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Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Final Score 4-2 as Facundo Torres Leads Lions to Home Win

The Lions woke up offensively and goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar made up for a leaky defense in a much-needed home win.

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2 years ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City’s offense exploded for a season-high four goals and Mason Stajduhar made several critical saves as the Lions defeated the Chicago Fire 4-2 in front of an announced crowd of 22,038 at Inter&Co Stadium. Facundo Torres’ brace paced Orlando (5-8-6, 21 points), which also got goals from Luis Muriel and Ivan Angulo to offset scores by Maren Haile-Selassie and Hugo Cuypers for Chicago (4-9-6, 18 points). It was just the second home win for the Lions this season (2-5-3), and a much-needed one.

While a leaky defense was a concern, forcing Stajduhar to make 10 saves — several of the spectacular variety — the Lions will take the home win after struggling at Inter&Co Stadium all season. The 10 saves equals Joe Bendik’s single-game club record set against Sporting Kansas City on May 15, 2016.

“We feel very happy with the result, winning at home in front of our fans,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “Despite the difficult moments, they came and supported us and I wanted to spread our message to them. That energy that they brought to us in a game that needed an extra push from us…a difficult week playing on turf three days ago. We knew that today was going to be a big challenge on (us physically) with the humidity and all those things. But we had a lot of positive things. We scored four goals. We started seeing individuals improve their performances. The collective obviously looks much better.”

Pareja started nearly the identical lineup that started Wednesday’s match in Charlotte, with the exception of Cesar Araujo stepping back into the XI in place of Felipe. Stajduhar started in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. The midfield consisted of Torres, Araujo, Nico Lodeiro, and Angulo, with Muriel and Duncan McGuire leading the attack up top.

Orlando started quickly in this game and had a shout for an early penalty when Torres was knocked down from behind in the box in just the second minute. Referee Natalie Simon saw nothing wrong with the play and the video assistant referee determined no obvious error had been made without her going to the monitor herself.

It didn’t matter as much two minutes later when Torres opened the scoring. Taking a pass from Thorhallsson, the Uruguayan cut inside and smashed the ball into the far corner to make it 1-0. It was his second goal in the fourth minute against Chicago this season and his fifth strike against the Fire in the last four meetings.

“I think the first (goal) was a play that’s just very typical of me,” Torres said. “When I receive it outside like that on the wing, I like to bring it inside to try to give myself a better chance to finish and to find the goal. So, when I took it inside, I was one-on-one with the defender, and thankfully I was able to cut it just one more time and give myself an even better opportunity, which was just really typical of me and the way I like to play.”

Chicago nearly tied the match in the 11th minute. Stajduhar made a huge stop to deny Cuypers after a turnover by McGuire gifted the ball back to the visitors. After the save, Haile-Selassie put the rebound over the net.

Angulo blazed through the Chicago defense in the 19th minute and was pulled back by Allan Arigoni in the box. This time, Simon immediately pointed to the spot. Muriel took the penalty and sent a shot right with Chris Brady diving the other way in the 20th minute.

The Fire came within inches of pulling the goal right back in the 24th minute. Brian Gutierrez, who was given too much space multiple times in the first half, cut inside from the left and smashed a shot that crashed off the right post and stayed out. Two minutes later, he was left alone about 25 yards out from goal and sent a shot at Stajduhar from distance.

Orlando tripled the lead in the 29th minute. Thorhallsson whipped in a good cross for McGuire that was redirected on goal but saved by Brady. Angulo swooped in and picked up the loose change, putting the ball into the empty net to make it 3-0.

“The play was a situation where Dagur was bringing it in from the right and he was trying to cross it over to get it to Duncan in the center,” Angulo said. “When the deflection happened, it just kind of bounced to me and all I had to do was push it into the goal.”

Haile-Selassie was left alone in the box in the 40th minute and fired a shot that Jansson got a piece of, slowing it enough for Stajduhar to make the save. Two minutes later, the Homegrown goalkeeper made a much more difficult stop when the ball pinged around the box and was headed on frame by Cuypers from point-blank range.

McGuire got in alone on goal late in the half but his shot was saved and he was offside anyway. Arnaud Souquet then was left in too much space and sent a shot just wide of the target deep in stoppage time on the final look for either team.

With some long spells of possession late in the half, the Fire took a halftime edge (55%-45%) into the break in that category, as well as in shots (8-3), shots on target (4-3), and passing accuracy (93%-88.3%). Each team earned one corner.

