Orlando City
Orlando City vs. New York City FC: Final Score 2-1 as Lions Continue to Struggle at Yankee Stadium
Once again, Orlando City failed to solve the tiny puzzle of Yankee Stadium, falling on the road.
Orlando City dropped to 0-4-2 in its last six meetings against New York City FC, struggling with turnovers and defending in a 2-1 loss at Yankee Stadium. The Lions (1-2-0, 3 points) handed NYCFC (1-1-1, 4 points) their first win of the season by conceding just moments after Luis Muriel scored a second-half equalizer and then failing to do anything with a man advantage for the final five minutes plus five more minutes of added time. Alonso Martinez and Hannes Wolf scored for the hosts, who were gifted the ball in their attacking half all night.
“Our feelings now are strong on the way we gave up the goals, and I think that changed the story of the game,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “The game was well played by Orlando. I thought we had very good chances and the way we neutralized the forwards in the way they attacked was very correct. I thought the discipline for the boys was very similar to where we planned during the week.”
Pareja’s lineup featured a couple of changes, with captain Robin Jansson making his season debut in the starting lineup after missing the team’s first two matches with a thigh injury. Luis Muriel got his first start of the year up top in place of Ramiro Enrique. Pedro Gallese started in net behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Alex Freeman. Cesar Araujo and Eduard Atuesta started in central midfield behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Martin Ojeda, and Marco Pasalic, with Muriel up top.
The first half was as sloppy and helter skelter as Orlando’s games at Yankee Stadium usually are. Once the Lions settled in and started creating some chances, they were wasteful with them, blowing a couple of golden opportunities to break the scoreless deadlock without even troubling NYCFC goalkeeper Matt Freese.
The Pigeons dominated the first 10 minutes, with the Lions barely able to successfully complete more than two consecutive passes. The hosts won their first corner early on when Freeman was forced into some emergency defending to clear a dangerous ball into the box. A short corner ended up with a ball in the box bouncing off the heads of Jonathan Shore and Keaton Parks before sailing over the net in the fourth minute.
NYCFC kept winning set pieces and getting the ball into the area in the early going. A Justin Haak shot off a free kick conceded by Atuesta won a second corner. Parks got his header closer in the eighth minute but popped it up, allowing Gallese to claim it in the air.
Orlando finally got a look at goal in the 12th minute. Angulo did well to find Muriel in the middle with a cross, but the Colombian couldn’t get any power on his header and popped it just inches over the crossbar. That began a good spell for Orlando City in which the Lions were able to recover the ball in the attacking half and create chances.
However, the Lions wasted those opportunities. Pasalic found himself open at the top of the area in the 16th minute but scuffed his shot and sent it wide. A minute later, Freeman did well to pick out Muriel, who shook free and fired with his weaker right foot, but again the shot went wide. Orlando City had two more good-looking attack buildups go awry moments later, with Angulo and then Atuesta giving the ball away.
New York City FC got back on the front foot, with Jansson nearly scoring an own goal in the 20th minute as Freeman and Pasalic got burned down the defensive right side to allow a dangerous cross into the area.
In the 22nd minute, it was Santos giving the ball away cheaply to ignite the NYCFC attack. Schlegel cleared the entry ball out, but only as far as Julian Fernandez at the top of the area on the right. The winger smashed a shot into the outside netting.
Martinez forced a Gallese save on a bouncing shot in the 25th minute after Angulo coughed up the ball in the attacking third by trying to dribble three defenders and jumpstarting the attack for the hosts.
Atuesta sent a poor shot well wide, and Muriel and Pasalic each had shots blocked late in the first half and the teams went to the break scoreless.
The hosts held the advantage in possession (62%-38%), shots on target (2-0), corners (4-1), and passing accuracy (79.8%-71.5%). The Lions attempted more shots (8-4) but did absolutely nothing with any of them, including two great chances to open the scoring.
If anything, the Lions were sloppier with the ball in the second half. Failures to adequately clear lines with time and space and giveaways even when outnumbering the opponents were problems.
Just like the first half, NYCFC came out with more energy than Orlando City and started creating issues and winning corners early. The Lions were able to hold on through those early moments.
