Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Sporting Kansas City: Final Score 3-1 as Lions Dominate Second Half
The Lions won their fourth straight game in all competitions thanks to goals by Tyrese Spicer, Ramiro Enrique, and Nico Rodriguez.
Orlando City again couldn’t hold a 1-0 lead at Inter&Co Stadium, but the Lions dominated the second half, beating Sporting Kansas City 3-1 after a lengthy weather delay. Tyrese Spicer, Ramiro Enrique, and Nico Rodriguez scored to more than offset Dejan Joveljic’s goal. It was the fourth consecutive MLS win for Orlando City (13-6-8, 47 points) and the club’s seventh game without a loss in all competitions (6-0-1). The Lions have scored three or more goals in each of their last four games (all wins) in all competitions.
The win keeps Orlando City unbeaten at home (3-0-1) against Sporting Kansas City, which dropped to 6-14-6 (24 points) on the season.
“What a difficult game today,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “The first half we couldn’t connect our shaping, and they found a lot of spaces. It’s good that we opened the game so early, but we didn’t play well (for) 20 minutes. And then, the second half we reshaped things. The boys started to adjusting some lines and some tactics, movements there, especially in the middle, and then we started flowing in the game and it was much more Orlando. The second half was our half.”
Pareja’s lineup included a few changes. Pedro Gallese started in goal behind a back line of David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson, who stepped into Alex Freeman’s right back spot. Kyle Smith deputized for the suspended Cesar Araujo with Eduard Atuesta in the central midfield between wingers Spicer — in his first Orlando City start — and Marco Pasalic, with Martin Ojeda and Luis Muriel up top.
Inclement weather once again reared its ugly head, delaying the start of the match by three hours and three minutes. Once the game started, Orlando quickly jumped on the visitors.
Just two minutes into the match, Spicer found Ojeda in the box. The Argentine took a heavy touch toward the end line but gathered and shot it into goalkeeper Jon Pulskamp, who deflected it back to Spicer. The Trinidad & Tobago international took his shot with his first touch and slotted home his first goal as a Lion. It was the second straight game in which Orlando scored in the second minute.
“I saw Martin in the box, but I was like, ‘You know what I need to do, like some decoy or some move to at least throw (the defender) off,’ because I didn’t want to give him the ball right away,” Spicer said. “So, I just did the step over to shift him, and I went inside. And I was like, ‘Okay, let me play.’ Maybe I played it a little bit too hard, but fortunately, he got the shot off. When it came back to me, it was like, instinctiveness, shoot automatically. And I see it went in. And I was like, ‘Let’s go!'”
“Many highlights moments for us. Tyrese was one of them, scoring, and not just scoring, but I thought he played a very good game for us,” Pareja said. “And the way he started mixing with our players and with our game model, it was outstanding.”
The next shot in the game didn’t come until the seventh minute as Joveljic sent a shot just inches wide of the left post from outside the area.
Orlando City got back on the front foot but could do nothing with a couple of corner kicks, and then Sporting Kansas City took possession for much of the next 15 minutes. The Lions were sloppy and kept giving the ball away cheaply during that spell, that saw Shapi Suleymanov slice a shot wide in the 13th minute.
Mason Toye got in behind the back line, beating the trap in the 20th minute. Gallese came way off his line to try to stop the Kansas City forward, but the shot got through. The stadium breathed a sigh of relief when it skipped just wide of the left post. Sporting then won a couple of corners and nearly paid one off on the recycle, as Gallese went down to make a diving, one-handed save in the 23rd minute on a shot from Toye.
The Sporting KC goal that had been coming finally came in the 26th minute. Joveljic slipped a through ball to Toye making a diagonal run between the center backs. Schlegel wasn’t able to keep up with the run. Gallese came out to cut down the angle, but Toye slipped the ball past the onrushing goalkeeper and Joveljic beat Jansson on the switch and tapped it in to make it 1-1.
Orlando woke up a bit after conceding and the rest of the half was evenly played. Spicer won another corner at the half-hour mark and the cross in from Ojeda found Schlegel, but the defender’s header was blocked in front by Joveljic.