Stajduhar was once again called upon to stop Gutierrez in the 47th minute and once again the keeper made the save.

A minute later, McGuire was nearly sent in behind by Santos but Brady was quickly off his line and got there just ahead of the Orlando striker.

The shutout was spoiled moments later. Schlegel and Jansson got switched up and each was on the other’s side. Schlegel went to ground to block a cross that hit the arm he was putting down to arrest his fall. Simon ruled that his arm was not yet supporting his body and therefore it was a penalty, and the call on the field was upheld. Haile-Selassie sent Stajduhar the wrong way and put the Fire on the board in the 53rd minute.

McGuire won a free kick near the left corner of the box after the restart and Muriel went for goal on the set piece. Brady got over to make the save in the 55th minute. That was one of the final actions for the Colombian, who was subbed off a few minutes later for Martin Ojeda.

Torres scored a fourth Orlando goal in the 60th minute, cutting across the top of the area and smashing a shot from distance that beat Brady. The four goals represents a season high for the Lions.

“The second one, when I receive it on the outside like that, I do like to hit it when I’ve got the opportunity,” Torres said. “Sometimes it goes in, sometimes it doesn’t.”

His second of the night was a milestone goal for Torres, who scored his 28th league goal in two-and-a-half seasons to tie Nani for second on Orlando’s all-time, goal-scoring list in MLS matches.

Orlando’s defense was visibly tired in the final half hour. Just after the second Torres goal, a series of defensive turnovers kept Chicago on the attack for about a minute but it broke down on an offside.

The Lions gifted Chicago a second goal in the 69th minute. A routine cross into the box should have been dealt with by Jansson. The Swede swung and missed at the ball, which hit the back of Santos’ leg and bounced toward goal, where only Cuypers was waiting. He swept it past Stajduhar to make it 4-2.

From that point, it was a matter of Orlando managing the game, and the Lions did so, but not without a few more nervy moments in the defensive end.

Substitute Kyle Smith turned the ball over in his defensive third in the 79th minute, leading to another Gutierrez effort from long range. This one had a lot of movement on it and Stajduhar punched it away. A minute later, Gaston Gimenez sent a shot through traffic. Stajduhar didn’t see it until it was almost on top of him and he had to make a sprawling save to knock away what might ordinarily be a routine stop.

Former Lion Chris Mueller sent a long-range effort right at Stajduhar in the 83rd minute as the Chicago pressure continued. One of the goalkeeper’s best saves came in the 86th minute. An aerial ball cleared the defense and found Georgios Koutsias, who tried to head it over Stajduhar, but he was able to get a hand up quickly to reject the shot with an athletic save.

“I think tonight we saw the best of Mason, and I know he has more than that,” Pareja said. “He has been very patient in waiting for his opportunity. And in this moment when we needed that position to step up, he did and provided us a lot of security. We were drained at the end and Chicago was taking shots, but Mason provided us a lot of security and we felt safe. So, congratulations to Mason. We’re very proud of him and his performance. He deserves it because he works tremendously hard.”

Orlando nearly added an insurance strike in the 88th minute. Brady came out of his box to beat Angulo to a ball over the top, but he could not touch it and could only knock it to OJeda, who volleyed it inches over the crossbar from distance.

The game entered nine minutes of stoppage time and Chicago kept coming. Carlos Teran had a free header right in front on a corner kick but sent a powerful shot at Stajduhar’s feet and the keeper was able to trap it. He made a long throw to set up the counterattack, which ended up with Angulo down the left channel. The winger tried to pick out the far post but missed the target in transition in the 95th minute.

Stajduhar did well to punch away a couple of threatening crosses in the final minutes of injury time and the final whistle ended the proceedings without another goal.

Chicago finished with the advantage in possession (59.7%-40.3%), shots (18-8), shots on target (12-6), corners (3-1), and passing accuracy (90.3%-82.2%), but it was Orlando that was more clinical in front of goal and Stajduhar was a difference maker.

“It was a difficult game,” Pareja said. “Chicago pushed a lot and they had a lot of sequences, and we had to defend lower than we wanted, but it’s a good result, especially in front of our fans. And hopefully we can continue adding points because we need to find our way to turn these things around.”

“It’s a great feeling tonight to get the victory,” Angulo said. “That was the form that we had been looking for, and it was nice tonight to finally see it come to fruition on the field and together as a team.”