Muriel finally got Orlando City a shot on target in the 58th minute, taking a nice ball from Ojeda and firing from the right with his weaker right foot, forcing a sprawling, if not difficult, save. It was a costly missed opportunity, because the hosts opened the scoring a minute later.
Orlando had possession in the defensive third, but kept making unexpected short, weak passes to each other and eventually NYCFC pounced, as Atuesta barely got a touch on the ball before being dispossessed. That to a Maxi Moralez shot from distance that hit off the post. Gallese had sold out to try to stop it and was unable to reach the rebound before Martinez raced past the defense and swept it into the empty net to make it 1-0 in the 59th minute.
“I think it’s something that we expected, and we had worked during the week to be able to withstand that burst of energy in the first (15 minuts) of each half,” Muriel said. “But yeah, especially New York City playing at home tonight, the energy they had in the first 15 was expected, but it was also noticeable on our part. And you know, at the end of the day, we have to continue working as we move forward to take the results that we want and get better from here.”
Fernandez cut inside of Santos and fired a shot in the 62nd minute, but Gallese was there to make the save.
The Lions got back into the attack finally but could do nothing with a corner kick opportunity and Santos was caught between two minds in the 67th minute, sending either a weak shot or a poor cross right at Freese from the left wing. A minute later, the ball found Pasalic in the area with space, but he took too much time on the ball and was dispossessed.
Orlando City equalized in the 69th minute anyway, and Pasalic played a part in the goal. The Croatian pounced on a layoff by Muriel that may have been deflected and broke up field. He did well to wait for Muriel’s run and fed the ball right. Muriel fired home inside the left post to make it 1-1 in the 69th minute.
“Marco was crossing in front for that quick touch and turned it into space. And he was able to really take it forward, and he controlled the space well and allowed me time to run into that open space,” Muriel said. “And he played a great ball that basically all I had to do was was finish it and put it on goal.”
“What we felt as soon as we tied the game, it was that we were not just controlling the game, (but) that we had the chance to win it,” Pareja said.
The hosts pulled the goal back almost immediately as the Lions fell asleep defensively. Schlegel got pulled out to the right in the buildup, with Araujo dropping into the middle. Martinez took a shot from distance that Gallese palmed down, but the Peruvian did a poor job with his rebound control, leaving the ball unattended in front of goal. Fernandez had made a run in behind, with Araujo’s presence keeping him just onside on the play. As a result, Fernandez got to the ball first and squared it back across to Wolf for an easy goal that proved to be the game winner in the 71st minute.
“It’s very obvious that we conceded too many goals on those three games,” Pareja said. “We can share the same thoughts that we find a way to defend much better. But when you see the nature of the goals, it may be even more painful, because it was not structural. It was something probably that we could correct better individually. But it’s the reality that we have, and surely we will keep addressing that part.”
Atuesta had a chance to pull Orlando level again when he found the ball inside the box in the 78th minute and fired a shot on target, but he left it too close to Freese, who made the save.
Orlando was thrown a lifeline in the 86th minute when Kevin O’Toole saw a second yellow in nine minutes for pulling back substitute Gustavo Caraballo. The NYCFC player was sent off, giving the Lions a man advantage for the final minutes of normal time and five added minutes.
The Lions’ moment came in the 90th minute. Freeman won a corner kick and Caraballo’s service found Araujo near the back post for a free header. The midfielder got under the ball and popped it up over the net, wasting a great opportunity.
Orlando generated nothing of note in injury time and the referee didn’t add anything to the five extra minutes for egregious time wasting by Freese, ending the proceedings with Orlando’s second loss of the young season.
New York City FC finished with the advantage in possession (56.3%-43.8%), shots on target (8-3), corners (7-4), and passing accuracy (78.9%-76.2%). The Lions edged the hosts in total shot attempts (14-13).
“We were the team who had probably — especially in that first half — the clear possibilities,” Pareja said. “But definitely our pain right now is how we conceded those goals, and that’s what just brings this feeling of frustration.”
The Lions will return home, but they’ll have to fly northeast again next weekend as they look to bounce back when they visit the New York Red Bulls on Saturday night.
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Five Takeaways
Here’s what we learned from yet another rough watch on the road.