Eight minutes later, another ball over the Orlando back line nearly paid off for Sporting Kansas City but Thorhallsson made up some ground and got to the ball first. He tried to chip it to safety and came close to putting it into his own net, but it sailed just over the crossbar for a corner. The Lions cleared the set piece but quickly gave the ball back to the visitors. Suleymanov fired just over the bar in the 39th minute on the end of the counterattack.
Spicer again got forward in the 42nd minute down the left and found Ojeda, who tried to shoot it with his first touch. He got under his half-volley effort and it sailed high. Two minutes later, Pasalic found some space about 25 yards out from goal and fired, but he hit his shot right at Pulskamp for the easy save.
Orlando finished the half strong with a quick give-and-go in the second minute of injury time with Ojeda slipping the ball through for Muriel’s run, but the Colombian got under his shot and it sailed into The Wall on the last look at goal for the half.
At the break, Orlando City had the edge in possession (52.9%-47.1%), corners (3-2), and passing accuracy (89.5%-88.6%). Sporting Kansas City attempted more shots (8-7), with each team putting two on target.
“I feel like we were doing sloppy mistakes and giving the ball away pretty easily, and especially in these games where the humidity is so high, we we can’t be giving the ball away with teams that counterattack, because they want to stay and counterattack much,” Thorhallsson said of the first half. “So, I feel like we played into their hands. But as soon as we just took over the ball and played our game, I felt like we controlled it.”
At the break, Pareja sent on Freeman for Smith, pushing Thorhallsson to the midfield.
Orlando started the second half well, earning an early corner on a Muriel cross that the defense had to knock behind. The visitors cleared the initial corner but Orlando created a good chance in the 50th minute on the recycle. The ball ended up with Freeman on the right side of the box, and he found Muriel in front. Pulskamp came off his line and Muriel made a slick move to spin and find Ojeda near the penalty spot, but the Lions’ No. 10 sliced his shot badly wide of the left post.
Five minutes later, Freeman made a lunging shot on a ball across the box, but he sent it wide of the right post.
Sporting KC got forward and created some havoc with a Jovelic cross into the six, but none of his teammates where there to finish the play.
Atuesta ignited the break with a takeaway in the attacking half in the 64th minute. He quickly found Ojeda, who sent Muriel into the right side of the box. Muriel stopped quickly to lose his defender before finding Pasalic in the middle. The Croatian’s shot was on goal, but Pulskamp made a vital save to keep the game tied.
Gallese made a pair of comfortable saves in the 65th and 69th minutes.
Pareja then made two subs in the 71st minute, bringing on Ivan Angulo and Enrique for Pasalic and Muriel. It didn’t take long for the subs to make an impact, as they instantly added a spark of energy to Orlando City.
After a Spicer cross into the box was blocked by a defender in the 73rd minute, the Lions regained the lead three minutes later. Angulo won the ball in the attacking third with help from Thorhallsson and quickly sent it to Ojeda on the right. Ojeda sent a right-footed pass into the middle for Enrique, who made a quick spin move, touched it to his left, and smashed it in past Pulskamp to make it 2-1 in the 76th minute. Enrique’s eighth goal of the MLS season tied his career high of eight, set last year. It also moved him past Kaka into sole possession of sixth place on the team’s all-time goal-scoring chart (all competitions).
“Ramiro patiently weighted for his moment, knowing that in any time he can start as well, and probably he deserves it as much as as Luis (Muriel),” Pareja said.
Following the goal, Pareja inserted Rodriguez for Spicer.
Buoyed by the goal, Orlando City kept the pressure on Sporting and looked to counter whenever possible. Atuesta found himself with space at the top of the box in the 79th minute, firing a shot that went straight to Pulskamp for an easy save. Four minutes later, the Lions put the game to bed.
Ojeda took the ball on the left side and sent a cross over the box to Freeman on the right. The fullback fired a shot that took a deflection and bounced in behind the defense, where Rodriguez got to it first and smashed home his first goal as a Lion in the 83rd minute.
Orlando could have won the game by much more than two goals. In addition to wasting some good chances earlier, Angulo was let loose in behind on a breakaway, speeding past the last defender and getting in on goal, but he sent his shot over the bar in the 85th minute.
