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Orlando City vs. Atletico San Luis, Leagues Cup: Final Score 1-1 as 10-man Lions Draw, Win Shootout

The Lions went down a man early but scored first, held on for a draw, and won the penalty shootout and the group.

Published

2 years ago

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City appeared to have an easy path to the knockout rounds entering its match against Atletico San Luis at Inter&Co Stadium in the final match of Group East 2 play in Leagues Cup. But a first-half red card while the game was still scoreless raised the degree of difficulty.

However, Ramiro Enrique’s late first-half goal and heroic defending for the final 45 minutes allowed the Lions (1-0-1, 5 points) to draw San Luis (0-1-1, 1 point) 1-1 and top the group. A 71st-minute goal by Rodrigo Dourado spoiled the clean sheet and the victory in one fell swoop, but the Lions got the last word by knocking the Liga MX side out of the competition with the draw and then winning the penalty shootout, 5-4, to claim the extra point.

“It was an excellent effort from our players,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “We want to recognize that heart and that willingness to do the right things is what identifies Orlando City, especially in the period that we have shared here with the fans in these four years. We have players who give everything up, and today was no exception.”

Pareja’s lineup was virtually unchanged from the side that spanked CF Montreal 4-1 nine days ago. The only swap was Ivan Angulo replacing Nico Lodeiro after serving his suspension for a red card in last year’s competition. Pedro Gallese took his usual spot in goal behind a back line of Kyle Smith, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena started in central midfield behind an attacking line of Angulo, Martin Ojeda, and Facundo Torres with Enrique up top.

Orlando City started the match brightly, getting forward with a lot of energy and flying around the San Luis penalty area. Cartagena took the game’s first shot in the second minute, driving an attempt from distance that took a deflection but gave San Luis goalkeeper Andres Sanchez no trouble. Two minutes later, Torres won the game’s first corner and the cross found Brekalo in front, but the Slovenian headed it just wide of the left post.

In the fifth minute, Enrique did well to dispossess San Luis defender Julio Dominguez in the penalty area, turning the visitors over. Torres picked up the loose ball and fired from the right but just missed wide of the left post.

San Luis got its first shot in the 14th minute and it nearly resulted in a goal. Vitinho sent a blast from the top of the area on target and Gallese made a diving save to keep it out. The visitors did nothing with the ensuing corner and Orlando cleared the danger. That first attack allowed the Liga MX side to settle into the game.

Cartagena was called for a foul in the 19th minute about 30 yards out from his own goal on the San Luis attacking right. The visitors took the free kick short to the middle and Oscar Macias fired from long range but the shot was always going over the bar.

The game turned in San Luis’ favor in the 27th minute when a turnover in Orlando’s attacking third resulted in Vitinho getting behind the defense in transition. Smith caught up to him just outside his own penalty area and committed the foul. Although he was initially given a yellow card, a quick check of the video led referee Mario Escobar to change the call. Smith was sent off for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity and Orlando City was down to 10 men.

Juan Manuel Sanabria hit the ensuing free kick into the wall. It came back to him and he fired again. This time the shot took a deflection off an Orlando player and went out for a corner. Before it did, Gallese tried to keep it from crossing the line, taking a chunk out of the wet turf and going down hard. After receiving treatment, he was able to continue.

Rather than make a substitution in the first half, Pareja redeployed his troops, moving Cartagena to center back between Jansson and Brekalo, and pushing Angulo into a left wingback role opposite Thorhallsson on the right.

“It is very relevant for us to have players with that versatility,” Pareja said. “Wilder has had a tremendous impact in the way we bounce back from from our slow start. Today was another night where he adapted to the needs of the team and he dropped to that position where he can give us that function as a center back, but at the same time with the intelligence that the position needs to be a midfielder also.”

The Lions did a good job of holding possession for a spell after the free kick and even won a couple of set pieces from distance but couldn’t do much with them.

Jansson gifted San Luis an opportunity with a misplaced backheel pass attempt in his own half in the 45th minute. The wayward pass turned the ball over and Mateo Klimowicz fired a blast from outside the box. Gallese got down and made the save. He bobbled the ball momentarily but none of the visitors were anywhere near him, so he was able to gather it up.