Orlando City got smacked around in North Carolina in its second-to-last game of the regular season in a 4-0 loss to Charlotte FC. The loss puts the team’s playoff hopes in serious jeopardy, although it does still control its own destiny heading into Decision Day on Saturday. What follows are my five big observations from a thoroughly unenjoyable viewing experience.
Early Goals Overwhelm Orlando
Outside of the opening five minutes of each half, the game was a relatively even affair, with both teams having plenty of possession and chances to go along with it. Unfortunately, OCSC was positively awful in the first five minutes of each half. The Lions gave up a bad free kick on the edge of the area after five minutes had been played, and then displayed a shocking lack of defending on the back post (yet again) to giftwrap the game’s opening goal to Charlotte. In the 49th minute, Orlando allowed Allan Saint-Maximin to waltz through the heart of the midfield practically unchallenged and power a shot low and hard past Maxime Crepeau to double the lead and all but doom the Lions’ chances of taking anything from the contest. Charlotte’s two late goals made the score even uglier, but the early strikes in each half were the ones that truly changed things.
More Yellow Card Accumulation
A recurring theme for Orlando in recent games has been missing players due to yellow card accumulation, as David Brekalo was unavailable for this one, Eduard Atuesta was out against Chicago on Wednesday, and Marco Pasalic missed out on the trip to play Toronto FC. Iago made sure the pattern will continue on Decision Day when he picked up a wholly needless yellow card in the 25th minute — for either an unnecessary foul or for dissent afterward — in a home stretch that has seen Orlando without Robin Jansson, Tyrese Spicer, and Griffin Dorsey. In addition to other myriad absences through injury, players getting themselves suspended for no reason certainly hasn’t made the end of the season any easier. Brekalo will be back from suspension for the final game of the season, but the Lions will have another makeshift defense when they welcome one of the best teams in the East to Central Florida.
Possession Without Product
Orlando finished the game with slightly more possession than the home side (51.3% to 48.7%) and actually outshot Charlotte 17-14, but the Lions were far less effective with the ball than the winning side. OCSC put eight shots on target while Charlotte only managed six, and while Kristijan Kahlina made some sharp saves, Orlando had trouble carving out any truly clean looks at goal. Charlotte’s early lead enabled the hosts to be more cautious opening themselves up, so the Lions were often shooting through traffic, from the edge of the box, or from a tight angle. It isn’t often that this team doesn’t get at least one goal on the board, but it was hard to say it deserved to get on the scoresheet in this one.
Quiet Night for Crepeau
Maxime Crepeau wasn’t able to have much of an impact on proceedings, but I don’t hold him at fault for any of the goals. His defense left him completely exposed on the first, the second from Saint-Maximin was a well-placed rocket through traffic, he did exceedingly well to then save a penalty on the third only to be let down by slow-reacting teammates when Abdoulaye Doucoure slammed home the rebound, and Rodolfo Aloko was left completely unmarked in the box on the fourth. I can’t help but feel bad for the Canadian international this year. He had a rocky start to the year, but has often kept Orlando in games once the season resumed post-World Cup, and the team wouldn’t still be in the hunt for a playoff spot without him. Lately it seems like the Lions get tuned up if he isn’t able to make at least several outstanding saves that he has no right to make, and that’s how it proved to be in this game.
Road Struggles Continue With a Vengeance
At the end of the day, the Lions once again looked outclassed on the road. It’s difficult to get results away from home in MLS, that’s no secret, but Orlando’s form has been truly horrible. Orlando finishes the year with three wins, 10 losses, and four draws on the road during the 2026 regular season, and has scored 30 goals while giving up a league-worst 56. The team has averaged 1.88 points per game at home, and a paltry 0.76 when it has to leave the safety of the nest. Having a high-octane offense doesn’t matter if you can’t consistently keep the ball out of the back of your own net, and the Lions have struggled to do that on the road. There are a lot of things that this team needs to fix in the off-season, and becoming even marginally better away from home is just one item on a very long list.
That’s how I saw an ugly penultimate match of the regular season. What did you think of this one? Be sure to have your say down in the comments.
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Final Score 4-0 as Lions End Road Trip with Blowout Loss
The Lions’ playoff hopes are in trouble after another poor road performance.
