Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Atlas FC, Leagues Cup: Final Score 3-1 as Lions Finish Strong After Equalizer
After giving up another lead at home, the Lions rallied this time, scoring two more to defeat Liga MX side Atlas FC.
For the fourth straight game at Inter&Co Stadium, Orlando City blew a 1-0 lead. However, this time the Lions gave up the lead early in the second half, rather than near the end of the game, and rallied to win 3-1 over Atlas FC. Ivan Angulo opened the scoring early, but after Matias Coccaro equalized just after halftime, Martin Ojeda restored the Orlando lead and Marco Pasalic sealed it deep in stoppage time.
With the win, Orlando City has four points in the League Phase of the 2025 Leagues Cup, and the Lions are alive in the competition with one match day to play.
“We’re very happy to get this result at home, especially winning at home after a few games that we couldn’t achieve the result despite having good games,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “Finally today, I thought we had a different outcome and win that (game) with a lot of energy. The second half was much better (than in the recent home games).”
Pareja’s lineup featured Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Cesar Araujo and Kyle Smith started in central midfield between wingers Angulo and Nico Rodriguez, with Martin Ojeda and Ramiro Enrique up top.
Atlas had the first chance of the match just minutes into the proceedings when Thorhallsson committed a foul near the corner of the box, giving the visitors a free kick. The delivery into the area was good but the flicked header from Jorge San Martín skipped just wide of the right post in the fourth minute.
Rodriguez attempted Orlando’s first shot in the sixth minute, cutting inside from the right, but Rivaldo Lozano got in front of him and blocked it. Enrique quickly won a corner for the Lions, who played it short. The ball ended up with Ojeda well outside the area, but his shot from distance was also blocked. The Lions quickly won another corner and this time it was played into the box to Schlegel, who sent a looping header off the top of the crossbar.
Angulo broke the scoreless deadlock off the ensuing goal kick. Orlando pressured high, and Jansson forced a turnover in the attacking third. Angulo picked up the ball and curled a shot from the left just inside the right post to make it 1-0 in the ninth minute.
“Happy and thankful to score again and happy and thankful to help my team in that way,” Angulo said.
Rodriguez should have doubled the lead three minutes after Angulo’s opener. Araujo sent a great ball over the top, and the young left winger blazed past his defender to get in behind the defense. He managed to beat goalkeeper Antonio Sanchez, but Rodriguez’s shot skipped wide of the right post in the 12th minute.
Matias Coccaro tried to get behind Jansson on a ball over the top the same way Rodriguez had done. The forward went down easily but there was no call from the referee and the Lions went the other way and won a corner.
Atlas turned Orlando over, setting up a good opportunity for Gustavo Del Prete in the 26th minute. With acres of space, Del Prete shot from just outside the area but he sent his shot wide.
As the half wore on, the pace of the game slowed and the teams exchanged a few corners but did little with them. Neither team generated another decent look at goal until the 41st minute when Enrique flicked a long ball in behind for Angulo to run onto. The Colombian went looking for his brace but Sanchez made the save.
Del Prete fired a shot just over the bar on a transition opportunity set up by Brekalo’s misplaced pass in the 45th minute, and that was it for the scoring chances in the first half.
At the break, Atlas had a decent advantage in possession (58.2%-41.8%) and a slim edge in passing accuracy (86.6%-84.9%), but Orlando City had more shots (7-4), shots on target (2-0), and corners (5-1).
“They came with a good game plan, and they were physical,” Smith said. “They pressed well, especially in the first half. So yeah, I thought they came hard.”
Orlando City wasted no time creating a chance after the break. Araujo took a long throw-in that cleared Brekalo’s flicked header attempt but fell for Enrique to head toward goal. The shot was on target but Sanchez made the save at his near post in the 47th minute.
Atlas made Orlando pay for its missed opportunities, as has so often happened in home games over the last several weeks. A seemingly routine ball in the box was headed up in the air by Brekalo, who had to fight through an attacker and couldn’t get it cleared. His fellow defenders stood and watched as the ball came down, and Schlegel couldn’t arrive before Coccaro headed it in, tying the game in the 50th minute.
Araujo was set up nicely in the 54th minute with a chance for the Lions to pull back in front. But the Uruguayan fired his left-footed shot wide of the top left corner. Pareja then subbed on Alex Freeman and Pasalic for Thorhallsson and Rodriguez.
