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Orlando City vs. St. Louis City SC: Final Score 2-1 as Lions Ride Facundo Torres Brace to Victory

Facundo Torres opened the scoring and then broke a 1-1 tie late from the penalty spot as Orlando City beat the Western Conference leaders.

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2 years ago

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Facundo Torres scored a brace, with his second goal coming late to lift Orlando City to a 2-1 win over Western Conference-leading St. Louis City tonight at Exploria Stadium in front of an announced crowd of 22,156. The Lions (12-6-7, 43 points) scored early in the second half to break the deadlock but St. Louis (14-9-2, 44 points) was awarded a goal after video review determined the assistant referee was wrong to raise his flag for the ball going over the end line prior to the crucial pass on Rasmus Alm’s equalizer. Torres then scored from the spot after a late handball was called on the visitors, which blocked a Rafael Santos shot.

Orlando City has won three straight league games for the first time in 2023 and is unbeaten at home since April 22 (5-0-3).

“Very happy for the victory, not just with the three points that are so important for us but the way they gained those points,” Orlando City Head Coach Oscar Pareja said after the match. “I thought we played a very good game. Our fans today were terrific. They were fantastic and they brought us that energy and I just want to be grateful with them because we fed (on) that energy.”

Pareja’s lineup was the same as the one that lined up in Chicago on Sunday. Pedro Gallese started in goal behind a back line of Santos, Robin Jansson, Rodrigo Schlegel, and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson. Cesar Araujo and Wilder Cartagena manned the central midfield behind an attacking line of Ivan Angulo, Mauricio Pereryra, and Torres, with Duncan McGuire up top.

The Lions started the match looking to play directly but struggled to pick out McGuire up top. Orlando City did well in the opening half to find spaces through the middle of the pitch but lazy, late, or off-line passes in the final third ruined several good opportunities to break down the aggressive St. Louis defense. The visitors were content to foul a lot anytime Orlando City threatened to break a line, but very few of those fouls were in the defensive third of the pitch.

Five minutes in, Aziel Jackson took the game’s first shot from outside the box on the right side but his shot was a good 15 to 20 yards wide of the left post. Two minutes later, Eduard Lowen sent a free kick wide of the target after Cartagena conceded a foul about 25 yards out from Gallese’s goal.

The best St. Louis City chance of the opening half came in the 13th minute when the visitors broke down the right off an Orlando turnover. Akil Watts fizzed a cross to the top of the six for former Lion Nicholas Gioacchini, who slid to meet it but it was too far in front for him to make contact. Two minutes later, Indiana Vassilev sent a shot well off target.

The Lions finally got a shot in the 15th minute when Angulo took on three defenders and predictably had his shot blocked. Santos won a corner off of that block but Roman Burki came off his line to punch away Pereyra’s delivery. The ball was recycled to Pereyra, who sent in a good cross for Jansson, but again Burki got there first to punch it away. Burki was aggressive all night in coming off his line and Orlando did little to create traffic in front of him.

Torres got onto the deflection of the third Orlando corner and smashed a shot toward goal but it was headed over by a defender in the 20th minute.

Gioacchini tried a difficult volley from about 12 yards out in the 23rd minute but couldn’t get the attempt on target.

Orlando City had a great chance in the 31st minute when McGuire got onto the ball on the right side of the box. He sent in a good cross and Pereyra got to it first but his volley attempt went just wide of the left post.

Lowen sent a shot over the bar from long range on the last chance of the half for the visitors.

Orlando’s best chance of the half came in stoppage time. Pereyra picked out McGuire but his shot was denied by Burki from close range.

Orlando City held the halftime advantage in possession (55.1%-44.9%), shots (6-5), shots on target (1-0), corners (4-1), and passing accuracy (83.8%-80.5%). Neither team was able to break down the other to great effect and Orlando City wasted too many good opportunities to create in the final third with poor passes or obvious ones that were easily defended.

“I thought we weren’t playing the right way,” Pareja said of the first half. “They came out with a different formation, so for the first 15 minutes we needed to accommodate the team again. They were very dense in the middle, and they were keeping the ball and creating some spaces that we don’t want. But then we matched that up in the middle. We corrected and we were trying to impose our ways and that happened. In the second half I thought we were more protagonists of (the game) against a very good team. I thought we had a very professional job.”

