swallowed his whistle and Benteke’s looping header into a gaping net put D.C. in front in the fifth minute.

United was buoyed by the goal and continued to attack aggressively. Kristian Fletcher missed the net in the eighth minute, and Benteke tried a flying volley on a bouncing cross from Aaron Herrera in the 16th but missed the target. Two minutes later, Gallese stopped a wicked blast from Herrera to keep it at 1-0. Gallese then collected a weak header from Lucas Bartlett on the ensuing corner kick as it appeared the Lions were in for a long night of suffering.

But Orlando settled into the match after the second D.C. corner. A good spell of possession led to a cross from Smith on the left, but the fullback overcooked his attempt and the attack broke down in the 20th minute. Moments later, Muriel chested down a cross into Ojeda’s path, but the Argentine swung right past the ball while it was still in the air, missing it completely from just above the penalty spot. Torres blasted a shot just inches wide of the right post in the 23rd minute as the Lions kept up the pressure, which finally paid off.

Angulo used a burst of speed to free himself on the left and sent a great cross to the back post. Thorhallsson made no mistake, driving his header low and into the net on one hop to make it 1-1 in the 28th minute. It was Orlando’s first road goal of the season.

“When (Angulo) got the ball, I was like “OK, he’s going to try to go past (his defender),” Thorhallsson said of the play. “In the trainings we’ve been trying to get me there (the back post), so he just ran there and put the ball perfectly on my head. There was nothing more that I could have done than just run on the ball, basically, and put it in goal. So, all credit to Ivan and great to get the first goal of the season.”

After a failed D.C. corner kick, the Lions came close again in the 35th minute when Angulo had a shot blocked in front of Alex Bono by the defense. Torres then sent in a dangerous cross that Connor Antley headed out for a corner, but Ojeda sent the set piece cross right at the goalkeeper.

Muriel nearly opened his MLS account with Orlando City in the 38th minute. An outstanding long ball from Ojeda sent Muriel down the right. He collected the ball and fizzed the ball past Bono but Herrera tracked back to block it.

The chippy nature of the match picked up near the end of the half, with four D.C. players and Cartagena getting booked as time wound down. Neither team could create much in the five minutes of stoppage time, although Muriel blasted a shot that buzzed over the crossbar late in added time. The teams went to the break knotted up at 1-1.

Orlando City finished the first half with the advantage in possession (53.2%-46.8%) and passing accuracy (81.9%-78.9%), while D.C. had more shots (9-5), shots on target (3-1), and corners (4-2).

“I thought the first half we played better with the ball and we had some options,” Pareja said.

The second half continued to be a back-and-forth open affair, with both teams creating some havoc.

Muriel nearly played Angulo in behind shortly after the restart but Bono came out of his box quickly and got there just in time to knock it out of play. Torres then made the first of a couple of bad crosses, sending a ball from the left onto the roof of the net with Ojeda breaking open at the back post.

Torres then won a free kick out on the left side. Ojeda sent in a good cross but Brekalo couldn’t quite get his head onto it in the 51st minute. A minute later, Angulo stole the ball in the attacking half, but Torres again overcooked a cross, sending it over everyone from the left.

Bartlett sent a weak shot wide in the 56th minute off a corner kick that appeared to be a goal kick. D.C. then had a mad scramble in front of Gallese. The Peruvian made a vital save on Benteke, but the big striker was offside anyway.

D.C. got back on the front foot and good pressure and more possession helped the host take control of the match for a while. A wild scramble in front of goal in the 58th minute nearly allowed United to take the lead, but Gallese made a vital stop even though the play was ultimately blown dead for offside on Benteke.

The hosts regained the lead in the 66th minute in transition. It looked as though Muriel was pulled back from behind and the Colombian went to ground, but the referee played on and D.C. punished the Lions. With a defender jumping into the play, United ended up with numbers in the attack. A ball off Benteke’s head in the box found the foot of second-half substitute Pirani, who blasted it past a helpless Gallese to make it 2-1 in the 66th minute.