A minute after the restart, Diego Gonzalez fired a shot from outside the area that fizzed over the crossbar.
The substitutions paid off in the 57th minute. Pasalic did well to draw two defenders before sending a ball for Freeman to take down the right flank. Enrique was in the middle calling for it but may have been a yard offside. Freeman wisely took the ball forward, then played it across to Ojeda, who smashed a shot just under the crossbar to make it 2-1.
“I think me and Marco’s partnership has been very good this year,” Freeman said. “And it’s just him being able to find me in space where I want it. And then I saw the cutback to (Ojeda) because they were tracking (Enrique’s) run.”
“I think it was a great play out on the right between Marco and Freeman,” Ojeda said. “(Freeman) made a great pass over and Ramiro made a great movement in front of the center backs to be able to open up more space for me. It really allowed me to continue in a great way, and from there on just get control in the area and have the tranquility to finish.”
Atlas got forward right after the goal and Alonso Ramirez fired over the bar from long range in the 59th minute.
Pasalic sent a great chipped pass to Enrique in the 61st minute, but the Argentine didn’t make good contact with his shot and it was a comfortable save for Sanchez on the bounce. Two minutes later, Enrique took a touch wide from in front of goal, but turned and found Angulo in the middle. The Colombian’s shot was blocked just wide of the right post.
Moments later there was a video review for a handball on Atlas, but that was nullified because Enrique was just offside on the play.
The Lions kept looking for a third and nearly had it in the 70th minute. Ojeda got forward down the left side and had an opportunity to shoot on Sanchez. He unselfishly picked out Pasalic in front, but the Croatian’s first touch was a loose one. Pasalic recovered and shot, but Sanchez got a piece of it and knocked it off the post. Ojeda was first to the rebound but was offside on the shot.
Pasalic tried to increase the lead on shots from outside the area in the 81st and 87th minutes. He didn’t get the best contact with the ball on the former, while the latter was hit with pace, but Sanchez made a nice diving save.
With a lengthy stoppage for the video review, the referee added a minimum of 10 minutes of stoppage time to the match, and in the fourth of those minutes, all heck broke loose after a rough challenge in the box by Atlas against Brekalo. Jansson came over to get involved and was shoved down. Other players from both teams got involved and Ojeda ended up getting an arm to the face. After a lengthy delay, Jansson and Ojeda were cautioned, with Coccaro getting sent off. Ojeda looked a bit the worse for wear, with an injury to his face from the fracas.
“I was just trying to get in between guys, separate them, and defend my guys,” Ojeda said. “But, you know, at the at the end of the day, those are things that happen in football.”
When the game resumed, Orlando stayed organized and looked to hit on the counter with Atlas down a man and trying to find an equalizer. It led to a shot by Angulo in the 11th added minute, but the effort was deflected out for a corner. Two minutes later, Pasalic called game.
This time, Ojeda turned provider, finding the Croatian in the box and Pasalic smashed his shot into the top right corner to make it 3-1 in the 12th extra minute.
“Their performance was great,” Pareja said of the play of Freeman and Pasalic off the bench. “But I think the help that Dagur and Nico did as well, absorbing the pressure in the first half and part of the second, gave us the opportunity to have Freeman and Marco fresher. So, I think that combination worked well tonight.”
The goal tied for the latest in Orlando City history, tying the goal Facundo Torres scored in the 12th minute of stoppage time on Nov. 9 of last year against Charlotte FC in the playoffs. Moments after Pasalic’s strike, the match finally came to an end.
In the end, Orlando City finished with more shots (21-10), shots on target (10-1), and corners (7-3). Atlas had the advantage in possession (59.6%-40.4%) and passing accuracy (84.4%-80.1%).
“It feels really good to get a win at home,” Smith said. “To get those three goals at home is important. It gives us confidence. For the fans as well, you know, it’s very important to keep them excited, keep them coming back for more.”
“We suffered hard in the training sessions to try and focus on killing the game to avoid what happened against Pumas,” Ojeda said. “So, I’m very happy for the three points and the way the boys handled themselves tonight.”
“The intensity of the players tonight, it was a different class,” Pareja said. “And so, congratulations to the players in a very hot climate and humid, and their heart was there all the time against a very competitive team. So, we’re happy, we will recover the boys, and we’ll see how is the next (game).”
It’ll be another quick turnaround for Orlando City as the Lions host Necaxa Wednesday in their final League Phase match of the 2025 Leagues Cup.