The Lions broke the deadlock just after the restart. Torres sent the ball right to Pereyra and the captain played it to Thorhallsson near the top of the box. Thorhallsson cut from right to left and thought about shooting but found Torres breaking toward goal. His pass found the Uruguayan and Torres smashed his shot, which took a slight deflection off of Jake Nerwinski and sailed past Burki in the 48th minute for his ninth goal of the season.

“When I got the ball, I looked up and I saw (Pereyra) in a bit of a diagonal, and normally he likes me to play those in to his feet,” Torres said through a club translator. “So, I just kind of hit it, but thankfully once he got it, he played it to Dagur, and I just kind of made my run away from him and toward the goal. And thankfully he found me and I was able to put it away.”

Gallese was called to action in the 53rd minute, punching away a shot from a free kick from 30 yards out. Lowen sent a one-hopper at Gallese three minutes later after Pereyra appeared to cleanly win the ball and then collided with a St. Louis player. The Lions thought Torres would be in alone on goal at the other end after a quick outlet pass but referee Joe Dickerson brought the play back and booked Pereyra.

Watts and Thorhallsson exchanged shots high into the crowd over the next few minutes as St. Louis chased the game, while Orlando looked to score an insurance goal.

Cartagena committed a foul 30 yards out in front of his own goal in the 73rd minute, but Lowen sent the dangerous free kick just wide of the right post.

St. Louis coach Bradley Carnell sent on offensive reinforcements in the 77th minute, as Joao Klauss and Rasmus Alm entered the match. The move paid off two minutes later.

A ball to the end line appeared from the press box to go over the end line before St. Louis substitute Nokkvi Thorisson sent it in front for Alm to slam just inside the left post in the 79th minute. The video assistant referee looked at the play for several minutes before Dickerson went to the monitor himself. After another long look, Dickerson awarded the goal and the game was tied.

Thorhallsson had a good look at the play and said he knew the goal would count.

“I thought it was in as soon as they scored. And I kind of just went down on the ground,” Thorhallsson said. “I need to watch it again, but when I saw it, I was like, “OK, that’s gonna be a goal.”

With the match tied, Pareja sent Michael Halliday and Jack Lynn onto the pitch for Thorhallsson and Pereyra in the 85th and 86th minutes. Lynn was crucial down the stretch of the match defending in the box on set pieces and providing outlet passes to spring potential counters.

Second-half sub Ramiro Enrique earned a foul to the left of the box in the 87th minute and that led to the winning play. The free kick was played backward to Santos just outside the top of the box and the left back blasted a shot toward goal. The ball hit the arm of Anthony Markanich and went out over the end line. Orlando players pleaded with Dickerson to award a penalty for handball, but after several seconds of thought, Dickerson signaled a corner kick.

The VAR again directed Dickerson to look at the play and the referee awarded a penalty upon review. Torres stepped up to the spot and took the shot. Burki faked as if he would dive right but then went left. Had he stayed right, he might have made the save, but he didn’t, and that’s where Torres sent the shot, making it 2-1 in the 90th minute and reaching double figures in goals on the 2023 season.

“All I was thinking about was, ‘score the goal,'” Torres said. “When I stepped up, I knew this was the opportunity for us to put the game away, get the victory — obviously thinking a little bit about the goal that they scored that didn’t get taken back — so, thinking about that and just trying to bury it and secure the three points for us.”

Orlando City still had a lot to do with nine minutes of stoppage time added.

The visitors nearly stole points in the 94th minute off a cleared corner kick. The clearance went well outside the box but Vasillev struck it true on the volley and the curling shot crashed off the left post and fizzed across the front of the goal line before the Lions could clear.

The final chance fell Orlando’s way as Lynn sent Enrique in behind the defense in the 10th minute of stoppage time. He was taken down from behind just outside the box by Nerwinski, who was sent off for denial of a goal-scoring opportunity. Second-half sub Martin Ojeda took the free kick and smashed it on target but Burki fought it off. Before anyone could collect it, Dickerson blew the full-time whistle on a huge win for the Lions.

Orlando City held the advantage in possession (57.1%-42.9%), shots (11-10), shots on target (4-2), corners (8-4), and passing accuracy (83.2%-78.7%).

