Connect with us

Orlando City

Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Final Score 3-1 as Lions Win Final Regular-Season Road Match

Orlando City overcomes an interesting night of officiating with two second-half goals to beat FC Cincinnati on the road.

Published

8 months ago

on

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

It wasn’t a pretty game and the officiating could have been costly to Orlando City, but the Lions (15-11-7, 52 points) managed to earn a 3-1 road win over FC Cincinnati (17-11-5, 56 points) at TQL Stadium. Ramiro Enrique scored a goal in each half, had one chalked off for a controversial foul on a corner kick, and assisted on another by Ivan Angulo. Orlando finished with a 2024 MLS road record of 8-6-3 and improved to 3-1-2 in road matches at Cincinnati.

If New York City does not beat Nashville on Sunday, Orlando City would clinch the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference standings and home field for the first-round, best-of-three series.

“I thought we won a very important game against a very good rival who complicated things in the first half for us,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “Second half, I think we settled and we found the answers that we wanted to have earlier in the first half, and we couldn’t do it. But the second half, we controlled the game. We came back in the ways that we wanted in that control and we had options. And happy for our fans, happy for our club, and we’ll keep pushing. It’s a very, very good match for us.”

Pareja’s lineup included only one change from the starting XI Wednesday against the Philadelphia Union. Pedro Gallese started in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Kyle Smith. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena started in central midfield behind an attacking line of Angulo, Luis Muriel, and Facundo Torres with Enrique up top. Martin Ojeda made way in the starting lineup for Muriel.

Referee Filip Dujic was a talking point in the first half, and it’s never good for a referee to be a talking point. However, before that happened, Cincinnati started the game on the front foot and earned a couple of early corners but could do nothing with them.

The Lions opened the scoring against the run of play in the 10th minute. Enrique sent the ball wide to Smith on the right. The Cincinnati native sent in a beautiful curling cross as a return pass and Enrique blazed past the defense and directed it in with his foot to make it 1-0. It was Orlando’s 56th goal of the season, setting a new club record in the MLS era, and Enrique’s seventh of the regular season. Orlando set the old record of 55 goals in 2016 and equaled that mark last season.

“I forget who passed me the ball…but I knew I had the positioning on my defender, so I took a big first touch, and then I saw Ramiro in a perfect spot between the two center backs,” said Smith, who had a lot of friends and family in attendance. “And I just whipped in a ball, and he had a good finish.”

The hosts kept coming and were creating chances, with Kevin Kelsy firing wide of the left post on a spinning effort in the 17th minute. Three minutes later, Acosta sent a curling free kick wide of the right post after Cartagena was booked for a challenge just outside the area. Cartagena will miss the season finale due to yellow card accumulation. It was a foul, but the card seemed a bit harsh, especially given some of the fouls Dujic let go later.

Smith should have done better with a shot on a layoff from Torres in the 24th minute, sending his effort well off target. The flag for offside came up for Torres in the buildup after the shot, but the replay clearly showed the Uruguayan was onside on the play, meaning the goal would have counted had Smith scored.

Moments later, Kelsy fouled Jansson in a manner that should have drawn a yellow card but didn’t. Kelsy ended up committing five first-half fouls, getting booked for the third of those, but three of his fouls could have (and should have) been punished with a booking.

Angulo was pulled back in his own half without a call, allowing Cincinnati to take possession and attack. Schlegel then did the same just outside his box and Dujic gave the free kick. Acosta sent the layoff from Yamil Asad well over the bar and into the crowd.

Pavel Bucha was left alone on a good attacking movement by Cincinnati in the 33rd minute but scuffed his shot and it dribbled wide of the right post. After Kelsy was booked for a foul on Araujo, Bucha sent a volley attempt well over the bar in the 39th minute.

Orlando nearly scored a minute later, taking a free kick quickly at midfield. It was sent over the defense to Enrique, who fired a shot on a bouncing ball. Celentano made a huge save to keep it out, giving up a corner.

The Lions scored on the ensuing corner kick as Enrique blasted in Torres’ service to the back post. Dujic called a foul on Muriel after contact with Celentano. However, Celentano had charged off his line into a barely moving Muriel, who was tracking the cross. It was a harsh call and kept the score at 1-0 in the 41st minute.

