Orlando City began its 2026 Leagues Cup campaign in a stormy fashion on Wednesday night, both literally and figuratively. Kickoff was delayed by about 90 minutes due to a classic Florida pop-up thunderstorm, then the game had its own fireworks as numerous plays — a goal, a penalty, and a red card — were overturned after video review and things got chippy with a scrum in front of Maxime Crepeau’s goal. In the end, the Lions came out on top, winning 2-1 against CF Monterrey, the highest-seeded team of their pool, though conceding in stoppage time was damaging in a tourname.

Whether thrown by the weather delay or just continuing the inconsistency that’s marred the 2026 season, Orlando started slowly. Monterrey looked to play directly or counter off turnovers and Roberto de la Rosa put the ball in the net on a quick transition early on, but the goal was overturned for offside in the buildup, sparing the Lions some early blushes.

Orlando eventually found some rhythm in possession about 20 minutes into the match. Those attacks led to a couple of set pieces and shots by Justin Ellis and Ivan Angulo that were blocked near the top of the area. The Lions broke through on a good David Brekalo tackle as he pressed up into the Monterrey half and knocked the ball to Angulo, who found Tyrese Spicer in space on the corner of the 18-yard box. Spicer took a touch and then laid peach of a cross in front of a breaking Antoine Griezmann, who banged it inside the near post for a 1-0 lead.

The two teams battled back and forth for the rest of the half and into the second half, when Monterrey started pressing higher and putting pressure on Orlando’s goal. Luis Reyes attempted to play a ball that Maxime Crépeau had already controlled off a good cross in from the left. The Canadian took exception to Reyes’ unnecessary swipe, leading to a scuffle between the two teams. When the dust settled, Crepeau was shown a yellow card, but Reyes was shown red. After another video review, however, Reyes’ red card was reduced to yellow and play continued, although tempers continued to flare for several more minutes.

The lengthy break alleviated Monterrey’s pressure and allowed the Lions to regain focus. Orlando got back into the attack for the next few minutes, leading to the Lions’ second goal of the night. Ellis’ sharp through-ball played Spicer in behind against Monterrey goalkeeper Luis Cárdenas, who took Spicer down in the box for a penalty. Again, a lengthy video review ensued, but this time the call was upheld. Throughout the review, Griezmann held the ball at the spot, but when the referee finally signaled for the penalty to be taken, the Frenchman handed it off to Spicer, rewarding him for the earlier assist. Spicer confidently buried it in the top left corner with an unstoppable shot to put the Lions up 2-0.

Monterrey started subbing on its usual attacking starters, trying to get a grip on the game and putting pressure on the Orlando defense. The Lions subbed Daryl Dike on in the 70th minute for his first appearance since returning to the team, and in his first game involvement, he snuck inside his defender at the near post and barely missed a cheeky heel flick on a Griezmann cross at the near post.

Unforutunately, the Lions were not able to hold onto the clean sheet, falling asleep in the final minute of stoppage time. Hugo Cuypers was left unmarked and headed a cross just under the crossbar to spoil the clean sheet. Since advancement will be tight and likely involve goal differential, it may have been a critical error just seconds from the final whistle.

We hope you enjoy these images from a memorable win over the Mexican giants in Orlando City’s first-ever match against Monterrey.

Orlando City welcomed league-leading Nashville SC to town Saturday night as new Designated Player Antoine Griezmann made his home debut for the team. The fans’ excitement was electric, with a massive tifo by the supporters groups and a sell-out crowd that saw the Lions win a 1-0 defensive battle. Several club alumni were on hand to see the victory, with Alex Freeman, Ruan, Mikey Halliday, and Alexandre Pato all in the house, and Orlando City honored returning World Cup participants Braian Ojeda, Maxime Crepeau, and Marco Pašalić during the pregame festivities.

Once the game started, both teams looked a bit leggy having played midweek, creating a cagey, evenly matched affair with not a lot of clear-cut chances. Super-sub Tyrese Spicer played hero for Orlando City on the night, scoring in the 72nd minute to allow the Lions to eke out a well-played win.

Griezmann and Justin Ellis paired well, and their partnership of old veteran and new talent looks to be blossoming nicely. The pair moved the ball well when the Lions had possession and ultimately created seven of the team’s eight shots in the first half. Unfortunately, most of them on the night were not strong takes, the best of which was a jostled header in the 15th minute with not enough power on it and a squibbed open shot in the 22nd minute — both by Ellis. The rest were either off target or weakly at the keeper. For Nashville, Andy Najar played Alex Muyl in behind the defense in the 42nd minute, but Crepeau made the save, colliding with Muyl in the aftermath. Muyl was forced off the pitch briefly after receiving treatment and left the game at halftime.

The second half brought more of the same with Griezmann and Ellis advancing well but Nashville defending and smothering the buildups. Nashville looked for opportunities to counterattack, but few opportunities were given. Former Lion Shak Mohammed generated Nashville’s best chance of the night, getting a clear look at goal in transition in the 63rd minute, but Crepeau was again up to the task and turned away his shot. Then in the 72nd minute, Ellis got on the ball and evaded two defenders to open up a gorgeously disguised no-look pass through the defense to Spicer breaking in from the wing on the left. Spicer still had a lot to do from a tight angle, but he fired a first-time shot into the net for the lead.

Orlando defended well to close out the win after that, not allowing a significant shot through the rest of the game, despite being kept on the back foot by Nashville pushing numbers forward. The win marked the Lions’ first back-to-back victories of the regular season.

We hope you enjoy these pictures of the match and the ancillary activities.

The Orlando Pride dominated possession and peppered the Chicago Stars’ goal but had to wait until late for a magic combination between Cori Dyke and Julie Doyle to pull out a 1-0 victory on Friday night. A Marta missed penalty and 18 missed shots pretty well summed up the evening on a night when better finishing could have seen an easy, multi-goal victory.

The Pride were especially front-footed early, with 20 shots in the first half and eight on target. They could not seem to miss Chicago goalkeeper Katie Atkinson, with Angelina (twice), Jacquie Ovalle, Marta, and Solai Washington (also twice) all directing unchallenging shots directly at the goalkeeper. Haley McCutcheon rattling the bar (off a dangerous Oihane cross) in the eighth minute and Ally Lemos’ decent strike from a tight angle in the 33rd minute were the best chances from open play in the half.

Not all the Atkinson saves were easy, however, as she knocked a deflected would-be own goal off her own crossbar to avoid a disastrous sequence for Chicago. She also saved a so-so Marta penalty attempt late in the half and did well to not move first against the veteran Brazilian, but the location was poorly placed in just the second NWSL penalty that Marta has failed to score on.

The second half brought some adjustments from Chicago that balanced the game more, particularly after the Pride’s substitutes in the 61st minute did not inject energy into the match and, in fact, had the opposite effect.

Orlando’s finishing issues continued, with most of the chances still generated by Orlando but only Ovalle getting a shot on target — again, straight at Atkinson. That is until late in normal time, when some good ball movement following a throw-in saw Dyke play a perfectly weighted ball to Doyle at the corner of the six-yard box. Doyle finally found some finishing magic, lasering the ball into the roof of the net for her first goal of the season in the 88th minute. Chicago pushed for a tying goal and kept more of the possession for the remainder of the game, but Orlando defended well, allowing only two off-target shots from distance.

The victory pulls the Pride back up above the playoff line (although most of the teams around them have games in hand). The Pride go on the road to face the North Caroline Courage next Friday night.

We hope you enjoy these images of an Orlando Pride victory that was much more difficult than it should have been.