“It was important for us to win this one against a rival who is in the top of the Western Conference that gave us the sensation that we’re competing (at a high level),” Pareja said.

The Lions have a short turnaround as the fixture schedule gets more congested over the next week. Orlando City visits Charlotte on Wednesday before traveling to face FC Cincinnati on the road next Saturday.

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Orlando City

Orlando City Striker Duncan McGuire Undergoes Shoulder Surgery

It’s the other shoulder this time, but Big Dunc is on the shelf for awhile again after undergoing surgery.

Published

18 hours ago

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June 6, 2025

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Dan MacDonald, The Mane Land

Orlando City announced today that Duncan McGuire has undergone arthroscopic surgery to repair the labrum in his left shoulder. The surgery was performed by Orlando City Chief Medical Officer Dr. Craig Mintzer of the Orlando Health Jewett Orthopedic Institute performed the surgery. Mintzer previously repaired the labrum and rotator cuff in McGuire’s right shoulder back in December for an injury he sustained in Orlando City’s playoff match against Charlotte FC Nov. 9 when he was pulled down by Djibril Diani.

The club’s press release said the 24-year-old striker’s return to play is expected “later this year.” The recovery given for his right shoulder surgery in late 2024 was listed as four to five months, but McGuire was able to come back and play much earlier than expected, appearing for the first time in 2025 in Orlando’s March 15 against the New York Red Bulls — at least a month before the earliest initial projection — however, this time there was no mention of damage to the rotator cuff.

Regardless, the Lions will be without the big target striker for a considerable amount of time.

McGuire had appeared in 12 matches during the regular season in 2025, starting three and scoring one goal and adding an assist. His goal came recently, serving as the game winner in Orlando’s 1-0 home victory over the Portland Timbers on May 24. He was recently listed as questionable on the club’s availability report ahead of the team’s most recent match against the Chicago Fire.

Orlando City drafted McGuire in the first round (No. 6 overall) in the 2023 MLS SuperDraft. After a breakout rookie campaign, in which the Omaha, NE native scored 14 goals, he was courted by several teams in Europe, signing with Blackburn Rovers, only to see the transfer rejected by the English Football League due to an administrative error by the EFL Championship club. After returning to Orlando, McGuire signed a new deal on Aug. 22 to remain a Lion. The new contract runs through 2027 with a club option for 2028. McGuire scored 10 goals and added three assists in 2024. For his Orlando City career, McGuire has appeared in 88 games (46 starts) across all competitions, scoring a total of 28 goals to go along with seven assists.

What It Means for Orlando City

McGuire appeared to be just finding his form, so this injury is unfortunate. The club didn’t put a timeline on McGuire’s recovery this time, but shaving a little off his 2024 recovery estimate, it’s likely that he’ll be out until at least some time in September.

Oscar Pareja has been favoring a 4-4-2 with Luis Muriel and Martin Ojeda up top in recent weeks, with Ramiro Enrique — who is also finding his form — typically spelling one of them when needed. Not having McGuire will affect Pareja’s late-game substitution pattern when Orlando is trailing, as he likes to put Enrique and McGuire both on the field when chasing the game. It also takes the team’s best target striker option out of the lineup when dealing with back lines with lots of height.

McGuire brings size and strength and an ability to occupy center backs that others on the roster can’t replicate. There are times when Enrique’s game is better suited to the opponent, but without McGuire there will be no ability to pivot. With Jack Lynn’s off-season retirement, that leaves the striker pickings mighty slim on the Orlando City bench. That might change Ricardo Moreira’s approach to the MLS Secondary Transfer Window.

Losing a scorer of McGuire’s caliber is always difficult, but this season it could be the difference between finishing high in the table and simply getting into the postseason in a strong Eastern Conference field.

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Opinion

Orlando City Must Learn from May’s Mistakes

The Lions can learn some valuable lessons from the three losses they suffered in May.

Published

1 day ago

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June 6, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando City SC / Jeremy Reper

Orlando City hadn’t quite achieved juggernaut status as the Major League Soccer season turned from April to May, but a 12-match unbeaten run in the league is nothing to sniff at, despite there being a healthy number of draws interspersed with the victories. Things turned sour as May drew to a close though, as the Lions lost three of their final four matches of the month and entered a two-week break with a whimper rather than a roar.

