Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Final Score 2-2 as Lions Come Back Twice to Draw 10-Man Charlotte
Lions score twice but the defense flops badly despite being up a man.
Orlando City finally scored more than one goal in a game, but at the expense of dreadful defending in a 2-2 road draw against 10-man Charlotte FC at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte. The hosts took the lead early through Kerwin Vargas and withstood a player being sent off late in the first half and a tying goal from Duncan McGuire, before taking a second-half lead in transition. That Brandt Bronico goal was canceled out by Facundo Torres as the Lions (4-8-6, 18 points) split the points with Charlotte (8-6-5, 29 points) despite being a man up throughout the second half and having the ball for what seemed like almost all of that time.
Orlando’s winless streak grew to five games (0-3-2) on another wasteful night in front of goal and a defensive evening to forget. The Lions had clear opportunities to prevent both goals but failed to clear a loose ball on the first and teed up the second ball trying to clear it through the leg of the opposing forward.
“Too early we go (up) with one extra player and Charlotte found a way to score a second goal in the moment that we pushed the most,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “Those circumstances made us feel that getting this result at some point it’s going to help us. I think the team made a lot of efforts to win the game, but Charlotte found that second goal and it could have been worse. Humbly today we take the point. We wanted more, but we have some positive things.”
Pareja’s lineup had only one change from the group that lost 3-1 to LAFC Saturday, as Mason Stajduhar started in net behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Felipe took Cesar Araujo’s spot in the central midfield along with fellow midfielders Ivan Angulo, Nico Lodeiro, and Torres, with Luis Muriel and McGuire up top.
Orlando City made Charlotte’s offense look like Miami’s at times in the first half, letting inferior numbers get good looks at goal. Still, the first chance of the match fell Orlando’s way. Muriel did well to nick the ball in the attacking half and he played McGuire down the right channel. The big striker was at an angle, but had plenty of net to shoot at, yet he missed a few yards wide of the right post in the eight minute.
The hosts scored four minutes later on a play that should never have resulted in a goal. The Lions had plenty of numbers back as Liel Abada took a heavy touch past Jansson down the right channel. Jansson couldn’t handle Abada’s pace and the Charlotte attacker got to the ball first. The Swede tried to block the cutback cross, but it got through. Two Lions were converging on the ball and Angulo swung and completely missed the ball, allowing it to get through. Thorhallsson initially had good coverage on Vargas but got caught ball watching when the winger peeled back to the ball. Angulo’s whiff — possibly thrown off by Felipe’s sliding arrival — and the open space gave Vargas an easy finish to make it 1-0 in the 12th minute. It was Charlotte’s first goal inside the first half hour of a game all season.
On a play indicative of the form Orlando City has been in, Torres took a pass at the top of the 18 in the 15th minute and it just…rolled off his foot. Whether he was caught between passing and shooting, only he knows for sure, but it was a weird play.
Jere Uronen then cut inside from his fullback spot and nearly doubled the lead. Left completely alone, the Finn smashed a shot off the crossbar from long range.
Orlando finally got a shot on frame in the 19th minute when Torres got his head to a high cross and nodded toward goal. It was an accurate shot, but there was little pace on the ball, allowing Kristijan Kahlina to make the save.
Seconds later, Scott Arfield blasted a shot wide from distance with Orlando outnumbering the Charlotte attackers, 6-3 in the final third.
Torres got another look in the 33rd minute but his shot was partially deflected and went straight at Kahlina.
The Lions went up a man moments later. Arfield slid in from behind and caught Felipe on a rough challenge and was initially booked. Allen Chapman went to the monitor while Felipe received treatment and the referee changed the yellow to red, putting the hosts down a player. Felipe was struggling and had to be replaced by Araujo.
The sending off didn’t immediately help the offense, which moved the ball too deliberately over the remainder of the half. Muriel tried a couple of long-range shots. The first was saved by Kahlina at the near post. Adilson Malanda blocked the second with his face and needed treatment, staying off the pitch for the final seconds of the half.
Up two men and with time winding down, Orlando sat on the ball out wide and Chapman blew the halftime whistle.
Orlando City held the halftime advantage in possession (53.9%-46.1%), shots (8-5), corners (1-0), and passing accuracy (93.4%-84.5%), with each team getting three shots on frame.
