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Orlando City vs. Chicago Fire: Final Score 3-1 as Lions Go Gently to that Goodnight

The performance on Decision Day against Toronto wasn’t rock bottom. Orlando was second best from the jump in Chicago and is out of the playoffs.

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10 months ago

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Image of Eduard Atuesta shielding the ball against the Chicago Fire.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC

Orlando City never appeared to be in the match in a thorough 3-1 loss to the Chicago Fire in the Eastern Conference wild card match at SeatGeek Stadium in Bridgeview, IL. The Lions somehow managed to keep the game scoreless for a half, but Brian Gutierrez scored early in the second half and Hugo Cuypers added another less than 10 minutes later by blocking a Pedro Gallese clearance attempt into the net — the second time in three games that’s happened to Orlando — after Cesar Araujo made a poor choice to pass back from close to his goalkeeper.

Cuypers put the game away with a second goal as Orlando completely capitulated. Tyrese Spicer spoiled the shutout with a late goal for the Lions, who crash out of the postseason and finish without a win in any of their final five matches of the season.

“Frustrating and disappointed just to end up losing in this first game of the playoffs,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “And we have pain, knowing that we could have done much better, but probably the second half was an image of what happened in the last few games. Chicago in the second half was much better and created those three goals.”

Pareja had his usual starting lineup available to start the game. Gallese started in goal behind a back line of David Brekalo, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Alex Freeman. Araujo returned to the starting central midfield with Eduard Atuesta between wingers Ivan Angulo and Marco Pasalic, with Martin Ojeda and Duncan McGuire up top.

The entire first half belonged to Chicago. Orlando City’s attacking players struggled to combine every time they crossed the halfway line. As a result, the Lions got generously credited with one shot attempt in the first half on a Schlegel header from the top of the area on a 40-yard set piece from Atuesta late in the half that went out of play about halfway between the left post and the corner flag. Only one team looked likely to score, and it was the one Orlando kept giving the ball to.

That came to fruition in the second half, which consisted of seemingly endless giveaways and Chicago counterattacks, with cracks in the defense turning into gaping holes. Orlando was at least able to muster a few shot attempts in the second half, including Spicer’s goal, but the damage was already done by that point.

Each team won an early set piece but neither did anything with it in the opening 10 minutes of the match as the teams felt each other out. The first shot attempt didn’t come until the 15th minute, when a ball was knocked away from a Chicago attacker in the box and fell to Gutierrez, who shot first time but sent it well over the bar.

Brekalo blocked a Jonathan Dean cross out of play for a corner moments later but needed treatment and had to get checked for concussion. The Lions had to defend the set piece with 10 men as a result and Jack Elliott had a free header, sending it just inches wide of the right post. Gutierrez tried from long range again in the 23rd minute but hit the shot well wide to the right.

McGuire got into the box in the 29th minute with a nifty play to chip the ball over the center back to himself, however, the touch was heavy enough that Dean recovered and cleared it before McGuire could reach it and shoot. That was as close as the Lions came to a true scoring chance in the opening half.

The Lions should have gotten a scoring chance in the 35th minute when Ojeda picked off a wayward Chicago pass. The Designated Player had space to shoot at the top of the area, but he tried to thread a ball through traffic and turned it over instead. That was the Lions’ final chance to make Fire goalkeeper Chris Brady do anything in the opening half.

Cuypers started to make a nuisance of himself a minute later, darting behind the defense to get in on goal. Gallese came out and made himself big, blocking the attempt out for a corner.

Gallese parried the entry ball on the corner kick but didn’t make good contact. He was, however, able to scoop it up after it deflected off a body off to the side of the net.

In the 39th minute, Cuypers again split the center backs, getting to a ball over the top behind the back line. Jansson was able to catch up and bother the Chicago striker enough so that his attempt was off target.

The Lions survived quick transition moments after giveaways by Atuesta and Angulo in the defensive third as the half wound down. Orlando finally won a free kick from long range late. Atuesta served it to the top of the box and it came off a head in the middle. That head was judged to be Schlegel’s, although it was difficult to tell. The ball went nowhere near goal.