Orlando City was wasteful in front of goal and terrible in the defensive end once again in a costly 4-0 loss to Charlotte FC at Bank of America Stadium this afternoon. The Lions (12-14-7, 43 points) will rue the missed opportunities that could have helped them stay in the game, but two unnecessarily conceded set pieces, an early second-half goal, and another late strike gave Charlotte (15-10-8, 53 points) a comfortable home win.
It was a result reminiscent of the 0-3-0 start to the season that saw Oscar Pareja depart as head coach.
Henry Kessler, Allan Saint-Maximin, Abdoulaye Doucouré, and Rodolfo Aloko did the damage on the scoreboard for the hosts, who finished a man down after a late red card for a brainless obscene gesture toward Wilder Cartagena. Charlotte FC got its first-ever home win against the Lions in the regular season in emphatic fashion.
“Very disappointed in the result in this moment,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the game. “We do the best that we can. Sometimes it is not enough. It’s not good enough. Like today, we are the first ones aware of that.”
Perelman rotated little from the squad that blew a 2-0 lead and drew 2-2 at Chicago in the midweek, despite most of that starting XI playing either all 90 minutes or the vast majority of those minutes. Maxime Crepeau started in goal behind a back line of Vinicius Nogueira, Cartagena — deputizing for the suspended David Brekalo — Iago, and Zakaria Taifi. Braian Ojeda and Luis Otavio played in central midfield between wingers Ivan Angulo and Marco Pasalic, with Martin Ojeda and Antoine Griezmann up top.
Each team got an early spell of possession in the opening minutes, with the best opportunity being a blast from Pasalic on the right that forced a good diving save from Kristijan Kahlina.
But then the Lions handed Charlotte an easy opening goal. Braian Ojeda committed a foul he had no reason to commit against Saint-Maximin near the left corner of the box. Ashley Westwood sent in a good cross to a completely unmarked Kessler, who simply nodded his free header down and past Crepeau for a simple goal and a 1-0 lead in the sixth minute.
“I think today they were ready on 90 minutes, and we lacked focus those moments of execution and mental focus on the set piece,” Crepeau said. “Free header, where we knew that they were going to play those sorts of balls between me and the defenders. It’s a free header when nobody is around. It’s unacceptable, because it’s just mental focus at that point.”
“It’s a mistake that we shouldn’t commit when you play this type of game at this stage on the road. Against these opponents, it’s hard.”
That was the 75th goal conceded by Orlando City in 2026, which set a new club single-season record — not a mark the Lions wanted to set, but nothing has changed in the way the team has defended all year. They went on to concede goals nos. 76, 77, and 78 before the final whistle.
Charlotte got a chance to make it 2-0 just moments later when Liel Abada got his shot blocked in the 10th minute. Djibril Diani collected the rebound and sent a soft shot skipping wide. Charlotte kept the ball for a spell and created a good opportunity in the 20th minute when a cross in from Orlando’s defensive left found Idan Toklomati in front alone, but he couldn’t get any power on the header, giving Crepeau some catching practice.
Martin Ojeda took a cutback pass from Angulo in the 22nd minute in good position on the left, but with Kessler closing fast, the Argentine had only enough time to toe poke it toward goal with his weaker right foot and Kahlina made a comfortable stop.
Saint-Maximin was permitted to run straight down the right channel with the ball in the 24th minute but Iago was able to block his shot.
Through the middle of the first half, the Lions looked discombobulated, not creating anything and often turning the ball over after crossing midfield. During that spell, Charlotte didn’t create a lot either, but that didn’t stop Iago from committing a clumsy challenge and then demonstrably disagree with the call to earn a yellow card in the 25th minute, suspending him for the season finale against New England with the Lions already short of bodies on the back line. Both the foul and the reaction were unnecessary and emblematic of the Brazilian’s lack of discipline during his first season in Orlando.
Toklomati was poorly marked on a corner in the 27th minute but couldn’t get his header down, sending it high over the bar.
With so few looks at goal to that point in the game, Braian Ojeda tried a hopeful shot from a long way out in the 34th minute but sent it wide of the right post. A minute later, Martin Ojeda took a pass in the center at the top of the box but Westwood blocked his shot and it hit the Argentine’s arm on the rebound, ending the threat.
