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Orlando City vs. Atlanta United: Final Score 1-1 as Lions Concede Late Again to Drop Points

The Lions were moments away from a big rivalry win but once again Orlando City conceded late to drop points.

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4 weeks ago

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Image of Griffin Dorsey trying to find space against two Atlanta defenders.
Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City was moments away from putting together back-to-back wins over teams below it in the standings. But Jay Fortune’s goal with four minutes to play in normal time canceled out Griffin Dorsey’s first-half goal in an unsatisfying 1-1 draw at Inter&Co Stadium.

The Lions (4-8-2, 14 points) had a chance to build on Wednesday’s win over Philadelphia, but they looked tired and sloppy throughout the second half as players racked up minutes and ultimately Atlanta (3-8-2, 11 points), which controlled the bulk of the game after Dorsey’s opener, found a breakthrough and could have taken all three points on a more clinical night.

“We were close, close to a win, which is what we always want when we play, always, but especially at home,” Orlando City interim head coach Martin Perelman said after the match. “I think the the guys did a huge effort. We we were able to play the game we wanted for most of the time of the game. There were periods that they played, and we felt a little bit the fatigue, I think, which is normal of having played 48 hours ago, but this is a quick turnaround.”

Perelman started Maxime Crepeau in net behind a back line of Adrian Marin, Robin Jansson, David Brekalo, and Dorsey. Braian Ojeda and Eduard Atuesta started in central midfield inside of wingers Ivan Angulo and Marco Pasalic, with Martin Ojeda and Justin Ellis leading the attack.

The first look at goal for either side wasn’t much of one, as Saba Lobjanidze cut inside on the right and fired off target in the second minute. Over the next 10 minutes, each team won a couple of corners but couldn’t do anything with them.

Martin Ojeda got in behind on a great ball in the 13th minute. He was one-on-one against Atlanta goalkeeper Lucas Hoyos but missed the right post by a couple of yards. The flag came up on the play, but it may have been just onside. Because the shot went wide, there was no need to review it.

Three minutes later, Ojeda took a shot from the top of the area but Juan Berrocal blocked it. A goal seemed to be coming for Orlando City and it happened in the 18th minute.

Marin gave the ball to Martin Ojeda near the top of the area. The Argentine nutmegged a defender with his pass, sending Angulo down the left channel. The Colombian used his speed to turn the corner on his defender and slipped a low pass across the six for Dorsey to tap in, as the right back scored in his second straight game.

“It’s a play that we really trained and worked a lot,” Angulo said. “When, when Martin (Ojeda) or when Justin (Ellis) get the ball, just run into space, try and find that space, and then turn and try and find a teammate on the other extreme of the field, and just very happy for it working, because we’ve trained it a lot. Very happy for it to result in a goal.”

Following Dorsey’s goal, Atlanta controlled play for most of the rest of the first half, not creating a lot of clear-cut chances but keeping Orlando pinned in its half. However, before that happened, Martin Ojeda tried his luck from outside the box in the 24th minute, but he sent his shot right at Hoyos for an easy save on the Lions’ last shot on target of the half.

Atlanta kept a lot of the ball the rest of the opening period, creating a lot of corner kicks and set pieces but few shots. Aleksey Miranchuk took a pass and slipped in behind the defense in the 34th minute. Crepeau made a huge save with his right foot but the play was offside anyway.

Five minutes later, Crepeau went to ground to deny Lobjanidze on one of Atlanta’s best looks at goal of the opening period.

Orlando City survived a few more corners and saw out the half without conceding, but Atlanta carried momentum into the break.

The visitors held the halftime advantage in possession (55.3%-44.7%), shots (5-3), corners (8-2), and passing accuracy (85.7%-82.3%). The Lions put more shots on target (2-1).

“I need to review the game, but now with the feelings I have, I have the sensation that we played a good 30-35 minutes,” Perelman said. “More or less, we were able to control, to find the spaces we were looking for to hurt and to score. Then at the end of the first half, they pushed a little bit, which is normal, it’s expected as well.”