From there, Orlando City pinged the ball around with energy and a lot of one-touch passing, seeing out the victory.
After a dominant second half, Orlando finished the match with the advantage in possession (54.6%-45.4%), shots (19-11), shots on target (7-4), corners (6-4), and passing accuracy (90.3%-86.1%).
“I would say very good first 10 minutes, then pretty bad, 35 minutes, and then very good 45 minutes, if I was to summarize the whole game,” Thorhallsson said. “Very good second half. I feel like we dominated the game.”
“I want to express the gratitude that we have with our fans,” Pareja said. “With this (weather) delay, I didn’t expect that all of them staying, and when we came out from the locker room and we saw them in the stands, it was something that we won’t forget. I wanted to dedicate this victory for them and show our gratitude.”
The Lions have a quick turnaround, as they’ll fly out to Carson, CA to face Toluca on Wednesday in Leagues Cup action. Orlando City’s next MLS match will be a week from tonight at Nashville SC.
Lion Links
Lion Links: 10/5/26
Pride fall to San Diego Wave, Tyrese Spicer has successful foot surgery, USMNT beats Mexico, and more.
Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been busy at work covering high school soccer and flag football throughout the week. We only had the Pride in action over the weekend, but we’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.
Pride Fall to San Diego Wave at Home
The Orlando Pride fell 2-1 to the San Diego Wave on Friday at Inter.co Stadium in the latest in a series of games that they had to have. Orlando trailed 2-0 in the first half, conceding twice on defensive errors. In the second half, Barbra Banda pulled the Pride within one after she buried a penalty kick that she won herself. However, it wasn’t enough, as Orlando couldn’t find a late equalizer and San Diego took all three points. The Pride are off this weekend due to the international break but will return to action on Oct. 18 to face the Houston Dash on the road.
Tyrese Spicer Has Successful Foot Surgery
Orlando City forward Tyrese Spicer underwent successful foot surgery to repair a Jones fracture in his right foot, the club announced on Friday. Spicer had suffered the injury while away on international duty with Trinidad & Tobago in a Concacaf Nations League match against Haiti on Sept. 24. We at The Mane Land wish Spicer a speedy recovery, but his 2026 MLS season is likely over.
USMNT Shuts Out Mexico in Friendly
The U.S. Men’s National Team defeated Mexico 3-0 on Saturday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, AZ. Orlando City forward Justin Ellis came off the bench to make his second USMNT appearance in the second half, playing 25 minutes. Former Lion Alex Freeman started and played 90 minutes. Julian Hall scored the opener in the first half for the Yanks. In the second half, Cavan Sullivan doubled the Americans’ lead to become the USMNT’s youngest scorer in team history just four days after Mathis Albert set that mark with his goal against Chile on Tuesday. Malik Tillman added the final goal as the Yanks have won three consecutive matches during the international break. The USMNT will close out this round of friendlies on Tuesday, taking on Canada at Allianz Field in Saint Paul, MN.
Other Lions on International Duty
Multiple Orlando City players represented their national teams over the weekend during the international break. Forward Marco Pasalic was on the bench but did not play for Croatia in a 7-0 defeat to England in a UEFA Nations League match on Saturday. Croatia will face Spain on Tuesday. Lions defender David Brekalo was on the bench but came on after halftime and played 45 minutes for Slovenia in a 2-1 defeat to Switzerland in the UEFA Nations League. Slovenia will take on Scotland on Tuesday. Midfielder Wilder Cartagena started and played 45 minutes for Peru, while former Lion Yoshimar Yotun was also in action in a 2-0 loss to Canada in a friendly. Peru will play Colombia on Tuesday in another friendly match.
Free Kicks
- Orlando City forward Yutaro Tsukada, who is on loan at Rhode Island FC, notched another assist over the weekend in a 3-1 win against Brooklyn FC in the USL Championship.
- Check out this piece on the Orlando City website featuring Head of Player Care Pedro Cox and Team Administrator Danny Quesada, who help welcome new players and their families, get acquainted with the club, ensure their needs are met, and thrive off the field.