The Lions struck at the death of the first half. Orlando broke in transition with a series of quick passes. Araujo sent the ball forward to Enrique in the middle, and he in turn sent Ojeda up the left side. Ojeda sent in a gorgeous cross to Torres at the back post. A bit too wide to make an attempt on goal, Torres smartly headed it down, back across the box. Enrique ran onto it and slotted it past Sanchez to give the Lions the lead in the sixth minute of first-half stoppage. It was the Argentine’s sixth consecutive match with a goal across all competitions, breaking Daryl Dike’s club record of five.

Seconds later, the half was over.

Despite being a man down for a good chunk of the first half, Orlando City held the halftime advantage in possession (57.5%-42.5%), corners (3-2), and passing accuracy (86.8%-81.8%). Both teams attempted five shots and both put two attempts on target.

Rodrigo Schlegel replaced Jansson to start the second half, as the captain was on a yellow card.

San Luis started the second half with a lot more possession, looking to pull Orlando’s defense apart. Orlando was able to get forward a few times as well, but both teams struggled to create clear chances in the opening minutes of the second period.

The first good look came the visitors’ way in the 53rd minute. A ball into the area was headed on goal by Yan Phillipe but Gallese was able to stop the powerful attempt. Six minutes later, a shot from outside the box sailed over Gallese’s crossbar.

Second-half sub Franck Boli fired just wide of the left post under pressure from Araujo on the shot.

The Lions finally got a look at goal in the 64th minute off a corner kick. Ojeda’s cross picked out Cartagena but the Peruvian’s shot fizzed just inches over the bar and onto the roof of the net.

San Luis’ relentless pressure continued. Sanabria smashed a shot toward goal in the 65the minute, but Gallese made a diving save to his right to keep it out. A minute later, Benjamin Galdames made a nice play to cut inside on the attacking left and fired from a tight angle. Gallese had his near post covered and the shot banged off the top of the crossbar.

Perhaps Gallese’s best save came in the 69th minute on an absolute cannon blast by Vitinho from the right. The Peruvian made a diving save to knock it off the post at the last second.

However, the San Luis goal that always seemed likely finally came in the 71st minute. The visitors had been working the Orlando City defense side to side relentlessly and it finally paid off with a ball into the box that Dourado was able to head past Gallese to tie the game.

San Luis won a parade of corner kicks down the stretch of the game, and Orlando defended in numbers. Dourado sent another headed attempt wide in the 75th minute.

After surviving several San Luis corner kicks, Angulo made a fantastic play to get out of a crowd of players along the right sideline with the ball, jump-starting the break. The ball ended up on the left with second-half sub Rafael Santos, who smashed a shot that deflected out for a corner. Schlegel got his head to the cross on the set piece but sent his shot wide of the left post in the 88th minute.

From there, Orlando saw out the final seconds of normal time and four minutes of stoppage time to secure the draw and clinch first place in the group.

The strong second half while up a man allowed San Luis to finish with the advantage in possession (54%-46%), shots (23-9), shots on target (6-2), corners (10-5), and passing accuracy (87.5%-85.6%).

Because Leagues Cup matches go to shootouts after draws, the teams went to the penalty spot to determine which side got the extra point, despite it having no impact on the standings. Orlando would have finished first regardless of the outcome, and San Luis could not catch second-place CF Montreal with the extra point.

Vitinho shot first for the visitors, and even though his shot hit the crossbar, it caught the underside and bounced down past the line to give San Luis the advantage after one shooter. Lodeiro answered and the teams swapped successful penalties in the second and third rounds. Sebastien Salles-Lamonge and Cristiano Piccini hit perfect penalties for San Luis, despite Gallese guessing the correct direction both times.

Duncan McGuire, who had come on for Enrique late in the second half — just hours after landing in Orlando from participating in the Olympics in France — and Wilder Cartagena scored to make it 3-3 after three rounds.

The fourth round proved to be decisive. Leo Bonatini hit his shot toward the left post, but Gallese again guessed correctly, and this time he was able to palm the shot away before it could cross the line.