Iago subbed on for Jansson at the break, possibly due to a knock that the captain picked up late in the half defending a corner kick. It took Atlanta only about 20 seconds to get a shot from the right side of the box, with Lobjanidze misfiring and sending his effort well off target.

Pasalic was involved in the next two Orlando attacks, but both were squandered. On the first, Pasalic dribbled the ball down the middle of the pitch, darting back and forth, but as he approached the box, he made one move too many and lost control. Moments later, Martin Ojeda took a pass and darted down the left flank, sending in a good cross that Pasalic muffed on his header attempt. However, Ojeda was clearly offside in the buildup so it wouldn’t have counted anyway.

Lobjanidze got to the end line in the 50th minute but sent his cross attempt right at Crepeau. Six minutes later, Miranchuk got a decent look but his shot deflected out off the defense for a corner. Orlando partially cleared the corner but only as far as Tristan Muyumba just outside the box. The midfielder fired a shot that caught Pasalic on the arm, setting up a dangerous free kick straight out from goal.

Miranchuk went for goal with the free kick but didn’t get a lot of power on it. The placement was good, but Crepeau got over to his right to make the save in the 58th minute.

The Lions then had a short spell of control and the ball cycled to Braian Ojeda just outside the box. The midfielder blasted a shot a few yards wide of the right post, wasting a good opportunity.

Dorsey created a good scoring chance in the 66th minute getting the ball out wide ot the right and sending a good outside-of-the-foot cross to the left side. Martin Ojeda got to the ball first but the defense arrived in time to deflect his shot wide. Orlando City played the ensuing corner short but failed to execute properly, with the flag coming up for offside on the return pass.

The Lions’ best chance to double the lead came in the 72nd minute. Martin Ojeda unselfishly turned down a shooting opportunity on the left to send it into the middle to second-half sub Duncan McGuire. The big forward also was unselfish, laying off for Dorsey, but the fullback wasted the chance by firing wide of the left post.

Atlanta tried coming straight at Orlando down the middle. Cayman Togashi saw his shot blocked at the top of the area in the 83rd minute. A minute later, Muyumba’s shot from a similar spot was blocked and Crepeau claimed it. However, the keeper was ruled to have held it too long, and referee Tori Penso awarded Atlanta a corner.

Orlando survived the corner but Atlanta kept the pressure on and broke through in the 86th minute. Fortune found himself in space in the box on the right side. The closest Lion to Fortune was substitute Wilder Cartagena, who was late closing him down, leaving plenty of room for the Atlanta attacker to shoot. He hit it where Crepeau couldn’t reach it and yet another shutout bid by Orlando was gone.

From the equalizer on, only one team looked likely to find a winner and it was Atlanta, which continued to control possession. Miranchuk fired over the bar in the 89th minute. Matías Galarza fired a late blast that Crepeau did well to save. Miranchuk forced another save in the seventh minute of stoppage time, and that was the last look for either team.

Atlanta dominated the stat sheet, finishing with the advantage in possession (55.2%-44.8%), shots (22-7), shots on target (5-3), corners (10-4), and passing accuracy (87.6%-83.9%).

“I think our team is growing. We are in a transitional process. Every time I come here, I speak about it. We were able to improve in many things, and if this is one more, we will fix it as well,” Perelman said, referring to the team giving up late goals.

“It was a very complicated match, a match that was disputed between the two sides,” Angulo said. “Obviously, we have a bad taste in our mouth for finishing with the tie, because we put in a lot of work in all the phases of the game to come out with a victory tonight, but then it wasn’t that, and you know it was a good game and a very disputed game between the two.”

“It’s a tight game, it’s a draw. So, in two days from tomorrow, two days, we play against the same opponent,” Pasalic added. “We have to learn from our mistakes, do the things good, what we did good, and give the fans and the club a good game on Tuesday.”