Moments after the second goal, Smith failed to get his body turned properly in front of a bouncing ball passing through the middle. He was intead called for a handball, gifting D.C. a dangerous free kick straight out from goal. Herrera went for goal and his shot cleared the wall but did not dip back under Gallese’s crossbar.

Pareja made three changes at the cusp of the 73rd minute, sending on Nico Lodeiro, McGuire, and Rafael Santos, and withdrawing Cartagena, Ojeda, and Smith. It proved in the end to be a shrewd set of subs.

McGuire quickly won a free kick near the left corner of the box but Orlando City couldn’t do anything with the set piece.

Lodeiro had a go from outside the box in the 82nd minute. His blast from long range had a lot of movement on it and it was on target, forcing Bono to tip it over the crossbar. That led to the equalizer just seconds later.

Lodeiro delivered the corner kick from Orlando’s attacking right (although the stats sheet said it was Torres) and sent a good ball into the area near the top of the six. It appeared that the ball may have glanced off Benteke’s header attempt, skipped off the back of Brekalo’s head, and nestled into the left corner, tying the match at 2-2 in the 82nd minute. It was Brekalo’s first goal with Orlando City.

D.C. nearly pulled the goal right back in the 84th minute. Off a set piece, the ball ended up with Benteke who headed it toward goal. The shot was blocked by Brekalo and fell for Pirani, who smashed a blast into the outside netting from the left side.

Santos tried to pick out McGuire in the front with a cross in the 89th minute, but it was blocked out for a corner kick. The ball was headed in the air and Angulo attacked it at the top of the box but was called for a foul, ending the attack.

D.C. had a dangerous spell of possession near the top of the penalty area just after that set piece, but the goal ended up going the other way. Orlando picked out an attempted through ball and Angulo sent it quickly to Lodeiro. The Uruguayan turned and sent a perfect ball to McGuire, who had kept his foot on the center line and got in behind the defense. The second-year pro dribbled toward the top of the box and blasted a shot just inside the right post, beating Bono and handing Orlando City a late 3-2 lead in the first minute of stoppage time.

“It’s fantastic for us to have such professional players, whether they come in from the start or they come in from the bench, they’re just giving their heart and they’re giving their soul on the pitch,” Pareja said of his subs. “Nico, when he came on with Duncan, they showed us the unity those players had and the intentions that they have just to put this team on the top again. We’re trying to find our best version still, but it was really encouraging for us to see the response of them when they came from the bench. It helped us a lot.”

There was a lengthy check to make sure the initial call on the field was correct, and the video assistant referee upheld the original call. McGuire’s goal was his third against D.C. United in as many meetings. He has scored in each of the three matchups against United since joining Orlando City.

The Lions had to see out a minimum of 11 minutes of added time, which ultimately grew to nearly 15. That’s when Gallese earned his money.

The Peruvian international made a good reaction save in the 93rd minute to deny Pirani. He denied a cannon shot by Herrera from the top of the box in the 99th minute, preserving the lead once again.

Orlando finally ran out the clock on the match and claimed its first road win of the year. The Lions extended their unbeaten streak to three matches (2-0-1).

United led all over the stat sheet in the end, finishing with the advantage in possession (51.6%-48.4%), shots (20-10), shots on target (6-4), corners (7-4), and passing accuracy (77.4%-76.7%). However, the Lions were more clinical, especially late in the match.

“The second half they gave us a little trouble there with D.C.’s style, but we resolved it and then we found our ways to score, which is fantastic for our team at this moment,” Pareja said. “The most important (thing) is the heart the players showed today. They have done it before but not (getting) results, and we’ve had a result that is very important for us in this moment.”

“I would say it’s a great feeling (in the locker room),” Thorhallsson said. “I feel like we needed that to show a little bit of character. When we get concede a goal, I feel like we’ve been a little bit down and we can’t get out of it. And it shows that no matter the circumstances, if we concede a goal, we can still bounce back, and we did that really well.”