“For us, a lot of the studying that we would do during the week on penalties just wasn’t there for us,” Gallese said. “We thought that they would only really have two guys that have taken for them historically, and the other ones, it wasn’t what I was able to study. It was just kind of what I felt on the direction they would go.”

“Important for us to have Pedro back in his level,” Pareja said.

Rafael Santos buried his penalty to send it to the fifth round with his team leading, 4-3. Franck Boli connected to put the pressure on Orlando’s fifth shooter, who was Thorhallsson. The Icelandic fullback ran up quickly and hit his shot hard. Second-half San Luis goalkeeper Cesar Lopez got a hand to the shot but couldn’t keep it out, deflecting it into the roof of the net from below, giving the Lions the win.

“For us it was important to win it in front of our fans,” Pareja said of the shootout. “For us it was important to keep this momentum. Now we’re preparing for the next one.”

The Lions will next host another Liga MX side — Cruz Azul, the second-place side in Group East 4 — on Friday at a time to be announced.

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Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 1-1 draw with FC Cincinnati.

Published

7 hours ago

on

August 16, 2026

By

Image of Luis Otavio playing the ball against FC Cincinnati.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City hosted FC Cincinnati at Inter.co Stadium Saturday night in the new red third kits. This was supposed to be a high-scoring affair between two teams that like to score and also like to give up goals. Naturally, that meant it ended in a low-scoring 1-1 draw. Still, it’s hard to be too upset given Orlando City came from behind and managed to earn a point against a team higher in the standings. Here are my five takeaways from the match.

A Head Injury Goal

FC Cincinnati scored the first goal of the match, but it wasn’t without controversy. Cincinnati passed the ball to the top of the box for Evander. His shot went directly into the face of Joran Gerbet, who dropped like a sack of potatoes. That is the moment that Tori Penso should have blown the whistle to stop the play. You know, for a potential head injury. Instead, Penso allowed the play to continue as the ball rebounded off Gerbet’s head to Pavel Bucha who scored the goal. Fortunately, Gerbet was okay not that Penso was overly concerned in the moment. After the match, she stated the play was not stopped because of an immediate shot by a teammate after the deflection. It took about four seconds from hitting Gerbet in the head from point-blank range until the time Bucha shot, and perhaps four seconds is considered immediate.

Relentless Spicer

Tyrese Spicer continued his run of good form for Orlando City with a good run against the Cincinnati defense. As two defenders closed on him, Justin Ellis made a nifty flicked pass from a ball from Ivan Angulo to a streaking Spicer. The speedy winger held off Bucha shoulder to shoulder to win the ball. Bucha fell down and Spicer rounded the keeper before putting it under the crossbar for the equalizer. It was a hard-earned goal and just what Orlando City needed to get back into the match.

Justice for Brekalo

Kevin Denkey got around Maxime Crepeau and looked certain to score, but he hit the right post. The ball bounced out to Evander. David Brekalo battled to win the ball and Evander went down in the box. Penso immediately called a penalty, but the contact was very light. Then the video assistant referee suggested a call against Orlando City needed to be checked. Penso looked at the replay and rightly said no penalty. On top of that, Evander received a yellow for simulation. Do you believe in miracles? Yes!

Crepeau Continues to Crush It

Crepeau has been playing well since returning from the World Cup. He continued his good form against one of the best attacking teams in MLS. Despite only being credited with three saves, he once again made several saves on shots from offside players that would not have counted, but were still impressive. Additionally, he got better as the match went on. He had good command of the his area, coming out to get the ball, closing down the angles, and being a big contributor to the point at home.

Good Enough

Orlando City’s defense was not great despite holding Cincinnati to one goal, but it was good enough. For a team that gave up nearly three goals per match prior to the World Cup break, allowing an average of one goal per match, including in this game, is much better. On a sadder note, Bernardo Rhein went off injured in the first half. The youngster had supplanted Adrian Marin on the depth chart and now might be out for a bit depending on how bad the injury is. To his credit, Marin played better than he usually does once he came on. Again, the defense wasn’t spectacular, but it did enough to earn a point.