Martin Ojeda entered for Thorhallsson at halftime and the Lions changed shape to a 3-5-2. For a couple of minutes, the shape change helped.
Torres forced Kahlina to make a good save seconds after the restart. Santos then sent a shot from outside the box high over the bar moments later.
Over the next few minutes, Orlando was careless with the ball, allowing Charlotte to get forward on the counter. Torres was forced to take a tactical yellow card to break up a 2-v-1 created when Jansson gambled and lost in the attacking half in the 50th minute. Stajduhar made a huge save from point-blank range a minute later on the ensuing set piece when it deflected out to Abada. Djibril Diani then sent a header just wide of the top left corner on the corner kick.
Lodeiro put a cross in front for McGuire in the 53rd minute, but the striker sent it wide again. Muriel then had a shot blocked in the 56th as the Lions kept probing.
Orlando gave up another transition chance in the 59th minute after telegraphing a pass at the top of the penalty area. Charlotte broke with speed and Abada cut inside and shot. Jansson blocked it and it went just wide of the right post.
The Lions finally got on the board in the 63rd minute. The play started on the right side of the area with Angulo giving the ball to Muriel at the top of the 18. Muriel did well to spot Torres on the left and delivered a good aerial ball. Torres got under it and headed across the six for McGuire to run onto. The striker flicked it with a deft touch to guide it inside the right post, making it 1-1.
“I saw Facu was in a good spot to head it back and there was a little bit of space front post,” McGuire said about the play that led to his team-leading sixth goal of the year. “So, I had to make myself available and Facu put it right where I needed it to be, and luckily I got it across the goalie back post, so it was a good team goal.”
The Lions hunted for a go-ahead goal but couldn’t quite pull it off. Muriel’s shot was deflected onto the roof of the net for a corner in the 66th minute. Ojeda should have done better with a wide-open header on a good cross from Angulo in the 75th minute but steered his shot well over the bar.
The Lions paid for those near misses in the 77th minute. Orlando was in good position to thwart a counterattack when Jansson got caught on the wrong side of Patrick Agyemang. Santos was there to help but tried to clear the ball away but could only knock it back to Agyemang, allowing a sudden 2-v-1. Stajduhar came off his line but was a little late and Jansson couldn’t get back to the left in time either. Bronico chipped Stajduhar to make it 2-1. It was just the low-scoring midfielder’s seventh career goal in seven MLS seasons.
“In the 50-50 challenges, maybe they’d get the better of the challenges for the most part and they made the most of those opportunities,” McGuire said. “So, I think maybe we need to do a better job at winning the first balls, and being on the second balls, and maybe stopping the counterattack with a tactical foul a little bit more. But that’s what I think they did well.”
“We lost those two duels there, and then they found a way to hurt us,” Pareja said. “We should have been better on controlling (transitions) for sure.”
Orlando pushed forward again and created some looks in the 80th minute. McGuire’s flicked header wasn’t enough to steer a good cross on frame and on the recycle, Ojeda missed the net just wide on a partially deflected shot. On the ensuing corner, the ball fell to Torres on the left. Rather than shoot, Torres centered it for Jansson, who saw his point-blank effort saved by Kahlina, who knocked it over the goal.
Torres tied the game on the following corner kick. Lodeiro, who finished with a game-high 10 chances created, sent the ball into the box and it fell amid the bodies to Torres on the right. The Uruguayan took a touch to settle it and sent a shot through traffic and in to make it 2-2 in the 81st minute. For Torres, it was his third goal of the year and Lodeiro picked up his sixth assist.
Ojeda put a shot just over the bar and onto the roof of the net a minute after Torres equalized. Jack Lynn then subbed on for Muriel moments later. Torres sent a good cross in but Malanda knocked it behind for a corner. The set piece fell to Schlegel who sent a shot that Kahlina pushed off the post.
Two minutes later, a fantastic ball unlocked the defense and sent Lynn down the left channel behind the back line. The young striker, however, slowed up when he got the ball and Malanda caught up to him, forcing him wide, where he shot into the outside netting. Lodeiro then tried to pick out Lynn in the box in the 86th minute but may have been better off shooting from the top of the area without a defender near him.
Jansson’s flick on a set piece was wide of the back post in stoppage time and that was that.
Orlando finished with the advantage in possession (60.6%-39.4%), shots (24-11), shots on target (8-5), corners (11-3), and passing accuracy (92.8%-79.7%), but simply wasn’t sharp enough again offensively and added a leaky defense to the proceedings.