A Saint-Maximin cross cleared Iago in the 37th minute but about a foot too far in front of Abada at a wide-open back post.
The Lions closed the half looking a bit better and with more urgency. Angulo won a set piece from distance in the closing minutes and Griezmann sent a good curling cross in front of goal. Otavio couldn’t make good contact with it in the air, knocking it off Iago’s chest and down in front of goal, where it hit the right post. The rebound came back to Iago, but he sent it wide of the same post.
The last good look of the half for either side fell to Orlando in the 44th minute. A ball across the box deflected through everyone in front and fell to Pasalic on the right. The Croatian had a defender closing, so he fired a hard shot with his weaker right foot and sent it just wide and into the outside netting.
At the break, the Lions held the edge in possession (51.5%-48.5%), shots (10-7), shots on target (3-2), and passing accuracy (89.9%-88.7%), with Charlotte winning more corners (3-2). The difference was that Orlando was punished for shoddy set piece defending on a free kick that shouldn’t have been conceded while lacking clinical finishing on two excellent chances.
Perelman sent Eduard Atuesta and Adrian Marin on for Otavio and Nogueira at the break.
The changes didn’t help, and Orlando allowed Charlotte an easy second goal right just moments after the restart. Saint-Maximim came right down the center. Orlando’s back line dropped back to stay with the passing options while Pasalic jogged behind. With no pressure on him, the forward blasted a shot just inside the left post to make it 2-0 in the 49th minute.
“We tried to adjust for the second half, and then the second half again it’s opened by I think a sequence very difficult, and then the game is is hard, and we couldn’t perform as we should,” Perelman said.
“He’s dribbling at our defense. He has a fake shot and we (commit) a bit fast, and then he has an open shot, I think right above the box, and he smashes it,” Crepeau said. “And those moments are difficult. When it’s right around a restart, it’s difficult for us to absorb that, and it hurt us.”
Orlando could have pulled that second goal right back two minutes later. A ball played centrally in front from the left was cleared only as far as Braian Ojeda in the box. The midfielder had time and space but sent a soft shot at the goalkeeper.
Martin Ojeda tried a volley effort in the 55th minute on the left side but he didn’t hit the shot well and it sliced wide of the left post. Five minutes later, it was Pasalic making a mess of a shot, sending a left-footed effort wide from the top of the box in the middle.
Perelman sent attacking subs on down the stretch to try to claw back into the game, but without having to go forward, Charlotte was content to stay organized and look for counterattacking opportunities. That made it difficult to find space for chance creation and made for some nervy defensive moments. Iago was caught cheating forward to maintain possession, allowing an odd-man break in the 66th minute but a heavy touch and an offside flag prevented further damage at that time. A minute later, Pep Biel cut in from the left and blasted a shot from distance that crashed off the crossbar behind Crepeau.
Kahlina made a brilliant save in the 70th minute that won’t count, after Griezmann’s free kick found Adrian Marin for a flicked header. Kahlina made the diving save but Marin was offside anyway.
Crepeau kept things from getting worse (for the moment) in the 74th minute, getting down to deflect a cross that would have given Charlotte an easy tap-in goal at the back post.
Martin Ojeda’s header went straight at Kahlina a minute later, and seconds after that, the Argentine, looking like he felt every one of the 256 minutes he played during the last eight days, fizzed a shot over the crossbar.
Griezmann fired an acrobatic volley shot in the 77th minute as Orlando kept trying to cut into the lead. Kahlina, who might become the latest Orlando City opponent to win Player of the Matchday honors in a season filled with such occurrences, made yet another diving stop. Griezmann sent a low shot a minute later off a cross into the box that bounced in front, but Kahlina squeezed his knees together and made the block. The ball popped high into the air, with Daryl Dike soaring over the defense to get to it, however, the big striker jumped too early and Charlotte survived the rebound.
Charlotte put the game to bed a few minutes later on a play that started with an Orlando corner kick. Griezmann sent a ball in that found its way to the top of the area. There were no Lions in a spot where you’d normally expect at least one attacker, but Eduard Atuesta had run from the middle to the left inviting a short corner to be played. Perhaps someone missed an assignment on the set play, but Charlotte broke with numbers the other way.