That is what I saw in Orlando City’s result with FC Cincinnati. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Final Score 1-1 as Lions Battle Back on Spicer’s Goal

The Lions fell behind before halftime but had the final say in a hard-fought home draw vs. FC Cincinnati.

Published

19 hours ago

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August 15, 2026

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Image of Tyrese Spicer battling against FC Cincinnati.
Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Tyrese Spicer’s early goal in the second half pulled Orlando City level in a 1-1 draw against normally high-scoring FC Cincinnati at Inter.co Stadium tonight. Pavel Bucha put Cincinnati (7-6-6, 27 points) in front with a goal in the first half, but Orlando City (6-10-3, 21 points) did well to fight back for a point at home.

It was surprisingly low scoring, considering the game featured two of the most porous MLS defenses and an open flow to it, but it’s a big improvement over the 6-2 loss the Lions suffered on the road at Cincinnati just before the World Cup break. While the point is good, Orlando is 0-1-2 in its last three matches in all competitions and will need to start finding the win column again to climb into the playoff places.

“It was a very tough team, tough game, as we expected against Cincinnati. It’s always like this,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “They have a really strong offense. Their team is one of the best teams in the league attacking. I think we created chances by moments. The game was very open. They had chances as well.”

Perelman’s starting XI featured Maxime Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Griffin Dorsey. Luis Otavio and Joran Gerbet started in central midfield between wingers Ivan Angulo and Tyrese Spicer with Justin Ellis and Antoine Griezmann leading the attack.

Much of the first 15 minutes was spent between the two penalty areas. Orlando looked to build play patiently, while Cincinnati looked for opportunities to jump passing routes and counter. The first look of the game came three minutes in off a set piece from long range that fell to Kevin Denkey in the box. The Cincy forward fired but the shot was blocked and the visitors were offside on the recycle.

Orlando City’s first look at goal was a shot that Spicer mishit badly, firing well wide of the near post on the left. Ellis put the first shot of the game on target in the 10th minute, sending in a good effort from the top of the box, but Roman Celentano made a good save to tip it over. Cincinnati cleared the initial ball on the set piece but Rhein found Spicer in the box, but again the Trinidad & Tobago international fired wide in the 11th minute. Four minutes later, Griezmann got into the box but his shot was blocked behind for another corner and the Lions could do nothing with the set piece.

Orlando was fortunate not to fall behind in the 20th minute as Evander got past Dorsey on the Lions’ defensive right side. The Cincy star man fizzed a low cross to the back post but it was just out of Tom Barlow’s reach. However, the visitors scored anyway a few minutes later.

A shot near the top of the area caught Gerbet flush in the face and he went down immediately. Despite it being an obvious head injury, referee Tori Penso allowed play to continue and Cincinnati regained possession outside the box, where Bucha slotted into the right side of the net to make it 1-0 in the 23rd minute.

“Regarding that play, since I am here in the United States, I learned that in the MLS, we take care about those situations with the players,” Perelman said. “This is why we were expecting that after that kick in his head, the game should be stopped, as it always was. But I haven’t reviewed the sequence. I don’t know if the ball effectively got in the face. I didn’t see the sequence again. Maybe I’m ignoring some rule or maybe it’s OK what the ref did. I don’t know.”

Penso’s response to the pool reporter’s question was that the ball fell to an attacking player who immediately shot and scored, and the player was checked immediately afterward.

Orlando City should have pulled the goal back in the 36th minute. Dorsey got down the right flank and pulled back a nice pass for Ellis around the penalty spot. The Homegrown forward sent a shot on target with his first touch but sent it straight at Celentano for the save. The Lions were offside after the initial shot and the attack broke down.

Rhein went down with a non-contact injury moments later and went directly to the locker room. Adrian Marin subbed on to replace the Homegrown left back.

FC Cincinnati was the more dangerous team down the stretch. Evander fired just inches wide of the right post from the left in the 43rd minute. Ellis then had an opportunity with a free header in the middle of the box in the first minute of added time but sent his effort straight at Celentano again. Ender Echineque then saw his shot blocked just wide by Marin deep in stoppage time, winning Cincinnati a corner, but the Lions cleared and the halftime whistle blew.