Losing is never fun, but in this case those three defeats don’t need to be entirely negative experiences, and there are plenty of lessons to be learned from those three bitter losses that will hold Orlando in good stead if it can implement the proper solutions.

More Squad Rotation

One of the biggest factors in Orlando’s rough finish to May was a lack of squad rotation. Oscar Pareja has always been a coach that likes to find his first-choice XI and stick to it almost religiously. He doesn’t normally tweak his lineups or tactics according to whatever opponent is on the slate, and very much values consistency. In periods of fixture congestion, that tendency can be to Orlando’s detriment, and that was very much the case against both Nashville SC and the Chicago Fire.

After beating Inter Miami 3-0 in an emotional rivalry match on May 18, Pareja made just one change for a U.S. Open Cup match against Nashville SC three days later. Ramiro Enrique slotted in for Luis Muriel up top, but every single other starter from the Miami game also got the nod midweek. With Nashville deploying a heavily rotated lineup mostly filled with backups, the gamble was a simple one: hope that OCSC’s A-team can open up a big first-half lead against Nashville’s B-squad before bringing mass changes in the second half to get guys some rest. Hindsight is, of course, 20/20, but the strategy backfired badly as the Lions lost 3-2. Orlando started well with Marco Pasalic’s 17th-minute strike, but the team faded badly afterwards and gave up a couple of very uncharacteristic goals to lose the game. Lapses in concentration and tired defending cost OCSC the game, and that isn’t something we can normally say about this team.

Then, after losing to Atlanta United 3-2 on May 28 due in no small part to Cesar Araujo’s red card, Pareja made two changes for a match against the Chicago Fire on May 31, with Muriel coming in for Enrique, and the other change being a forced one, as Eduard Atuesta replaced the suspended Araujo. Those starters looked noticeably gassed during the resulting 3-1 loss, and the fatigue manifested itself by players missing chances that would normally be converted or in sloppy, mistake-ridden defending.

May was a packed month with a whopping nine matches in 31 days, and most months won’t be that busy. August is set to be the busiest remaining period of the year with six games in 31 days, although that number could rise higher if the Lions make a run in Leagues Cup. The bottom line is that guys are going to need more rest as the season goes on. If the coaching staff doesn’t trust some of the guys currently available as backups, then they need to dip into the transfer market in one way or another and get some players that they do trust, because if the starting XI gets run ragged during busy periods it’s going to cost Orlando, plain and simple.

Cool Heads Usually Prevail

Orlando City has received three red cards on the season, which is tied for the second-most in the league. Unsurprisingly, the Lions are winless in games in which they’ve had a man sent off, with draws against the New York Red Bulls and CF Montreal and a loss to Atlanta United. The results against the Red Bulls and Atlanta were particularly difficult to swallow, as before going down to 10 men, Orlando had looked on track to get three points in each game.

Araujo’s red card against Atlanta was especially frustrating, as he allowed Mateusz Klich to get under his skin, grabbed him by the throat, and reduced his team to 10 men when OCSC was nursing a 2-1 lead on the road. It was completely unnecessary and was also the sort of thing that Orlando had looked to put in the rearview mirror after keeping its collective composure and not picking up any bookings in the 3-0 road win against Miami, while the Herons picked up four and looked noticeably rattled in the process.

It should go without saying, but the Lions can’t afford to get key players sent off. Six extra points could make a big difference in the standings at the end of the year, and that number could rise even higher if OCSC can’t put its disciplinary issues to rest once and for all.

Focus for the Full 90

There were moments in each of Orlando’s three May losses that the team committed bad defensive lapses or mistakes. Whether it was not playing to the whistle on Nashville’s third goal, Atuesta’s bad turnover against Atlanta, or the Lions collectively allowing Chicago to stroll through midfield to score a third goal, there were plenty of examples of bad breakdowns that were largely absent during the team’s unbeaten run. Can some of that be attributed to tired minds and tired legs? Maybe so — it’s a lot harder to play crisp and focused when the minutes have piled up. Regardless, its something that can’t continue to happen going forward. It’s possible that having more rotation in the squad will help that a lot, but it’s also on the players on the field to stay as mentally sharp as they can when they’re out on the pitch.