Torres has come on this week, not only scoring three goals and adding an assist across the two most recent matches, but also putting all six of his shot attempts on frame. If the old adage that your best players have to play well for the team to find success, Torres is doing that now after a difficult first half of the season.

“(The game) gives us and gives myself a lot of confidence, especially for when you’re going through a period where you’re working so hard and things just don’t seem to come off,” Torres said. “It can get really frustrating. It can be really difficult to get through, especially a couple of weeks ago, getting left off the Copa America roster. It hurts, but the only thing you can do is pick your head up and go back to it and just work even harder. So, that way you can find those successes that are yet to come.”

The Lions go back on the road Friday when they’ll play at New York City FC.

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Orlando City vs. CF Montreal: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 2-1 home win over CF Montreal.

Published

10 hours ago

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March 15, 2026

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Image of Duncan McGuire celebreating a goal with Ivan Angulo against CF Montreal.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

The Martin Perelman tenure as Orlando City’s interim head coach started with a 2-1 victory over CF Montreal at Inter&Co Stadium. Perelman is known for a more attacking style, which is what we saw to start the match. Of course, in the end there was still a lot white-knuckle defending needed, but beggars can’t be choosers.

Here is what I took from Orlando City’s first win of the season.

Big Dunc Strikes

Duncan McGuire scored a goal. It’s been a long time coming as McGuire has put in the work but hasn’t been provided any decent service to start the season. It was good to see his persistence pay dividends with his first goal of the season. It was a poacher’s goal, but it scores the same. There’s nothing wrong with that type of goal. It means that he was in the right spot at the right time, which is part of what a good striker needs to do.

Good Angulo

We always get “quick” Ivan Angulo, but we don’t always get “good” Angulo. We did against Montreal. He was involved in both of Orlando City’s goals in the first half, though somewhat luckily on the first. He put Marco Pasalic’s rebound off the left post, but fortunately the ball ended up at McGuire’s feet for the easy tap-in goal.

He was much more an impactful player on the second goal. He brought the ball into the attacking half, tried an ambitious pass to McGuire that was just a hair short and touched away. However, he did well to follow up and got back on the ball, had a quick give and go with Pasalic before smartly dropping it off to Martin Ojeda for the goal. Angulo did so much to make that goal happen.

It was a good match for Angulo. He provided his usual contributions on defense, and a few of his dribbles into the opposition, but overall he was good. As we know, a mostly good Angulo is better than a bad Angulo any day.

That’ll Do Defense, That’ll Do.

Orlando City gave up an equalizer minutes after scoring the first goal, but that ended up being it on the night. There was no collapse in the second half despite Montreal having the lion’s share (no pun intended) of possession and shots. It took a full team defensive effort in the end as well as a little bit of luck. There was emergency defending, fortunate bounces, and timely clearances. To be fair, this wasn’t like dealing with Inter Miami’s offense, but all that matters in the end is the result.

Brazilian Wrecking Machine

Iago got his first start since the opener and it went better this time than against the New York Red Bulls. He did get overpowered on Prince Owusu’s header goal, but that was about the only time he was overpowered. He somehow was able to get away with accidently dropping two Montreal players when defending an attack all the way up in midfield. He also made up for allowing the goal when he cleared the ball late in the match while his teammates threw their bodies around trying to defend. It wasn’t a perfect night for the young center back, but it was his best showing so far.

Otero’s Enough

Javier Otero knew he was getting the start in this match and he was better prepared than against New York City FC. He was not at fault on CF Montreal’s goal. He made an outstanding diving save in the second half, and a few expected stops throughout. He did well to come out when needed, but unlike Maxime Crepeau, he didn’t handle the ball outside the box. He didn’t cost the Lions the match, which is something a backup keeper is expected to do. It might not seem like much, but doing just enough is still enough.

That is what I saw in Orlando City’s 2-1 win over CF Montreal. It was nice to finally see a victory. Let me know your thoughts in the comments below.

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Orlando City vs. CF Montreal: Final Score 2-1 as Lions Win First Match of 2026 Season

The Lions picked up three vital points and a much-needed win after the departure of Oscar Pareja.

