Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Final Score 1-1 (4-1) as Lions Advance with Penalty Shootout Win

Trailing 1-0, Orlando City was just moments away from exiting the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs tonight at Inter&Co Stadium. But Duncan McGuire earned a late penalty that Facundo Torres converted on the rebound of his saved attempt to tie the game at 1-1. The Lions were clinical in the ensuing penalty shootout moments later, winning it 4-1 over Charlotte FC and advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the second straight year.

The shootout win, fueled by two Pedro Gallese saves, gave Orlando a 2-1 series win over Charlotte FC with the final two matches decided from the spot after the Lions opened with the only win in normal time out of the three games.

“I think we were the best team of this series,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “But the game just put us in that situation when they score goals and they sit back, and we couldn’t open those lines. But finally we did, and the (win in) PKs is probably a result that was very fair for the effort that we made during the series.”

Pareja made no changes to his lineup, starting Gallese in goal behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena started in central midfield behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Martin Ojeda, and Torres, with Ramiro Enrique up top.

The Lions won the first half territorially, but sttruggled with the final ball, either leaving shots too close to Kristijan Kahlina or rattling the woodwork. Orlando’s first opportunity came three minutes in when Ojeda made a good cross into the box that hit off Torres and went toward goal, but without much pace, allowing Kahlina to collect it. Three minutes later, Tim Ream tried to chest a cross back to Kahlina and Araujo threw himself forward, nearly getting his head to it and forcing the Charlotte goalkeeper to spill it, but the visitors were able to regroup.

In the 10th minute, Charlotte got its first chance off a corner kick. Kerwin Vargas headed it down at the back post as he was left all alone, but he sent it straight toward Gallese.

Ojeda delivered a great ball on a long-distance free kick in the 16th minute, finding Schlegel in the box. The defender got good pace on his header but left it too close to Kahlina, who made the save. A minute later, the Lions should have scored. Ojeda made a great cutback pass to Torres, who fizzed a shot that hit the right post and stayed out.

Torres found the crossbar in the 21st minute on a header off an Araujo cross. It appeared Kahlina may have touched it off the bar.

Patrick Agyemang sent a soft header to Gallese in the 24th minute, but given the final shots on target in the half, he must not have gotten credit for a shot.

Enrique got onto a good chip pass from Torres in the 33rd minute. The Argentine volleyed a shot toward goal but couldn’t keep it down, sending it high over the bar.

Ojeda nearly got in behind in the 39th minute but the ball took a high bounce. As he waited for it to come down, the defense arrived to knock it out of play.

Torres had a shot blocked in front in the 40th minute that looked as if it might have been a handball. There was no obvious sign of a review, but the ball may have hit the defender’s body before the arm.

Agyemang was sent in behind in the 45th minute, catching Gallese out with a chipped shot, but the flag came up straight away and after review, the offside call was upheld.

That was the final play of note from a first half that had plenty of action but no final product.

At halftime, Orlando City held the advantage in possession (60.7%-39.3%), shots (8-2), shots on target (2-1), corners (4-3), and passing accuracy (86.4%-81%), but the Lions had nothing to show for it.

“We were more offensive. I think we hit the post twice in the first half,” Pareja said. “And we had many other options that were clear.”

Neither team made a halftime change and Orlando got the first half chance of the second period. A weak cross from Thorhallsson looked like it would be an easy scoop for Kahlina, but Enrique got there with a quick, darting run and got a foot to it, poking it just wide of the right post in the 47th minue.

Orlando won a few set pieces but couldn’t make them pay off, coming close in the 56th minute. Ojeda sent in a good corner kick cross and Enrique was unmarked, coming from a deeper position for a free header. However, he sent his effort just wide of the right post.

Angulo saw his shot blocked at the hour mark off a deflected cross from Ojeda.

Vargas shook free on the left side and sent a shot into the outside of Gallese’s left post in the 66th minute.

Second-half sub Luis Muriel tried his luck from outside the area in the 68th minute but it one-hopped into Kahlina’s hands. Two minutes later, he tried again from a similar spot but hit his effort wide to the left of goal.