“I think we’re all disappointed with the tie, given that they were down to 10 men very early,” McGuire said. “We had our chances. I definitely had my chances. I missed two I think I should have scored. We were attacking a lot and we think we definitely should have won the game, and we’re very disappointed in ourselves, but we’re going to have to take that one point on the road and take it home to Chicago on Saturday.”
The Lions are back home with another quick turnaround when they host the Chicago Fire at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at Inter&Co Stadium.
Orlando City
By the Numbers: Orlando’s Top Goal Contributors of 2026
Barbra Banda sits atop Orlando’s 2026 goal contribution leaderboard, but Justin Ellis and several other attackers are closing quickly as the season comes to a conclusion.
October is here, and while in most recent years that meant Orlando City and the Pride working to lock in a good playoff seed and actual playoff games for Orlando City B (OCB), that is not the case this year.
OCB went ahead and dressed up as a pumpkin well in advance of Halloween, failing to make the playoffs after a strong early start to their season. The Pride need, I don’t know, just about everything to go their way (you can create scenarios at this link; it is possible but exceedingly unlikely) in order to make the playoffs, and Orlando City is in a tight battle to qualify, with playoffstatus.com giving it just a 34% chance of making it this year.
October could indeed live up to its scary billing if the Pride do not get their miracle and the Lions falter and drop below the line. Not since 2019 have all three Orlando teams missed their respective playoffs during the same year, and the Lions are realistically the City Beautiful’s only hope for postseason soccer.
I generally prefer optimism to pessimism, so with that in mind, I wanted to look at something more on the glass-half-full side this week, with that glass being half full of goals. Goalkeepers and defenders can have fun too, but their fun is often more like that of an actuary or accountant — clinical and black and white. Goals are expressive and explosive and full of color (in this case, a heavy helping of purple) and joy. I like thinking happy thoughts while I write.
The three Orlando teams have scored more than 150 goals this season across all competitions, and the chart below details the makeup of all three teams and where those goals came from, using data from fbref.com for Orlando City and the Pride and from the MLS NEXT Pro website for OCB:
| Team | Players Used | Goal Scorers | Goal Contributors* | Leading Contributor |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orlando City | 33 | 17 | 20 | Martín Ojeda – 15 |
| Orlando City B | 37 | 15 | 22 | Issah Haruna – 14 |
| Orlando Pride | 26 | 10 | 17 | Barbra Banda – 21 |
| All Three Clubs | 83 | 38 | 55 |
*Goal contributors are the players that scored or provided the primary assist on the goal
More than 80 players have appeared in at least one game for an Orlando team thus far, with 13 players appearing for both Orlando City and OCB. Seven players are goalkeepers, and if you remove them from the players used count, that leaves 76 field players, of which 54 (goalkeeper Juan Rojas had an assist for OCB) contributed to at least one goal (71%, not bad).
Barbra Banda, Martín Ojeda, and Issah Haruna are the leaders for their respective teams thus far. OCB’s season is over, so Haruna — and his seven goals and seven assists — is locked in as the leading contributor for OCB. Ojeda has been in the lead for nearly the entire season for Orlando City, but Antoine Griezmann started playing after the World Cup break and has been rapidly cooking up escar-goal contributions ever since. As for the Pride, it was Agatha Barbra all along, and as our Sean Rollins noted earlier this week, it has not even been close.
I mentioned earlier that 13 players have played for both men’s teams this season, and even though Ojeda leads the Lions and Haruna led the Young Lions, neither are the leading contributor on the men’s side of the club. In fact, neither are the leader or the player in second place, as it is Justin Ellis who sits in first place and Harvey Sarajian who trails him on the men’s side.