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21 hours ago

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March 14, 2026

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Image of Martin Ojeda and Ivan Angulo celebrating a goal against Montreal.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

It was a tumultuous week for Orlando City players, coaches, fans, and the front office, but a workmanlike effort and goals by Duncan McGuire and Martin Ojeda led the Lions to their first win of the season tonight at Inter&Co Stadium. All of the scoring happened in the first half as Orlando City (1-3-0, 3 points) defeated CF Montreal (1-3-0, 3 points) 2-1 in front of an announced crowd of 18,035.

Prince Owusu scored the only goal for the visitors off a set piece, but the energy and work rate by the Lions won the day as Orlando picked up a victory in the club’s first match since parting ways with longtime head coach Oscar Pareja in the midweek.

“This game belonged to the players. And the players did an amazing effort,” said Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman after the match. “This is only because of them. They are the protagonists. They did it.”

Perelman’s first lineup in charge for what ultimately became his first MLS win featured Javier Otero in goal for the suspended Maxime Crepeau, playing behind a back line of Adrian Marin, Iago, David Brekalo, and Griffin Dorsey. Braian Ojeda and Eduard Atuesta started in the central midfield between wingers Ivan Angulo and Marco Pasalic, with Martin Ojeda and McGuire as the forwards.

Montreal tried to play route one soccer over the top and often ceded possession to set up the press. Orlando didn’t create much in the opening minutes of the match but controlled more of the ball, looking to work it up the flanks with diagonal balls over the first line of press when in possession.

Pasalic found some space for the game’s first shot in the fifth minute, but it deflected out for a corner off a defender. Nothing came from the set piece, but two minutes later Pasalic was set up by Martin Ojeda and fired just wide of the right post.

Montreal put together a couple of corners in the 16th and 17th minutes, but the visitors couldn’t make them pay off. That allowed Orlando to strike first a minute later.

Pasalic again shook free outside the area and blasted a shot through the traffic. The ball pinged around off multiple Montreal players and Angulo got to it first. The Colombian slipped it past goalkeeper Thomas Gillier but hit the left post. McGuire was first to the rebound, slotting home his first goal of the season in the 18th minute. It was the striker’s 31st career goal in all competitions, tying Nani for fourth on the club’s all-time list.

“I saw where Marco was, saw that he had the ball. And obviously, we all know his ability to hit the ball with with a lot of power,” Angulo said. “And so I tried to be aware of that and be in a good spot in case there was a rebound, and there was, and it fell to me. So I shot it, and unfortunately hit the post. But Duncan was there to pick up that rebound and score it.”

“Marco did a great job to cut in and draw some defenders, and then Ivan was very smart to follow the shot,” McGuire said. “And then, I mean, as a forward, you can’t ask for a better opportunity when it just bounced off the post right to you. So yeah, it was pretty simple, but it was a great team goal.”

Just minutes after the restart, Montreal won a corner and pulled the goal right back. Wikelman Carmona sent a good ball in toward the back post. Marin was knocked down in the scrum but no foul was given and Owusu slammed a free header past Otero to tie the game in the 24th minute.

“It’s definitely hard when you score a goal, and then shortly after you get scored on,” McGuire said. “You can either put your head up or down, and the boys stayed positive. And once we conceded the goal, we all talked, and we knew we were okay, and we knew we were getting the better of them. So we stayed positive. We knew we could hurt them in behind and and we were able to do that.”

The back-and-forth play continued, with Montreal winning another corner in the 30th minute but Otero caught it. The Lions went the other way with Angulo turning his man and slipping a through ball to McGuire but it was a bit soft and the defense arrived. The ball deflected back to Angulo, who continued his run to the top of the box before dishing off to Pasalic and running onto a return ball. This time Angulo fed Ojeda, who smashed it inside the right post to make it 2-1 in the 31st minute.

“With where I was in the box, I always try to potentially find a teammate that’s in a better position there, just because it was a difficult spot,” Angulo said. “And ‘Tincho’ (Ojeda) was the one that was in the better position. And so I was able to lay it off to him for the goal, but just very happy to be able to help the team.”

Both teams failed to pay off some dangerous free kicks late in the half and the Lions took their one-goal lead into the break.

At the break, Montreal held the advantage in possession (56.9%-43.1%), corners (5-2), and passing accuracy (89%-81.9%). The Lions attempted more shot (9-6) and put more on target (3-2).

Montreal created something immediately after the restart, with Hennadii Synchuk finding a pocket of space outside the area and blazing a shot over the crossbar in the 46th minute. The game settled down for a bit after that early chance, but eventually Montreal started putting on pressure. Former Lion Luca Petrasso shook free on the left but fired well wide of the left post in the 57th minute.