The Lions will be continue their road swing next Saturday at Montreal.

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Lion Links: 2/11/25

Orlando City signs Eduard Atuesta, MLS news roundup, Americans in midweek action, and more.

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15 hours ago

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February 11, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Tuesday, gang! It was a long weekend for me but an interesting one, as I attended an event at St. Louis City’s Energizer Stadium on Saturday night. It was a fun time, but personally I prefer Orlando City’s home digs. We have plenty of things to discuss this morning, so let’s get into the links.

Orlando City Signs Eduard Atuesta

Orlando City has found its replacement for the injured Wilder Cartagena, as the club announced the signing of Colombian midfielder Eduard Atuesta from Palmeiras on Monday. Atuesta’s deal runs through the end of the 2025 season and also contains a club option for 2026. While the Lions still have some depth issues that need to be addressed at various positions, Atuesta will pair alongside Cesar Araujo in midfield, and if his previous numbers in Major League Soccer are any indication, he may even provide more goal scoring and creation from the position than Cartagena usually did.

MLS News Roundup

With the start of the MLS season under two weeks away, the off-season news is still flying thick and fast. First up, the Colorado Rapids have signed midfielder Ted Ku-DiPietro from D.C. United in exchange for up to $1.4 million in cash, with United also maintaining a sell-on percentage in the player. The trade was executed using the league’s cash-based trade system, with Colorado becoming the latest team to make use of the new mechanism. Up next, San Diego FC has signed defender Willy Kumado from Lyngby Boldklub in the Danish Superliga. The right back joins on a two-year deal that also contains option years for 2027 and 2028. Finally, Tom Bogert is reporting that Joseph Paintsil is expected to be out of action for over a month after sustaining an injury to his quadriceps.

Americans in Midweek Action

As always, there are a number of Americans taking part in games during the working week, and there’s a heavy emphasis on UEFA Champions League play. Things get started later today, as Tim Weah, Weston McKennie, and Juventus face a PSV Eindhoven side that has all four of Ricardo Pepi, Richy Ledezma, Sergino Dest, and Malik Tillman injured. Meanwhile, Gio Reyna, Cole Campbell, and Borussia Dortmund will travel to face Sporting CP. Wednesday has Christian Pulisic and Yunus Musah traveling with AC Milan to take on Feyenoord, while Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, and Celtic will be sorely tested at home against Bayern Munich. Thursday will wrap up European play with Johnny Cardoso and Real Betis squaring off against Gent in the Conference League.

Josh Sargent’s Opportunity

Josh Sargent had a difficult end to 2024, as he spent several months on the sideline while recovering from a groin injury that eventually required surgery. There were some natural moments of wondering what he’d be like when he made his return, but he’s hit the ground running since his first game back on Jan. 25, as he has four goals in three games for Norwich City. Not only is he getting his chance at the club level, but with Pepi and Folarin Balogun both currently injured, Sargent looks almost certain to lead the line for the United States Men’s National Team for March’s Concacaf Nations League semifinal matches. Sometimes timing is everything, and right now Sargent’s timing is pretty damn good.

Free Kicks

That does it for me this morning. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City

Orlando City Signs Colombian International Midfielder Eduard Atuesta

The Lions add a proven quality central midfielder to cover for Wilder Cartagena’s injury absence.

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1 day ago

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February 10, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The Lions took a necessary roster-building step today with the acquisition of central midfielder Eduard Atuesta via transfer from Palmeiras in Brazil’s Serie A. The contract runs through 2025 with a club option for 2026. Details of the transfer were not released. Atuesta can join the Lions pending receipt of his P-1 Visa and International Transfer Certificate. The Colombian international will wear jersey No. 20 for Orlando City.