The Lions held the advantage at the break in possession (50.6%-49.4%), shots (7-5), shots on target (3-1), corners (5-3), and passing accuracy (89.6%-86%), but a lack of clinical finishing allowed the guests to hold the lead at halftime.

Marco Pasalic came on for Gerbet to start the second half, pushing Angulo into central midfield for a while, with Spicer joining Ellis up top and Griezmann dropping to left wing.

Cincinnati won an early corner after the restart but it was Orlando City that scored off of it. The Lions dealt with the set piece and Angulo ended up with it on the left. He darted past a defender and sent a pass forward that Ellis touched on into the attacking half. Spicer raced for the loose ball with Bucha and won the physical battle, breaking in alone when the Cincy defender fell. The Trinidad & Tobago international rounded Celentano and smashed a shot high into the net to make it 1-1 in the 48th minute.

“I know I’m going to get technical here, but like the spin that (Angulo) put on the pass was perfect for how I wanted to play the ball, you know, so I could redirect it into the path of Tyrese, Ellis said. “It counts as an assist, but the goal was all him, you know. I think he deserves all the credit.”

“(Ellis is) a creative player. He wants to flick. He loves to flick. And you know, I just read that,” Spicer said. “I thought it was going to go more in the air rather than on the ground, but I just had to turn the jets on to get there. You know, once I was one on one with the keeper, you know, I had a good feeling. He’s a good keeper. I think he would have guessed where I was gonna shoot. So I was like, let me try to go around him, and it worked out.”

Orlando tried to take the lead moments after the goal with a series of passes at the top of the area that finally got sent to Griezmann on the right. The Frenchman volleyed a shot on target but it was right at Celentano.

Cincinnati thought it had won a penalty a minute later. Denkey got in behind down the right channel, waited out Crepeau, and sent a shot off the post. Brekalo and Evander both went for the loose ball and Evander went down. Penso pointed to the spot and eventually went to the monitor for a second look. After reviewing the play again, Penso announced that Evander had initiated the contact and she booked the Cincy star for simulation. Orlando City avoided the spot kick.

Echineque rang the post for Cincinnati in the 64th minute. Cutting in from right to left, he fired a shot from near the right corner of the box that hit the left post and stayed out. Following an unsuccessful corner at the other end, Cincinnati came back on the attack and put the ball in the neet in the 71st minute, but the flag came up immediately for an obvious offside.

Former Lion Kyle Smith blocked Spicer’s shot behind for a corner in the 73rd minute. Griezmann’s service found Marin on the far side all alone in space. The Spaniard tried to head it back into the mix of players in front but it floated lazily for an eacy catch by Celentano.

Second-half sub Marco Pasalic fired wide in the 80th minute, as both teams continued looking for a go-ahead goal.

Crepeau may have made his biggest save in the match in the 87th minute, going down to deny Kenji Mboma Dem, who got inside down the right in the 87th minute.

Orlando got a couple of looks down the stretch. Pasalic saw his shot deflect over the bar for a corner early in stoppage time. Substitute Wilder Cartagena blazed a rocket shot just over the crossbar in the fourth added minute.

After the Lions defended a late Cincinnati corner, the final whistle blew, splitting the points between the sides.

At the final whistle, Orlando City held the advantage in shots (17-11), shots on target (5-3), and corners (10-5). FC Cincinnati finished with more possession (53.1%-46.9%) and passed more accurately (90.8%-87.8%).

“We knew which spaces we believe we can hurt (them), and that was the adjustment (at halftime) — try to to hurt them in those spaces and try to to neutralize as much as we can those talented players they have up front, and we we were able to tie.”

“I think it was a different looking game because we’re a different looking team in terms of how we’re playing,” Ellis said, comparing the 6-2 loss at Cincinnati to tonight’s 1-1 draw. “I think we’re a much more steady team, even though I feel today we didn’t have the control that we wanted. It was very transitional. I think we also just limited Evander. He’s, I don’t want to say he’s their whole attack, because they have amazing players, but a lot of the attack runs through him. And I want to give a special mention to Luis Otavio. I thought he was the best player on the field today.”

It’s another short turnaround for the Lions, who host the Chicago Fire on Wednesday.

