Orlando City vs. New England Revolution: Five Takeaways

Orlando City traveled north to battle the New England Revolution in a stadium where the Lions had never secured three points. Falling behind early, the Lions were able to ride a dominant offensive performance in the second half to walk out of Gillette Stadium with a 3-1 win. What follows are my five takeaways from a match in which the final result was both needed and a surprise all at the same time.

Poor Marking Early

Orlando City started the match flat and the Revs looked to be the aggressors for the majority of the opening half hour of the game. New England should have capitalized on poor defensive marking in the 11th minute of the match but a sliding attempt on goal was deflected wide of the near post by a recovering Robin Jansson. The poor effort ultimately came back to bite the Lions in the 23rd minute, as Dagur Dan Thorhallsson was in decent position but was too passive in defending DeJuan Jones on a back-post cross, allowing him to get to it and lay it off. Rodrigo Schlegel also attempted to defend Jones at the back post and seemed surprised when he saw Thorhalsson, peeling off but then not locating a wide-open Giacomo Vrioni in his area. New England capitalized and took a 1-0 score into the break.

Torrid Torres

Who knows what the Lions had for a halftime snack? Whatever it was, it needs to become a staple going forward. Six minutes after the start of the second half, Orlando City leveled the game, as Facundo Torres ran onto a ball near the top of the 18-yard box and skillfully placed a shot into the bottom left corner. The Uruguayan has been in top form over the last six matches, and Saturday night illustrates that when Torres is on his game, it elevates the entire team. I am calling it now…summer time Facu has officially arrived.

Success from Set Pieces

Orlando City won a corner in the 58th minute after a strong shot attempt by Torres from outside the box had been parried out of play by New England goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic. Martin Ojeda then sent in an in-swinging corner kick to the far side of the box, which found Cesar Araujo rising to meet it. Araujo wisely put the ball back across the face of the goal, as he wasn’t in a great position to make an attempt on goal himself. At the same time, Ramiro Enrique made a smart, curling run behind the defense and in front of Ivacic. Enrique met the ball as it landed and flicked it past the keeper and into the back of the net. In what seemed like the blink of an eye, Orlando City went from a goal down to having a one-goal lead.

Securing the Victory

Orlando City fans did not have to sweat out the final minutes of the match clinging to a one-goal lead thanks once again to Torres. In the 81st minute, a quick takeaway transition was sent from second-half substitute Nico Lodeiro to fellow sub Luis Muriel. Although Muriel could have tried to get into the box himself, he spotted Torres open on the right and made the pass. Torres shot with his first touch and again picked out the inside of the left post to give the Lions breathing room. With his brace in New England, Torres is up to six goal contributions in the last three matches. Torres seems to be thinking less and doing more. Against the Revolution, both goals that Torres scored were instinctual, with no extra touches or dribbles.

Resilience on the Road

Orlando City had been winless at Gillette Stadium throughout the entirety of the club’s existence in Major League Soccer, entering the match with a mark of 0-6-2 in eight previous visits to Foxborough, MA. It is a tall task to win matches on the road in MLS, but Orlando City’s ability to grind out results away from home propelled the Lions to their best finish in team history in 2023. It’s also helped keep the ship afloat this season. Not only did the Lions make some history with the victory in Foxborough; they did it by coming from behind, demonstrating a strong desire to earn all three points on the road. It is these kind of performances that the team will be able to draw upon as the season continues.

That is how I saw things in an exciting, come-from-behind, 3-1 victory. What players or moments stood out to you the most? Let us know in the comments below and as always, vamos Orlando!