Orlando City was fortunate to make it to halftime without conceding, given almost all of the first 45 minutes were played in the Lions’ end of the field. Chicago finished the half with more possession (53.5%-46.5%), shots (9-0), shots on goal (1-0), and corners (2-1). The Lions passed slightly more accurately (83.8%-83.1%) but struggled to connect on anything once they reached the halfway line.

Chicago wasted no time breaking the scoreless deadlock after the half as absolutely nothing changed on the field for Orlando City. The Fire came straight down the field to start the half and Gutierrez saw his shot blocked in the 46th minute. Two minutes later, Gutierrez put Chicago on top. Angulo was unable to deny a cross in from the right and Jansson, who appeared to be perfectly positioned to deal with it, slipped and fell. The ball got through as a result and the midfielder stuck it inside the post to make it 1-0.

“it was super soft,” Jansson said of the SeatGeek Stadium turf. “I was unlucky. I slipped. I had studs, but, yeah, couldn’t even help with studs. So, I don’t know what I should put on my cleats. I feel like those are the type of goals that we have conceded, which is too easy, and we have to work so hard to even create and score goals. Just frustrating.”

The Fire broke in the 51st minute and Gutierrez hit the post. The bigger problem for Orlando at the time was that Jansson slipped and came up injured on the play. For the rest of the match, the captain was unable to run at full speed, could hardly jump, and even visibly winced after sending a long ball up the field with his left leg. Despite being obviously injured, he stayed on the pitch and was a liability in transition — a problem, given the Lions were trailing the game.

Three minutes later, Gallese made a stop on a try from Jonathan Bamba to keep it a one-goal game.

Angulo got credit for a shot from a tight angle on the left in the 55th minute, but it appeared to be a cross that was simply too close to Brady.

A disastrous sequence doubled Chicago’s lead in the 57th minute. Araujo did well to get in between Chicago players on an attack and had control of the ball. Facing goal and only a few yards from his goalkeeper, Araujo passed slowly back to Gallese rather than simply clearing the danger out for a throw or sending it behind for a corner. Cuypers continued his run and although Gallese tried to fire it out wide to his left, Cuypers got a foot in front and deflected it into the net to make it 2-0.

Orlando finally got a legitimate look at goal in the 60th minute. A ball deflected out to Pasalic at the top of the area and the Croatian took his shot on the volley. He got decent contact, but didn’t hit it as true as he would have liked. His effort was on target but bounced perfectly up for Brady to knock wide. Two minutes later, McGuire got his head to a floating cross but couldn’t get much power on it and Brady got over to catch it.

Cuypers tried to make it 3-0 in the 64th minute, trying to hit a shot with his first touch from the left side, but he missed the target badly. Bamba got in behind down the left, running onto a perfect curling long ball as Schlegel got caught up the pitch, which was a problem throughout the second half. Jansson struggled to keep up after aggravating his knee injury but did well to at least force Bamba to stay left of goal. Gallese made a huge save to deny Bamba, but Gutierrez picked up the rebound on the other side, sending his shot off the post in the 66th minute.

“We were asking (Jansson) about his pain in the knee. Many times he expressed that he could persist and play normally,” Pareja said. “But I think two of those three goals in the second half, it was the result of somebody’s sliding or something.

Two minutes later, Orlando’s deficit grew. Chicago broke in transition yet again, and Brekalo was playing much more narrowly than usual, possibly because Orlando was trying to go to a three-man back line or because he was trying to compensate for Jansson’s lack of mobility. Either way, it left room for Philip Zinckernagel to send him down the right. The Designated Player fired home to make it 3-0. If the match hadn’t already been put to bed, the third goal hammered the final nail into the coffin.

Luis Muriel came on for Pasalic after the goal and Orlando immediately turned the ball over on the restart and Schlegel conceded a free kick on the counterattack. The free kick turned into a corner that Orlando dealt with. However, Bamba got a good opportunity moments later, only to be denied by Gallese.

Down three goals, Orlando continued to turn the ball over and concede set pieces, but the Lions were at least able to handle those. Gallese made a good save on Zinckernagel in the 77th minute and Brekalo blocked a Gutierrez shot two minutes later with an empty net behind him as the Lions kept handing Chicago transition opportunities.

Ojeda hit the outside of the post in the 81st minute looking to get Orlando on the board, although by that time it was probably too late.