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

The Lions go hunting for revenge for the 6-2 beatdown they suffered in southwest Ohio back in late May.

Published

1 day ago

on

August 15, 2026

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Image of Griffin Dorsey dribbling up the side past two FC Cincinnati defenders.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your preview and match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (6-10-2, 20 points) and FC Cincinnati (7-6-5, 26 points) at Inter.co Stadium (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). It’s the last of the two scheduled matches between the teams this season.

Here’s what you need to know for the match.

History

The all-time series is tied at 5-5-4 in the MLS regular season, but Orlando City has been worse against FC Cincinnati in home matches, going just 2-3-1 in the City Beautiful against tonight’s opponents. The Lions are 0-2-1 in the last three meetings between the sides.

The teams last met on May 23 in Cincinnati in the final match before the World Cup break. How shall I put this…oh yes…the Lions had their asses handed to them by FC Cincinnati to the tune of a 6-2 brutalization that had folks calling law enforcement to report a murder. Evander scored twice and assisted on three other goals to lead the rout for FC Cincinnati, despite Orlando City’s Martin Ojeda scoring the first goal and later tying the game at 2-2 early in the second half. It was all FC Cincinnati after Ojeda’s second goal. Kenji Mboma Dem added a brace for the hosts and Kevin Denkey and Tom Barlow also scored. Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the game that “the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story,” and he was right, because it could have been worse.

A year ago, the teams played on Sept. 28, 2025, in Ohio, with Alex Freeman’s goal late in stoppage time salvaging a 1-1 draw for Orlando City, canceling out Denkey’s second-half strike. Prior to that, the teams also met last year on June 28 at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, with FC Cincinnati winning 2-1. An Evander brace, which included a poorly conceded set piece goal from distance, was enough to offset Marco Pasalic’s goal.

These two teams met at TQL Stadium on Oct. 5, 2024, with the Lions leaving southwest Ohio with a 3-1 victory in their final road match of the regular season. Ramiro Enrique scored twice and had a third chalked off for a controversial foul on a corner kick. He also assisted on a goal by Ivan Angulo in an impressive performance. Luciano Acosta scored Cincinnati’s goal.

These two sides also met on May 4 of that year in Orlando with FC Cincinnati claiming a 1-0 road win on a first-minute goal by Acosta. The Lions went down a man early in the game when Rodrigo Schlegel was called for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity on Yuya Kubo. Orlando City had a second-half goal waved off for an offside in the buildup. Cincinnati lost Bret Halsey to a second yellow card late but the Lions couldn’t take advantage.

The teams met in Ohio on Sept. 2, 2023, with the Lions claiming a 1-0 win on enemy soil, becoming the first road team to beat FC Cincinnati all season. Facundo Torres scored the game’s only goal. Orlando had to hold on down a man late when Wilder Cartagena was sent off. The teams played to a 0-0 draw in Orlando on March 4, 2023 in Orlando.

The Lions fell 1-0 at TQL Stadium on June 24, 2022. A second-half goal from Brenner represented all the offense, but it could have been worse for Orlando City as Pedro Gallese made eight saves in the match. The first meeting of 2022 took place in Orlando on March 12, with FC Cincinnati notching its first win in the all-time series, 2-1 at Exploria Stadium. The Lions were more in control but were wasteful, despite dominating the stat sheet. The visitors got a brace from Brandon Vazquez to offset Junior Urso’s goal.

The final meeting of 2021 was on Oct. 16 in Cincinnati, when Orlando City got its first road victory in the series, 1-0 on Urso’s early goal. Tesho Akindele should have scored a second off the crossbar late in the game, but the play was never reviewed, despite video evidence that the ball was completely across the line.

On Aug. 7, 2021, the match in Cincinnati ended up in a 1-1 draw. Nani’s strike rescued a point after Brenner had opened the scoring for the hosts just before halftime, taking advantage of an obviously injured Uri Rosell, who subbed off moments later. The first of the three meetings in 2021 came on May 21 in Orlando, with the Lions posting a 3-0 win. Akindele scored in the first minute and Nani and Urso each added a goal.

