Orlando City
Orlando City vs. Toronto FC: Final Score 4-2 as Lions a No-Show on Decision Day
It was the nightmare scenario for Orlando City, which fell to ninth after a terrible performance in Toronto and unfavorable results elsewhere.
A struggling Toronto FC offense scored twice in the first half, continued the blowout in the second half, and ruined Orlando City’s Decision Day in a 4-2 loss for the Lions at BMO Field in Toronto. Djordje Mihailovic scored in each half, with Jonathan Osorio and Deandre Kerr adding goals for the hosts.
It was a shocking performance by Orlando (14-9-11, 53 points), which conceded four times to the league’s second-worst offense as Toronto (6-14-14, 32 points) ran rampant to snap a long winless streak in MLS play. The Lions finish the season in the last postseason spot and will go on the road in what might be its final match of the year the way the team’s offense has been struggling down the stretch.
David Brekalo and Duncan McGuire scored for Orlando City in a losing effort.
“The disappointment is obvious because the performance was not good at all,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “It’s a tough night for sure, because there’s a bunch of things that we didn’t do good. And the way we conceded the goals, the way we managed, and also from me, obviously, responsibility on the movements and preparation. Unfortunately tonight it was not bouncing our way at all.”
Pareja’s lineup featured Pedro Gallese in goal behind a back line of Adrian Marin, Rodrigo Schlegel, Brekalo, and Alex Freeman. Kyle Smith joined Eduard Atuesta in central midfield between wingers Ivan Angulo and Marco Pasalic, with Martin Ojeda and McGuire up top.
The game began poorly for the Lions, who gave away possession cheaply, leading to the opening goal. Orlando City then took some control and started creating chances, but as has been the case far too often, the Lions could not pay those chances off. Toronto blocked several shots, but Orlando’s attackers made that easy by taking big windups and not looking for the pass that would open the defense up completely. When the Lions weren’t getting their shots blocked, they were either missing wide or firing straight at Toronto goalkeeper Sean Johnson, who was only seriously tested twice in the first half.
The opening minutes were sloppy from both teams before the hosts opened the scoring with the game’s first chance. That chance came from an Orlando attack that broke down.
Atuesta got caught high up the field, turning it over and leading to the break. Toronto got numbers forward and worked the ball to Osorio outside the box. The Canadian international had plenty of time to pick out his spot in the corner and made it 1-0 in the seventh minute.
Orlando’s first shot came in the 10th minute as Smith took a big windup outside the box and saw Osorio block his shot.
Smith returned the favor three minutes later, blocking a shot by Kobe Franklin. Schlegel then quickly blocked Kerr’s shot and former Lion Richie Laryea missed the target just wide on the left to end the threat.
Pasalic missed the first of several shots in the game wide in the 17th minute, pulling a shot inches wide of the right post. Two minutes later, he sent one just inches wide of the right post on a second wide-open shot outside the box.
Moments later, Orlando had a penalty shout. McGuire was running onto a ball into the area when he had his arm pulled and went down. Although he perhaps embellished a little, there was a pull and McGuire had no reason not to get to the ball, but Fotis Bazakos let the contact go, and video assistant referee Sorin Stoica did not see anything wrong with the decision.
Angulo took a big, slow windup in the 20th minute from the top of the area, giving Sigur Rosted time to block the shot. Rosted then did the same on the rebound to Atuesta, who took perhaps even longer to get his shot away.
Orlando’s best chance of the first half came in the 27th minute. Ojeda got down the left and smashed a shot on frame that Johnson saved, spilling a big rebound out in front. Atuesta was slow in getting to the rebound and his shot with a gaping open net was blocked by a sliding Laryea. Orlando recycled and Pasalic shot from the right, with Johnson making the save. Atuesta saw Franklin block his shot moments later on the last chance in the sequence.
Angulo uncharacteristically tried a long-range shot in the 29th minute, getting good power on it from distance, but it was right at Johnson, who parried it away. Brekalo headed well wide on a set piece moments later.
Toronto doubled the lead just seconds after that header.
Jose Cifuentes blasted a shot from outside the box and Pasalic put out a hand to protect his face. The Croatian’s arm was the only thing protecting him from perhaps a broken nose on a scorching shot, but Bazakos awarded a free kick anyway, despite rules saying players can protect their head in that situation. Mihailovic paid off the ensuing set piece with an effort that just kept curling, which appeared to fool Gallese, who got a touch to it but couldn’t keep it out.