Cincinnati took advantage of the break moments later. Acosta received a pass just outside the area in the 45th minute. Torres sagged off of him and Araujo had another man to mark, so Acosta blasted a shot through traffic that beat Gallese, tying the score just before the break.

After Kelsy committed yet another foul, the halftime whistle sent the teams to the locker room, with plenty of animosity being shown between the two benches as the teams went off.

“I thought it was reactions for both benches and the people there — the personnel and the coaches. And I thought both sides were arguing things to the referees,” Pareja said about the kerfuffle. “From our side, it was just asking them to control the yellow cards. We wanted to keep the players in the pitch. And this is football, and we want to accept that this is a contact game, and sometimes things happen, but we cannot just be yellow carding all the time, but that was with all the respect that we have for referees too. Just a comment. From (Cincinnati’s) side, I don’t know what were they arguing. And I have a ton of respect for Pat (Noonan), and what he has done for this club is incredible. The career that he has done so far, and what he has done for Cincinnati, I respect him a lot and his coaches, too.”

With Orlando’s approach to the first half, it’s no surprise that Cincinnati finished with the edge in possession (57.8%-42.2%), shots (8-2), corners (2-1), and passing accuracy (83.2%-80.8%). Orlando City put more shots on target (2-1).

Pat Noonan subbed Kelsy off at halftime, sending on Yuya Kubo and getting away with the incessant fouling from his starting striker throughout the first half. Noonan brought on high-scoring wingback Luca Orellano on 10 minutes after the restart, getting more attacking players onto the pitch.

The Lions were a bit more organized in the second half, despite giving up more shots and shots on target. They mostly kept Cincinnati outside the area and in wider spaces for those shots.

Orlando had the first half-chance of the second half, with Smith whipping in a good ball for Enrique in the 59th minute. Miles Robinson got a touch to it and nearly sent it into his own net but it trickled wide of the left post. Orlando took the corner short, Muriel underhit a backheel pass, and the hosts broke in transition. Smith hustled back to break up the counterattack.

The hosts then won a couple of corner kicks but Jansson headed the first one clear of danger and Orellano put the second one into the outside netting trying for an Olimpico.

Orlando City doubled its lead in the 66th minute. Smith and Enrique were again involved, with the former sending in another good cross to the striker, who had his back to goal. Rather than trying to turn, Enrique laid the ball off to Angulo, who went for goal. Celentano made a mess of the shot and it squirted through him and in to make it 2-0 on Angulo’s fifth goal of the season.

The Lions created some havoc with their press in the second half and it nearly paid off nicely in the 69th minute. Enrique got to a loose ball on the right side of the box and blasted a shot, however, he missed the net to the right.

Orlando survived a couple of turnovers by Angulo in the defensive end over the next couple of minutes, with Gallese making a save on Orellano’s attempt in the 71st minute. A minute after that, Orlando pulled ahead by two.

Angulo was first to a poor back pass from Orellano toward Celentano, touching the ball to his right for Enrique to tap home in the 72nd minute. It was Enrique’s second of the night and eighth of the season, with the foul called on Muriel preventing a hat trick, and the pass gave Angulo his 10th assist of the regular season.

As Cincinnati poured numbers into the attack, Gallese was called into action more often down the stretch. He did well to track a deflected Kubo shot in the 74th minute. Just seconds later, Gallese made two of his best stops of the night to deny Asad and Orellano.

Orlando’s tired legs were starting to show late in the team’s third match in eight days. Pareja’s only substitution to this point was sending on Nico Lodeiro for Muriel in the 73rd minute. Acosta worked his way past five or six defenders in the 76th minute as several Lions had a clear chance to dispossess the Cincinnati talisman, but none could take it away. Once he found some space, Acosta shot wid of the right post.

Torres nearly put the game completely to bed in the 80th minute when he ran onto a pass that Lodeiro headed in behind on the right. Torres fired, but Celentano made a good save and didn’t allow a rebound.

Orellano tried his luck from extreme distance in the 86th minute, but Gallese was there to catch it. Three minutes later, Kubo got free of late substitute Michael Halliday but he headed off target.

Orlando City did well to waste the six minutes of stoppage time indicated but Dujic made one more curious call late. Lodeiro went to ground and stacked his legs on the ground in what appeared to be a clean and excellent tackle. Dujic awarded a free kick instead and Jansson was booked for dissent. Orellano sent the free kick high and wide, and that was the final play of the match.