In Orlando’s first trip to the banks of the Ohio River, the match ended in a 1-1 draw at Nippert Stadium on Sept. 29, 2019. Benji Michel’s goal in stoppage time rescued a point for the Lions after Allan Cruz had given the hosts a lead. The draw officially eliminated Orlando City from playoff contention that year, but realistically the Lions had been out of it for a while.

The first-ever meeting between the two sides took place on May 19, 2019, when the Lions pummeled the expansion side, 5-1. Both Nani and Akindele bagged braces in the match and Dom Dwyer added a goal as well.

Overview

The Lions are coming off a pair of blown halftime leads in Leagues Cup, but with rotation throughout that competition, lots of players played and at least now they can concentrate on MLS and next month’s resumption of the U.S. Open Cup. Orlando drew Atletico de San Luis 2-2 after blowing a two-goal lead from the 79th minute on, claiming the meaningless extra point in penalties (5-3) as both teams were eliminated from the knockout rounds. Daryl Dike and Justin Ellis scored Orlando’s goals. The Lions are 4-3-1 at home in MLS play this season but 3-0-1 in their last four league matches on their own patch. Orlando brings a league-worst 47 goals conceded into tonight and a conference-worst goal differential of -17.

FC Cincinnati is coming off a surprising 2-1 home loss to Atlas on Tuesday, which means it will be the better rested team for both matches against Orlando this season. The loss knocked Cincinnati out of the running for the knockout rounds and was the first time Cincinnati failed to score at least two goals in a match since July 25 on the road against rival Columbus — also in a 2-1 loss. What is surprising about that is FC Cincinnati is a scoring juggernaut, co-leading MLS in goals scored with 45 — tied with Inter Miami. Cincy’s Achilles heel this season has been road play, in which the club is 1-4-4 in MLS play. The only reason Cincinnati is as low as sixth in the Eastern Conference table at the moment is because it also ships a lot of goals — 44 so far this season, which is third worst in the Eastern Conference.

Orlando City’s back line and defensive midfield will be stressed for 90 minutes plus stoppage time tonight, as players like Evander, Denkey, Mboma Dem, Barlow, Pavel Bucha, and others will slice through the gaps between defenders and look to get onto excellent through balls. Transition attacks must be avoided, as Cincinnati can turn a takeaway into a goal in seconds. The Lions must control the ball, avoid turning it over in dangerous areas, and stay switched on for potential runners, otherwise the final score might look a lot like it did on May 23. Evander already has 22 goal contributions (11 goals, 11 assists), leading the league in the latter category while being just two goals off the Golden Boot lead. Denkey has also bagged 11 goals to go along with four assists.

The Lions will be without Eduard Atuesta (thigh), Nolan Miller (knee), Braian Ojeda (foot), and
Martín Ojeda (thigh). Cincinnati will be without Gerardo Valenzuela (suspension).

Match Content

Official Lineups

Orlando City (4-4-2)

Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.

Defenders: Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, Griffin Dorsey.

Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Luis Otavio, Joran Gerbet, Tyrese Spicer.

Forward: Antoine Griezmann, Justin Ellis.

Bench: Javier Otero, Adrian Marin, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Issah Haruna, Wilder Cartagena, Tiago, Marco Pasalic, Daryl Dike.

FC Cincinnati (3-5-2)

Goalkeeper: Roman Celentano.

Defenders: Samuel Gidi, Matt Miazga, Miles Robinson.

Wingbacks/Midfielders: Bryan Ramirez, Obinna Nwobodo, Evander, Pavel Bucha, Ender Echenique.

Forwards: Kevin Denkey, Tom Barlow.

Bench: Evan Louro, Kyle Smith, Alvas Powell, Nick Hagglund, Teenage Hadebe, Brian Anunga, Kristian Fletcher, Kenji Mboma Dem, Ayoub Jabbari.

Referees

REF: Tori Penso.
AR1: Brooke Mayo.
AR2: Matthew Nelson.
4TH: Lorenzo Hernandez.
VAR: Kevin Stott.
AVAR: Fabio Tovar.

How to Watch

Match Time: 7:30 p.m.

Venue: Inter.co Stadium — Orlando.

TV/Streaming: 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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