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Orlando City vs. Pumas UNAM, Leagues Cup: Final Score 1-1 (3-4) as Lions Blow Another Home Lead

Orlando again threw away a late 1-0 lead at home, ultimately earning just one point in a shootout loss after a 1-1 draw with Pumas.

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1 year ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Orlando City’s bad habit of blowing late leads at Inter&Co Stadium continued tonight as the Lions played Pumas UNAM to a 1-1 draw before falling 4-3 in a penalty shootout in their Leagues Cup opener. Officially the road team for this match, Orlando City got an early goal from the unlikely source of Rodrigo Schlegel early in the match, but failed to create much against the Liga MX side throughout the game, attempting just seven shots, with only Schlegel’s threatening the target.

Pumas took advantage of the Lions failing to put them away, with former Houston Dynamo star Adalberto Carrasquilla scoring a late goal to end normal time at 1-1 and sending the match to penalties.

It was the third consecutive match in this stadium in which Orlando led 1-0 late and failed to win the match.

“We had a good first half, very competitive, and we didn’t have plenty control of the game, but we did have ideas,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “And we not just scored first, but I thought we have much more volume in attack. That gave us the sensation that we could increase (the lead) in the second half. The second half…they started pushing and we lost control of the ball. We started using the long balls and we couldn’t find a way to get out of that pressure.”

Pareja’s starting lineup featured only one change from the team that took the field Saturday in Columbus. Ramiro Enrique replaced Luis Muriel in the starting XI. Pedro Gallese started in goal behind a back line of David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Alex Freeman. Cesar Araujo and Eduard Atuesta started in central midfield between wingers Ivan Angulo and Marco Pasalic, with Martin Ojeda and Enrique up top.

Pumas started with some energy, going on the attack in the first moments of the game, with Alvaro Angulo flashing a shot from the left just wide of the right post in the second minute.

Orlando’s first foray up the field nearly put Ojeda in alone on goal, but his first touch was a bit off and all he could do was win a corner kick. That turned out to be a good thing. Ojeda took the set piece himself and found Schlegel in the mass of bodies in front of goal. The center back got his head to the cross and knocked it in off the right post past Keylor Navas to give the Lions a 1-0 lead in the fifth minute.

“Happy to score again but a little bit heated for what happened with not being able to score after that,” Schlegel said.

It was Schlegel’s first goal in any competition since scoring against FC Dallas on Sept. 28, 2024.

The game settled into a bit more of a chess match over the next 30 minutes after the goal, with each side winning set pieces here and there but doing nothing with them. The Lions always seemed about to create a dangerous chance, only to have an untidy touch blow up the attack.

Eventually the Liga MX side started growing more into the game and created some chances. Jorgen Ruvalcaba fired from the top of the area off a partially cleared corner kick in the 32nd minute, but the Lions blocked the shot out in front.

A minute later, Pasalic sent a beautiful ball from right to left for Ivan Angulo, who did well with his first touch but sailed his cross over an open Freeman at the back post.

Pumas started getting more bite into the attack as the rain began to fall in Orlando, with Pedro Vite having a shot blocked wide in the 37th minute. Alvaro Angulo’s shot took a deflection a minute later and was on target, but Gallese was able to recover from his initial movement to make a vital save. Guillermo Martinez fizzed a header over the bar in the 40th minute.

Near the end of the half, things got chippy. Freeman was wrestled to the ground by Ruvalcaba behind the play as Pumas attacked in the 44th minute and referee Adonai Escobedo let play go on for some reason. When Freeman retaliated, he cautioned both players, so if the first one was a yellow card offense, play should have stopped and a free kick awarded to Orlando.

Two minutes later, Brekalo was fouled from behind in an obvious attempt to slow down play. The Slovenian tried to fight off his opponent only for his hand to get up in the head and neck area, and he was the second OCSC player into the books. Ivan Angulo then got booked during the same stoppage. The Pumas player who committed the foul got nothing.

Ojeda had his shot blocked in front deep in stoppage time and Orlando could do nothing with a pair of corners on the final attacking sequences of the first half.

At the break, Pumas had the advantage in possession (50.4%-49.6%) and shots (7-3). Orlando City led in corners (5-4) and passing accuracy (92.5%-86.7%). Each team put one shot on target.

“I think we played a great first half, and we were really dominating the game within the game,” Schlegel said. “And then the second half, we had a little bit more difficulty, just due to the situation in the game. They were down. They had to start coming out of their area more, and I think it made things difficult on us.”

Pumas owned the second half. Orlando didn’t play like a team interested in adding to its lead for the first 15 minutes, and after that, the Lions dropped deep and allowed the Liga MX side to have the ball, which never seemed like a good idea, and it turned out not to be. Pumas grew confident and created, while easily carving out any counter opportunities Orlando City had in mind.