FC Cincinnati finished with the advantage in possession (55.7%-44.3%), shots (20-6), shots on target (6-5), and passing accuracy (84.4%-80.8%). Each team earned five corners on the night.

“I thought we played well,” Smith said. “We had to absorb a lot of their pressure in the first half. They were kind of putting it on us with the pressure. But I thought in the second half we came out and we did well keeping the ball, and then we took advantage of our opportunities and scored three goals and held them to one. So, it was a big one for us.”

The Lions will have next weekend off and will conclude the regular season at home on Saturday, Oct. 19 against Atlanta United.

Related Topics:
Continue Reading

Orlando City

Orlando City Striker Duncan McGuire Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

It’s the other shoulder this time, but Big Dunc is on the shelf for awhile again after undergoing surgery.

Published

6 hours ago

on

June 6, 2025

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City announced today that Duncan McGuire has undergone arthroscopic surgery to repair the labrum in his left shoulder. The surgery was performed by Orlando City Chief Medical Officer Dr. Craig Mintzer of the Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute performed the surgery. Mintzer previously repaired the labrum and rotator cuff in McGuire’s right shoulder back in December for an injury he sustained in Orlando City’s playoff match against Charlotte FC Nov. 9 when he was pulled down by Djibril Diani.

The club’s press release said the 24-year-old striker’s return to play is expected “later this year.” The recovery given for his right shoulder surgery in late 2024 was listed as four to five months, but McGuire was able to come back and play much earlier than expected, appearing for the first time in 2025 in Orlando’s March 15 against the New York Red Bulls — at least a month before the earliest initial projection — however, this time there was no mention of damage to the rotator cuff.

Regardless, the Lions will be without the big target striker for a considerable amount of time.

McGuire had appeared in 12 matches during the regular season in 2025, starting three and scoring one goal and adding an assist. His goal came recently, serving as the game winner in Orlando’s 1-0 home victory over the Portland Timbers on May 24. He was recently listed as questionable on the club’s availability report ahead of the team’s most recent match against the Chicago Fire.

Orlando City drafted McGuire in the first round (No. 6 overall) in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft. After a breakout rookie campaign, in which the Omaha, NE native scored 14 goals, he was courted by several teams in Europe, signing with Blackburn Rovers, only to see the transfer rejected by the English Football League due to an administrative error by the EFL Championship club. After returning to Orlando, McGuire signed a new deal on Aug. 22 to remain a Lion. The new contract runs through 2027 with a club option for 2028. McGuire scored 10 goals and added three assists in 2024. For his Orlando City career, McGuire has appeared in 88 games (46 starts) across all competitions, scoring a total of 28 goals to go along with seven assists.

What It Means for Orlando City

McGuire appeared to be just finding his form, so this injury is unfortunate. The club didn’t put a timeline on McGuire’s recovery this time, but shaving a little off his 2024 recovery estimate, it’s likely that he’ll be out until at least some time in September.

Oscar Pareja has been favoring a 4-4-2 with Luis Muriel and Martin Ojeda up top in recent weeks, with Ramiro Enrique — who is also finding his form — typically spelling one of them when needed. Not having McGuire will affect Pareja’s late-game substitution pattern when Orlando is trailing, as he likes to put Enrique and McGuire both on the field when chasing the game. It also takes the team’s best target striker option out of the lineup when dealing with back lines with lots of height.

McGuire brings size and strength and an ability to occupy center backs that others on the roster can’t replicate. There are times when Enrique’s game is better suited to the opponent, but without McGuire there will be no ability to pivot. With Jack Lynn’s off-season retirement, that leaves the striker pickings mighty slim on the Orlando City bench. That might change Ricardo Moreira’s approach to the MLS Secondary Transfer Window.

Losing a scorer of McGuire’s caliber is always difficult, but this season it could be the difference between finishing high in the table and simply getting into the postseason in a strong Eastern Conference field.

Continue Reading

Opinion

Orlando City Must Learn from May’s Mistakes

The Lions can learn some valuable lessons from the three losses they suffered in May.