“Sometimes it’s unexplainable,” Pareja said of the two decisions that could have changed the complexion of the game. “Because the boys were pushing and these calls came in this circumstances also, just after having that many (scoring) options. But it’s the game. I think we need to be conscious about it. It’s not us using excuses.”
In the final moments of the half, Pasalic saw another shot saved and an additional attempt blocked, and Atuesta also had another effort blocked.
At the break, Orlando City held the advantage in possession (51.5%-48.5%), shots (16-7), shots on target (4-2), corners (2-1), and passing accuracy (85.6%-85%). It was Orlando’s lack of lethality, and one controversial call at each end that had the hosts up by two against Orlando’s powerless attack at the break.
“I feel like in the first half we were unlucky with our chances. A lot of them were blocked,” Freeman said. “But also, at the end of the day, it’s also being clinical in the defensive third. I feel like myself, I’ve got to take some accountability for the goals, but I feel like defensively, as a team, we want to be better.”
Mihailovic put the game out of reach just a few minutes into the second half. Orlando gave up another counterattack and Smith got beaten by Theo Corbeanu, who knocked the ball to Mihailovic on his left. The Toronto Designated Player used Brekalo as a screen and sent a shot toward goal Gallese should have stopped, but he got caught leaning the wrong way and it spun off his back leg and in to make it 3-0 to essentially kill the game.
Pasalic fired just over the net in the 52nd minute. A minute later, both Ojeda and McGuire tried bicycle kicks just about a second apart, with Ojeda’s blocked by Rosted and McGuire’s saved by Johnson. The Lions scored off the ensuing corner. Toronto cleared the initial ball out wide to Orlando’s attacking right side. Pasalic collected it and sent a good ball back into the mixer in front of goal. Brekalo timed his run well, stuck out his foot and knocked it in to spoil the shutout in the 54th minute.
Former Toronto winger Tyrese Spicer, who came on in the second half for the Lions, saw his shot blocked by Franklin moments after Brekalo’s goal as the Lions looked for a way back into the match. Johnson saved Ojeda’s shot in the 60th minute and Freeman and Ojeda then missed the net moments later.
Those were costly missed opportunities as Kerr’s goal came a minute later. Orlando City gained possession in its own end but Angulo gave the ball away. Two quick passes later, Gallese was pulling it out of his net. Mihailovic passed to Derrick Etienne Jr., who sent a centering pass in front for an easy finish by a wide-open Kerr, pushing the lead back to three goals at 4-1.
“When you concede four goals, we have to declare that it’s not a good night for us defensively,” Pareja said. “And we can talk about the changes in the lineup that we had to face, whether it’s injuries or the decisions, but that (lack of) consistency tonight probably made us pay, and it was difficult. On the counters we looked weak, and they took advantage of those spaces while we tried to equalize and tried to seek for the goals, and we were not in good spots.”
Things could have gotten worse for Orlando after the fourth goal, as Gallese stopped a shot by Osorio and Atuesta blocked Laryea’s effort.
Johnson stopped Ojeda again in the 68th minute as the Lions continued to get looks at goal but could not do much with them. It was the last shot by either side for almost 15 minutes, with Spicer’s effort in the 82nd blocked by Rosted.
Freeman got to the end line in the 84th and found second-half sub Dagur Dan Thorhallsson to the right of goal. The Icelandic midfielder stabbed a shot wide of the far post from point-blank range. Ojeda then missed the target. Johnson denied Spicer’s effort as time wound down and the game headed to stoppage time.
Orlando finally got a second goal for the first time since Sept. 20 in the second added minute. Freeman did well to thread a ball through the back line for McGuire, who powered his shot inside the right post to make it 4-2.
McGuire’s goal was the last decent chance for either side.
The Lions finished with the advantage in possession (56.4%-43.6%), shots (31-12), shots on target (10-6), corners (8-2), and passing accuracy (86.9%-81.8%). To look at the stat sheet, one would assume Orlando was the team that won by multiple goals, but a lack of clinical finishing on one end and extremely good finishing at the other was the difference on Decision Day.
“We will recover from this moment and we will be ready for that one game on Wednesday,” Pareja said, referencing the wild card match at Chicago in the midweek. “I don’t know any other way than just get back to work trying to train and prepare for our next one game, and trying to find solutions, and trying to keep our minds in a good state as well.”
“Obviously we wanted to clinch it without doing the play-in,” Freeman said. “But, I guess that’s just how it’s going to be, so I guess we’ve got to go into Wednesday and be able to go 100% and win the play-in, and eventually play Philly in the playoffs.”
That’s it for the regular season. The Lions will visit Chicago Wednesday for the wild card game after a disappointing end to what began as a promising 2025 season.