The Lions took the first shot of the second half but created no danger from it. Ojeda tried to chip Navas from the left side in the 47th minute, but his shot sailed high over the goal.

Two minutes later, Alvaro Angulo fired the first warning shot of the second half, blasting an effort from distance on the left that Gallese fought off. Ruvalcaba fired wide to the right in the 59th minute when given too much space. Pumas scored in the 65th minute, but the play was obviously offside and the flag came up quickly. The flag saved Freeman some blushes, as the young fullback had a chance to clear just prior to that but turned the ball over in the defensive third.

Orlando worked a rare counterattack in the 68th minute that ended up on Pasalic’s foot just outside the area. The Croatian fired but his shot fizzed over the crossbar on his last involvement of the match. He and Enrique were soon replaced by Kyle Smith and Muriel.

Pumas fired another warning shot in the 73rd minute, getting in behind the defense for a 1-v-1 opportunity against Gallese, who made the save, but the flag again came up, nullifying the play.

Carrasquilla scored the goal that always seemed likely in the 80th minute. Playing a quick give-and-go with Piero Quispe, the Panamanian international made a quick, darting run to get onto the return ball and fired it just inside the right post to tie the match at 1-1. The Lions felt Jansson had been held on the play, preventing him from peeling off of his man to intervene, but no foul was given and there didn’t appear to be a review.

“I couldn’t see (the goal) too well from from where I was, but from my perspective, they committed a foul on Robin,” Schlegel said. “But, you know, it’s past. We have to focus on the next game now to go out and get as many points as we can.”

Pumas added another offside goal in the 88th minute, but it was a close play. There was a close call in the buildup that looked just off on the replay, and the flag had come up immediately. Video assistant referee Diana Perez Borja took a lengthy look at it, but ultimately the call on the field stood, and it appeared to be the right call.

Neither team managed another decent sight of goal in normal time and the game went to penalties to determine which team left the match with the additional shootout point.

At full time, Pumas held the advantage in possession (53.6%-46.4%), shots (17-7), and shots on target (4-1), Orlando City passed more accurately (88.6%-87.7%). Both teams won six corners.

Although Leagues Cup rules claim there are no draws, each team had a point, which would suggest there are draws, as there are in MLS NEXT Pro. The games go immediately to penalty shootouts with the winner of the spot kicks awarded a second point in the League Phase standings.

The shootout started much like the game itself. Orlando City dominated the first round, with Ojeda blasting his spot kick into the upper right corner to make it 1-0 with the first shot. Gallese then made a terrific diving save to deny Martinez.

The Lions quickly threw their advantage away. Eduard Atuesta, who has not been the most lethal finisher this season, was Orlando’s second shooter. To his credit, he beat Navas. However, he hit his shot too high and his penalty smashed off the crossbar and bounced back toward him. Alvaro Angulo leveled the shootout after two rounds, and Smith and Nathan Silva both scored in the third round.

Araujo was Orlando’s fourth shooter, making it three consecutive defensive midfielders. The Uruguayan’s penalty was poor, as he fired at a comfortable height for Navas, who read him correctly and made the save look easy. Quispe scored to put Orlando on the brink.

Muriel kept the Lions’ hopes alive by burying his kick, but Carrasquilla made no mistake, scoring on the final shot to claim the second point for Pumas.

“We cannot get that close of the game with more personality,” Pareja said. “That’s why I’m frustrated now. But I have to see the whole game. Very competitive against a good rival, and the boys did a bunch of good things.”

“I think it was a good game, until the last minutes, when we lost the focus and concentration,” Pasalic said. “We had a good feeling. The last game result was really good. Really good chemistry. But this is football and this happens.”

The Lions have another quick turnaround, hosting Atlas in the second League Phase match of Leagues Cup on Saturday at 6 p.m.

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Orlando City

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

The Lions welcome San Diego FC to Orlando for the first meeting ever between the two clubs.

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8 hours ago

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September 5, 2026

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Image of Joran Gerbet playing against Minnesota United.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your match preview and live thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (7-11-4, 25 points) and San Diego FC (8-8-6, 30 points) at Inter.co Stadium in Orlando (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). It’s the first-ever meeting between these two teams from different conferences

Here’s what you need to know ahead of the match.

History

As mentioned above, tonight’s meeting between the Lions and San Diego is the first in the series history, so there is no history. The Lions are 2-2-1 against Western Conference teams this season, which means little to nothing in this particular match, and San Diego is going to be Orlando City’s final opponent from the opposite conference in MLS regular-season play this season.