Brekalo blocked another Zinckernagel effort in the 83rd minute to keep the score from getting worse. Rominigue Kouamé then missed the net moments later.

Spicer spoiled the shutout in the 89th minute. The second-half sub got down the left side alone on Brady on a great through ball from fellow substitute Adrian Marin and blasted a cannon shot over the goalkeeper’s right shoulder and in to make it 3-1. It was Marin’s first assist for Orlando City.

After one more save from Gallese on Kouamé, the match — and Orlando City’s season — was over.

Chicago finished with the advantage in possession (52.4%-47.6%), shots (25-7), and shots on target (9-4). Each team won three corners and Orlando City passed slightly more accurately (85.2%-84.2%), but most of the passes from both teams took place in Orlando’s half of the field.

“The first thing that comes to mind is it’s not good enough. It’s a sad moment,” Jansson said. “I felt that we came out with at least the energy in the beginning, the first half of the first half. I think we had the energy there. We tried, but we didn’t really manage to get the ball up there to create something, and then we started to lose a little bit of that energy I felt like halfway through the first half. And then, yeah, the second half was not good enough.”

“I thought we could have been better,” Pareja said. “I still want to show our gratitude to our fans and the people who have supported us during all this period, and today we just feel pain not to advance in the next stage.”

That’s the 2025 Orlando City season. It started with a lot of promise but seemed to be completely derailed by a run in Leagues Cup that was much deeper than the roster turned out to be. The Lions were never the same team after the midseason competition.

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Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Five Takeaways

Here’s what we learned from Orlando City’s 1-1 draw with FC Cincinnati.

Published

9 hours ago

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August 16, 2026

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Image of Luis Otavio playing the ball against FC Cincinnati.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City hosted FC Cincinnati at Inter.co Stadium Saturday night in the new red third kits. This was supposed to be a high-scoring affair between two teams that like to score and also like to give up goals. Naturally, that meant it ended in a low-scoring 1-1 draw. Still, it’s hard to be too upset given Orlando City came from behind and managed to earn a point against a team higher in the standings. Here are my five takeaways from the match.

A Head Injury Goal

FC Cincinnati scored the first goal of the match, but it wasn’t without controversy. Cincinnati passed the ball to the top of the box for Evander. His shot went directly into the face of Joran Gerbet, who dropped like a sack of potatoes. That is the moment that Tori Penso should have blown the whistle to stop the play. You know, for a potential head injury. Instead, Penso allowed the play to continue as the ball rebounded off Gerbet’s head to Pavel Bucha who scored the goal. Fortunately, Gerbet was okay not that Penso was overly concerned in the moment. After the match, she stated the play was not stopped because of an immediate shot by a teammate after the deflection. It took about four seconds from hitting Gerbet in the head from point-blank range until the time Bucha shot, and perhaps four seconds is considered immediate.

Relentless Spicer

Tyrese Spicer continued his run of good form for Orlando City with a good run against the Cincinnati defense. As two defenders closed on him, Justin Ellis made a nifty flicked pass from a ball from Ivan Angulo to a streaking Spicer. The speedy winger held off Bucha shoulder to shoulder to win the ball. Bucha fell down and Spicer rounded the keeper before putting it under the crossbar for the equalizer. It was a hard-earned goal and just what Orlando City needed to get back into the match.

Justice for Brekalo

Kevin Denkey got around Maxime Crepeau and looked certain to score, but he hit the right post. The ball bounced out to Evander. David Brekalo battled to win the ball and Evander went down in the box. Penso immediately called a penalty, but the contact was very light. Then the video assistant referee suggested a call against Orlando City needed to be checked. Penso looked at the replay and rightly said no penalty. On top of that, Evander received a yellow for simulation. Do you believe in miracles? Yes!

Crepeau Continues to Crush It

Crepeau has been playing well since returning from the World Cup. He continued his good form against one of the best attacking teams in MLS. Despite only being credited with three saves, he once again made several saves on shots from offside players that would not have counted, but were still impressive. Additionally, he got better as the match went on. He had good command of the his area, coming out to get the ball, closing down the angles, and being a big contributor to the point at home.