“We’re very excited about bringing Eduard here to Orlando, as a player that is in the prime of his career, has proven himself previously here in Major League Soccer and knows our league,” Orlando City Executive Vice President of Soccer Operations and General Manager Luiz Muzzi said in a club press release. “He’s a great midfield talent that has the ability to organize the team throughout the game, but most importantly, he’s a title winner at each of his previous clubs. We have confidence in him and his ability to help us achieve the goals we have here at this club.”

This played out publicly as a difficult one, with Orlando City seemingly close to a deal at times, while at others there seemed to be sticking points about such details as whether it would be a sale or loan, how much (if any) of Atuesta’s salary Palmeiras would pay, and the size of the transfer fee. Orlando was limited in what it could spend due to having to fit the player under the Designated Player threshold (salary plus transfer fee amortized over the length of the contract) as all three slots are full.

“I’m very excited to be here, to join this great team and live in this beautiful city,” Atuesta said in the club’s release “I can’t wait to step out into the stadium filled with our fans, to win games and to fight for the titles that this city deserves.”

Atuesta’s arrival is expected to mitigate the loss of Wilder Cartagena to a lower leg injury that recently required surgery. Cartagena was injured in the preseason opener against Atletico Mineiro, and although the club has yet to make an official announcement about it, Cartagena shared on his Twitter account that he had surgery in late January.

Atuesta’s season in Brazil is off to a slow start, with just three appearances and 42 minutes played so far without a goal contribution. The Colombian spent the 2024 season on loan with LAFC, where he made 28 appearances (25 starts), playing 2,197 minutes, scoring four goals, and adding six assists. In five MLS seasons with LAFC dating back to 2018, Atuesta has appeared in 124 matches, starting 109 of them, and playing 9,790 minutes. He has scored 11 goals and added 29 assists, attempting 172 shots and putting 53 on target. Atuesta has passed at an 85.9% rate with 155 key passes. He has amassed 27 yellow cards and one red card in MLS play.

The 27-year-old native of Vélez, Colombia has appeared in seven MLS playoff games (four starts), playing 428 postseason minutes, providing two goals and an assist while putting three of his six shots on target and logging eight key passes.

During his time in Los Angeles, Atuesta was part of the 2019 Supporters’ Shield-winning squad and helped the club win the 2024 U.S. Open Cup.

Prior to joining LAFC, Atuesta was with Independiente Medellín, where he started his professional career in 2016. He won the 2016 Categoría Primera A title with Medellín, playing 44 matches with The Paisa Red.

Since 2022, Atuesta played 26 matches with Palmeiras, scoring one goal and helping the team win the 2022 and 2023 Brazilian championships, 2023 Supercopa do Brasil, and 2022 Recopa Sudamericana.

On the international stage, Atuesta has represented Colombia at the U-20, U-23, and senior levels, with two caps for his national team since 2022.

What It Means for Orlando City

Atuesta wasn’t the least expensive option on the market at central midfield, but this signing shows that the club is serious about avoiding a drop-off in the middle of the pitch with Cartagena sidelined. Atuesta brings more offensive capabilities with him than Cartagena or Cesar Araujo possess, and he’ll likely be deployed as the No. 8 in Oscar Pareja’s usual 4-2-3-1.

If Atuesta can find the same kind of chemistry with Araujo that Cartagena has, the Lions should see continued standout play in central midfield. The duo will be tasked with protecting the back line and goalkeeper Pedro Gallese, forcing play wide and limiting opposing shots to lower-percentage attempts. Meanwhile, his ability to pick out a key pass should improve the Orlando attack, which will be trying to fit a Marco Pašalić-shaped peg into a Facundo Torres-shaped hole and that still hasn’t found a depth forward to replace Duncan McGuire for the months he’ll miss this season.

This was a necessary move by Muzzi if the Lions are going to try to take the next step after reaching the conference final in 2024. The window may be closing on this core of Orlando City players, as several contracts are either set to expire or will require options picked up after the 2025 season among that group.

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Orlando City’s Offensive Struggles Raise Questions as Regular Season Approaches

Orlando City is once again struggling to find the net and the games that matter are quickly approaching.