Pep Biel tried his luck from long range in the 71st minute but sent his shot well over.

Muriel tried to send fellow sub McGuire in behind down the right side in the 76th minute. McGuire saw his shot saved but he was offside anyway and likely knew it. The flag came up after the shot.

Charlotte broke the deadlock in the 81st minute and it was a bit unlucky for Orlando. A ball over the top bounced over Jansson’s head, putting the visitors in on the attack. Liel Abada found Swiderski in front and the striker’s shot deflected past Gallese to make it 1-0.

“They wait for a mistake and we made one,” Pareja said.

“I ended up in between, not reaching it,” Jansson said. “And Swiderski was more just being in behind me. So, that was just a bad move on that one. But I do think that it was not that he just took the ball and run through the goal. I think we could have stopped it anyway. But that’s things that happen sometimes in the game, and it has to be better in the in the coming game.”

Jansson tried to get the goal back in the 85th minute, getting his head to a recycled ball and deflected it on goal, but Kahlina made the save.

The Lions had a chance to tie it up in the 90th minute when Santos sent a perfect cross from the left to the back post to substitute Kyle Smith, who merely needed to touch it home. Instead, Smith tripped over the ball and ended up knocking it backwards.

Orlando didn’t quit. In the 93rd minute, Araujo smashed a shot that fizzed just inches wide of the left post. Moments later, the Lions got the break they had been pushing for. Cartagena sent a ball into the area, and Djibril Diani pulled McGuire down. The big center forward went down hard on his shoulder. He sprinted to the sideline looking to get his shoulder fixed, but he was unable to return to the match, leaving his team short. The play was reviewed and the call on the field was upheld, with Orlando awarded a penalty.

Torres had to wait a long time to take the spot kick between the injury to McGuire and the video review. When he finally took his shot, Kahlina made the save, but the rebound came right back out front where Torres buried it to tie the game at 1-1 in the 102nd minute.

“Today, I think everyone saw like the mentality when they scored from our side,” Jansson said. “Directly when we got the ball, we wanted to try to do something, push forward.”

Moments after the restart, Pekmic blew the whistle and sent the game to penalties to decide things.

The Lions dominated the stat sheet, finishing with the advantage in possession (60.9%-39.1%), shots (21-6), shots on target (6-3), corners (9-3), and passing accuracy (86.7%-82.2%).

Orlando shot first and Muriel froze Kahlina to start things off with a goal for the Lions. Biel stepped up to shoot first for the visitors. He sent his shot to Gallese’s left, but El Pulpo guessed correctly, fully extended, and made the save.

Kyle Smith calmly blasted the second shot into the net to put Orlando up 2-0, and Swiderski stepped up for Charlotte. He sent his shot to Gallese’s right, but the Orlando goalkeeper again went the correct way and stuck out a fist to keep it out. Torres pushed the Lions’ lead in the shootout to 3-2 and Ashley Westwood answered for the visitors, making it 3-1 after three rounds. Any Orlando goal or Charlotte miss and it was over.

Santos slowly walked up and placed the ball, then took a wild, sweeping, stop-start run-up. Kahlina guessed correctly, but the Brazilian’s shot was precise, slipping inside the post to push Orlando through to the next round.

“I studied a little bit more, really focused in on the PK takers of our rivals tonight,” Gallese said of his preparation. “We knew that the way that they played, there was a good chance that we would go to penalties again, so we were all putting in the extra effort to make sure that we were ready for that. And thankfully, it paid off.”

“I have to congratulate the coach (Dean Smith of Charlotte). I thought he complicated things with a system that I respect,” Pareja said. “I think he made the movements and made our game model more complicated in some moments. Today, they defended with a line of five, and it was a surprise for us, because I have not seen it before when we faced them. But we adapted well.”

Next up for Orlando City is a rematch from Decision Day. Atlanta United’s first-round upset will have the Five Stripes visiting Orlando City Sunday, Nov. 24 at 3:30 p.m.