Good Enough

Orlando City’s defense was not great despite holding Cincinnati to one goal, but it was good enough. For a team that gave up nearly three goals per match prior to the World Cup break, allowing an average of one goal per match, including in this game, is much better. On a sadder note, Bernardo Rhein went off injured in the first half. The youngster had supplanted Adrian Marin on the depth chart and now might be out for a bit depending on how bad the injury is. To his credit, Marin played better than he usually does once he came on. Again, the defense wasn’t spectacular, but it did enough to earn a point.

That is what I saw in Orlando City’s result with FC Cincinnati. Let us know your thoughts in the comments below. Vamos Orlando!

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Orlando City vs. FC Cincinnati: Final Score 1-1 as Lions Battle Back on Spicer’s Goal

The Lions fell behind before halftime but had the final say in a hard-fought home draw vs. FC Cincinnati.

Published

20 hours ago

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August 15, 2026

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Image of Tyrese Spicer battling against FC Cincinnati.
Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Tyrese Spicer’s early goal in the second half pulled Orlando City level in a 1-1 draw against normally high-scoring FC Cincinnati at Inter.co Stadium tonight. Pavel Bucha put Cincinnati (7-6-6, 27 points) in front with a goal in the first half, but Orlando City (6-10-3, 21 points) did well to fight back for a point at home.

It was surprisingly low scoring, considering the game featured two of the most porous MLS defenses and an open flow to it, but it’s a big improvement over the 6-2 loss the Lions suffered on the road at Cincinnati just before the World Cup break. While the point is good, Orlando is 0-1-2 in its last three matches in all competitions and will need to start finding the win column again to climb into the playoff places.

“It was a very tough team, tough game, as we expected against Cincinnati. It’s always like this,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “They have a really strong offense. Their team is one of the best teams in the league attacking. I think we created chances by moments. The game was very open. They had chances as well.”

Perelman’s starting XI featured Maxime Crepeau in goal behind a back line of Bernardo Rhein, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Griffin Dorsey. Luis Otavio and Joran Gerbet started in central midfield between wingers Ivan Angulo and Tyrese Spicer with Justin Ellis and Antoine Griezmann leading the attack.

Much of the first 15 minutes was spent between the two penalty areas. Orlando looked to build play patiently, while Cincinnati looked for opportunities to jump passing routes and counter. The first look of the game came three minutes in off a set piece from long range that fell to Kevin Denkey in the box. The Cincy forward fired but the shot was blocked and the visitors were offside on the recycle.

Orlando City’s first look at goal was a shot that Spicer mishit badly, firing well wide of the near post on the left. Ellis put the first shot of the game on target in the 10th minute, sending in a good effort from the top of the box, but Roman Celentano made a good save to tip it over. Cincinnati cleared the initial ball on the set piece but Rhein found Spicer in the box, but again the Trinidad & Tobago international fired wide in the 11th minute. Four minutes later, Griezmann got into the box but his shot was blocked behind for another corner and the Lions could do nothing with the set piece.

Orlando was fortunate not to fall behind in the 20th minute as Evander got past Dorsey on the Lions’ defensive right side. The Cincy star man fizzed a low cross to the back post but it was just out of Tom Barlow’s reach. However, the visitors scored anyway a few minutes later.

A shot near the top of the area caught Gerbet flush in the face and he went down immediately. Despite it being an obvious head injury, referee Tori Penso allowed play to continue and Cincinnati regained possession outside the box, where Bucha slotted into the right side of the net to make it 1-0 in the 23rd minute.

“Regarding that play, since I am here in the United States, I learned that in the MLS, we take care about those situations with the players,” Perelman said. “This is why we were expecting that after that kick in his head, the game should be stopped, as it always was. But I haven’t reviewed the sequence. I don’t know if the ball effectively got in the face. I didn’t see the sequence again. Maybe I’m ignoring some rule or maybe it’s OK what the ref did. I don’t know.”

Penso’s response to the pool reporter’s question was that the ball fell to an attacking player who immediately shot and scored, and the player was checked immediately afterward.

Orlando City should have pulled the goal back in the 36th minute. Dorsey got down the right flank and pulled back a nice pass for Ellis around the penalty spot. The Homegrown forward sent a shot on target with his first touch but sent it straight at Celentano for the save. The Lions were offside after the initial shot and the attack broke down.

Rhein went down with a non-contact injury moments later and went directly to the locker room. Adrian Marin subbed on to replace the Homegrown left back.