These two teams will play in the same place on Tuesday in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup. Orlando City’s next MLS match is a week from tonight at FC Cincinnati.

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Lion Links: 6/15/26

OCB beats Huntsville City, OCB signs Parker Amoo-Mensah, USMNT defeats Paraguay in World Cup, and more.

Published

10 hours ago

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June 15, 2026

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Image of Matthew Belgodere of OCB against Huntsville City.
Image courtesy of Orlando City B

Hello, Mane Landers! I hope all is well with you down in Florida. I’ve been keeping myself busy at work but tried to catch as many World Cup matches as possible. I did get to check out the Mumford & Sons and Rufus Du Sol concerts at Wrigley Field up here in Chicago. We’ve got plenty to cover today, so let’s get to the links.

OCB Defeats Huntsville City FC on the Road

Orlando City B completed the comeback, overturning a 1-0 deficit to beat Huntsville City FC 2-1 at Wicks Family Field Saturday. Huntsville struck first to take a 1-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Matthew Belgodere buried the equalizer for the Young Lions. Jacob Ramirez scored the final goal of the match for OCB to seal the win on the road and extend its winning streak to four games. That result lifts the Young Lions to third in the MLS NEXT Pro Eastern Conference table with 28 points. OCB will return home to face Philadelphia Union II Sunday at Osceola County Stadium.

OCB Signs Parker Amoo-Mensah

Orlando City B has signed academy defender Parker Amoo-Mensah to an MLS NEXT Pro contract. The club announced the signing Friday with the deal running through the 2028 season. Amoo-Mensah has made 12 appearances for the Young Lions during the 2026 MLS NEXT Pro season, starting eight matches, and has one assist.

USMNT Defeats Paraguay in World Cup Opener

The U.S. Men’s National Team defeated Paraguay 4-1 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, CA, to win its opening match in the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Former Lion Alex Freeman played a full 90 minutes and recorded an assist in the match, while Orlando City midfielder Braian Ojeda was on Paraguay’s bench but did not play. The USMNT’s opening goal was an own goal from Paraguay midfielder Damian Bobadilla to give the Yanks the lead in the first half. Falorin Balogun scored twice for the U.S to take a 3-0 lead into halftime. In the second half, Paraguay pulled one back, but Gio Reyna added the insurance goal. The USMNT will face Australia in its second group stage match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup at Lumen Field in Seattle on Friday.

2026 FIFA World Cup Recap

On Friday, Canada drew Bosnia and Herzegovina 1-1. Orlando City goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau started the match and had two clutch saves while former Lions Cyle Larin and Richie Laryea were also in action. Larin scored the equalizer for the Canadian Men’s National Team, securing a draw and earning its first-ever point in a World Cup match. On Saturday, Qatar and Switzerland played to a 1-1 draw, Brazil and Morocco settled for a 1-1 draw, Scotland secured its first World Cup win in 36 years with a 1-0 victory over Haiti, and Australia defeated Turkey 2-0. On Sunday, Kai Havertz scored twice for Germany in a 7-1 win over Curacao, Japan trailed twice and fought back for a 2-2 draw against the Netherlands, Amad Diallo scored a late winner for Ivory Coast in a 1-0 win over Ecuador, and Sweden and Tunisia kicked off late. Today’s matches will feature Spain facing Cape Verde, Belgium taking on Egypt, Saudi Arabia facing Uruguay, and Iran taking on New Zealand.

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That will do it for me today, Mane Landers. Enjoy your Monday, and I’ll see you next time.

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Orlando City

Flashback Friday: June 10, 2023 vs. Colorado Rapids

Let’s take a trip down memory lane to a booking-laden match at home that took place a little less than three years ago.

Published

3 days ago

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June 12, 2026

By

Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

The World Cup is now officially underway, and while that means Orlando City is on break, we can’t have you forgetting about the Lions while all the international action is taking place. That means its time for another edition of Flashback Friday, where we hop in the trusty time machine and reminisce on OCSC matches of yesteryear.