Published

12 hours ago

on

June 6, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City hadn’t quite achieved juggernaut status as the Major League Soccer season turned from April to May, but a 12-match unbeaten run in the league is nothing to sniff at, despite there being a healthy number of draws interspersed with the victories. Things turned sour as May drew to a close though, as the Lions lost three of their final four matches of the month and entered a two-week break with a whimper rather than a roar.

Losing is never fun, but in this case those three defeats don’t need to be entirely negative experiences, and there are plenty of lessons to be learned from those three bitter losses that will hold Orlando in good stead if it can implement the proper solutions.

More Squad Rotation

One of the biggest factors in Orlando’s rough finish to May was a lack of squad rotation. Oscar Pareja has always been a coach that likes to find his first-choice XI and stick to it almost religiously. He doesn’t normally tweak his lineups or tactics according to whatever opponent is on the slate, and very much values consistency. In periods of fixture congestion, that tendency can be to Orlando’s detriment, and that was very much the case against both Nashville SC and the Chicago Fire.

After beating Inter Miami 3-0 in an emotional rivalry match on May 18, Pareja made just one change for a U.S. Open Cup match against Nashville SC three days later. Ramiro Enrique slotted in for Luis Muriel up top, but every single other starter from the Miami game also got the nod midweek. With Nashville deploying a heavily rotated lineup mostly filled with backups, the gamble was a simple one: hope that OCSC’s A-team can open up a big first-half lead against Nashville’s B-squad before bringing mass changes in the second half to get guys some rest. Hindsight is, of course, 20/20, but the strategy backfired badly as the Lions lost 3-2. Orlando started well with Marco Pasalic’s 17th-minute strike, but the team faded badly afterwards and gave up a couple of very uncharacteristic goals to lose the game. Lapses in concentration and tired defending cost OCSC the game, and that isn’t something we can normally say about this team.

Then, after losing to Atlanta United 3-2 on May 28 due in no small part to Cesar Araujo’s red card, Pareja made two changes for a match against the Chicago Fire on May 31, with Muriel coming in for Enrique, and the other change being a forced one, as Eduard Atuesta replaced the suspended Araujo. Those starters looked noticeably gassed during the resulting 3-1 loss, and the fatigue manifested itself by players missing chances that would normally be converted or in sloppy, mistake-ridden defending.

May was a packed month with a whopping nine matches in 31 days, and most months won’t be that busy. August is set to be the busiest remaining period of the year with six games in 31 days, although that number could rise higher if the Lions make a run in Leagues Cup. The bottom line is that guys are going to need more rest as the season goes on. If the coaching staff doesn’t trust some of the guys currently available as backups, then they need to dip into the transfer market in one way or another and get some players that they do trust, because if the starting XI gets run ragged during busy periods it’s going to cost Orlando, plain and simple.

Cool Heads Usually Prevail

Orlando City has received three red cards on the season, which is tied for the second-most in the league. Unsurprisingly, the Lions are winless in games in which they’ve had a man sent off, with draws against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal and a loss to Atlanta United. The results against the Red Bulls and Atlanta were particularly difficult to swallow, as before going down to 10 men, Orlando had looked on track to get three points in each game.

Araujo’s red card against Atlanta was especially frustrating, as he allowed Mateusz Klich to get under his skin, grabbed him by the throat, and reduced his team to 10 men when OCSC was nursing a 2-1 lead on the road. It was completely unnecessary and was also the sort of thing that Orlando had looked to put in the rearview mirror after keeping its collective composure and not picking up any bookings in the 3-0 road win against Miami, while the Herons picked up four and looked noticeably rattled in the process.

It should go without saying, but the Lions can’t afford to get key players sent off. Six extra points could make a big difference in the standings at the end of the year, and that number could rise even higher if OCSC can’t put its disciplinary issues to rest once and for all.

Focus for the Full 90

There were moments in each of Orlando’s three May losses that the team committed bad defensive lapses or mistakes. Whether it was not playing to the whistle on Nashville’s third goal, Atuesta’s bad turnover against Atlanta, or the Lions collectively allowing Chicago to stroll through midfield to score a third goal, there were plenty of examples of bad breakdowns that were largely absent during the team’s unbeaten run. Can some of that be attributed to tired minds and tired legs? Maybe so — it’s a lot harder to play crisp and focused when the minutes have piled up. Regardless, its something that can’t continue to happen going forward. It’s possible that having more rotation in the squad will help that a lot, but it’s also on the players on the field to stay as mentally sharp as they can when they’re out on the pitch.