- The Lions were at Osceola Heritage Park on Saturday and spent time with the Orlando City U-12 squad during training.
- Arsenal will reportedly not move forward with plans to expand the Emirates Stadium beyond its current capacity and will instead focus on improving hospitality, retail, and the fan matchday experience.
That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.
Orlando City
Flashback Friday: Oct. 2, 2021 vs. D.C. United
Take a trip down memory lane and relive a game that took place five years ago today.
Having suffered three losses in a row in all competitions, Orlando City’s recent results haven’t exactly made for pretty viewing. Fortunately for us, the Lions don’t return to action until Oct. 10, meaning that we have a brief reprieve from the torment that has been visited upon us for the last 270 minutes. Even more fortunately, we have the ability to reminisce on much happier footballing times in the City Beautiful, and all we have to do is hop into our time machine and rewind to four years ago.
The day was Oct. 2, 2021, and with the Lions sitting seventh in a jam-packed Eastern Conference, the men in purple badly needed points in order to keep pace in the race for the playoffs. The good guys were in the midst of a five-game winless streak, and the season was starting to get dangerously close to going off the rails. Enter D.C. United, a team that Orlando had already beaten earlier in the year but was in the thick of the fight for a postseason place right alongside the Lions.
Oscar Pareja ran out a lineup that featured Pedro Gallese in goal; a back line of Joao Moutinho, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Ruan; Sebas Mendez and Junior Urso in defensive midfield; Nani, Mauricio Pereyra, and Benji Michel ahead of them; and Daryl Dike leading the line.
Things did not get off to a good start for Orlando. D.C. won the ball in OCSC’s half and got it forward quickly to Julian Gressel in the half-space on the right. He took a shot from distance that Gallese might not have been expecting, and it flew past the Peruvian to open the scoring after just six minutes had been played.
Orlando responded well, with Nani having a shot blocked and Dike putting a decent look over the bar in the 14th minute. Ruan nearly forced an own goal just a couple minutes later, but the corner kick that was awarded when a deflected ball skittered just wide of D.C.’s post proved to be the Lions’ salvation. Pereyra put a high, looping ball into the area that Urso headed toward goal, and Bill Hamid did well to get down and keep the ball out. The rebound was a juicy one though, and Jansson was well placed to pounce and thwack the ball high into the net to level the score with 17 minutes gone.
The rest of the first half was a mostly quiet affair, aside from the 35th minute, when OCSC probably should have gone ahead. Nani played a great ball that put Michel through on the left side of the box, but he curled his shot just wide of the far post after cutting back onto his right foot. The Lions dominated every statistical category but the scoreline at the break, with edges in possession (64.7%-35.3%), shots (7-4), shots on goal (2-1), and passing accuracy (87.1%-76.7%).
Emmanuel Mas came on for Moutinho at the half, and it’s possible that the switch unsettled Orlando slightly, because the team was on the back foot to start the second half thanks to a combination of some bad giveaways and difficulty dealing with the high tempo that D.C. brought out of the break. Paul Arriola put a shot just over the bar three minutes after the restart, and there were some hairy moments after that which forced Urso into a goal-line clearance to keep the game level.
The game evened out after the shaky start to the second half, but both teams found dangerous chances difficult to come by until the late stages. D.C. made a goal-line clearance of its own in the 88th minute. Silvester van der Water and Dike combined, and while Dike couldn’t get a shot off, he did find Tesho Akindele, only for Hamid to save the Canadian’s effort, which was cleared before van der Water could pounce and put it home.
Ultimately though, OCSC got the late goal it was looking for. The Lions won a corner in front of The Wall deep in stoppage time, and Chris Mueller whipped in a dangerous ball for Dike, who made a run across the near post. The big striker flicked his head at it, and the ball nestled into the side netting at the far post with Hamid helpless. Cue the bedlam in the purple palace.