FC Cincinnati was the more dangerous team down the stretch. Evander fired just inches wide of the right post from the left in the 43rd minute. Ellis then had an opportunity with a free header in the middle of the box in the first minute of added time but sent his effort straight at Celentano again. Ender Echineque then saw his shot blocked just wide by Marin deep in stoppage time, winning Cincinnati a corner, but the Lions cleared and the halftime whistle blew.

The Lions held the advantage at the break in possession (50.6%-49.4%), shots (7-5), shots on target (3-1), corners (5-3), and passing accuracy (89.6%-86%), but a lack of clinical finishing allowed the guests to hold the lead at halftime.

Marco Pasalic came on for Gerbet to start the second half, pushing Angulo into central midfield for a while, with Spicer joining Ellis up top and Griezmann dropping to left wing.

Cincinnati won an early corner after the restart but it was Orlando City that scored off of it. The Lions dealt with the set piece and Angulo ended up with it on the left. He darted past a defender and sent a pass forward that Ellis touched on into the attacking half. Spicer raced for the loose ball with Bucha and won the physical battle, breaking in alone when the Cincy defender fell. The Trinidad & Tobago international rounded Celentano and smashed a shot high into the net to make it 1-1 in the 48th minute.

“I know I’m going to get technical here, but like the spin that (Angulo) put on the pass was perfect for how I wanted to play the ball, you know, so I could redirect it into the path of Tyrese, Ellis said. “It counts as an assist, but the goal was all him, you know. I think he deserves all the credit.”

“(Ellis is) a creative player. He wants to flick. He loves to flick. And you know, I just read that,” Spicer said. “I thought it was going to go more in the air rather than on the ground, but I just had to turn the jets on to get there. You know, once I was one on one with the keeper, you know, I had a good feeling. He’s a good keeper. I think he would have guessed where I was gonna shoot. So I was like, let me try to go around him, and it worked out.”

Orlando tried to take the lead moments after the goal with a series of passes at the top of the area that finally got sent to Griezmann on the right. The Frenchman volleyed a shot on target but it was right at Celentano.

Cincinnati thought it had won a penalty a minute later. Denkey got in behind down the right channel, waited out Crepeau, and sent a shot off the post. Brekalo and Evander both went for the loose ball and Evander went down. Penso pointed to the spot and eventually went to the monitor for a second look. After reviewing the play again, Penso announced that Evander had initiated the contact and she booked the Cincy star for simulation. Orlando City avoided the spot kick.

Echineque rang the post for Cincinnati in the 64th minute. Cutting in from right to left, he fired a shot from near the right corner of the box that hit the left post and stayed out. Following an unsuccessful corner at the other end, Cincinnati came back on the attack and put the ball in the neet in the 71st minute, but the flag came up immediately for an obvious offside.

Former Lion Kyle Smith blocked Spicer’s shot behind for a corner in the 73rd minute. Griezmann’s service found Marin on the far side all alone in space. The Spaniard tried to head it back into the mix of players in front but it floated lazily for an eacy catch by Celentano.

Second-half sub Marco Pasalic fired wide in the 80th minute, as both teams continued looking for a go-ahead goal.

Crepeau may have made his biggest save in the match in the 87th minute, going down to deny Kenji Mboma Dem, who got inside down the right in the 87th minute.

Orlando got a couple of looks down the stretch. Pasalic saw his shot deflect over the bar for a corner early in stoppage time. Substitute Wilder Cartagena blazed a rocket shot just over the crossbar in the fourth added minute.

After the Lions defended a late Cincinnati corner, the final whistle blew, splitting the points between the sides.

At the final whistle, Orlando City held the advantage in shots (17-11), shots on target (5-3), and corners (10-5). FC Cincinnati finished with more possession (53.1%-46.9%) and passed more accurately (90.8%-87.8%).

“We knew which spaces we believe we can hurt (them), and that was the adjustment (at halftime) — try to to hurt them in those spaces and try to to neutralize as much as we can those talented players they have up front, and we we were able to tie.”