Overview

The Lions are coming off a wild 3-3 road draw at Minnesota United a week ago, in which Daryl Dike and Antoine Griezmann scored on either side of halftime on Orlando’s first two shot attempts to put their team up 2-0 in the 64th minute. Minnesota stormed back with three goals off defensive errors in a four-minute span to take a late 3-2 lead. Just when the Loons appeared to be headed for all three points, Tyrese Spicer scored in stoppage time, forcing Minnesota to split the points. Orlando has a modest 1-0-1 unbeaten streak entering tonight, and the Lions are 5-4-2 at home in 2026.

San Diego is coming off a 3-1 home win over the LA Galaxy despite having Jeppe Tverskov sent off. Tonight’s visitors have won two straight games, but both were at home. They lost their last home game 3-1 at Portland on Aug. 19 and are 2-5-3 away from home this season.

The key for Orlando City tonight will be to mark Anders Dreyer, which is far easier said than done, as he has emerged as one of the league’s best playmakers. His eight goals and 11 assists give him 19 total goal contributions to lead his team. Marcus Ingvartsen is Dreyer’s favorite teammate to combine with, as the Danish forward has converted 11 times, leading San Diego in goals, and has added five assists. However, Ingvartsen is listed as out with a lower body injury. Midfielder Onni Valakari has chipped in four goals and seven assists.

“We respect San Diego, but as well we prepare our game,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said ahead of the match. “We know how strong we are, especially at home, so now we go.”

Orlando City will be without Braian Ojeda (foot) and Adrian Marin (thigh), while Bernardo Rhein (thigh), has been upgraded to questionable. San Diego will be without the aforementioned Ingvartsen (lower body) and Tverskov (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, Joran Gerbet, Eduard Atuesta, Justin Ellis.

Forwards: Antoine Griezmann, Daryl Dike.

Bench: Javier Otero, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Wilder Cartagena, Luis Otavio, Tiago, Marco Pasalic, Martin Ojeda, Tyrese Spicer.

San Diego FC (4-3-3)

Goalkeeper: C.J. dos Santos.

Defenders: Kieran Sargeant, Ian Murphy, Manu Duah, Oscar Verhoeven.

Midfielders: Gabriel Pirani, Anibal Godoy, Alejandro Alvarado.

Forwards: Elias Achouri, Onni Valakari, Anders Dreyer.

Bench: Duran Ferree, Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, Christopher McVey, Bryan Zamble, David Vazquez, Ian Pilcher, Alex Mighten, Bryce Duke, Amahl Pellegrino.

Referees:

REF: Joe Dickerson.
AR1: Corey Parker.
AR2: Justin Howard.
4TH: Rodrigo Albuquerque.
VAR: Daniel Radford.
AVAR: Jeff Muschik.

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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Orlando City

Orlando City vs. San Diego FC: Three Keys to Victory

Here’s what Orlando needs to do in order to return to winning ways against San Diego.

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1 day ago

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September 4, 2026

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

After the disappointment of two dropped points against Minnesota on Saturday, Orlando City is back home with an opportunity to get things back on track. The Lions need to keep picking up points if they want to keep pace in an increasingly crowded Eastern Conference, and Saturday’s game is a good chance to start September off on the right note. San Diego FC stands in the way of that good start, and what follows are three things that I believe Orlando needs to do in order to emerge victorious from this game.

Stay Strong on the Left

The left side of the defense has been a question mark for the Lions for much of the year. Adrian Marin, Bernardo Rhein, and Zakaria Taifi have all spent time at left back lately and have done so with varying degrees of success. Regardless of who suits up there on Saturday, that area of the field will be under scrutiny once again, since they’ll be tasked with stopping San Diego right winger Anders Dreyer. He has eight goals and 11 assists in 21 appearances this year, has played 60 key passes during that time, and is generally the lynchpin through which the San Diego offense operates. He hasn’t quite been on the same pace that saw him bag 19 goals and 19 assists in the regular season last year, but with four goal contributions in his last three MLS appearances, he’s extremely capable of wreaking havoc from the wing. A lot of the goals OCSC has conceded lately have come down the left side of the defense, and if that area of the field can’t be taken care of better, the Lions will likely be in for a difficult night.

Do Damage in Transition

Orlando’s current style of positionless, fluid, attacking soccer is at its best when it comes up against teams that want to come out and play. It struggles mightily against defensive bunkers but shines when the Lions can get out and run, target open spaces, and combine with teammates in unexpected areas. Fortunately for OCSC (in theory), San Diego is a team that likes to have the ball, as it has the highest average possession in the league. That means the Lions will have opportunities to force turnovers and break the other way at pace. In order to make that happen though, OCSC will need to be both disciplined and effective when it comes to applying its press. Then, if/when the Lions win the ball, correct decision-making and clinical execution in the final third will be key to avoid letting any chances slip through their fingers (paws?).