Orlando started generating some counter opportunities as Montreal pressed for a tying goal. A simple ball over the top sprung Martin Ojeda down the left in the 60th minute but he left his shot too close to Gillier, who made the save. A minute later, substitute Zakaria Taifi, who had just entered the game, was sent to the right by Angulo and fired a shot but it was right at the goalkeeper in the 62nd minute.

Synchuk was able to sneak in behind the back line in the 63rd minute but Marin madea great desperation tackle from behind to knock it out for a corner. The Lions cleared the danger but Ivan Jaime freed himself for a hard shot from the left five minutes later, with Otero punching it awaay

Tyrese Spicer, who subbed on for Pasalic, should have put the game away in the 75th minute, blazing behind the Montreal defense, but the Trinidadian could not beat the visiting goalkeeper, who made the save but conceded a corner. The ensuing set piece fell in the box for Braiain Ojeda, who could not steer his shot on frame.

Those could have been costly missed opportunities in another game, but in this one, Montreal couldn’t take advantage despite pressing the attack down the stretch. The visitors won multiple corners as the time wound down and nearly paid one off in the 83rd minute, when Efrain Morales got a header on frame. Otero spilled it but was fouled by Samuel Piette, ending the danger.

Perelman turned to youngsters Tahir Reid-Brown and Pedro Leao to help see out the game, subbing on the youngsters for Dorsey and Martin Ojeda. The Lions played five across the back, looking to stay compact and organized, but they sometimes weren’t.

Leao won a free kick with one of his first touches. It was a good spot for a set piece, dead center and about 25 yards out, but Spicer hit his shot attempt into Montreal’s defensive wall.

The visitors came close to equalizing in the third minute of stoppage time. Jaime got into the box and cut inside before sending a shot on goal that Taifi blocked. Brekalo’s clearance attempt on the wild goal-mouth scramble hit an opposing player and stayed in the danger area, but Iago was able to clear.

That was the last gasp for Montreal, with the Lions holding on for their first win of 2026.

As a result of pushing for an equalizer, Montreal managed to stuff the stat sheet, finishing with the advantage in possession (60.8%-39.2%), shots (22-16), corners (10-4), and passing accuracy (88.3%-77.3%). The Lions put more shots on target (6-5).

“Very difficult game. You know, it was difficult, but we’re very happy for getting the win tonight, and really happy that the team was up for it and went out there on a high,” Angulo said.

“I mean, in 48 hours, you have not much time to put a lot of information on the players, but the truth is that at the end of the day, it was more than 48 hours,” Perelman said. “We have been working hard, and we try to be pragmatic, we try to be versatile. We try to put a lot of energy in a difficult context to bring some happiness to our people. This is what the players did. This is how we embrace the situation and fight.”

“Definitely a difficult week,” McGuire said. “You know, all of us were very sad to see Oscar go. Luckily, you know, Martin is someone that we’re very comfortable with, have a relationship with, so it definitely helped this week with making it more of a smooth transition. We just said in the locker room, that tonight’s win was for Oscar, and I love the fight that we saw from the boys tonight from the first minute til the end. I think we gave it our all, and hopefully it’s the first many (wins).”

The Lions are back on the road a week from tonight to try to make it two in a row at Nashville SC.

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

The Lions continue to hunt for their first win in their first game under interim coach Martin Perelman.

Published

1 day ago

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March 14, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (0-3-0, 0 points) and CF Montreal (1-2-0, 3 points) at Inter&Co Stadium (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). It’s the first of two scheduled meetings between the Eastern Conference rivals in 2026, with the Lions set to make the return trip to the Great White North on May 9.

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

History

The Lions are 8-9-7 against Montreal in the all-time regular-season series and 10-10-7 in all competitions since they joined MLS. OCSC is 4-4-4 in home MLS games against Montreal and 6-4-4 in matchups held in the greater Orlando area — this includes wins in Leagues Cup and the MLS is Back Tournament knockout rounds.

The most recent meeting was a 1-1 draw in Orlando on July 12, 2025. Martin Ojeda gave the Lions a lead that appeared set to hold up, but Rodrigo Schlegel’s foul in the box on Prince Owusu allowed the Montreal forward to level the match late from the spot. That was the second of two matches that failed to find a winner last year. The teams played to a scoreless draw in Montreal on April 19. The Lions’ efforts at bringing home a road win took a hit in the second half when Rafael Santos was sent off.

