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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.

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1 year ago

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

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.

Tyrese in his first start as a Lion 🤯

— Orlando City SC (@orlandocitysc.com) 2025-08-17T03:24:16.960Z

“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.

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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.

Published

9 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.

Published

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.

Published

2 days 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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