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1 day ago

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February 10, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The 2025 MLS regular season is drawing near, so we have a much better idea of where each team stands. Orlando City has now played four preseason games, one in front of its home fans and one in front of season ticket members only. That should provide excitement about the upcoming season, but it’s actually produced some concern.

The 2024 season saw the Lions have their best postseason run since joining MLS in 2015. They finished fourth in the Eastern Conference standings and made it all the way to the Eastern Conference final before falling 1-0 to the New York Red Bulls on home turf. The experience created a lot of optimism heading into 2025.

Unfortunately, it’s been a rough go so far. The club transferred last season’s top goal scorer — and the club’s all-time leading goal scorer — Facundo Torres to Brazilian side Palmeiras on Dec. 20. Additionally, striker Duncan McGuire is out after having shoulder surgery during the off-season and his return date is unknown.

The first preseason game against Atletico Mineiro on Jan. 25 was less than inspiring. Neither team threatened the opposition goal much in a rather boring scoreless draw and, to make matters worse, Luis Muriel appeared to pick up a knock late in the first half. Preseason had just started for both teams, so you can chalk that one up to shaking off the rust.

The Lions followed up that performance with a trip to Mexico, where they played to a scoreless draw against Canadian side Forge FC. After a third preseason game against Atlanta United in Bradenton — which actually saw a goal by Alex Freeman — the Lions returned home Saturday night to face CF Montreal with season ticket members in attendance, filling most of the seats on the lower level on the stadium’s east side.

Orlando City was unquestionably the more dangerous team during the first 90 minutes of the 120-minute contest. Joran Gerbet hit the crossbar in the first half and Freeman hit the inside of the post in the second. Additionally, the Lions sent players free on goal no less than three times in the game. However, they didn’t score until Nico Lodeiro converted a free kick in the dying seconds.

To be fair, the Lions weren’t at full strength. Neither Ramiro Enrique nor Muriel, two players who will be depended on to provide goals, played in the game. Instead, Shak Mohammed started up top and was replaced by teenager Justin Ellis in the 65th minute.

Also, it’s not as if Orlando City’s leading scorer is typically a striker.

In the team’s first 10 years of MLS action, a striker has led the Lions in scoring six times, and three of those were Cyle Larin in the first three seasons. Since he departed following 2017, strikers have only led the Lions in goals in 2018 (Dom Dwyer), 2021 (Daryl Dike), and 2023 (McGuire). The most goals in those seasons were scored by McGuire, who had 15 in 2023 in all competitions.

The big question heading into this preseason was how would the Lions replace the goals scored by Torres. The Uruguayan international was coming off the most prolific season of his career, scoring 20 goals in all competitions. It was the first time an Orlando City player reached 20 goals in a season since the club joined MLS and only the second time in club history. Previously, Kevin Molino scored 22 goals during the 2014 USL Pro season.

Orlando City fans were hoping they would have a better idea at this point about who would provide the goals. Instead, they’re left with even more questions heading into the season.

This doesn’t mean someone won’t step up. As mentioned, Enrique and Muriel didn’t play against Montreal. The club also signed Marco Pasalic as a Designed Player. The Croatian made his first appearance Saturday night. He is a player who could potentially provide the goals Orlando City so desperately needs.

There was a lot of optimism around Orlando City heading into 2025 after a successful 2024 campaign. However, while the Lions have played well defensively, they’ve struggled in the attack. There are only two more preseason games remaining and one in front of fans, although it’s outside Orlando — a rivalry game against Inter Miami CF Friday night in Tampa. That will lead into the season opener Feb. 22, when City hosts the Philadelphia Union.

The departure of Torres in December created questions about who will provide the goals. McGuire’s absence during his recovery from injury exacerbates the situation for the first few months of the season. After four preseason games, the questions still exist. It’s a concern for a team that will be expected to make another postseason run this year.

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