Orlando City vs. Houston Dynamo: Photo Gallery

Limited by injuries and squad rotation, Orlando City fielded a makeshift lineup against the Houston Dynamo Saturday night, best illustrated by a bench on which the most experienced non-goalkeeper player was rookie defender Nolan Miller. Despite player availability issues, Orlando City played well enough to get a result against a similarly struggling Dynamo squad, but failed to get that result, falling 1-0 at home.

Both teams struggled to finish the chances they created in a match that probably deserved to finish 0-0 as a result. Orlando created a chance in the 10th minute on a good cross from Tiago, but Tyrese Spicer mistimed his jump and put his header over the crossbar. Despite earning a few corners over the middle part of the half, the next chance for Orlando didn’t occur until the 45th minute, when Spicer and Tiago reversed positions on the earlier play. Spicer found Tiago with a low cross in a similar location about six yards out, but Tiago missed the gaping right half of the net and rang his shot off the post, wasting the best opportunity for either side in the opening half.

The second half brought a similar scarcity of clear-cut chances. A corner kick in the 66th minute resulted in a flurry of shots that could have produced an opener for the Lions if not for some bodies inconveniently in the way. The ball fell kindly for Braian Ojeda, who saw his shot blocked by a defender. The rebound found Iago, but his effort was also blocked — by former Lion Antonio Carlos — and finally Martín Ojeda fired from a tight angle that Jimmy Maurer saved.

The game’s only goal came on the counterattack from the Dynamo after Ivan Angulo’s cross attempt was blocked, allowing the visitors to break the other way in transition in the 75th minute. Robin Jansson did well to track Lawrence Ennali to his own six-yard box, but the Swede bought a fake and went to ground to block a shot or cross that never came. Ennali sidestepped the sliding defender and centered it for Ezequiel Ponce. Zakaria Taifi got a piece of the pass and Iago cleared Ponce’s redirect toward goal off the line. Unfortunately, the rebound found Hector Herrera unattended in front, and the Mexican international buried his chance.

Playing from behind, the Lions did not increase their chance production and there was a dearth of attacking help on the bench, though 2026 first-round pick Harvey Sarajian made his MLS debut, as did academy midfielder Ignacio Gomez. Second-half substitute Justin Ellis fired a weak shot at Maurer from just inside the box on one of Orlando’s final looks, with Iago following with an attempt from distance right at the goalkeeper and a header well over the crossbar.

Houston saw out the game, and Orlando furthered a disastrous start to the 2026 compaign. Despite the result, we hope you enjoy the photos from the game.