“I think it was a different looking game because we’re a different looking team in terms of how we’re playing,” Ellis said, comparing the 6-2 loss at Cincinnati to tonight’s 1-1 draw. “I think we’re a much more steady team, even though I feel today we didn’t have the control that we wanted. It was very transitional. I think we also just limited Evander. He’s, I don’t want to say he’s their whole attack, because they have amazing players, but a lot of the attack runs through him. And I want to give a special mention to Luis Otavio. I thought he was the best player on the field today.”

It’s another short turnaround for the Lions, who host the Chicago Fire on Wednesday.

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

The Lions go hunting for revenge for the 6-2 beatdown they suffered in southwest Ohio back in late May.

Published

1 day ago

on

August 15, 2026

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Image of Griffin Dorsey dribbling up the side past two FC Cincinnati defenders.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Welcome to your preview and match thread for a Saturday night matchup between Orlando City (6-10-2, 20 points) and FC Cincinnati (7-6-5, 26 points) at Inter.co Stadium (7:30 p.m., Apple TV). It’s the last of the two scheduled matches between the teams this season.

Here’s what you need to know for the match.

History

The all-time series is tied at 5-5-4 in the MLS regular season, but Orlando City has been worse against FC Cincinnati in home matches, going just 2-3-1 in the City Beautiful against tonight’s opponents. The Lions are 0-2-1 in the last three meetings between the sides.

The teams last met on May 23 in Cincinnati in the final match before the World Cup break. How shall I put this…oh yes…the Lions had their asses handed to them by FC Cincinnati to the tune of a 6-2 brutalization that had folks calling law enforcement to report a murder. Evander scored twice and assisted on three other goals to lead the rout for FC Cincinnati, despite Orlando City’s Martin Ojeda scoring the first goal and later tying the game at 2-2 early in the second half. It was all FC Cincinnati after Ojeda’s second goal. Kenji Mboma Dem added a brace for the hosts and Kevin Denkey and Tom Barlow also scored. Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the game that “the scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story,” and he was right, because it could have been worse.

A year ago, the teams played on Sept. 28, 2025, in Ohio, with Alex Freeman’s goal late in stoppage time salvaging a 1-1 draw for Orlando City, canceling out Denkey’s second-half strike. Prior to that, the teams also met last year on June 28 at Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, with FC Cincinnati winning 2-1. An Evander brace, which included a poorly conceded set piece goal from distance, was enough to offset Marco Pasalic’s goal.

These two teams met at TQL Stadium on Oct. 5, 2024, with the Lions leaving southwest Ohio with a 3-1 victory in their final road match of the regular season. Ramiro Enrique scored twice and had a third chalked off for a controversial foul on a corner kick. He also assisted on a goal by Ivan Angulo in an impressive performance. Luciano Acosta scored Cincinnati’s goal.

These two sides also met on May 4 of that year in Orlando with FC Cincinnati claiming a 1-0 road win on a first-minute goal by Acosta. The Lions went down a man early in the game when Rodrigo Schlegel was called for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity on Yuya Kubo. Orlando City had a second-half goal waved off for an offside in the buildup. Cincinnati lost Bret Halsey to a second yellow card late but the Lions couldn’t take advantage.

The teams met in Ohio on Sept. 2, 2023, with the Lions claiming a 1-0 win on enemy soil, becoming the first road team to beat FC Cincinnati all season. Facundo Torres scored the game’s only goal. Orlando had to hold on down a man late when Wilder Cartagena was sent off. The teams played to a 0-0 draw in Orlando on March 4, 2023 in Orlando.

The Lions fell 1-0 at TQL Stadium on June 24, 2022. A second-half goal from Brenner represented all the offense, but it could have been worse for Orlando City as Pedro Gallese made eight saves in the match. The first meeting of 2022 took place in Orlando on March 12, with FC Cincinnati notching its first win in the all-time series, 2-1 at Exploria Stadium. The Lions were more in control but were wasteful, despite dominating the stat sheet. The visitors got a brace from Brandon Vazquez to offset Junior Urso’s goal.

The final meeting of 2021 was on Oct. 16 in Cincinnati, when Orlando City got its first road victory in the series, 1-0 on Urso’s early goal. Tesho Akindele should have scored a second off the crossbar late in the game, but the play was never reviewed, despite video evidence that the ball was completely across the line.