Angulo caught up with Aloko as the two men entered the box, but a heavy touch was taking the Charlotte forward wide on the right. Angulo applied pressure from behind and unnecessarily made contact from behind that referee Victor Rivas felt was too heavy (it was), awarding Charlotte a penalty. Saint-Maximin took the spot kick, sending it toward the left post. Crepeau made the save, but he couldn’t control the rebound.
Doucouré was easily the first to the ball, slotting home the hosts’ third goal in the 84th minute as three different Charlotte attackers were quick to get into the box while Orlando players were caught flat-footed.
“He has a lot of penalties under his belt throughout his career, so I knew I just needed to hold a bit longer to make him choose a side, basically,” Crepeau said. “And I was able to go to the right side, and we were not able to follow up on the rebound. And 3-0 was the goal that hurt us, because at 2-0 you still believe a little bit and the three, 10, maybe 15 minutes before the end hurts us a lot.”
With the outcome all but official at that point, things took a weird turn in the 89th minute, when Rivas went to the monitor to review something that happened off the ball. Saint-Maximin had been chirping with Cartagena and grabbed his crotch. Rivas sent the Charlotte attacker off for making an obscene gesture, though it was too late to impact the match. In fact, instead of Orlando spoiling Kahlina’s shutout, the Lions meekly failed to even threaten to get a shot away and the hosts added a goal in stoppage time. With three defenders tracking Biel’s run, no one bothered to even look at Aloko, who took a cross from Tyger Smalls and beat Crepeau while Marin bathed in all the space in which he was defending no one.
The final whistle was a mercy to an Orlando City side that has slipped into the play-in game positions.
At full time, Orlando held a deceptive statistical advantage. The Lions led in possession (51.1%-48.9%), shots (17-14), shots on target (7-6), and passing accuracy (87%-85.3%). Both teams finished with four corner kicks.
“We don’t like this result. We don’t like this way,” Perelman said. “This is not the way we want. But we will, for sure, like we did it in the past, we will recover ourselves, and we will prepare (for) the next one, because this team started the season in a really difficult situation, went through very difficult moments, and was very resilient. So, this is not going to be the exception for us, and we’re going to be ready for next one.”
“We know what’s happening at the moment,” Crepeau said. “We need a win against New England. That being said, today is not acceptable for every player that got rostered. It’s not good enough. A lot of people deserve better than what we have put out there today. That’s the reality of things.”
The Lions end the regular season with a terrible 3-10-4 road record, having not won away from home since Sept. 9, going 0-3-2 away and conceding 17 goals (3.4 goals against per match) in that span. If they squeak into the postseason, the road is where they’ll be, so that’s not a great sign. It was also the first time Orlando City has been shut out in a game since May and ended Griezmann’s five-game goal-scoring streak.
Orlando City dropped to ninth place and awaits results from the New York Red Bulls and Toronto FC on Sunday. If both teams lose, they would be unable to catch Orlando on points on Decision Day. The Red Bulls are at Nashville, which has already clinched the Supporters’ Shield, while Toronto visits lowly 14th-place Atlanta.
The Lions return home for their regular-season finale against the high-flying New England Revolution a week from today.
Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
The Lions head to Charlotte looking for an elusive road win after blowing late leads in the last two away matches.
Welcome to your match preview and live thread for a Saturday matinee matchup between Orlando City (12-13-7, 43 points) and Charlotte FC (14-10-8, 50 points) at Inter.co Stadium (1 p.m., Apple TV). This is the second of the two games on the slate between the Eastern Conference rivals in 2026.
Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.
History
The Lions are 5-1-3 in the regular-season series and 7-3-3 in all competitions against Charlotte. Orlando City is 1-0-3 on the road in the regular season and 1-2-3 away across all competitions against the North Carolina-based side.
Orlando got its biggest win in the series in the most recent meeting, a 4-1 home win for the Lions on April 22. The Lions rode a big second half to the victory after Luis Otavio and Morrison Agyemang traded first-half goals. Martin Ojeda notched a brace after halftime and Ignacio Gomez scored his first MLS goal to add some late insurance.