Clearly, a recurring theme here is that fresh legs and balanced squad rotation are top of my list of things I want to see change. I’m all for riding the hot hands, but tired legs make for tired minds, and tired minds make mistakes and are easier to rile up. Whether reinforcements come from the bench or an outside source, using more bodies will go a long way towards solving some of the issues that we saw in May’s three losses. All we can do now is wait and see what happens once the team returns from its break. Vamos Orlando!

Continue Reading

Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/6/25

Alex Freeman called up for Concacaf Gold Cup, Orlando Pride get ready for the Houston Dash, Orlando City B plays tonight, and more.

Published

16 hours ago

on

June 6, 2025

By

Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday! I’ll be spending this weekend celebrating my birthday by beating my friends at mini golf with no mercy but still hope to catch some soccer over the next few days. I’ve also been on a bit of a movie kick and plan on catching Wes Anderson’s new flick at some point soon. But for now, let’s dive into today’s links!

Alex Freeman Called Up For Gold Cup

Orlando City defender Alex Freeman was officially called up by the United States Men’s National Team for the Concacaf Gold Cup this summer. He’s the only Lion who will be at the tournament and is one of seven uncapped USMNT players on the roster. The 20-year-old could receive more playing time than expected, as right back Sergino Dest is not on the roster so that he can recover over the summer. Left back John Tolkin was added to replace Dest, so Freeman has a real shot at making a claim for the position this month. The U.S. will take on Turkey Saturday in the first of two friendlies before its first Gold Cup match against Trinidad & Tobago on June 15.

Orlando Pride Prepares to Host the Houston Dash

With the international break for women’s soccer over, the Orlando Pride return to action Saturday with a home game against the Houston Dash. It should be a great opportunity for the Pride to ease back into the swing of things against a Dash team that’s only scored 10 goals this season. Pride midfielder Ally Lemos spoke on the benefit of being able to rest heading into this match while maintaining a winning mindset from a 3-1 victory on May 23.

Anna Moorhouse Called Up For 2025 Euros

Orlando Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was named to England’s final roster for the 2025 UEFA European Women’s Championship. She’s one of three goalkeepers on the squad following Mary Earp’s surprise retirement from international soccer, and she will likely compete with fellow uncapped player Khiara Keating for the backup position behind Hannah Hampton. Moorhouse has started in every game for the Pride this season and was an NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year finalist for her record-breaking season last year. England’s Euro run will begin July 5 against France before other group matches against the Netherlands and Wales.

Orlando City B Takes On Huntsville City FC

The Young Lions are riding high after a 2-1 win over Chattanooga FC and will take that momentum into tonight’s road match against Huntsville City FC. Midfielder Noah Levis scored his first career goal in that home win, with Justin Hylton providing the assist in his OCB debut. Orlando’s offense has been hot and cold this season but has a variety of attacking talent that can create chances in different ways. The Young Lions have only won once on the road, but a win tonight would lift them to third in the Eastern Conference.

Free Kicks

  • FIFA Club World Cup action is coming to the City Beautiful this month and Orlando City legend Kaká spoke on how it’s nice for Orlando to host games.
  • San Diego Wave Head Coach Jonas Eidevall was named NWSL Coach of the Month. The Wave were undefeated in May, winning three of their four matches to climb to second in the league standings.
  • The NWSL will allow intraleague loans for all teams, with the players needing to consent to the move in order for it to happen. Denver and Boston’s expansion teams will have access to potentially over $1 million in Allocation Money starting on July 1 to build their rosters before the 2026 season.
  • Atletico Madrid is reportedly close to signing American midfielder Johnny Cardoso from Real Betis.
  • South Korea, Uzbekistan, and Jordan all qualified for the 2026 World Cup, while China was eliminated from contention. Australia beat Japan 1-0 and will qualify so long as it doesn’t lose heavily to Saudi Arabia on June 10.
  • Spain beat France 5-4 in a wild game to reach the UEFA Nations League final against Portugal on Sunday. Lamine Yamal continues to take the world by storm, but a late rally by France nearly completed a comeback.

That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!

Continue Reading

Trending