The teams met in Orlando in the 2024 Leagues Cup competition on July 26, with the Lions running rampant in a 4-1 home victory. Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Facundo Torres, Ramiro Enrique, and Ojeda staked Orlando to a 4-0 lead. Josef Martinez scored for Montreal, although his bid for a brace was denied when Pedro Gallese stopped his penalty kick attempt.

The two sides met in Montreal on April 20, 2024 trading goals in a 2-2 draw at Stade Saputo. Mason Toye opened the scoring early, but Torres equalized from the spot a few minutes later. Ariel Lassiter appeared to win it late in normal time for the hosts, but Ivan Angulo struck in stoppage time to earn Orlando City a road point. These teams opened the 2024 season against each other in Orlando and played to a 0-0 draw. The Lions dominated the stat sheet but had a goal waved off for offside and simply weren’t lethal enough.

The teams met twice in 2023, completing the season series on Sept. 30, 2023, with Orlando winning 3-0 in dominant fashion. Jonathan Sirois’ own goal opened the scoring, and Thorhallsson and Torres added strikes for Orlando City. That was a good measure of revenge for OCSC, after Montreal defeated Orlando City 2-0 on May 6 at Stade Saputo. A Robin Jansson own goal got Montreal started in the second half and Romell Quioto added a second goal four minutes later.

These two sides played their biggest game against each other in the 2022 MLS playoffs, with CF Montreal knocking Orlando City out of the postseason by a 2-0 scoreline on Oct. 16, with goals by Ismael Kone and Djordje Mihailovic — the latter coming deep in stoppage time from the penalty spot.

Each team won at home in the two-game, regular-season series in 2022, with Montreal thumping Orlando 4-1 on May 7. Joel Waterman, Mihailovic, Joaquin Torres, and Zachary Brault-Guillard did the damage on the scoreboard and Orlando City managed just two shot attempts, with Joao Moutinho’s goal on a set piece spoling the shutout. Orlando City did not have either starting center back for that match, and it showed. The teams also met on opening day of the 2022 season, when Orlando City captured a 2-0 home win behind second-half goals from Alexandre Pato and Benji Michel.

In 2021, the teams met in Montreal with the Lions earning a 2-0 road victory on Decision Day to clinch a playoff spot. Sebas Mendez and Daryl Dike provided the goals. That season’s matchup in Orlando came on Oct. 20, 2021, with the visitors managing a 1-1 draw. Chris Mueller struck for the Lions just before halftime, but Rudy Camacho answered on a corner kick header shortly after the restart. The first meeting of 2021 took place Sept. 15 in Orlando with the Lions falling 4-2 and finishing the game with just nine men after both Nani and Andres Perea were sent off. Quioto led Montreal with a goal and two assists. Mathieu Choiniere and Quioto put Montreal up 2-0, but despite already being down one man, Jansson and Ruan tied things up. The visitors got two more from Lassi Lappalainen and Sunusi Ibrahim.

The teams met at Red Bull Arena in late 2020, as the team then known as the Montreal Impact played home games in New Jersey due to the pandemic. Orlando City got a Dike goal in the 39th minute to win 1-0 on Nov. 1, 2020. It was the second meeting of the 2020 season, with Orlando also beating Montreal 1-0 in the MLS is Back Tournament knockout rounds on July 25 to advance to the quarterfinals. Tesho Akindele scored the game’s only goal on a Montreal defensive mistake.

Orlando City snapped a six-game winless streak against Montreal (0-5-1) in MLS regular-season play dating back to 2016 when the Lions put the Impact to the sword in a 3-0 drubbing at Stade Saputo on June 1, 2019. Nani (penalty), Akindele, and Will Johnson supplied the offense that day. The Lions fell 3-1 at Exploria Stadium back on March 16, 2019, and Ignacio Piatti was a big reason why, scoring his ninth and 10th career goals against Orlando, adding to a strike by Orji Okwonkwo. Dom Dwyer added a cosmetic goal late for Orlando City to spoil the clean sheet.

Montreal did not allow a goal against the Lions in 2018, sweeping the two-game set from Orlando, and the Impact shut out Orlando City in three of the six meetings in that 5-0-1 run. The lone draw in that time frame was a 3-3 shootout in Orlando in 2017, in which the Impact led deep in stoppage time, only to see Jonathan Spector’s well-placed header steal the Lions a point.