Both players have delivered goals for the senior Lions and Young Lions this season, and if you throw in the two goals from his recent stint with the U.S. Men’s National Team, Ellis has crested 20 goal contributions in 2026. Those do not count for the graph below, even though the first was in Inter.co Stadium and the second came from an assist from Alex Freeman, both of which feel very much like they should count as Orlando goal contributions. Alas, Freeman is “Forever A Lion” but not currently on the Lions, but the following 10 players are and coincidentally they are both the top 10 and only 10 with at least 10 goal contributions thus far this season:
| Player | Goal Contributions | Goal Contributions per 90 (GC/90) | GC 90/Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barbra Banda | 21 | 1.05 | 1 |
| Justin Ellis | 19 | 0.80 | 5 |
| Harvey Sarajian | 15 | 0.85 | 4 |
| Martín Ojeda | 15 | 0.68 | 7 |
| Issah Haruna | 14 | 0.66 | 8 |
| Antoine Griezmann | 13 | 0.96 | 2 |
| Gustavo Caraballo | 12 | 0.73 | 6 |
| Tyrese Spicer | 12 | 0.93 | 3 |
| Iván Angulo | 10 | 0.32 | 18 |
| Pedro Leão | 10 | 0.44 | 12 |
Banda jumps out as the leader and the only Pride player in the top 10, Haley McCutcheon (a defensive midfielder!) is second on the team and 11th overall with eight goal contributions, and Jacquie Ovalle is third on the Pride and tied for 13th overall with six. The Pride have once again really been a one-woman band(a), as evidenced by how the low numbers are for their second- and third-leading goal contributors.
Back on the men’s side, Daryl Dike only has three goal contributions, so he is down at 23rd in those rankings, but his 0.58 goal contributions per 90 minutes has him ninth on the per-90 chart. Tiago, who may become a lot more important now that Tyrese Spicer is likely out for the season with a Jones fracture, is the other player not in the top 10 for actual goal contributions but in there per 90 minutes, as he sits 10th at 0.51.
It is not surprising that the two players with the highest pedigree rank in the top two on the per-90-minutes chart. Both Banda and Griezmann have been as advertised all season, and if both had been available all season, each team would likely be higher in the standings.
The Pride have three games remaining (though their next one is not until Oct. 18 due to an international window) and Orlando City has seven, so there is still ample time for movement on this top 10 chart. Perhaps McCutcheon goes McClutcheon and bags a few more braces, or Ovalle or Ally Lemos (fourth on the Pride, also as a defensive midfielder) go on a late heater and catch Pedro Leão. More likely, however, is that no other Pride player makes a leap and Banda just adds to her totals, and we see if Ellis, with four more games left to play than the Zambian, can catch her for the number one spot.
Ojeda has a chance to follow his 31 goal contribution season in 2025 with a 20+ season in 2026, and if any of those goal contributions come from goals, he will pass Facundo Torres and take sole possession as the club’s all-time leading goal scorer.
Orlando City’s season resumes Saturday against Columbus, and hopefully the Lions will return from the international break locked and loaded for the stretch run. Whether the goal contributions come from a top 10 performer or someone well off the list is irrelevant. All that matters is that the Lions can score at least one more than their opponents.
And if they can do that a few more times, that will contribute to extending their playoff run to a seventh consecutive year.
Vamos Orlando!
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew: Three Keys to Victory
What do the Lions need to do to earn all three points at home against the Columbus Crew?
Orlando City is back in action Saturday taking on the Columbus Crew at Inter.com Stadium. Every point matters as the Lions chase a seventh consecutive playoff appearance. Orlando City is above the Crew in the standings, but the Lions lost to Columbus last month in the U.S. Open Cup and drew in the previous league matchup earlier this season. Hopefully, Orlando City can get a different result this go around. What must the Lions do to get a victory over the Columbus Crew this weekend?
Defend in the Den
The Columbus Crew scored two goals to knock Orlando City out of the U.S. Open Cup back in September thanks to goals from Brais Mendez and Josef Martinez. Mendez scored the winning goal, but it was the Martinez goal that irked me the most. One would hope that it was a backup goalkeeper and back line that gave up those two goals, but it wasn’t. Maxime Crepeau started in goal with a back line of Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Zakaria Taifi. At this point, Taifi is the only backup. The defense needs to do better this go-round.
There’s a chance Orlando will have Griffin Dorsey back in for Taifi, which would be good. Brekalo will also be back from international duty. Additionally, the Lions are coming off a small break as opposed to playing their third match in eight days as they were in September. With that in mind, perhaps they will be better rested both physically and mentally.
Let’s Go Wilder
I’m going to suggest that Martin Perelman do something I don’t think he will do: start Wilder Cartagena. I know that Perelman is an all gas, no brakes kind of coach, but the last time these two teams met, he started Joran Gerbet along with Eduard Atuesta. Neither of the two are midfield destroyer types that the Lions need to shield the back line.