The teams last met in Charlotte on July 5, 2025, playing to a 2-2 draw at Bank of America Stadium. The hosts took a 2-0 lead on goals by Pep Biel and Bill Tuiloma, but Ramiro Enrique and Marco Pasalic brought the Lions back to earn a point on the road.
Earlier in the 2025 campaign, the teams met on May 14 in Orlando, with Luis Muriel and Ojeda giving the Lions a 2-0 lead inside the game’s first 25 minutes. Wilfried Zaha pulled the visitors within a goal before the break, making for a tight second half, but Enrique’s late goal put the game to bed in Orlando City’s 3-1 home win.
Prior to 2025, the teams met in the first round of the 2024 MLS Cup playoffs. Orlando City claimed two of the three matches, winning the first outright, dropping the second on penalties after a late goal was called offside in the buildup, and advancing after a penalty shootout win following the third match of the best-of-three series.
On Nov. 9, 2024, Facundo Torres’ penalty late in stoppage time canceled out a Karol Swiderski goal and sent the deciding third match to penalties with a 1-1 score. Pedro Gallese made two saves and Orlando City won the shootout 4-1, advancing to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
The teams played eight days before that in Charlotte, without either side scoring in normal time, as Torres’ strike was disallowed for offside on Nico Lodeiro on Muriel’s through ball. Charlotte won the ensuing penalty shootout 3-1 after the scoreless draw to tie the series at 1-1. That followed Orlando City’s 2-0 home win the previous Sunday. Torres and Ojeda scored the goals on either side of halftime to lead the Lions to the Game 1 win. It was the first time Orlando scored more than one goal in an MLS playoff game.
The teams met a month and a half prior to their first playoff meeting on Sept. 18 in Orlando. The Lions got second-half goals from Torres and Duncan McGuire to win 2-0, claiming the first multiple-goal win in the series. The teams also met on June 19, 2024, at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte and played to a 2-2 draw. The hosts struck first with an early Kerwin Vargas goal and the Lions pulled one back through McGuire in the second half. But despite Charlotte going down a man on Scott Arfield’s red card, Brandt Bronico restored the hosts’ lead shortly after McGuire’s strike. Torres struck back moments later but the Lions could not find a winner on the road.
The previous match was also a draw at Bank of America Stadium, finishing 1-1 on Aug. 30, 2023. Enzo Copetti’s late penalty appeared to wrap things up for the hosts on a rainy night in Charlotte, but Ojeda’s seeing-eye set piece equalized just before stoppage time as the teams split the points.
Charlotte claimed a 1-0 “home” victory in U.S. Open Cup play on May 9 of that year. That game took place at Mecklenburg County Sportsplex in Matthews, NC, rather than at the club’s regular stadium. The first matchup of the 2023 season didn’t go any better for Orlando City, finishing as a 2-1 Charlotte win at Exploria Stadium on March 18. Copetti and Vargas put Charlotte up 2-0 by halftime. Ojeda pulled one back, but the Lions were wasteful in front of goal and couldn’t pull level.
In 2022, the teams met at Bank of America Stadium on Aug. 21. After a scoreless first half, Ercan Kara put the Lions ahead on the road, only to see McKinze Gaines equalize just four minutes later. Tesho Akindele’s late goal lifted Orlando to a 2-1 victory.
Orlando City won the first-ever meeting between the sides on April 30, 2022, at Exploria Stadium. Ruan scored the opening goal and set up Torres on the counter for the second as the Lions took a 2-0 lead into the locker room. Christian Fuchs scored from the spot after Rodrigo Schlegel was called for a foul in the box in the second half, but that was as close as Charlotte got in what was ultimately a 2-1 Orlando victory.
Overview
Orlando City enters the match in an odd way, because although the Lions have gone unbeaten in their last five games (2-0-3), they’ve also dropped three late leads in the last four, coughing up six points in a tight Eastern Conference playoff race. That includes Wednesday’s match at Chicago, which ended in a 2-2 draw, and the home game against New York City FC a week ago, another 2-2 draw. Orlando led in the 69th and deep in stoppage time of those games, respectively. Antoine Griezmann is almost singlehandedly willing Orlando to stay above the playoff line with a goal-scoring streak of five matches.