Clearly, a recurring theme here is that fresh legs and balanced squad rotation are top of my list of things I want to see change. I’m all for riding the hot hands, but tired legs make for tired minds, and tired minds make mistakes and are easier to rile up. Whether reinforcements come from the bench or an outside source, using more bodies will go a long way towards solving some of the issues that we saw in May’s three losses. All we can do now is wait and see what happens once the team returns from its break. Vamos Orlando!

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Lion Links

Lion Links: 6/6/25

Alex Freeman called up for Concacaf Gold Cup, Orlando Pride get ready for the Houston Dash, Orlando City B plays tonight, and more.

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1 day ago

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June 6, 2025

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Image courtesy of Orlando Pride / Jeremy Reper

Happy Friday! I’ll be spending this weekend celebrating my birthday by beating my friends at mini golf with no mercy but still hope to catch some soccer over the next few days. I’ve also been on a bit of a movie kick and plan on catching Wes Anderson’s new flick at some point soon. But for now, let’s dive into today’s links!

Alex Freeman Called Up For Gold Cup

Orlando City defender Alex Freeman was officially called up by the United States Men’s National Team for the Concacaf Gold Cup this summer. He’s the only Lion who will be at the tournament and is one of seven uncapped USMNT players on the roster. The 20-year-old could receive more playing time than expected, as right back Sergino Dest is not on the roster so that he can recover over the summer. Left back John Tolkin was added to replace Dest, so Freeman has a real shot at making a claim for the position this month. The U.S. will take on Turkey Saturday in the first of two friendlies before its first Gold Cup match against Trinidad & Tobago on June 15.

Orlando Pride Prepares to Host the Houston Dash

With the international break for women’s soccer over, the Orlando Pride return to action Saturday with a home game against the Houston Dash. It should be a great opportunity for the Pride to ease back into the swing of things against a Dash team that’s only scored 10 goals this season. Pride midfielder Ally Lemos spoke on the benefit of being able to rest heading into this match while maintaining a winning mindset from a 3-1 victory on May 23.

Anna Moorhouse Called Up For 2025 Euros

Orlando Pride goalkeeper Anna Moorhouse was named to England’s final roster for the 2025 UEFA European Women’s Championship. She’s one of three goalkeepers on the squad following Mary Earp’s surprise retirement from international soccer, and she will likely compete with fellow uncapped player Khiara Keating for the backup position behind Hannah Hampton. Moorhouse has started in every game for the Pride this season and was an NWSL Goalkeeper of the Year finalist for her record-breaking season last year. England’s Euro run will begin July 5 against France before other group matches against the Netherlands and Wales.

Orlando City B Takes On Huntsville City FC

The Young Lions are riding high after a 2-1 win over Chattanooga FC and will take that momentum into tonight’s road match against Huntsville City FC. Midfielder Noah Levis scored his first career goal in that home win, with Justin Hylton providing the assist in his OCB debut. Orlando’s offense has been hot and cold this season but has a variety of attacking talent that can create chances in different ways. The Young Lions have only won once on the road, but a win tonight would lift them to third in the Eastern Conference.

Free Kicks

  • FIFA Club World Cup action is coming to the City Beautiful this month and Orlando City legend Kaká spoke on how it’s nice for Orlando to host games.
  • San Diego Wave Head Coach Jonas Eidevall was named NWSL Coach of the Month. The Wave were undefeated in May, winning three of their four matches to climb to second in the league standings.
  • The NWSL will allow intraleague loans for all teams, with the players needing to consent to the move in order for it to happen. Denver and Boston’s expansion teams will have access to potentially over $1 million in Allocation Money starting on July 1 to build their rosters before the 2026 season.
  • Atletico Madrid is reportedly close to signing American midfielder Johnny Cardoso from Real Betis.
  • South Korea, Uzbekistan, and Jordan all qualified for the 2026 World Cup, while China was eliminated from contention. Australia beat Japan 1-0 and will qualify so long as it doesn’t lose heavily to Saudi Arabia on June 10.
  • Spain beat France 5-4 in a wild game to reach the UEFA Nations League final against Portugal on Sunday. Lamine Yamal continues to take the world by storm, but a late rally by France nearly completed a comeback.

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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