Cartagena brings a more defensive mind and attitude to the pitch without sacrificing too much going the other way. As I mentioned above, the defense needs all the help it can get, and I think Wilder can provide that in a way that neither Gerbet nor Atuesta are able to do.
Designated Player Powers Activate!
It’s no secret that Martin Ojeda was Orlando City’s best attacker prior to his injury. It’s also no surprise that Antoine Griezmann has taken the league by storm and made the Orlando City attack better in all respects. What we’ve yet to see is these two truly combine to devastate an opponent’s defense. We’ve heard they work well in training, and they looked good together in the friendlies prior to the season restarting post-World Cup, but I want to see it all come together against the Crew.
Columbus has given up 43 goals so far this season. That is way better than Orlando City’s 64, but the Crew are not impossible to break down. If Griezmann and Ojeda can combine for at least two goals, Orlando City will have a much greater chance to win. If Justin Ellis’ knock from the USMNT match Tuesday night isn’t hindering him, then the attack will be that much more dangerous. Patrick Schulte is a pretty good MLS keeper, so the Lions will need to finish the chances they get.
That is what I will be looking for on Saturday night. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!
Lion Links
Lion Links: 10/8/26
Orlando City prepares to host the Columbus Crew, Dan Lock joins Orlando City’s academy, Justin Ellis impresses with USMNT, and more.
How’s it going, Mane Landers? October has been going well so far for me, although I wish we got some fall weather instead of the afternoon showers that have made an umbrella a necessity as of late. It at least beats the usual oppressive heat I’m used to here in Florida. But enough about the weather, let’s get to the links!
Orlando City Prepares for Columbus Crew
Orlando City will be back in action on Saturday against the Columbus Crew in its first match since the international break. This game will be a rematch of the U.S. Open Cup semifinal between the two in Ohio, where the Crew won 2-1. Hopefully playing at home gives the Lions an edge this time around as they fight for a spot in the playoffs. Forward Harvey Sarajian spoke on the team’s excitement to get back on the field following the international break as it prepares to face the Crew yet again.
Dan Lock Hired for Orlando City’s Academy
Orlando City named Dan Lock as its academy head of methodology and coaching for him to oversee efforts to improve the pathway for academy players to develop. He joins Orlando after over a decade in youth soccer development, including time with the Columbus Crew as their academy director and leadership roles in the academies of Charlotte FC and the Seattle Sounders. Lock has also been a coach educator for U.S. Soccer and MLS NEXT.
Justin Ellis Impresses With USMNT
Multiple MLS players stood out at the United States Men’s National Team’s series of friendlies, including Orlando City forward Justin Ellis. The 19-year-old scored in the opening match against Peru and then again to beat Canada. Cavan Sullivan and Julian Hall also did well as the youth movement is in full swing with the USMNT to prepare for the 2030 World Cup. The only downside to Ellis’ international break was a knock picked up during the win over Canada, but hopefully it doesn’t take too long for him to recover from the contusion.
USWNT Will Face Tough Test from Spain
The United States Women’s National Team will take on Spain on Saturday in the first of two friendlies between the top two teams according to FIFA’s rankings. Spain has talent across all of its roster, but the offense in particular should challenge a USWNT defense that will be without key players like Naomi Girma, Emily Sonnett, and central midfielder Sam Coffey. The U.S. has put an effort into developing a solid player pool to provide depth when needed at times like these, so it will be interesting to see how Head Coach Emma Hayes aims to keep Spain’s attack in check.
Free Kicks
- The USMNT will play against Haiti on Nov. 14 and 17 in the Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals. The first leg will take place at a neutral location and the second will be at TQL Stadium in Cincinnati.
- Despite winning all four of its games over this past international window, the USMNT remained 16th in the latest FIFA rankings.
- Mikel Arteta signed a new contract with Arsenal that will last through 2030. He’s been with Arsenal since December of 2019 and led Arsenal to a league title last season.
- Former Tottenham defender Ramon Vega announced that he will go up against Gianni Infantino and run for the FIFA presidency.
- David Silva is coming out of retirement at 40 years old to join Supreme Sha Tin in Hong Kong.
That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday and rest of your week!
By the Numbers: Orlando’s Top Goal Contributors of 2026
Orlando City vs. Columbus Crew: Three Keys to Victory
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