But the Lions enter tonight just 3-9-4 on the road in league play in 2026 and haven’t won away from Orlando since Sept. 9 at Atlanta and going 0-3-2 in five road matches in all competitions since then.
Charlotte enters tonight fresh off a 4-0 home beatdown of CF Montreal in the midweek and although both clubs are on the same rest, Orlando has traveled to Chicago and Charlotte over the last few days and stayed on the road in between, while tonight’s hosts have been sleeping snugly in their beds since returning home from a 3-2 loss at Portland a week ago. Charlotte FC is 9-3-4 at Bank of America Stadium in MLS play this year and have won two straight on their own patch.
Orlando City will need to be patient to avoid giving up dangerous counterattacks, as the Lions have struggled to defend them all year, and the club will be without three-quarters of its starting back line, with Griffin Dorsey and Robin Jansson out with injuries and David Brekalo suspended for yellow card accumulation. The back line will be a makeshift one, which is less than ideal against players like Biel (13 goals, 16 assists), Idan Toklomati (15 goals, 6 assists), and Liel Abada (8 goals, 5 assists). Charlotte has the Eastern Conference’s sixth-best offense and the East’s fourth-best defense, led by goalkeeper Kristijan Kahlina.
In addition to being without Brekalo (suspension), Jansson (foot), and Dorsey (back), Orlando also won’t have winger Tyrese Spicer (foot). Charlotte will be without Will Cleary (illness), Nimfasha Berchimas (lower body), Archie Goodwin (lower body), Aron John (upper body), and Tim Ream (lower body).
Match Content
- Our most recent epsiode of the PawedCast includes our key matchups and score predictions for today’s match, as well as a preview of the game.
Official Lineups
Orlando City (4-4-2)
Goalkeeper: Maxime Crepeau.
Defenders: Vinicius Nogueira,Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Zakaria Taifi.
Midfielders: Ivan Angulo, Luis Otavio, Braian Ojeda, Marco Pasalic.
Forwards: Martin Ojeda, Antoine Griezmann.
Bench: Javier Otero, Adrian Marin, Nolan Miller, Joran Gerbet, Eduard Atuesta, Justin Ellis, Tiago, Harvey Sarajian, Daryl Dike.
Charlotte FC (4-3-3)
Goalkeeper: Kristijan Kahlina.
Defenders: Harry Toffolo, Henry Kessler, Morrison Agyemang, Nathan Byrne.
Midfielders: Pep Biel, Ashley Westwood, Djibril Diani.
Forwards: Allan Saint-Maximin, Idan Toklomati, Liel Abada.
Bench: Tyler Miller, Andrew Privett, David Schnegg, Abdoulaye Doucouré, Luca de la Torre, Brandt Bronico, Nathan Richmond, Tyger Smalls, Rodolfo Aloko.
Referees
Ref: Victor Rivas.
AR1: Mike Nickerson.
AR2: Ben Pilgrim.
4th: Nabil Bensalah.
VAR: Kevin Terry Jr.
AVAR: Kathryn Nesbitt.
How to Watch
Match Time: 1 p.m.
Venue: Bank of America Stadium — Charlotte.
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!
Orlando Pride vs. Seattle Reign FC: Final Score 1-0 as Pride Drop Final Game of 2026
Orlando Pride vs. Seattle Reign FC: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
Orlando City vs. Charlotte FC: Five Takeaways
-
Orlando City2 weeks agoOrlando City vs. D.C. United: Final Score 4-1 as Griezmann Leads Lions to Win
-
Orlando Pride2 weeks agoOrlando Pride vs. Houston Dash: Preview, How to Watch, TV Info, Live Stream, Lineups, Match Thread, and More
-
Orlando Pride2 weeks agoOrlando Pride vs. Houston Dash: Final Score 2-1 as Pride Ride Big First Half to Road Win
-
Orlando City2 weeks agoOrlando City vs. D.C. United: Five Takeaways
-
Lion Links2 weeks agoLion Links: 10/21/26
-
Lion Links2 weeks agoLion Links: 10/20/26
-
Lion Links2 weeks agoLion Links: 10/22/26
-
Orlando City2 weeks agoOrlando City vs. D.C. United: Player Grades and Man of the Match