That proved to be the last action of the game, as the Lions ran out 2-1 winners to put an end to the winless streak and pick up a valuable three points. Similar to halftime, Orlando finished the game with more shots (12-11), shots on target (4-2), corners (9-5), possession (64.8%-35.2%), and passing accuracy (86%-75.3%). Marcus Mitchell was on hand for Player Grades, and he gave the Man of the Match honors to Jansson with a grade of 7.5 out of 10. Other high performers included fellow center back Carlos, who also graded as a 7.5 out of 10, while Mendez and Dike both received a 7 out of 10.
The three points proved to be valuable ones, as the Lions shot from seventh all the way up to third in the Eastern Conference, although they would ultimately finish sixth and exit the playoffs in the first round after a road loss against Nashville SC.
Lion Links
Lion Links: 10/2/26
Orlando Pride host the Wave, Orlando City’s kit room carousel, analyzing Mexico ahead of U.S. match, and more.
Happy Friday, Mane Landers! Sports are in full swing this time of year and we have plenty of soccer to look forward to over the next few days. Apart from working and enjoying the upcoming games, I plan on heading to the movie theater to check out the Primetime movie, as I’ve heard nothing but great things. Let’s get to the links!
Orlando Pride Take on San Diego Tonight
The Orlando Pride host the San Diego Wave tonight in a crucial home game as the season winds down. While the Pride are fighting to remain in the playoff hunt, the Wave will aim to close the gap with Gotham FC in the NWSL Shield race. Orlando enters this match on a short turnaround after traveling back from its 3-1 win against Bay FC on Sunday on the other side of the country. Interim head coach Yolanda Thomas spoke on the team’s preparations to deal with San Diego’s pressure and energy ahead of tonight’s home game.
Orlando City Director of Equipment Operations Heads to England
Charles Raycroft is leaving Orlando City as its director of equipment operations after 11 years with the club to become Liverpool’s Head of Kit Operations. He’s been with Orlando since 2016 and the club sent him off in style with a jersey and plenty of thanks for his time in the City Beautiful. With Raycroft heading across the pond, Chafik Tounzit was promoted to become the club’s new director of equipment operations. We wish both the best of luck in their new roles!
Analyzing Mexico Ahead of USMNT Match
The United States Men’s National Team will take on Mexico on Saturday in the first match between the two rivals since the World Cup. It will also be the first time Rafael Marquez will take on the U.S. as Mexico’s head coach rather than as a player. Many eyes will be on 17-year-old midfielder Gilberto Mora, who has already scored once this window, but Luis Romo and Erik Lira are other players the Yanks will need to keep from creating too many chances. MLS players Chucky Lozano and Germán Berterame are attacking options at Mexico’s disposal as well.
Naomi Girma Will Miss U.S. Friendlies
Center back Naomi Girma will be unavailable for the United States Women’s National Team’s matches against Spain this month after sustaining a muscle injury with Chelsea. The injury bug continues to bite Girma, who has yet to play for Chelsea this season. Hopefully she’ll be able to get back to full fitness before the USWNT’s match against El Salvador in the Concacaf W Championship quarterfinals on Nov. 27. Girma’s replacement on the current roster will be named at a later time, so we’ll see if this opens the door for former Pride defender Emily Sams to join the team after not being initially called up.
Free Kicks
- The Orlando Pride moved up a spot to 11th in All For XI‘s NWSL power rankings after winning 3-1 against Bay FC.
- American defender Jordyn Bugg signed a new contract with the Seattle Reign that will last through the 2030 season.
- Ashley Sanchez was named NWSL Player of the Month for the second month in a row after scoring five goals in four games for the North Carolina Courage in September. She now has 20 goals this season, tying the league record.
- Portugal beat Denmark 4-2 in the UEFA Nations League without Cristiano Ronaldo and Head Coach Jorge Jesus spoke on how one player is not bigger than the national team.
- We’ll end today’s links with an incredible goal from Detroit City’s Kobe Hernandez-Foster deep in his own half. While it was scored on an empty net, it’s no small feat to get that much accuracy and power on a shot from that far out.
That’s all I have for you this time around. I hope you all have a fantastic Friday and rest of your weekend!
Orlando Pride vs. San Diego Wave FC: Photo Gallery
Loss to San Diego Exposed Orlando Pride’s Roster-Building Failures
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