Clean Up the Self-Inflicted Errors

Orlando has dealt with more than its fair share of general defensive struggles this year, but avoidable errors have been a particular problem in recent weeks. Whether it’s been an ill-advised challenge, passing to the opposition in the defensive third, or leaving men unmarked in the box, unnecessary mistakes have cost OCSC points time and again. Against lesser opposition it hasn’t always mattered, as the Lions were able to rescue three points against Real Salt Lake, but if Orlando wants to make a playoff push, it needs to make a habit of playing cleaner games, plain and simple. San Diego is a good team with dangerous offensive players, and Saturday’s visitors will very likely take advantage of any opportunities that the Lions gift-wrap for them. Keeping things mistake-free will go a long way.

We’ve got ample proof this season that nothing is guaranteed, but if the Lions can lock down the left side of the defense, make hay in transition moments, and limit unforced errors, then they should be in a good position to take all three points from Saturday’s game. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 9/4/26

Martin Ojeda details his recovery from injury, Anna Moorhouse loaned to Manchester City, Orlando City’s U.S. Open Cup journey, and more.

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1 day ago

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September 4, 2026

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Image of Martin Ojeda celebrating a goal against New England.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Three straight days of Orlando soccer starts tonight with Orlando City B’s road match against Inter Miami II at 7 p.m. Hopefully, Orlando’s teams do well over the next few days as crunch time is upon us when it comes to making the playoffs, especially for MLS NEXT Pro. For now though, let’s jump right into today’s links from around the soccer world!

Orlando City Prepares for San Diego FC

Orlando City will take on San Diego FC on Saturday in the first-ever game between the two clubs, and one of the storylines to keep an eye on is how much Martin Ojeda plays as he works his way back from injury. The Designated Player came off the bench late in Orlando’s 3-3 draw against Minnesota United in his first appearance since May 23. Not often injured, Ojeda spoke on how being off the field for over a month has shifted his perspective while training to return.

“You learn to value the moment much more. You learn to value every training session because, when you’re training on your own and you’re not available to your teammates, you feel uncomfortable,” Ojeda said. “You value being healthy more. It’s like everything in life. When you feel good, you live life almost on autopilot, so to speak. You go to work, you go home, you come back, you sleep. However, when you or someone close to you goes through an illness or something like that, you value the moment much more and become more conscious of what you’re experiencing.”

Pride Loan Anna Moorhouse to Manchester City

The Orlando Pride loaned goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse to Manchester City through January of 2027. Moorhouse joined the Pride prior to the 2022 season and helped the club win both the NWSL Championship and Shield in 2024. However, she has struggled this year alongside the rest of the Pride’s defense. Moorhouse hasn’t played in the past two games for the Pride, with Cosette Morche starting in her place. Her current contract with the Pride lasts through the 2027 NWSL season, so we’ll have to wait and see what her future with the club is when the loan ends.

Orlando City’s U.S. Open Cup Journey

Between the World Cup, regular season, and Leagues Cup this summer, it can be easy to forget that Orlando City is still in contention to win this year’s U.S. Open Cup. The Lions are in the semifinals of the tournament after crushing Atlanta United 4-1 in the quarterfinals back on May 19. The Lions won much tighter affairs prior to that win, with Javier Otero coming up with seven saves in a 1-0 win over FC Naples and Zakaria Taifi scoring in stoppage time to beat the New England Revolution 4-3 in the following match. Orlando will be on the road for its semifinal match against the Columbus Crew on Sept. 16, but the offense has received a boost due to the arrivals of Antoine Griezmann and Daryl Dike this summer.

MLS Transfer News Roundup

MLS signings continue to pour in as teams look to improve their squads for the rest of this season and beyond. The Colorado Rapids signed Ghanaian winger Ibrahim Sadiq from AZ Alkmaar, where he recorded 18 goals and seven assists in 85 appearances across three seasons with the Dutch club. San Diego also added an attacker by signing forward Cedric Bakambu, who joins as a free agent after playing at Real Betis. As for other notable moves from across the league, Real Salt Lake signed winger Dusan Zagar as an MLS U22 Initiative player, forward Lyle Foster joined the Houston Dynamo on loan, and the Columbus Crew continued to improve on offense by signing Moroccan winger Anass Zaroury on loan from Panathinaikos.

Free Kicks

  • Former Orlando Pride player Christina Burkenroad is retiring from professional soccer and Monterrey will have Saturday’s game against Toluca be a send-off match for her.

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

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