On Aug. 7, 2021, the match in Cincinnati ended up in a 1-1 draw. Nani’s strike rescued a point after Brenner had opened the scoring for the hosts just before halftime, taking advantage of an obviously injured Uri Rosell, who subbed off moments later. The first of the three meetings in 2021 came on May 21 in Orlando, with the Lions posting a 3-0 win. Akindele scored in the first minute and Nani and Urso each added a goal.

In Orlando’s first trip to the banks of the Ohio River, the match ended in a 1-1 draw at Nippert Stadium on Sept. 29, 2019. Benji Michel’s goal in stoppage time rescued a point for the Lions after Allan Cruz had given the hosts a lead. The draw officially eliminated Orlando City from playoff contention that year, but realistically the Lions had been out of it for a while.

The first-ever meeting between the two sides took place on May 19, 2019, when the Lions pummeled the expansion side, 5-1. Both Nani and Akindele bagged braces in the match and Dom Dwyer added a goal as well.

Overview

The Lions are coming off a pair of blown halftime leads in Leagues Cup, but with rotation throughout that competition, lots of players played and at least now they can concentrate on MLS and next month’s resumption of the U.S. Open Cup. Orlando drew Atletico de San Luis 2-2 after blowing a two-goal lead from the 79th minute on, claiming the meaningless extra point in penalties (5-3) as both teams were eliminated from the knockout rounds. Daryl Dike and Justin Ellis scored Orlando’s goals. The Lions are 4-3-1 at home in MLS play this season but 3-0-1 in their last four league matches on their own patch. Orlando brings a league-worst 47 goals conceded into tonight and a conference-worst goal differential of -17.

FC Cincinnati is coming off a surprising 2-1 home loss to Atlas on Tuesday, which means it will be the better rested team for both matches against Orlando this season. The loss knocked Cincinnati out of the running for the knockout rounds and was the first time Cincinnati failed to score at least two goals in a match since July 25 on the road against rival Columbus — also in a 2-1 loss. What is surprising about that is FC Cincinnati is a scoring juggernaut, co-leading MLS in goals scored with 45 — tied with Inter Miami. Cincy’s Achilles heel this season has been road play, in which the club is 1-4-4 in MLS play. The only reason Cincinnati is as low as sixth in the Eastern Conference table at the moment is because it also ships a lot of goals — 44 so far this season, which is third worst in the Eastern Conference.

Orlando City’s back line and defensive midfield will be stressed for 90 minutes plus stoppage time tonight, as players like Evander, Denkey, Mboma Dem, Barlow, Pavel Bucha, and others will slice through the gaps between defenders and look to get onto excellent through balls. Transition attacks must be avoided, as Cincinnati can turn a takeaway into a goal in seconds. The Lions must control the ball, avoid turning it over in dangerous areas, and stay switched on for potential runners, otherwise the final score might look a lot like it did on May 23. Evander already has 22 goal contributions (11 goals, 11 assists), leading the league in the latter category while being just two goals off the Golden Boot lead. Denkey has also bagged 11 goals to go along with four assists.

The Lions will be without Eduard Atuesta (thigh), Nolan Miller (knee), Braian Ojeda (foot), and
Martín Ojeda (thigh). Cincinnati will be without Gerardo Valenzuela (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, Luis Otavio, Joran Gerbet, Tyrese Spicer.

Forward: Antoine Griezmann, Justin Ellis.

Bench: Javier Otero, Adrian Marin, Zakaria Taifi, Iago, Issah Haruna, Wilder Cartagena, Tiago, Marco Pasalic, Daryl Dike.

FC Cincinnati (3-5-2)

Goalkeeper: Roman Celentano.

Defenders: Samuel Gidi, Matt Miazga, Miles Robinson.

Wingbacks/Midfielders: Bryan Ramirez, Obinna Nwobodo, Evander, Pavel Bucha, Ender Echenique.

Forwards: Kevin Denkey, Tom Barlow.

Bench: Evan Louro, Kyle Smith, Alvas Powell, Nick Hagglund, Teenage Hadebe, Brian Anunga, Kristian Fletcher, Kenji Mboma Dem, Ayoub Jabbari.

Referees

REF: Tori Penso.
AR1: Brooke Mayo.
AR2: Matthew Nelson.
4TH: Lorenzo Hernandez.
VAR: Kevin Stott.
AVAR: Fabio Tovar.

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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