Orlando won the first two meetings in 2016 by a combined score of 6-2. The teams split three meetings in 2015, with each going 1-1-1.

Overview

Orlando City is a team in turmoil entering tonight’s match, having parted ways with longtime head coach Oscar Pareja in the midweek after just three games into his seventh season. The club’s winningest coach of all time seems to have been let go, to be replaced on an interim basis by assistant Martin Perelman despite no plan in place for his succession per a press conference with Orlando City General Manager and Sporting Director Ricardo Moreira, who made it clear the club is going to be in an evaluation phase.

“For now, the focus is to support the team and for Martin to achieve results. Then we’ll assess what needs to be assessed in due time,” Moreira said. “If there’s a coaching search, I would assume that depending on how things go, Martin will be considered, but that’s something that we’re going to assess in due time.”

While the words “if there’s a coaching search” will not likely bring peace to any Orlando City fan, that’s where the club is right now.

Orlando City is 0-3-0 for the first time ever (0-2-0 at home) and is using a makeshift back line that has been abused by every team it’s played while captain Robin Jansson recovers from foot surgery. The Lions will play tonight’s match without starting goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, who made a below-rookie-level mistake in handling the ball outside the box to deny a goal-scoring opportunity a week ago and was sent off.

Montreal hasn’t fared much better than Orlando, but tonight’s visitors did manage to pick up their first win of the year last weekend at the New York Red Bulls — the team that started the Lions’ three-game skid on opening day. CF Montreal has yet to play at home this season, so the 1-2-0 start on the road is not necessarily a killer, but it’s not ideal either.

Midfielder Wikelman Carmona leads Montreal with two goals on the season, and both came at the Red Bulls, which is why he is the reigning MLS Player of the Matchday, making him the first to win the award this season in a week in which he did not play Orlando City. Owusu has the team’s other goal.

To get the win tonight, Orlando’s defense must show up. The OCSC offense has scored three goals in the 194 minutes the Lions have played with 11 men this season. If the defense in front of backup goalkeeper Javier Otero can somehow help him keep a clean sheet, this is a match Orlando City can win. Otherwise, it could be another ugly, lopsided loss. Perhaps the team will get a jolt from the shock of losing Pareja so early in the year. But it’s not clear how Perelman’s more attack-minded style will suit a team that should absolutely not put its back line under pressure on counterattacks.

“I’m not here to wait and the club doesn’t want me here to wait. This club deserves to always prepare the team to win, succeed, and continue the pathway we have built,” Perelman said ahead of the match. “The season has already started, but MLS is long. I know MLS well. We know how to manage the regular season and we will be ready for the playoffs too. We are here to work. We are here to make our people, our fans, and our community proud of this team and to succeed.”

Orlando City will be without Jansson (foot), Joran Gerbet (knee), Wilder Cartagena (thigh), and Crepeau (suspension), while Tiago (lower leg) is questionable. Montreal will be without Fabian Herbers (lower body) and Josh-Duc Nteziryayo (lower body).

Match Content

Official Lineups:

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Javier Otero.

Defenders: Adrian Marin, Iago, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Braian Ojeda, Eduard Atuesta, Marco Pasalic.

Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Duncan McGuire.

Bench: Tristan Himes, Tahir Reid-Brown, Zakaria Taifi, Nolan Miller, Colin Guske, Luis Otavio, Yutaro Tsukada, Tyrese Spicer, Pedro Leao.

CF Montreal (5-4-1)

Goalkeeper: Thomas Gillier.

Defenders: Luca Petrasso, Brayan Vera, Efrain Morales, Tomas Aviles, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.

Midfielders: Hennadi Synchuk, Matty Longstaff, Victor Loturi, Wikelman Carmona.

Forward: Prince Owusu.

Bench: Sebastian Breza, Jalen Neal, Samuel Piette, Ivan Jaime, Daniel Rios, Bode Hidalgo, Noah Streit, Olger Escobar, Aleksandr Guboglo.

Referees:

REF: Jair Marrufo.
AR1: Adam Garner.
AR2: Gianni Facchini.
4TH: Tori Penso.
VAR: Daniel Radford.
AVAR: Christian Clerc.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter&Co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Live Stream: Apple TV.

Radio: AM 810 FOX Sports Radio Orlando (English); Mega 97.1 FM (Spanish), Nossa Rádio 1160 AM-WRLZ (Portuguese).

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 match. Go City!

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