Last week we relived a rousing road win over the New York Red Bulls from June, 3 2023, and this week, we actually pick up right where we left off, on June 10, 2023 as the Lions returned home to take on the Colorado Rapids.

Coming off a 3-0 win over the Red Bulls in the previous match, Oscar Pareja decided to not mess with a good thing, and kept Orlando City’s same starting XI from that victory. Pedro Gallese was in net behind a back line of Rafael Santos, Robin Jansson, Antonio Carlos, and Kyle Smith. Wilder Cartagena and Cesar Araujo played the double pivot; Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereyra, and Facundo Torres were the attacking midfielders, and Ercan Kara was deployed as the striker.

In typical June fashion for the City Beautiful, kickoff was delayed by just under an hour as the stadium was pounded by storms, and the delay did not look to have done any favors for Orlando’s sharpness. That said, OCSC did win a corner kick less than a minute into the game, and Torres had a tame shot saved in the eighth minute, but the Lions weren’t consistently sharp with their passing in the early moments of the contest.

The teams traded chances just before the 15-minute mark, with Kara sending a header too high before Cole Bassett sent a shot straight to Gallese. Carlos then picked up a yellow card in the 24th minute, which evened things out between the two teams after Lalas Abubakar was cautioned for the Rapids after just six minutes. Those two bookings proved to be a harbinger of things to come, because Colorado went down to 10 men in the 39th minute after midfielder Braian Galvan caught Angulo with a high boot while his studs were showing.

Pereyra had Orlando’s best chance of the opening 45 minutes in stoppage time but could only send his effort right at goalkeeper Marko Ilic, and that was the last significant action of the half. The Lions ended the half with an edge in possession (59.7%-40.3%), shots (7-2), shots on target (2-1), and passing accuracy (85.3%-79.4%), while both teams won two corners.

Pareja made two moves at halftime, bringing on Rodrigo Schlegel for the once-booked Carlos, and Martin Ojeda for Cartagena in an effort to go more offensive against a shorthanded Rapids side. The Lions certainly looked brighter going forward as the second half got underway and had a few dangerous moments before finally breaking the deadlock in the 55th minute.

Pereyra played a ball across the top of the box for Torres, who took a couple of touches before sending a ball to the net that took a wicked deflection off Andreas Maxsø that carried it past Ilic.

It wasn’t the prettiest goal the Lions have ever scored, but for a team that was guilty at times of passing up good shots in favor of the perfect look at goal, it was proof that sometimes you just need to take shots in dangerous areas.

Fortunately, Orlando seemed to take that lesson to heart. Kara went close in the 65th minute despite shooting through traffic, Angulo had a shot deflected by Abubakar three minutes later, and Torres had another deflected effort go just wide of the post four minutes after that.

The game changed again in the 75th minute, when the Rapids had another player sent off. Abubakar lasted for 69 minutes on a yellow card but got burned by Angulo in midfield and hauled him down in order to prevent the Lions from potentially working a transition opportunity. He had some teammates behind him, but the referee showed him a second yellow card. Pareja smelled blood in the water and just three minutes later he brought on Ramiro Enrique for Smith, who had been given a yellow card in the 52nd minute.

Ilic made a great save on Pereyra in the 81st minute to keep the score at 1-0 and keep the Rapids in the game, but Orlando got its second goal just two minutes later. Torres had the ball on the right side of the box with a Colorado player backing off him, and that gave him ample time to get his head up and pick out a man. He played a ball to Enrique at the top of the box, who had plenty of time to take a couple of touches and send a low shot into the bottom corner past a diving Ilic for his first goal as an Orlando City player.

Somewhat surprisingly, the game started to get a little stretched after the Lions doubled their advantage. Colorado had a shot blocked in the 81st minute, Kara sent a shot very close to the post six minutes after that, and Gallese saved a Darren Yapi attempt in the 88th minute to keep his clean sheet alive. Aside from Pareja handing Alejandro Granados his MLS debut, that was the last significant action of the match, which finished 2-0 to the good guys.

Unsurprisingly, considering Colorado’s deficit in players, the Lions dominated all of the game’s most important statistics. OCSC finished with the advantage in possession (65%-35%), shots (15-4), shots on goal (6-2), corners (5-3), and passing accuracy (89.4%-81.5%).

The victory made it back-to-back wins for the first time in 2023, stretched Orlando’s unbeaten run to six, and gave El Pulpo his 100th clean sheet for the team in all competitions.

Marcus Mitchell had the helm for Player Grades in this one, and Torres got his nod for Man of the Match with a goal, an assist, and a grade of 7.5 out of 10. Several other Lions graded out at 7 out of 10, with only one player grading below a 6.

While it was a weird win, it unfortunately was the final game of the unbeaten streak, as the Lions fell to a familiar defeat at Gillette Stadium the following week, although things got back on track soon afterward. I’ll see you back here in a week for another trip down memory lane. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links: 6/12/26

USMNT plays Paraguay tonight, red cards rain down in World Cup opener, Sporting Kansas City linked with Yann Gboho, and more.

Published

3 days ago

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June 12, 2026

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Image of Alex Freeman sliding in celebration of a goal.
Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Mark Thor

Happy Friday, Mane Landers! The World Cup is in full swing and the U.S. will play today, so it’s a pretty exciting Friday to say the least. I’m a bit of a bundle of nerves about how the team will do, but I’m still looking forward to catching the game. If you have any gameday rituals, be sure to share, so that we can conjure up enough luck and support for the team tonight. Let’s get to the links!

USMNT’s World Cup Campaign Begins Today

The United States Men’s National Team will take on Paraguay at 9 p.m. tonight in its first match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. There’s plenty of pressure on the U.S. to perform well as one of the host nations, and this will also be Head Coach Mauricio Pochettino’s first time coaching at a World Cup. Pochettino stated that all 26 players are available for selection, including center back Chris Richards, although he may not necessarily start. Former Orlando City defender Alex Freeman, who is the youngest player on the U.S. roster, could make his World Cup debut tonight, so be sure to root for our hometown hero should he take the field. Hopefully, the Yanks can start this tournament off on the right foot with a big win in California.

World Cup Opener Features Three Red Cards

This year’s World Cup began in Mexico City, with Mexico beating South Africa 2-0 in a match that included three red cards. All three were straight red cards given in the second half in separate incidents, as Sphephelo Sithole and Themba Zwane were sent off for South Africa before Mexico’s Cesar Montes was shown red in stoppage time. There hasn’t been a World Cup match with that many red cards since the record of four was set in 2006 in a match between Portugal and the Netherlands. As for the game’s goals, Julian Quinones pounced on a mistake by South Africa to give Mexico an early lead and Raul Jimenez doubled that lead while South Africa was reduced to 10 men.

Sporting Kansas City Linked With Yann Gboho

While the World Cup roars on, the rumor mill is in full force as clubs make plans for summer reinforcements. Sporting Kansas City is reportedly pushing to sign Toulouse winger Yann Gboho, who recorded 10 goals and three assists across all competitions this past season. The surprising aspect of this pursuit would be that Toulouse values Gboho at an eye-watering $20 million transfer fee, which would be a club record by a country mile. Kansas City needs all the help it can get on offense, as it has scored just 14 goals in 14 games so far this season.

Jose Mourinho Officially Returns to Real Madrid

It’s been a bit of an open secret over the past few weeks that Jose Mourinho would become Real Madrid’s next manager and it’s now official, with the 63-year-old signing a three-year contract with the Spanish club. Mourinho helped Real Madrid win a La Liga title and the Copa del Rey over a decade ago before his departure in 2013 after three seasons with the club. Now, he joins a Real Madrid side that has finished second in the league standings and been eliminated in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League the past two seasons. I, for one, can’t wait to see how one of the biggest personalities in soccer works alongside a locker room of star players that seemed in disarray this past season.

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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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